INDIANAPOLIS (AP): A federal agency has awarded Indiana nearly $12 million to support home visits by nurses and others to check on pregnant women and those with young children.
 
The $11.8 million Health and Human Services grant was among $386 million the federal agency awarded Thursday nationwide to support its Home Visiting Program for low-income residents.
 
The funding will allow Indiana to continue to expand voluntary home visiting services to women during pregnancy and to parents with young children. 
 
HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell says Indiana's grant gives the state the flexibility to tailor its home visits programs to address the specific needs of the communities it serves.
 
Burwell says home visits by nurses, social workers and early childhood educators can “make a tremendous difference'' in the early years of many youngsters' lives.