HB607: HB607 Public Health, Department of; two-year pilot program for home visiting in homes of children with asthma; provisions

Georgia law does not currently run a state program that sends visitors into homes to check for asthma triggers. This bill would add a new section to the state's public health code (O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-19.1) directing the Department of Public Health to create a two-year pilot program of home visits for families with children who have asthma. Visitors would assess the home environment, educate families about common asthma triggers, and recommend ways to reduce exposure, with a focus on managing environmental risk factors. The department would set training rules for the home visitors, build home-assessment tools, provide technical and data-collection support, and track outcomes to measure the program's impact. Starting no later than June 30, 2026 and every year after, the department must report to the Governor, legislative leaders, and relevant House and Senate committees on how the program is working. The pilot program, and the law creating it, would automatically end and repeal on June 30, 2028 unless lawmakers act to extend or make it permanent.

• Creates a new two-year pilot program within the Department of Public Health to send home visitors into homes of children with asthma.
• Requires the department to set training and supervision standards for the home visitors conducting these visits.
• Requires development of home environment assessments to identify asthma triggers and document steps to reduce them.
• Directs the department to provide data collection support and ongoing evaluation of the program's impact using both qualitative and quantitative measures.
• Requires annual written reports to the Governor, legislative leaders, and health committees starting no later than June 30, 2026.
• Automatically terminates the pilot program and repeals the authorizing law on June 30, 2028.

Families with children who have asthma who participate in the home visits, the Department of Public Health staff who design and run the program, the home visitors who must meet new training requirements, and state lawmakers who will receive the department's reports on the program's results.

Families in the pilot could get direct, in-home guidance on reducing things like mold, dust, or smoke that trigger asthma attacks, potentially improving children's health. Because the program and law expire in 2028, its long-term future depends on what the department's reports recommend and whether lawmakers choose to extend it.

• Adds new Code Section 31-2A-19.1 directing the Department of Public Health to develop, implement, and conduct a two-year home visiting pilot program for homes of children with asthma.
• Subsection (b)(1) requires the department to set training requirements and minimum supervision standards for home visitors.
• Subsection (b)(2) requires development of home environment assessments to identify triggers and document trigger-reduction efforts.
• Subsection (b)(3) requires administrative and technical assistance, including help with data collection for evaluating the program.
• Subsection (b)(4) requires measures to track the impact of home visits and ongoing evaluation using qualitative and quantitative outcomes.
• Subsection (c) requires an annual written report to the Governor, House Speaker, Senate President, and relevant committee chairs, starting no later than June 30, 2026, with a final report including recommendations on expanding or making the program permanent.
• Subsection (d) sets the pilot program and the Code section itself to terminate and repeal on June 30, 2028.

1. 2025-02-27House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-26House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-24House Hopper (House)

• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)Primary sponsor
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)

• asthma
• public health
• home visiting programs
• children's health
• Department of Public Health