NILES, MI – Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, today was honored with the Champion of Children Award by Michigan members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, Ready Nation and Shepherding the Next Generation. The event was a thank-you to state and federal lawmakers who helped pass early childhood home visiting program legislation which benefits at-risk children and their families. 

“We all want to keep kids out of the courtroom,” said Upton, who also chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “There truly is nothing more important than to make sure our kids are safe. We should be investing in our kids and making sure they don’t get in trouble in the first place. Solving these sorts of problems before they get to be big problems is a no-brainer and I’m proud to support it.”

To view additional pictures from today’s event please click here.

Upton supported the creation and passage of the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) – which was created in 2010 and reauthorized in 2014. The program is designed to help pregnant women and new parents make sure they have the proper training to promote healthy development of their newborns, prevent child abuse and neglect, improve school readiness and family self-sufficiency through services often provided by nurses, social workers, or child development specialists.

“These programs pay off dividends,” said Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey, who hosted the reception at the Berrien County Courthouse in Niles. “We see it and we tell our legislators.”