New AMCHP issues brief shows how widely-used strategies for children’s health care align with National Performance Measures

The Association of Maternal & Health Programs today released an issue brief that illustrates how the evidence-based Bright Futures Guidelines help states meet their National Performance Measures under Title V and advance their efforts to improve the health of children and families.

Bright Futures: An Essential Resource for Advancing the Title V National Performance Measures includes background on the Bright Futures Guidelines – which provide strategies to address children’s health needs from birth to 21 – and a crosswalk showing how the guidelines correlate with the National Performance Measures (NPM) for programs that serve children and families under federal Title V grants.

The brief includes examples of how Title V programs in three states (Virginia, Nevada and Iowa) use Bright Futures to advance their work on the NPMs on which they selected to focus.

Because the guidelines are used by many stakeholders and those invested in children’s health, they can serve as a tool for cross-sector collaboration and to strengthen partnerships. As such, states should also ensure that families, the communities, and health care professionals are included in all stages of implementation of the guidelines.