COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 Reverses Progress in Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance in U.S.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed back years of progress made combating antimicrobial resistance (AR) in the United States. The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), entitled “COVID-19: U.S. Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance, Special Report 2022,” concludes that the threat of antimicrobial-resistant infections is not only still present but has gotten worse—with resistant hospital-onset infections and deaths both increasing at least 15% during the first year of the pandemic.

“This setback can and must be temporary. The COVID-19 pandemic has unmistakably shown us that antimicrobial resistance will not stop if we let down our guard; there is no time to waste,” said Michael Craig, MPP, Director of CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Coordination & Strategy Unit. “The best way to avert a pandemic caused by an antimicrobial-resistant pathogen is to identify gaps and invest in prevention to keep our nation safe.” [continue reading]

Recent CDC News 

• CDC Recommends COVID-19 Vaccines for Young Children
• CDC Recommends Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for Children and Adolescents

AMCHP COVID-19 Resources and Vaccination Pages 

AMCHP is committed to working alongside our federal agency and organizational partners to gather available information, resources, and guidance specific to our MCH population during the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources are on our website for your convenience and are updated regularly as untapped resources become available. Find out more about vaccinating MCH populations to stay up to date on well care during the pandemic here.

AMCHP Announcements

Never miss our updates! Sign up for our newsletters here, and follow us on Twitter (@DC_AMCHP), LinkedIn (Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs), Facebook (AMCHPofficial), and Instagram (@DC_AMCHP).

AMCHP Appoints new President of the Board: Belinda Pettiford, Formerly Board President-Elect

On Monday, June 27, AMCHP announced that Belinda Pettiford had been named President of its Board of Directors. Pettiford succeeds Dr. Manda Hall, who became Past-President after serving as President of the board for the past year.

“I feel very privileged to take on this role to continue strengthening AMCHP’s position as a leader in maternal and child health in our country,” said Pettiford. “I look forward to leveraging my background and experience in maternal and child health, my focus on addressing equity and the challenges of communities of color, and my involvement with national boards and strategic planning.”

Pettiford, who has worked for over 30 years in public health, serves as Chief of the Women, Infant, and Community Wellness Section at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. In this capacity, she oversees the state’s maternal health, family planning, preconception health, teen pregnancy prevention, sickle cell, and numerous programs focused on equity in birth outcomes. Pettiford co-chairs the Perinatal Health Committees of the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force (CFTF), serves on the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality (SACIMM) and is a board member with the National Healthy Start Association.

“Belinda’s long history of leadership for national, state, and local efforts on maternal and child health, coupled with her focus on health equity and her experience serving AMCHP’s board as well as our Workforce Development Committee, makes her an ideal person for this role. I look forward to partnering with Belinda to continue to work towards our mission of protecting and promoting the health and well-being of women, children, youth, families, and communities,” said Terrance E. Moore, Chief Executive Officer of AMCHP. [continue reading]

Statement by AMCHP CEO Terrance E. Moore on the Final Majority Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

On Friday, June 24, AMCHP’s CEO Terrance E. Moore, issued the following statement in response to the final majority decision by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:

“Today’s news confirms our worst fears, as outlined in my statement last month, that the U.S. Supreme Court’s final majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization would effectively overturn Roe v. Wade. In doing so, the Dobbs decision reverses nearly 50 years of legal precedent and issues a direct assault on reproductive justice, the public’s health, and human rights.”

“As the national professional association representing state public health professionals dedicated to improving maternal and child health in the United States, AMCHP cannot be silent about the known consequences of curtailing access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including abortion care, on the health and well-being of our nation’s women, children, and families. In order to live up to our organizational commitments to ensure racial equity and health equity and undo systemic racism, we must clearly articulate the ways in which populations already disproportionately impacted by poor maternal health outcomes in the U.S. will experience the most harm as a result of the Dobbs decision.”

“Access to abortion care is inextricably linked to maternal health. The United States is already failing to adequately support healthy births and healthy families. We have the highest rate of maternal deaths among industrialized countries. Poor maternal health outcomes disproportionately impact women and birthing people with low incomes, women and birthing people of color, and women and birthing people in rural communities. The Dobbs decision will exacerbate existing maternal health disparities and counteract the potential of recent investments made by the federal government and state governments to improve maternal health.” [continue reading]

Apply for AMCHP’s Leadership Lab!

AMCHP believes that achieving our vision of a skilled, flexible, and diverse workforce starts with investing in the leadership journeys of individuals serving in many different roles and settings. Leadership Lab is a unique opportunity for those affiliated or working with jurisdictional Title V programs (staff, consultants, volunteers) to accelerate their professional development in a way that is framed by the MCH Leadership Competencies and guided by adult learning principles.

Comprised of five unique cohorts that run concurrently from August 2022 through April 2023, Leadership Lab exposes participants to information and resources that are relevant for their current and future roles; encourages the development and continuous revision of individualized leadership plans; challenges participants through collaborative activities and thoughtful discussions; cultivates a peer learning and accountability network; and provides participants with ongoing support from a matched mentor and AMCHP staff.

The Leadership Lab cohorts are:

• New Director Leaders Cohort (NDLC) – for new jurisdictional MCH/CYSHCN Directors.
• Next Generation MCH Leaders Cohort (NextGen) – for mid-career MCH/CYSHCN professionals managing programs or domain-specific portfolios.
• Family Leaders Cohort (FLC) – for family members of a child or youth served by a Title V program and who have demonstrated some degree of community leadership.
• MCH Epi Peer-to-Peer Cohort (MCH Epi P2P) – for epidemiologists and data specialists working in or in partnership with a jurisdictional Title V program.
• Adolescent Health Leaders Cohort (AHLC) – for Adolescent Health Coordinators and other professionals seeking to build capacity to address adolescent health priorities.

Are you or someone on your staff looking for a great professional development opportunity? Check out the Leadership Lab page of our shiny, new website for more information – including a description of core program components and an application link. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 15 and decisions will be communicated to applicants by Friday, August 5.

New MCH Bridges Podcast Episode!

Our newest MCH Bridges episode is now live! Episode 6 – “The Kids Are Not Okay: Climate Change, Environmental Injustice, and What MCH & Youth Advocates Can Do.”

In this episode, we talk with Rhea Goswami, co-founder of the Environmental Justice Coalition, about why youth engagement is so important, especially when working to address climate change and climate injustices and how environmental health impacts MCH. We also chat with one of Rhea’s mentors, Dr. Megan Latshaw in the Department of Environmental Health & Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, about networking, the connection between environmental health and MCH, environmental justice, and what MCH professionals can do.

Share with your peers and listen to this and other episodes on www.mchbridges.org, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Overcast.

Why tune in to MCH Bridges?

MCH Bridges is designed to help our listeners create new connections to MCH leaders, organizations, and ideas. We aim to inspire and guide listeners towards actions that will improve the systems that impact MCH populations.

Who should listen to MCH Bridges?

MCH Bridges is designed for Title V MCH & CYSHCN leaders, state and jurisdictional health department staff, individuals with lived experience and their families, MCH faculty and students, public health professionals, and others wanting to learn more about supporting MCH populations and equitable systems of care.

We’d like to hear from you! Complete this short survey to share input and let us know who or what you’d like to hear about on future episodes. If you have any questions or suggestions about the podcast, please contact Maura Leahy (mleahy@amchp.org).

Recent AMCHP Announcements 

• The 2021 AMCHP Member Assessment is Now Available
• AMCHP Announces 2022 Board of Directors Elections Results
• Blog Post: To Improve Maternal Health, We Must Depoliticize Racial Equity

AMCHP Annual Conference

Sharing Your Why Testimonials

Thank you for joining us at the AMCHP 2022 Annual Conference and for participating in our Sharing Your Why plenary session, where WHY was front and center.

Check out our updated webpage to get inspired by our maternal and child health community through their stories! Access their testimonies to learn why they feel passionate about their work, what motivates them, why things need to change to create more equitable opportunities for the maternal and child health population, and where their efforts fit into that change.

Post-Conference Reminders

You still have access to ALL conference content!

Want to revisit your favorite session or engage with the content you might have missed live? For a full year, all registered participants will have access to all the on-demand content, live plenary sessions, workshops, and more! Visit the conference website, log in with your access code, and continue to be inspired by all the wonderful speakers and participants this year on your own time.

Save the Date for AMCHP 2023!

Are you feeling revitalized by the powerful content of this year’s conference? SAVE THE DATE for next year’s in-person conference that will take place May 7-9, 2023, in New Orleans, Louisiana. We are so excited to be able to offer an in-person experience after two years of wonderful, virtual conferences!

Interested in receiving all the details about the AMCHP 2023 Annual Conference? Subscribe to our email list at this link!

Annual Conference Approved for Continuing Education 

As of May 4, 2022, the AMCHP 2022 Annual Conference meets Accreditation and CDC’S Quality Training Standards. Please click this link for more information.

AMCHP Events & Webinars

Webinar – Making the Call for MCH: Exploring the Maternal Mental Health Hotline and the 988 Crisis Lifeline

Join us on August 17, from 3:00 – 4:00 PM EDT, for this national webinar exploring the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, the 988 Suicide Prevention Crisis Lifeline, and opportunities for public health agencies to partner to promote their success and support MCH populations’ mental health and wellbeing. Guest speakers include:

• John Draper, Executive Vice President, National Networks, Vibrant Emotional Health & Executive Director, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
• Dawn Levinson, Behavioral Health Lead, Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
• Richard McKeon, Chief, Suicide Prevention Branch, Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Register here.

E-Learning from AMCHP Staff!

Two AMCHP staff, Maura Leahy and Laura Powis, recently completed the CDC E-Learning Institute Fellowship. As a part of this six-month fellowship, Maura and Laura each created 20-minute quick learns using best practices in e-learning, adult learning theory, and instructional design, and these are available to you! You’ll just need a free CDC TRAIN account to access them.

Maura’s course, How to Plan an Accessible Virtual Event, can be accessed at this link. For questions, please email Maura at mleahy@amchp.org.

Laura’s course, Shifting Power in Practice: Strategies for Centering People with Lived Experience When Making Evidence-Based Decisions, can be accessed at this link. For questions, please email Laura at lpowis@amchp.org.

AMCHP Mental Health Corner

Mental health is an important component of well-being for MCH populations. To recognize its importance, we will use this space to highlight resources for MCH professionals to support their own mental health, as well as the mental health of those they serve. Read more about AMCHP’s organizational work on mental health and substance use here.

July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. This observance uplifts the mental and emotional health and well-being of BIPOC populations and the challenges they face in obtaining mental health support and resources. Black Maternal Mental Health Week, led by the Shades of Blue Project, also takes place in July. Black women are twice as likely to experience maternal mental health conditions but half as likely to receive treatment as white women. During July, AMCHP will share tweets highlighting resources and valuable information for Minority Mental Health Awareness and Black Maternal Mental Health Week.

Interested in receiving more information on what’s happening related to mental health/substance use and MCH? Sign-up for the PRISM Digest, our monthly mental health/substance use newsletter, by emailing jsimon@amchp.org and check out the #AMCHPMentalHealth hashtag on Twitter. Have questions or want to learn more? Contact the mental health team at mentalhealth@amchp.org.

New post alert! #ScreenToInterveneForAYAs Blog Features a Conversation with Advocates on Fostering Environments that are Supportive of LGBTQ+ Mental Health

AMCHP’s Youth Voice Amplified committee member Gabrielle Beck recently spoke with Damien Lopez and Jahmila Smith, staff at Garden State Equality. Their conversation focused on how MCH professionals can support the transformation of spaces like schools, health care offices, and communities to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ youth and their specific mental health needs. Read the post at this link!

Garden State Equality is a New Jersey-based organization that works to provide quality, innovative community programs, educate and train service providers, and pass pro-equality policies to protect and meet the needs of LGBTQ New Jerseyans.

If you would like to receive an e-mail notification when a new blog post is available for viewing, please sign up here.

AMCHP National Policy Calls

AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Halls

Thank you to those of you who joined us for our June AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Hall. Watch the full recording:

The next Town Hall will be on Thursday, August 11, from 2:00 – 3:00 PM EDT. We invite you to register for that and future Town Halls at this link.

Legislation & Policy

Explore our Maternal Health Bill Tracker for more information about pending federal legislation to improve maternal health.

Senate Committee Hosts Hearing on Reproductive Health in Response to Supreme Court Abortion Decision

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hosted a hearing on July 13 entitled, “Reproductive Care in a Post-Roe America: Barriers, Challenges, and Threats to Women’s Health.” The hearing was held in response to the recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health that overturned the rights to abortion guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. You can read the witnesses’ testimonies and watch the hearing on the HELP Committee website.

White House Issues Executive Order on Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services

On Friday, July 8, President Biden signed an Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and effectively ending the Constitutional right to access an abortion. The Executive Order directs the Administration to take a series of actions protecting access to reproductive health care services, including abortion and contraceptives; protecting the privacy of patients and their access to medically accurate information; supporting the safety of reproductive health care clinics; and establishing a Federal interagency reproductive health care task force. AMCHP continues to monitor the Administration’s response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and any impact it may have on Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant activities.

Read the full text of the Executive Order and learn more at reproductiverights.gov.

House Appropriations Committee Proposes $125M Increase to Title V MCH Block Grant in Fiscal Year 2023

On June 30, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (L-HHS) bill, including significant increases to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (MCH Block Grant) and other federal programs to improve maternal and child health. The bill proposes $872.7 million for the MCH Block Grant in FY23, which would be a $125 million increase compared to the final FY22 funding level of $747.7 million. As the FY23 appropriations process continues, AMCHP urges Congress to fund the MCH Block Grant at $1 billion in FY23, including a more robust increase for the state formula fund than is currently included. Learn more about the House Appropriations Committee bill in this legislative alert and about AMCHP’s FY23 appropriations efforts on our website.

Opportunities & Funding 

AMCHP Career Center: Connecting Talent with Opportunity 

AMCHP lists the top jobs available in our industry. Search and apply to open positions or post jobs on AMCHP Career Center! Search for Jobs | Post a Job. 

Career Opportunity: AMCHP Associate Director (or Director) of Policy and Government Affairs

AMCHP is seeking an Associate Director (or Director) of Policy and Government Affairs. This senior-level position is a member of AMCHP’s Public Policy & Government Affairs Team and contributes to the advancement of maternal and child health (MCH) in the U.S. by working on initiatives that support AMCHP’s legislative agenda. This individual maintains a commitment to dismantling structural racism and rebuilding the policy systems that serve our communities in ways that center on racial and other forms of equity. The position reports to the Chief Government Affairs officer, and it’s located in Washington, DC. AMCHP offers a 100% virtual work/telework environment.

To learn more and to apply, please visit this link.

States and Territories Eligible for Funding: Act Early Ambassador Program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) announced a funding opportunity for Act Early Ambassadors to work with CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” (LTSAE) program to improve early identification of developmental delays and disabilities, including autism, by:

• Promoting the adoption and sustained integration of family-engaged developmental monitoring using LTSAE milestone checklist resources in programs/systems that serve young children and their families (e.g. WIC, home visiting, child welfare, early care, and education, etc.);
• Serving as a state or territorial representative of CDC’s national LTSAE program; and
• Supporting the work of Act Early Teams and other state/territorial or national initiatives to improve early identification of developmental delay and disability.

States and Territories Eligible for Funding

This funding opportunity will support a new, two-year cohort of up to 60 Act Early Ambassadors. Individuals from all states and territories are eligible to apply. Two Act Early Ambassadors may be selected for states with a population greater than 10M (according to 2020 US Census Data). These states include California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Timeline

RFA Release: July 1, 2022

Application Deadline: July 29, 2022, at 5:00 PM EDT

Notice of Awards: No later than August 9, 2022

Act Early Ambassador Term: September 1, 2022-August 30, 2024

2022 Annual Training: September 13-14, 2022, in Atlanta, GA

Questions or More Information

AUCD Contact: Jordan Kerr, BSPH | jkerr@aucd.org

CDC/NCBDDD Contact: Karnesha Slaughter, MPH | KSlaughter2@cdc.gov

For more information, please visit the AUCD website.

Publications & Resources

WPSI 2022 Well-Woman Chart

The Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) announced the release of the 2022 Well-Woman Chart. The Recommendations for Well-Woman Care – A Well-Woman Chart is a comprehensive tool that summarizes preventive services recommendations for women from the WPSI, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and Bright Futures based on age, health status, and risk factors. The 2022 Well-Woman Chart includes WPSI’s newest recommendation, Preventing Obesity in Midlife Women, and recently released USPSTF recommendations such as Healthy Weight Gain During Pregnancy and Colorectal Cancer Screening. In addition, clinical practice considerations, risk assessment methods, and the age and frequency of delivery of services are described in the 2022 Clinical Summary Tables accompanying the chart. The Well-Woman Chart can be used by health care clinicians providing preventive well-woman care, including family physicians, internists, OB-GYNs, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse-midwives. Please contact WPSI staff at wpsi@acog.org if you have any questions.

CDC Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Toolkit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) recently released an Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) Toolkit, which provides information and resources for emergency preparedness and response personnel, families, and the public to ensure that infants and toddlers are fed safely when natural disasters strike, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and tornadoes.

This toolkit focuses on IYCF-E preparedness and response efforts ­­specific to the U.S. and its territories. It expands DNPAO’s current efforts to support breastfeeding and healthy and safe infant and toddler nutrition. You can learn more about DNPAO’s breastfeeding and infant and child nutrition work here.

You can follow the CDC’s DNPAO on Twitter and “like” on Facebook for more content like this. For questions, please email DNPAOPolicy@cdc.gov.

Maternal and Child Health Journal Supplement on Public Health Approaches to Perinatal Substance Use

The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) are pleased to announce a forthcoming supplement on “Public Health Approaches to Perinatal Substance Use,” to be published by the Maternal and Child Health Journal. This supplement, sponsored by AMCHP and ASTHO, will feature articles that address policies and programs dedicated to expanding access to mental health and substance use care during the perinatal period. Please read our Call for Papers to learn more.

MCH researchers, state and local public health professionals, healthcare providers, policymakers, advocates at community-based organizations, and other allied professionals are encouraged to submit manuscripts. In June and July, we are hosting a writing workshop led by Timothy Dye, Editor-in-Chief of the Maternal and Child Health Journal, to support authors. Register to attend our writing workshop here on July 22, from 1 – 3 PM EDT.

If you are interested in submitting to the supplement, reviewing manuscript submissions, or have general questions about the supplement, please email Amani Echols (aechols@amchp.org).

American Academy of Pediatrics: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), ∼3500 infants die of sleep-related infant deaths each year in the United States. AAP also reports that after a substantial decline in sleep-related deaths in the 1990s, the overall death rate attributable to sleep-related infant deaths has remained stagnant since 2000, and disparities persist.

AAP recommends a safe sleep environment to reduce the risk of all sleep-related deaths. This includes supine positioning; use of a firm, noninclined sleep surface; room sharing without bed sharing; and avoidance of soft bedding and overheating. Additional recommendations for SIDS risk reduction include human milk feeding; avoidance of exposure to nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and illicit drugs; routine immunization; and use of a pacifier.

On June 21, AAP presented new recommendations regarding noninclined sleep surfaces, short-term emergency sleep locations, use of cardboard boxes as a sleep location, bed sharing, substance use, home cardiorespiratory monitors, and tummy time. It also included additional information to assist parents, physicians, and nonphysician clinicians in assessing the risk of specific bed-sharing situations.

Read the full updated recommendations at this link.

Recent Publications & Resources

• New Blueprint for Change: National Framework for System of Services for CYSHCN

Commemorations

July 2022

Cord Blood Awareness Month
Group B Strep Awareness Month
Healthy Vision Month
Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness & Prevention Month
Sarcoma Awareness Month
UV Safety Month

Days to Note:
World Hepatitis Day; July 28