October 5, 2023

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October 5, 2023

AMCHP Annual Conference

Have you saved the date for the 2 024 Annual Conference? Mark your calendars to join us April 13-16, 2024, at the Oakland Marriott City Center, in Oakland, California! We will continue to offer content in-person and virtually through our conference platform with the theme Partnering with Purpose. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to receive updates and information about the conference!

Call for Proposals is Now Open!

The Call for Proposals for the 2024 AMCHP Annual Conference is now open! AMCHP is seeking proposals for skills–building sessions, workshops, posters, and roundtables that support the theme, Partnering with Purpose.

Our theme focuses on how people who work in MCH have the power to be intentional about who we partner with and how we can engage with partners to make a positive impact on children and families. Partnering with purpose opens up a space for us to clarify our intentions and combine our resources, ideas, and skills for greater impact in our communities. The conference theme invites us to ask important questions about power – How do good partnerships share and build power? How are our partnerships amplifying the voices of the people we serve?

AMCHP encourages those working in community organizations and tribal entities, family leaders, students, and early career professionals to share their completed (or in progress) work. Given this year’s theme, it is especially important that AMCHP recognizes that the work of Title V and our members is enhanced immeasurably by working in partnership with community organizations, tribal governments, and family leaders. A key piece of this partnership is listening to and learning from people with lived experience about effective initiatives in their communities and collaborating on ways to further support and sustain that work at the state level. It is also important that we hold space for the voices and ideas of those exploring or preparing to explore career pathways in our diverse field. [read more]

Inspired by our theme and want to know more? Please review our Call for Proposals Webinar slides that explain the submission process. A recording of the related webinar will be created and shared as a resource to aid your proposal development and submission.

Ready to get started? Submit a proposal under one of 10 subject-focused tracks by Friday, November 3 at 11:59 pm PT. Submitters with completed proposals by this deadline will be notified of their session status by the end of December.

Revisit AMCHP 2023 Annual Conference

For one year, registered participants will have access to all the on-demand content, live plenary sessions, workshops, and more! Visit the conference platform, log in with your access key, and continue to be inspired by all the outstanding speakers and participants this year on your own time.

AMCHP Announcements

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Join AMCHP in Observing Children’s Environmental Health Day and National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

In October, AMCHP joins maternal and child health (MCH) organizations in observing Children’s Environmental Health (CEH) Day, celebrated on October 12, and National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (NLPPW), celebrated from October 22 to 28.

To raise awareness of these important observances, we’ve partnered with Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN) to collectively, along with other MCH organizations, increase the visibility of children’s environmental health issues while empowering individuals and organizations to take action on behalf of children nationwide.

Additionally, this month, we join the collaborative effort between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in sharing information and resources about NLPPW to raise awareness of lead poisoning prevention and encourage preventive actions to reduce the likelihood of childhood lead exposure.

We invite you to join us in these efforts by visiting our blog post to access information and resources developed by AMCHP, CEHN, CDC, EPA, and HUD, and encourage you to share them among your networks!

Final Countdown to Register for Our Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Federal-State Partnership Meeting

We are counting down to the Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Federal-State Partnership Meeting! The event will be held at the historic Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington, DC from Sunday, November 5 – Wednesday, November 8, 2023. Optional pre-meeting sessions will begin the afternoon of November 5, with the required meeting beginning on November 6.

Time is running out to secure your spot at the meeting! Registration and Housing close on Friday, October 13. Use the links below to register and book your room:

Registration Information

Registration is now open and will close Friday, October 13. There is no registration fee; however, advanced registration is required. 

Hotel Information

Rooms at the Mayflower Hotel can be booked through our event room block webpage.  

Rooms are $289 per night, plus taxes. Reservations must be held with a credit card or will require a one-night deposit.  Cancellations made at least 72 hours before check-in are without penalty. The room block is open until Friday, October 13 at 5pm ET or until full. After that, attendees must pay the regular room rate. 

The Mayflower is centrally located and easy to reach via public transportation or taxi/car share.  The closest airports are Washington Reagan (DCA) and Washington Dulles (IAD).  Train service via Union Station is also quite close to the hotel. Please note that parking in downtown Washington, DC is extremely limited and expensive; attendees are discouraged from driving to the hotel.

AMCHP Announces Updated Roadmap for Early Childhood Collaboration Resource

AMCHP is excited to share our recently revamped Roadmap for Collaboration among Title V, Home Visiting, and Early Childhood Systems Programs.

This interactive, accessible web-based collection of resources is centered around AMCHP’s framework for collaboration among:

Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services Block Grant;
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV); and
Early Childhood Systems (ECS) programs.

The full updated resource includes the following sections:

Analysis and Recommendations: Discover the results of a qualitative analysis of the facilitators and barriers to early childhood collaboration and ten recommendations for programs to improve collaboration.
Refined Collaboration Framework: Explore this thoroughly pilot-tested framework with practical and replicable strategies on how to better work together to create meaningful change and accomplish shared goals. State-level early childhood leaders can also adapt it to increase collaboration in leveraging shared measures.
Apply Real-world Case Studies: Learn from the successes of Guam, Indiana, Louisiana, and Mississippi as they demonstrate how their Title V, MIECHV, and ECS programs came together to implement the framework.
Infographic on Provider Outreach: As an added bonus, the newly relaunched Roadmap resource features an infographic created in collaboration with Georgetown University School of Medicine’s Population Health Scholar Program. This infographic presents the results of an analysis of AMCHP survey data on what factors are associated with a coordinated intake and referral system having outreach to different types of healthcare providers.

The re-launch of this resource focused on increasing digital accessibility, emphasizing the long-term impacts of the case studies, and creating stand-alone sections to easily use and share among your networks. Visit our webpage to access this resource and learn more about how you can use this resource to benefit your program.

For additional questions or if you are interested in receiving technical assistance related to this roadmap, please contact Maura Leahy (mleahy@amchp.org).

AMCHP Staff and Members Recognized by the de Beaumont Foundation as a Leader in Public Health

AMCHP is delighted to share that our very own staff member Mallory Cyr has been recognized as one of the 40 Under 40 in Public Health! The de Beaumont Foundation announced its 2023 honorees this morning after reviewing nominations from hundreds of leaders in public health. The class was selected by a distinguished panel of public health professionals for their leadership and impact on their community’s health.

“We are so proud of Mallory for this well-deserved recognition of her work and dedication to not only our organization, but public health as a whole,” said Terrance E. Moore, Chief Executive Officer of AMCHP. “Mallory truly exemplifies the values of equity and inclusion we aim to uphold as leaders in maternal and child health.” [read the full news release]

In addition to Mallory, AMCHP also wants to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our members, Heather Pangelinan (Director of Public Health Services for the Northern Mariana Islands), Dr. Shelly Choo (Director of the Bureau of MCH at the Maryland Department of Health), and Shamaree Cromartie Jones (Blood Disorders Program Coordinator at the Virginia Department of Health) who are also a part of the 40 Under 40 in Public Health Class of 2023 honorees. It is a privilege for our organization to engage with and learn from these dedicated leaders in MCH.

Voices of AMCHP

Rachel Hutson, MSN, RN, CPNP – Secretary (2022-2024)

As part of our Voices of AMCHP series, designed to highlight our dedicated Board members and their work, we invited Rachel to share some insights on her background, journey serving on AMCHP’s Board of Directors, and her advice for established MCH professionals to empower young leaders.

What motivated you to join AMCHP’s Board of Directors?

I was motivated to run for the Region VIII Director position in 2018 because, as Colorado’s Title V Director, I wanted to learn more about what was happening in MCH programs in states across the country. I also wanted to more deeply understand and inform MCH federal policy and practices based on my (and my Region VIII colleagues’) experiences implementing a state MCH program.

How has your previous position as a Regional Director of AMCHP’s Board of Directors prepared you for your current role as Secretary?

It was helpful to first serve as a Regional Director to get grounded in the general roles and responsibilities of serving on the AMCHP Board and have a better sense of the type and scope of the discussions and decisions that are made by the Board. Being on the Board also broadened my understanding of AMCHP’s infrastructure, budget, and operations and the Board functions that support the organization. That experience has helped me know how to adequately capture and share the discussions through the minutes that summarize both the Board and Executive Committee meetings.

Read the full interview.

AMCHP Events & Webinars

Webinar Series: Pathways to Sustainability – Featuring Safer Childbirth Cities Grantees

Community-rooted organizations have substantial evidence that their programs and services are effective at protecting positive birth outcomes for the Black and Brown families they serve and, in many cases, reduce or eliminate racial disparities. Their solutions should be a priority in any public health agenda as communities are experts on their own lives and challenges. So, what is in the way of these solutions being implemented in their respective states and across the country? How can we sustain community-rooted solutions to MCH challenges?

AMCHP is delighted to invite you to our Pathways to Sustainability webinar series, or “Pathways.” A multi-year investment, organized by Merck for Mothers with a co-funding circle of philanthropic partners, supported twenty city-based, community-led and community-centered organizations to implement solutions to address the racial inequities in maternal health this country is facing. These organizations are building the evidence base for their approaches and together, are demonstrating how to turn the tide on maternal health. But shifting tides is a monumental effort that requires dedication from people in power.

Hear from the Safer Childbirth Cities (SCC) leaders and program managers themselves about what community-rooted and community-based organizations need to stoke this momentum and turn their successes into our collective way forward. Let’s consider what it means to organize together and behind them.

Register for the whole webinar series that will take place on Tuesdays in October from 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET. See below for more details on the first session:

Tuesday, October 10: Intro to AMCHP’s SCC Grant Program & Investing in the Longevity of the Doula Workforce

Registration Link

AMCHP’s Giannina Ong and Salomé Araya will introduce the Safer Childbirth Cities Sustainability Grant Program, which provides targeted, goal-based funding to overcome sustainability obstacles faced by grantees (individually, in groups, or collectively). Multiple Safer Childbirth Cities grantees expressed that extensive requirements to apply for and receive grants from federal or private sources have been barriers to successfully attaining financial support, especially for the community-based programs that have less capacity and staff. In administering this grant program, AMCHP created an equitable contracting and financial reporting process that minimizes unnecessary burden on the grantees while supporting and actively assisting community-based organizations in paving a pathway to sustainability. Each grantee received between $30,000 – $50,000 to overcome a barrier or implement a strategy that would have lasting effects on the sustainability of their efforts.

The first presentation will feature Tulsa Birth Equity Initiative’s (TBEI) Shamika Antwine-Boone, Program Project Manager, and Martyne Farris, Curriculum and Training Manager. TBEI is a community-based organization with a mission to help families in Tulsa to have healthy births with dignity and to reduce maternal health disparities through free community-based doula (CBD) support and training. Their CBDs are non-medical professionals who assist Black, Native, teen, and justice-involved individuals with emotional, physical, and informational support through pregnancy, labor and delivery, and early parenting. The TBEI team will discuss what it means to sustain and support community-based doulas in their work and their professional development and dive into the continuing education program they have developed.

Developing Relationships and Exploring Foundational Skills: The Healthy Beginnings Experience

Join AMCHP and colleagues and state health agencies on October 20 from 1-2 pm ET in our public release of learning materials and tools from the Healthy Beginnings with Title V: Advancing Anti-Racism in Preterm Birth Prevention Learning and Practice Cohort. We will provide a brief overview of the initiative, and tour foundational resources that six teams of health agency staff and community-based organizations explored together during the 18-month cohort as they identified and addressed sources of racism in policy, data, and funding structures at the state level and in every day MCH practice that sustain inequities in perinatal health. Speakers will include AMCHP staff members, Steering Committee member Dr. Janelle Palacios, and representatives from the MCH programs in Louisiana and Virginia.

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe the Healthy Beginnings Learning & Practice Cohort and how sustainable and equitable relationships between state MCH programs and community-based organizations (CBOs) were fostered.
Identify learning topics related to advancing anti-racism in policy, data, and funding structures in public health institutions that sustain inequities in perinatal health.
Find resources on foundational skills to use in your own agency, such as understanding power dynamics, protecting community-rooted organization intellectual property in partnerships, or advancing anti-racism across the data life cycle.

AMCHP Information & Resources

2023 Medicaid Renewal Process Update

The Medicaid eligibility renewal process is off to a troubled start. According to Kaiser Family Foundation Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, as of September 15, five months into the redetermination process, over 7.7 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees nationwide have lost their coverage, including children.

Across all states with available data, nearly 74% of people were disenrolled for procedural reasons. Procedural terminations can result from outdated contact information, confusing communication from the state Medicaid agency, or incomplete renewal paperwork.

As AMCHP continues to monitor this issue, we encourage you to visit AMCHP’s Resource Library and filter by “Promoting Coverage for MCH” to find more information, facts sheets, toolkits, webinar recordings, and more. Within our resource library, we especially invite you to view and share:

Our latest blog post that covers the landscape of the Medicaid unwinding process, including the alarming national disenrollment trends, and recommends actions for state MCH/Title V programs.
AMCHP’s new consumer brochure for families that you work with to help them understand their options if they have lost Medicaid/CHIP coverage.

Be sure to also follow AMCHP on social media as we will continue to post timely information, resources, and events on this topic. If you have any questions or want to connect with an AMCHP team member on this topic, please contact Stacy Collins at scollins@amchp.org.

AMCHP Mental Health Corner

Mental health is an important component of well-being for maternal, child, and adolescent health (MCAH) populations. Read more about our Commitment to Workplace Well-Being as well as AMCHP’s organizational work on mental health and substance use.

Interested in receiving more information on what’s happening related to mental health/substance use and MCAH? 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.

Legislation & Policy

Explore our revamped Maternal & Child Health Bill Tracker for more information about pending federal legislation to improve maternal health. Also, download AMCHP’s 2023 Federal Policy Agenda outlining where we intend to focus our advocacy work.

AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Halls

Thank you to those of you who joined us for AMCHP Policy and Partnerships Town Halls. You can find the full recordings of past Town Halls on our Government Affairs webpage. Town Halls occur on the second Thursday of every month from 2-3 PM ET. We invite you to register for all future Town Halls at this link.

Opportunities & Funding

AMCHP Career Center: Connecting Talent with Opportunity

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

AMCHP Career Opportunities

Be part of our team! AMCHP is seeking individuals for the role listed below. AMCHP offers a 100% virtual work/telework environment for all positions.

Birth Justice Funding Program Manager: This position supports AMCHP’s capacity to sustain transformational partnerships with community-rooted organizations, programs, and thought leaders to advance equity in reproductive and perinatal health. This is a term-limited position that will end December 31, 2024, in alignment with the conclusion of the Safer Childbirth Cities Community of Practice and Sustainability Grant Programs and reports to the Associate Director, Women’s and Infant Health. [learn more and apply]
Chief Government Affairs Officer: This position is accountable for the development and implementation of AMCHP’s public policy and government affairs strategies and 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 racial and other forms of equity. The position reports to the CEO. [learn more and apply]

Publications & Resources

New Systems-Building Website From the ECDHS: Evidence to Impact Center

The Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems (ECDHS): Evidence to Impact Center has launched its new website! The website includes resources, events, and more to support early childhood professionals, providers, and leaders in their systems-building work to best meet the needs of young children and their families. Explore the site and sign up to receive updates from the Center.

New 2022 NSCH NOM and NPM Data Available!

We are excited to announce that new data from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) is now available on the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC) website as of October 2. With this new data, you can learn how your state is doing on 19 National Outcome and National Performance Measures (NOM and NPM) by subgroups such as race/ethnicity, poverty level, medical home, insurance type, adverse childhood experiences, and more.

The NSCH is a national survey, funded and directed by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA MCHB), that provides rich data on multiple, intersecting aspects of children’s health and well-being – including physical and mental health, access to and quality of health care, and the child’s family, neighborhood, school, and social context. Request NSCH datasets in SAS, Stata, and SPSS formats with accompanying codebooks on the DRC website. The DRC is brought to you by the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI). For more information, take a short video tour or contact the CAHMI-DRC team through the Ask Us a Question page or email info@cahmi.org.

New Fact Sheets for Women with Sickle Cell Disease

In partnership with the Foundation for Women & Girls with Blood Disorders, the Sickle Cell Reproductive Health Education Directive (SC RED), and the American Society of Hematology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed new fact sheets on preconception care, prenatal care, and postpartum care for women living with Sickle cell disease (SCD). Women with SCD are at greater risk for developing complications during pregnancy than women without SCD. For some women with SCD, pregnancy can make their disease more severe, and treatments may need to be changed to help manage complications. This makes preconception, prenatal, and postpartum care especially important to help women with SCD stay healthy throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period.

View and share each fact sheet on what steps women with SCD can take to stay healthy throughout pregnancy:

ASTHO’s Policies for Inclusive Emergency Preparedness Planning

As natural disasters and other public health emergencies continue to impact maternal and child health populations, response planning should continue to center equity and inclusiveness. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) recently released the Policies for Inclusive Emergency Preparedness Planning resource that highlights how states and territories can better plan to support their disabled populations. If you’re interested in specific steps and strategies to take to support your MCH populations before, during, and after emergencies, check out AMCHP’s own Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Checklist for Maternal and Infant Health.