November 2, 2023

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November 2, 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 Annual Conference Newsletter to be the first to receive updates and information about the conference!

Deadline Approaching! Call for Proposals Closes November 3

The Call for Proposals for the 2024 AMCHP Annual Conference is open until Friday, November 3 at 11:59 pm PT! There is still time to submit a proposal for skills–building sessions, workshops, posters, and roundtables that support the theme, Partnering with Purpose.

AMCHP especially encourages those working in community organizations and tribal entities, family leaders, youth, 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. 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 webinar is also available to aid your proposal development and submission.

Ready to get started? Submit a proposal under one of 10 subject-focused tracks. AMCHP staff estimated it takes about 4-5 hours to pull all of the content pieces together, and 15-20 minutes to fill out the forms for the actual submission. Therefore, please plan ahead to share your work by Friday, November 3 at 11:59pm 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

Never miss our updates! Sign up for our newsletters, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Call for New AMCHP Association Committee Members is Now Open!

AMCHP is pleased to announce that our 2024 Call for New Association Committee Members is now open! You can now easily apply by filling out the new committee member application!

The AMCHP Association Committees assist our organization in carrying out our mission, goals, and strategic plan. Committees provide critical guidance to our board and staff and recommendations for policy analysis and development and are comprised of AMCHP members, board members, family representatives, and staff liaisons. They may also include representatives from federal agencies and involve partner organizations when appropriate.

Join one of our committees below. We offer seven options to choose from that align with your passion, work, and interests.

AMCHP Annual Conference
Governance
Family LEAD
Health Equity
Legislative & Health Care Policy
MCH Innovations
Workforce and Leadership Development

To learn more about our committees, please visit our website.

Why Become an AMCHP Association Committee Member?

Committees are an excellent opportunity to affect meaningful change nationally and have your voice heard on maternal and child health matters. Serving as a committee member also offers rich professional development opportunities and, potentially, provides a future pathway toward greater leadership roles at AMCHP.

How to Apply?

AMCHP requires all committee volunteers to be active members of our organization. If you are not an active member, you are welcome to join us – It’s very easy! Please visit our website to learn more about becoming a member of AMCHP.

To apply to be newly appointed to one of our committees, serving from January through December 2024, active members of our organization are encouraged to fill out our new committee member application by EOD Wednesday, December 6.

The call for new committee members will remain open throughout the year, and you may be contacted as committee openings arise.

If you have any questions about becoming a member of an AMCHP Association Committee, please contact us at info@amchp.org. For more information, please visit our website and stay up to date by following us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Share this information with your peers! Download our Call for New Committee Member informational flyer.

Happening Soon! Title V MCH Federal-State Partnership Meeting

Banner with text: Title V Maternal & Child Health Federal-State Partnership Meeting, November 5-8, 2023, Washington, D.C. Register at www.bit.ly/FY24_PM

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone 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.

Visit the event webpage to stay updated. The final version of the agenda will be posted on Friday, November 3.

AMCHP Announces New MCH Policy Essential Series

The MCH Policy Essential Series is a collection of free, asynchronous training modules that provide people working in MCH with the tools, knowledge, and capacity to effectively engage in policy development, implementation, evaluation, and advocacy. The series aims to ensure that policies affecting maternal and child health populations are effective, equitable, and evidence-based. The first two modules are available now:

Module 1: Exploring MCH Policy and the Policy Process

Module 2: Advancing Health Equity and Anti-Racism in MCH Policy

The MCH Policy Essential Series is a useful workforce development opportunity for any person or program wanting to enhance their ability to understand and influence policy – consider using these modules to onboard new MCH staff, build the capacity of existing staff, or enhance collaborative policy efforts with partners. Explore the series, and share with your peers!

AMCHP’s New Podcast, BirthWork, Features Communities Leading in Maternal Health

AMCHP launched our first episode of BirthWork, a podcast inspired by the community-based organization grantees engaged with the Safer Childbirth Cities Initiative. The grantees are driving community-led initiatives to address structural determinants of health and strengthen the comprehensive perinatal workforce in their cities. Everyone walking this planet is born from someone — yet we rarely celebrate the people and the work of bringing new life into this world. In the face of persistent inequities and threats leading to the Black maternal health crisis and other critical injustices in perinatal health, community-led solutions, policies, and movements are paving pathways toward better birth outcomes. In this podcast, we’ll dig into the work happening today by tremendous individuals to ensure generations of thriving and striving communities. You’ll hear directly from leaders, organizers, and birthworkers as they share what it takes to confront structural and systemic barriers to health and wellbeing and celebrate the transformation of birth for individuals, families, communities, states, and our nation. Together, we will reimagine what birth experiences can be.

In our first episode of BirthWork, your AMCHP hosts and two maternal health experts help to break down some of the responsibilities of Maternal Mortality Review Committees (also known as MMRCs). MMRCs are tasked with reviewing maternal deaths in their jurisdiction, determining “pregnancy-relatedness”, which is a key step of the MMRC process, and proposing recommendations to improve birth experiences and outcomes within their states and/or cities. Listen to this episode to learn more about how MMRCs provide insight and recommendations on how to reduce maternal mortality in the U.S. while helping to rewrite the narrative and transform conversations surrounding “BirthWork” across America.

Guest Speakers:

Dr. Aasta Mehta is an OB/GYN and the Medical Officer of Women’s Health at the City of Philadelphia, Department of Public Health. 
Teneele Bruce is a biologist, doula, and is serving as the Pathways Project Director at Baltimore Healthy Start.

Episode Hosts:

Shaquelle Ballou and Kristina Wint, both former Program Managers at AMCHP, are the co-hosts for this episode.

BirthWork episodes can be found on our website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon music.

Why tune in to BirthWork?

BirthWork celebrates the ongoing achievements of communities, professionals, practitioners, and families to create safer and more equitable birthing experiences. Our first season is featuring grantees from the Safer Childbirth Cities Initiative who are working towards improving maternal health outcomes by meeting the dynamic needs of their community. Through BirthWork, AMCHP’s Women and Infant Health Team aims to amplify stories of those working to support perinatal health and create space for those with lived experiences.

Who should listen to BirthWork?

BirthWork is tailored to those wanting to learn more about birth justice and efforts led by community-based organizations to create safer spaces for birthing people. 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 transform perinatal health through supporting MCH populations and equitable systems of care should tune in to the BirthWork podcast.

Recent AMCHP Announcements

AMCHP Information & Resources

AMCHP Guiding Principles & Values for Family Engagement & Partnership

AMCHP strives to be intentional, thoughtful, and hold ourselves accountable to authentic engagement and partnership. In this spirit, we’ve developed these guiding principles and values to bolster our commitment, and to honor the unique value families bring to our work. You can find this document on the Family Engagement Current Initiatives – AMCHP page of our website!

New Resource About the Roles & Responsibilities of AMCHP Family Delegates

Would you like more information about the roles and responsibilities of an AMCHP Family Delegate? Check out our new fact sheet under the State and Territorial Programs section of the Membership Types – AMCHP page on our website. The fact sheet can also be found under the Family Delegate tab on the Family Engagement Current Initiatives – AMCHP page of our website.

2023 Medicaid Renewal Process Update

As of October 26, according to Kaiser Family Foundation Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, over 9.5 million people have lost their Medicaid coverage due to the national Medicaid redetermination process, which is ongoing through March 2024. The volume of renewals – and the state capacity to manage them – presents a significant risk for coverage loss, particularly in MCH populations.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has called for an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensuring continuity of coverage and a fair redetermination process. The agency has developed a host of resources on the Medicaid/CHIP renewal process, including a communications toolkit, training presentations for advocates (What is Happening With Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Right Now?), and targeted outreach material (Reaching Children and Families in School-Based and Early Education and Care Settings). Thoughtful and strategic communication is critical in the continuing months.

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. We also invite you to visit 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. More content to come soon.

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.

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 Leads National Organization Letter Supporting Funding for HRSA’s Title V MCH Block Grant, including SPRANS 

AMCHP is concerned about the proposed reductions in funding for the Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS) portion of the Title V MCH Block Grant in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24)—a $35 million cut in the House of Representatives and a $10 million cut in the Senate. A loss of SPRANS funding could detrimentally impact MCH populations, providers, public health professionals, and trainees in a sweeping way. On October 6th, AMCHP led 55 national organizations and academic institutions in a letter to Congressional leadership supporting the restoration of and increased Title V SPRANS funding in FY24. Please email Amani Echols (aechols@amchp.org) to share how reduced SPRANS funding and a potential government shutdown due to the FY2024 appropriations process would affect your Title V programs and MCH populations. AMCHP will continue to uplift your stories when advocating for robust Title V funding.  [read more]

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.

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]

Title V MCH Internship Applications are Now Open!

The National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center (MCH WDC) is now accepting state/territorial Title V agency applications for the Title V MCH Internship Program until November 13.

At least six teams of MCH Trainees will participate in internships in Title V programs over the summer of 2024. The program starts on June 3, 2024 and will last 10 weeks.

Students are expected to work full-time. The 2024 program may be in-person or virtual, depending on the needs and requirements of the agency and the needs and availability of the student.

Why apply to host a team of students as part of the Title V MCH Internship Program?

Enhance your agency’s capacity to complete a project or task
Get help in moving a strategy forward, or in making progress on an activity that’s been on the ‘back burner’
Gain student support to design a survey, conduct key informant interviews, complete a literature review, analyze results of focus groups, or develop evidence for a strategic plan
Benefit from the leadership and professional development training provided by Internship staff to Title V MCH Interns
Learn more about your own supervisory style and practice mentoring

Eligibility

Title V agencies are eligible to submit an application. If you need help developing your project idea, let us know!
Selected agencies must have the capacity to mentor and support a team of two MCH student interns throughout the entire 10-week program.

Visit the MCH WDC webpage to learn more & apply by November 13.

MCH Faculty Development Fellowship Program at Diverse Institutions (Faculty Fellowship)

The National MCH Workforce Development Center is excited to announce a new initiative for early and mid-career public health faculty members from Diverse Institutions including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions.

The Faculty Fellowship will provide fellowship funding for up to 10 early and mid-career public health faculty members across the country. Fellowships will contribute to building capacity and developing a diverse MCH workforce that is able to build and sustain academic-practice partnerships and address MCH inequities in communities that are historically underserved.

The application period is open for Fellowships beginning in January 2024 or May 2024. Each selected Fellow will advance their work and scholarship in one or more areas of MCH including public health education, student mentorship, research, and/or practice partnership development and engagement. Each Fellow will develop an individual learning plan, receive individualized coaching and mentorship, and participate in peer-to-peer learning activities such as a Community of Practice and a Summer Faculty Fellowship Institute.

Visit the MCH Workforce Development Center’s webpage to learn more about Fellowship Activities, Deliverables, Funding, and Eligibility. Applications are due November 9.

You can also visit this webpage to learn more about becoming a Consultant with the Faculty Fellowship program. For questions, please email: facultyfellowships@unc.edu

Publications & Resources

New PH WINS Research Brief: Addressing Racism as a Public Health Crisis

As the providers of essential public health services, the state and local government public health workforce is uniquely positioned to take on the root causes of structural racism in communities nationwide. A new Research Brief analyzing data from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) provides the first exploration of government public health employees’ views on addressing racism as a public health crisis, how much they have been involved in such efforts, and the resources and supports they believe they need to take on racial justice work within public health agency contexts.

Key findings:

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of state and local government public health employees believe that addressing racism as a public health crisis should be part of their work within their agencies. However, only about 4 in 10 (39%) employees reported being highly engaged in such efforts.
A strong majority of public health agency executives (81%) believe that addressing racism should be part of their work.
Over half of the government public health workforce (58%) believes they lack adequate funding to address racism as a public health crisis. Nationally, employees reported needing more training, community engagement, and support from agency leadership to address racism in their work.

With equity at the center of the 10 Essential Public Health Services, the government’s public health workforce cannot genuinely promote and protect the health of all people unless it is working to eradicate the structural oppression that perpetuates health inequities. Learn more about what public health agencies at the federal, state, and local levels can do to continue this work.

AAP Infographic and Video Series: Supporting Youth and Young Adults with Spina Bifida in Health Care Transition

Effective care coordination is critical to a successful transition of care for youth and young adults with spina bifida. These illustrative guides (available in English and Spanish) serve to reinforce the value added to having a care coordination team to support youth and young adults with spina bifida as they transition from pediatric to adult-focused healthcare, while highlighting the unique needs of individuals with spina bifida. It also helps pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in supporting youth and young adults through the healthcare transition process. Additionally, these 6 educational videos highlight key timelines for health care transition (HCT) from pediatric to adult-focused health care, and strengthening collaboration and coordination between clinicians, specifically for youth and young adults with spina bifida. Building on other efforts to support the HCT process, these videos additionally aim to emphasize the needs of individuals with spina bifida and address support for cognitive and physical challenges which could impact self-management and quality of life. Visit the  American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Spina Bifida page to view and download these resources.

Strengthen & Enhance Epilepsy Knowledge (SEEK) Training

The National Coordinating Center for Epilepsy has free, ready-to-use epilepsy training modules! These trainings can serve as teaching tools for medical residents, school nurses, social workers, community health workers, public health professionals, and all other health professionals seeking to increase their knowledge and expertise regarding epilepsy care for children and youth with epilepsy. Each training includes a pre-recorded webinar with an accompanying case study and PowerPoint presentation. The SEEK training is flexible; webinars can be viewed individually or in groups as part of a Lunch & Learn and utilize the case studies to initiate discussion. Browse the Strengthen & Enhance Epilepsy Knowledge (SEEK) Training today! (Average length of each training webinar: 20-30 minutes) Note: The trainings are for learning purposes only and are not approved for continuing education credit.

Centering Black Mothers in California: Insights into Racism, Health, and Well-being for Black Women and Infants

More than 420,000 births occurred in California in 2022 and the general population is becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse with more than 27% foreign-born. Given the breadth and size of the birthing population, the data collected by the California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division (CDPH-MCAH) is highly valued particularly for various sub-populations of birthing people. In 2019, CDPH-MCAH published “California American Indian/Alaska Native Maternal and Infant Health Status Report” and in the summer of 2023, CDPH-MCAH released “Centering Black Mothers In California: Insights into Racism, Health, and Well-being for Black Women and Infants.” Both of these publications were developed, designed, and launched in close partnership with experts and people of lived experience from the communities reflected by this data.  While California has made some progress to reduce maternal mortality, much more needs to be done to eliminate disparities in perinatal outcomes and these reports and their analysis contribute to public health planning and implementation. Title V funding was used to support this effort, as well as funding by the California Health Care Foundation to the University of California San Francisco to support project participation of Black women leaders and community members throughout the state. 

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: