AMCHP is committed to supporting our members to address mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD) among MCH populations at the state level and to advocating at the national level. Learn more about why this is a priority area for AMCHP and our members and how we are committed to addressing this through our strategic plan and legislative agenda.
Check out the Mental Health Corner in AMCHP’s Member Briefs to stay up-to-date on mental health events and happenings.
Current Initiatives
- Perinatal Substance Use Disorder Implementation & Policy Hub
- Adolescent and Young Adult Behavioral Health CoIIN
- PRISM (Promoting Innovation in State MCH Policymaking)
- Advancing State and Urban MCH - Goal 2: Current and Emerging Public Health Issues and Threats
- The AMCHP Mental Health Team
The Perinatal Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Implementation & Policy Hub is a two-year initiative aimed at improving outcomes for families affected by perinatal substance use disorder (SUD).The initiative will connect more families to high quality, non-stigmatizing perinatal SUD resources and supports by replicating and amplifying effective perinatal SUD practices and strengthening the capacity of the perinatal SUD field to advance policy and engage in cross-sector collaboration.
Our strategy involves three key activities:
- Increase the number of effective perinatal SUD practices, policies, and tools in the MCH Innovations Database and lead national trainings featuring these and other perinatal Sud best practices;
- Provide in-depth technical assistance and implementation stipends to six organizations via two cohorts of 9-month Replication Projects to replicate these practices; and
- Convene national leaders across the perinatal SUD system to develop a Perinatal SUD Collaboration and Policy Action Plan, which will outline steps to strengthen perinatal SUD systems nationwide.
Project Resources:
- Training Webinars:
- Understanding the Illinois Family Recovery Plans Implementation Task Force Act: Opportunities for Strengthening Collaboration and Policy Capacity (May 6, 2025)
- This training explores the Illinois Family Recovery Plans Implementation Task Force Act, an innovative policy establishing a coordinated, public health, and service-integrated approach to address the substance use treatment needs of infants born with prenatal substance exposure and their caregivers.
- Understanding the Illinois Family Recovery Plans Implementation Task Force Act: Opportunities for Strengthening Collaboration and Policy Capacity (May 6, 2025)
- MCH Innovations Database: Perinatal Substance Use Practices & Policies Summary Document
- Click here to see the above policies and practices in the MCH Innovations Database
- Perinatal SUD Collaboration and Policy Action Plan: COMING SUMMER 2026
Perinatal Substance Use Disorder Replication Projects:
- Utilizing Innovation Hub’s existing Replication Project structure, AMCHP is currently supporting a 9-month cohort of 3 organizations to replicate practices and policies that specifically address perinatal substance use disorder (SUD). AMCHP will facilitate a second cohort of perinatal SUD-specific Replication Projects from March-November 2026.
- Selected organizations receive a $10,000 implementation stipend and in-depth technical assistance through a coach from the original practice organization to provide implementation support and guidance, and a coach from AMCHP to provide customized technical assistance and connect teams to subject matter experts. Awarded organizations also receive implementation science training and peer sharing opportunities to learn from other awardees in the cohort.
- Learn more about our current Perinatal SUD Replication Project grantees and their selected practices below:
Spring 2025-Winter 2026 Practices Being Replicated |
Spring 2025-Winter 2026 PSUD Replication Project Grantees |
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Led by the KidSafe Collaborative, the CHARM Team is a multi-agency collaboration that supports pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder (OUD) and their infants by coordinating care across medical, behavioral health, child welfare, and social services. CHARM improves maternal and infant outcomes through comprehensive, non-punitive, and family-centered support grounded in harm reduction, care access, and overall family well-being. |
Essentially Empowered, Inc. (EEI) provides support and advocacy to women and youth that have experienced trauma. EEI provides doula services, perinatal & post-partum support as well as advocacy for teens. They also offer a variety of educational opportunities with a trauma-informed approach for doulas and birth workers. |
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The IMPACT BH program funds local organizations to enhance perinatal navigation services, improves care for perinatal mental health and substance use through provider training, promotes coordination among care providers, and enhances local perinatal behavioral health solutions. Run by the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative, it strengthens networks, ensuring pregnant and postpartum women have access to the care and resources they need for better health outcomes. |
Latched Support is a nonprofit organization that empowers growing families with life-saving pregnancy and parenting education through resources and advocacy so that children may receive a healthy start in life. Latched Support works through empowering parents to redefine what’s possible for their families while strengthening tomorrow’s community. |
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Jenna’s Project, developed by UNC Horizons, provides care coordination and treatment to pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder (OUD) transitioning from incarceration. The program has demonstrated success in preventing fatal overdoses and reincarceration by offering services like medication for OUD, housing support, and assistance with Child Protective Services cases, with no reported fatalities or overdoses at 6 months post-release. |
The ETSU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology prides itself on equipping medical students and resident physicians to provide high quality, comprehensive care for their patients. In addition to the care provided by their attending physicians, resident physicians and nurse practitioners, they also enjoy input from case managers and experts in nutrition and lactation. Their Medication Assisted Therapy Program is a trailblazing initiative that provides prenatal care, medication assisted therapy, case management and psychological support all in one setting. |
Opportunities to Leverage Opioid Settlement Funding for State Maternal and Child Health Priorities
This issue brief provides an overview of the opioid settlements, the second largest settlement in American history. The brief features case studies from four state public health organizations that demonstrate how settlement funds can be leveraged to support families impacted by substance use. MCH professionals should consider the recommendations presented in the brief to influence decision-making and ensure funding benefits MCH priorities. Read More
Unveiling of the Perinatal Substance Use Special Issue in the Maternal and Child Health Journal
Almost one in four pregnancy-related deaths is attributed to mental health conditions, including substance use disorder (SUD), making them the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths. This special issue of the Maternal and Child Health Journal builds on the evidence base, with 21 open articles that feature the latest research, program, and policy initiatives in perinatal SUD. The special issue is sponsored by the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, with funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau within the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. We invite you to read the special issue (https://bit.ly/MCHJPerinatalSUD) and promote the special issue using AMCHP's social media toolkit (https://bit.ly/MCHJSocialMediaToolkit). Read More
Advancing Perinatal Substance Use Policy with People with Lived Experience – Webinar September 2023
AMCHP and AAP Virtual Learning Café on Pediatric Mental Health: Session 1 Recording
AMCHP and AAP are hosting a virtual learning café series to increase awareness of community-based mental health supports that are available to children/youth and families. Each learning café will include a short didactic presentation, followed by peer-to-peer discussion and questions. Presenters will include staff from MCH Title V programs who have ongoing mental health programs that involve Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) programs and/or pediatric primary care professionals. This recording is of the first virtual learning café that took place on September 7th, 2023. The session featured the Virginia Department of Health. Access resources related to the PMHCA Virtual Café Padlet: https://padlet.com/tkeane8/pmhca_virtual_cafe Read More
Adolescent & Young Adult Behavioral Health Collaboration Guide
This document was designed to help MCH programs identify potential collaborators active in AYA health in your state or region. As you consider partnering with other organizations, it is important to consider their primary interests and the potential contributions they could make to population mental health improvement efforts. This list is a starting point for collaboration; every region is different and there may relevant partners not on this list. The Collaboration Worksheet at the end of this document can help guide brainstorming of potential partners and how their current initiatives or priorities will benefit from a collaboration with your organization. Read More
