January/February 2013

By AMCHP Policy Staff (Brent Ewig, Carolyn McCoy, Carolyn Mullen & Karen VanLandeghem)

Budget Advocacy -- A Look Back
One, two, three DEFENSE. 2012 marked the year of the defensive lobbyist. AMCHP put our stake in the ground and defended the Title V MCH Services Block Grant, the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) and other public health programs against attacks from the left and from the right. We pounded the pavement alone and with organizations like the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the March of Dimes and the American Academy
of Pediatrics. We conducted 109 meetings asking Congress to preserve and sustain the Title V MCH Services Block Grant, avert sequestration through a balanced approach, and protect public health. We met members of the administration, including chief advisor to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, to discuss sequestration and its impact on state and local MCH. [more]

A Look Back at AMCHP Programs in 2011

By The AMCHP Program Team

2013 is off to a great start for AMCHP, with many new, exciting plans and changes underway! One of the notable changes is our team has grown and we are happy to welcome new staff members to help support AMCHP strategic goals and objectives this year. A preview of what you can expect from AMCHP and how we will continue to support state Title V programs is highlighted below. Look for resources and staff expertise to support maternal health initiatives; new and evolving workforce and leadership development efforts; tools to support adolescent health, CYSHCN, and developmental disabilities; enhanced efforts to support technical assistance and capacity building across data systems within MCH programs; and continued emphasis on best practices, as well as emerging issues and top priorities within MCH. [more]

2012: The Year of National Initiatives to Improve Birth Outcomes

By Tegan Callahan
Program Manager, Women's and Infant Health

Since the inception of Title V of the Social Security Act, state and territorial programs have been working hard to address the causes of poor birth outcomes throughout the United States. Recently, national momentum has been growing to coordinate efforts addressing stagnating declines in infant mortality and persistent disparities among populations within the United States. Throughout 2012, several national initiatives were launched or enhanced to promote effective models to reduce infant mortality and build on long-standing state-level efforts to improve birth outcomes across our country. We are at a truly exciting and unprecedented time for maternal and child health, where we have the opportunity to accelerate our work, draw from each of these efforts, expand our partnerships and grow our evidence base so that we can realize our shared goal of healthy birth outcomes for all women and infants in the United States. [more]