April 18, 2019

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New From AMCHP

AMCHP Unveils New Resources to Provide Recommendations for Health Professionals

AMCHP is excited to announce the release of three products developed in partnership with the March of Dimes through funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• An issue brief highlights some of the lessons learned during the national response to the Zika virus and strategies that can be applied to future public health threats in the maternal and child health (MCH) field. 
• A summary document, produced after an April 2019 thought leaders convening, highlights recommended long-term care and services for children affected by Zika, including the long-term needs for individuals, families, and systems of care, as well as opportunities for improvement in these systems of care to be able to meet those needs. 
• A fact sheet was created to detail action steps for how Title V programs can and should be engaged in the public health emergency response for MCH populations. 

Learn the Signs. Act Early. AMCHP’s State Systems Grant: Eight Years in Review

The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) is pleased to share a new interactive resource called “Learn the Signs. Act Early. AMCHP’s State Systems Grant: Eight Years in Review.” This resource explores strategies for improving state capacity and strengthening state and community systems for early identification and coordination of services for children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities (ASD/DD) as part of the Learn the Signs. Act Early. (LTSAE) state systems grants. It can be used not only to educate public health professionals, partners, and stakeholders on different implementation strategies to impact services and systems of care for children with ASD/DD and their families, but also to inform themselves and others of challenges faced and lessons learned that they may be able to apply in their work.

You can access the interactive resource here as well as find other information related to AMCHP’s LTSAE profile of work. For more information or if you have any questions, you may also contact Paige Bussanich at pbussanich@amchp.org.

Your Voice: Call for Volunteers for AMCHP Committees

AMCHP is seeking volunteers for all of its committees, including Governance, Annual Conference Planning, Best Practices, Health Equity, Family and Youth Leadership, Legislative and Healthcare Financing, and Workforce and Leadership Development.

Won't you please think about contributing your time and expertise to your professional organization? This is a terrific way to enhance the benefits of your membership in AMCHP and your career, while also contributing to the success of the organization. Please complete this brief survey to let us know of your interest.

Board Corner

2019 Board Nominations

AMCHP is seeking nominations from Region V to fill a vacancy on its Board of Directors. This is considered a special election of the board, and only current, active delegates from Region V are eligible for this position. This is an interim regional director position with a term of one year effective immediately and concluding with the 2020 AMCHP Annual Conference. Because this is an interim appointment, successful candidates will be eligible to run for re-election for up to two additional terms.

This process will remain open through Friday, June 28. The AMCHP Governance Committee will subsequently conduct telephone interviews with candidates on a rolling basis upon receipt of the full nomination package through early July. The AMCHP Board of Directors will vote on the interim appointment by late July.

See the regional director position description. A candidate questionnaire must be submitted in order to be considered.

Legislation and Policy

Implementation of Title X Final Rule on Hold Again

On July 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated a June 20 ruling regarding the Title X Family Planning Program Final Rule (Title X Final Rule). The June 20 ruling, also in the Ninth Circuit, lifted the nationwide preliminary injunctions that had prevented the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from implementing the Title X Final Rule. The July 3 ruling means that the nationwide preliminary injunctions that prevented the Title X Final Rule from taking effect are back in place while several lawsuits proceed in the courts. The Title X Final Rule states that clinics that provide abortions will not receive Title X funding unless there is a physical separation of abortion services and health/family planning services. It also prohibits Title X providers from referring patients to abortion services.

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Perinatal Health Care Quality Bill

On June 25, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act (S. 1960) in the U.S. Senate. This bipartisan bill would:

direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to work with relevant stakeholders to identify and publish a core set of maternal and infant health quality measures for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP);
direct the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality to develop and use a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Maternity survey to measure the care experiences of pregnant women and newborns; and
authorize funding to establish or expand state and regional perinatal quality collaboratives.

The bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 1551 by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) in March 2019.

HHS Proposes Changes to Regulations for Non-Discrimination in Health Care

On June 14, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a proposed rule to make changes to the regulations implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Section 1557 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in health programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The proposed changes would narrow the scope of protections with particular impacts related to gender identity, transgender individuals, abortion, and translation services for individuals with limited English proficiency, among others. A detailed analysis of the proposed changes is available from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Instructions for submitting comments on the proposed rule are available on the website of the Federal Register; comments are due by Aug. 13.

Get Involved

Tell Us: How Well Are We Doing in Serving Young Adults in Title V Programs

The Adolescent & Young Adult Health National Resource Center (AYAH-NRC) is looking for your ideas about how to partner with you to refine/create programs, initiatives and policies best designed to meet the needs of our young adults.

According to the 2015 report, Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults, "Young adults are at a surprisingly elevated risk of death and disease in a variety of ways compared with adolescents and older adults." In addition, most markers of adolescent health worsen in young adulthood.

This can be challenging for Title V maternal and child health (MCH) programs, because young adults (age 18 to 24) can be hard to understand and difficult to reach. Which raises the question: How well are we doing?

To learn more, the AYAH-NRC invites you to complete this five-minute survey about your opinions and experiences supporting young adults in your Title V MCH program. Your ideas will help the AYAH-NRC (funded by the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau) identify ways to best partner with you to refine/create programs, initiatives and policies best designed to meet the needs of our young adults. For questions, contact Kristin Teipel at teipe001@umn.edu.

Webinars

Nothing About Us Without Us: Authentic Youth Engagement in Public Health

American Public Health Association

July 16,12-1 p.m. ET

This webinar will identify best practices and feature examples for planning for and ensuring authentic youth engagement in public health programs and practices for adolescents.

Knitting a Lactation Safety Net: Marshaling Community Resources

National association of County and City Health Officials

July 31, 2 p.m. ET

Final module of a four-part series explores the richness and diversity of community-to-community linkages to advance breastfeeding continuity of care.

Innovation Station

Innovation Station Update: July

This July, we are bringing awareness to the unique issues faced by children and youth with special health care needs.

Read more about AMCHP's ongoing work to optimize health for children and youth with special health care needs here and check out relevant Innovation Station practices by clicking this link.

Publications & Resources

Family & Community Engagement

An Interprofessional Resource to Effectively Engage Patients and Families in Achieving Optimal Child Health Outcomes, 2nd Edition

The National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Medical Home (NRC PFCMH) and the National Center for Care Coordination Technical Assistance launched the Pediatric Care Coordination Curriculum, 2^nd Edition. Grounded in American Academy of Pediatrics policy, the curriculum is designed to build capacity among diverse stakeholders through:

Effective implementation of key components of care coordination
Collaborative communication within inter-professional care teams
Investment in technology solutions

The curriculum provides tools to measure care coordination activities and support continuous quality improvement efforts. For more information visit the NRC PFCMH Web site or contact medical_home@aap.org.

Women and Infant Health

American Indian Maternal Childhood Care in California Update on Current Status of Maternal & Infant Health

The Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division of the California Department of Public Health released the California American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) Maternal and Infant Health Status Report. The report is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive range of measures to describe the health and well-being of AIAN mothers and babies.

Child & Adolescent Health

Adolescent Connectedness and Adult Health Outcomes

A new study published in Pediatrics finds that youth who feel connected at home and at school were less likely to experience health risk behaviors related to mental health, violence, sexual health, and substance use in adulthood. This suggests that increasing school and family connectedness during adolescence through school, family, and community-based approaches can potentially have a powerful impact on health outcomes later in life.

On Your Behalf

2019 Data Integration Toolkit In-Person Training: Using AMCHP's Title V Early Childhood Data Integration Toolkit

8 participants from 3 states (Kansas, Louisiana, and Utah) participated in the 2019 Data Sharing and Integration Training in New Orleans, LA on June 24, 2019. The training, facilitated by AMCHP staff member Paige Bussanich, in partnership with Applied Engineering Management's Education services as well as the National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ), aimed to enhance team goals and work of their Early Childhood Comprehensive Services (ECCS) projects through using AMCHP's Data Integration Toolkit. State teams came away from the close-knit training with action plans and plentiful resources for addressing data integration and sharing with Title V programs in their states. To learn more about AMCHP's Title V Early Childhood Data Integration portfolio of work, click here or get in contact with Paige Bussanich (pbussanich@amchp.org)

Funding

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

Arthritis Program

Deadline: July 15

Helping adults living with arthritis, joint pain, have limited mobility, or interested in becoming more physically active. Grantees asked to help increase participation in the Walk With Ease self-directed or group format.

State Maternal Health Innovation Program

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Deadline: July 15
To support states and other stakeholders in reducing maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity through capacity building assistance to recipients and other HRSA-funded grantees as they implement innovative and evidence-informed strategies.