Annual Conference
AMCHP's 2020 Annual Conference is the perfect opportunity to connect and network with nearly 1,000 public health officials who share an interest in maternal and child health. The theme for the conference—to be held March 21-24 in Crystal City, Va.—is The Power of Connections: Building Equity for Healthy Generations. Register by Feb. 21 to receive an early bird rate. For additional information, please contact Samantha Freeman. We look forward to seeing you!
New From AMCHP
Save the Date! Collaboration Lab #5 — Exploring Partnerships to Ensure all Voices are at the Table and Involved in the Title V Block Grant/Needs Assessment Process
Join AMCHP on Feb. 25, 2020, from 3-4:00 p.m., ET, for a new collaboration lab webinar. This webinar will feature innovative approaches Title V programs have employed to engage underrepresented stakeholders, such as community health workers, mixed-status families, and adolescent health coordinators, in their needs assessments and action plans. Register here.
In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Check out the #ScreenToInterveneForAYAs: Adolescent and Young Adult Behavioral Health Blog!
The #ScreenToInterveneForAYAs blog is the place to go to peruse the latest happenings, news, and resources related to the AYA Behavioral Health Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN). The latest blog post kicked off a series that will unpack the measurement framework that the state CoIIN teams use to assess their progress toward improving the rates of depression screening with an appropriate follow-up plan among AYAs over the duration of the CoIIN and beyond. Follow this series over the next two months to learn how participants are measuring and advancing their quality improvement efforts at the state system-level. Sign up here to receive updates from the #ScreenToInterveneForAYAs blog. To write a guest blog post or if you have any questions, please contact Anna Corona.
Leadership Lab to Offer Two More Leadership Development Trainings
The Leadership Lab will be offering two more leadership development trainings for the 2019-2020 programming year. These trainings are offered in place of the typical cohort structure and are open to anyone interested in the designated topic for each training.
AMCHP will host these last two trainings in February and April 2020. A save-the-date notice and registration link will be sent after topics, presenters, and specific dates are identified; please be alert for more information. If you have questions, contact Michelle Crawford at mcrawford@amchp.org
Legislation and Policy
AMCHP Releases 2020 Federal Policy Agenda
The AMCHP Board of Directors recently finalized AMCHP's 2020 Federal Policy Agenda. This document details the areas where AMCHP will devote its advocacy resources over the coming year and specifies AMCHP's Public Policy & Government Affairs Team key policy and advocacy activities. There are many policy areas for which AMCHP could support state MCH programs and provide national leadership on issues affecting women, children, and families. This agenda is thus intended to make explicit the areas where AMCHP will assume leadership and partnership roles in terms of advocacy on an annual basis.
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Maternal and Infant Health
On Jan. 28, two subcommittees of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor held a joint hearing titled, "Expecting More: Addressing America's Maternal and Infant Health Crisis." Opening statements from the chairs of the relevant subcommittees, copies of the witness testimony, and video of the hearing are available on the committee website. Topics included strengthening workplace supports for breastfeeding, the need for paid family and medical leave, and the importance of providing consistent, quality, and affordable health insurance to people of reproductive age.
Bipartisan Bill Introduced in the House and Senate to Map Broadband Access and Maternal Health Outcomes
Members of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate introduced bipartisan legislation earlier this month called the Data Mapping to Save Moms' Lives Act (H.R. 5640 and S. 3152). to help identify where improved access to telehealth services may be most effective at improving maternal health outcomes. Specifically, the bill would require the Federal Communications Commission to map areas in the United States that have both Internet service gaps and high rates of poor maternal health outcomes. AMCHP endorsed this legislation.
Get Involved
Get involved with your state or local Complete Count Committee (CCC) – a key program to drive Census awareness and participation. More than 10 percent of all children younger than age 5 were missed in the 2010 census. Thus, it is critical that we ensure an accurate count of young children in 2020 so that federal programs receive appropriate funding. Find your local or state committee here.
Learn more about the importance of an accurate count and its impact on children: Young Children and the 2020 Census – a presentation on the January AMCHP all-member policy call by Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs.
AMCHP National MCH Policy Calls
Get up to date on the federal MCH policy. The next event in the All-Member National MCH Policy Call series will take place Feb. 6, 2020, 2-3 p.m., ET. Director of Government Relations for the Safe States Alliance, Paul Bonta, MA, will join our call to provide an overview of the Safe States Alliance's new resource, "Advocate: It's Your Right," on the rights of state health employees to participate in policy and advocacy work. Register here.
Your Input is Requested: What has the Affordable Care Act Meant to You?
2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the ACA. AMCHP's Health System Transformation Team is collecting testimonials from state Title V staff on how the law has affected them and the MCH populations they serve. Please send your two to three sentence response by Feb. 7 to Stacy Collins.
Survey for HealthCare.gov Navigators and Certified Application Counselors—Your Voice Matters
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is assembling a list of recommendations on how to improve the HealthCare.gov application and enrollment process. Navigator and certified application counselors (CACs) —especially those with two or more years of hands-on experience working with HealthCare.gov—are encouraged to provide feedback on their experiences by Friday, Feb. 7, to help improve the system. The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Click here to take the survey.
Feds Seek Information about Family Caregiving Challenges
The national Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage Family Caregivers Act (the RAISE Act) became law in January 2018. This law requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and maintain a national strategy to recognize and support family caregivers and to organize an Advisory Council to make recommendations. To prepare for the Advisory Council's initial report to Congress, HHS is asking individuals and organizations to submit information on the challenges faced by caregivers. This information will guide the department as they develop the national family caregiving strategy. Your insights are valued; please submit them on this form by Feb. 7, 2020.
Registration is now open for the 2020 Preparedness Summit, to be held March 31-April 3, 2020, in Dallas. The theme, Fixing Our Fault Lines: Addressing Systemic Vulnerabilities, will focus on methods to identify systemic weaknesses and highlight tools and policies that can empower all communities, and particularly the ones that are most vulnerable, to address those weaknesses and become more resilient.
Register to Attend the 7th Annual Conference on Adolescent Health in Detroit – Now a Two Full Days Event!
The Adolescent Health Initiative (AHI) has announced that registration for the 2020 Conference on Adolescent Health is officially open. Join more than 400 adolescent health professionals across the country on April 20-21, 2020 in Detroit for dynamic breakout sessions, poster sessions, youth-led sessions and networking events. The conference is designed for physicians, nurses, social workers, dieticians, public health professionals, and others who work with adolescents in a health care capacity. In addition, the AHI call for nominations for the Excellence in Adolescent Health Award is now open. View the agenda, register, learn about sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities, and/or nominate a colleague or yourself for the excellence award by clicking here.
Webinars
Webinar on Family Homelessness and the 2020 Census
Feb. 4, 3:30-4:30 p.m., ET
The 2020 Census is right around the corner! Join the 2020 Census, Family Promise, First Focus on Children, and SchoolHouse Connection for a webinar. Webinar topics include the importance of the census, the impact that the census has on family and youth homelessness, and how the census impacts you! To link to the webinar, click here. You can also dial in using your phone. For supported devices, tap a one-touch number below to join instantly:
United States: +1 (872) 240-3212
One-touch: tel:+18722403212,699255437#
From Awareness to Action: Strategies for Combating Racism in Health Systems
National Institute for Children's Health Quality
Feb. 13, 2020, 3-4 p.m., ET
This webinar addresses the start of racial disparities in health outcomes for moms and babies and the disturbing differences in care that families of color have received. While the need to combat racism is undeniable, especially for those working in public health and health care, individuals need strategies too. This webinar will focus on providing strategies and guidance that individuals can use to identify and address racism and racial bias. This webinar is designed to help participants understand and contextualize three levels of racism; apply a racial equity lens to collective impact-based health improvement initiatives using guiding questions; and identify key strategies for designing intentional, action-oriented, and strengths-based approaches to start and sustain an equity-focused organizational culture shift. Click here for more information and to register.
Sharing Your Achievements in MCH: An Overview of AMCHP's Best Practices Submission Process
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
March 2, 2020, 3-4 p.m., ET
Do you have a program or practice that is working well in your state, territory, or community? Submit it to AMCHP's Innovation Station and share your success with the MCH field. Each year, AMCHP reviews submissions from across the United States and designates accepted practices as Cutting-Edge, Emerging, Promising, or Best Practices. Accepted practices are showcased on our online Innovation Station Database to advance MCH practice and contribute to the evidence base. This webinar will provide a brief overview of the Innovation Station Database as well as discuss the benefits of submitting your programs and practices. The webinar also will discuss the process of submitting practices along with tips and tricks for completing your submission. Register for the webinar here. For more information, contact Lynda Krisowaty.
Young Adult Health: What Makes Them Unique? (First in webinar series)
The Adolescent & Young Adult Health National Resource Center
March 11, 2-3:00 p.m., ET
Registration details coming soon!
Publications & Resources
Child & Adolescent Health
The Adolescent & Young Adult Health National Resource Center is excited to share a newly released resource, Improving Young Adult Health: State & Local Strategies for Success. This guide outlines five key strategies to improve young adult health in your state. It is based on a review of young adult (YA) health policies and programs across all 59 states and territories as well as on interviews with Title V leadership in states that have adopted a YA measure. The guide provides real-world examples and lessons learned from states that have implemented young adult health activities. The Adolescent & Young Adult Health National Resource Center will also launch a webinar series this spring focused on young adult health. (See "webinar" section above for information on the first webinar in the series.)
Opportunities
Deadline Approaching: Adolescent Health Initiative's (AHI's) Call for Nominations for Adolescent Health Award Closes on Friday
The Adolescents Health Initiative's (AHI) call for nominations for the 2020 Excellence in Adolescent Health Award closes Jan. 31. This is for individuals or teams doing excellent work in the field of adolescent health. Winners of this award will have demonstrated the AHI core values of collaboration, diversity and inclusion, expertise, innovation, quality, and responsiveness through their work. Nominate a colleague or yourself here. Award recipients will be announced at the AHI's 2020 Conference on Adolescent Health.
NEW: Twitter Chat on Impacts of Rural Health Among Adolescents
On Feb. 26, 2020, from 1-2:00 p.m., ET, join AHI, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Northwest and Great Hawaiian Islands, and Teen Health Mississippi, as we ask Twitter to discuss the impacts of rural health among adolescents. Whether you are an expert or looking for some tips and tricks, follow along with the hashtag #AHIChats and #AHI2020. To access the questions before the Twitter Chat, contact us here.
Innovation Station
January is Birth Defects Prevention Month
Women can increase their chances of having a healthy baby by taking preventive measures through prenatal care. This month, AMCHP highlights three Innovation Station practices addressing access to health care. Click here to read more.
On Your Behalf
AMCHP 2019-2020 Fiscal Year Membership Dues
AMCHP memberships are vital for individuals, organizations, state and territorial programs with an interest in maternal and child health. Membership due notices have been distributed for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. If you have not yet had the chance to submit payment for your dues, click here for payment options.
AMCHP Staff Attended Forum on Safe Baby Courts, Will Continue to Monitor and Report on Future Developments and Title V Involvement
AMCHP staff participated in a forum on Safe Baby Courts at the South Carolina capitol on Jan. 13. This forum was hosted by the National Conference of State Legislators. Attendees included representatives from Title V, social services, judicial services, state senators, and state representatives. Safe Baby Courts, otherwise known as infant-toddler or early childhood courts, are child-focused specialty court dockets that seek to address the root causes of justice system involvement through multidisciplinary teams, individualized interventions, and a non-adversarial approach. The final fiscal year 2020 appropriations legislation included a $10 million increase to the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant program. Of that $10 million increase to the Title V Block Grant program, $7 million was directed to the Infant-Toddler Court Teams program. That brought the total funding level for the Infant-Toddler Court Teams program to $10 million in fiscal year 2020. AMCHP will continue to monitor and report on future developments and Title V involvement in infant-toddler court programs at the state level.
Follow Us on Twitter for Highlights from the Families USA Health Action Conference
The AMCHP Health Systems Transformation team attended the Families USA Health Action Conference from Jan. 23rd-25th. This conference brought together health care advocates and leaders from across the country to learn, engage, and strategize around many of the biggest health care challenges facing our nation. To learn about the highlights from this and other events, follow us on Twitter @AMCHP_Transform.
Commemorations
February
American Heart Month
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
National Wear Red Day
Calendar
AMCHP 2020 Annual Conference
March 21-24
Crystal City, Va.
2020 Preparedness Summit in Dallas
March 31-April 3
Dallas, Tx.