Early Childhood and Early Intervention Services

Maternal and child health programs are important partners in school readiness and early childhood initiatives at the state and local levels. Title V programs can leverage funding, align different program objectives toward common goals, and work to support critical infrastructure. Maternal and child health professionals are experts in working with low-income and under-served families.

The Raising of America: Early Childhood and the Future of Our Nation

With support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF), AMCHP is partnering with the CDC's Division of Violence Prevention, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Healthy Heartlands Collaborative (HHC) to assist with dissemination of The Raising of America: Early Childhood and the Future of Our Nation (“RoA”).  RoA is a multi-media, public engagement and education initiative translating recent scientific findings on the effects of children’s environments at birth and throughout childhood on life-long health and well-being. AMCHP activities include:

Using the Documentary - Resources for State MCH Programs: 

​Click the image below for an infographic on "Why Early Childhood Matters"

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AMCHP and the RoA partners are currently working on developing guides for local and state health departments and communities to use the RoA documentary and materials to facilitate discussions around child health and development. AMCHP resources include:

• TIP SHEET: Guidance for Title V MCH Programs: This short guide was developed to provide state Title V MCH programs with information and resources to support use of the Raising of America documentary series.
• Moving to Action Resources: AMCHP developed the following templates that Title V programs can use with the documentary and Raising of America resources. (All files download as editable Word documents)
1. Facilitated agenda example for a screening event
2. Screening feedback handout (short)
3. Discussion handout (moving to action/moving forward)
4. Discussion guide for team breakouts
5. Commitment to Action to document next steps from your stakeholders         

States in Action - Resources and Highlights from AMCHP Members

• Oregon Public Health Authority: http://public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyPeopleFamilies/Babies/HealthChildcare/Pages/RaisingOfAmerica.aspx
• We are always looking for more AMCHP member examples to highlight! If you would like to share yours with us, please e-mail ktaft@amchp.org.

Archived Webinar: Strengthening Public Health and Community Partnerships to Reduce Disparities in Child Health and Development

On January 8, 2015, AMCHP and national partners hosted a webinar to raise awareness about the Raising of America documentary series. The webinar included a clip from the opening episode, which moves back and forth between the science of human development and the stories of families and communities struggling to provide the rich and responsive environments all children need to thrive. Discussion included upcoming resources and how participants can use the series to build strategic partnerships to improve child health and development in their communities. Presenters include:

• Rachel Poulain, Director of Public Engagement & Associate Producer, California Newsreel [slides]
• Marilyn Metzler, Division of Violence Prevention, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Kate Hess Pace, Center for Health Organizing, PICO National Network [slides]
• Calondra Tibbs, National Association of County and City Health Officials [slides]
• Piia Hanson and Kate Taft, Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs [slides]

For other news, resources and events from Raising of America, visit www.raisingofamerica.org.
     

Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS)

Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems grants help states and communities to build and integrate early childhood service systems that better meet the needs of children and families. For more information about ECCS grants, visit http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/earlychildhood/comprehensivesystems/.

Related AMCHP publications: 

• Member to Member: How ECCS helps build state capacity (PULSE, July/Aug 2015)
• Hawaii's Success Story on ECCS Partnerships (PULSE, June 2011) 
• Member to Member: Overcoming challenges in implementing ECCS plans (PULSE, Oct. 2009)
• Arizona's and New York's Success Stories (PULSE, Oct. 2009)
   

Home Visiting

State MCH programs have a long history of utilizing home visiting strategies to improve the health of vulnerable families. For information about AMCHP and state activities related to home visiting, specifically the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting  (MIECHV) Program, click here.   

Other Related Resources

• Bright Futures
• The Commonwealth Fund
• Healthy Child Care America  
• MCH Navigator: Trainings on Early Childhood
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• National Center for Infant and Early Childhood Health Policy
• National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants
• U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• Zero To Three