OUR COMMITTEES

The Executive Committee manages the work of the Board of Directors and acts between board meetings as needed. Its members include the president, president-elect, past-president, secretary, treasurer and the CEO (ex-officio).

The Finance Committee reviews the association’s finances and budgets and makes financial recommendations to the Board of Directors. The committee writes policies regarding AMCHP’s finances and investments for board consideration. 

AMCHP’s Annual Conference Committee oversees the planning and implementation of our annual convening of one of the largest gatherings of MCH leaders in the country. The planning committee uses conference evaluation data from previous years and works with staff to ensure that each Annual Conference meets the needs of conference attendees.

The main activities of this committee include:

• Gathering input each year on the theme for the next conference
• Reviewing the call for conference proposals
• Shaping the scope of plenary sessions and tailoring the conference experience to different audiences (youth, virtual, local, and others.)

The MCH Innovations Committee (the “Committee”) assists AMCHP to identify, review, amplify, support, and encourage the replication of innovative and effective maternal and child health (MCH) practices and policies that promote health equity.

Key Activities: Recently created a new committee workplan template and implementation process that is aligned with AMCHP’s strategic plan.

The purpose of the Family Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Committee is to provide board-level support and leadership to develop and implement effective programs, strategies and policies that advance family and youth involvement in maternal and child health issues, including children and youth with special health care needs, at the local, state, and national levels. The Family LEAD Committee envisions that all families be equipped to be effective leaders, advocates, and partners in health care and in their communities.

Previous activities of this committee to support families and Title V programs working with families include:

• Hosting two webinars focused on the Blueprint for Change
• Submitting a skills-building proposal for AMCHP 2024 focused on Care Mapping
• Co-hosting a conference discussion forum, in partnership with AMCHP staff, to better understand the current needs of family leaders to help inform future activities.

The Governance Committee is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of the full board. It oversees the entire board-building cycle. The committee’s responsibilities include: Developing job descriptions for board members; orienting new board members and providing continuing education of all members on their responsibilities; drafting a board recruitment plan and continuously cultivating new prospects; facilitating periodic assessment of the board’s performance; ensuring that governance documents such as bylaws and policies are regularly reviewed; and managing nominations and elections.

The AMCHP Health Equity Committee serves to provide national/state guidance and leadership in our mission to achieve equity in maternal, child, and adolescent health (MCAH). The committee’s primary functions are to: 1) provide public health strategic frameworks to guide MCAH leadership in addressing racial/ethnic and other health disparities; 2) motivate MCAH leaders and professionals to expand/ shift focus from a service-oriented to a community-transformation paradigm that includes addressing underlying social/structural determinants of health; 3) make recommendations regarding gaps in resources, tools, research, or program evaluation to inform and expand the MCAH knowledge base and 4) and coordinate AMCHP’s efforts and communications related to health equity.

The Legislative & Health Care Policy Committee focuses on the financing of public health programs, such as Medicaid, private insurance, and SCHIP. The committee reviews state efforts to ensure all women, children and families have health care coverage; identifies innovative financing policies to share with other state Title V programs; and makes recommendations for AMCHP policy statements to support national efforts to expand access to quality health care.

The Workforce and Leadership Development Committee develops strategies to help Title V staff in their daily jobs. It identifies issues that state Title V programs are facing in recruiting, training and retaining staff. The committee identifies resources from across the country to help Title V staff address these issues, including training and technical assistance, data and assessment, and professional development. The committee also provides member input on AMCHP programs created to support the Title V workforce, such as the new director mentor program.

Led by youth and young adult leaders, the Youth Voice Amplified (YVA) committee operates using the Jemez principles of democratic organizing, “nothing about us without us,” to exemplify AMCHP’s strategic plan goal centered on supporting and modeling youth engaged work. YVA is dedicated to elevating the voices and contributions of young people to the MCH discipline, particularly state Title V/ MCH programs. This infrastructure at the AMCHP organization is the foundation of current and future efforts to include all young people’s collective and unique lived experiences, and foster leadership development that advances our programmatic missions and visions.

Since its inception in 2021, Youth Voice Amplified has demonstrated its important role in ensuring the inclusion of youth’s diverse and unique lived experiences in our organization and the broader maternal and child health (MCH) field, through AMCHP’s various program and policy activities. For 2022, the committee has developed a robust workplan that focuses on vaccinations and preventive care services; podcasts featuring emerging MCH and other public health priorities affecting community wellbeing; climate change and environmental justice; best practices in data collection efforts from youth and community perspectives; MCH partnership building with other youth-serving organizations; and self-care for the workforce and its stakeholders.  Please contact us at youthvoice@amchp.org to learn more, share some of your upcoming opportunities, and to be connected to a YVA advisor.

Meet the first cohort of Youth Voice Amplified youth and young adult advisors through these video introductions.