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Strengthen the Evidence for Maternal and Child Health Programs

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Search Results: MCHLine

Items in this list may be obtained from the sources cited. Contact information reflects the most current data about the source that has been provided to the MCH Digital Library.


Displaying records 1 through 20 (293 total).

Big Cities Health Coalition. n.d.. Winnable battles case studies. Washington, DC: National Association of County and City Health Officials, Big Cities Health Coalition, 115 pp.

Palmer A, Caglia J, Paulemon W, Mazon R, McWeeny W, Geertz A, Nakon L. 2025. Postpartum care systems: Strategically collaborating to advance and align solutions across sectors. Washington, DC: Grantmakers In Health,

Annotation: This article from Grantmakers In Health (GIH) describes a collaborative effort by funders to address gaps in postpartum care following the extension of Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months after birth. The piece discusses how a workgroup of funders—including Pritzker Children's Initiative, Merck for Mothers, and Community Health Acceleration Partnership—formed in 2023 to identify opportunities for improving postpartum care systems. The article includes a visual diagram that illustrates the multi-layered challenges in postpartum care on three levels: individual, community, and system. This concentric circle diagram shows how issues such as standards of care, access to quality care, care fragmentation, and policy misalignment (at the system level) interact with community-level challenges like administrative burden and workforce shortages, as well as individual-level factors including awareness of needs, social and economic barriers, and fear of medical debt. Through stakeholder interviews, the workgroup discovered significant fragmentation of services and the absence of comprehensive care standards beyond the traditional six-week postpartum period. In response, the funders issued a request for proposals aimed at creating a centralized hub to catalog and connect postpartum care initiatives, with the goal of developing comprehensive standards and addressing what they term the "postpartum cliff."

Keywords: Access to healthcare, Barriers, Collaboration, Funding, Health care reform, Library collection development, Medicaid, Policy, Postpartum care, Requests for proposals, Service delivery systems, Standards

Gould Z, Smith H. 2025. State priorities in serving children and youth with chronic and complex medical needs . Washington, DC: National Academy for State Health Policy,

Annotation: This brief explores state policy strategies and priorities for improving systems of care for children and youth with chronic and complex health needs, including disabilities, medical complexities, and behavioral health disorders. It describes efforts to promote integrated and coordinated care through state agency alignment and Medicaid managed care arrangements while facilitating access to specialty care via workforce expansion and telehealth. The brief also addresses supports for transition-age youth, strategies to compensate family caregivers, and methods for engaging families as system partners. It features practice examples from Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas and discusses policy considerations using national standards for care coordination and systems of care.

Keywords: Adolescents, Child health, Chronic illnesses and disabilities, Health care systems, Policy Development, Quality improvement, Service integration, Youth

National Network for Oral Health Access. 2024. User's guide for the implementation of the oral health core clinical competencies. Denver, CO: National Network for Oral Health Access, 50 pp.

Annotation: This guide for health center staff describes a set of interprofessional oral health core clinical competencies designed to foster integration of oral health care into primary care. The guide also provides information about three pilot projects’ experiences related to implementing the competencies. Contents include recommendations to inform planning, training systems, health information systems, clinical care systems, and evaluation systems.

Keywords: Barriers, Clinics, Community health centers, Interdisciplinary approach, Oral health, Primary care, Program development, Service integration, Systems development

Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs . 2023. Roadmap for collaboration among Title V, home visiting, and early childhood systems programs . Washington, DC: Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs,

Annotation: This website provides a collection of resources centered around the Association of Maternal and Child Health Program's framework for collaboration among Title V, Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV), and other Early Childhood Systems (ECS) programs. The framework focuses on systems building and provides tools for staff from each of the programs to use in aligning their program goals and resources towards a common early childhood goal. The resource is a digitally-accessible update of “A roadmap for collaboration among Title V, home visiting, and early childhood systems programs”, en electronic document developed in partnership with the U.S. Maternal and Child Health Bureau that debuted in 2020.

Keywords: Early childhood development, Early childhood education, Home visiting, Service delivery systems, State programs, Title V programs

Alderman L, Dills J, Mullenix A. 2023. Using systems thinking tools to improve maternal health. Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, 11 pp.

Annotation: This issue brief explains how systems thinking principles can be used as a tool to help solve complex, seemingly intractable challenges and inequities in maternal and child health (MCH). Examples include the Iceburg model, as applied to reproductive health care; system support mapping, for use with the MCH workforce; and a conceptional model for preconception care using causal loop diagraming.

Keywords: Interdisciplinary approach, Cooperation, Health equity, Methods , Models, Service delivery systems, Systems development

National Academy for State Health Policy. 2023. Operational state Medicaid policy levers to strengthen perinatal health systems. Portland, ME: National Academy for State Health Policy,

Annotation: This toolkit is designed to assist state health officials in advancing policy initiatives to strengthen perinatal systems of care, improve maternal and infant health outcomes, and address health disparities amid the maternal health crisis. The resource provides key strategies for states using Medicaid policy levers, including policy considerations for strengthening postpartum care coordination under Medicaid, implementing Medicaid coverage of doula and midwifery services to expand the perinatal workforce, and guidelines for optimizing the extension of Medicaid postpartum coverage.

Keywords: Health care systems, Medicaid, Perinatal care, Postpartum care, State MCH programs, policy development

Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission. 2022. Report to the Congress on Medicaid and CHIP. Washington, DC: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, 196 pp.

Annotation: This report focuses on aspects of Medicaid's mission to ensure access to high-quality health services and the program's future as a major health care payer driving health system change toward value. The report focuses on topics of interest to Congress, including Medicaid’s responsiveness during economic downturns; concerns about high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality; improving hospital payment policy for the nation's safetynet hospitals, and the integration of care for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare.

Keywords: Access to health care, Adolescents, Children, Children's Health Insurance Program, Costs, Financing, Health care reform, Health services delivery, Medicaid, Medications, Mental health, Oral health, Organizational change, Pregnant women, Reimbursement, Systems development

Menon M, Huber R, Russell R. 2021. Lessons learned from the ECCS CoIIN Coordinating Center's evaluative efforts . Boston, MA: National Institute for Children's Health Quality, 170 pp.

Annotation: This report presents findings from a five-year nationwide initiative to improve population-based children's developmental health and family well-being outcomes across 12 states. The evaluation focuses on four key areas: building connections between state and local early childhood systems, expanding early childhood systems through infrastructure and capacity building, implementing policy changes, and developing partnerships. The report examines efforts to increase age-appropriate development skills among 3-year-old children and reduce developmental disparities. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Collaboration, Community coordination, Developmental screening, Early childhood development, Federal initiatives, Model programs, Partnership, Policy development, Service delivery systems, State initiatives

Ruderman M. 2020. Children's vision and eye health: A snapshot of current national issues (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: National Center for Children's Vision & Eye Health at Prevent Blindness, 47 pp.

Annotation: This report is a compilation of research, survey data, and best practices that outlines the landscape for children's vision and eye health in the United States. Contents include information about the prevalence and impact of vision disorders in U.S. children, receipt of vision screening for infants and children from birth through age 17, and state approaches to ensuring children's vision and eye health. Additional topics include vision screening rates and requirements by state, pediatric vision benefits available under the Affordable Care Act, what is included in a strong vision health system of care, and model children's vision legislation. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Access to health care, Adolescents, Children, Costs, Health care reform, Health insurance, Health status, Policy development, Prevalence, Preventive health services, Primary care, Reimbursement, Research, Screening, Service integration, Standards, State programs, State surveys, Statistical data, Systems development, Vision, Vision disorders

Corona A, Leahy M, Taft K. 2020. A roadmap for collaboration among Title V, home visiting, and early childhood systems programs: Accelerating improvements in early childhood outcomes. Washington, DC: Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, 30 pp.

Annotation: This document makes recommendations for improved program alignment among Title V, home visiting, and early childhood systems programs and suggests steps to take for collaborative action planning. A case study of the Indiana State Department of Health's internal organizational structure for improved early childhood collaboration is included.

Keywords: Early childhood development, Early childhood education, Home visiting, Service delivery systems, State programs, Title V programs

American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures™. 2019. Bright Futures™ preventive services quality improvement measures (upd. ed.). Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures™, 2 pp. (Bright Futures implementation tip sheet)

Annotation: This document provides information about quality improvement (QI) measures that reflect components of the Bright Futures™ guidelines. The list combines nationally endorsed measures and measures tested in, or adopted from, previous QI preventive services projects. Contents include measures for infancy and early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence, and office-based system measures for both groups. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Adolescent health, Child development, Child health, Health promotion, Infant health, Measures, Organizational change, Pediatric care, Preventive health services, Program improvement, Quality assurance, Service delivery systems

Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs. 2018. Bright Futures: An essential resource for advancing the Title V national performance measures. Washington, DC: Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, 10 pp.

Radley DC, McCarthy D, Hayes SL. 2017. Aiming higher: Results from the Commonwealth Fund scorecard on state health system performance–2017 edition. New York, NY: Commonwealth Fund, annual.

Annotation: This report ranks states on more than 40 indicators of health system performance in five broad areas: health care access, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, health outcomes, and health care equity. It also compares and evaluates trends across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Keywords: Access to health care, Adolescents, Adults, Children, Equal opportunities, Health care reform, Health care systems, Health care utilization, Health insurance, Health status, Infants, Measures, Morbidity, Mortality, Obesity, Oral health, Oral health care, Preventive health services, Smoking, State initiatives, Statistics, Systems development, Trends

Payne E, Garcia S, Minkovitz C, Grason H, Strobino D. 2017. Strengthen the evidence base for maternal and child health programs: NPM 3–Risk-appropriate perinatal care [NPM 3 brief]. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Women's and Children's Health Policy Center, 3 pp.

Annotation: This brief identifies evidence-informed strategies that state Title V programs may consider implementing to increase the percentage of very low birth weight (<1500 gm) infants born in hospitals with a level III or higher neonatal intensive care unit. Contents include information about the methods and results of the evidence review, key findings, and implications. The full review is also available. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Block grants, Childbirth, Evidence-based practice, High risk pregnancy, Hospitals, Infant mortality, Intervention, Literature reviews, Low birthweight, Measures, Model programs, Neonatal intensive care units, Newborn infants, Perinatal care, Policy development, Program planning, Protective factors, Regional medical centers, Regional planning, Resources for professionals, State MCH programs, Systems development, Title V programs

O'Connor C. 2017. Working toward well-being: Community approaches to toxic stress. Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Social Policy, Early Childhood LINC Learning Lab on Community Approaches to Toxic Stress, 7 pp.

Annotation: This brief defines toxic stress from a community perspective and presents a framework for a community approach to addressing toxic stress, nested within the broader context of working toward healthy development and well-being. The brief also provides examples of how communities are taking action and recommendations for next steps to promote and further develop comprehensive approaches to toxic stress in communities across the country. Strategies for parents and caregivers; service providers; and multisystem, community partners and policymakers are included.

Keywords: Advocacy, Child development, Child health, Communication, Communities, Community action, Community based services, Community role, Coordination, Early childhood, Families, Health education, Leadership, Models, Organizational change, Parents, Policy development, Protective factors, Social change, Stress, Systems development, Young children

Hall E. 2017. Identifying a school quality/student success indicator for ESSA: Requirements and considerations. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers, 12 pp.

Annotation: This brief describes the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements for the inclusion of a school quality or student success indicator (referred to as the "5th indicator), including requirements to ensure that the indicator contributes to a state's system of school and district accountability. Highlights include key factors to consider when identifying, evaluating, and implementing a school quality or student success indicator for inclusion in a state's accountability system. Examples of school quality and student success indicators and research supporting those indicators are included.

Keywords: Accountability, Evaluation, Limited English speakers, Measures, Program improvement, Quality assurance, Regulations, School districts, Schools, Students, Systems development

Fischer D. 2017. Results of the WDA member perinatal oral health survey. Milwaukee, WI: Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin, 2 pp.

Annotation: This article describes a project to increase the use of oral health care for pregnant women and infants in Wisconsin by integrating oral health care into the state’s health-care-delivery system. The article also presents findings from a survey of dentists about their current practice, knowledge, and interest in continuing education related to oral health care during pregnancy. Topics include dentists’ opinions about the barriers that pregnant women face and strategies to increase their use of oral health services. Information about how findings will be implemented is included. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]

Keywords: Access to health care, Barriers, Continuing education, Health care delivery, Health care utilization, Oral health, Pregnant women, Preventive health services, Program descriptions, State surveys, Statewide planning, Systems development, Training

Collective Impact Forum. 2017. How to lead collaborative impact working groups. Boston, MA: Collective Impact Forum, multiple items.

Annotation: These resources are designed to help working group leaders contribute to a successful collective impact initiative. Contents include modules on how to build membership, plan for and run an effective meeting, build a culture of collaboration, put systems thinking into practice, engage community members, and be data-driven and learn along the way. Additional contents include sample working group strategies, meeting planning steps for co-chairs, meeting agenda templates, and a meeting follow-up email template.

Keywords: Collaboration, Community action, Facilitated communication, Leadership, Learning, Meetings, Planning, Systems development

Oregon Health Authority. 2017. Behavioral Health Collaborative report. Salem, OR: Oregon Health Authority, 22 pp.

Annotation: This report presents recommendations for transforming the behavioral health system in Oregon into a coordinated-care model that will integrate behavioral health care with physical care and oral health care. Topics include governance and finance, standards of care and competencies, work force, and information exchange and coordination of care.

Keywords: Behavior, Collaboration, Coordination, Mental health, Models, Oregon, Service integration, Statewide planning, Systems development, Work force

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The MCH Library is one of six special collections at Georgetown University, the nation's oldest Jesuit institution of higher education. The library is supported through foundation, private, university, state, and federal funding. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by Georgetown University or the U.S. Government. Note: web pages whose development was supported by federal government grants are being reviewed to comply with applicable Executive Orders.