Project Grant 90XP0771

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences $8 million on August 1, 2026, under the Social Services Research and Demonstration program (CFDA 93.647) for the Arkansas Center for Women and Infant Health project, a continuation and expansion of a coordinated statewide postpartum support model.

The award funds three integrated initiatives over the two-year period ending July 31, 2028: the I Gave Birth Initiative, the Statewide Proactive Postpartum Call Center, and the Infant Supply Kits Program. Together these initiatives create a comprehensive postpartum safety net combining standardized education on warning signs, proactive clinical outreach, and essential family supports. The program will serve approximately 30,000 postpartum families statewide, expanding postpartum warning sign education and strengthening proactive follow-up infrastructure for postpartum women regardless of payer status or geographic location. The initiatives address Arkansas's high maternal morbidity and mortality rates, with particular focus on gaps identified by the Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee: delayed recognition of warning signs, gaps in postpartum follow-up, limited access to care in rural communities where more than half of counties lack birthing hospitals, and lack of coordinated systems to support women after birth. Work is performed in Arkansas.