Maternal and child health services - the title v maternal and child health block grant federal-state partnership award provides critical investment into the strengthening and expansion of…

Maternal and child health services - the title v maternal and child health block grant federal-state partnership award provides critical investment into the strengthening and expansion of louisiana's systems of care for mothers, infants, children, and youth. The block grant is particularly important for strengthening the state's system of care for children and youth with special healthcare needs. Title v block grant funding ensures that MCH policies and systems of care in louisiana are rooted in evidence. Title v funding builds on the state's investment in the MCH epidemiology workforce necessary to collect and analyze data, identify public health needs within MCH populations, explore underlying causes of public health needs including existing disparities between louisiana's population groups (i.e., rural / urban sub-populations, racial and ethnic sub-populations, etc.), generate findings reports and key policy and programmatic recommendations, and measure the short, medium, and long-term effects and impacts of changes in policies and programs within the state's MCH systems of care. Title v funding also contributes to the state's efforts to maintain and continuously strengthen the capacities of our MCH workforce. In addition to providing direct financial coverage to some essential MCH workforce positions, title v funded programs support direct training, coaching and technical assistance, and initiatives supporting continuous quality improvement within individual systems of care. Partners and participants in these programs include physicians, nurses, social workers, educators, staff of state agencies and offices from various levels of the government of louisiana, staff of community based organizations and private sector organizations, members of our state's academic community, family members, policymakers, and other key constituents in the state. Title v funding compliments state investment by supporting coordination between key state agencies, partners, collaborators, families, and other community groups. Aligned with the cross-cutting goal that all mothers, children, and youth should have access to a quality medical home within well-functioning systems of care, title v programs facilitate connections and synergies across state agencies as well as between state agencies and non-state organizations (i.e., community-based organizations, academic institutions, and private sector organizations). Title v funding supports convening of state-mandated boards, councils, and commissions as well as various advisory committees. At key moments, title v funding supports implementation of community consultation processes to identify priority needs and define strategies and plans of action to improve the MCH systems of care in the state. Lastly, title v funding plays a critical role in ensuring that the state's mothers, children, and youth are able to participate meaningfully in the state's assessment of priority needs, planning of policy and programmatic response strategies, monitoring and evaluation of programmatic efficiency and effectiveness, and definition of state policy and legislation.