The Maternal and Child Health Workforce: A Snapshot of Current and Future Needs From Public Health WINS 2021.

Objective: To summarize and examine data collected from the first-ever Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey Maternal and Child Health (MCH) module.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Responses from MCH governmental public health employees in 47 state health departments and 288 local health departments (LHDs) in the United States.

Main Outcome Measure: Demographic characteristics; 4 measures from the MCH module: the importance of and skill level in 5 MCH competencies in daily work, growth and leadership development opportunities, and additional workforce development needs.

The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Research Agenda.

Objectives: In the United States, autistic individuals experience disproportionate physical and mental health challenges relative to non-autistic individuals, including higher rates of co-occurring and chronic conditions and lower physical, social, and psychological health-related quality of life. The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) is an interdisciplinary, multicenter research network for scientific collaboration and infrastructure that aims to increase the life expectancy and quality of life for autistic individuals, with a focus on underserved or vulnerable populations. The current paper describes the development of the AIR-P Research Agenda.

Building the MCH Public Health Workforce of the Future: A Call to Action from the MCHB Strategic Plan.

Introduction: In 2021, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released a new strategic plan to guide its work over the next 10-15 years. The plan highlights four goals-access, equity, workforce capacity, and impact-that are essential to achieving MCHB's vision.

Methods: We present 13 recommendations to highlight opportunities for ongoing and new activities aligned with Goal 3 of the plan-"Strengthen Public Health Capacity and Workforce for MCH.

The MCH training program: developing MCH leaders that are equipped for the changing health care landscape.

This article examines the success of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Bureau's MCH Training Program in producing the next generation of MCH leaders, equipped with interdisciplinary, leadership skills necessary for the changing health care landscape. A secondary data analysis of performance measure data (2007-2011) collected through the discretionary grant information system was performed. Grantees were grouped by grant program (n = 10) for this analysis.

Developing a standard approach to examine infant mortality: findings from the State Infant Mortality Collaborative (SIMC).

States can improve pregnancy outcomes by using a standard approach to assess infant mortality. The State Infant Mortality Collaborative (SIMC) developed a series of analyses to describe infant mortality in states, identify contributing factors to infant death, and develop the evidence base for implementing new or modifying existing programs and policies addressing infant mortality. The SIMC was conducted between 2004 and 2006 among five states: Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina.

Assessment of state measures of risk-appropriate care for very low birth weight infants and recommendations for enhancing regionalized state systems.

The goal of this study was to examine state measurements and improvements in risk-appropriate care for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. The authors reviewed state perinatal regionalization models and levels of care to compare varying definitions between states and assess mechanisms of measurement and areas for improvement. Seven states that presented at a 2009 Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs Perinatal Regionalization Meeting were included in the assessment.

Financing newborn screening: sources, issues, and future considerations.

Newborn screening (NBS) programs are population-based public health programs and are uniquely financed footline compared with many other public health programs. Since they began more than 45 years ago, the financing issues have become more complex for NBS programs. Today, almost all programs have a portion of their costs paid by fees.

Financing state newborn screening programs: sources and uses of funds.

Background: Financing for newborn screening is different from virtually all other public health programs. All except 5 screening programs collect fees as the primary source of program funding. A fee-based approach to financing newborn screening has been adopted by most states, to ensure consistent funding for this critical public health activity.