Component A: Bolstering (MCH) structural resilience & community partnership/accountability for equitable impact; Component B: Strengthen partnerships between Title V and CBOs in emergencies - Despite a great deal of national investment, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the true fragility of the public health infrastructure and the significant, inequitable variations in systems’ capability to understand critical factors impacting the health and wellbeing of (and mobilizing to protect) pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and those living with birth defects, infant disorders, and related conditions. In response, the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) proposes a project that aims to bolster the structural resilience and community accountability of the nation’s maternal and child health (MCH) workforce through partnership and data infrastructure to accelerate equity in health for these focal populations. This multifaceted approach includes strengthening capacities within standard fetal and infant mortality review (FIMR) and child death review (CDR) processes, developing and supporting sustainable implementation of the evidence-informed and equity-centered Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) and their Families, and cultivating partnerships between jurisdictional Title V programs and community-based organizations (CBOs) during and in the aftermath of public health emergencies to co-create solutions and resources. Across activities, we intend to build on existing federal investments, leverage a diverse range of lived and professional expertise through extended (e.g., advisory, and steering groups) and brief consultative engagements, partner with the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention (NCFRP) and other entities working at all levels of the socioecological model. AMCHP will deliver technical assistance across multiple platforms, generate and disseminate practice-based evidence (i.e., best practices and policies) through AMCHP’s MCH Innovations Database, provide structured spaces for relationship cultivation between jurisdictional Title V programs and CBOs, and elevate the strengths and needs of those made most vulnerable to adverse outcomes across the life course by racism, ableism, linguicism, and other marginalizing processes. From these efforts, we expect to see increased experiences of jurisdictional Title V MCH/CYSHCN programs authentically partnering with the communities they serve to address population needs using culturally resonant approaches, ultimately leading to: (a) decreased experience of adverse health outcomes among pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and CYSHCN and their families during and in the aftermath of public health emergencies and (b) reduction in fetal, infant, and child death rates overall and among racial groups with disparately poor outcomes.
