Maternal and Child Environmental Health Network (MCEHN)

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Maternal and Child Environmental Health Network (MCEHN). The purpose of this program is to decrease maternal and child morbidity and mortality associated with pre-and post-natal environmental exposures. One cooperative agreement will be funded to implement and support a national network of state and/or regional teratogen information service (TIS) counseling centers. This program is intended to be a national resource for individuals of reproductive age, their partners, and health care providers, with an emphasis on underserved populations. This program will provide resources (including web-based resources), information, and individual risk assessment and counseling to pregnant or breastfeeding individuals, individuals planning to become pregnant, their partners, and providers, in order to ensure informed decision-making to support maternal and fetal/infant health, and ultimately prevent adverse pregnancy and infant health outcomes. The network (“TIS network”) of teratogen information service counseling centers (“TIS centers”) should be able to respond to inquiries in a variety of formats (e.g., text messages, phone calls, emails) and serve all ten regions identified as such by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and served by HHS regional offices.  The TIS network must be able to disseminate objective, current, and easy-to-understand information about the impact of environmental and medical exposures, targeting underserved populations, defined as people living in medically underserved areas, or who share particular characteristics that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social and civic life.