State Maternal Health Innovation Program

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the FY 2023 State Maternal Health Innovation (State MHI) program. The purpose of this program is to reduce maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity (SMM) 1 by supporting state-led demonstrations focused on improving maternal health and addressing maternal health disparities through quality services, a skilled workforce, enhanced data quality and capacity, and innovative programming. This program also engages public health professionals, providers, payers, and consumers through state-led Maternal Health Task Forces (MHTF). These Task Forces review state-specific maternal health data and then implement evidence-based interventions and innovations that address critical gaps. FY 2023 funding for this program seeks to provide support to expand to new states focused on improving maternal health. Potential applicants should design submissions to implement innovations to improve health outcomes, develop state-specific plans that will guide maternal health efforts, and enhance measurement of maternal health outcomes. Program Goal The goal of the State Maternal Health Innovation Program is to improve maternal health in the United States. This will be achieved by supporting multidisciplinary collaboration; collecting and analyzing maternal health data; and promoting and executing innovation in maternal health service delivery to advance evidence-informed strategies and achieve a measurable impact. Program Objectives The program objectives to be accomplished during the period of performance to support programs goals, are: • By September 29, 2024, 100 percent of recipients will have developed a draft strategic plan to improve maternal health, including addressing identified health disparities and other gaps and incorporating activities outlined in the State Title V Needs Assessment. The Maternal Health Strategic Plan should reflect the most recent maternal health data available. • By September 29, 2024, 100 percent of recipients will use annual maternal health data to report on and implement culturally and linguistically appropriate and innovative approaches to address identified needs and disparities. • By September 29, 2024, each recipient is expected to document and report annually on maternal health indicators and outcomes that are disaggregated by maternal race/ethnicity, age, level of education, health insurance coverage, and geographic location (urban/rural), and submit to HRSA in an Annual Report on Maternal Health in order to evaluate existing disparities. • By September 29, 2025, each recipient and their established Maternal Health Task Force will update and finalize the Maternal Health Strategic Plan by increasing the number of actionable recommendations based on state-level maternal health data and submit a final strategic plan to guide the work of the MHTF and the State MHI Program throughout the remainder of the project period. • By September 29, 2028, increase the number of innovative approaches for replication and scale-up to improve maternal health. • By September 29, 2028, award recipients will support and evaluate innovations focused on addressing existing maternal health disparities within their state. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations.