Maternal and Child Health Policy Innovation Program

The purpose of the Maternal and Child Health Policy Innovation Program (MCH PIP) is to support innovative city, county, or state-level policy initiatives that improve outcomes and reduce associated health disparities for maternal and child health populations. Successful award recipients will provide technical assistance (TA) to stakeholders4, including governors’ offices, state legislatures, state and local health officials, and other state and local officials5 to help them develop and implement policy initiatives that improve outcomes and reduce related health disparities. Technical assistance will include (1) convening learning communities (LCs) that engage stakeholders (listed above) in addition to community members and people with lived experience and (2) developing and disseminating informational resources such as (but not limited to) policy briefs, webinars, and/or legislation trackers. Technical assistance for policy initiatives that address social determinants of health6 (SDOH), such as improving access to quality affordable housing, healthy foods, or transportation, is especially encouraged. Award recipients will also support TA for cities, counties, and/or states on Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) priority topics such as maternal and infant mortality and readiness for obstetric emergencies, and emerging MCH issues (recent examples of which include congenital syphilis, environmental health threats, Medicaid redetermination, and vaccine promotion).