Idaho Maternal and Child Health

The Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Grant Program was established in 1936 with the passing of the Social Security Act. The goal of the grant program - the nation's oldest federal-state partnership and longest standing public health legislation - is to improve the health and well-being of mothers, infants, and children, including children and youth with special needs. Title V Supports a spectrum of services, from infrastructure-building services like quality assurance and policy development, to gap-filling of direct health care services for CYSHCN.

The grant is awarded to each state based on a formula that considers the number of children living in poverty in each state. States must provide a $3 match for every $4 in federal funds received. No more than 10% may be used for administrative costs. Although there are no minimum spending requirements, funding is also to be spent on preventive and primary care services for pregnant women, mothers, and infants up to age one. The Idaho MCH Block Grant funds support state and local program and staff and are administered by the Bureau of Clinical and Preventive Services within the Division of Public Health, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The nature of the block grant gives discretion to Idaho on how funds are spent to meet the unique needs of our MCH populations. While only general provisions are in place, the recent transformation of the MCH Block Grant has increased the state's accountability for how funds are spent, with increased focus on performance and impact. States are encouraged to support evidence-based programs and strategies and collect data to demonstrate improvement.

Each year, every state and jurisdiction are required to submit an application and annual report for the Title V MCH Services Block Grant to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Title V provides dedicated funding to support core MCH public health functions and is essential to assuring the health and well-being of Idaho's most precious resources-mothers, infants, and children.

Whether you are a parent, government official, advocate, service provider or member of the general public, the Idaho MCH Block Grant likely touches you or a family member's life. The program collects input related to existing services, population needs, and emerging issues throughout the year. 

Your input is needed to assure that the MCH Program is guided by the needs of Idaho. To provide feedback, please send an email to IdahoMCH@dhw.idaho.gov.  Learn more through the Federal Title V Information System (TVIS) website which allows you to compare Idaho to other states: https://mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov/.

Every five years, states are required to conduct a comprehensive, statewide needs assessment to assess the gaps in needs and strengths and limitations of services available to MCH Populations across six population domains: Women's/Maternal Health, Perinatal/Infant Health, Child Health, Adolescent health, Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN), and Systems-Building. Idaho uses the "Title V Needs Assessment, Planning Implementation, and Monitoring Framework" to guide the needs assessment and program planning process each five-year cycle, with emphasis placed on engaging stakeholders and community partners.

In 2015, the MCH Program contracted with the Boise State University (BSU) Center for Health Policy (CHP) to conduct statewide needs assessment activities, assist with building the state action plan including identification of evidence-based strategy measures, and assist with data collection and analysis. A phased approach was used to arrive at the state's final priority needs, which included primary and secondary data collection, theme identification from data, and stakeholder input on prioritization of the most significant health needs for Idaho's families. Final selection of priorities was based on programmatic capacity, evidence-base, cost, and ability to make a measurable impact.

The Idaho MCH Program is committed to conducting annual, ongoing needs assessment activities to continue to monitor the health needs of MCH populations and take a deeper dive into specific gaps to further illuminate areas of need.