The Arizona Maternal and Child Health Title V Program continues to look to innovation to support the recruitment and retention of staff while building capacity within the MCH Program and community partners. Strategies include formal internal policies and relationships that include contractually funded agreements, memorandums of understanding, and data-sharing agreements. Arizona was able to identify ways to improve workforce development over the next five years by utilizing the Capacity Assessment for State Title V (CAST-5) as one of seven components of the Title V Statewide Needs Assessment. With a need to be mindful of our agency’s headcount, the Arizona MCH program implements collaborative staffing strategies that enhance public health infrastructure internally and externally. This section will provide a brief overview of the MCH workforce development in Arizona.

The Program has continued supporting a hybrid work environment; non-supervisory staff has been allowed to telework almost exclusively. BWCH leadership rotates into the office one day per week to ensure onsite coverage. Staff has been provided tools and equipment to support all business functions, including issuing laptops, cell phones, Wi-Fi, and access to various video conferencing applications, cloud-based computer drives, and software. Routine one-on-one meetings and standing weekly staff meetings continue to promote connectedness, communication, and morale building. Staff are oriented on using Google Meet and Zoom, including skills like sharing screens, to support remote work settings and meetings.

In April 2022, Laura Luna Bellucci was hired as the new Bureau Chief and MCH Director. Laura’s previous role at BWCH, which she held for 8 years, was Chief, Office of Children’s Health. Within the first 3 months in the position, Laura held virtual Meet & Greet presentations for internal and external partners to maintain and enhance communication and collaboration with stakeholders.

A total of 16 staff were hired during 2022 and 2023; sixteen of whom are funded through the Title V MCH Block Grant and sixteen of whom are funded using a combination of other federal and/or state funding. The new staff funded by the MCH Title V grant include:

• Ms. Alysson Dell’Orso, Masters in Public Health, CHES®, Strategic Initiative Project Specialist. Alysson Dell’Orso joined the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health (BWCH) in September 2022 as the Strategic Initiatives, Program & Project Specialist for BWCH. In her role, she supports the BWCH bureau chief and management team on key projects, supports the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and PHHS Block Grant, and serves as the BWCH Liaison on various bureau and agency initiatives.
• Ms. Andrea Gallegos, Masters in Community Health Education, Adolescent & Family Health Manager within the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health. She has worked in healthcare for the past 20 years, most of which have been in women’s health and reproductive health services. Her last several years were spent as the Program Manager for the Infectious Disease Program with the Department of Health in the State of New Mexico. Her passion is helping ensure reproductive health access for all.
• Ms. Augustine Rouamaba, Masters in Public Health Epidemiology, CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellow. Augustine is part of the Class XVII of the Applied Epidemiology Fellowship (AEF) Program from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). Augustine is a recent graduate from the Colorado School of Public Health, where she received her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology. Her capstone project was on "Summary and analysis of demographic variables in the Repeat Ivermectin Mass Drug Administrations for Malaria Control (RIMDAMAL) II clinical trial." During her time at ADHS, she will be supporting multiple maternal health initiatives, including analyses of quantitative and qualitative data from the Maternal Mortality Review Program.

• Ms. Fabiola Corral, Bachelor in Public Health, PRAMS Program Assistant. Fabiola Corral currently serves as the Assistant for the Arizona Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) program as part of ADHS. Her role supports and assists the program with daily operations such as data collection, conducting telephone (bilingual or non-bilingual) surveys, and mailing survey correspondents to sampled participants. She keeps track of challenges that arise from interacting with sampled participants and provides weekly reports on the status of outgoing calls to her team members.
• Ms. Iraceli Corrales Loya, Masters in Public Health, Oral Health Workforce Program Manager. Iraceli is responsible for the HRSA Oral Health Workforce Grant, where she is transforming school-based sealant programs by implementing the new Public Health Dental Hygiene model to reach underserved populations and expand services to more high-risk areas and determine Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) with efforts geared at attracting more dental professionals to these underserved areas. As a Program Manager, Iraceli assists with all Oral Health Programs, including the Fluoride Varnish Program, the school sealant program, and the Healthy Smiles Healthy Bodies statewide survey. Areas of experience include training, database development, grant writing, financial management, and data analysis and optimization. Iraceli is bilingual in Spanish-English. Iraceli continues to cultivate community partnerships and manage grant activities to fulfill the grant's goals, objectives, and activities.
• Ms. Jennifer Dahdal, Bachelor in Speech and Hearing Science, Sensory Screening Program intern. Jennifer is responsible for working with the Sensory Screening Program to review and update the Arizona Hearing Screening curriculum, which will be used to train and certify school districts in hearing screening. This will ensure that schools can conduct required hearing screening among school children.
• Ms. Jasmine Atitebi, Masters in Public Health, Primary Care Program Manager. Her responsibilities as a Health Program Manager for the New Workforce Programs include managing the Preceptor Grant Program, Accelerated Nursing Program, and the Nursing Education Investment Pilot Program. Jasmine ensures appropriate and complete documentation of requirements and deliverables are met, including documentation of contracts and contract amendments. Jasmine ensures compliance issues receive resolution and processes service/encounter reports and other pertinent documentation.
• Ms. Jessica Williams, Bachelor in Public Administration, MIECHV Program Director. Jessica Williams joined the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health in 2022 as the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program Director. As the MIECHV Program Director, Jessica is responsible for the oversight and management of the federally funded MIECHV program bringing in $10-12 million dollars annually to the state of Arizona to support home visiting programs for pregnant people and caregivers with children up to kindergarten entry living in at-risk communities. These responsibilities include budget development; carrying out the program goals and objectives; overseeing the multi-state agency and multi-model data management system; and working across programs, offices, bureaus, and state agencies to accomplish program and agency goals.
• Ms. Kristin Spevak, Masters in Public Health, Health Start Program Manager. Kristin joined the Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health in 2023 as the Health Start Program Manager. As the Health Start Program Manager she will be overseeing all Health Start Program activities including direct supervision of the Health Start Team and supporting pregnant people and families with young children in accessing the services that Health Start offers.

• Mr. Mariusz Bista, Bachelor in Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, Adolescent Health Initiatives Intern. Mariusz will be working with the Office of Women’s Health to review and revise the Teen Pregnancy Program Sustainability Toolkit that addresses the difficulty that contractors are experiencing with implementing the program.
• Mr. Mitchell Goldberg, Masters in Business Administration, Contract Specialist. Mitchell Goldberg has 30+ years of experience in business and finance. He serves as Administrative Officer II/ Contract Specialist for the Bureau of Women’s and Children's Health at the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). In particular, he works with the Office of Children’s Health and provides financial and administrative services, including the High-Risk Perinatal Program (HRPP), Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visitation (MIECHV) grant, Children with Special Healthcare Needs, and more. Mitchell has served in this capacity since November 2022. The position includes reviewing and entering requisitions to create encumbrances for contracted suppliers, reviewing/entering invoices, creating reports for management, and creating new contract requests and amendments.
• Ms. Morgan Scadden, Masters in Communication Disorders and Deaf Education, Sensory Screening Program Manager. Morgan Scadden, M.Ed. has been an advocate for children with sensory impairments in Arizona since 2017. In her role as the Sensory Screening Program Manager, Morgan collaborates with children’s hearing and vision stakeholders statewide to strengthen screening and advocacy programs. She collects data from hearing and vision screenings in schools across Arizona and develops reports and recommendations based on the information. She also oversees an equipment loan program with more than 100 pieces of hearing and vision screening equipment that is available for use by schools statewide.

• Ms. Ontaya Willis, Contract Specialist. Ontaya Willis has over 15 years of experience in business and finance. She currently serves as an Administrative Officer II/ Contract Specialist for the Bureau of Women’s and Children's Health at the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). The specific delegated offices she works with are the Office of Oral Health the and Office of Primary Care. She provides financial and administrative services to the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) and the Behavioral Health Loan Repayment Program (BHLRP). Ontaya has served in this role since November 2022. The position includes reviewing and entering requisitions to create encumbrances for contracted suppliers, reviewing/entering invoices, creating reports for management, and creating new contract requests and amendments. Before coming to BWCH, Ontaya held several financial positions in the private sector.
• Ms. Shawn Soumilas, MHI Student, Bureau of Assessment & Evaluation Intern. Shawn is from Arizona State University and assisted BAE and BWCH on the FIMAP. This includes reviewing the proposed actions, problem statements, and milestones; establishing a timeline for writing the report; presenting the FIMAP to stakeholders, and receiving feedback from community partners.
• Ms. Stephanie Henry, Bachelor of Nursing and International Studies, Bureau of Assessment & Evaluation Intern. Stephanie is from the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and will be completing her MPH internship with ADHS. She has been working on developing some exciting issue briefs from our Title V MCH Needs Assessment to share with our partners and support our exciting public health programming. She looks forward to broadening her education and experience in the area of maternal-child health through the internship with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health.
• Ms. Tiffany Wong, Masters in Public Health, Workforce Program Manager. Tiffany graduated with her MPH and soon began her career with the Arizona Department of Health Services Primary Care Office as the Workforce Program Specialist in July of 2022. Within 5 months of starting this position, Tiffany moved to the Health Program Manager II role and continues supporting the Primary Care Office in managing Arizona’s workforce programs.

Other staff hired, including Program Managers, are funded through additional federal and state funds, including CDC ERASE Maternal Mortality Program, HRSA’s MCHB Maternal Health Innovation Program, HRSA-funded Primary Care Office, and state-funded programs include the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, the Primary Care Workforce Programs. A complete list of new 2022–2023 Title V-Funded MCH Staff can be found in Figure 11.

BWCH New Employee Orientation includes information on HRSA’s MCH Navigator, an overview of the MCH Block Grant purpose, and the Arizona State MCH Profile. BWCH utilizes virtual program team huddles to review progress on program implementation, identify resources needed to move forward and share information with peers on relevant MCH topics and emerging issues. BWCH invests approximately 40 hours per year per BWCH employee for staff to attend in-person or virtual national, state, and local conferences, summits and training, and workgroups on MCH-related topics to support their professional development.

The OCH, through the Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) Program, works to engage parents of CYSHCN to be empowered and advocate effectively for the care and services needed to meet their child's unique needs. The program employs a part-time paid Family Advisor, Ms. Dawn Bailey, and Danielle Crudup, to build and implement innovative models of community-based care and resources for CYSHCN to meet the unique and complex needs of families of children with special needs. The OCH will continue to work in tandem with Ms. Bailey to focus on CYSHCN activities and family and youth engagement strategies. More information on Ms. Bailey’s activities is provided in III.E.2.b.ii. Family Partnership section of this application and in Appendix E.

To support the MCH workforce more broadly statewide, the Arizona MCH program continues to contract with Diné College on the Navajo Nation and the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) to conduct needs assessments for tribal communities. While these rich needs assessments and findings assured tribal input into the overall statewide Needs Assessment, MCH funding was also provided to support planning and training at the community level of the Navajo Nation. Other funds are used to support efforts with ITCA.

Figure 11. New Title V-Funded MCH Staff, Arizona (2022–2023)

Additionally, Arizona’s MCH Director, Laura Luna Bellucci, Bureau Assessment and Evaluation (BAE) Bureau Chief Martin Celaya, and Ms. Dawn Bailey participate and are active members of the Arizona State University (ASU), College of Health Solutions, Maternal and Child Health Translational Research Team. In 2022, the Arizona MCH Director and other MCH program staff presented during the ASU MCH Translational Research Conference. This partnership helps the Arizona MCH program tap into local experts’ skills and knowledge to assist us in addressing the health needs of populations in Arizona.

ADHS has a comprehensive workforce development plan for the recruitment and retention of public health professionals. The plan includes training and professional development, monetary performance rewards, tuition reimbursement or loan repayment, a compensation plan, worksite wellness programs, and policies that support a work-life balance, including alternative work schedules (e.g., 4/10s) and telework. Additionally, ADHS offers an Infant at Work policy, lactation accommodations, and various employee recognition events.

BWCH, through its all-staff meeting, includes MCH-related and business operations presentations to inform the workforce of various topics and enhance program management skills. For ongoing training, all ADHS employees have access to TraCorp, the state training platform that includes all required and ongoing training classes. BWCH all-staff meeting presentations in 2022 included:

• Arizona’s Newborn Screening Program
• Ryan House - Respite, Palliative, and End of life care for CYSHCN
• Diversability: Engaging Families and Young Adults Program
• Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use in Arizona
• BWCH Values Activity
• Injury Prevention Education & Distribution
• Congenital Syphilis in Arizona
• ADHS Tribal Liaison
• Health Equity
• Business Finance Training and Human Resources

ADHS continued to work with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health to transition the statewide Healthy Arizona Worksite Program (HAWP) back over to ADHS. This is an evidence-based public health initiative that uses the CDC Worksite Health Scorecard and provides Arizona employers with training, tools, and resources to design, implement, and evaluate worksite wellness initiatives to improve the overall health of their employees and businesses. ADHS is working on updating the strategic plan and will work to drive statewide initiatives with statewide partners. A virtual training and focus group are scheduled for 2023. To learn more about HAWP and the award levels, please click here.

While state agencies are not under a hiring freeze, agencies are expected to maintain a certain level of vacancies and not exceed a designated headcount. Within BWCH, several positions are funded using a combination of Title V funds, other federal funds, or state lottery funding, allowing for flexibility in staffing for programs based on workload and deliverables. Additionally, BWCH partners with the Maricopa Department of Public Health to fund a full-time employee to support PRAMS. The individual is assigned to work full-time with BAE.

To ensure that BWCH can identify and monitor emerging trends affecting maternal and child health populations, professional development opportunities in epidemiology and data analytics are made available to the Bureau’s MCH epidemiologists in the Bureau of Assessment and Evaluation. In 2023, the MCH Director, Laura Luna Bellucci, and Martin Celaya, Bureau Chief of Assessment and Evaluation attended the City MatCH 2023 Conference, “Onwards & Upwards: Accountability for the Past and Building Toward the Future of MCH”.

The BAE epidemiologists are encouraged to submit abstracts for national and state meetings and conferences. Currently, thirteen abstracts have been submitted to national meetings or conferences, of which twelve have been accepted to present at various conferences including the Maternal and Child Health Conference, Arizona Perinatal Trust Conference, National Health Equity Conference, ACEs Summit, and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Annual Pregnant Meeting.

Through the agency internship program, BWCH and BAE have collectively hosted various student interns. In the spring of 2022, the bureaus hosted three graduate students focused on the following projects: sensory screening training, the development of a teen pregnancy prevention sustainability toolkit, and fetal infant mortality action plan report.

BWCH partners with universities and professional associations, such as the Arizona Public Health Association, Rural Health Association, and Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, to post vacancies at no cost. This strategy is targeted toward recruiting applicants with public health passion, knowledge, and expertise.

The statewide needs assessment included seven (7) different methodologies or approaches to collecting and understanding the need for preventive and primary care services for the MCH populations in Arizona. The Capacity Assessment for State Title V (CAST-5) tool from the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs was utilized to examine ADHS’ organizational capacity to carry out core maternal and child health functions. Arizona’s assessment involved a series of strategic planning steps from the CAST-5 Process with the internal Title V leadership team and partners, including a review of the Ten MCH Essential Services (ESs) and Process Indicator Scores (PIS) for each service, completion of a Capacity Needs Tool (CNT), and a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis. Through the CAST-5 assessment of Arizona’s Title V capacity with respect to the 10 essential MCH services, we identified both strengths and weaknesses that Arizona’s Title V Program possesses in carrying out key MCH program functions. Results from this methodology showed that ADHS’s Bureau of Women’s and Children’s Health (BWCH) demonstrates strengths in essential MCH services #1, 2, 5, and 10. The internal evaluation ranked ADHS’s capacity to address these services “substantially to fully adequately” but ranked our capacity to address services #4, 7, 8, and 9 as “partially to minimally adequate” (Figure 12). A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of our weaker essential services, conducted with the Office Chiefs, resulted in recommendations to improve Title V Program capacity.

Figure 12. ADHS Recommendations for Improvement on the 10 Essential MCH Services, CAST-V (2020)

ADHS staff and interns participate in a variety of national and local professional development opportunities to advance understanding, learning, and leadership. The following are the national and local professional development trainings that the MCH workforce participated in 2022:

MCH:

• AMCHP New Directors Leaders Cohort
• AMCHP Next Gen Leaders Cohort
• AMCHP CEO Coffee Chats
• AMCHP Conference
• Catalyst Center Cafe CYSHCN Directors Virtual Discussions
• Maternal Child Health Translational Research Conference
• Annual Rural Women’s Health Symposium

Perinatal/Infant & Children’s Health:

• Arizona Perinatal Trust Conference
• Health Care Transition Conference
• Prevent Child Abuse Conference
• First Things First Early Childhood Summit

Adolescent Health:

• Creating Safe and Inclusive Spaces for LGBTQ+ Youth
• Creating Pathways to Optimal Health for Youth: Exploring the A-F SRAE Topics
• Adolescent Behavioral Health Summit
• National Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Conference
• Child Abuse Prevention Conference
• Wyman Coordinator Learning Exchange
• Adolescent Health Coordinators Meeting
• Foundations in Racial Equity
• Foundations in Internalized Racism
• Understanding and Decentering White Supremacy Culture
• Engaging and Supporting Adolescent Males in Teen Pregnancy Prevention
• PREP Performance Measures Webinar: Submitting Data to PMMS
• APP Grantee Conference
• Approaches for Addressing Sexual and Reproductive Health with System-Involved Youth
• Foundations and Strategies for Trauma-Informed Sex Ed
• Misinformation and Public Health: Implications for Personal Responsibility Education Program Grantees
• Community Engagement to Tackle Misinformation about Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Programs
• School-Based Suicide Prevention for Youth
• Survey Administration and Submitting Data to the SRAE Performance Measures Portal
• Qualities of an Effective Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) Facilitator
• Overview of High-Quality Implementation Evaluations
• Adolescent Behavioral Summit
• SRAE Grantees: Staff Retention and Support
• HPV National Meeting

Maternal Health:

• Maternal Health Collaborative Learning Institute
• Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center
• AIM State Lead Coordinator Meetings
• AIM Annual Conference
• Arizona AIM Collaborative Conference
• MHLIC Learning Institute
• HRSA Maternal Health Roundtable
• National Maternal Health Innovation Symposium
• MMRC Retreat
• 4th Trimester Conference
• 4th Trimester Ecosystem Summit
• SHIFT Summit

AI/AN Focused

• National Indian Health Board Maternal Mortality Institute (NIHB) AI/AN Maternal Mortality Prevention Institute
• NIHB AI/AN Maternal Mortality Prevention Institute
• Hearing Native Mothers – A Tribal Discussion Session on a Campaign To Support AI/AN Pregnancy and Maternal Health
• MHI/RMOMS Discussion: Engaging with Tribal Communities on Maternal Health in January
• Mindfulness as a Tool for Engaging with Indigenous Communities

Community of Learning

• Mamma’s Voices COL: Lived Experience Cohort
• Adolescent & Young Adult Behavioral Health CoIIN

Mental Health/SUD Specific

• Annual Maternal Mental Health FORUM: Building the MMH Constellation
• PSI Training

Other

• ASU Maternal Health Webinar
• March of Dimes Training: Health Equity in Maternal Health
• March of Dimes Training: Health Equity in Maternal Health and the Stigma Reduction with SUD and Mental Health
• Mental Health First Aid
• ADHS Advanced Leadership
• ADHS Leader Essentials