Partnerships and Engagement

MCH Partner Meetings

External partner meetings were held for each priority in November 2023 and May 2024 led by the priority and epidemiology leads. There were nine Fall Partner Meetings, with a total of 587 participants, that focused on reviewing the progress of current priorities. The focus of the presentations for the Spring Partner Meeting was to engage partners to reflect on the progress of the needs assessment including obtaining input on the health topics chosen by domain teams. The health topics were chosen using quantitative data collected by the domains. Two meetings were held virtually (once during regular business hours and once after business hours) to increase participation and engagement statewide. A total of 220 participants attended the Spring Partner Meeting.

MCHB Grantee Meetings

Tennessee's Maternal and Child Health MCH/Title V Program team invites all Tennessee MCHB Grantees to a meeting held twice a year to (1) hear from the MCH priority team(s) of interest to them, (2) offer input to ensure the planned program efforts are effective with the populations they serve, and (3) identify ways in which their organization may support our strategies/activities planned for the upcoming year as well as ways Tennessee’s MCH/Title V Program can support them. On average, 24 MCHB grantees regularly attend these meetings. Additionally, Tennessee’s MCH/Title V Program is exploring ways in which it can partner with MCHB Grantees for the Five-Year Needs Assessment to align efforts and support one another in capacity. MCHB Grantees also attend the MCH Partner Meetings to offer input, resources, and collaborations with MCH/Title V priorities.

Family Voices Contract

TDH contracts with FVTN to hire parents of CYSHCN to assist with the coordination of family and youth activities and the coordination of the youth advisory committee.

TDH and FVTN collaborated on several projects during this reporting period and co-presented at AMCHP’s annual conferences regarding the importance of Family Led Organizations and State Title V agencies working together to strengthen youth and family engagement. Supported by TDH, FVTN’s peer support program successfully matched more than 50 families with trained parent mentors for emotional and informational support. FHW collaborated with FVTN and LEND to strengthen the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). Many YAC members graduated from high school and transitioned to higher education which led to a drop in membership. Before this shift, the YAC elected a new chairperson who is being mentored in leadership by FVTN and TDH. Currently there are twenty-eight active members who continue to meet and focus on several priorities, i.e., self-advocacy, funding opportunities, transition – speaking to your provider and member recruitment and retention. Eight of those members serve as mentors to the younger members. The FHW CYSHCN Family and Youth Engagement Director has primary responsibility for this committee and continues to engage LEND participants who assist with planning and facilitating meetings. During FY 2023, YAC participants and their families received training on self-advocacy, leadership and “speaking to your elected officials”. As stated above, the YAC was heavily involved in the planning and implementation of the annual summer youth and family conference. This year’s theme was “Advocating for U(s).” Youth and parents were keynote speakers and panelists throughout the two-day event. Youth and parents also attended Disability Day on the Hill and participated in legislative forums individually and in groups and took advantage of the opportunity to speak with their legislators. The Youth Advisory Council utilized several virtual platforms to continue mentoring and meeting with youth from different programs.

The CYSHCN program continues to work towards system building for all children and maintains partnerships with numerous other internal and external partners, including TEIS, EBHV, the TN Council on Developmental Disabilities, TN Department of Labor and Workforce Development, TN AWARE, the Council on Children’s Mental Health, Tennessee Voices for Children, LEND, TN Disability Pathfinders, Vocational Rehabilitation, Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, Transition Tennessee and several employment programs and task forces for children with and without disabilities. The CYSHCN program also continues working towards improving the quality of care across systems, the department’s CHANT program has increased opportunities for engagement, navigation and resource referral for all children and families. Collaborative efforts with TennCare, TNAAP and other public health programs are aimed at building systems and improving quality of care across systems. The CYSHCN program also promotes program and policy change for system building and is engaged in the Division’s efforts around creating optimal health for all and works to ensure health equity is included in CYSHCN, Division, Departmental policies and procedures.

Input from families and youth is essential for improving outcomes in all MCH populations. FHW will continue to seek opportunities to increase capacity to implement, support and sustain quality engagement between families and staff, at all levels of the system. The Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) section of Family Health and Wellness determined that a Family Council would be beneficial to the section. The Section Chief deemed it critical to develop intentional partnerships with families to increase meaningful, practical input on policy and planning. The CYSHCN Family Council is composed of one father and 4 mothers of youth with special needs. The council meets on the third Friday each month to discuss specific topics, agency updates, and barriers. The members of the family council created their own mission statement, “Our group is designed to break barriers by centering youth and family voice, that will drive initiatives to empower, inspire and promote an inclusive community.” The members are currently developing council by-laws, which will be readily available to members and utilized during future meetings.

Partnering to Expand Capacity

Children’s Special Services: MCH/Title V funding supports care coordination as well as reimbursement for direct services (inpatient/outpatient hospitalizations, physician office visits, laboratory testing, medications, supplies, durable medical equipment, and therapies). Payment for medical services is available for children with a chronic physical diagnosis whose family income is at or below 225% of the federal poverty level.

Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening: MCH/Title V funding is used to support screening and diagnostic services for uninsured or underinsured women at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. This funding augments other federal funding (CDC) as well as dedicated state appropriations and funding from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Family Planning: MCH/Title V funding augments state appropriations, insurance reimbursement, and patient billing collections. Prior to March 2023, the Family Planning program had received federal funding from Title X for over 50 years. Between April 2022 and March 2023, Tennessee received $7.1 million from Title X. In CY 2022, 67% of individuals served through the program were at or below 100% of the federal poverty level and 94% were at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.

EPSDT: MCH/Title V funding provides funding for EPSDT visits for uninsured children in local health departments. Likewise, children seen in WIC, immunization clinics, or adolescents in family planning clinics are offered EPSDT services through a Nurse Practitioner or Medical Doctor if desired by the family in cooperation with TennCare to increase screening rates across the state; however, parents are encouraged to get their child a pediatrician/medical home. TDH provided 6,101 of TennCare EPSDT visits in the state in CY 2023 TennCare, TDH, and the MCOs share data to outreach to target counties to increase adherence to the AAP periodicity schedule. TDH is enhancing efforts to connect EPSDT visits to the medical home via CHANT pathways.

See Supporting Documents for additional information on the following new funding sources to support MCH work in Tennessee:

• Tennessee Strong Families
• Doula Services & Pilot Project
• Maternal Health Innovation
• Evidence-Based Home Visiting
• Tennessee Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program
• Universal Postpartum Naloxone
• Juul Settlement Funds
• Count the Kicks
• NBS Long-Term Follow-up
• Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE)
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP)
• Maternal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder
• Women’s Reproductive Health Services