Maine’s Title V MCH Program has nurtured many collaborative relationships. The following outlines our partners and how these relationships complement a system’s approach to ensure access to quality health care and needed services.
Federal Partnerships
Agency |
Project |
Description |
HRSA |
Maternal and Child Health Block Grant (MCHBG) |
The MCHBG aids in improving MCH in Maine by providing high-level coordination across population health domains. In Maine this translates to building relationships across systems and strategically funding staff and projects. |
HRSA |
State Systems Development Initiative (SSDI) |
SSDI supports Maine’s MCH epidemiology capacity enabling robust data collection across population health domains. |
HRSA |
Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) |
The PMHCA aims to improve access to behavioral health services for children and adolescents. PMHCAs work assists in increasing the knowledge and comfort level of practitioners to screen and treat children and adolescents with a behavioral health diagnosis. PMHCA enhances the behavioral health workforce through the use of telehealth. |
HRSA |
Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) |
The MIECHV is administered by the MCH Program. HV collaborates with Public Health Nursing, WIC, and the Office of Child and Family Services to ensure families receive the services they need. This relationship creates opportunities for identifying overlap and efficiently using resources. |
CDC |
Early Hearing and Detection and Intervention (EHDI) |
EHDI identifies infants with hearing loss through universal screening allowing identified infants to be enrolled in an early intervention program. The grant funds .50 FTE of the newborn screening coordinator and the data information system. The information system is also used for newborn bloodspot results and tracks Critical Congenital Heart Disease. |
HRSA |
Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems: Health Integration Prenatal to 3 Program (ECCS) |
Maine’s ECCS Health Integration Prenatal-to-Three program is increasing statewide access to integrated, effective, culturally appropriate, evidence-based early intervention practices and services during the prenatal and early childhood period. |
State Partnerships
Agency |
Description - how does the relationship complement the system’s approach? |
Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Maine DHHS) Leadership |
Maine DHHS Leadership is invested in supporting MCH in Maine. The Commissioners goals are: 1) Establishing a perinatal system of care 2) Ensuring access to high quality preventive services 3) Building a strong behavioral health system that supports the social emotional health of children and families 4) Ensuring that substance use screening, treatment and support for recovery is available for families, including mothers, infants and children; and 5) Ensuring that adolescents receive appropriate preventive and behavioral health services and have access to community-based services allowing them to stay in their community with natural supports. A Child Health Leadership group led by Maine DHHS staff meets monthly to coordinate services throughout the Department. |
Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) |
Title V collaborates with OCFS. PHN and PMHCA routinely collaborate and OCFS plays an active role in referrals and planning. |
Women, Infants and Children (WIC) |
WIC serves all Maine families with free nutrition advice, tips for staying healthy, and resources for growing families. They also provide assistance with BF, conduct screenings and provide connections to other social services. |
Public Health Nursing |
PHN is an essential MCH partner. PHNs provide services to clients across all population health domains, although their work is primarily perinatal and infant. PHN collaborates with HV and WIC to ensure family needs are being met. PHN leads the MCHBG Perinatal and Infant health domain. |
Maine Department of Education (Maine DOE) - Programming |
Maine DOE provides connections to the school population, including school staff addressing topics such as bullying, social emotional learning, injury prevention and sexual health. |
Maine DOE – Child Development Services (CDS) |
The CDS system is an Intermediate Educational Unit that provides both Early Intervention (birth through 2 years) and Free Appropriate Public Education (for ages 3 through 5 years) under the supervision of the Maine DOE. Title V collaborates with CDS primarily through CSHN program partners to ensure provision of special education rules and federal and state regulations statewide. |
Children with Special Health Needs (CSHN) |
The Title V Director is also the CSHN Director, a relationship that allows for coordination between programs. Title V funds some staffing and projects specific to improving the lives of CSHN and their families. |
Data, Research, and Vital Statistics (DRVS) |
DRVS provides birth and infant death data. Title V staff use these data to track birth outcomes for reporting on the Title V Needs Assessment and annual reports and provide Maine’s MFIMR Panel with monthly data for their reviews. These data are also used to ensure all infants receive a bloodspot screening. |
MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid agency) |
Title V has an MOU with MaineCare outlining roles and responsibilities between the two agencies. These include participating in each other’s projects, sharing data and ensuring Title V is the payor of last resort. |
Office of Behavioral Health (OBH); formally the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services |
Title V’s relationship with OBH includes a focus on decreasing the number of substance exposed infants through the plan of safe care and partnering on the PMHCA initiatives. |
Tobacco and Substance Use Prevention and Control (TSUPC) |
TSUPC contributes to components of the MCH block grant related to substance use and prevention. Activities focus on decreasing the number of women who smoke tobacco during pregnancy. |
Chronic Disease |
Maine CDC’s Division of Disease Prevention (DDP) is comprised of the following Programs: Cardiovascular Health, Diabetes Prevention and Control, Asthma Prevention and Control, Obesity Prevention (Healthy Eating and Physical Activity), Breast and Cervical Health, Comprehensive Cancer, and Colorectal Cancer. The DDP provides public health education and implements evidence-based interventions to prevent and control chronic diseases. |
Oral Health (OH) |
The OH Program seeks to improve the oral health of Maine people through:
|
Non-governmental Partnerships
Agency |
Description: how does the relationship complement the system’s approach? |
University of Southern Maine (USM) |
USM provides epidemiological support to DDP programs. The Epidemiologists also play a significant role in the annual MCHBG report and application by obtaining, analyzing and reporting data. |
Developmental Disabilities Council (DD Council) |
Title V, in particular, CSHN is an active participant on the board of the DD Council. |
Maine Children’s Trust (MCT) |
MCT is the contract administrator for the Maine Families Home Visiting Program. MCT also facilitates the Safe Sleep Coalition; Title V is a coalition member. |
Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) |
APHL works to build effective laboratory systems in the US and globally. The association represents state and local governmental health labs that monitor and detect PH threats. APHL provides technical assistance and training to the Newborn Bloodspot Screening Program to ensure staff are knowledgeable and up to date on the latest science. |
The Newborn Screening Technical assistance and Evaluation Program (NewSTEPs) |
NewSTEPs is a national newborn screening resource center designed to provide data, technical assistance, and training to newborn screening programs and assist states with QI initiatives. Maine participates in trainings and meetings to seek ways to improve programing. |
Maine Parent Federation (MPF) |
MPF serves families of CSHN by providing navigation assistance through healthcare, State and education systems as well as information and referral. |
Family Planning Association of Maine (FPA) |
FPA is contracted to provide family planning clinical services and pregnancy prevention. FPA ensures individuals have access to services and provides education around healthy sexual choices. Pregnancy prevention efforts target teens in areas of the state where teen pregnancy rates are highest and implements the Be Proud Be Responsible curriculum. |
Hospital systems |
Title V has relationships with Maine’s hospital systems. Maine DHHS provides leadership on initiatives related to Safe Sleep and Opioid Use/Misuse. Title V provides perinatal outreach to hospitals and contracts with the two largest hospital systems on the PMHCA. |
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