The Maternal and Child Health Assessment Division (MCH Assessment) has responsibility for building data capacity and all data related functions relevant to advancing MCH priorities, including data collection, data management, analysis and reporting, and program evaluation. MCH Assessment is comprised of 13 positions (11 FTEs), which include epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and project managers, along with support staff who carry out administrative and operations functions within the unit. Analytic staff is assigned to support program areas or grant projects. MCH Assessment has accountability for the performance of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), The Oklahoma Toddler Survey (TOTS), the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and the State Systems Development Initiative (SSDI), the main surveillance systems and data capacity initiatives in the MCH Service. Furthermore, the unit is a heavy user of birth certificate and death certificate data, as well as the Public Health Oklahoma Client Information System (PHOCIS), OSDH’s internal data system that captures information about client caseload and service utilization with respect to care provided in county health departments and contract sites.

MCH Assessment is led by Paul Patrick, Administrative Program Manager (1.0 FTE), who holds a Master’s of Public Health in Biostatistics and has more than 20 years of public health experience, the majority of which has been in MCH. Mr. Patrick serves as the data contact for the Title V MCH Block Grant and has responsibility for drafting key sections of the application and annual report. His duties include supervision of MCH Assessment staff; design and oversight of the Title V Five-Year Needs Assessment; Data Liaison for the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Networks (CoIIN) to improve infant mortality, safe sleep, and preconception care; including the completion of grant applications and performance reports. Mr. Patrick also has responsibility for preparing and overseeing Institutional Review Board applications as needed for MCH projects. Funding for the Administrative Program Manager is drawn from the Title V Block Grant.

The Senior Biostatistician position (1.0 FTE) with MCH Assessment is held by Binitha Kunnel, MS. In her role, Ms. Kunnel serves as the lead statistical and epidemiologic resource for the MCH Service, providing leadership in interpreting results of analyses and advising MCH leadership in translating results into actionable programming. She has responsibility for performing analysis of PRAMS and TOTS surveillance data, assuring that these data are incorporated into building Title V data capacity. Ms. Kunnel has supervision over the MCH Medicaid Analyst (described below) and assists with directing priority analyses of the OHCA/MCH Medicaid Shared-Data Workgroup. She has 10 years of experience in MCH. Ms. Kunnel’s FTE position is funded by the Title V Block Grant, PRAMS, and the State Maternal Health Innovation Program (SMHIP) grant.

The MCH Medicaid Analyst (1.0 FTE) position within MCH Assessment is presently vacant; the incumbent having resigned in October 2020. Recruitment is ongoing at this time. This position has responsibility for linking and analyzing birth certificate and Medicaid administrative records.

Two epidemiologists (2.0 FTEs) are employed by MCH Assessment. One, the Child and Adolescent Health Epidemiologist position, is held by Thad Burk, MPH. Mr. Burk has 18 years of employment in MCH as an epidemiologist. He has responsibility for supporting the Child and Adolescent Health (CAH) Division within the MCH Service, providing technical expertise on data analysis and reporting. Likewise, MCH Assessment has a second epidemiologist (Dana Coles, MPH) who provides support for the Perinatal and Reproductive Health (PRH) Division. Ms. Coles has greater than 10 years employment experience with MCH, primarily focused on family planning program support. However, she supports the submission of the Title V Block Grant and has co-coordinated the completion of the Five-Year Needs Assessment with previous Oklahoma grant submissions. Funding to support these positions is combination of Title V, YRBS, PREP, SMHIP, and Title X funds.

Susan Harman, DrPH, holds the position of State System Development Initiative (SSDI) Analyst (1.0 FTE) in MCH Assessment. In that role, she served as the Five-Year Needs Assessment Coordinator for the 2021-2025 Title V Block Grant. Ms. Harman has primary responsibility for advancing MCH data capacity to include partnering with internal and external entities to develop new datasets, topic-specific analyses, and reporting dashboards. She has five years of experience working in MCH, but has been a professor in academia and served as an analyst for the Tribal Epidemiology Center for the Oklahoma City Area Tribal Health Board, now known as the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board. Principally, Ms. Harman is funded with SSDI grant funds (90%), the remainder coming from Title V dollars.

Remaining staff (5.0 FTEs) within MCH Assessment consist of an Administrative Assistant, PRAMS-TOTS Programs Manager, PRAMS-TOTS Data Manager, and four temporary, half-time positions employed as phone surveillance staff. Each of these positions serves to support the data capacity, analysis, and evaluation activities performed in MCH Assessment. Funding for positions is allocated from Title V and PRAMS grants.

MCH Assessment continues to collect surveillance data via PRAMS, TOTS, and YRBS, and seeks to develop improved reporting mechanisms, primarily through Tableau dashboards and retooled data products designed for social media presentation. Through SSDI activities, MCH Assessment aims to partner with internal service areas (e.g., Screening, WIC) to develop linked data systems for analyses. Recruitment for the MCH Medicaid Analyst will continue to such time as the position is filled with a qualified candidate. Once filled and the new hire is trained, MCH Assessment and the OHCA/MCH Medicaid Data Workgroup will resume linkages and analyses of birth and Medicaid records. This work is vital to creating a better understanding of health outcomes and health care use patterns among the Medicaid population in Oklahoma.