State Action Plan Introduction

Vermont’s Title V activities have demonstrated success and innovation through the implementation of evidence-based programs and services, systems improvement activities, relationship building, and bringing additional capacity to projects and programs to move the vision and goals of MCH forward. Vermonters including families, Health Department employees, human service employees, mental health providers, and medical providers have pulled together to make Vermont a consistent leader in the country’s COVID-19 response across multiple domains.  

Vermont continues to do well in the National Performance Measures. 13 measures are better than the corresponding US rates including breastfeeding, safe sleep, developmental screening, adolescent well-visit and medical home, oral health, and adequate insurance measures. We still have work to do to improve the rate of perpetration of bullying and the two components of the smoking measure (smoking during pregnancy and children in homes where someone smokes). We report a statistically significant decline in the rate of physical activity in adolescents between 2017 and 2019, but there are no other statistically significant differences between current and previous Vermont rates.

Vermont's rates also compare favorably to the new HP2030 target rates. Vermont exceeds the HP2030 target rates for low-risk cesarean births, breastfeeding, developmental screening, adolescent well-visits, and medical homes for non-CSHCN children. We are working to improve adolescent physical activity, smoking during pregnancy, and medical homes for CSHCN children.

Regarding Title V National Outcome Measures, areas of strength include prenatal care, low birth weight, preterm births, CSHCN systems of care, obesity, health insurance, overall health status, immunizations, teen pregnancies, postpartum depression, and access to care. We continue to have the same two measures which need improvement compared to the rest of the US: drinking during pregnancy and neonatal abstinence syndrome.

Vermont has improved from year to year in two measures: obesity-ages 2 thru 4 years and flu vaccination; otherwise, outcome rates are statistically stable. For the new HP 2030 target rates, Vermont already exceeds the target rate in three areas: prenatal care, maternal morbidity, and CSHCN systems of care. Vermont's infant mortality rate is above the HP2030 baseline and target rates. We continue to address the rate of drinking during pregnancy as this has been consistently higher than the rest of the country.