State Action Plan Narrative Discussion

State Title V Program Purpose and Design

Title V activities in California are led by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH)/Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division. CDPH/MCAH provides leadership and implements strategies to support the health and well-being of women, children, adolescents, families and individuals across the reproductive life course. We implement programs to address core public health functions including assessing the needs of MCAH populations, developing program policies and systems to improve health outcomes, and making connections to accessible and high-quality health services. Our Division and Department strive to increase health equity and access to culturally responsive services. CDPH/MCAH collects, analyzes and monitors data to identify areas of need and opportunities to promote policy, systems and environmental change. California’s Title V program works to empower and educate individuals of reproductive age to achieve their reproductive health goals and maintain optimal health.

CDPH/MCAH partners with and brings together key stakeholders including the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and other state agencies as well as health care providers, professional organizations, family-serving organizations, universities and researchers, and local level partners. CDPH/MCAH Title V programs, supplemented by Title XIX funding, play a vital role in local program outreach and enrollment of Medi-Cal eligible pregnant women and children into health care services.

CDPH/MCAH utilizes several frameworks to understand how various factors influence the health and well-being of MCAH populations in California. These include: the Spectrum of Prevention, which identifies multiple levels of interventions and encourages people to move beyond the perception that prevention is about teaching healthy behaviors to individuals; Social Determinants of Health, which focuses on social factors such as socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, and factors in the physical environment, and how these factors impact health; the Life Course Approach, which views life as an integrated continuum of different life stages and proposes that a complex interplay of biological, behavioral, psychological, and social protective/risk factors contribute to health outcomes during the span of a person’s life; and the Socio-Ecological Model, which recognizes multiple levels of influence on health behaviors.

A portion of Title V activities related to Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) are conducted in partnership with the DHCS Integrated Systems of Care Division (ISCD). DHCS/ISCD implements family-centered, community-based systems of coordinated care for CYSHCN with complex and chronic medical conditions via the California Children’s Services (CCS) program. DHCS/ISCD assures access to health care for eligible children who meet set criteria that encompass most serious or chronic medical conditions. DHCS/ISCD administers case management for the services provided by the California Children’s Services eligible conditions for CYSHCN and also provides case management in the Medi-Cal Managed Care population.

As a both a CDPH/MCAH and DHCS/ISCD stakeholder, Family Voices of California (FVCA) represents the interests of CYSHCN and their families. FVCA works closely with both Divisions to provide expertise on the needs and experiences of families, and as an organization supports, guides, and advocates for families navigating programs for CYSHCN.