In Hawaii, the Family Health Services Division (FHSD) serves as state Title V MCH agency. FHSD is committed to improving the health of women, infants, children including those with special health care needs, and families. FHSD works to promote health and well-being using a life course and multi-generational approach to address social determinants of health and health equity.

The FHSD programs work to ensure statewide infrastructure for data collection, needs assessment, surveillance, planning and evaluation, systems and policy development, and the provision of workforce training and technical assistance to assure quality of care.

FHSD is comprised of three branches – Maternal and Child Health, Children with Special Health Needs, and Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Services – and several offices and programs at the Division level.

At the Division-level, FHSD oversees the following programs:

• Title V MCH Block Grant Program
• Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems
• Oral Health Program
• Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System
• Office of Primary Care and Rural Health including the Primary Care Office (PCO), State Office of Rural Health, the Medicaid Rural Hospital Flexibility Program and the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program.

The Maternal and Child Health Branch administers a statewide system of services to reduce health disparities for women, children and families of Hawaii. MCHB programs provide core public health services that establish and maintain public and private partnerships to share information, support program planning, and collaborate on/promote policies to improve outcomes for women, children and families. Services include training and public awareness to high-risk women, adolescents and other disparate populations on family planning, perinatal, and inter-conception care; child and youth wellness; prevention of child abuse and neglect; sexual assault prevention; domestic violence prevention; home visiting services and family supports. Some of the programs include: The Parent Line, Child Death Review, Maternal Mortality Review, the Domestic Violence Fatality Review and over 35 community provider contracts for women’s health and family planning services.

The Children with Special Health Needs Branch works to improve access for children and youth with special health care needs to a coordinated system of family-centered health care services and improve their outcomes. This is addressed through systems development, assessment, assurance, education, collaborative partnerships, and supporting families to meet their health and developmental needs. Programs include:

• Children & Youth with Special Health Needs Section: Children with Special Health Needs, Early Childhood, Hiʻilei Developmental Screening, and Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs.
• Genomics Section: Genetics, Birth Defects, Newborn Hearing Screening, Newborn Metabolic Screening Programs.
• Early Intervention Section (EIS), with mandated early intervention services provided through 3 state-operated programs and 15 purchase of service programs. The Hawaii Early Intervention Coordinating Council, established under HRS §321-353, advises and assists EIS in the performance of its responsibilities under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program is a $29M United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) federally funded short-term intervention program. USDA FNS provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. The WIC Branch of the Family Health Services Division administers the USDA FNS WIC program for the State of Hawaii.