Over the last 40 years, Title V MCH Block Grant funds and the required local public health (LPH) match have provided core funding for local and statewide maternal and child health efforts. Most of Minnesota’s Title V efforts are focused on the population and systems levels. 

One-third of Minnesota’s Title V funds support MDH staff who provide leadership on state MCH programs and policies and provide technical assistance to LPH.  Within MDH, the Child and Family Health (CFH) Division leads Title V MCH Block Grant activities. The CFH Division provides collaborative public health leadership that supports and strengthens systems to ensure healthy families and communities. The MCH and Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN) Sections within the CFH Division lead Title V efforts – collaborating with the Family Home Visiting (FHV), and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Sections in the CFH Division, as well as with other MDH programs.

The Minnesota Children’s Cabinet is an example of a MCH effort that is partially supported by Title V funding. Since taking office in 2019, Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flannagan committed to “make Minnesota the best place for each and every child to grow up,” and appointed Commissioners from 22 state agencies to the Cabinet. Given the breadth of representation across state agencies, the Children’s Cabinet is in a unique position to direct statewide efforts to address the multitude of disparities that affect outcomes for children and families in Minnesota. The Children’s Cabinet quickly established subgroups of leaders and experts within each agency, to address the priorities of housing; childcare and early education; mental health and well-being; and healthy beginnings (maternal and infant health and well-being). CFH provides leadership for the mental health and well-being and healthy beginnings sub-groups, and Title V staff serve on several of the subgroups.

Two-thirds of Minnesota’s Title V funds are distributed to the state’s 51 Community Health Boards (CHBs). This is governed by Minnesota Statute § 145.88-145.883 (https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/145.88), which also directs the use of these funds to programs that address needs or issues faced by MCH populations, including CYSHN. CHBs are locally run and conduct regular community health assessments to determine needs, priorities, and programming within their geographic area.