NACCHO, with support from HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), will establish a Maternal and Child Health Policy Innovation Program (MCH PIP) Learning Community, engaging up to 10 local health departments (LHDs) that will develop interdisciplinary teams with their cross-agency and state-level partners, and community members with lived experience. This 2-year initiative (project period: March 2025–July 2027) aims to support LHDs to develop and implement policies addressing nutrition security, housing, or transportation, to improve maternal and child health. Selected health departments will benefit from technical assistance and capacity-building efforts by NACCHO and implementing partners.

Objective: By the end of the project period and with support from NACCHO, selected LHDs and their interdisciplinary teams will implement a policy to improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes.

In the first year of the project, each LHD will identify a policy initiative in one of the three categories:

• Little P: Organizational or departmental policies, often outside government, addressing practices, priorities, resource allocation, and guidelines.

• Medium P: Policies enacted at the coalition or partnership level.

• Big P: Government-enacted policies (public policy) impacting communities, created through legislative or executive actions, agency regulations, or court rulings, at local, state, or national levels.

*LHDs do not need a pre-existing policy to join this learning community, as policy development is included in the technical assistance and capacity building provided by NACCHO.

Benefits and Expectations

• Ongoing technical assistance provided by NACCHO to identify, develop, and advance MCH policies.

• Engage in valuable peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, fostering collaboration, and sharing of best practices.

• Demonstrate active engagement through consistent attendance, thoughtful preparation, and meaningful contributions to discussions.

• Estimated time commitment: 4-6 hours per month, including calls every other month and independent work. Each year, LHDs will travel to an annual in-person meeting. Travel expenses will be covered by NACCHO.

Eligibility

• Open to staff from LHDs, particularly those working on MCH, public health policies, and/or coalition initiatives, with Local Health Official (LHO) approval required. If selected, the LHO will be required to sign a letter of intent to confirm the health department’s participation. Please review the provided template and share it with your LHO for their consideration.

• Only one application per LHD will be accepted.

• NACCHO seeks to collaborate with LHDs that have varied levels of experience in policy development and implementation. Prior experience is not required to participate in the MCH PIP project.

Apply today!

If you are interested in joining the MCH PIP Learning community, please apply using the following form by Friday, February 28, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. To preview the application questions, click here.

Please note: This form does not commit you to, nor does it guarantee your participation. Applicants selected to join will receive an email of selection confirming their intent to participate.

For any questions, please email Victoria Thompson at [email protected].