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Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to the States Program: Guidance and Forms for the Title V Application/Annual Report - Appendix of Supporting Documents

Appendix of Supporting Documentss for the Title V Application/Annual Report

Final

Issued by: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Issue Date: December 01, 2020

Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program

As one of the largest federal block grant programs, Title V funding is a key source of support for promoting and improving the health and well-being of the nation’s mothers, children-including children with special needs, and their families.

In 2019, the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program funded 59 states and jurisdictions to provide health care and public health services for an estimated 60 million people.  Services reached 92% of all pregnant women, 98% of infants, and 60% of children nationwide, including children with special health care needs.

What are the Goals of Title V?

Title V funds are distributed to grantees from 59 states and jurisdictions. The funds seek to create federal and state partnerships that support:

  • Access to quality health care for mothers and children, especially for people with low incomes and/or limited availability of care
  • Health promotion efforts that seek to reduce infant mortality and the incidence of preventable diseases, and to increase the number of children appropriately immunized against disease
  • Access to comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care for women, especially low-income and/or at-risk pregnant women
  • An increase in health assessments and follow-up diagnostic and treatment services, especially for low-income children
  • Access to preventive and child care services as well as rehabilitative services for children in need of specialized medical services
  • Family-centered, community-based systems of coordinated care for children with special healthcare needs
  • Toll-free hotlines and assistance in applying for services to pregnant women with infants and children who are eligible for Title XIX (Medicaid)

How Does the Title V MCH Block Grant Program Work?

State maternal and child health agencies, which are usually located within a state health department, apply annually for Title V funding. The legislation also requires states to submit an Annual Report and to complete a statewide, comprehensive needs assessment every five years. States have flexibility in how Title V funds are used to support a wide range of activities that address state and national needs.

How Is the Title V MCH Block Grant Program Funded?

Each year, Congress sets aside funding for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. Individual State allotments are determined by a formula, which considers the proportion of low-income children in a particular state compared to the total number of low-income children in the entire U.S.

States and jurisdictions must match every $4 of federal Title V money that they receive by at least $3 of state and/or local money (i.e., non-federal dollars). Many states overmatch, which results in more than $5 billion being available each year for maternal and child health programs at the state and local levels.

How are Programs Held Accountable?

A three-tiered performance measure framework was introduced in 2015 to enable states to demonstrate the impacts of Title V on selected health outcomes within a state. States apply this new framework in developing a five-year State Action Plan to address their identified MCH priority needs.

  • National Outcome Measures (NOMs) – intended to represent the desired result of Title V program activities and interventions. These measures for improved health are longer-term than National Performance Measures.
  • National Performance Measures (NPMs) – intended to drive improved outcomes relative to one or more indicators of health status (i.e., NOMs) for the MCH population.
  • Evidence-based Strategy Measures (ESMs) – intended to hold states accountable for improving quality and performance related to the NPMs and related public health issues. ESMs will assist state efforts to more directly measure the impact of specific strategies on the NPMs.

Each measure, tied to a national data source, allows for more timely, reliable, and valid data reporting. The new performance measure framework intends to track areas where the state MCH programs can best demonstrate the impact of their Title V investments.

The information and data contained within the 59 State MCH Block Grant Applications/Annual Reports is publicly accessible on the Title V Information System (TVIS). In addition to a dashboard presentation of national and state level performance measure data, the TVIS features other state-reported financial and program data as well as a State Snapshot for the 59 states and jurisdictions that receive Title V funding as well as a National Snapshot (PDF - 545 KB) for the program.

Date Last Reviewed:  December 2020


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