Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Section

Mission

The mission of the Maternal and Child Health Program is to improve the health status of children and youth, women and their families by providing technical and financial support to local community agencies, schools and voluntary organizations. Services include program planning, technical consultation, professional education and training, and grants for specialized purposes. A significant portion of the budget consists of grant funds for support of local services. Increasingly, capacity is being refocused and developed to carry out the core public health functions of assessment, policy development and assurance related to the reforming health care system. The resulting components of these activities are coordinated with related local programs so that comprehensive maternal and child health services are provided to individuals.

Overview

The programs within the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Section strive to improve the health status of children and youth, women and their families. The MCH Section provides a focal point for influencing the efforts of a broad range of agencies and programs committed to this goal. The Section supports their efforts by providing administrative and program assistance to Community Health Boards, Tribal Governments, schools, voluntary organizations, and private health care providers. In addition, MCH programs continue to give particular attention to their relationships with Minnesota’s local public health system and are involved in a number of collaborative activities to strengthen and enhance this relationship.

The overall role of the MCH Section within Minnesota’s health care delivery environment is:

  • to assess the health needs of mothers, children, and their families;
  • to use that information to advocate effectively on their behalf in the development of policies concerning organizational and operational issues of health systems; and
  • to advocate for programs and funding streams which have the potential to improve their health.

In addition, the MCH Section has focused on quality assurance of public sector health services, assurance of targeted outreach and service coordination for hard-to-reach and high-risk populations, and community health promotion.