Work Groups and Plans
 

Maternal and Child Health Advisory Committee Restructure (February 2024)

Chairs:

• Chair: Sameerah Bilal-Roby, Professional Representative
• Chair-elect: Rachel Gilbertson, Community Health Board Representative

MDH agency staff:

• Nicole Brown, CYSHN Section Manager and Title V CYSHN Director
• Judy Edwards, MCH Assistant Section Manager
• Jennie Lippert, Family Home Visiting Manager
• Savannah Riddle, MCH Section Manager and Title V MCH Director
• Elizabeth Taylor-Schiro, Title V Coordinator
• Noya Woodrich, Child and Family Health Division Director

Purpose:

The Maternal and Child Health Advisory Committee was created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1982, and reestablished in 2012, to advise the Commissioner of Health on:

• The health care services/needs of maternal and child health populations in Minnesota.
• The use of funds for maternal and child health and children with special health needs administered through MDH.
• The priorities and goals for maternal and child health activities.

Deadlines:

• 2024 Biannual Report: The committee prepares and presents to the Commissioner.
• 2024 Betty Hubbard Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Award: Betty (Elizabeth) Hubbard, a longtime advocate for the health needs of mothers and children and an original member of the Task Force, died in 1989. In 1990, the committee and the Minnesota Department of Health honored her work and her memory by establishing the Annual Betty Hubbard Leadership Award. This award of recognition is presented to individuals or organizations in Minnesota making significant contributions to maternal and child health.

Maternal and Child Health Executive Committees

MDH agency staff: Judy Edwards

Committee members: Sameerah Bilal-Roby (Chair), Gene Nichols, Stephanie Graves, Rachel Gilbertson, Stephanie de Sam Lazaro

Role/responsibility:

• The executive committee is responsible for conducting the interim business of the committee, which includes recommending appointments for statutory vacancies and ex-officio memberships.
• The executive committee will consist of the chair, chair-elect or past chair, and up to four additional committee members. All members of the executive committee must be commissioner appointed members.

Meeting information/frequency: At a minimum, the executive committee will meet approximately one month prior to a committee meeting to conduct business and plan the full committee meeting agenda. 
 

Betty Hubbard Maternal and Child Health Leadership Award Committee

MDH agency staff: Judy Edwards

Members: Stephanie de Sam Lazaro, Rachel Gilbertson, Lindsey Wimmer

Role/responsibility:

• Assist in the annual review of the award policy and procedures and to determine and recommend any needed changes.
• Provide input into the annual open nominations process, including recommending changes to the eligibility criteria, nomination and scoring forms, and announcement flyers.
• Review and score nominations received and making recommendations of final nominees to executive committee.
• Participating in the selection process for final award recipients.
   

Child and Adolescent

MDH agency staff: Mariah Geiger-Williams (support from Julie NeitzelCarr and Kristin Teipel)

Charge to the subcommittee:

Develop meeting schedule, workplan, and timeline to monitor and advise on the Minnesota Partnership Adolescent and Young Adult Health plan. This plan was originally implemented in 2019 and updated in 2023 to reflect data and community input during the COVID pandemic. This subcommittee will also:

• Participate in Maternal and Child Health Title V 5-year needs assessment prioritization (if not completed) and make recommendations on priorities identified related to child and adolescent health.
• Review and advise on implementation of strategies and activities identified in the Title V Maternal and Child Health 2025 Needs Assessment throughout the grant cycle.
• Identify and recommend engagement with community partners that work with youth or youth serving organizations that will assist in implementation or improving needs identified in the needs assessment.
• Review and provide feedback to MN Title V Action Plan or child and family health statewide strategic plan related strategies or activities related to populations or communities most affected by the priority needs identified in the 2025 needs assessment.
• Review MDH’s Statewide Health Assessment and Maternal and Child Health 5-year needs assessment to identify gaps in services or needs identified for populations experiencing inequities and provide recommendations to address inequities that may impact children and adolescents.
• Review and provide feedback to the Minnesota Student Survey and related research and surveys on the health status of Minnesota’s children and adolescents.
• Review and provide feedback on adolescent mental health/mental well-being, teen pregnancy and STI,
• Monitor child and family health programs designed to improve adolescent health outcomes, reduce teen pregnancy and STI rates.
• Provide recommendations to address or reduce disparities among populations and communities with the highest discrepancies and health inequities.
• Submit recommendations for review, feedback, and vote to approve to full committee.
• Advise the commissioner of health on priorities for funding for child and adolescent health.
• Establish in consultation with the Commissioner statewide outcomes that will improve the health status of child and adolescent health.
• Monitor the Children’s Cabinet work on priority areas of children’s mental health and youth justice and opportunity.

Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN)

MDH agency staff: Heather Stillwell, CYSHN Section (subcommittee staff), Nicole Brown (CYSHN Manager)

The subcommittee will advise on and review the federally mandated Maternal and Child Health Needs Assessment and priority maternal and child health indicators every five years related to the core area of children and youth with special health needs. In addition, they will:

• Advise and provide recommendations for the strategies and activities included within Minnesota’s Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant related to the core area of children and youth with special health needs,
• Advise on the type, frequency, and impact of health care services provided to children and youth with special health needs under existing maternal and child health programs, including programs administered by the Commissioner of Health.
• Advise the commissioner of health on priorities for funding for children and youth with special health needs.
• Establish in consultation with the commissioner statewide outcomes that will improve the health status of children and youth with special health needs.

Tasks/deadlines:

• Recommendations for Title V Needs Assessment priorities to be brought to the full committee by Aug 2024.
• Recommendations for Title V Strategies and Activities to be brought to the full committee.

Family Home Visiting (FHV)

MDH agency staff: Jennie Lippert, FHV Manager

Charge to the subcommittee:

The purpose of the family home visiting subcommittee will be to advise and provide recommendations to the MDH family home visiting program from a community and home visiting professional standpoint. The subcommittee may assist in the evaluation of the overall performance of MDH family home visiting, including: 

• Review/monitor/assess specific family home visiting models, grants and data.
• Serve as an advocate as it pertains to family home visiting and the community it serves.
• Gather input from/serve as a liaison with relevant constituencies.
• Provide feedback to MDH family home visiting leaders from the community.
• Provide technical expertise.
• Serve as an independent/unbiased sounding board and assist staff in determining important activities and priorities.

Infant and Early Childhood

MDH agency staff: Mary Ottman

Charge to the subcommittee:

The infant and early childhood sub-committee was established in February 2024. The charge to this group is to become knowledgeable about child and family health infant and early childhood programs and initiatives; participate in Maternal and Child Health Title V 5-year needs assessment prioritization (if not completed) and make recommendations on priorities identified related to infant and early childhood. This subcommittee will also: 

• Monitor and advise on implementation of strategies and activities identified in the Title V Maternal and Child Health 2025 Needs Assessment throughout the grant cycle.
• Identify and recommend engagement or networking opportunities with community partners working to improve infant health outcomes and reduce infant mortality and low birthweight to maternal and child health.
• Review and provide feedback on infant and early childhood strategies to the MN Title V action plan and the child and family health statewide strategic plan.
• Review MDH’s Statewide Health Assessment and Maternal and Child Health 5-year needs assessment to identify gaps in services or needs identified for populations experiencing inequities.
• Provide recommendations to address inequities that may impact infant and early childhood.
• Review and provide feedback on action plans developed by MDH safe sleep and unexpected infant death initiatives.
• Submit recommendations for review, feedback, and approval by full committee to advise the commissioner of health on priorities for funding for infant and early childhood.
• Establish in consultation with the commissioner statewide objectives to improve the outcomes of infant and early childhood health.

Perinatal (I-MOM)

Subcommittee lead: Joi Elmore/Michelle O’Brien

MDH agency staff: Ramya Palaniappan (Anne Walaszek)

Charge to the subcommittee:

Develop and participate in the implementation of a statewide perinatal health strategic plan. The maternal health strategic plan will promote innovative program development, identify policy needs, and other activities to address and support improved maternal health outcomes, the I-MOM perinatal subcommittee will be co-led by an Maternal and Child Health Advisory Committee member and community leader(s). I-MOM will provide regular updates to the full Committee on its work, which is expected to continue through September 29, 2027. This work will also support key issues identified by the committee in the Commissioners report, and its work will be added to the committee workplan. This subcommittee will: 

• Advise on and review the federally mandated Maternal and Child Health Needs Assessment and priority maternal and child health indicators every five years related to the women health.
• Advise and provide recommendations for the strategies and activities included within Minnesota’s Title V (Maternal and Child Health) Block Grant related to the core area of women health.
• Advise on the type, frequency, and impact of health care services provided to women under existing maternal and child health programs, including programs administered by the Commissioner of Health.