MCH Block Grant Summary For Public Comments and Review

The Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant is a grant from the U.S. government that supports programs for women, children, teens, children and youth with special health care needs, and their families. The Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health’s Bureau of Family Health (BFH) oversees Louisiana’s MCH Block Grant. We aim to understand the needs of Louisiana families.

Every 5 years, the state conducts a Needs Assessment to decide its major activities for the next 5 years. The most recent Needs Assessment was conducted in 2019-2020. Based on the results of this assessment, the state chooses maternal and child health (MCH) priorities. These priorities guide the use of MCH funds across the state. The priorities from the 2019-2020 assessment include the following:

• Improve birth outcomes for birthing persons and infants
• Reduce child injury and violence
• Improve adolescent mental health and well-being
• Ensure all children and youth with special health care needs receive care in a well-functioning system
• Promote healthy development and family resilience through policies and practices rooted in core principles of development
• Partner with families, youth, and communities at all levels of systems change
• Ensure equitable access to high-quality and coordinated clinical and support services
• Ensure Title V strategies are outcomes-focused and rooted in essential public health services
• Boldly work to undo systemic drivers of disparities and institutionalize equitable policies and practices

For more details on these priorities - including performance measures, objectives, and strategies - please review the State Action Plan Table. Additionally, the MCH Block Grant Executive Summary provides a narrative summary of Title V goals and planned activities for the following year. You can also view the full Title V MCH Block Grant FFY 2023 Report/FFY 2025 Application here.

We invite you to submit feedback to TitleVMCH@la.gov. Your feedback will help inform future updates to Louisiana’s Title V MCH Block Grant application.