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National MCH Workforce Development Center

Customized workforce development for Title V agencies tackling health transformation challenges

Supporting Title V State Action Plans, MCH Career Pathways at AMCHP 2026

We had a great time at the March 7-10 Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Conference in Washington D.C.!

This conference is always one of the highlights of the year for us. We’re passionate about offering sessions that teach skills and provide practical tools to help Title V states and jurisdictions strategically move their work forward. And we’re always grateful to Title V leaders for sharing their insights and the innovative practices they’re finding success with in the field. This year was no exception — we left feeling energized by meaningful conversations and fresh perspectives to bring back to our work.

Some of the Center team members who facilitated sessions and presented posters at this year’s conference. From left to right: Evaluation Manager Chantelle Dowsett, PhD; Graduate Research Assistant Martina Spain, MPH; Director of Learning Rebecca Greenleaf, MPH; Deputy Director Amy Mullenix, MSW, MSPH; Graduate Research Assistant Caroline Frisch; Academic-Practice Partnership Team Consultant Christine Bozlak, PhD; and Academic-Practice Partnership Team Consultant Karen McDonnell.

Supporting Strategic Implementation for 2026-2030 Title V State Action Plans

This year’s conference provided a valuable opportunity to support Title V leaders just as they’ve been starting to implement their 2026-2030 State Action Plans. Our team facilitated several sessions offering tools and practical guidance for this work:

  • Turning Action Plans into Progress: A Systems-Informed Implementation Workshop — This skill-builder workshopfocused on how using a systems-informed approach during the early stages of implementing an Action Plan can help agencies optimize their impact. Participants explored how to prioritize strategies, align resources, and identify actionable next steps to support effective implementation.
  • Title V Block Grant Five-Year Action Plans: How Can We Effectively Contract, Monitor Activities, and Demonstrate Results — This session created an active discussion space for Title V professionals to share tools they are using to contract Title V work with state partners, local health departments, and community organizations.
  • Adaptive Leadership: Practical and Creative Approaches to Advance Systems of Services for CYSHCN — This invite-only session convened Title V CYSHCN program leaders. In partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, our team helped facilitate small-group discussions on how to improve access to services, strengthen partnerships with family leaders and key stakeholders, and apply adaptive leadership skills to implement relevant strategies and sustain momentum during times of disruption.
  • Practical Use of AI for Maternal and Child Health: Tools and Techniques — In partnership with the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, we also equipped professionals with practical skills and strategies to responsibly integrate AI tools into their daily MCH work. Participants explored decision points for using AI, practiced creating an AI assistant to support a task, and discussed their experiences using AI in their work.
Participants share their thinking about case study examples during “Turning Action Plans into Progress: A Systems-Informed Implementation Workshop.”

If you’re interested in additional learning opportunities to support strategic implementation of your MCH work, check out our recent microlearning content:

  • Ecosystem Mapping — Aligning Plans and Strategy Building: Three short videos and supporting resources show you how to use ecosystem maps and network maps to create alignment across MCH systems.
  • Facilitators and Barriers — Moving from Priorities to Action: Another set of three short videos with accompanying resources introduce a framework for how to identify and work with facilitators and barriers in your MCH work.

We’re also currently accepting applications from Title V teams and their partners for our upcoming Skills Institute: Grow Your Title V Impact through Strategic Partnership. Apply to join us for three days of essential strategic partnership skills! Participating teams will learn how to build stronger, more aligned collaborations that advance their Title V priorities.

Supporting Students in MCH Career Pathways

The conference was also a fantastic opportunity to show our support for students in the MCH field! For more than a decade, WDC has supported teams of graduate and undergraduate MCH students through our Title V MCH Internship Program. The program’s aim is to provide future MCH professionals with real, hands-on experience working in state and jurisdictional Title V agencies.

  • Meeting Recent Graduates Where They Are: MCH Career Perspectives of National Title V MCH Internship Program Alumni — This interactive workshop shared the results of a 2025 survey of alumni from our internship program. These results can inform agency efforts to successfully recruit and support new hires in Title V agencies and related MCH programs.
  • Sharing the Journey to Train the Next MCH Workforce Generation: 12 years of the Title V Internship — This poster shared an analysis of 2014–2025 cohort data from our internship program, examining how the program has changed over time based on feedback from preceptors and interns as it builds capacity for both Title V agencies and the future MCH workforce.

We also had the pleasure of supporting current and former students in their professional growth through hands‑on work with the Center.

  • Strengthening Statewide Early Childhood Developmental Screening: Insights from Virginia’s Developmental Screening Initiative and Key Informant Interviews — Olivia Smith, MPH, a 2025 alumnus of our Title V MCH Internship Program, presented this poster about her internship project. She discussed how the MySwaddle program connects families, hospitals, and community programs to support postpartum mental health and early childhood outcomes.
  • Leveraging Community Partnership in a Meaningful Way: A Discussion of Key Considerations When Conducting System-Level Public Health Initiatives — Our current graduate research assistant Caroline Frisch presented this session as part of the Student & Early Career Roundtable. She led a discussion on strategies for balancing fast‑ and slow‑paced research to effectively communicate findings and drive system‑level change in public health.
Center team members sharing information with conference attendees at an exhibit table with our partners from the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH). From left to right: Our Director of Learning Rebecca Greenleaf, MPH; Executive Director of NCEMCH John Richards, MA, and our Deputy Director Amy Mullenix, MSW, MSPH.
From left to right: our partner, Executive Director of NCEMCH John Richards, MA, and Evaluation Manager Chantelle Dowsett, PhD.

It’s inspiring to see MCH professionals putting their plans into action. Together, we’re building a future where every community can thrive, and we look forward to reconnecting at the 2027 AMCHP Conference in Washington, DC — mark your calendars and we’ll see you next year!