Looking for a strategic path forward? We can help!
We are no longer accepting Letters of Interest for the 2026 Learning Journey. If you work with a state or jurisdictional Title V agency, and you are interested in other ways we can support you, please contact us!
Our 10-month Learning Journey program helps Title V teams think and act strategically to achieve maximum impact.
Whether you’re tackling an important MCH priority in your state, operationalizing your Title V Action Plan, or transforming an internal system, we can help. Title V teams who work with us receive customized coaching and support to help them move their work forward in an evolving public health landscape. Along the way, your team will gain key workforce skills and increase your Title V program’s overall capacity.
Your team might be a good fit for the Learning Journey if you have identified a challenge for which you could use support. For example, you might want help to:
- Operationalize your Title V Five-Year Action Plan.
- Develop a strategic direction for a stream of work.
- Understand how to position your program in an evolving environment.
- Find the most strategic role for Title V in a priority area where other organizations are trying to achieve similar goals.
- Increase your team’s connectedness and cohesion.
- Build essential skills and improve your program’s workforce capacity.
- Learn new tools and benefit from expertise related to a priority area.
- Capitalize on dedicated time and support for advancing an important systems change effort.
What is included?
Your team will work with a coach who has many years of experience working with teams of MCH professionals. The coach will help your team explore your selected challenge, advance your goals, and increase your overall workforce capacity.
In addition to ongoing coaching, the Learning Journey provides a structured experience that includes:
- A two-day, virtual Systems Exploration Workshop designed to guide your team through a deep dive with key partners to explore the system in which your challenge exists.
- A four-day, in-person Learning Institute in Chapel Hill, N.C developed to provide teams with foundational skills and tools.
- Virtual skill-building workshops.
- An intensive, in-state consultation with a team of experts.
- A final peer-learning webinar that helps teams transition their focus to sustaining and amplifying their systems change work.
Participating teams will also have opportunities to connect with and learn from Title V peers from across the country.
What skills will my team learn?
We emphasize learning and provide tools in four key areas. Title V teams tell us that our support in these areas has helped them approach complex challenges and maximize impact.
- Engagement with family leaders and community partners
- Change management and adaptive leadership
- Evidence-based decision-making and applied implementation
- Systems strengthening
How much does it cost?
All services are provided at no cost to state agencies. However, to secure a spot in the Learning Journey state teams must commit to participating in all learning opportunities AND to completing all evaluation activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we participate in the Learning Journey if our state has participated in the past?
Yes! A state or jurisdiction can participate in the Learning Journey program in multiple years. Sometimes states will send a team with a challenge that is related to a previous team’s challenge. Other times, states will send a team from a different priority area with an unrelated challenge. Either option can be a great way to continue expanding your Title V program’s capacity. States tell us that having multiple teams who have experience with the skills and tools we teach helps their staff to more effectively tackle complex challenges.
Can more than one team from a state participate?
Typically, we have enrolled only one team at a time from any given state or jurisdiction. However, if you have two distinct teams who want to work on distinct systems change efforts, it may be possible for us to support both. For example, you may have one team working on an MCH challenge and one team working on a challenge related to children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). Or you may have two teams working on different priority areas related to either MCH or CYSHCN.
We encourage you to coordinate within your Title V program to avoid applying with teams that have overlapping challenges or staff. If you have any questions, please reach out to us!
How much time is involved?
The Center works hard to ensure that the Learning Journey does not add extra work for MCH professionals. Rather, the Learning Journey should provide your team with tools and support that will help them work more effectively and efficiently on the work they are already doing.
However, we do expect that your team will commit to attending all structured learning activities and participating in all evaluation activities. (See the Learning Journey Timeline for a list of structured activities. The amount of time you spend working with your coach outside of these activities will be determined by you and your coach.
What type of challenge should my team select to work on?
We support Title V programs to tackle a wide array of complex challenges. Typically, addressing a complex challenge requires a systems change effort, which can be externally or internally focused. Externally focused efforts often involve working across sectors to create changes designed to improve health outcomes for women, children, and families. Internally focused efforts help agencies build or strengthen internal systems to build capacity and improve efficiency, so agencies can better serve communities.
Examples of challenges that recent teams have tackled include:
- Creating a comprehensive framework for decision making about resource allocation.
- Creating a strategic plan for state adolescent and young adult health.
- Developing a plan to enhance care coordination for children and youth with special healthcare needs.
- Building and enhancing workforce supports related to onboarding, mentoring, and internships.
- Improving data capacity and utilization across the agency’s maternal and child health (MCH) bureau.
What if our team is interested, but we aren’t exactly sure what challenge to focus on?
We would be happy to help you narrow your focus! We have a structured set of exploratory questions that we can use to structure a discussion with someone from your Title V program. This discussion can help us assess where we think your efforts, combined with the support of this program, will have the most impact. Please reach out to us.
What do teams typically accomplish during the Learning Journey?
The amount of progress that each team makes depends on the nature of the challenge and their availability to work on it. For teams that work with cross-sector partners to change complex systems, it can take multiple years to see real progress. For teams that are focused on building internal systems and staff capacity, changes may take less time to implement.
In either case, we will work with you to develop a scope for your team’s work during the Learning Journey program. Your coach can be an excellent support for helping your team stay accountable, maintain momentum, and work through roadblocks to make clear progress on your goals.
How should we select a team from our staff?
The Learning Journey is designed for teams of Title V professionals. Many teams also include cross-sector partners and/or family leaders.
It is okay to submit the Letter of Interest without having fully assembled your team yet, but it is a good idea to at least start thinking about who to include. Please see our Team Composition Guidance for more information.
What if we want to apply but can’t get the Letter of Interest signed in time?
If you have any issues with acquiring the signatures or completing the other sections of the Letter of Interest before the deadline, please reach out to us and we can work with you.
Any additional questions? Contact us!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! Contact Rebecca Greenleaf at rebecca_greenleaf@unc.edu.