Engagement: Cohort 2017
Challenge: Improve the sustainability of North Carolina’s MCH systems of care initiatives in local communities by broadening their knowledge-base of sustainability and identifying a framework to support their work.
Tools: Program Sustainability Assessment Tool
Engagement: Single-State Intensive 2015
Challenge: Target communities with alarmingly high rates of low- birth weight babies, infant mortality, children born to teen mothers, and child maltreatment and integrate this into a comprehensive early childhood leadership structure
Project Results: Formation of the NC Early Childhood Grants Advisory Council, a working sub-committee of the NC Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) that would meet quarterly to serve as the advisory council of the following grants: Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, NC Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions to Unmet Needs in Children’s Health), and the Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems: Building Health Through Integration (ECCS) grants. (Note: The ECAC is already named in the MIECHV and ECCS as the advisory council.) The NC Early Childhood Grants Advisory Council would include key members of the ECAC, plus other stakeholders as required by the grants, and would report directly to the ECAC. The concept is to establish the NC Early Childhood Grants Advisory Council as an opportunity for other programs writing grants that directly relate to early childhood to come together in an integrated system to support one another and to inform the NC Early Childhood Advisory Council of work being done through grants.
Formation of an Early Childhood Implementation Matrix Team composed of program managers/representatives of all the early childhood programs across the Division of Public Health including, but not limited to the: MIECHV Program, NC Project LAUNCH, Healthy Child Care North Carolina, Child Fatality Task Force, Family Strengthening Program Manager, Early Intervention Part C, Care Coordination for Children, plus representatives from the Women’s Health Branch of the Women’s and Children’s Health Section and other programs.
Demonstration projects in four Tier One* counties, as identified through the needs assessment, are implementing a home visiting program and/or Triple P. The goal would be to develop early childhood councils in the county that would have collaborative oversight of all the early childhood programs and initiatives. A Request for Applications (RFA) will be issued to qualifying counties to identify four counties that are interested in either developing a local early childhood council or interested in integrating individual committees into one coordinated council.