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Title V Maternal Child Health Block Grant

A Black pregnant woman lying on her side and smiling.

Missouri receives funding from the Maternal Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration for improving the health of women (particularly mothers) and children. This funding is known as the Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant and provides funding for both state- and local-level MCH work. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Division of Community and Public Health is responsible for administering the MCH Block Grant for the State of Missouri.

The Title V MCH Block Grant plays a key role in the provision of maternal and child health services in Missouri. Funds from this grant are distributed among a number of programs which target the improvement of the health of women and infants, children and adolescents, and children with special health care needs. Title V MCH Block Grant funded Home Visiting programs were selected based on the most recent MCH Needs Assessment and are not statewide.

Models

Healthy Families America (HFA) is a national program recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness project as a home visiting model that meets the criteria as an “Evidence-based Early Childhood Home Visiting Service Delivery Model.” The HFA model is a voluntary program designed to work with families who may have histories of trauma, intimate partner violence, mental health, and/or substance misuse. The HFA model utilizes experienced early childhood home visitors to provide frequent and supportive home visiting services. The goals of this program are:

to build and sustain community partnerships to systematically engage overburdened families in home visiting services prenatally or at birth
to cultivate and strengthen nurturing parent-child relationships
to promote healthy childhood growth and development
and to enhance family functioning by reducing risk and building protective factors.

For more information, visit the Healthy Families America website.

Nurse Family Partnership® (NFP) is a national program recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness project as a home visiting model that meets the criteria as an “Evidence-based Early Childhood Home Visiting Service Delivery Model.” The NFP model’s primary goals include improved pregnancy outcomes by helping women engage in good prenatal health practices, improved child health and development by helping primary caregivers provide competent care for their children; and improved economic self-sufficiency by helping primary caregivers develop a vision for their and their family’s future.

For more information, visit the Nurse-Family Partnership website.

Eligibility

Maternal Child Health (MCH) Title V funding supports pregnant people and parents of young children in communities that face greater barriers to achieving positive maternal and child health outcomes. Participation in evidence-based home visiting programs supported by MCH funds is voluntary; however, limited to low income (185% of federal poverty level or less) pregnant women and families of children birth to age three, living in the counties served by the contracting home visiting agency(ies). In addition, each evidence-based model has specific eligibility requirements.

Healthy Families America

Eligibility: Low-income under 185% of poverty as defined on the ASPE Poverty Guidelines website who are at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, pregnant women or primary caregivers of infants less than 3 months of age, and reside in the counties served by the program.

Nurse Family Partnership

Eligibility: Low-income under 185% of poverty as defined on the ASPE Poverty Guidelines website first-time pregnant women who enrolled prior to the 28th week of pregnancy and reside in the counties served by the program. Two Office of Childhood supported sites, Mercy Hospital Southeast and Kansas City Health Department, have an approved model enhancement to enroll low-income pregnant women who have had a previous child (multiparous) up until the date of delivery. Visits are provided by registered nurses continue until the child reaches age two.

Maps/Contacts