Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, UNMC

Problem:

The urban maternal and child health workforce faces a myriad of health issues that they must address. As such, this group of health professionals needs training in discipline-specific knowledge, cultural competence and leadership. Additionally, the workforce should be culturally, racially and ethnically diverse to mirror the populations they serve.

Goals and Objectives:

Goals of the proposed program along with the two most important objectives of each goal are presented below. Goal 1: Develop the leadership skills of all CityMatCH Members and conference participants by offering continuing education opportunities in the field of urban maternal and child health leadership. ? Objective 1.1: By September 2007, and each year thereafter, CityMatCH will offer at least two (2) MCH leadership sessions at the 2007 CityMatCH Urban Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference for all participants to attend. ? Objective 1.3: By May 2008, and each year thereafter, CityMatCH will provide one (1) continuing education opportunity following the 2007 CityMatCH conference for all CityMatCH Members and conference participants to understand and implement the newly created MCH Leadership Competencies into their daily work. Goal 2: Develop CityLeaders through the creation of a 6-month continuing education program focused on urban maternal and child health leadership. ? Objective 2.2: By September 2007, and each year thereafter, CityMatCH will offer a Leadership Track for 20 selected CityLeaders at the 2007 CityMatCH Urban Maternal and Child Health Leadership Conference. ? Objective 2.3: By January 2008, and each year thereafter, CityMatCH will host up to three additional education and training opportunities for the CityLeaders.

Methodology:

1. In conjunction with the registration process for our annual conference, CityMatCH will ask conference registrants to identify themselves as Emerging, Mid-Level or Senior urban MCH Leaders. Those self-identifying as “emerging” or “mid-level” leaders will be directed to a webpage where they can complete an application for the 1st Annual “CityLeaders” cohort. Twenty applicants will be accepted. Those conference participants self-identifying as “Senior” urban MCH leaders will be directed to a different webpage where they can complete an application to be a Mentor to the CityLeaders cohort. Ten applicants will be accepted. For both the cohort of CityLeaders and the group of Mentors, there will be special recruiting of culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse emerging and mid-level urban MCH leaders to assure diversity. 2. CityMatCH will include a Leadership Track at the Annual Conference specifically designed for the CityLeaders cohort. This track will consist of the following: 1) A pre-meeting of the CityLeaders cohort at the beginning of the conference, 2) two pre-determined conference sessions involving urban MCH leadership and focusing on MCH Training Program Goals and MCHB Strategic Priorities, 3) two “choose-your-own” sessions where each CityLeader can develop their own discipline-specific MCH knowledge base, and 4) a post-conference workshop and debrief of the leadership lessons learned by the CityLeaders during the conference. During both the pre- and post-conference CityLeaders workshops, Mentors will meet with CityLeaders to provide coaching opportunities for growth. 3. CityMatCH will engage nationally recognized speakers for at least two skills-building session, and one Leadership Symposium to address MCH-specific leadership needs at the 2007 CityMatCH Conference in Denver, Colorado. These sessions will provide continuing education opportunities for MCH leaders at all levels (including the CityLeaders cohort) and will focus on MCH Training Program and HRSA/MCHB Priority areas including leadership, public health, and cultural competence. 4. CityMatCH will host up to three additional training opportunities for the cohort following the Annual Conference – planned for months 2, 4, and 6 of the project. These training opportunities will utilize adult learning practices and technology such as teleconferences, web-based learning, and CD-ROM diskettes. These training opportunities will focus on leadership priorities of the cohort and will incorporate aspects of the MCHB Strategic Plan Priorities and MCH Training Program Goals. 5. CityMatCH will provide our membership with access to the newly formed MCH Leadership Competencies. Utilizing our existing Emerging Issues in MCH (E-MCH) teleconference series (a joint project with NACCHO), CityMatCH will host one call focused on Best Practices for implementing the MCH Leadership Competencies in urban maternal and child health practice. Healthy People 2010: Maternal and child health is one of the 28 Healthy People 2010 Focus Areas. This project proposes to provide leadership training to the workforce of urban MCH professionals so they may better address the Healthy People 2010 objectives related to maternal and child health. Specifically, those objectives fall under the areas of: ? Fetal, Infant, Child, and Adolescent Deaths ? Maternal Deaths and Illnesses ? Prenatal Care ? Obstetrical Care ? Risk Factors ? Developmental Disabilities and Neural Tube Defects ? Prenatal Substance Exposure ? Breastfeeding, Newborn Screening, and Service Systems

Coordination:

CityMatCH, along with their partner at the University of Nebraska medical Center, the Great Plains Public Health Leadership Institute will carry-out the proposed scope of work. Major collaborators for this project include Directors and Faculty from two additional public health leadership institutes: The National Public Health Leadership Institute and The Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership.

Evaluation:

The CityMatCH evaluation plan will be used to specifically identify and correct issues related to both the teaching methods and quality of the leadership curriculum. Grant objectives and activities of CityMatCH staff will be tracked and reported. Additionally, CityMatCH will measure impact of the project through changes in attitude of those CityLeaders who participate.