Each year, Congress sets aside funding for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. State maternal and child health agencies, which are usually located within a state health department, apply annually for this Title V funding. The legislation also requires states to submit an Annual Report and to complete a statewide, comprehensive needs assessment every five years. States have flexibility in how Title V funds are used to support a wide range of activities that address state and national needs. Fifteen National Performance Measures (NPMs) across five population health domains have been established for the Title V MCH Services Block Grant program. Based on its identified priority needs, states select a minimum of five NPMs for programmatic focus. Breastfeeding is one of the Title V’s National Performance Measures.
Advocacy opportunity: Contact your state public health department to discover how you or your organization might provide technical assistance, training, or the delivery of clinical breastfeeding care to those families receiving services through the Title V funding program. Ask that the breastfeeding performance measure be chosen as one of the NPMs that the state addresses.