Kansas MIECHV Newsletter

Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood 
Home Visiting Program



  


Welcome to the MIECHV monthly newsletter. We hope you will find the content informative.  
 
In This Issue

Key Contacts 
________________
 
State MIECHV Lead:
Debbie Richardson, Ph.D.
Program Manager
Maternal & Child Health Home Visiting
Bureau of Family Health
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
785-296-1311

MIECHV Benchmark Reporting, Performance Management & Evaluation:
Teri A. Garstka, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Center for Public Partnerships & Research
University of Kansas
785-864-3329
 
MIECHV CQI:
Kathy Bigelow, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor
Juniper Gardens Children's Project
University of Kansas
913-321-3143
_________________________ 




MIECHV Funding
 
 The federal fiscal year (FFY 2016) MIECHV Program Formula Grant Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was released November 19th. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the federal funding agency, redesigned the FFY'16 MIECHV funding calculation for formula grants to states to include two components: Base Need funding based on population need (children under 5 living in poverty) and Structured Stability funding based on averages of previous state grant awards. According to HRSA, this redesigned funding plan supports the following policy principles: 1) to meet the needs of eligible, at-risk families in at-risk communities; 2) target funds to support the state's capacity to serve families; 3) reward performance, quality, and improved outcomes; and 4) promote stability and continuity to provide more consistent, stable funding from year to year to support families.
 
  Thus, the FFY'16 MIECHV grant funding is in a transition period. The redesigned funding plan will move away from states' dependence on and uncertainties of competitive grant funding toward a larger portion of federal funding being provided through the annual formula grants to promote stability and continuity of funding.
 
  In prior years, formula grant amounts awarded to Kansas have been between $1 million and $1.17 million (FFY 2015 is $1,056,142). The FFY'16 formula grant amount for which Kansas may apply is up to $4,834,188. Because the new formula takes into account the average development/competitive grant awards Kansas has received in the past several years, this allocation speaks well of the work in Kansas. Because this is an average of our prior years' federal grant funding, this does not represent an increase to the state. It will help us plan for continuation and stability of current local MIECHV services and state level efforts for the next few years. The FFY'16 formula grant award will be in effect from April 2016 through September 2018. The application due date is January 19, 2016, so we will be very busy with preparations over the coming month!
 
Home Visiting and Domestic Violence Collaboration 
 
 As reported previously, addressing domestic violence in families served by home visiting programs is a key component of the MIECHV program, and training of both home visitors and domestic-violence advocates is a priority. A state-level collaboration with representatives of home visiting programs, the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence (KCSDV), the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research was established about a year ago. As a result of this collaboration and funding from the present MIECHV Competitive grant, KCSDV will develop and provide training for home visitors and domestic violence advocates.
 
  An October survey of home visitors and domestic-violence advocates reflected a desire and a need for better communication and collaboration between programs and better understanding of confidentiality issues, screening and referral processes, Kansas laws regarding domestic violence, personal safety, safety plans and domestic-violence programs/services available at the local level.
 
  To prepare home visitors and coordinated outreach and referral staff in Wyandotte County and Southeast Kansas for more intensive face-to-face training in the spring, an Introduction to Domestic Violence webinar will be held January 20th from 2-3:30 p.m. Please save the date and watch for more details. The webinar will be recorded for those who cannot attend.  
What's Happening at the State Level?
 
  The state home visiting leadership group continues implementation planning related to the five goals of the Kansas Home Visiting strategic plan. To ensure continuity, a champion has been assigned to each of the goals. Champions will establish working groups as needed and develop realistic work plans reflecting tasks for the next two years. The professional development goal is the top priority of the state home visiting leadership group.
Did You Know?

As 2015 winds to a close, it's a good time to reflect on what we have accomplished:
  • Kansas MIECHV has served 985 families since FFY'12 (October 2011).
  • 577 families received services through Kansas MIECHV during FFY '15 alone.
  • To date, Kansas MIECHV has provided more than 20,416 home visits to families.
  • The recent submission of annual MIECHV data to HRSA contained no errors and was accepted without any revisions!
Happy Holidays  

 We wish you, your families, and the families you support the best this holiday season!
Thanks to your dedication, more new and expecting parents are getting the support they need to help families and children thrive.
Upcoming Activities and Meetings
for MIECHV Partners
 
January 20th 

Introduction to Domestic Violence Webinar, 2-3:30 p.m.
   
January 29th 
SE Kansas MIECHV Team, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Labette Center for Mental Health, 1730 Belmont, Parsons
 
February 2nd 
Home Visiting/Domestic Violence Collaboration, 1-3 p.m., KCSDV, 634 SW Harrison, Topeka
 
February 3rd 
Wyandotte County MIECHV Team, 1-4 p.m., Unified Government Public Health Department, 619 Ann Ave., 3rd Floor Operations Center, Kansas City, KS 
February 4th 
State Home Visiting Leadership Group, 9 a.m.- noon, Curtis Building/KDHE, Topeka
 
February 5th 
Data/Evaluation/CQI Workgroup, 9-11:30 a.m., KU-CPPR,
1617 St. Andrews Dr., Lawrence  
February 11th 
Breastfeeding 101, 9:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m., Children's Campus, 444 Minnesota Ave, Kansas City, KS. Contact Paul Cesare at
or 816-283-6242 for more information.
 
February 18th 
Sustainability Planning Group, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Conference Call
 
March 24th 
State Home Visiting Leadership Group, 9 a.m.- noon, Curtis Building/KDHE, Topeka
 
April 1st 
Data/Evaluation/CQI Workgroup, 9:00-11:30 a.m., KU-CPPR,
1617 St. Andrews Dr., Lawrence
 
April 22nd 
Breastfeeding 101, 10:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Via Christi Hospital
1 Mt. Carmel Way, DePaul Hall, Pittsburg. Contact Diane VanBecelaere at [email protected] or 620-231-5411 for more information.
 

Past MIECHV Newsletters  

Past newsletters have been archived and can be accessed here
Contact Us    
If you have ideas for the newsletter, feedback, questions, comments, concerns, etc. please email [email protected]

 

 This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program FY'15 Competitive Grant to States (Grant # D89MC28269, $9.4 million) awarded to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by KDHE, HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.