MCHB ALL GRANTEES MEETING

MCH Hall of Fame Awards

October 4-7, 2004

PETER VAN DYCK:Welcome again, it's always good to see you. There was an awards committee put together by the Maternal Child and Health Bureau. It was chaired, and you can see this in your program, by Audrey Kordovayeshi and by Elizabeth Waka. A solicitation was made to the field. Many submissions were received by the Bureau, they were reviewed by the Committee and recommended to me, and a few others had some input. And, as the result of that, we have some awards to award today. It's always such a pleasure to reward and award people for such good work. I wish there were many more we could give. First, it's my pleasure to present Dr. Keith Crnic, with the MCHB director’s award. Dr. Crnic is Professor and Director of the Child Studies Center at Penn State University ’s Department of Psychology. Since 1998, Dr. Crnic has served as the chair of the MCH Research Grants Review Committee, a secretarial level appointed committee of researchers, academicians, and MCP practitioner, and they meet twice a year to review research grants.

His outstanding leadership and service have been vital to ensuring the successful review of all the important research proposals. During his tenure as chair of the Committee, the MCH Program has supported a number of cutting edge research projects. Dr. Crnic, the MCHB family thanks you for your service and dedication to improving the health care services for our populations. We’re especially grateful for your scientific leadership, sense of humor and service beyond the call of duty. Would you come up, please? These are pyramid shaped awards. Yes, you catch the significance of that, don’t you, that look like this. And this one says, "For your outstanding service and leadership as chair of the MCH Research Grants Review Committee, 1998 to 2004."

KEITH CRNIC:Thank you very much.

PETER VAN DYCK:Do you want to say anything?

KEITH CRNIC:Well, I’ll just thank you to everyone who we’ve worked with over the years. I know that we’re very proud as a committee for the projects that we’ve been able to encourage the funding for. And, we’re also, I think, just grateful for all of the investigators who’ve submitted their work and have spent copious hours developing projects, some of which never saw the light of funding, but were excellent research and we wish we could have done it for everyone. But, thanks everybody, very much. And, for all my committee members and for everybody, I would just say that, I think we’re very proud of the research that’s emerged from this committee and has made a significant difference in the lives of children and their families. Thanks very much.

PETER VAN DYCK:Bill Hollingshead grew up in St. Paul , trained at Princeton , the University of Minnesota , Rochester and Harvard. That must be how he got so smart, he trained in so many places. He’s a pediatrician, an epidemiologist and longtime chief of family health policy and programs in the Rhode Island Department of Health. Bill has been active in leadership of the Association of Maternal Child and Health Programs or AMCHP, the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality, the National Academy of State Health Policy, and numerous other organizations. He teaches in the Brown Medical School , the University of Rhode Island , and several schools of public health. Bill believes that good data are critical for public health, but numbers are seldom as powerful as anecdotes. He’s built excellent MCH data, you heard about some of this morning, which was really a progression from Rhode Island’s first SPRANS grant, forward to Rhode Island Kids Count, and finally Kids Net, which we heard about today, and has built the customer contact and marketing capacities to put good stories together with good statistics.

Parent engagement is critical for good MCH policy, advocacy, outreach, quality assurance and staff development. He’s built a parent consultant program that now reaches all aspects of his work, and sends parents to improve other programs and departments as well. Education is America ’s one established entitlement for all kids. Fortunately, success in school is also a predictor of good health, and lifelong productivity. Good partnerships have been made with teachers, school staff and education leaders. Bill’s recent interests include uses of public health information for policy leadership, uses of electronic communications for families’ health and medical decisions, the continuum of community family health systems, from home visiting to child care to elementary and secondary schools, and training of professionals for comprehensive community primary care in a post managed care environment.

Back in the original days, before there was an AMCHP, at least an AMCHP as we know it today, AMCHP stands for the Association of Maternal Child and Health Programs, the organization was completely run from the President’s office, the President of the association, which was a State Director. Bill and I go back a long time to that period, as maybe there are some of the other of you in the room who were born in the previous century, as I was introduced yesterday, and a lot of late night sessions. Bill, I still treasure those sessions years ago, where we developed a lot of the strategy and ideas that have, I think, shaped MCH over the years. Bill Hollingshead, recipient of another Director’s Award.

BILL HOLLINGSHEAD:Thank you, (inaudible). Thank you, Peter. It does go back, not too far into the last century, but far enough to remember those first days of the AMCHP revolution in San Diego , when you were the President and the rest of us ditched the agenda to try to figure out our future. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank you personally for mentorship and support over the years in your life as a state leader and at the Bureau to many friends here in Washington, who made a huge difference to our success at the state level. But I think the most important thing to say is that, leadership is usually something that depends on mostly on the troops. And, we have been blessed over years to find and support wonderful, creative, committed people for the leadership of family health in Rhode Island . Half a dozen of you are here, although I can’t see you through the lights. I’d be grateful if those of you who’ve helped make Family Health in Rhode Island what it is, would stand up and, let’s give you a cheer, too. Ellen, Deb, (inaudible). Thank you. This is Family Health in Rhode Island .

PETER VAN DYCK:Michele Lawler has served as the director of the Abstinence Education Program since May 1998. When she first came tot he Bureau, the $50 million state Section 510 Program was in its first year. She has essentially been the Director of the Program since its beginning, in 1998. Since the initiation of the SPRANS Abstinence Education Program in fiscal year 2001, Michelle has been responsible for overseeing both the state and the SPRANS community based Programs together. With large increases in federal funding, the SPRANS Abstinence Education Program grew from a $20 million program with 20 one-year planning grants and 33 three-year implementation grants, to a $70 million Program with 120 implementation grants. Her leadership and direction enabled these Programs to grow and become established.

She’s demonstrated the highest levels of integrity throughout this entire effort, and has won many fans in the abstinence education community. I might say she has won many fans outside the abstinence education community as well, for her fairness and professionalism, and I have to tell you, her even-handedness in what remains still today, a very difficult and somewhat controversial Program. In addition to her fulltime responsibilities in the Abstinence Education Program, Michelle has provided leadership in the development and implementation of the Bureau’s Nutrition Strategic Plan. Her commitment and vision are partially responsible for the development of a health systems indicator in the Title 5 block grant which addresses the ability of states to monitor overweight or obesity among children and youth. Michelle?

MICHELE LAWLER: I’m really not prepared to say much. I’d just like to say I’m really humbled by this, though. You know, the Bureau has a lot of very talented people, and to be recognized among them is an honor and I appreciate it. There’s a lot I could tell you about my six years overseeing the Abstinence Program. I won’t, but, I would just like to say, I’ve been very, very fortunate. I’ve had some wonderful teachers that have really guided me along the way, and just a terrific staff that really has made me look good. And I would like for our staff to stand, quickly, and to be acknowledged. And that’s Joe Leech, Deborah Kildickens, Scott Snyder, and Donna Hutton. Thank you so much.

PETER VAN DYCK:Carol O’Toole has done an exemplary job as Project Director for the State Block Grant Technical Assistance Project, for all 59 states and jurisdictions, while also serving as the Project Officer for the states in region three. In addition, she’s had primary responsibility for making the arrangements for this meeting, as well as other meetings we’ve had in the past, which you can see is several orders of magnitude larger than any other grantee conference ever sponsored by the bureau. She’s also the person who has organized all of the state block grant reviews during this past summer, and for several years before that. Carol has handled all her assignments with a great deal of good cheer. These are just recent examples of Carol’s responsibilities. I’ve known her for several years and have seen her advance from working as support staff within the division of Children With Special Healthcare Needs, to working in the Division of State and Community Health, when I was its Director.

At that time, we had a small staff and were charged with organizing the block grant reviews ourselves. Carol was responsible for the management of the process for several years, from the receipt of applications, through the review process, to the award of the annual allocations to the 59 states and jurisdictions. She also contributed to developing significant portions of the application and annual reporting guidance. No matter how difficult the workload or how stressful the conditions, or what Carol was asked to do, she was and continues to be a team player, able to accomplish the task while maintaining her characteristic sense of humor. Carol has been an indispensable asset, and in her quiet, unassuming way, has done much to further the MCHB’s mission, to helping mothers and families across the United States . Carol?

CAROL O’TOOLE:I would like to thank the DSCH staff for putting up with my sighs and grunts over the years, and I would like to have the Committee for this year’s grants to stand up and show everyone. I didn’t do this alone. I had wonderful help. Ann Drum and Cassie Lauver, and, a lot of the Bureau. Thank you for getting your things in on time. That helped.

PETER VAN DYCK:Betsy Anderson is a parent of three children, Michael, Jennifer and Sam. She began her long journey in advocating for children with special health care needs when Michael was born with spinal bifida. Like many other parents, Betsy tried desperately to find services and coordinate them in an effort to ensure the optimal life for her son. Betsy became an advocate. First, as an advocate on behalf of Michael, who was growing up during a time when public schools in Boston did not have to admit children with disabilities. And later, as an advocate for other families and children experiencing similar issues. Betsy began canvassing providers and talking to them about the benefits of partnering with families to improve care and enhance family decision making around care and services. This was a novel idea in the ‘70s, and evolved into the CAPP Group, which stands for Collaboration

Among Parents and Professionals. As the movement grew, Betsy became one of the founders of the Federation for Children with Special Needs in 1974, in Boston . During this time, the Bureau also began its journey in partnering with families, and somewhere during the early 1980s, both paths crossed. Betsy became a leading advocate with ties to the Bureau, securing the first Bureau funded grant on health care to a parent organization, which was The Federation, one of the first grants on heath care for children with special needs. It was funded by the Bureau in the early ‘80s. Thus, began the family centered and family professional partnerships approach to health care for children with special health care needs throughout the nation. Spurred by Dr. Koop’s call to action, which you heard about yesterday, on behalf of children with special health care needs and their families, Betsy and other families were determined to impact the health and well being of children with special health care needs and their families across the country.

She helped to form a parent advisory committee at Boston Children’s Hospital. Broadening the scope of that vision, Betsy became a board member of the Association for the Care of Children’s Health, and a director of the National Center of Parent Leadership, and funded grant where the seeds of Family Voices Incorporated were sown. Family Voices began with a group of families volunteering around their kitchen tables, and developed into a national grass roots network of family and friends. Advocates for health care services that are family centered, community based, comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent, for all children and youth with special health care needs. Now, with a network of 48,000, Family Voices promotes the inclusion of all families as decision makers at all levels of health care, and supports essential partnerships between families and professionals in all states and two of the jurisdictions. Betsy was one of the original co-founders of this wonderful organization.

Not one to have narrow visions of how the principles of family centered care and family professional partnerships could impact health care in other services, Betsy has been instrumental in helping them become an integral part, of not only programs for children with special health care needs, but for all of the MCH population. Betsy serves as the Project Director for Family Voices Partners in Communication, works with Bright Futures Activities, and served as the lead for family involvement in the state Title 5 block grant and performance measures. Betsy, please come up.

BETSY ANDERSON:Thank you so much. Oh. Thinking back to the ‘70s, when we began our, kind of, journey, it took us a while to find the MCHB door. And, in fact, I believe, we really had to go through the Department of Education door first. But, when we finally found that habilitative services door, we found that they were looking for us. And, I think it's fair to say that there was a lot of growth, all around. And, since that time, I think the roles and the opportunities for families have just grown exponentially. So, from the Division of Children With Special Healthcare Needs, as its now called, to all kinds of activities. With, DCAFH, with DSCH, with research and training, the technology, to your own office, Peter, I mean, we have found a wonderful reception, and certainly, across our states and communities. As families, we know that, I think we do feel that we have made a great contribution, a lot of contributions, to the goals of maternal and child health.

But no question, the learning, the opportunities that we have had, that many of you have given us, have just been incredible. And, so we look forward to extending what we’ve learned into other spheres, and to continuing to learn ourselves, so that we can be the best that we can be. And I want to underscore one thing, which is that, as families, we do not need to be rescued, thank you, we want to be at the table with you, as partners. We want to help in thinking about strengths and assets, and needs, too. And we want to be there to help determine the solutions that will really be workable for us, in our families, in our lives, as families in our communities. So, to my Family Voices friends, to everybody who’s out there, families and professionals, and to all the families and professionals who will be part of that extended family, this has been a wonderful home for us. And, I appreciate this so much, Peter. I love the pyramid. And, so, we have a family pyramid, also. So, thank you very, very much. On behalf of really, all families.

PETER VAN DYCK:I’m very honored, once again, to present the Vince Hutchins Partnership Award to an outstanding individual in the maternal and child health field. This is the third such award, established to honor the memory of Dr. Vince Hutchins, who was the former director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau from 1997 to 1992, and was established as part of the Bureau’s legacy, to honor Dr. Hutchins after his death several years ago. As most of you know, Vince dedicated his career, indeed much of his life, to improving the health and well being of our nation’s underserved mothers, children and families, especially children with special healthcare needs and their families. He was a man who placed great value and trust in others, and in the strength of partnership and collaboration. Those of us fortunate enough to have Vince as a mentor remember at a personal level, his compassion and deep commitment to the MCH community.

Given this legacy of partnership, collaboration and mentorship, the distinguished recipient of the third Vince L. Hutchins Award will come as no surprise. He exemplifies all the qualities on which this award’s based. His name is Paul Newacheck. Like his mentor, he is highly respected nationally, and internationally, for his thinking and writing in health services research and policy, for children in general, and for children or persons with disabilities in particular. He is the author of well over 100 peer reviewed journals, monographs and book chapters in the last 20 years on issues of child and adolescent health. He serves on the editorial boards of several peer reviewed journals. He’s a frequent and sought after speaker at scientific and professional meetings, to name a few of many of his roles in MCH. Like Vince, he is a partner and collaborator extraordinaire.

Many, perhaps even most of you have known and worked with him for many years on countless MCH research, policy and program initiatives. He’s been there, over the long haul, in the development of the field of children with special healthcare needs. He’s played a major role in the development of the widely accepted definition of children with special healthcare needs. He’s provided extraordinary leadership as Chair of the Steering Committee in the development of the National Survey on Children with Special Healthcare Needs, which gave us the first ever national and state prevalence estimates and health status information for these kids. In fact, honoring Paul today, very appropriately coincides with the release of the chart book on the National Survey on Children with Special Healthcare Needs. I might add, it's been in the making for many, many months. And he continues to collaborate with us, again as the Chair of the Steering Committee, on the new national survey of children’s health, which is the largest survey of its kind for children yet undertaken.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all, Paul is a caring, empathetic, concerned person. One who cares about kids and their families, and understands the importance of data and science and formulation of good, national policy. Paul is professor of health policy and pediatrics at the Institute of Health Policy Studies , and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco . He’s also the co-director of the Maternal Child and Health Policy Research Center , where he has for many years conducted research on healthcare delivery for vulnerable children, including chronically ill and poor children. It's indeed a privilege and a pleasure to present the third Vince L. Hutchins Partnership Award to Dr. Paul Newacheck. Please join me in honoring Paul.

PAUL NEWACHECK:Thank you, Peter, those were just wonderful comments. I am really touched by this award. It’s such an honor to have my name attached in any way to that of Vince Hutchins and this award is just incredible in that way. When I first started working in Maternal and Child Health about 20 years ago, Vince was the Director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and he was an absolutely wonderful mentor for me, and many others, as Peter said. He took us under his wing, he helped us, he supported us, he encouraged us. And, just served also as a wonderful role model for what it means to try to do good for kids, to be an advocate for Maternal and Child Health, to improve the health of children, even in difficult political times when the political environment perhaps was not receptive or even antagonistic to his work, but he kept going.

And, in that way, he was a true role model, a wonderful mentor, and so I’m just very pleased to have this award, and I’m very grateful for that. I also wanted to say that, a lot of the work that I’ve done with the Bureau, especially in recent years, has been more related to facilitating, rather than things that I contribute myself. And, the two surveys that Peter mentioned, the National Survey of Children with Special Healthcare Needs and the National Survey of Children’s Health, were really team efforts that involve a number of people working very hard to reach a common end. And, many of the people are here in this room today. But, the senior leadership of the Bureau, Merel McPherson, Bonnie Strickland, Michael Kogan, David Heppel, and others, contributed a great deal of time and energy to this process of making those surveys happen.

We had a great partnership with the Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, Marcy Sinamon and Stephen Blumberg played a key role in getting these things off the ground. And then we had two wonderful technical expert panels who each had about 15 or 20 members, who all volunteered their time, did a wonderful job of making intellectual contributions and substantive contributions to the survey tools. And so, I think we really have, as a result, some wonderful collaborative results that are, in the form of data, that we’re now just seeing the likes of. And, lastly, I just want to say, that, Peter Van Dyck deserves particular recognition for this. His leadership and his vision, it was really necessary to get all of this off the ground. Without that, we would not have these surveys. But he could see that, the power of data, that is, how data can be used to inform policy makers at the federal level, at the state level, how it can be used to empower consumer groups, and how it can be used to give researchers the tools they need to be productive and useful. So, thank you, Peter, for your leadership on this, and thank you all for this award, I really appreciate it. Thank you.