Insights from the national maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center on Title V Teams' collaborative readiness and goal accomplishment

Purpose State Title V programs collaborate with diverse partners to improve maternal and child health. Since 2014, the National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center has trained Title V leaders in facilitating system change. This article describes aspects of initial collaborative readiness differentiating state and jurisdiction teams that later reported meeting their goals to greater or lesser degrees. Description We used quantitative data from initial team leader reports to characterize readiness to collaborate with external partners, and their responses twelve months later to a prompt about how fully they had accomplished their goals. In addition, we coded excerpts from team leader accounts six and twelve months into their work with the Center, and retrospective coach perspectives, to identify collaborative readiness patterns. Assessment Teams whose leaders reported higher goal accomplishment twelve months after beginning work with the Center had initially reported higher levels of collaboration with key partners. Our analyses suggest that such teams were also better able to use their cohort experience with the Center to improve collaboration, including information sharing with external stakeholders. Challenges working with Medicaid were reported both by teams with more and less goal accomplishment. Conclusions Title V teams with lower levels of initial collaborative readiness may benefit from additional support in skill development, connections to key partners, and convening power. Given the crucial and increasing role of Medicaid in maternal and child health systems, more attention may be warranted to supporting all Title V programs in partnering with this funder. Significance What is already known on this subject? Prior research has identified the ability to convene diverse stakeholders as key to achieving partnership synergies, and in turn improved community outcomes. What this study adds State and territorial Title V programs may achieve greater synergies with external partners by initially assessing and strategically enhancing collaborative readiness. Training and technical assistance providers might enhance partnership synergies through focused assistance to states with lower initial levels of external collaboration. Title V leaders may improve outcomes by leveraging their strongest collaborations to foster relationships with additional stakeholders. Title V programs in general could benefit from support cultivating relationships with Medicaid.