This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project (SHSPP).
The purpose of SHSPP is to promote consistency in service delivery across Healthy Start (HS) programs and support HS grant recipients in providing effective, evidenced-based
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service delivery through training and technical assistance.
SHSPP will assist in strengthening the implementation of HS activities by providing capacity building assistance (CBA), including ongoing technical assistance training and education to HS grant recipients in the implementation of activities in accordance with the program’s four approaches to reduce disparities in infant mortality and adverse perinatal outcomes.
The four approaches are to:
1) improve women’s health, 2) improve family health and wellness, 3) promote systems change, and 4) assure impact and effectiveness through ongoing HS workforce development, data collection, quality improvement (QI), performance monitoring and program evaluation.
Using a CBA model that incorporates ongoing technical assistance, training, and education to HS grant recipients, the SHSPP will:
1) Improve the consistency and quality for content of HS services delivered through CBA (i.e., training, technical assistance, technology transfer, and information transfer and dissemination) for HS staff in the core competencies and concepts central to the four HS approaches; 2) Increase the delivery of evidence-based services and those based on best practices; 3) Ensure that the HS workforce has appropriate knowledge, demonstrable skills and competencies to provide services; 4) Increase data collection and data use for QI, performance monitoring and local evaluation; 5) Promote synergy among HS grant recipients through meaningful collaborations that are aimed at improving perinatal outcomes and reducing disparities; and 6) Support programs in the development of specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) objectives, as well as sustainability and succession plan.