This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the National Maternal and Child Health Consortium for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement, hereafter referred to as the Consortium.

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) will award one cooperative agreement recipient

credit: Fresh Healthy Vending

to lead a group of nationally recognized expert organizations in oral health care.

The purpose of the Consortium is to develop and expand accessible, high-quality integrated preventive oral health care for maternal and child health (MCH) populations by providing targeted technical assistance (TA)1 to MCHB oral health Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS) and Title V MCH Services Block Grant Program (Title V) award recipients, utilizing a learning collaborative (LC) approach.

The Consortium’s lead, in collaboration with Consortium partners and key national stakeholders, will advance excellence in oral health care TA in support of preventive oral health care delivery, with an emphasis on MCH safety net services.2 To achieve its purpose, the Consortium will perform three core functions:
1) Identify Gaps and Barriers – Encompass key elements of the MCH Pyramid of Services3 to identify and address gaps and barriers within systems of care that prevent optimal delivery of preventive oral health care that serve MCH populations.

2) Improve MCH Systems of Care4 – Foster improvements within MCH systems of care that overcome identified gaps and barriers to optimize delivery of preventive oral health care and reduce oral health disparities among MCH populations by better integrating oral health and primary care.

3) Translate Evidence into Practice – Raise awareness and knowledge through the dissemination of new and reliable resources and guidance that serve to reduce the oral health disparities among MCH populations.

In response to this notice, you will be expected to address Program Expectations (see Section IV.2).