A New Performance Measurement System for Maternal and Child Health in the United States

The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Objective The Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant is the linchpin for US MCH services. The first national performance measures (NPMs) for MCH were instituted in 1997. Changing trends in MCH risk factors, outcomes, health services, data sources, and advances in scientific knowledge, in conjunction with budgetary con-straints led the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) to design a new performance measurement system. Methods A workgroup was formed to develop a new system. The following guiding principles were used: (1) Afford States more flexibility and reduce the overall re-porting burden; (2) Improve accountability to better document Title V’s impact; (3) Develop NPMs that en