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Delaware Thrives

Delaware’s Title V Block Grant

Title V of the Social Security Act reflects our nation’s commitment to improving the health and well-being of mothers, children, including children with special health care needs, and their families. It is operationalized through a block grant. In Delaware, the Title V Block Grant serves as the foundation for much of our Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program. The Division of Public Health (DPH) coordinates and collaborates with many organizations and other state agencies to implement activities that address grant goals and objectives.

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MCH Block Grant Application

FY2026

Block Grant Application

FY2024

Annual Report Included

5 Years

Current Grant Cycle

We invite you to review our FY2026 Title V Block Grant Application, which also includes our FY2024 Annual Report.

This application, along with our State Action Plan, will be our guide for the work we plan to accomplish during this five-year grant cycle. We are committed to continuing our collaboration with partners and community members to ensure that our efforts and resources are aligned with the priority needs of Delaware’s mothers, children, adolescents, and youth with special health care needs.

  • The Title V Block Grant Quick Reference Guide is intended to help our partners quickly search for a topic area of interest. It highlights specific areas, for ease of use.
  • We welcome your ideas, suggestions, and comments on our Title V Block Grant Application.
  • If you have any additional input regarding our progress, we’d love to hear that as well.

Please reach out to Title V MCH Coordinator, Elizabeth Orndorff or MCH Deputy Director, Crystal Sherman with any thoughts or suggestions:

Elizabeth.Orndorff@delaware.govCrystal.Sherman@delaware.gov

MCH FY2026 Title V Block Grant Application

FY2026 Title V Block Grant Quick Reference Guide

State Action Plan

The 2026-2030 State Action Plan organizes 9 priority needs across 6 reporting domains.

As part of the Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Block Grant, Delaware has developed a five-year State Action Plan to address our priority needs. Our Plan addresses nine priorities that span six reporting domains. These domains include five MCH population domains (Women/Maternal Health, Perinatal/Infant Health, Child Health, Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs [CYSHCN], and Adolescent Health). The sixth domain addresses state-specific Cross-cutting/Systems Building needs.

Maternal and Child Health services in Delaware are guided by this five-year State Action Plan (2026-2030), which reflects the input and needs of partners from across the state including state agencies, MCH providers, families and consumers, and members of the public. This five-year plan aligns with MCH legislation, mission and vision, and performance measure framework.

Priority Needs At A Glance

  • Need 1
    Timely Postpartum Preventive Care
  • Need 2
    Safe, Supportive Patient-Centered Maternal Care
  • Need 3
    Housing Stability for Pregnant & Parenting Women
  • Need 4
    Coordinated, Developmentally Appropriate Childhood Services
  • Need 5
    Medical Home Access for All Children
  • Need 6
    Behavioral & Mental Health Services for Higher-Risk SBHC Youth
  • Need 7
    Medical Home Model of Care for CYSHCN
  • Need 8
    Organized CYSHCN Transition to Adult Health Care
  • Need 9
    Workforce Capacity & Skill Building for Public Health Challenges

Delaware’s Title V State Action Plan — 2026-2030

State Action Plan Snapshot

This Snapshot offers a quick, public-facing summary of Delaware’s five-year Title V State Action Plan.

In addition to the MCH conceptual framework and public health essential services, the Title V program depends on many strengths-translated through core values and guiding principles-to promote a strong culture of continuous quality improvement, innovation and growth, and a sustained focus on what matters.

Six reporting domains

  • Domain 1
    Women/Maternal Health
  • Domain 2
    Perinatal/Infant Health
  • Domain 3
    Child Health
  • Domain 4
    Adolescent Health
  • Domain 5
    Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
  • Domain 6
    Cross-cutting/Systems Building

As a complement to our State Action Plan, this Snapshot offers an at-a-glance, high-level summary for the public, our partners, our stakeholders, and Delaware families to better understand our five-year plan. This report identifies the priority needs within each of the six domains, the program objectives, key strategies, and relevant national and state performance measures for addressing each objective.

Delaware’s State Action Plan Snapshot — 2026-2030

MCH Performance Measures

15

National Performance Measures

38

National Outcome Measures

60%

Partners Requested More Data

The 15 National Performance Measures (NPMs) and 38 National Outcome Measures (NOMs) were established for the Title V Block Grant program.

Each one crosses a maternal and child health (MCH) population domain and reflects our MCH population health status. This chart displays Delaware’s baseline data for each of the NPMs and NOMs in addition to each data source used to track the measure.

During the summer of 2021, Delaware sought to complete a Mini Needs Assessment to gauge the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our maternal and child health population as well as our partners. Through a Stakeholder Survey, we also wanted to identify ways MCH can better support our Title V funded partners with technical assistance. This data sheet was created as a result of the survey, where 60% of our Title V partners requested MCH provide data as a way to support and assist them with their needs.

“We hope this MCH Performance Measure data sheet will support our partners and our stakeholders with the very important maternal and child health work they do!”

MCH Performance Measures

National Performance Measures for Title V

There are 20 National Performance Measures that have been identified for the Title V MCH Services Block Grant. These Performance Measures are arranged under five Population Domains: Women/Maternal Health, Perinatal/Infant Health, Child Health, Adolescent Health, and Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs.

20

National Performance Measures

5

Population Domains

These 20 National Performance Measures are represented in the list below. Each item opens an informational Data Sheet to help you better understand each performance measure, its objectives, and Delaware’s baseline data.

Needs Assessment

Every 5 Years

Needs Assessment Cycle

12–18 Months

Typical Completion Time

7–10

State Priority Needs Identified

Every five years, MCH conducts a Five-Year Needs Assessment, which takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months to complete and is quite extensive in nature.

Findings needing identifying:

  • Finding 1
    Population Health Status
  • Finding 2
    Title V Program Capacity (Organizational Structure, Agency Capacity, and MCH Workforce Capacity)
  • Finding 3
    Program Partnerships, Collaboration and Coordination
  • Finding 4
    7–10 State Priority Needs

MCH conducts a Needs Assessment every five years to obtain:

  • Impact 1
    An accurate and complete picture of the strengths and weaknesses of a state’s public health system
  • Impact 2
    Inform priorities, understand gaps, and set the agenda
  • Impact 3
    Understand, allocate, and develop available resources to meet needs
  • Impact 4
    Improve maternal, child, family, and community health outcomes

How can you help?

  • Action 1
    Complete the Stakeholder Survey.
  • Action 2
    Review Title V data infographics and chat n chew (qualitative) analysis for further information.
  • Action 3
    Participate in the Key Informant Interviews, if contacted.
  • Action 4
    Check back often for updated information and resources! Thank you!

Needs Assessment Conceptual Framework

Key Informant Interview Report

17

Stakeholder Interviews Completed

5

MCH Population Domains Represented

Summer 2024

Interview Period

To create solutions to address the complex challenges of the Maternal and Child Health system, it is important to understand how the system and its components shape health. The Five-Year Needs Assessment process allows state Title V programs to begin to understand the complexity of these challenges, identify needs, and select priority areas of focus.

During the summer of 2024, the Maternal and Child Health section contracted Forward Consultants to conduct key informant interviews with identified stakeholders to gather insight into the strengths and needs of the MCH populations, as well as gaps and leverage points in the system of care.

A total of 17 interviews were completed with stakeholders with expertise in at least one of the five MCH population domains: 1) Women and Maternal Health; 2) Perinatal and Infant Health; 3) Child Health; 4) Adolescent Health; and 5) Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs.

Informants included administrative and clinical staff as well as service coordinators. The interview asked informants to describe their organization’s role in addressing a specific population domain, its reach and population focus, its partnerships, the strengths and challenges of Delaware’s current system of care, and disparities and emerging issues.

Key Informant Interviews Final Report

Focus Group Analysis

15

Discussion Groups Held Statewide

~10

Participants per Group

Mar–May 2024

Study Period

The overall objective was to learn from the study’s various subgroups about the general health care and reproductive health needs and concerns of women in Delaware, in order to improve service delivery and the health outcomes of women, children, and their families.

The focus group studies, also called Chat n Chews, were commissioned by the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Maternal and Child Health section. They were conducted over a period of several months, from March through May 2024, by several consultants who moderated, recruited participants, observed, transcribed notes, and prepared written reports.

Fifteen discussion groups were held statewide - in Wilmington for New Castle County; and in Dover, Georgetown, and Milford for Kent and Sussex counties. Moderators led two-hour discussions, with groups of approximately 10 respondents.

Group composition included:

  • Group 1
    Four Pregnant Women and Women with Children groups
  • Group 2
    Four Parents of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs groups
  • Group 3
    Two Father/Partner groups
  • Group 4
    Two Preconception Women groups
  • Group 5
    Two Adolescent groups

We invite you to explore the Focus Group Analysis and Recommendations for further information.

Focus Group Analysis

Stakeholder Survey Analysis

571

Stakeholders Surveyed

62

Completed Responses

10.9%

Completion Rate

Delaware’s needs assessment process is collecting information from stakeholders in a variety of ways, including focus groups with community members, a survey of stakeholders, and key informant interviews with partners. Each source provides important perspectives, context, and data to help the Title V program identify priorities.

The survey was ultimately distributed to 571 stakeholders, after undeliverable email addresses were removed. Of those, 62 (10.9 percent) completed the survey.

This report is a summary of the findings of the Stakeholder Survey. We invite you to explore the Assessment Analysis and Recommendations for additional information.

Assessment Report

Be on the lookout

We invite you to review the qualitative analysis of our , where the Division of Public Health sought to gain insight from community members. We’d also welcome you to review our and our , where maternal and child health information was collected in various ways. Come back often for updated information and upcoming events.

Focus Group AnalysisKey Informant ReportStakeholder Survey

© 2026. Delaware Division of Public Health.

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