Department of Health and Human Services
	Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities FY 2003 Plan and Budget February 2002

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RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATIONS

(by HHS Strategic Plan Objective)

INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS (OBJECTIVE 3.9)

FY 2003 Priorities

SPECIAL PROJECTS OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE RESEARCH AND MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS PROJECTS (HRSA)

Research: Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS) Research is authorized under the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant. SPRANS research will support studies to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of health and developmental services for pregnant women, infants, and children, especially those with low incomes and special health care needs. Studies will focus on topics that include early initiation of prenatal care, prevention of premature labor, evaluation of clinical and home-based interventions to resolve developmental lags in infants and school age children; and factors that determine enrollment, retention, access to and use of services under Medicaid and SCHIP programs.

Demonstrations: Maternal and Child Health Improvement Projects (MCHIPs) support targeted demonstrations of methods for improving the infrastructures that assure the health and well being of mothers and children. These include:

• demonstrations and assessments of Fetal and Infant Mortality Review programs to improve the quality of care in communities.
• improvements to State and local systems for collecting and reporting maternal and child health data, including development of linkages between data systems, to facilitate improved needs assessments and monitoring of health status indicators.
• demonstrations of programs to assure that all children, especially those with special health care needs, have access to medical care.