Background and Rationale
At an MCAH Action meeting, local MCAH programs (LHJ)s discussed finding ways to demonstrate the value of MCAH work. LHJs expressed an interest in having educational materials that focus on costs and benefits of addressing MCAH issues to use to educate elected representatives at the local and state level. FHOP worked with the State MCAH Program to identify issues for fact sheets, developed drafts of the fact sheets, and received feedback from the MCAH Action Executive Committee, Policy Committee, and MCAH Action lobbyist. The first two fact sheets address Teen Pregnancy and Preconception Health. A few notes about the fact sheets:

The purpose of the fact sheets is to provide simple, clear, and direct information that highlights the costs and benefits of addressing the selected health issue and highlights why addressing the issue is important to California and to local communities. 

The fact sheets will be distributed as Word documents so that LHJs can edit the text, add relevant information and personalize them to best meet your local needs, for example, highlighting the result of a local program addressing the selected health topic. In the places where it says COUNTY or COUNTY MCAH, the Local Health Jurisdiction can insert its own name and relevant local information. We recognize that with the diversity of California counties, one size does not fit all so we encourage LHJs to use these fact sheets as starting points and customize them to fit your needs.

The target audience for the fact sheets is local and state government officials, such as members of the Board of Supervisors or State Legislators. We already have heard that the facts sheets might also be useful for MCAH staff reference. Note that these fact sheets are being designed for a lay audience of policy makers; the target audience is not MCAH clients.  

Please contact FHOP if you have any questions or comments - [email protected], 415-476-5283