Learning from Graduate and Undergraduate Public Health Virtual Internship Experiences with State Title V Agencies During COVID-19, Summer 2020

Background Since summer 2014, the National MCH Workforce Development Center has placed students from MCH public health graduate (Centers of Excellence and Catalyst) and undergraduate (MCH Pipeline) programs, all funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, in summer internships with state and territorial Title V agencies. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Title V MCH Internship Program was offered virtually. Participants and Methods This manuscript includes quantitative and qualitative data from 2017 to 2020 generated by both Title V MCH Internship student interns (n = 76) and their preceptors (n = 40) with a focus on a comparison between the 2020 virtual year and the 2017–2019 years. Results Evaluation data from the 2017 to 2020 Title V MCH Internship Program from both students and preceptors revealed the implementation of a robust and successful internship program in which students increased their confidence in a variety of team, mentorship, and leadership skills while gaining direct exposure to the daily work of state Title V agencies. However, students and preceptors identified more challenges during 2020 compared to previous years. Conclusions The COVID-19 Pandemic was both a disruption and a catalyst for change in education. While there were clearly some challenges with the pivot to a virtual Title V MCH Internship Program in summer 2020, students were able to participate in meaningful internship experiences. This success can be attributed to the ability of the internship sponsor to engage in best practices, including extensive planning and provision of ongoing support to the students. Going forward, it is recognized that virtual internships may facilitate access to agencies in distant locales, eliminating issues related to housing and transportation. When both virtual and in-person relationships are available, those responsible for internship programs, including the Title V MCH Internship, will need to weigh these type of benefits against the potential missed opportunities students may have when not able to participate in on-site experiences.

Impact of State Prioritization of Safe Infant Sleep Programs on Supine Sleep Positioning for Non-Hispanic White and Non-Hispanic Black Infants

Objective Investigate whether safe infant sleep prioritization by states through the Title V Maternal and Child Block Grant in 2010 differentially impacted maternal report of supine sleep positioning (SSP) for Non-Hispanic White (NHW) and Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) U.S.-born infants. Methods We analyzed retrospective cross-sectional data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) from 2005 to 2015 from 4 states: WV and OK (Intervention) and AR and UT (Control). PRAMS is a population-based surveillance system of maternal perinatal experiences which is linked to infant birth certificates. Piece-wise survey linear regression models were used to estimate the difference in the change in slopes of SSP percents in the pre- (2005–2009) and post- (2011–2015) periods, controlling for maternal and infant characteristics. Models were also stratified by race/ethnicity. Results From 2005 to 2015, for NHW infants, SSP improved from 61.5% and 70.2% to 82.8% and 82.3% for intervention and control states, respectively. For NHB infants, SSP improved from 30.6% and 26.5% to 64.5% and 53.1% for intervention and control states, respectively. After adjustment for maternal characteristics, there was no difference in the rate of SSP change from the pre- to post- intervention periods for either NHW or NHB infants in intervention or control groups. Conclusions and relevance Compared with control states that did not prioritize safe infant sleep in their 2010 Title V Block Grant needs assessment, intervention states experienced no difference in SSP improvement rates for NHW and NHB infants. While SSP increased for all infants during the study period, there was no causal relationship between states' prioritization of safe infant sleep and SSP improvement. More targeted approaches may be needed to reduce the racial/ethnic disparity in SSP and reduce the risk for sleep-associated infant death. Key Points

Answering the Call for Title V Data: A Success Skills Intervention to Increase Retention at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Research has yielded much evidence that investing in postsecondary interventions increases retention and success for Hispanic/Latinx undergraduates. This study examines one such intervention, funded by Title V and implemented at a large public Hispanic-Serving Institution, developed to improve semester-to-semester retention. Faculty and peer mentors facilitated a set of workshops for probationary students and students in a core university course that connected self-regulatory skills for college success to those for career success. Students participating in the workshop intervention were compared to a control group of students who did not participate. Findings showed that in comparison to the control group, students in the intervention had higher retention rates, regardless of probationary status or student classification, along with higher rates among students with lower GPAs. Implications of the study are discussed in relation to “servingness” at HSIs.

Seeking to Serve or $erve? Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ Race-Evasive Pursuit of Racialized Funding

This critical qualitative study explores Hispanic-serving institutions’ (HSIs) pursuit of racialized federal funds and theorizes the connection between grant seeking and servingness at HSIs. Specifically, the study’s guiding research question was: Why do HSIs pursue racialized Title V funding? Based on interviews with 23 institutional actors at 12 HSIs, including public Hispanic-serving community colleges and both public and private 4-year institutions, the findings suggest that HSIs vie for Title V grants for assorted and, at times, conflicting reasons. Specifically, they seek this racialized funding to (a) pool money, (b) address broad-based institutional needs, (c) signal legitimacy, and (d) support all students. Importantly, some of the reasons have little to do with immediately serving students generally or Latinx students more specifically. Thus, I argue that in their race-evasive pursuit of Title V funds, many HSIs capitalize on their Latinx students, rendering serving into $erving and ghosting the “H” and “S” in HSIs.

Granice włoskiej drogi do federalizmu. Uwarunkowania ustrojowe, historyczno-doktrynalne i kulturowo-społeczne

The aim of this article is to present the limitations of the possibilities of developing Italian federalism, resulting from both systemic and doctrinal conditions, as well as historical and socio-cultural ones. While the significant amendment of Title V of the Constitution of the Italian Republic in 2001 might indeed have heralded a further development in this direction, other relevant factors of Italian statehood did not favour it. Leaving aside the very issue of the limitations of the political system (understandable in the context of the historical and doctrinal choices of Italian statehood), which nevertheless ultimately deviates from federal solutions, it is necessary to mention above all the weaker – and less recognisable – position of the regions as potential components of federal-type sovereignty and the economic disparities between North and South, which are too large and too risky from a federalist perspective.

Amendments Made to the Older Americans Act Titles III, IV, and V

This presentation discusses amendments made to the Older Americans Act titles III, IV and V through the most recent reauthorization. Title III reauthorizes Title IV programs, Title IV reauthorizes title V programs and Title V reauthorizes title VI programs. The reauthorizations each include a seven percent increase in fiscal year 2020 and a six percent increase per year for the next four fiscal years. New in title III are an amendment that allows projects that address traumatic brain injury among older adults to be included in grant programs, an amendment that improves an existing transportation grant program and an amendment that improves an existing grant program for multigenerational collaboration. Additionally, existing falls prevention and chronic disease self-management programs are codified within title III. New in title IV is an amendment that allows eligible previously incarcerated individuals to be considered a prioritized population for the Senior Community Service Employment Program.