Initiative Status:
Active since 2015

Led By:
WIC Division, Michigan Department
of Health & Human Services

logo-WIC-MI-purple 1

Michigan

Ensure families have access to adequate breastfeeding services, 
and experience improved health outcomes, by developing sustainable partnerships across WIC and other maternal and child health organizations.

Check out what's available to state & local leaders

Initiative Status:
Active since 2015

Led By:
WIC Division, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services

THE PROBLEM

Quality care is not accessible to all Michigan families

In some areas, quality breastfeeding and healthcare services might not exist. If quality services exist, families might not know about them. If families know about the services, they might not be able to access them at the right time or at all. If families can access the services, they might not experience the same quality of care over time.

These barriers have a large impact on families’ health outcomes, and disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), people with limited income, and rural populations.

THE CAUSES

Why is this happening?

THE INITIATIVE

Improve families’ access to care

The Project Name Goes Here focuses on improving families’ access to adequate breastfeeding services and other evidence-based maternity care practices.

Maternal and child health organizations are provided resources and support for developing sustainable partnerships that work toward improving breastfeeding rates by addressing access to services, continuity of care, and consistent messaging. State and local organizations can benefit from…

STATE PARTNER COORDINATION

What’s Available to State Leaders

Partner Profiles

Gather information about programs, reach, data sources, priority areas, funding opportunities, and local networks.

Local Network Surveys

Survey local networks to understand their needs, priorities, partnerships, successes, and progressive programming.

Landscape Analysis Report

Access a landscape analysis report that compiles statewide partner profiles with recommendations on potential priority, focus area, collaboration, and funding opportunity alignment. This opportunity is also available for regional-level programs and health systems.

RESOURCES & SUPPORT

What’s Available to Local Organizations

LOCAL PARTNER COORDINATION

Connect with local organizations

The Coffective dashboard is an online platform that helps local organizations coordinate with other organizations. Use the dashboard to…

  • Find and connect with local leaders.
  • Access resources for working together on aligned messaging.
  • Use organization profiles to share information about services with partners so they can appropriately prepare and refer families.
Learn more & sign up

LOCAL PARTNER COORDINATION & COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Get technical assistance on building referral networks

Receive technical assistance from a community partnership coordinator on building referral networks and collaborating more efficiently across community partners. A community partnership coordinator can help you..

  • Identify potential community partners and set up collaborating meetings.
  • Learn about services, priority areas, and referral opportunities.
  • Access tools for creating consistent messaging and increasing referrals.
Connect with a community partnership coordinator

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Learn from other communities improving access to care

Many communities have already had success improving access to care! Local leaders can share with and learn from these communities through..

  • A collaborative of communities working toward the same goals.
  • Community partnership coordinators who gather, share, and provide guidance on adapting lessons from other communities.
  • Regional sharing calls, where lessons learned are shared across states.
Share your success

FAMILY EDUCATION

Maintain consistent messaging

Access materials that can help prepare families for their birth and breastfeeding journeys.

The materials are designed to be used in a wide range off settings, including hospitals, prenatal clinics, and WIC agencies. This helps ensure families hear a consistent message at every stage of care.

Contact us to access tools and training
FAMILY EDUCATION
Train everyone on maternity care practices that support breastfeeding

COMMUNITY & CLINICAL EDUCATION

Train everyone on maternity care practices that support breastfeeding

Improve families’ care and provide consistent messaging with staff education on evidence-based maternity care practices. A variety of training options are available for WIC, hospital, and other community organizations.

Contact us to access tools and training

TIMELINE

Partnership History

Since 2014, Coffective and the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services have partnered to support community success across the state. See how our journey has evolved!

2015
2016
2017 – 2018
2019
2020
2021

2015

2015

Staff training and prenatal education tools on evidence-based maternity care practices provided to pilot of five local WIC agencies.

2016

2016

Staff training and prenatal education launched across all WIC agencies with the goal of establishing consistent messaging and better preparing families for the hospital.

2017 – 2018

2017 – 2018

Local WIC, hospital, and prenatal clinic leaders offered ongoing technical assistance on partner coordination.

2019

2019

State partner coordination begins.

2020

2020

All local organizations given access to Community Match.

2021

2021

Ongoing technical assistance to local WIC agencies on partner coordination continued.

State partner coordination continued.

Learn more about Michigan’s initiative

Find out more about the initiatives, tools, and activities available to Michigan maternal and child health organizations.

Contact us