Maternal Child Health Needs Assessment

The South Dakota Department of Health Child and Family Services (OCFS) conducts an ongoing assessment of the health and well-being of women, children, and youth including those with special healthcare needs, and their families to guide state and local public health work. The goal of the assessment is to gather information to understand the needs facing women, children, and youth including those with special health care needs, and their families across South Dakota, and assess the state’s capacity to provide services. Information gathered from this process will help OCFS staff to focus efforts to positively impact the lives of women, children, and youth including those with special health care needs, and their families.

• Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) Program Staff
• Population served by OCFS programs: Parents, families, children, including underserved and disparate populations, such as tribes, rural, low-income
• Partner organizations whose reach includes populations served by OCFS programs across the life course

The needs assessment will assess factors that affect the health of women, children, and youth including those with special health care needs, and their families. Factors will include health risk behaviors and disease outcomes, income, disability status, gender, geography, race/ethnicity, and educational level.  Assessing these factors is important to consider because different strategies require varying levels of individual or community effort and resources to achieve health equity.

The resulting priorities will affect what issues state and local public health professionals address across OCFS programs. Prevention and health promotion programs and strategies will be developed and implemented to optimize the health and well-being of the women, children, and youth including those with special health care needs, and their families across South Dakota. Prevention and health promotion programs and strategies will be developed and implemented with the aim of optimizing health and well-being.

Input from OCFS partners and South Dakota women, children, and youth including those with special health care needs, and their families served by the OCFS programs is integral to support the needs assessment process and understanding the needs facing these populations. Individuals are invited to share their voices and participate in focus groups, community forums, and additional opportunities to identify needs.