Introduction
1. The Measuring and Monitoring (M&M) Project
Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs (DSCSHN) (1998-2003), Measuring and Monitoring (M&M) Community-Based Systems of Care for Children and youth with special health care needs (CSHCN) is a collaborative endeavor between EIRI and USU and participating states to achieve the outcomes outlined in Healthy People 2010. These goals are measured by a process of repeated measurements to understand how services can be improved, referred to as "Continuous Quality Improvement" (CQI). CQI is instrumental in informing state CSHCN leaders about how well their services, policies, and practices are working for children and families.
To this end, all states are asked to create a comprehensive system of care for children and youth with special health care needs and their families as outlined in the federal 10-year action plan, Healthy People 2010. This plan is the culmination of several parallel activities sponsored by the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs (DSCSHN) of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and represents a partnership among public, private, and family sectors at the federal, state, and local levels. This system requires that the following six core CSHCN outcomes be achieved.
- Families of children with special health care needs will partner in decision-making at all levels and will be satisfied with the services they receive.
- Children with special health care needs will receive coordinated, ongoing, comprehensive care within a medical home.
- Families of children with special health care needs will have adequate private and/or public insurance to pay for the services they need.
- Children will be screened early and continuously for special health care needs.
- Community-based service systems will be organized so families can use them easily.
- Youth with special health care needs will receive the services necessary to make transitions to all aspects of adult life, including adult health care, work, and independence.