Children and families require a child health care system that serves their unique needs and supports opportunity for life-long health and well-being. The current system, however, fails too many children, especially Black, Indigenous, Latino, and other children of color.
Accelerating Child Health Transformation (ACHT), an initiative led by the Center for Health Care Strategies with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is seeking to accelerate the adoption of key elements necessary to advance family-centered pediatric practice. The project focuses on three foundational strategies, identified through a nationwide scan of best practices:
- Adopting anti-racist practices and policies to advance health equity;
- Co-creating equitable partnerships between patients, families, and providers; and
- Identifying family strengths and addressing health-related social needs to promote resilience.
Widespread adoption of these strategies requires changes within practice settings as well as payment and accountability levers to support these enhanced approaches to care. Payment innovations are particularly important within Medicaid, which serves over 45 percent of children and youth across the nation, including many from historically marginalized communities.
Project Activities
From 2021-2023, ACHT convened child health experts, pediatric providers, and family engagement leaders across the nation to explore opportunities to improve child health care. The exploration sought to accelerate the adoption of anti-racist practices and promote family-driven approaches that address health-related social needs.
Currently, CHCS and its partners are engaging with leaders in the child health field to better understand:
- How to support providers and family engagement leaders in enhancing care and addressing health-related social needs by prioritizing dignity, racial equity, and family involvement?
- What Medicaid payment and accountability levers — including alternative payment models and managed care contracting strategies — can state policymakers use to support practice changes that can help eliminate racial disparities?
Spreading Lessons
CHCS’ Child Health Transformation Resource Center shares lessons from the ACHT Learning Community. This online compendium — housing reports, tools, and other resources from ACHT and other organizations in the field — provides practical tools to help health care providers, community partners, family and patient engagement leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders transform pediatric care to be more anti-racist, family-driven, and holistic.
