E-Alert {View Online}

08/14/2024

Mind the Gap State Policy Leaders Share Policy Successes at Postpartum Support International Conference in Washington, D.C.

Dear Partners,

Leaders from Mind the Gap State Coalitions in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio and Washington, D.C. shared their impressive policy results and their experience going through the PACE State Policy Series - building a coalition, identifying goals, and making things happen - during a rich panel discussion at the Postpartum Support International Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 26. 

Pictured from left to right: Maggie Clark, Director of Policy and Networks for The Reilly Group, Raquel Williams, Education Manager at MHA, POEM Ohio, Jessie Colbert, Executive Director of Mass PPD Fund, and Dr. Lindsey Brown-McCormick, Advocacy Lead with PSI-Kentucky. 

The discussion included a panel with leaders from Mind the Gap Kentucky, Massachusetts and Ohio, who galvanized the PACE State Policy Series during 2023, 2022, and 2021. Then, a panel of leaders from Mind the Gap Washington, D.C. team took the stage with an even deeper dive into their coalition’s multi-year work creating a community-led policy agenda that resulted in a District-wide policy agenda, a task force in charge of implementation, and multiple other results.

Pictured from left to right: Alana Aronin, Senior Policy Associate for Community Mental Health in the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children’s National Hospital; Dr. Aimee Danielson, founding Director of the Women’s Mental Health Program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital; Dr. DeShawn Groves, Special Projects Officer to the Medicaid Director, Department of Health Care Finance; Nandi Barton, co-chair of the D.C. Perinatal Mental Health Task Force and Context Specialist for the Washington, D.C. Primary Care Association. 

The Mind the Gap State Policy Series helped D.C. build a coalition that reflected the voice and lived experience of Black and Brown moms in Washington, D.C. Mind the Gap co-chair Nandi Barton said that always including people with lived experience, and compensating them for their participation in advocacy and policy work, is key to D.C’s success. 

“We need to make sure that people with lived experience are in the room. If Black and Brown women are dying at three times the rate, why are they not in the room," Nandi Barton asked. See a video of that discussion HERE.

Each year, several states participate in the Mind the Gap state policy series, which uses a process called PACE to help groups identify their policy goal, build capacity and a coalition to take action, and achieve a range of results to improve perinatal mental health. Selected states receive technical assistance, coaching, curriculum, easy-to-use tools, and support from The Reilly Group throughout the months-long series.

Results included: 



• Advancing legislation in Massachusetts, Ohio and New Jersey, to grow and diversify the perinatal mental health workforce and encouraging greater access to perinatal mental health screening and treatment
• Sustained, large Mind the Gap coalitions in eight states: Massachusetts, Kentucky, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa and Washignton, D.C, continuing their work in maternal mental health

The panelists encouraged the audience to get involved in the Mind the Gap State Policy Series and bring it to their state. 

“We would not have gotten as far as we have without the support of the Mind the Gap State Policy Series,” said Jessie Colbert, Executive Director of the Mass PPD Fund and leader of the Massachusetts Mind the Gap Coalition. She also highlighted the benefit of the series’ scheduling and tools to organize a coalition of more than 100 people. 

If you’re interested in learning more about bringing the Mind the Gap State Policy Series to your state, email Colleen Reilly at colleen@reillygroupinc.com.