Public health presents maternal and child health data; supervisors flag housing and funding gaps

Kimmy Watkins Tartt, Alameda County’s public health director, and staff presented a multipanel update on maternal, paternal, child and adolescent health, highlighting persistent racial and geographic disparities and several local program responses.

Anna Groover (Family Health Services Division) framed the MPCAH approach as prevention‑focused and tailored to population needs. Julia Raifman, CAPE director, showed data indicating declines in birth rates countywide and persistent inequities: slides cited a decline in births per 1,000 people from about 19,300 to 16,000 (a ~26% decline over the period shown) and disparities in infant and fetal mortality by race and neighborhood.

Raifman noted that African American/Black infants face substantially higher mortality rates in Alameda County than Asian populations and that the county has seen declines in fetal deaths (~12%) and infant deaths (~15%) since the earlier baseline period presented on the slides. The presenters cautioned that some indicators remain uneven across neighborhoods and racial groups.

Staff described local programs: the "Starting Out Strong" system of care, a culturally adapted Centering Pregnancy program (Beloved Birth Black Centering) that local data indicate has narrowed disparities among participants, and the Abundant Birth Project, a guaranteed‑income pilot that provided participants $981 per month for about a year. County staff said UC Berkeley is evaluating the pilot and additional evaluation results will be shared when ready.

Presenters flagged housing instability as a key barrier: staff reported that roughly 22% of families in the program experience housing insecurity and identified approximately 30 families known to be actively homeless in the dataset they reviewed. Supervisors pressed for disaggregated data and for coordination with housing and homelessness teams; staff said a meeting was scheduled to align MPCAH and Housing & Homelessness workstreams.

The presentation also noted public‑health concerns such as rising syphilis and congenital syphilis rates among vulnerable populations and emphasized continued efforts to support prenatal care access, breastfeeding support and culturally concordant services. Staff said the county is using public‑health dollars to sustain some activities formerly funded at the state level: the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) lost statewide funding and the county is covering local facilitation and quarterly convenings.

Supervisors asked about using Measure W and other local funds to shore up essential services, and staff said the HealthPAC network and recently approved CBO contracts will be part of outreach and Medicaid enrollment support. No votes or formal budget actions were taken at the session; staff offered to return with more detailed, disaggregated data and updates on program funding.