Health Resources and Services Administration Grant: National Center on Health Care Transition for Youth with Special Health Care Needs

The purpose of this activity is to fund a national resource for health care professionals, families, youth, and state policy makers focusing on the transition of youth and young adults from pediatric to adult system of health care services.  This center will build upon and expand current efforts to improve the transition from pediatric to adult-oriented health care for youth and young adults, particularly those with special health care needs, in part by increasing the number of clinicians with the knowledge and skills to care for this population in the adult system of care. 

Activities of the national center include:
Support State Title V programs and HRSA MCHB grantees to build, sustain, and evaluate programs to provide assistance to youth and young adults with special health care needs (YSHCN), especially those who are vulnerable and/or medically underserved, in their transition to adult oriented health care;
Identify and disseminate resources and tools to aid pediatric and adult clinicians’ implementation of youth transition planning and processes, including their efforts to build capacity to make the transition process a seamless one, to effectively share their experiences, and to track and measure progress;
Work with stakeholders to educate youth, especially those with special health care needs, and their families about the goals and expectations of the health care transition (HCT) process;
Support efforts to equip youth and young adults, particularly YSHCN, with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote self-determination, successfully navigate adult systems of care, and effectively partner in the HCT process;
Disseminate information on effective strategies to ensure successful implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of HCT initiatives utilizing innovative methods, not limited to webinars, topical communities of practice, and web site;
Promote training for pediatric residents, medical students and graduate-level students in clinical and public-health related Maternal and Child Health (MCH) training programs in the core competencies required to effect successful health care transition and promote the adoption of these skills by health professionals;
Promote policies and practices to assure youth and young adults, particularly YSHCN, access to uninterrupted quality health care through a medical home;
Provide a forum for timely, interactive communication among stakeholders, including youth and young adults, families, health, education, labor, and social services professionals, payers, and policy makers to facilitate HCT; and
 Evaluate the national center’s activities and results.  Evaluative measures must be able to assess: 1) to what extent the objectives have been met; and 2) to what extent these can be attributed to the efforts of the national center.  Provide an evaluation plan that is clearly related to the identified needs, goals and objectives, and proposed activities.