About the Collaboratives
MLC-2: Multi-State Learning Collaborative for Performance and Capacity Assessment or Accreditation of Public Health Departments
Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington state were selected from a field of 21 applicants to participate in the program. Throughout the fifteen month collaborative, the ten states will assess quality improvement strategies to enhance the work of public health departments. The ten state projects are expected to produce models for action nationwide.
The objectives of MLC-2 are to:
- Bolster the public health performance assessment programs in ten states with funding to support the application of quality improvement techniques into existing programs.
- Convene ten states that are conducting performance/capacity assessment or accreditation programs through multiple venues (teleconferences, site visits, on-site meetings) to explore numerous quality improvement methods and techniques used within public health and other industries.
- Produce documents and tools in collaboration with the participating states and national partners that will serve as resources and demonstration pieces to aid quality improvement efforts for public health.
- Inform the public health practice community about the proceedings, findings and products of the project.
The Multi-State Learning Collaborative complements another project, called the Exploring Accreditation project, examined the implications and feasibility of establishing a national system for voluntary accreditation of state and local health departments.
NC MLC- Accreditation Learning Collaborative
The NC MLC - Accreditation Learning Collaborative, composed of the NC Association of Local Health Directors, the NC Division of Public Health, and the NC Institute for Public Health, conducted several initiatives to enhance the NC accreditation system and contribute to the Multi-state Learning Collaborative Year One. Two of these projects, benefits of accreditation and the Accreditation Road Map, are of potential national interest and can inform the proposed national voluntary accreditation model. Benefits of accreditation from the perspectives of various system participants were explored through the ongoing evaluation of the NC accreditation system. These projects are further explained in the article "The NC Accreditation Learning Collaborative: Partners Enhancing Local Health Department Accreditation".
Other projects conducted include the Public Health Improvement Fund and Improvements to the NCLHDA Program Governance Standards. The other states that participated in MLC-1 were Illinois, Missouri, Michigan and Washington.