Building Bridges Between Latina Leaders and Health Systems
With seed funding from Early Milestones Colorado and additional funding from Colorado Gives Foundation, the LatinaGives! Fund, The Anschutz Foundation and an undisclosed private foundation, Triad Bright Futures launched the Maternal Child Health Leaders for Equity (MCHLE) program in collaboration with Cuenta Conmigo Cooperative and Jefferson County Public Health in 2024.
This innovative pilot project engages Latina leaders who have lived experience navigating maternal and mental health challenges in a 12-month cohort that blends direct service, training, credentialing and mentored practice. Activities in Year 1 focused on building community capacity for leadership and advocacy, while embedding learning into systems change processes. Nineteen organizational change agents were paired with 20 Latina community members to establish meaningful connections between community and systems. Year 2 is focused on scaling impact through leader-developed projects addressing gaps in health care and access along with expanded workforce development activities.
Impact
Year 1 Results
Leader surveys from Year 1 reflect a transformative experience in addressing maternal and child health within community contexts, with clear progress toward reducing inequities. Most participants identified career pathways before the end of Year 1. One success that stands out is the many certifications achieved by MCHLE community leaders: Eight community leaders completed doula training, and five completed Community Health Worker certification through the State of Colorado. In addition, we are very pleased with the strengthened professional networks evidenced through our pre- and post- Year 1 Social Network Analysis.
Year 2 Progress
In the second year, 15 participants continue with 18 hours of educational sessions focused on development of projects aligned with professional interest areas (Doulas, Lactation Counselors, Community Health Workers, Nutrition specialists). They are implementing project development cycles and are meeting several times a month to advance the work. In phase 1, they conducted community assessments to inform their project design and are out in the community gathering data while providing direct service in their discipline through paid practice. Recently four participants were certified as lactation specialists and one of the doulas submitted her documentation to be able to bill Medicaid. As an example of the ongoing learning and development, the nutrition group is doing home visits with pregnant moms. When asked what they have learned from their families this month, one participant responded:
“They remind me of when I first arrived. The moms are alone—they are first-time mothers, alone, very much alone—and yet, they place their trust in me! I try to support them, and I reach out to others to help support them as well. It gives me strength and joy to see them making headway, and whenever I feel like I can’t go on, I think of them and remind myself that I can do it, too."