• Increasing availability of services related to prematurity
• Improving access to and quality of health care for women and infants
• Increasing the availability of prevention services

Since 1998, a total of 26 MIOP projects have been funded, representing the creative and collaborative efforts of 25 chapters and their partner organizations. Each project receives $50,000-$100,000 annually for up to three years. Projects are chosen through a competitive process that evaluates each application on several criteria, including collaboration, potential impact, strength of project design and evaluation, cost-effectiveness, use of innovative methods and opportunity for sustainability or systems change. Brief summaries of the awards are included below, listed by the strategy that they support.

2002 Mission Investment Opportunities Program Awards
Improving Access to and Quality of Health Care for Women and Infants

• The Southern California Chapter is collaborating with the University of California-San Diego Television and California Distance Learning Health Network to provide preconception and prenatal education o consumers and providers utilizing partner expertise in video production, broadcast and distance learning.
• The Oklahoma State Chapter, in partnership with the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, is building on an existing network of outreach workers to expand efforts to assist pregnant women in obtaining prenatal care and health insurance coverage.

Increasing the Availability of Prevention Services

• The Maine State Chapter is working with the Foundation for Blood Research on a one-year initiative to update genetic risk assessment and management tools used by health care providers serving pregnant women in Maine and New Hampshire.
• The Montana State Chapter, in collaboration with the Fetal Diagnostic Center and Partners in Health Telemedicine Network, is utilizing an existing telemedicine infrastructure to expand the availability of genetics services in rural areas throughout Montana and northern Wyoming.
• The New Jersey State Chapter is partnering with the Hudson Perinatal Consortium to increase education and services related to sexually transmitted infections in five New Jersey cities.
• The Texas State Chapter is collaborating with the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the Texas Department of Health to expand education, screening and treatment for chlamydia among women seeking pregnancy testing in West Texas.
• The Tennessee State Chapter is working with the Middle Tennessee State University to implement a smoking cessation program for pregnant women receiving services at 80 WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children) sites throughout the state.

Expanding Folic Acid Education

• The North Carolina State Chapter, in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is expanding their folic acid education project, using peer educators to reach young women of childbearing age at 60 college and university campuses throughout the state.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at www.marchofdimes.com, its Spanish Web site at nacersano.org or call 1-888-MODIMES. To learn more about the Mission Investment Opportunities program, call your local March of Dimes chapter.