Multidisciplinary Model for Rural Health: A Formative Research Project. Office of Rural Health, Health Resources Services Administration, DHHS, 8/04- 7/05.
The goal of this project is to initiate assessment, planning and development, for the first phase, including social marketing research, for a rural health model of care that will successfully address the health needs of women and children in rural Gadsden County, Florida.

Evaluation of the Florida Community Cardiovascular Health Program.
Funded by the Division of Chronic Disease, the Florida Department of Health, 9/03 – 8/05.
Evaluation project designed to demonstrate the performance of 11 Community Cardiovascular Health Program community-based projects in addressing risk factors that lead to cardiovascular disease and the statewide impact of the projects. Project provides technical assistance to the 11 CCHP projects in establishing program objectives, provide ongoing feedback on CCHP activities, assist project in developing tools and data sources for successful evaluation activities.

Gadsden Woman to Woman, Reducing Infant Mortality through Peer Support Groups. Funded by the Office of Minority Health, DHHS, 9/1/01 – 8/30/04. Provides peer support and education groups throughout Gadsden County for at-risk pregnant women. Groups held in community centers, churches, libraries. Supplemental program for the Federal Healthy Start program.

The Federal Healthy Start Initiative in Gadsden County. Decreasing Racial Disparity in Infant Mortality. Funded by Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS, 7/01- 6/05.
In an effort to address some of the more critical needs identified and reduce factors associated with high infant mortality rates, the Gadsden Healthy Start project has identified four project goals to be accomplished by 5/31/09. These are to: (1) Reduce the African American disparity in perinatal health indicators; (2) Enhance growth and development and promote health of African American infants; (3) Promote longer interconceptional intervals and preventative health behaviors in African American women; and (4) Enhance the local perinatal system of care. The project is a collaborative partnership between the Florida State University, the Florida Department of Health, Early Head Start, and Healthy Families Gadsden. To ensure adequate community representation, Consortium membership includes residents and consumers, local providers of perinatal care, staff from social service agencies, clergy, local business representatives and other key community leaders. The consortium reviewed the results of the needs assessment and assisted with the prioritization of problems to be addressed in this initiative.

Assessment of the Statewide Quality Assurance Program for the Developmental Services Home and Community-Based Waiver, State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, 04/04 – 07/04.
A sample-based review of the Statewide Quality Assurance Program for the Developmental Services Home and Community- Based Waiver for consumers with developmental disabilities who are receiving Medicaid waiver services in the state of
Florida.

The Florida “Closing the Gap” Statewide Initiative. Funded by the Florida Department of Health, Office of Equal Opportunity and Minority Health, 12/01 – 12/02.
Technical assistance contract for the 56 community-based Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities “Closing the Gap” grant projects meant to stimulate the development of community-based and neighborhood-based projects to improve the health outcomes of racial and ethnic populations. These community projects focused in the areas of HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Maternal and Infant Mortality and Immunizations. The Center provided capacity building technical assistance to all 56 Closing the Gap community projects throughout Florida. The goal of the Project focused on collaboration with communities to identify, understand and raise awareness about disparities in health, and to develop, implement and evaluate initiatives to eliminate disparities in health.

Federal Healthy Start Program Evaluation, Pinellas County, Florida. Funded by Pinellas County Health Department. 08/01-08/02.
The Center has collaborated with the Pinellas Federal Healthy Start Program in a HRSA grant that addresses racial disparity in infant mortality rates in Pinellas County and provided expertise in the evaluation of this federally funded program.

Community Action Planning for Healthy Start, funded by the Miami-Dade Healthy Start Coalition and the Monroe County Healthy Start Coalition. 9/01-12/02.
The Center worked with Florida Healthy Start Coalitions in Miami-Dade and Key West, to develop their 3-year Maternal and Child Health Service Delivery Plans. These contracts involved working with the coalitions to complete a community needs assessment, health problem analysis, an action plan that addresses the identified risk factors that contribute to poor birth outcomes in the community, and an internal evaluation plan.