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The Bureau of Women's and Children's Health (BWCH) supports efforts to improve the health of Arizona women and children. Activities focus on assessment of health status and identification of health issues, development of partnerships and planning to address health issues, and provision of "safety net" services.

Our Vision

Healthy Women...Healthy Children...Healthy Tomorrow

Our Mission

To strengthen the family and the community by promoting and improving the health and safety of women, infants, and children.

Our Services

Children's Health
The Office of Children's Health supports the increased focus within the state and nation on the importance of early childhood programs. The Office also supports enhanced integration of existing children's programs within the Arizona Department of Health Services; among other state and federal agencies; communities; and other partners. The Office facilitates systems development, encourages best practices, and through contractors, provides community-based services. The various programs in this office manage and distribute funding that provides services to reduce the mortality and morbidity among women of child-bearing years, infants, and children; increase access to health care; and reduce health disparities.

Women's Health
The programs in the Office of Women's Health focus on issues that impact the health of adolescents and women by providing funding for local community-based prevention and intervention activities. We also coordinate with internal and external partners to promote policies that foster effective systems of care for women. The Office promotes preconception health for all women of childbearing age and community involvement in public health program policies and operational activities. In addition, Office staff work on the following issues: teen pregnancy prevention, domestic violence, sexual assault prevention, reproductive health, and prenatal care.

Oral Health
The mission of the Office of Oral Health is to promote oral health for the well-being of all Arizona residents. The Office of Oral Health has three primary focus areas: Prevention Programs, Community Development, and Research and Analysis.

Assessment and Evaluation
The Office of Assessment and Evaluation is responsible for supporting research and evaluation related to women's and children's health, including statewide performance, outcome, and health status indicators. The office evaluates BWCH programs' effectiveness through designing studies as well as providing technical assistance to BWCH program managers as they design and implement evaluation studies. The office also supports evaluation design, data collection, management, analysis and reporting for BWCH programs.

Injury Prevention and Child Fatalities
The Injury Prevention and Child Fatality Review Section is responsible for coordinating and building state infrastructure for community injury prevention. The Child Fatality Review Program and the Unexplained Infant Death Council coordinate statewide efforts to help understand why children die and how such deaths can be prevented.

Publications and Reports
We've compiled a series of publication and reports that address a variety of women's and children's health.


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