​Bureau of Family Health

The mission of the BFH is to equally protect and equitably promote the health and well-being of pregnant people, their partners, their children and all families in Pennsylvania.

The divisions under BFH include: Child and Adult Health Services, Community Systems Development and Outreach, Newborn Screening and Genetics and Bureau Operations.  BFH administers Pennsylvania’s Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant.

Information for Families During the Formula Shortage

Division of Child and Adult Health Services 

The goal of the Division of Child and Adult Health Services (DCAHS) is to provide proven and effective services to improve health outcomes and support people at increased risk from birth through adulthood.  DCAHS aims to improve health equity, address social determinants of health, reduce infant death, and improve child and teen health.  Programs to address these goals include:

• Providing services to reduce lead hazards in homes where pregnant women and children under the age of six live;
• Providing help to prevent and lower lead exposure and lead poisoning in children under the age of six;
• Preventing and lowering infant and child injuries or deaths through proven strategies;
• Preventing Sudden Unexpected Infant Death due to unsafe sleep environments;
• Providing services for teens to prepare for adulthood, including access to family planning services, preventing teen relationship abuse, developing protective factors, and providing emotional and mental health support;
• Providing medical, prescription, and transportation services to eligible adults with end stage renal disease through the Chronic Renal Disease Program.  

Division of Community Systems Development and Outreach

The mission of the Division of Community Systems Development and Outreach (CSDO) is to provide statewide leadership, in partnership with key stakeholders and families/caregivers, to create system changes at the state and local level to improve health and health related outcomes for individuals and families, including those with special health care needs.

CSDO meets this mission by:

• Ensuring families and caregivers serve as partners in the care and improvement of care of their children with special health care needs.
  
• Linking families with information and resources through the Special Kids Network Helpline, the Community to Home program and through partnership with the Parent Education and Advocacy Leadership Center (PEAL).
• Providing direct services for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) through the Head Injury Program and Acquired Brain Injury Program.
• Assisting children and youth with TBI to integrate back into a school setting through the BrainSTEPS program.
• Connecting individuals with TBI to services and supports through the NeuroResource Facilitation Program.
• Providing education and outreach to populations that work with individuals with TBI such as juvenile justice, the aging population, and opioid use programs.
• Providing education to adolescent males to increase positive relationship behaviors through the use of the Coaching Boys into Men curriculum.
• Providing training and education for individuals and the community related to epilepsy through the Epilepsy Program.
• Providing services through the Specialty Care Program (SCP) for individuals diagnosed with Cooley's Anemia (beta thalassemia), cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, spina bifida, and sickle cell disease (SCD).
• Providing the Sickle Cell Community-Based Services and Supports Program (CBSS), which partners with care systems to support families and communities, improve health outcomes and increase the quality of life for those living with SCD.
• Providing early diagnostic services and support for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through the Autism Diagnostic Clinic and Applied Behavioral Analysis Parent Coaching program.
• Partnering with the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) on the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Program to improve health system function for children and youth with special health care needs receiving care at FQHCs.

Division of Newborn Screening and Genetics 

The mission of the Division of Newborn Screening and Genetics (DNSG) is to ensure every child born in Pennsylvania receives a dried blood spot screening, a hearing screening, and a critical congenital heart defects screening through the Newborn Screening Program and the Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Program.  The DNSG also oversees the Department of Health's Breastfeeding Program, which is focused on increasing the number of new mothers who choose to breastfeed and increasing the length of time mothers breastfeed. DNSG initiatives include:

• Providing follow-up services to ensure newborns receive the three newborn screens and that newborns with an abnormal result receive timely referrals, diagnoses, and treatment.
• Providing formula to eligible individuals through the Metabolic Formula Program.
• Convening and supporting the Newborn Screening and Follow-up Technical Advisory Board and the Infant Hearing Screening Advisory Committee which advises and makes recommendations to the Department on program regulation and administration, diagnostic testing, and technical support.
• Providing breastfeeding education and support to new mothers and supporting the Keystone 10 breastfeeding initiative.