About Us
The Maternal Child Health and Education Research and Data Center (MCHERDC) is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of faculty and staff who engage in risk assessment, outcomes research, program evaluation, fiscal impact studies, cost-benefit analysis, and information management at the national and state level. Staff works collaboratively on projects with Florida’s Departments Health, Education, Children and Families, and the Agency for Health Care Administration.
The Center’s mission is to aid national and state decision makers who seek to utilize data-driven, evidence-based evaluation processes in formulating maternal child health policy. Our services are used by government agencies, private and public institutions, and professionals serving pregnant women, children, and families.
The Center’s activities involve creating and analyzing comprehensive, population-based, longitudinal data sets and communicating findings and recommendations to policy makers at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Health Resources and Services Administration.
MCHERDC faculty’s research publications include articles on risk factors associated with teenage pregnancy, low birth weight, birth defects, infant survival, developmental delay and disability, infant maltreatment, preschool special education, and excess kindergarten costs. Center-affiliated faculty have also contributed to the methodology of longitudinal research with papers on standardized risk and value-added assessment models.
