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Wisconsin Maternal Mortality Review Team (MMRT)

Announcements

The Wisconsin Maternal Health Action Grant will strengthen Wisconsin’s ability to implement the Maternal Mortality Review Team's findings to improve the health outcomes of birthing people and mothers in the state. Through an in-depth review process, MMRT identifies contributing factors and develops Wisconsin MMRT Recommendations, P-02108-2020 (PDF) aimed at preventing future pregnancy-related deaths.

This funding request will strengthen Wisconsin’s ability to implement MMRT findings to improve the health outcomes of birthing people and mothers in the state. The main goal of this opportunity is to partner with one or multiple organizations who will be responsible for implementing one or more MMRT recommendations in the care coordination, navigation, and support; mental health and substance use response; and/or quality of care and patient safety. Applications due August 14, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. CST.

Is the Wisconsin Maternal Health Action Grant only for health care organizations? Who is allowed to apply for these grants?

Organizations and/or individuals that apply for funding must be based in Wisconsin and may include governmental entities, such as counties, cities, local, Tribal health, human services departments, or other public entities, or 501(c)(3) organizations, including but not limited to community-based organizations and faith-based organizations.

Is this a one-time funding opportunity or will the funding be ongoing? If ongoing, for how long?

This project period begins October 1, 2026, and ends September 30, 2027. The anticipated twelve-month award amount is up to $50,000 every year for two years. The twelve-month funding must be spent within the contract year with no extensions. Should additional funding become available at any point during the grant period, DHS reserves the right to use the results of this competitive application process to increase funding to selected agencies based on performance, or to fund additional agencies that applied but were not funded originally.

Could you please confirm that this is a limited submission opportunity and therefore we may only submit one application?

Under Eligibility information in the Request of Applications (RFA) on page 5, we state that only one application per organization can be submitted.

Could funds be used to support existing doula program by providing doula payments and for training.

As long as your proposal addresses the MMR recommendation you selected and you meet the eligibility information on page 5 of the RFA, your application will be accepted.

Because these applications may be reviewed by a general audience, would you have recommended language regarding the project proposal? For example, should it be accessible, without jargon, or scientific language?

Applications should be written without jargon and scientific language. We do not have recommended language regarding the project proposal. Please do not use abbreviations.

In the proposal, scientific language may need to be used. Would it be helpful to attach an addendum to support the application proposal with an index, an abbreviation guide for scientific jargon, definitions or references if we want to reference evidence-based material?

Additional addendums will not be reviewed or scored. Please only include attachments if they are the letter of support in question 3 of the application. Please explain any scientific jargon or evidence-based research in the RFA questions. Note that responses to each question are limited to 500 words. Anything beyond the word count will not be reviewed.

Is there a maximum indirect cost rate or ceiling that applicants can request? If so, what rate should organizations use (i.e. may they use their full federally negotiated indirect rate)?

If an agency has a federally approved indirect rate, it will be honored. If no approved rate exists, DHS may negotiate the rate in collaboration with the subrecipient. The grantee must be able to provide DHS documentation of the approved rate.

The RFA states eligible applicants "may include" governmental entities or 501(c)(3) organizations. Is this an exhaustive list, or are for-profit organizations also eligible to apply directly, provided they meet the other requirements?

This is not an exhaustive list of eligible organizations. For-profit organizations are eligible to apply provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.

If you are involved with the Maternal Mortality Review Team or Impact team, are you eligible to apply?

Yes, your organization is eligible to apply if you are involved with the Maternal Mortality Review Team or the Impact Team.

Will applicants receive scores or reviewer feedback?

Scores and feedback are not provided automatically. This can be provided upon request.

Will we be given information on who the reviewers are, their general backgrounds, their affiliation with the Maternal Mortality Review Team or their sponsors or will that information to remain anonymous?

Information on the reviewers is not disclosed.

Can a supporting agency be part of multiple applications? For example, could a community-based organization do letters of support and/or partnership on more than one application as long as the submitting agency is different on each application? Example: community partner A does a letter of support on public health agency's application, and community partner A also does a letter of support for a local nonprofit's application?

Yes, supporting agencies can be a part of multiple applications. If you choose to subcontract funds or include partners in your work, please ensure the partner is aware of their involvement before submitting the application.

Will this recording be shared in case we have team members who were unable to listen in today, but we want to review your presentation together as we prepare our application materials?

Yes. The question and answer session recording will be posted here when it is available.

The grant amount says up to $50,000. What would be the minimum amount you can request? Are there different ranges of funds available?

There is no minimum grant request amount but the maximum amount you can request is $50,000 per year. Project proposals can be submitted for less than $50,000 per year. For example, we could fund two projects at $25,000.

We would like to apply for grant reviewer. Is there availability in this area? If yes, please direct us.

No, there will not be external reviewers for this grant opportunity. However, there are some DHS grants that provide opportunities to be external reviewers. Subscribe to stay informed.

Mission

The Wisconsin MMRT mission is to increase awareness of the issues surrounding pregnancy-associated deaths and make recommendations to promote change among individuals, communities, and health care systems in order to eliminate preventable maternal deaths among Wisconsin residents.

Background

The Wisconsin MMRT was established by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health and the Wisconsin Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 1997. Prior to 1997, cases of maternal mortality were reviewed by a committee of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

Currently, the MMRT is supported through the Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) program administered by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This funding supports maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) in 46 states and six U.S. territories and freely associated states to identify, review, and characterize pregnancy-related deaths; and identify prevention opportunities.

Members

The MMRT is composed of public health and health care experts who represent professional organizations involved in the delivery of health care to pregnant women in Wisconsin. The MMRT strives to include representation from multiple disciplines, including public health services, perinatal nursing, midwifery, dietetics, psychiatry, and obstetrics. The purpose of the MMRT is to identify and review pregnancy-associated deaths, identify factors that contribute to these deaths, and propose recommendations that aim to prevent future deaths.

View a listing of members

Review process

Maternal deaths are identified using the pregnancy status checkbox and the cause of death listed on the death certificate. The State Vital Records Office also cross-references death certificates of women of reproductive age with birth and fetal death certificates in order to identify additional cases. Once relevant maternal death, birth, and fetal death certificate data has been obtained, perinatal medical records, coroner and/or medical examiner reports (CME), police reports, and social services records are requested. The MMRT meets bi-monthly to review the information gathered on each case, determine whether or not the death was related to pregnancy, and develop prevention recommendations.

MMRT meeting summaries

The content of these meeting summaries reflect the views and opinions of the MMRT. It may not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Health Services.

Contact us

Mary Wienkers, MPH, Mary.Wienkers@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Maternal Mortality Review Lead and Program Contact

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Disclaimer about advisory council content

This content reflects the views and opinions of the advisory council. It may not reflect the official policy or position of DHS.

Glossary

 
Last revised July 30, 2026