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HHS Provides Billions For Home Visits
HHS Provides Billions For Home Visits
October 2010
Executive Summary................................................................................................................................................................ 1
The Maternal, Infant and Childhood Home Visiting Grants Program: An Overview.................................................................... 3
Health Care Reform and Healthy Housing: Opportunities for Action iii
iv Health Care Reform and Healthy Housing: Opportunities for Action
Programs Established by the 2010 Health Care
Reform Bill of Importance to the Healthy Homes
Community: Executive Summary
The landmark health care reform bill passed in 2010, Healthy Communities Program to this new program.
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, launched
three new programs of importance to the healthy homes CDC and HHS staff were in the early stages of developing
community. Each offers state and local government this program, with an eye towards filling gaps not
agencies and nonprofits an opportunity to implement addressed by other CDC programs. CDC will ultimately
healthy homes programming as part of a broader publish one or more Funding Opportunity Announcements
community health initiative. The time is now to connect with that will define what applicants must include in their
your national organizations, state government health leaders “community transformation plans” required by the Act,
and partners from other agencies, because federal and which simply calls for plans that will produce “policy,
state agencies are actively deciding which new and existing environmental, programmatic, and infrastructure changes
health programs will receive these new federal funds. needed to promote healthy living and reduce health
disparities.”
Maternal/Child Home Visiting Program Grants: The
bill established a new five-year, state-based formula Prevention and Public Health Fund: The bill also
grant to fund home visiting programs serving poor, created a five-year, $7 billion fund to support “prevention,
at-risk pregnant women, infants and young children. wellness and public health activities” previously
These programs typically deploy a nurse or social worker authorized by the Public Health Service Act, which
to educate the family on their children’s health and includes many major federal health programs. With no
development, address serious health risks, and connect further statutory guidance, the HHS Secretary decided
them to available community services. In 2010, the U.S. not to solicit public comment or award any of the funds
Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) allocated through a competitive process. Instead, she quickly
$88 million to the states based on the statewide needs allocated the FY10 installment of $500 million among
assessment and preliminary plan submitted by each state. existing programs to train primary care providers, reduce
Congress has yet to decide how much to appropriate for obesity and tobacco use, expand state and local health
2011, but the authorized ceiling is $250 million. department infrastructure, and provide several other
prevention services.
Community Transformation Grants: The Act positions
CDC to award new competitive grants over five years As of this writing, the House and Senate were moving bills
to states, local governments, “national networks of that would allocate $750 million in FY11 among several
community-based organizations,” and “state and local HHS entities. The bulk would go to CDC for numerous
nonprofits” for “community-based prevention health programs, four of which should interest healthy housing
activities” that reduce chronic disease, redress health entities: Community Transformation Grants ($220 m),
disparities, or address another prevention need, such Chronic Disease State Grants ($140 m), Community Health
as nutrition, exercise or smoking, particularly among Worker Demonstration Program ($30 m), and “grants for
vulnerable/special populations. As of October 5, 2010, prevention and public health research” ($20m). How HHS
Congress had not finalized funding, but the Senate was would divide these sums further, however, remains a
considering $220 million that would include shifting CDC’s black box. It has proposed no formal plan, though it may