Non-NIH Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Other than NIH

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Updates for Non-NIH Health and Human Services Recovery
Act Implementation:

Early Head Start Expansion Grants

Early Head Start Expansion Grants (Second Program)

HHS has received $59 billion with the stipulation that it focus on the following areas: scientific research and facilities; community services and early childhood education programs; community health; and health information technology.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will allocate $2.5 billion through the following mechanisms: $500 million for grants to community health centers; $1.5 billion for grants for construction, renovation, equipment, and acquisition of health IT systems for health centers and health center controlled networks; and $500 million for scholarships, loan repayments, and grants for training program equipment to address health professions workforce shortages.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF)'s $2 billion package will largely go to states for the Child Care and Development Block Grant to provide child care assistance for low-income families. Of that amount, nearly $256 million will fund activities that support the quality of child care services including training, education and other professional development activities to enhance the skills of the child care workforce, and $94 million will support activities that improve the quality of infant and toddler care. The ARRA will also provide for the following: $1 billion for Head Start and $1.1 billion for Early Head Start of which 10 percent will be used for training and technical assistance (programs in which IHEs may take part); $1 billion for selected activities under the Community Services Block Grant which provides for state child-care services for low-income families; the grant requires that 90 percent of the state awards be administered to eligible private and public entities; and $50 million for cooperative research and demonstration projects related to programs authorized under the Social Security Act.

To finance comparative effectiveness research, $400 million each will be made available to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institutes of Health. AHRQ will administer grants and/or contracts for research to complete the following: conduct, support, or synthesize research that compares the clinical outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of items, services, and procedures that are used to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease, disorders, and other health conditions; and encourage the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data.
The Indian Health Service (IHS) will also receive $85 million to support health information technology activities such as telehealth services development, and HHS in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will administer $650 million to carry out clinical and community-based prevention and wellness strategies that address chronic disease rates and, directly or through contracts with public or private entities, provide for annual evaluations of these programs.

Lastly, the ARRA makes a considerable investment in health information technology through a variety of mechanisms and allocations. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) will be created within HHS and will be allocated $2 billion to take on a leadership role in developing a nationwide health IT infrastructure. Of those funds, HHS will transfer $20 million to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Commerce for similar initiatives and $30 million will support regional health IT efforts. An HIT Policy Committee and an HIT Standards Committee will also be created to provide recommendations to the ONCHIT regarding health IT implementation, standards, and certification criteria.