This bill would add a new grant program to the Public Health Service Act to fund infant mortality pilot programs in areas with high infant death rates. Grants would be available to eligible entities, including county, city, territorial, Tribal health departments, or State health departments in States with centralized health departments. Grants could last up to 5 years. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the HRSA Administrator, would award the grants and give preference to applicants serving the 50 counties or groups of counties with the highest infant mortality rates (based on the most recent 3 years of data) and to programs that address birth defects; preterm birth and low birth weight; sudden infant death; maternal pregnancy complications; or infant injuries.
Funds could be used to develop community plans, provide outreach to at-risk mothers, create standardized systems to improve access and quality of social, educational, and clinical services, offer counseling on infant care and parenting, provide postpartum care, work to prevent premature delivery, and deliver extra services for at-risk mothers (for example, smoking cessation, drug and alcohol treatment, nutrition and physical activity programs, postpartum depression and domestic violence services, social and psychological services, dental care, and parenting programs). Grants may fund rural outreach, regional public education campaigns (including campaigns to prevent preterm births and inform the public about infant mortality), and coordination between local health departments and other entities working to reduce infant deaths. Grantees may not use more than 10 percent of grant funds in a fiscal year for program evaluation. Grantees must submit a report to the Secretary within 1 year of receiving a grant and annually afterward with methodology, outcomes, and statistics; the Secretary will use those reports to evaluate and conduct research on the pilot programs.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.