Grants form the Department of Health and Human Services

by: Iola Bonggay

The United States Federal Government gives great importance to ensuring the health and welfare of the America and its people. In fact, the government has established an independent agency that is dedicated solely for the provision of essential health and human services to all individuals needing such services.

In the year 1979, the Department of Health and Human Services, otherwise known as HHS, was established in an effort to protect the health of all Americans and to provide essential human services to everyone, especially to those who are least capable of helping themselves.

At present, the programs of the Department of Health and Human Services are administered through its 11 operating divisions, which includes eight agencies in the US Public Health Service and three human services agencies.

The HHS is the largest agency that administers more grant dollars than all the other federal agencies combined. In fact, the HHS' Medicare program is the country's largest health insurer, administering a staggering amount of more than 1 billion claims per year.

In most instances, the programs of the HHS are handled by their operating divisions depending upon the nature and the intent of the program. The 11 operating divisions are:

1) The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) - the department that handles programs that are mainly centered on providing necessary assistance to child support enforcement, adoption assistance, foster care, child care, and child abuse.

2) The Administration on Aging (AoA) - the department within the HHS that awards annual grants to State government agencies on aging, together with Native American tribal organizations in the hopes of promoting programs that are mandated by the Congress in the Older Americans Act.

3) The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) - the department that works in cooperation with other federal, state, and local agencies, tribal government, local communities and healthcare providers in order to work towards alleviating human health risks that are associated with the exposure to hazardous substances.

  (continued...)

Grants form the Department of Health and Human Services
  Page 2

About The Author Iola Bonggay is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. She also maintains Websites providing resources on environmental grants and grants for youth programs.

Additional Resources

category - Health Grants

Lifespan Respite Care Program - Technical Assistance Resource Center
In keeping with this mission, the Administration on Aging has recently announced the constitution of the Lifespan Respite Care Program - Technical Assistance Resource Center wherein it aims to invite applications for a competitive grant opportunity for implementing the requirements of the Technical Assistance Resource Center (TARC) as authorized in the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006.

---

Excellence in Hemoglobinopathies Research Award Program
The National Institutes of Health has formed a collaboration with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in an effort to establish the Excellence in Hemoglobinopathies Research Award Program wherein both agencies have agreed to financially support the creation of studies that could potentially improve high-impact multi-disciplinary basic and translational research studies in the hemoglobinopathies.

---

Health Care Fraud Program Expansion and Senior Medical Patrol Capacity Building Grants
In line with this mission, the Administration on Aging has recently established the Health Care Fraud Program Expansion and Senior Medical Patrol Capacity Building Grants in an attempt to boost the capacity of the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program to reach more Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, their families and caregivers, while focusing on fraud prevention and identification.

---

Building a Medical Home for Multiply Diagnosed HIV positive Homeless Populations - Demonstration Sites Project
The HRSA has recently constituted the establishment of a new initiative entitled the Building a Medical Home for Multiply Diagnosed HIV positive Homeless Populations – Demonstration Sites Project.

---