93.926: Healthy Start Initiative

93.926

Active

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) [HHS]

Aug. 8, 2022

Aug. 8, 2022

The purpose of this grant program is to improve perinatal health outcomes and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in perinatal health outcomes by using community-based approaches to service delivery, and to facilitate access to comprehensive health and social services for women, infants, and their families. HS grants are provided to communities with rates of infant mortality at least 1½ times the U.S. national average and high rates for other adverse perinatal outcomes (e.g., low birthweight, preterm birth, maternal morbidity and mortality) in order to address the needs of high-risk women and their families before, during, and after pregnancy.

B - Project Grants

Eligible Project Area: All applicants applying for funding under this grant notice must identify themselves as serving an urban, rural, or other project area. Project area is defined as a geographic community in which the proposed services are to be implemented. A project area must represent a reasonable and logical catchment area, but the defined areas do not have to be contiguous. A map of the proposed project area must be included in the application. Urban – Territory, population, and housing units located within an urbanized area (UA) or an urban cluster (UC), which has: a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile; and surrounding census blocks with an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile. Rural – To determine whether the Census tract or County for your proposed project area is defined as a rural area (RA), visit the webpage Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer: (http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/RuralAdvisor/ruralhealthadvisor.aspx?ruralByAddr=1) and enter the project area address. Other - A project area that does not fit either the urban or rural definitions. Eligible Target Population: The target population is the population that the applicant will serve within their geographic project area and will determine their eligibility.The target population should be the population with the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) within the project area. The majority of the HS program services and resources should be focused on the target population. The project area for which the applicant is applying and the proposed target population within that project area must be clearly identified to confirm eligibility. Eligibility Factors Demonstrating Need: HRSA/MCHB must be able to verify submitted data with the appropriate state/local government agency responsible for vital statistics. Other community applicants that cannot provide this verifiable data may use the other indicators specified in the second section below. Project data for the eligibility factors for all applicants must be included in the application’s transmittal letter and in the needs assessment section of the submitted application. The existing racial/ethnic disparities in these or other perinatal indicators should also be described in the needs assessment section of the application. Applications that do not provide this information, in the manner described within this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), will be considered ineligible and the application will be returned without review. An applicant’s target population within their proposed project area must meet the following verifiable criteria using the smallest statistical level of verifiable data available -- not to be any larger than a combination of counties (e.g. a city project should not report county-level data). HRSA-19-049, Urban and Rural Communities Using verifiable three-year average data for calendar years 2013 through 2015, the proposed project area for communities which meet the urban or rural community definition must meet the following indicators from the list below. The 2013-2015 combined three-year infant mortality rate (IMR, infant deaths per 1,000 live births over three years) must be equal to or more than 8.8 deaths per 1,000 live births (1.5 times the national average) AND there must be 20 or more infant deaths over the three years for the targeted population. If the combined 2013-2015 number of infant deaths are less than (<)20, then to be eligible the following must be met: The 2013-2015 three-year average low birthweight (LBW) is equal to or more than 12.1% (1.5 times the national average) AND there must be 100 or more LBW births in the targeted population for the three-year period, 2013 to 2015 OR The 2013-2015 preterm births (PTB) is equal to or more than 14.4% (1.5 times the national average) AND there must be 100 or more PTB births in the targeted population for the period, 2013 to 2015. Other Communities Using verifiable data for 2016. The proposed target population for project areas which meet the Other community definition (i.e., A project area that does not fit either the urban or rural definitions above) must have at least 1,000 births for the one year period and meet at least three (3) indicators from the list below. If vital statistics are not available from state/local government agencies, border community applicants can use other verifiable data. -Percentage of pregnant women with diabetes is 10.2 percent or more, -Percentage of pregnant women who are obese is 39.2 percent or more, -Percentage of pregnant women entering prenatal care in the first trimester is less than 38.6 percent, - Percentage of births to women who had no prenatal care is 4 percent or more, and -Percentage of births to women who used tobacco during pregnancy is 10.8 percent or more.

Service area residents, particularly women and infants in areas with significant perinatal health disparities.

93.224 - Health Center Program (Community Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, Health Care for the Homeless, and Public Housing Primary Care)

93.110 - Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs

https://sam.gov/fal/4d9825a5560e4ea6bf41170286523cb6/view