- The White House is launching “House America,” a new national initiative to combat the rising tide of homelessness. The initiative will ask leaders of city, county, state, and tribal governments across the U.S. to make a public pledge to reduce homelessness. In turn, the federal government will provide guidance and support to achieve two goals: providing permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness and building new affordable units for those on the brink. (Article here)
- HHS announced that HRSA will award almost $350 million to improve maternal health services and address maternal and infant health disparities. The funds will be allocated across three different initiatives. First, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program will provide $342 million to more than 50 state and nonprofit organizations to support home visitors that provide pregnancy education and parenting skill-building. Second, the Healthy Start initiative will allocate $3 million to 25 organizations to help increase the availability of doulas and $1.6 million to address infant health equity and infant mortality rates in areas with high numbers of Black and American Indian/Alaska Native deaths. Third, the State Systems Developmental Initiative will receive around $600,000 to improve maternal health data collection in states and jurisdictions. (Press release here; Article here)
September 21, 2021
Inequities and SDOH