By Jen Curt, CTIPP's Director of Government Affairs
STRONG Support for Children Act
H.R. 3792 (117th Congress)
To amend the Public Health Service Act to support the development and implementation of programs using data analysis to identify and facilitate strategies to improve outcomes for children in geographic areas with a high prevalence of trauma from exposure to adverse childhood experiences, and for other purposes.
Sponsored by Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Carolyn Maloney (NY-12)
Summary: The Services and Trauma-Informed Research of Outcomes in Neighborhood Grants for (STRONG) Support for Children Act will support communities in addressing the root causes of childhood trauma through reparative, healing-centered, neighborhood-based, and trauma-informed approaches.
The STRONG Support for Children Act directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to administer two new grant programs intended to support local public health departments and community partners in addressing trauma.
Grant programs include:
Data Analysis and Community Based Organization Grants will support local public health departments in identifying geographic regions, such as census tracts, with high rates of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) or adversity, such as high rates of poor public health outcomes, foster system involvement, exclusionary discipline practices in K-12 schools, incarceration, poverty, housing instability, and inequity. Grantees will identify, implement, and evaluate strategies and supports focused on serving children between the ages of 0-17 and youth transitioning out of the foster system, their parents and caregivers, and prenatal individuals. At least 25% of funds will be subgranted to community-based organizations.
Care Coordination Grant Program will support local public health departments to increase care coordination capacity for children up to five years of age and their caregivers. Funds may be used to hire care coordinators, case managers, community health workers, infant mental health specialists, and outreach specialists; train providers on trauma-informed care strategies; and strengthen the coordination of the existing network of community programs.
Commentaires