Thursday, April 25, 2024
4/25/2024
This grant will build upon Iowa Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) capacity to support the public health system by strengthening infrastructure and systems related to the workforce, foundational capabilities, and data infrastructure. Using $26,937,016 for Strategy A1, IDPH proposes a comprehensive solution to advance public health system capacity (state and local) to meet critical infrastructure needs and strategic investments. Strategy A1 includes hiring staff to bolster the department’s ability to make timely, evidence-based public health decisions by investing in people, processes, technology, and strategic direction around data collection, use, sharing, and dissemination. Workforce development will include hiring staff in areas of the department that are traditionally underfunded to allow for growth in planning, implementing and evaluating services with a focus on health equity. Strategy A1 establishes a coordinating center with staff to work with and support local public health agencies. For Strategy A1, IDPH will focus on two primary outcomes. IDPH will increase hiring of diverse staff by recruiting and hiring 45 public health full-time positions by December 2023. IDPH will increase the size and capabilities of the public health workforce by recruiting, hiring and onboarding 45 staff, and supporting two existing state staff positions through the five-year period. Using $1,257,550 for Strategy A2, IDPH proposes a comprehensive solution to advance capacity across the public health system to meet critical infrastructure needs and strategic investments that will have a lasting impact on the entire Iowa public health system. In Strategy A2, hiring staff will bolster the department’s ability to ensure Iowans receive all 10 essential services and that the department is situated to meet the foundational capabilities of public health. This includes professional development, staffing and resources to advance IDPH’s ability to receive input from Iowans with lived experience, extensive outreach, and staff to support the contracting and legal needs of advancing data-related work. For Strategy A2, IDPH will improve organizational systems and processes by strengthening accountability and performance management, enhancing policy development and legal analysis specific to data sharing and governance, and improving equity and organizational competencies by coordinating health equity work, advancing cross-jurisdictional sharing at the local level, and developing policies that foster accountability and transparency. IDPH will have stronger foundational capabilities by hiring staff to fill existing gaps, hiring staff to bring new areas of work to the department, enhancing communication efforts around data and health equity, strengthening community partnership development and engagement, and building relationships with educational programs and local public health partners. The requested $433,145 for Strategy A3 will provide Iowa with the resources to expand current data modernization efforts beyond reportable diseases to include additional public health datasets within the department. By assessing all data systems’ staffing, processes and policies, and technology, Iowa will be ready to develop and implement improvement plans for the entire public health data environment as funds become available. For Strategy A3, will invest in a more modern and efficient data infrastructure by building on work started through the CDC funding opportunity CK19-1904 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases (ELC), Project C2 Data Modernization. IDPH will work toward increased data interoperability by moving data systems toward a common platform, common data dictionary and variable format, and data storage location (a data lake). IDPH will increase availability and use of public health data through investments and improvements in data-related processes, staffing, and technology.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
