Thursday, May 2, 2024
5/2/2024
The public’s concerns regarding environmental hazards are coupled with an increased demand for clear, accurate information about the health effects of environmental exposures, and those residing in communities where hazardous chemical releases have occurred need relevant information on environmental health risks in order to make personal and policy decisions to protect their health. The goals of this program are to: 1. Conduct public health assessment activities to identify exposure pathways at hazardous waste sites and other locations, and identify, coordinate, and carry out the necessary public health actions to eliminate or minimize human exposures to hazardous substances that are found to be at levels of human health concern; 2. Provide health education activities focused on educating communities, partners and policy makers about environmental health risks and protective measures; and 3. Implement ATSDR’s Choose Safe Places for Early Care and Education (CSPECE) program by formulating CSPECE collaboration strategies to help educate NH communities through efforts such as evaluating prospective child care locations and developing education materials to prevent new ECE facilities from being located in places where there may be an increased risk of exposure to harmful environmental contamination. The APPLETREE Program announcement identifies a series of short-term, mid-term, and long-term objectives for the three-year project period. For all hazardous chemical release sites that are accepted to the Annual Plan of Work and for the CSPECE program focused on defining the childcare landscape and assessing needs, EHP and DHHS expect to achieve the short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes as defined in the logic model. The first year of this award will focus on conducting several site-specific assessments and developing related outreach materials as well as developing a strong partner team to guide CSPECE initiatives related to identifying ECE licensing processes and policies, gathering relevant data, and evaluating gaps and needs. The NHDES and DHHS are committed to working collaboratively to achieve ATSDR’s primary goal of keeping communities safe from harmful environmental exposures and related diseases. The grant opportunity will provide needed resources for the agencies to expand their environmental health capacity to assess and respond to site-specific issues involving human exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. It will also provide for the implementation of state-level programs to ensure that potential early care and education facilities are located in areas free from harmful environmental exposures and will ensure strong partnership exist to support these initiatives.
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).
