A type of funding in the form of a lump sum payment that confers responsibility for Federal programs to individual states, which then have substantial discretion how to use the Federal grant dollars.
Deeper dive
Under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35), seven block grant programs were established, including a primary care block grant. At the option of each state, the state may apply for a primary care block grant which includes the Community Health Center and the Primary Care Research and Demonstration programs. Some Block grants to know about:
- The Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant Program provides federal funding for 61 recipients: all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 2 American Indian tribes, five U.S. territories, and three freely associated states. Recipients can address prioritized public health needs in their jurisdictions in collaboration with local and tribal public health agencies and organizations. Recipients set their own goals and program objectives and implement local strategies to address national health priorities. The PHHS Block Grant Program is administered by CDC’s Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support.
- Primary Care Transformation Grants — from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) — includes the patient-centered medical home, a model for transforming primary care; Transforming Primary Care Practice (TPC) grants, to understand the “natural experiments” that primary care practices undergo as they transform into Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) and to study the process of transformation; Infrastructure for Maintaining Primary Care Transformation (IMPaCT) grants, which are state-level initiatives that had demonstrated success in providing a quality improvement infrastructure for primary care, specifically through the use of primary care extension agents.
- National Family Caregiver Support, Title VI, Part C, Grants To Indian Tribes And Native Hawaiians — assists Indian Tribal and Native Hawaiian Organizations in providing multifaceted systems of support services for: (1) Family caregivers; and (2) grandparents or older individuals who are relative caregivers.
- National Family Caregiver Support, Title III, Part E — assists states and territories in providing multifaceted systems of support services for: (1) Family caregivers; and (2) older relative caregivers