IX. Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant

FY 2000 Performance Plan - Revised Final FY 1999 Performance Plan

This grant provides states with funds for preventive health services, not covered by other grants, to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life. The Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant is not a program, and unlike other DHHS block grants which have a programmatic focus, the PHHS Block Grant permits states to choose which programs will receive funding. Because the allowable uses of the funds cover all of the objectives of Healthy People 2000, rape prevention, fluoridation, and emergency medical services, over 60 distinct programs can receive PHHS Block Grant funds. No two states allocate their block grant resources in the same way. No two states provide similar amounts of funding when they fund the same program area.

The issue of measuring the performance of block grants has been addressed by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and others. GAO has examined the subject on numerous occasions, and has contacted CDC to investigate how CDC measures the PHHS Block Grant's performance under GPRA. GAO's inquiry was based on their examination of the feasibility and appropriateness of applying GPRA requirements to block grants across the government.

CDC and its partners have worked for years to develop a means for accountability under the Block Grant. CDC has considered the use of many types of general indicators including life expectancy, years of potential life lost, premature mortality, and disability adjusted life years. CDC has also looked at specific program indicators for those programs which are most commonly funded by the states. Because the states vary widely in the programs they support and the funding given to each program, no single indicator or group of indicators can appropriately capture what the states are doing.

The states are responsible for reporting on a complete range of program data, the uniform data set, for every program supported with Block Grant funds. The uniform data sets (which correspond directly to programs) contain outcome, risk factor, and service delivery data items. Beginning in FY 1999, the uniform data sets will also contain GPRA performance measures for those programs which have such measures. The current measure, to increase the proportion of the data reported to CDC annually, reflects the agency's efforts to better capture the accomplishments of each state attributable to block grant funds, while at the same time addressing the most pressing issue with the grant--accountability.

Performance Goals and Measures

Performance Goal: Reduce preventable morbidity and mortality and improve quality of life of people within the framework of Healthy People 2000 by improving the assessment capacity of prevention programs.

Performance Measure:

Verification/Validation of Performance Measure: Annual reports will be collected from each program funded in order to verify performance. The Uniform Data Sets are due from each grantee on February 1st of each fiscal year for the prior fiscal year's performance.

Links to DHHS Strategic Plan

This program activity relates to DHHS Goal 1: Reduce major threats to the health and productivity of all Americans. CDC collaborates with the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration for accident related data, Health Resources and Services Administration for maternal and child health related data, and the Department of Justice for rape prevention data.

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