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Health & Human Services Impacts
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As more Oregonians were seeking assistance as a result of the recession, the federal recovery package was helping Oregon meet that growing demand in human services. Not only were the state budgets that fund many human services being drastically impacted by the economic downturn, but more individuals were being forced to turn to government assistance. The state received about $1.36 billion in funding to help meet the human services need. A few examples of how the federal recovery package is helped address the growing need in human services include:
- $1 billion in medical assistance for Oregonians through the Medicaid program.
- $200 million in food stamps assistance to families throughout the state.
- Around $8.6 million for health information technology and enhancing the interoperability of electronic health records.
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Adoption Assistance - From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Adoption program funding supplement helped Oregon continue to facilitate the timely placement of children whose special needs or circumstances would otherwise make it difficult to place them with adoptive families.
Ambulatory Care - The Ambulatory Surgery Center Healthcare Associate Infection Prevention Initiative significantly expanded the awareness of proper infection control technique among Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC) and survey agencies, increasing the extent to which the infection control deficiencies are both identified and remedied, and preventing future serious infections in ASCs by: a) Improving SA inspection capability and frequency for onsite surveys of ASCs nationwide, b) Using a new infection control survey tool developed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), c) Improving the survey process through the use of a CMS tracer methodology, and d) Using multi-person teams for ASC's over a certain size and complexity.
Child Care Assistance - The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), from the federal Department of Health and Human Services, provides low-income families and parents receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) with child care assistance and subsidies. The Recovery Act provided additional funds for quality improvements to child care facilities and educational awards to individual providers.
Chronic Disease Management - In collaboration with the Recovery Act-funded Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) program, this funding supported the deployment of evidence-based chronic disease self-management programs that will: empower older people with chronic diseases to maintain their health status; strengthen and expand existing capacities of the aging and public health networks to deliver these programs at the local level; and embed these structures into statewide systems that provide community-based services and supports to older adults which maintain their health and independence in the community.
Food Delivery to Elderly - The Food Delivery to Elderly Program, or Congregate Meals program, provided meals to seniors in community centers. The services were provided statewide. This grant provided nutritious meals for seniors who would otherwise not have access to quality meals.
Food Stamps - The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federally funded U.S. Department of Agriculture benefit program to help low-income families, single adults, and childless couples buy the food they need to meet their nutritional needs. The Recovery Act increased benefit payments to Oregon’s eligible citizens by 13.6 percent and provides nearly $250 million of funding through 2011.
Foster Care - From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Foster Care funding supplement within the Recovery Act continued to help Oregon provide safe and stable out-of-home care for children until they can be safely returned home or placed permanently with adoptive families or other planned arrangements for permanency.
Governor's Wellness Initiative - This grant provided the opportunity for state and territorial health departments to apply for ARRA funds to reduce risk factors, prevent/delay chronic diseases, and promote wellness in both children and adults. The supplement expanded activities in the existing Tobacco/Diabetes/BRFSS/Health Communities cooperative agreement to support program capacity to implement effective social, environmental, policy, and systems approaches to help reduce the social inequalities in health by creating healthier communities.
Health Information Technology - From the Center for Disease Control, this Health Information Exchange grant is enhancing the data quality, functionality, and scope of the Immunization Information System. This system promotes population-based analysis and assists in disease surveillance activities.
Home Food Delivery to Elderly - The Department of Human Services received additional funding to support its home-delivered meals program. Recovery Act funding replaced revenue lost from local sources due to the economic downturn, and supported the continued delivery of meals to vulnerable older Americans. Home-delivered meals help seniors to maintain their health and avoid hospitalization and nursing home placement.
Immunizations - These funds increased the proportion of young children, adolescents and adults who received all recommended vaccines. The grant funded purchasing additional vaccine and supported to build the operational infrastructure needed to deliver and account for those vaccinated.
Vocational Rehabilitation Independent Living - Recovery Act funds for the Independent Living, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, provided services to person with disabilities who need assistance to live as independently as possible within their communities.
Indp. Living for Blind - Recovery Act funds for the Independent Living for the Blind, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, provided services to individuals who are visually impaired or blind to live as independently as possible within their communities. Funds helped the state build capacity and improve participant outcomes through short term investment with long term benefit.
Indp. Living for Elderly Blind - Recovery Act funds for the Independent Living for the Elderly Blind, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, provided services to elderly individuals who are visually impaired or blind to live as independently as possible within their communities. Funds helped the state build capacity and improve participant outcomes through short term investment with long term benefit.
Medicaid - Medicaid is the primary federal health insurance program for low-income individuals and families. The Recovery Act temporarily increased each state’s Medicaid share by 6.2 percentage points for 27 months. It also gave bonus increases to states with high unemployment growth. This added up to around $1 billion in medical assistance for Oregonians.
Multi-drug Resistant Study - This grant helped to build and sustain state programs to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Through this supplement, the Center for Disease Control funds provided technical assistance to state health departments to make critical short-term investments that support a sustainable state infrastructure on HAI prevention and significant progress toward preventing HAIs.
Prevention of Infections - This funding stream from the Center for Disease Control allowed for enhanced monitoring and investigation of Healthcare-associated Infections. Research in this area improved existing surveillance efforts and helped improve the state’s Healthcare-associated infection prevention efforts as a whole.
Primary Care - The overall purpose of the Primary Care Services Resource Coordination and Development Award was to create jobs and improve the healthcare infrastructure. The award funded programs to recruit and retain primary healthcare medical professionals to areas of the state that have populations lacking access to primary care and/or assist areas with underserved and vulnerable populations. This award served a state-wide population. Safety Net clinics have little or no resources for recruiting medical professionals.
TANF (Family Assistance) - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provided cash assistance to low-income families with children while they strive to become self-sufficient. The number of families receiving TANF cash assistance benefits increased statewide by 22.7 percent from 2008 to 2009.
Vaccine Evaluation - Awarded by the Center for Disease Control, this funding helped the Department of Human Services evaluate the effectiveness of three different vaccines on children and adolescents.
Varicella Vaccine - The purpose of this funding was to strengthen state and local health department capacity to detect and investigate varicella outbreaks among school-age children and to evaluate the effectiveness of two-dose varicella vaccination in the context of an outbreak.
Voc Rehab for the Blind - Awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Recovery Act funds for Vocational Rehabilitation provided grants to states to help individuals with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and maintain employment. States used these funds to improve case management, train staff, and enhance the utilization of technology by program participants.
Vocational Rehabilitation - Awarded by the Department of Education, Recovery Act funds for Vocational Rehabilitation provided grants to states to help individuals with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and maintain employment.
WIC Technology - Available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this grant completed a feasibility study that determined recommendations for moving a data system to a web-based platform. |
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| Project Categories |
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To learn more about projects near you, take a look at our Tracking the Dollars map to select specific projects or select one of the categories below to learn more about the types of projects funded. Projects can be divided specifically by the following categories:
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