This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health (Healthy Start or HS) Program. The purpose of HS is to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and reduce the well-documented racial/ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse perinatal outcomes.[1],[2],[3] HS is intended to support projects in communities and populations experiencing the greatest disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.
HS has two focus areas: 1) providing direct and enabling services (for example, screening and referrals, case management and care coordination, health and parenting education, and linkage to clinical care) to enrolled HS participants; and 2) convening Community Consortia (formerly known as Community Action Networks or “CANs”) comprised of diverse, multi-sector partners to advise and inform HS activities as well as to develop and implement plans to improve perinatal outcomes within the selected project area. HS continues to have an increased emphasis on addressing social determinants of health, such as access to adequate food, housing, and transportation, to improve disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes. Based on stakeholder feedback, this FY 2024 HS competition also provides recipients with increased flexibility to tailor interventions to the unique needs of their community and/or target population.
The goals of HS are to:
1) Continue reducing infant mortality rates in the United States, and
2) Decrease disparities in infant mortality and poor perinatal health outcomes in areas where those rates are high.
