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Statutory Text

SEC. 5313. GRANTS TO PROMOTE THE COMMUNITY HEALTH
WORKFORCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part P of title III of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:

‘‘SEC. 399V. GRANTS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND
OUTCOMES.
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Secretary,
shall award grants to eligible entities to promote positive health
behaviors and outcomes for populations in medically underserved
communities through the use of community health workers.
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under subsection (a) shall
be used to support community health workers—
‘‘(1) to educate, guide, and provide outreach in a community
setting regarding health problems prevalent in medically underserved communities, particularly racial and ethnic minority
populations;
‘‘(2) to educate and provide guidance regarding effective
strategies to promote positive health behaviors and discourage
risky health behaviors;
‘‘(3) to educate and provide outreach regarding enrollment
in health insurance including the Children’s Health Insurance
Program under title XXI of the Social Security Act, Medicare
under title XVIII of such Act and Medicaid under title XIX
of such Act;
‘‘(4) to identify, educate, refer, and enroll underserved populations to appropriate healthcare agencies and communitybased programs and organizations in order to increase access
to quality healthcare services and to eliminate duplicative care;
or
‘‘(5) to educate, guide, and provide home visitation services
regarding maternal health and prenatal care.
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity that desires to receive
a grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the
Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by
such information as the Secretary may require.
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall give priority to applicants that—
‘‘(1) propose to target geographic areas—
‘‘(A) with a high percentage of residents who are
eligible for health insurance but are uninsured or underinsured;
‘‘(B) with a high percentage of residents who suffer
from chronic diseases; or
‘‘(C) with a high infant mortality rate;
‘‘(2) have experience in providing health or health-related
social services to individuals who are underserved with respect
to such services; and
‘‘(3) have documented community activity and experience
with community health workers.
‘‘(e) COLLABORATION WITH ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND THE
ONE-STOP DELIVERY SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall encourage
community health worker programs receiving funds under this section to collaborate with academic institutions and one-stop delivery
systems under section 134(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require such
collaboration.
‘‘(f) EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS.—The Secretary shall
encourage community health worker programs receiving funding
under this section to implement a process or an outcome-based

payment system that rewards community health workers for connecting underserved populations with the most appropriate services
at the most appropriate time. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to require such a payment.
‘‘(g) QUALITY ASSURANCE AND COST EFFECTIVENESS.—The Secretary shall establish guidelines for assuring the quality of the
training and supervision of community health workers under the
programs funded under this section and for assuring the costeffectiveness of such programs.
‘‘(h) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall monitor community
health worker programs identified in approved applications under
this section and shall determine whether such programs are in
compliance with the guidelines established under subsection (g).
‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide technical assistance to community health worker programs identified
in approved applications under this section with respect to planning,
developing, and operating programs under the grant.
‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this section for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER.—The term ‘community
health worker’, as defined by the Department of Labor as
Standard Occupational Classification [21–1094] means an individual who promotes health or nutrition within the community
in which the individual resides—
‘‘(A) by serving as a liaison between communities and
healthcare agencies;
‘‘(B) by providing guidance and social assistance to
community residents;
‘‘(C) by enhancing community residents’ ability to effectively communicate with healthcare providers;
‘‘(D) by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health or nutrition education;
‘‘(E) by advocating for individual and community
health;
‘‘(F) by providing referral and follow-up services or
otherwise coordinating care; and
‘‘(G) by proactively identifying and enrolling eligible
individuals in Federal, State, local, private or nonprofit
health and human services programs.
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY SETTING.—The term ‘community setting’
means a home or a community organization located in the
neighborhood in which a participant in the program under
this section resides.
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible entity’ means a
public or nonprofit private entity (including a State or public
subdivision of a State, a public health department, a free health
clinic, a hospital, or a Federally-qualified health center (as
defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act)), or
a consortium of any such entities.
‘‘(4) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term
‘medically underserved community’ means a community identified by a State—
‘‘(A) that has a substantial number of individuals who
are members of a medically underserved population, as
defined by section 330(b)(3); and

‘‘(B) a significant portion of which is a health professional shortage area as designated under section 332.’’.