subpart 2 - public health workforce

42 USC 295 - General provisions

(a) In general
The Secretary may award grants or contracts to eligible entities to increase the number of individuals in the public health workforce, to enhance the quality of such workforce, and to enhance the ability of the workforce to meet national, State, and local health care needs.

(b) Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a grant or contract under subsection (a) of this section an entity shall

(1) be

(A) a health professions school, including an accredited school or program of public health, health administration, preventive medicine, or dental public health or a school providing health management programs;

(B) an academic health center;

(D) any other appropriate public or private nonprofit">nonprofit entity; and

(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(1) serving individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds (including underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities); and

(2) graduating large proportions of individuals who serve in underserved communities.

(d) Activities
Amounts provided under a grant or contract awarded under this section may be used for

(1) the costs of planning, developing, or operating demonstration training programs;

(2) faculty development;

(3) trainee support;

(4) technical assistance;

(5) to meet the costs of projects

(A) to plan and develop new residency training programs and to maintain or improve existing residency training programs in preventive medicine and dental public health, that have available full-time faculty members with training and experience in the fields of preventive medicine and dental public health; and

(B) to provide financial assistance to residency trainees enrolled in such programs;

(6) the retraining of existing public health workers as well as for increasing the supply of new practitioners to address priority public health, preventive medicine, public health dentistry, and health administration needs;

(7) preparing public health professionals for employment at the State and community levels; or

(8) other activities that may produce outcomes that are consistent with the purposes of this section.

(e) Traineeships

(1) In general
With respect to amounts used under this section for the training of health professionals, such training programs shall be designed to

(A) make public health education more accessible to the public and private health workforce;

(B) increase the relevance of public health academic preparation to public health practice in the future;

(D) develop educational methods and distance-based approaches or technology that address adult learning requirements and increase knowledge and skills related to community-based cultural diversity in public health education.

(2) Severe shortage disciplines
Amounts provided under grants or contracts under this section may be used for the operation of programs designed to award traineeships to students in accredited schools of public health who enter educational programs in fields where there is a severe shortage of public health professionals, including epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, toxicology, public health nursing, nutrition, preventive medicine, maternal and child health, and behavioral and mental health professions.

42 USC 295a - Public health training centers

(a) In general
The Secretary may make grants or contracts for the operation of public health training centers.

(b) Eligible entities

(1) In general
A public health training center shall be an accredited school of public health, or another public or nonprofit">nonprofit private institution accredited for the provision of graduate or specialized training in public health, that plans, develops, operates, and evaluates projects that are in furtherance of the goals established by the Secretary for the year 2000 in the areas of preventive medicine, health promotion and disease prevention, or improving access to and quality of health services in medically underserved communities.

(2) Preference
In awarding grants or contracts under this section the Secretary shall give preference to accredited schools of public health.

(c) Certain requirements
With respect to a public health training center, an award may not be made under subsection (a) of this section unless the program agrees that it

(1) will establish or strengthen field placements for students in public or nonprofit">nonprofit private health agencies or organizations;

(2) will involve faculty members and students in collaborative projects to enhance public health services to medically underserved communities;

(3) will specifically designate a geographic area or medically underserved population to be served by the center that shall be in a location removed from the main location of the teaching facility of the school that is participating in the program with such center; and

(4) will assess the health personnel needs of the area to be served by the center and assist in the planning and development of training programs to meet such needs.

42 USC 295b - Public health traineeships

(a) In general
The Secretary may make grants to accredited schools of public health, and to other public or nonprofit">nonprofit private institutions accredited for the provision of graduate or specialized training in public health, for the purpose of assisting such schools and institutions in providing traineeships to individuals described in subsection (b)(3) of this section.

(b) Certain requirements

(1) Amount
The amount of any grant under this section shall be determined by the Secretary.

(2) Use of grant
Traineeships awarded under grants made under subsection (a) of this section shall provide for tuition and fees and such stipends and allowances (including travel and subsistence expenses and dependency allowances) for the trainees as the Secretary may deem necessary.

(3) Eligible individuals
The individuals referred to in subsection (a) of this section are individuals who are pursuing a course of study in a health professions field in which there is a severe shortage of health professionals (which fields include the fields of epidemiology, environmental health, biostatistics, toxicology, nutrition, and maternal and child health).

42 USC 295c - Preventive medicine; dental public health

(a) In general
The Secretary may make grants to and enter into contracts with schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, public health, and dentistry to meet the costs of projects

(1) to plan and develop new residency training programs and to maintain or improve existing residency training programs in preventive medicine and dental public health; and

(2) to provide financial assistance to residency trainees enrolled in such programs.

(b) Administration

(1) Amount
The amount of any grant under subsection (a) of this section shall be determined by the Secretary.

(2) Eligibility
To be eligible for a grant under subsection (a) of this section, the applicant must demonstrate to the Secretary that it has or will have available full-time faculty members with training and experience in the fields of preventive medicine or dental public health and support from other faculty members trained in public health and other relevant specialties and disciplines.

(3) Other funds
Schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, and public health may use funds committed by State, local, or county public health officers as matching amounts for Federal grant funds for residency training programs in preventive medicine.

42 USC 295d - Health administration traineeships and special projects

(a) In general
The Secretary may make grants to State or local governments (that have in effect preventive medical and dental public health residency programs) or public or nonprofit">nonprofit private educational entities (including graduate schools of social work and business schools that have health management programs) that offer a program described in subsection (b) of this section

(1) to provide traineeships for students enrolled in such a program; and

(2) to assist accredited programs health administration in the development or improvement of programs to prepare students for employment with public or nonprofit">nonprofit private entities.

(b) Relevant programs
The program referred to in subsection (a) of this section is an accredited program in health administration, hospital administration, or health policy analysis and planning, which program is accredited by a body or bodies approved for such purpose by the Secretary of Education and which meets such other quality standards as the Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation may prescribe.

(c) Preference in making grants
In making grants under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall give preference to qualified applicants that meet the following conditions:

(1) Not less than 25 percent of the graduates of the applicant are engaged in full-time practice settings in medically underserved communities.

(2) The applicant recruits and admits students from medically underserved communities.

(3) For the purpose of training students, the applicant has established relationships with public and nonprofit">nonprofit providers of health care in the community involved.

(4) In training students, the applicant emphasizes employment with public or nonprofit">nonprofit private entities.

(d) Certain provisions regarding traineeships

(1) Use of grant
Traineeships awarded under grants made under subsection (a) of this section shall provide for tuition and fees and such stipends and allowances (including travel and subsistence expenses and dependency allowances) for the trainees as the Secretary may deem necessary.

(2) Preference for certain students
Each entity applying for a grant under subsection (a) of this section for traineeships shall assure to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the entity will give priority to awarding the traineeships to students who demonstrate a commitment to employment with public or nonprofit">nonprofit private entities in the fields with respect to which the traineeships are awarded.

42 USC 295e - Authorization of appropriations

(a) In general
For the purpose of carrying out this subpart, there is authorized to be appropriated $9,100,000 for fiscal year 1998, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2002.

(b) Limitation regarding certain program
In obligating amounts appropriated under subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary may not obligate more than 30 percent for carrying out section 295b of this title.