Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant Update
This bulletin is being sent to local health officers, tribal health directors, and key DPH staff.
Redirection of FFY19 PHHS Block Grant Funds for COVID-19 Response
The Department of Health Services (DHS), Division of Public Health (DPH) recognizes the priority to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact to local and tribal health departments. DPH anticipates the negotiated activities for the Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block grant may not be completed as planned by the end of the contract period (September 30, 2020).
Because the Federal Fiscal Year 2019 (FFY19) contract required all local and tribal health departments to implement at least one activity related to National Public Health Performance Standards (NPHPS) and/or PHAB accreditation-readiness activities (i.e., Template Objective #11), DPH is able to provide flexibility on how current PHHS Block Grant funds can be used to support immediate needs of local and tribal health departments.
A list of possible activities to fund with the PHHS Block Grant, and a list of allowable and unallowable uses of funds can be found here, and on the PHHS Block Grant SharePoint site under Links.
Allowable expenses that are incurred between Governor Evers' declaration of a public health emergency (March 12, 2020) and the end of the contract period (September 30, 2020) are reimbursable. Please keep accurate and adequate documentation of your expenses and submit your expense reports via CARS as usual.
If you have questions about allowable uses of funds, please reach out to your DPH contract monitor. A list of contacts can be found in this spreadsheet.
Additional information about other programs within the DPH consolidated contract can be found here.
Additional Funds to Be Added to FFY19 PHHS Block Grant Contracts
To help all local and tribal health departments in Wisconsin respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional $1,500 will be added to all FFY19 (2018-2020) PHHS Block Grant contracts. As there are no additional deliverables required nor change in scope of work, this unilateral amendment will be added to each agency's CARS profile.
2020-21 (FFY20) PHHS Block Grant Pre-Negotiation
Spring has historically been the period to pre-negotiate objectives for the upcoming PHHS Block Grant contract, which starts on October 1, 2020. Due to limited capacity at both the local and state levels, pre-negotiation of objectives will not occur for FFY20.
Local and tribal allocations for the 2019-2020 PHHS Block Grant have been calculated. The allocation chart can be found here, and on the PHHS Block Grant SharePoint site under Links. Additional information about the changes that will be implemented for FFY20 contract negotiation can be found in this document, which is also posted on the SharePoint site under Links.
A public hearing and PHHS Block Grant Advisory Committee will still occur; however, due to physical distancing requirements, public meetings will be held remotely in late spring. Contract negotiation for FFY20 will take place in fall 2020.
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