House Bill 1125
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1125
By Representative Bradley
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to improving racial and ethnic
3 health outcomes; creating s. 381.7351, F.S.;
4 creating the "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
5 Disparities: Closing the Gap Act"; creating s.
6 381.7352, F.S.; providing legislative findings
7 and intent; creating s. 381.7353, F.S.;
8 providing for the creation of the Reducing
9 Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Closing
10 the Gap grant program, to be administered by
11 the Department of Health; providing department
12 duties and responsibilities; authorizing
13 appointment of an advisory committee; creating
14 s. 381.7354, F.S.; providing eligibility for
15 grant awards; creating s. 381.7355, F.S.;
16 providing project requirements, an application
17 process, and review criteria; creating s.
18 381.7356, F.S.; providing for Closing the Gap
19 grant awards; providing for local matching
20 funds; providing factors for determination of
21 the amount of grant awards; providing for award
22 of grants to begin by a specified date, subject
23 to specific appropriation; providing for annual
24 renewal of grants; providing an appropriation;
25 providing an effective date.
26
27 WHEREAS, the death rate for cancer among African
28 American men is approximately 50 percent higher than for white
29 men, and
30 WHEREAS, African Americans are nearly twice as likely
31 to die of stroke as whites, and
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1 WHEREAS, African American women are 50 percent more
2 likely, and Hispanic women are 30 percent more likely, than
3 non-Hispanic white women to be diagnosed with late-stage
4 breast cancer, and
5 WHEREAS, the death rate for coronary heart disease is 6
6 percent higher for African Americans than for whites, and
7 WHEREAS, during the first year of life, the rate of
8 death for African American babies is twice that of white
9 babies, and African Americans are twice as likely as whites to
10 have low birthweight babies, and
11 WHEREAS, African Americans are twice as likely to have
12 diabetes as whites, and Hispanic whites are 25 percent more
13 likely than non-Hispanic whites to have diabetes, and
14 WHEREAS, African Americans are 77 percent more likely,
15 and Hispanics are 26 percent more likely, than non-Hispanic
16 whites to suffer from obesity, and
17 WHEREAS, Native American youth are 34 percent more
18 likely to be current smokers than non-Hispanic white youth,
19 and
20 WHEREAS, African American and Hispanic adults are 60
21 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be
22 physically inactive, and
23 WHEREAS, African Americans are nearly six times as
24 likely to die of AIDS as whites, and
25 WHEREAS, immunization against vaccine-preventable
26 diseases saves millions of dollars in health care costs and
27 reduces the number of absences from school and work, thereby
28 creating environments in which children and adults can
29 succeed, and
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1125
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1 WHEREAS, to promote good health practices, a community
2 must develop systems that support healthy behaviors and
3 address the real causes of death and illness, and
4 WHEREAS, health promotion and disease prevention are
5 less costly than treatment of disease, and
6 WHEREAS, the Legislature supports the principle of the
7 Front Porch Florida initiative and finds that residents can
8 work with government to identify resources both inside and
9 outside the community, and create neighborhood networks
10 empowered to address racial and ethnic disparities in health
11 specific to their communities, and
12 WHEREAS, the Legislature intends to close the health
13 status gap between racial and ethnic populations by making
14 available grants to fund local projects addressing the real
15 causes of death and illness, increasing public awareness of
16 the impact of unhealthy lifestyles, increasing community-based
17 health promotion activities, and increasing community-based
18 disease prevention activities, NOW, THEREFORE,
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 381.7351, Florida Statutes, is
23 created to read:
24 381.7351 Short title.--Sections 381.7351-381.7356 may
25 be cited as the "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
26 Disparities: Closing the Gap Act."
27 Section 2. Section 381.7352, Florida Statutes, is
28 created to read:
29 381.7352 Legislative findings and intent.--
30 (1) The Legislature finds that despite state
31 investments in health care programs, certain racial and ethnic
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1 populations in Florida continue to have significantly poorer
2 health outcomes when compared to non-Hispanic whites. The
3 Legislature finds that local solutions to health care problems
4 can have a dramatic and positive effect on the health status
5 of these populations. Local governments and communities are
6 best equipped to identify the health education, health
7 promotion, and disease prevention needs of the racial and
8 ethnic populations in their communities, mobilize the
9 community to address health outcome disparities, enlist and
10 organize local public and private resources to address these
11 disparities, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.
12 (2) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
13 provide funds within Florida counties and neighborhoods, in
14 the form of Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities:
15 Closing the Gap grants, to stimulate the development of
16 community-based and neighborhood-based projects which will
17 improve the health outcomes of racial and ethnic populations.
18 Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that these
19 programs foster the development of coordinated, collaborative,
20 and broad-based participation by public and private entities.
21 Finally, it is the intent of the Legislature that the grant
22 program function as a partnership between state and local
23 governments and private-sector health care providers,
24 including managed care, voluntary health care resources,
25 social service providers, and nontraditional partners.
26 Section 3. Section 381.7353, Florida Statutes, is
27 created to read:
28 381.7353 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
29 Disparities: Closing the Gap grant program; administration;
30 department duties.--
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1 (1) The Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities:
2 Closing the Gap grant program shall be administered by the
3 Department of Health.
4 (2) The department shall:
5 (a) Publicize the availability of funds and establish
6 an application process for submitting a grant proposal.
7 (b) Provide technical assistance and training,
8 including a statewide meeting promoting best practice
9 programs, as requested, to grant recipients.
10 (c) Develop uniform data reporting requirements for
11 the purpose of evaluating the performance of the grant
12 recipients and demonstrating improved health outcomes.
13 (d) Develop a monitoring process to evaluate progress
14 toward meeting grant objectives.
15 (e) Coordinate with existing community-based programs,
16 such as chronic disease community intervention programs,
17 cancer prevention and control programs, diabetes control
18 programs, the Healthy Start program, the Florida KidCare
19 Program, the HIV/AIDS program, immunization programs, and
20 other related programs at the state and local levels, to avoid
21 duplication of effort and promote consistency.
22 (3) Pursuant to s. 20.43(6), the secretary may appoint
23 an ad hoc advisory committee to: examine areas where public
24 awareness, public education, research, and coordination
25 regarding racial and ethnic health outcome disparities are
26 lacking; consider access and transportation issues which
27 contribute to health status disparities; and make
28 recommendations for closing gaps in health outcomes and
29 increasing the public's awareness and understanding of health
30 disparities that exist between racial and ethnic populations.
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1 Section 4. Section 381.7354, Florida Statutes, is
2 created to read:
3 381.7354 Eligibility.--
4 (1) Any person, entity, or organization within a
5 single county may apply for a Closing the Gap grant and shall
6 serve as the lead agency to administer and coordinate project
7 activities within that county and develop community
8 partnerships necessary to implement the grant.
9 (2) Persons, entities, or organizations within
10 adjoining counties with populations of less than 100,000,
11 based on the annual estimates produced by the Population
12 Program of the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and
13 Business Research, may jointly submit a multicounty Closing
14 the Gap grant proposal. However, the proposal must clearly
15 identify a single lead agency with respect to program
16 accountability and administration.
17 (3) In addition to the grants awarded under
18 subsections (1) and (2), up to 20 percent of the funding for
19 the Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Closing the
20 Gap grant program shall be dedicated to projects that address
21 improving racial and ethnic health status within a specific
22 neighborhood. Specific priority shall be given to communities
23 or neighborhoods that have been designated as Front Porch
24 Florida Communities.
25 (4) Nothing in ss. 381.7351-381.7356 shall prevent a
26 person, entity, or organization within a county or group of
27 counties from separately contracting for the provision of
28 racial and ethnic health promotion, health awareness, and
29 disease prevention services.
30 Section 5. Section 381.7355, Florida Statutes, is
31 created to read:
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1 381.7355 Project requirements; review criteria.--
2 (1) Closing the Gap grant proposals shall be submitted
3 to the Department of Health for review.
4 (2) A proposal must include each of the following
5 elements:
6 (a) The purpose and objectives of the proposal,
7 including identification of the particular racial or ethnic
8 disparity the project will address. The proposal must address
9 one or more of the following priority areas:
10 1. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
11 maternal and infant mortality rates.
12 2. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
13 morbidity and mortality rates relating to cancer.
14 3. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
15 morbidity and mortality rates relating to HIV/AIDS.
16 4. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
17 morbidity and mortality rates relating to cardiovascular
18 disease.
19 5. Decreasing racial and ethnic disparities in
20 morbidity and mortality rates relating to diabetes.
21 6. Increasing adult and child immunization rates in
22 certain racial and ethnic populations.
23 (b) Identification and relevance of the target
24 population.
25 (c) Methods for obtaining baseline health status data
26 and assessment of community health needs.
27 (d) Mechanisms for mobilizing community resources and
28 gaining local commitment.
29 (e) Development and implementation of health promotion
30 and disease prevention interventions.
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1 (f) Mechanisms and strategies for evaluating the
2 project's objectives, procedures, and outcomes.
3 (g) A proposed work plan, including a timeline for
4 implementing the project.
5 (h) Likelihood that project activities will occur and
6 continue in the absence of funding.
7 (3) Priority shall be given to proposals that:
8 (a) Represent areas with the greatest documented
9 racial and ethnic health status disparities.
10 (b) Exceed the minimum local contribution requirements
11 specified in s. 381.7356.
12 (c) Demonstrate broad-based local support and
13 commitment from entities representing racial and ethnic
14 populations, including non-Hispanic whites. Indicators of
15 support and commitment may include agreements to participate
16 in the program, letters of endorsement, letters of commitment,
17 interagency agreements, or other forms of support.
18 (d) Demonstrate a high degree of participation by the
19 health care community in clinical preventive service
20 activities and community-based health promotion and disease
21 prevention interventions.
22 (e) Have been submitted from counties with a high
23 proportion of residents living in poverty and with poor health
24 status indicators.
25 (f) Demonstrate a coordinated community approach to
26 addressing racial and ethnic health issues within existing
27 publicly financed health care programs.
28 (g) Incorporate intervention mechanisms which have a
29 high probability of improving the targeted population's health
30 status.
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1 (h) Demonstrate a commitment to quality management in
2 all aspects of project administration and implementation.
3 Section 6. Section 381.7356, Florida Statutes, is
4 created to read:
5 381.7356 Local matching funds; grant awards.--
6 (1) Only one Closing the Gap grant shall be awarded in
7 a county, or in a group of adjoining counties from which a
8 multicounty application is submitted. However, neighborhood
9 grants may be awarded in a county or group of adjoining
10 counties that is also receiving a grant award.
11 (2) Closing the Gap grants shall be awarded on a
12 matching basis. One dollar in local matching funds must be
13 provided for each $3 grant payment made by the state, except
14 that:
15 (a) In counties with populations greater than 50,000,
16 up to 50 percent of the local match may be in-kind in the form
17 of free services or human resources. Fifty percent of the
18 local match must be in the form of cash.
19 (b) In counties with populations of 50,000 or less,
20 the required local matching funds may be provided entirely
21 through in-kind contributions.
22 (c) Grant awards to neighborhoods shall not be
23 required to have a matching requirement.
24 (3) The amount of the grant award shall be based on
25 the county or neighborhood's population, or on the combined
26 population in a group of adjoining counties from which a
27 multicounty application is submitted, and on other factors, as
28 determined by the department.
29 (4) Dissemination of grant awards shall begin no later
30 than January 1, 2001.
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1 (5) A Closing the Gap grant shall be funded for 1 year
2 and may be renewed annually upon application to and approval
3 by the department, subject to the achievement of quality
4 standards, objectives, and outcomes and to the availability of
5 funds.
6 (6) Implementation of the Reducing Racial and Ethnic
7 Health Disparities: Closing the Gap grant program shall be
8 subject to a specific appropriation provided in the General
9 Appropriations Act.
10 Section 7. There is appropriated from the General
11 Revenue Fund to the Department of Health the sum of $10
12 million to be used to establish and implement the Reducing
13 Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Closing the Gap grant
14 program, including funding for one full-time-equivalent
15 position.
16 Section 8. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
17 law.
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20 HOUSE SUMMARY
21
Creates the "Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health
22 Disparities: Closing the Gap Act." Provides legislative
findings and intent. Creates the Reducing Racial and
23 Ethnic Health Disparities: Closing the Gap grant program,
to be administered by the Department of Health. Provides
24 duties and responsibilities of the department. Authorizes
appointment of an ad hoc advisory committee by the
25 department secretary. Provides eligibility, requirements,
and procedures for award of grants to local individuals,
26 entities, and organizations to address disparities in
racial and ethnic health outcomes. Requires local
27 matching funds or in-kind contributions. Provides for
dissemination of 1-year grant awards beginning no later
28 than January 1, 2001, subject to specific appropriation.
Provides for annual applications for grant renewal.
29 Provides an appropriation.
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