Promoting Equitable Access to Language Services in Health and Human Services

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) announce the availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 under the authority of 42 U.S.C. § 300u-6 (Section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act). OMH is dedicated to improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate health disparities. Through its demonstration projects, OMH supports the identification of effective approaches for improving health outcomes with the ultimate goal of promoting dissemination and sustainability of these approaches. This notice solicits applications from public and non-profit private entities to be demonstration sites that identify and implement innovative strategies to enhance language access services through: (1) policy development and implementation; (2) technology utilization; (3) education for individuals with LEP; and (4) education for providers, including medical support staff. This initiative aligns with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, E.O. 13166 Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, and Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The initiative also builds on HHS’s Strategic Plan FY 2018 – 2022, Objective 1.3 to improve access to healthcare and expand choices of care and service options, and Healthy People 2030 objective HC/HIT-D11 to increase the proportion of adults with limited English proficiency who say their providers explain things clearly.
Categories: Health.