Title: CARE for Families Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Community Access, Resources, and Education for Families Act or the CARE for Families Act
This bill establishes a grant program in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to facilitate collaboration between WIC agencies and clinics and community health partners, including health care providers, social services programs, and early childhood learning and care providers. Among other purposes, WIC agencies and clinics may use grants to (1) promote community health and nutrition, (2) create linkages among such community partners, (3) ensure consistent nutrition education and breastfeeding information, and (4) conduct outreach and enrollment for eligible participants.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3117 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3117

 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to establish a grant program 
 to provide grants to local agencies and clinics to improve the health 
            of mothers and infants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2019

   Ms. Adams (for herself, Ms. Underwood, and Mr. Scott of Virginia) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to establish a grant program 
 to provide grants to local agencies and clinics to improve the health 
            of mothers and infants, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Access, Resources, and 
Education for Families Act'' or the ``CARE for Families Act''.

SEC. 2. FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERSHIP OUTREACH.

    Section 17(h) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1786(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(15) Community health partnerships grants.--
                    ``(A) Program established.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the 
                Secretary shall carry out a grant program to make 
                grants to local agencies and clinics to carry out 
                activities to enhance collaboration between--
                            ``(i) such local agencies and clinics and 
                        community health partners, including other 
                        health care providers, social services 
                        programs, and early childhood learning and care 
                        providers, for the purposes of--
                                    ``(I) establishing linkages between 
                                such entities, such as through 
                                participation in community coalitions;
                                    ``(II) facilitating referrals 
                                between such entities;
                                    ``(III) implementing evidence-based 
                                strategies to improve the health of 
                                communities, conduct outreach to 
                                eligible participants, and promote 
                                breastfeeding and access to healthy 
                                foods; and
                                    ``(IV) increasing awareness among 
                                such entities and program participants 
                                (including potential program 
                                participants) of the eligibility 
                                requirements for, and health benefits 
                                of, the program; and
                            ``(ii) such local agencies and clinics and 
                        other health care providers, including 
                        pediatricians, obstetricians-gynecologists, 
                        family physicians, advance practice nurses, 
                        nurse midwives, community health centers, 
                        health departments, hospitals, and rural health 
                        clinics, for the purposes of--
                                    ``(I) facilitating and improving 
                                access to comprehensive prenatal, 
                                postnatal, and postpartum care for 
                                program participants;
                                    ``(II) facilitating certification 
                                of eligibility of persons for 
                                participation in the program and 
                                provision of program benefits at the 
                                hospital bedside for eligible 
                                postpartum women and infants;
                                    ``(III) improving the coordination, 
                                quality, and cost effectiveness of 
                                health care services;
                                    ``(IV) improving the sharing of 
                                information necessary to establish 
                                nutritional risk under subsection 
                                (b)(8); and
                                    ``(V) ensuring consistent nutrition 
                                education and breastfeeding messages 
                                are provided to program participants.
                    ``(B) Application.--To be eligible to receive a 
                grant under this paragraph, a local agency or clinic 
                shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
                time, in such manner, and containing such information 
                as the Secretary may require.
                    ``(C) Authorization of appropriations.--
                            ``(i) In general.--From amounts 
                        appropriated under subsection (g), $15,000,000 
                        may be made available to carry out this 
                        paragraph for each of fiscal years 2020 through 
                        2025.
                            ``(ii) Adjustment.--The amount specified in 
                        clause (i) shall be adjusted annually for 
                        inflation by the same factor used to determine 
                        the national average per participant grant for 
                        nutrition services and administration for the 
                        fiscal year under paragraph (1)(B).
                    ``(D) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Program.--The term `program' means 
                        the special supplemental nutrition program 
                        under this section.
                            ``(ii) Program participant.--The term 
                        `program participant' means a participant in 
                        the special supplemental nutrition program 
                        under this section.''.
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