By Crystal Swann and Patricia Carter
February 23, 2009

The CHIP reauthorization contains $25 million in funding for grant funding to develop a comprehensive and systematic model for reducing childhood obesity. The new childhood obesity grant program will be administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Activities that will be eligible for funding support include: establishing after'school and weekend community activities to reduce childhood obesity; forming partnerships with day'care facilities to establish programs that promote healthy eating and physical activity; planning and implementing a school curriculum on healthy lifestyles; training health professionals on how to identify and treat obese and overweight individuals; and educating families on how nutrition, eating habits and physical activity relate to obesity. The grant program is specified in Title IV, Sec. 401, Child Health Quality Improvement Activities for Children Enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP.

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act includes $1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund that will support evidence'based clinical and community'based prevention and wellness strategies, including $300 million for immunizations, $650 million for community prevention programs, and $50 million for reducing healthcare associated infections. In addition, $500 million was included for bolstering the health and public health workforce. The investment will support more than 20,000 public health jobs and help contain the nation’s skyrocketing health care costs.

The stimulus bill signed by President Obama calls for investing in evidence'backed, community'based disease prevention programs and includes accountability measures to ensure the funding is being used to directly improve the health of Americans. Congress has also directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to come up with an accountability plan within 90 days for spending the resources in the most effective way possible.