Duckworth, Durbin Announce Nearly $2.5 Million for Maternal and Child Health Services Across Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $2,400,990 in federal funding for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to help make quality health care more accessible for low-income mothers, children and families all across Illinois. This funding is provided through the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services Block Grant program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
“If a woman can’t access or afford the pre-or post-natal health care she needs, it can devastate her entire family,” said Duckworth. “Every American – no matter where they are from – should be able to access quality preventive and primary health services, and this funding will go a long way to helping ensure families across Illinois can get the care they need before and after a child is born.”
“With this grant, I am glad that HHS and the Illinois Department of Public Health are working to address health disparities and improve the well-being of mothers, children, and families in our state,” Durbin said. “We must continue fighting for these federal investments that will help ensure that all children and families are healthy and have a fair shot at reaching their fullest potential.”
The MCH Services Block Grant program is a partnership between states and the federal government that improves the health and well-being of mothers, infants, and children, especially children with unique health care needs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories. Nearly 54 million women, infants, and children were served by the Program in 2016.
Recipients of MCH Block Grant program funding work to increase access to:
· Quality health care for low-income mothers and children
· Preventive, child care, and rehabilitative services for children in need of specialized medical services
· Community-based, family-centered systems of coordinated care for children with special healthcare needs
· Assistance in applying for services to pregnant women with infants and children who are eligible for Medicaid, including toll-free hotlines
· Health promotion efforts that seek to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases and infant mortality, as well as increase the number of children appropriately immunized against disease
· Comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care for women
· Health assessments and follow-up diagnostics and treatment services, especially for low-income children
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