Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Infrastructure Grant: A Better Approach to Empowering More State and Local Decision Making and Strengthening the Public Health Workforce and Infrastructure

Abstract

Context: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) that included a historic investment in the public health workforce. Program: Charged with implementing this investment, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG). PHIG builds on CDC’s experience working with state, local, and territorial public health departments and represents a new approach to strengthening the public health workforce. Implementation: Specifically, PHIG incorporates features that allow these public health departments to prioritize and tailor the funding to meet their communities’ needs: 1) focus on workforce as core infrastructure, 2) streamlined programmatic and administrative requirements, 3) more equitable funding approach, and 4) enhanced support from national partners and CDC. Discussion: The goal is to optimize the unprecedented opportunity afforded by ARPA and lead to a stronger public health workforce and infrastructure across the United States.