National Organizations of State and Local Officials: State and Local Public Health Systems

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the National Organizations of State and Local Officials (NOSLO) Program: State and Local Public Health Systems to fund a national level organization with an in-depth understanding of, and experience with, providing technical assistance and support to state, territorial, tribal, and local public health officials and organizations. The purpose of the NOSLO program is to assist state and local authorities in a) improving public health, health care and health care delivery, b) building capacity to address public health issues and support and enforce regulations intended to improve the public’s health, and c) promoting health equity to preserve and improve public health. To fulfill the purpose, the NOSLO program has the following objectives: 1) facilitate communication and data/information-sharing between HRSA and state, territorial, and/or local officials, 2) improve understanding of state, territorial, and/or local needs, priorities, and perspectives, and 3) support capacity-building activities at the state, territorial, and/or local levels that strengthen the health care safety net and advance public health goals. The term “capacity-building” includes actions that build, strengthen, and maintain the necessary competencies and resources to improve health services delivery to people who are geographically isolated and/or economically or medically vulnerable. The NOSLO: State and Local Public Health Systems cooperative agreement identifies and implements health care programs that support states in addressing issues within the public health system to improve access to quality health care for people who are medically and economically vulnerable, with a special emphasis on geographically isolated people in rural areas, people with HIV, people with unmet behavioral health needs, and strengthening the health care workforce. The successful recipient is expected to provide tailored technical assistance to state, territorial, tribal, and local public health officials and organizations to address HRSA’s priorities through: • Communication and information sharing between HRSA and state, territorial, tribal, and local public health officials and organizations and • Training; data collection, sharing, and analysis; publication development; convenings, (e.g., learning exchanges on priority topics); and other activities that enable state, territorial, tribal, and local public health officials and organizations to operate in a responsive, coordinated, and effective manner. Program Objectives • Engage state, territorial, tribal, and local public health officials and organizations to develop detailed implementation plans for policy initiatives that will improve access to quality health care for their highest-need populations that intersect with HRSA programs. Where feasible, these initiatives can be shared across multiple states to achieve a nationwide impact. • Implement technical assistance activities and tools for innovative solutions to address issues within the public health system that will improve access to quality health care to address the following: people who are medically and economically vulnerable, with a special emphasis on geographically isolated people in rural areas, people with HIV, people with unmet behavioral health needs, and strengthening the health workforce. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations.