HHS Announces New Grants to Bolster Family Planner Provider Training

New Grants seek to help with provider training on family planning care

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Population Affairs, announced nearly $3 million in new funding bolster training and technical assistance for the nationwide network of Title X family planning providers. Today’s funding follows the sexual and reproductive health action plan HHS announced earlier this week in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to take away the right to safe and legal abortion care.

“This is a critical moment in history. How we respond speaks to how we view the rights, dignity and wellbeing of women everywhere. Today’s announcement will help bolster our providers and help give them additional tools to support patients. This is a moment of crisis in health care and we will do everything within the legal limit of the law to reach patients and support providers.” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

HHS’ Office of Population Affairs is announcing two one-time supplemental awards. The Reproductive Health National Training Center (RHNTC) will receive $2 million to support Title X grantee staff and the National Clinical Training Center for Family Planning (NCTCFP) will receive $750,000 to support Title X clinical service providers. The awards will help Title X grantees increase training and technical assistance to address the challenges that the recent Supreme Court decision may have on their Title X Family planning service delivery.

For more than 50 years, Title X family planning clinics have played a critical role in ensuring access to a broad range of family planning and preventive health services for more than 190 million low-income or uninsured individuals, including breast and cervical cancer screening, contraceptive counseling and care, and STI/HIV testing. Title X services are delivered through a diverse network of clinics including state and local health departments, federally qualified health centers, hospital-based sites, and other private nonprofit and community-based health centers.

HHS used funds made available through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to award these supplement cooperative agreements to current Title X national training organizations.

Earlier this week, OCR issued guidance on how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule protects the privacy of individuals’ protected health information relating to abortion and other sexual and reproductive health care and issued guidance for individuals about protecting the privacy and security of their health information when using their personal cell phone or tablet.

HHS is committed to providing accurate and up-to-date information about access to and coverage of sexual and reproductive health care and resources. Our goal is to make sure patients have appropriate information and support. Visit reproductiverights.gov to learn more more about the care available to patients, and their rights to that care.