Brown Announces More Than $75 Million in Recovery Funds for Child Care and Immunization Programs

Press Release

Brown Announces More Than $75 Million in Recovery Funds for Child Care and Immunization Programs

Funding Increases Access to Child Care, Provides Vaccines to Children

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown today announced that $75,641,206 has been released to support child care and immunization programs by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funds, made available through the economic recovery package, will be used to improve important programs that help provide care for children and prevent disease across communities in Ohio.

"More than 100,000 children in Ohio do not have health insurance," said Brown. "In this economy, families should not have the additional worry about providing their children with proper care. These funds take a critical step in supporting Ohio families and giving our children the healthy start they need."

The HHS Child Care and Development Fund will direct $68,140,840 to Ohio to enhance efforts to provide child care for families with parents who are working, searching for employment, or participating in skills training programs. These funds will provide $5,633,128 toward the expansion of child care services and $3,262,319 for infant and toddler care programs.

The HHS Immunization Grant program will direct $7,500,366 to Ohio to increase the number of vaccines available to children who would not otherwise have access to health care services. The funding will invest in improving the operations and infrastructure of children's health care providers in order to provide the vaccinations.

Brown has been a leading voice in Congress on children's care issues. Last month, he joined a bipartisan group of senators to introduce the Children's Health Protection Act of 2009, which would ensure that children suffering from serious illnesses have access to comprehensive and affordable health care coverage.

Source