The Director of the Houston Health Department (HHD) recommends City Council approve an Ordinance authorizing the Director to accept and expend the grant funds, as awarded, and to apply for and accept and expend all subsequent awards, to extend the budget and/or the project period from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in relation to the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program grant. This ordinance will cover contract number HHS001318900001 for the current budget period of April 29, 2023, to April 28, 2024 with an award amount of $192,000.00 each year with a not-to-exceed amount of $960,000 for a maximum term of five years.
Specific Explanation:
HHD will collaborate with Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), as the local lead agency, to develop and implement a strategic plan to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related disparities among populations with the highest burden of tobacco-related health disparities, specifically the following priority population: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ) communities in the Greater Houston Area.
Under this program, HHD will collaborate with DSHS Chronic Disease Epidemiology on evaluation and qualitative data collection, engage decision makers and convene stakeholder meetings, hold two tobacco-free events, partner with public and multi-unit housing entities to support tobacco-free policies for all residents; and ensure that 10 percent of funding from this Contract will be allocated for evaluation activities (e.g., focus group, readiness assessment). HHD will identity events for the priority population to promote Texas Tobacco Quitline resources and recruit LGBT-community influencers who have quit using tobacco products to champion these efforts.
HHD also requests City Council authorize the Mayor to execute all related contracts, agreements and documents with the approval of the City Attorney in connection with the grant contract and to authorize the Director or his designee to act as the City's representative with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds if and as awarded, and to accept and expend all subsequent supplemental awards, if any, and to extend the term and/or budget and project period not to exceed five years, if extended by DSHS during the contract period and does not require cash matching funds.
Grant Source:
The funding for this project is from a federal government grant through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fiscal Note:
No fiscal note is required on grant items.
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Stephen L. Williams, M.Ed., M.P.A.
Director - Houston Health Department