Committee recommends acceptance of public-health accreditation grant and mini‑grant program

The Health and Human Development Committee recommended a due-pass approval for a bill authorizing the Department of Health to accept up to $239,890 in accreditation grant funds from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and to appropriate and expend the funds to meet grant obligations.

Greg Schmidt of the Department of Health told the committee the bill had previously been passed by the Board of Aldermen but required reintroduction after the Board of Estimate and Apportionment did not act in time. "This bill, actually, you all passed this last session, and, unfortunately, the board of estimate and apportionment did not pass it have an opportunity to pass it until after you had done so, and they told us we needed to redo this whole thing again," Schmidt said.

Schmidt said the department values accreditation and that the grant will support surveys and focus groups to track community needs. He described a proposed intergovernmental agreement with the St. Louis Mental Health Board to operate a mini‑grant program for community partners. Of the $239,890 total, $74,500 is earmarked for the mini‑grant program; the grant term is through November 2025 with the possibility of extension to November 2026.

Committee members raised no objections on the record, and the chair accepted the previous roll to move the bill forward with a due-pass recommendation. Department staff said the grant will support the department’s accreditation requirements and community health improvement planning work; no amendments were recorded in committee.