Dallas County has partnered with the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to empower community health and wellness.
County commissioners have agreed to let the 20-year old nonprofit CDC Foundation help fund local health and human services initiatives.
Project Healthy Dallas County fundraising comes after federal cuts and grants have gone away.
The project is meant to bridge health outreach gaps in the community after federal funding cuts and grant money gone, said deputy finance director Ganesh Shivaramaiyer said at a recent commissioners court meeting.
"Going forward with this at this time is critical, I think, because of all the funding losses that we're encountering," Shivaramaiyer said.
Commissioner John Wiley Price asked that the contract wording clarify the foundation's donor disclosures, federal compliance and transparency.
"The ownership of the data and the confidentiality to protect the county interest — I didn't see it," Price said.
The foundation cannot access personal health data.
Funds administration could cost up to sixteen percent of the donations — similar to school fundraisers.
That cost includes campaign support and the funding platform.
The percentage is capped at one hundred thousand dollars.
County officials are asking whether that's negotiable.
Phillip Huang, county health and human services director, told KERA there is no money goal beyond raising as much as possible through the foundation's donor and philanthropic network.
Money raised will go toward these county services:
· Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Diseases and Infections
· Disease Surveillance and Control
· Health Education and Promotion
· Environmental Health Services
· Maternal and Child Health Services
· Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
· Emergency Preparedness and Response
· Health Equity Initiatives
· Mental Health and Substance Use Prevention
· Data Modernization Initiatives (DMI)
· Social Services Expansion and Homeless Prevention Efforts
Got a tip? Email Marina Trahan Martinez at mmartinez@kera.org. You can follow Marina at @HisGirlHildy.
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