State Vital Statistics Improvement Program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, otherwise referred to as CDC, is federal government agency operating within the United States Department of Health and Human Services that's primarily responsible for protecting public health and safety through the provision of information to enhance health decisions, and the promotion of health through partnerships with state health departments and other organizations.

The grants and programs of the CDC are all geared towards the achievement of its premiere agency mission which is to "collaborate to create the expertise, information, and tools that people and communities need to protect their health - through health promotion, prevention of disease, injury and disability, and preparedness for new health threats."

In keeping with this mission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established the State Vital Statistics Improvement Program in an attempt to is to enhance the operational efficiencies of the state vital statistics programs and their ability to provide timely, high quality, and comparable data to the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS).

The programs seeks to stimulate collaborative efforts between the States and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in order to achieve the following objectives:

a) Implement the 2003 US Standard Certificates for Birth and Death and the Report of Fetal Death in all 57 registration jurisdictions

b) Facilitate the development and implementation of re-engineered birth, death and fetal death information technology systems in all 57 registration jurisdictions

c) Enhance and expand the use of cost effective business practices and procedures within the State vital statistics offices

d) Enhance the quality and timeliness of birth, death, and fetal death data for public health surveillance and medical research

e) Enhance the ability of State vital statistics offices to meet the needs of citizens for secure, legal copies of their birth and death records, which includes the provision of paper certificates to citizens for their immediate legal or personal use, and the provision of electronic verifications of birth and death records to meet the needs of State and Federal agencies in validating the citizenship and/or age of a person

f) Provide technical assistance to State vital record offices in order to support improved security and responsiveness of vital registration practices and systems.

In order to help achieve these objectives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to enter into a five-year cooperative agreement with an eligible grant applicant and administer funds in the amount of $3,427,500.

Due to the unique nature of this program, only applications from The National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems will be accepted and deemed eligible.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services, the primary agency funding this program, is the country's leading agency responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially to those who are least able to help themselves.