Before the year 1953, what are now the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services separately first became a single Cabinet level department in the US. At that point, it was called the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1979, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education were split into their current two departments from that one single department. Today, the Department of Health and Human Services, also known as HHS, oversees and is responsible for the health and safety and well-being of citizens of the United States. On an international level, it also takes care of health and safety issues that reach across the border.
HHS administers over 300 programs with a budget of over $737 billion. HHS mission includes a wide range of human issues, including substance abuse, Medicare and Medicaid, childrens health, health disparities, disease prevention and health promotion. It is the largest grant-making department within the Federal Government.
The same year HHS split off from the Department of Education, 1979, it also established the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The intent of this office was to develop and implement programs focused on outreach to the small business community. This particular Office does its work mostly through small business fairs, procurement conferences, forums, trade group seminars, and conventions.
The Office of Small Business Development, also called OSDBU, is host to Vendor Outreach Sessions that happen twice monthly. The purpose of these sessions is to introduce and educate vendors on the small business program and to provide them information so that they can effectively market their products and services to HHS.
Currently, Small Business Specialists report to The Office of Small Business Development’s Director, and this is currently the only executive agency where Specialists report to the Director. The 11 agencies of HHS house the Small Business Specialists.
Every day, these Specialists work with Contracting and Program Office staff, so as to determine the best acquisition strategy; they also work to make their approach unified so that when vendors deal with Health And Human Services, this unity will benefit them.
At present, Health And Human Services doesn’t give grants or loans to help small businesses start up, but it is the largest organization of the federal government to make grants. With over 300 grant programs today, it also deals with topics that are mission specific, and in turn these topics are spread out among the various operating agencies of the Health and Human Services Department. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance profiles all Federal grant programs, which provide financial assistance. This includes Health and Human Services programs as well. Besides that described previously, additional information or specific points of contact for obtaining applications are also given here.
Vendors who are interested in doing business with Health And Human Services do not have to have any special certification, but instead, the Small Business Administration provides certification to firms under the Business Development Program, the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program, and the Small Disadvantaged Business Program. Businesses that are Women-Owned, Veteran Owned, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, or Small Businesses are generally managed with self-certification. Self-certification is not challenged unless or until an interested party or competitor provides protest to it. In addition, an HHS Contracting Officer may request that the SBA provide a size determination.
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