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.
At present, Health and Human Services currently manages over 300 programs, with a budget of more than $737 billion. Its wide-ranging mission deals with a number of problems and situations in the human arena, including Medicaid, Medicare, children’s health, promotion of health and disease prevention, substance abuse, and health disparities. It is also the single largest department to make grants within the federal government itself.
In 1979 HHS established the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to develop and implement outreach to the small business community. The Office performs its mission through small business fairs, procurement conferences, trade group seminars, conventions and forums.
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.
HHS does not provide grants or loans to start small businesses, however HHS is the largest grant-making organization in the Federal Government. With over 300 grant programs the Department covers mission specific topics handled by the various operating agencies of HHS. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) profiles all Federal grant programs, which provides financial assistance, including Department of Health and Human Services programs, and list a specific point of contact for obtaining additional information and applications.
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.