Federal government

Health and Human Services

The department behind disease tracking, food and medicine safety, and medical research, introduced through the sub-agencies students have already heard of.

Grades 3–5~35 minNonpartisan

Word document — open it in Word, Pages, or Google Docs and adapt it for your class.

01 Warm-up 5 min

Warm-up:

    • There are many different types of executive departments in the government who manage specific areas of public policy. If you have heard of any of these departments, could you try to name one?
02 Lecture 10 min

Lecture: (Link: https://canva.link/36wreqjdlh297tw)

    • What is the Department of Health and Human Services?:
      • The Department of Health and Human Services, or HSS, is a cabinet level executive branch department of the U.S. government responsible for protecting public health and providing essential human services.
    • What does the HHS Department do?:
      • The HHS Department protects public health, funds medical research, and manages major health insurance and social welfare programs for the United States.
      • More specific things that this department does is track and work to stop outbreaks of illnesses, ensure that foods, medicines, and medical devices are safe to use, pays for studies to find cures and treatments, etc.
    • The HHS Department also includes multiple operating divisions as well sub-agencies. Some of these sub-agencies include:
      • National Insitutes of Health:
        • Conducts research to improve health and prevent diseases.
      • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
        • Protects people from diseases and health threats.
      • Food and Drug Administration:
        • Ensures the safety of foods, drugs, and medical products.
      • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminsitration:
        • Provides support for mental health and substance use disorders.
      • Administration for Children and Families:
        • Provides support for child welfare, childcare, family assistance, and programs that help low income families.
      • Administration for Community Living:
        • Helps older adults and people with disabilities live independently.
03 Games 2 activities

2 interactive games:

    • Get into a group of 3-4 people and search up one sub agency under the HHS Department. Then explain what it is, what the agency does, and why it is important.
    • From the 6 sub agencies above, give different scenarios and have the class raise their hand and answer what sub-agency the scenarios belong to.
04 Wrap-up 5 min

Wrap-up:

    • Now that you have learned about the HHS Department, think of another Department and explain the difference between those two.
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