health policy

Application: Budget with Justification

Providing adequate financial support for new and existing public health programs usually requires astute analysis, creativity, and persistence on the part of program managers. Not only do you need to know how much money your program needs in order to operate, but you need to find appropriate funding streams to pay for that budget.

When public health program planners come up with money for programs, they often aim for a mix of financing sources. They may seek to finance a new program through federal, state, or local funding streams. They may use funds from an existing program—for example, by shifting of money from one program to a new one. It can take resourcefulness and creativity to find ways to fund a budget.

For this week's Application, you will submit a budget with justification for your program. Consider how you would fund the program you described in your Week 6 Application. You should look not only at state, federal and local funding streams, but also at grants you might apply for from outside organizations. You should consider also whether you would charge a user fee for the services. Note: You may use the sample budget you reviewed for this week's Discussion as a model.

In your Application:

• Construct an annual operating budget for your hypothetical program. This budget should include personnel expenses and other operating (non-personnel) expenses. If equipment or facilities are needed, show these in a separate capital budget. Your budget must contain revenue as well as costs.
  
• In addition to the budget itself, submit a budget justification in two to three paragraphs. In this section, you should justifiy your major choices, addressing both revenue as well as costs. Make sure to indicate who you would be serving and how many people you estimate would utilize your services.