Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§247d–4b Children’s Preparedness Unit

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER II — GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES › Part B — Federal-State Cooperation › § 247d–4b

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must keep a team inside the CDC called the Children’s Preparedness Unit. The Unit must advise the CDC Director about children’s needs before, during, and after public health emergencies. The Unit must include one or more pediatricians and can include behavioral scientists, child psychologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health communications staff, and others the Secretary finds useful. The Unit may help State, local, Tribal, and territorial planners, give technical help, training, and consultation to public health officials and eligible entities to meet measurable, evidence-based benchmarks and standards under sections 247d–3a and 247d–3b, improve ways to include children in planning and public awareness, strengthen public-private partnerships like health care coalitions under 247d–3b and 247d–3c, advise on guidance and clinical recommendations (including under 247d–3c), and do other related duties the Secretary approves.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §247d–4b

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Enhancing emergency preparedness for children

The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this subsection as the “Director”), shall maintain an internal team of experts, to be known as the Children’s Preparedness Unit (referred to in this subsection as the “Unit”), to work collaboratively to provide guidance on the considerations for, and the specific needs of, children before, during, and after public health emergencies. The Unit shall inform the Director regarding emergency preparedness and response efforts pertaining to children at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(b)Expertise

The team described in subsection (a) shall include one or more pediatricians, which may be a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, and may also include behavioral scientists, child psychologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health communications staff, and individuals with other areas of expertise, as the Secretary determines appropriate.

(c)Duties

The team described in subsection (a) may—

(1)assist State, local, Tribal, and territorial emergency planning and response activities related to children, which may include developing, identifying, and sharing best practices;

(2)provide technical assistance, training, and consultation to Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health officials to improve preparedness and response capabilities with respect to the needs of children, including providing such technical assistance, training, and consultation to eligible entities in order to support the achievement of measurable evidence-based benchmarks and objective standards applicable to section 247d–3a and 247d–3b of this title;

(3)improve the utilization of methods to incorporate the needs of children in planning for and responding to a public health emergency, including public awareness of such methods;

(4)coordinate with, and improve, public-private partnerships, such as health care coalitions pursuant to section 247d–3b and 247d–3c of this title, to address gaps and inefficiencies in emergency preparedness and response efforts for children;

(5)provide expertise and input during the development of guidance and clinical recommendations to address the needs of children when preparing for, and responding to, public health emergencies, including pursuant to section 247d–3c of this title; and

(6)carry out other duties related to preparedness and response activities for children, as the Secretary determines appropriate.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 247d–4b

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110