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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)    TOP

The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans, by providing for effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services.

HHS has 11 operating divisions, including eight agencies in the U.S. Public Health Service and three human services agencies. These divisions administer a wide variety of health and human services and conduct life-saving research for the nation, protecting and serving all Americans.

The Office of the Secretary (OS), HHS’s chief policy officer and general manager, administers and oversees the organization, its programs, and its activities. The Deputy Secretary and a number of Assistant Secretaries and Offices support OS.

Included among the operating divisions and agencies are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Indian Health Service (IHS), and National Institutes of Health (NIH). Click here to access the complete list.

Click here to access the HHS organizational chart.

Every four years, HHS updates its Strategic Plan, which describes its work to address complex, multifaceted, and evolving health and human services issues. An agency strategic plan is one of three main elements required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 (P.L. 103-62) and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-352). An agency strategic plan defines its mission, goals, and the means by which it will measure its progress in addressing specific national problems over a four-year period. Click here to access more about the strategic plan.

Source: HHS

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