The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the Iowa Department of Public Health a $681,773 grant to provide outreach to uninsured teenagers and their families.

The state will use the funds to develop and distribute materials and offer in-person assistance in applying for Medicaid and Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (hawk-i) coverage.

The grant is part of $40 million in grants announced Thursday to 39 state agencies. The number of eligible but uninsured children in the United States declined from 4.7 million in 2008 to 4.3 million in 2009, in part due to outreach and enrollment efforts, a new study has found.