Federal Income Security and Social Services Grants

This funding opportunity supports the establishment of facilities that will produce and distribute specialized brain cell access tools for neuroscience researchers, enhancing the study of neural circuits across various species.

This funding opportunity supports the development of innovative molecular and genetic tools for neuroscientific research, enabling precise access to specific brain cell types across various vertebrate species, with a strong emphasis on collaboration, inclusivity, and resource sharing.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is funding a cooperative agreement to sponsor the Child Development Research Fellowship that gives child development professionals from across the national academic research community the opportunity to experience policy research relevant to programs serving low-income children and families. This award is for an organization to lead the Child Development Research Fellowship Program. The organization must be a Professional Membership Organization for researchers who can support the Child Development Research Fellowship Program. A Professional Membership Organization aims to support individuals professionally and aid them in progressing within their career/profession. The goal of the fellowship program is to expose researchers to policy environments, particularly at the federal level, whereby they gain skills and expertise for policy-relevant research. The program is intended to stimulate the fellows knowledge of child development research and evaluation, particularly regarding services for low-income children and families, and to inform their process of developing long-term, policy-relevant research and evaluation agendas. The public will benefit from the increased availability of researchers highly skilled and experienced in policy and program relevant research and evaluation. Fellows will engage on a full-time basis for a period of 1 year (with a possible second or third year at the discretion of the award recipient and depending on funding availability). Fellows will be exposed to the broader child development policy environment, particularly at the federal level, and to the policy research community through activities organized and conducted by the award recipient. Fellows will learn extensively about ACF and our programs that serve young children and their families. The cooperative agreement will require active partnership between the successful applicant and Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE).For more information about OPRE, see http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre . Please subscribe to this forecast at grants.gov to receive notification of any updates.

This grant provides funding for interdisciplinary research teams to explore the ethical implications of new neurotechnologies and brain science advancements, focusing on issues like data privacy, informed consent, and public attitudes toward brain research.

This funding opportunity supports short-term research projects that explore the ethical challenges arising from advancements in neurotechnology and brain science, encouraging collaboration between ethicists and neuroscientists.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting applications for Secondary Analyses of Head Start Data awards. These awards aim to support researchers conducting secondary analyses of data of relevance to Head Start (HS) programs and policies. This includes research of relevance to HS programs serving families with children 3 to 5 years old, Early HS programs serving pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, American Indian Alaska Native (AI/AN) HS programs serving families in tribal communities, and Migrant and Seasonal HS programs serving families engaged in migrant and seasonal farm work. The goals of the awards are to: 1) Address topics of current relevance to the goals and outcomes of HS programs; 2) Encourage active communication, networking, and collaboration among prominent HS researchers and policymakers; and 3) Increase the capacity of HS researchers to analyze existing data sets and disseminate their findings to multiple audiences. Topics and data sets of particular interest will be identified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Findings from these awards are intended to inform policy, program administration, and future research. If you are interested in this funding opportunity, please register at Grants.gov and subscribe to this forecast to receive update notifications.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting applications for Secondary Analyses of Head Start Data awards. These awards aim to support researchers conducting secondary analyses of data of relevance to Head Start (HS) programs and policies. This includes research of relevance to HS programs serving families with children 3 to 5 years old, Early HS programs serving pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers, American Indian Alaska Native (AI/AN) HS programs serving families in tribal communities, and Migrant and Seasonal HS programs serving families engaged in migrant and seasonal farm work. The goals of the awards are to: 1) Address topics of current relevance to the goals and outcomes of HS programs; 2) Encourage active communication, networking, and collaboration among prominent HS researchers and policymakers; and 3) Increase the capacity of HS researchers to analyze existing data sets and disseminate their findings to multiple audiences. Topics and data sets of particular interest will be identified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Findings from these awards are intended to inform policy, program administration, and future research. If you are interested in this funding opportunity, please register at Grants.gov and subscribe to this forecast to receive update notifications.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) solicits applications for one or more Data Coordinating Centers (DCCs) to support BRAIN CONNECTS, a networked consortium of Comprehensive Centers and Specialized Projects funded under RFA-NS-22-047, RFA-NS-22-048, and RFA-NS-22-049. The goals of these awards are to develop the research capacity and technical capabilities for comprehensive brain-wide connectivity mapping in mouse, human, and non-human primate (NHP). BRAIN CONNECTS projects will collect and process unprecedented volumes of anatomical data by scaling up cutting-edge acquisition modalities and analysis methods, to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting, reconstructing, analyzing, integrating, disseminating, and interpreting connectivity maps from entire brains. The resulting feasibility data from these awards are expected to inform NIH decisions on program continuation in a potential subsequent five-year funding period for production of brain-wide wiring diagrams. NIH expects to fund one or more BRAIN CONNECTS DCCs, which will collaborate with CONNECTS data generating projects to (1) coordinate activities of the BRAIN CONNECTS Network, (2) develop and harmonize common data processing pipelines, (3) integrate and disseminate data analytic tools and capabilities, (4) establish a unified knowledge base for connectivity data of diverse modalities, and (5) organize and implement outreach and engagement to the wider research community and the general public. Awards will be integrated into the BRAIN CONNECTS Network as a coordinated effort aimed at developing the ability to generate wiring diagrams spanning entire brains across multiple scales and species.

This NOFO will be canceled, however there will be a focus on energy communities within HHS-2024-ACF-OCS-EE-1965.The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services will solicit applications to award approximately $3.2 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary award funds to Community Development Corporations for CED projects that will be located in and serve energy communities communities that have either experienced employment loss and/or economic dislocation events as a result of declines in the fossil fuel industry and/or are disproportionately reliant on fossil fuel energy production or distribution, including coal, oil, gas, and power plant communities across the country. Projects may include the creation or expansion of business(es) that reduce emissions of toxic substances and greenhouse gases from existing and abandoned infrastructure and that prevent environmental damage that harms communities and poses a risk to public health and safety. Projects may also employ individuals from energy communities but focus on a range of other industries. The overall goal of this effort will be to create good-paying jobs, spur economic revitalization, remediate environmental degradation, and support energy workers.

This NOFO will be cancelled, however a new NOFO is forecasted under HHS-2024-ACF-OCS-EE-0152 for the same competition.The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS) will solicit applications to award approximately $1.5 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary funds to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) to stimulate new CED project development through administrative capacity building.OCS aims to align this funding opportunity with the following priority areas: (1) Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and the Justice40 Initiative, which underscore funding support for energy communities, (2) increased equity in geographic distribution of CED funds, in accordance with the CED statute, and (3) breaking down service silos and leveraging existing partnerships across OCS programs to reduce poverty through a wraparound services model for communities with low incomes. The objective of the CED Planning Grants is to stimulate new projects in underserved and under resourced communities. OCS intends to center equity in this funding opportunity, focusing these resources in persistent high-poverty areas with struggling economies that have been unable to put forth a viable CED project in the past. The goal of this funding opportunity is to provide CDCs with financial assistance for administrative capacity building. The awards will be a crucial step in connecting CDCs with CED resources for social and revenue reinvestment in local communities to help spark economic growth. OCS is encouraging applications from CDCs that target urban and rural areas.

This cooperative agreement would establish a Center for Home-based Child Care Research to support research about home-based child care (HBCC) in states, territories, This cooperative agreement would establish a Center for Home-based Child Care Research to support research about home-based child care (HBCC) in states, territories, tribes, and/or local community contexts. The purpose of the Center is to provide leadership, build research capacity in the field, and offer support in the development and facilitation of local research to improve understanding of HBCC settings and providers as well as access by the families who seek and utilize HBCC. This research center would promote sound research examining HBCC supply and the factors that support or suppress the availability of HBCC in communities. In addition, this Center would advance the fields understanding of HBCC engagement in public programs and quality improvement efforts. The Centers activities would build research and evaluation capacity in the field and support research in states, territories, and/or tribes that could inform local initiatives designed to sustain and strengthen HBCC.HBCC providers, or individuals and small business owners paid to provide child care in private residences or homes, are an essential segment of the child care landscape. They constitute the largest portion of the child care and early education (CCEE) workforce and serve the vast majority of children birth through school-age who are in regular nonparental care. It is critical for the Administration for Children and Families and for local communities to learn more about HBCC providers, both the individuals providing the care and the characteristics of the programs where they provide child care, in order to inform federal efforts and state, territory, tribal and/or local initiatives to increase access to safe and high-quality child care particularly for families with lower-incomes and working families. The Center would promote sound research examining HBCC and the factors that support or suppress the availability of HBCC in states, territories, and/or tribes. In addition, this Center would advance the fields understanding of HBCC providers engagement in publicly funded programs (e.g., child care subsidies, Head Start) and quality improvement efforts (e.g., Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), quality initiatives (QI), and continuous quality improvement (CQI) initiatives). The Centers activities would build research and evaluation capacity in the field and support research in state, territories and/or tribes that could inform local initiatives designed to sustain and strengthen the supply of HBCC. This Center would ideally bring together a team that has experience investigating HBCC, evaluating Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program and policies, and assessing the needs and experiences of families with lower-incomes, in tribal communities, and of historically marginalized populations. This Center would be equipped to strengthen the ability of local research partnerships to conduct model research projects that effectively address questions concerning HBCC in local contexts, while contributing to broader understanding in the field about HBCC.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages applications that propose to develop studies that will lead to a broad understanding of the natural history of disorders that already do or could potentially benefit from early identification by newborn screening. A comprehensive understanding of the natural history of a disorder has been identified as a necessary element to facilitate appropriate interventions for infants identified by newborn screening. By defining the sequence and timing of the onset of symptoms and complications of a disorder, a valuable resource will be developed for the field. In addition, for some disorders, specific genotype-phenotype correlations may allow prediction of the clinical course, and for other disorders, identification of modifying genetic, epigenetic, or environmental factors will enhance an understanding of the clinical outcomes for an individual with such a condition. Comprehensive data on natural history will facilitate the field;apos;s ability to: 1) accurately diagnose the disorder; 2) understand the genetic and clinical heterogeneity and phenotypic expression of the disorder; 3) identify underlying mechanisms related to basic defects; 4) potentially prevent, manage, and treat symptoms and complications of the disorder; and 5) provide children and their families with needed support and predictive information about the disorder.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), within the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF), plans to solicit applications for cooperative agreements under the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agency Data and Research Capacity: Planning Grants (Phase I). These projects are meant to support partnerships between CCDF Lead Agencies and researchers to develop and improve state, territory, and Tribal data systems and build the capacity of CCDF Lead Agencies to collect, analyze, and use data to guide child care policy decisions and program improvement efforts. Sponsored projects will work in collaboration to: (1) assess the current data and research capacity of the CCDF Lead Agency; (2) develop questions of interest to investigate state, territory, and Tribal child care policies and practices; (3) develop logic models to identify the data needed to address the questions of interest; (4) identify data sources available to answer questions of interest and assess the accessibility of those data; (5) identify possible data sources from other state, territory, Tribal, and local data systems for linking; (6) determine whether there is a need to collect data to answer policy-relevant questions; and (7) address the barriers to collecting, analyzing, and using data to inform child care policy decisions. These projects are intended to build the capacity of CCDF Lead Agencies to use data, including data on children, families, the workforce, and providers that participate in the child care subsidy system, to make data-informed decisions to improve child care policies and practices. These 18-month projects, with one project and budget period, will fund a planning phase to develop a research plan to address questions of interest to the CCDF Lead Agency, including a plan for identifying, linking, and using state, territory, and Tribal data to inform child care policy decisions. These planning projects may be followed by a second competition (Phase II), under a separate Notice of Funding Opportunity, to support execution of the research plans to develop and improve state, territory, and Tribal data systems. Projects must be conducted through partnerships between CCDF Lead Agencies (i.e., states, territories, Tribes, or local subsidy administering agencies) and researchers from institutions of higher education, within the state agency, research organizations, and/or other organizations with proven expertise conducting policy research. Applications are invited from CCDF Lead Agencies, institutions of higher education, research organizations, and other organizations with proven expertise conducting policy research. The research supported by this program should be collaborative from start to finish. The CCDF Lead Agency and their research partners must work together to assess the current data and research capacity of the CCDF Lead Agency and develop a feasible plan for identifying, linking, and using data to address questions of relevance to the CCDF Lead Agency. Sponsored projects will be expected to participate in a Consortium that will meet and communicate regularly to identify opportunities for coordination, such as to share information on facilitators and barriers to identifying and using data to inform child care policies and methods for linking data across systems, and to develop collective expertise and resources for the field. The Consortiums collaboration will support research capacity and learning within individual projects and across award recipients. Funding is subject to availability of funds and the best interests of the federal government.

The Public Diplomacy Section (PD) of the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg, U.S. Department of State, announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out programs strengthening bilateral ties between the United States and Luxembourg on Bolstering Security and Defense. The U.S. Embassy Luxembourg invites proposals from non-governmental organizations, think tanks, government institutions, academic institutions, and individuals for programs strengthening the bilateral ties between the United States and Luxembourg and supporting Bolstering Security and Defense, including, but not limited to: Programs that raise awareness and increase support for U.S.-Luxembourg defense cooperation, with an emphasis on NATO, defense spending, and defense modernization; Programs to counter disinformation, misinformation, and malign influence as threats to democracy as well as those that promote and improve media literacy in Luxembourg; Programs that raise awareness and support for increased information sharing and cooperation in law enforcement and intelligence, with an emphasis on cyber security and countering ideologically motivated violent extremism; Projects that support addressing global challenges through building strong global alliances, for example through: NATO, the United Nations, and other multi-lateral institutions and forums. All programs must engage Luxembourg audiences. All programs must include a U.S. element or connection with U.S. experts that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. Any speaker paid with grant funding must hold U.S. citizenship. Please review the complete NOFO on the Funding Opportunities page on our website: https://lu.usembassy.gov/grants-program/ or in the related documents tab on the announcement on grants.gov .

The Unaccompanied Children Lived Experience and Youth Engagement Support Program is forecasted to provide funding to establish, manage, and evaluate a Lived Experience Community Council and Lived Experience Leadership Academy comprised of former unaccompanied children and individuals who sponsored children from ORR care. The recipient shall recruit, identify, orient, and train lived experience experts that reflect the demographic diversity (e.g., age, language, etc.) and varied experiences and circumstances (e.g., pregnant/parenting youth, survivors of human trafficking, etc.) of former unaccompanied children and sponsors. Therefore, prior experience developing programming centering lived experience and youth voice and/or supporting unaccompanied children, sponsors, and reunified families is highly desirable. These lived experience bodies have two objectives. The first is to collect feedback from former unaccompanied children and reunified families about their first-hand experience integrating to the United States. The second is to positively impact the lives of Community Council and Leadership Academy members by building their capacity to serve as leaders within their respective communities. The recipient shall provide the necessary resources, such as personnel, to support the implementation of the lived experience bodies. Task areas will include: a) development of the Community Council implementation plan and Leadership Academy curriculum; b) development of a web-based application; c) selection of eligible candidates to the appropriate lived experience body; d) project management; e) interpretation and translation services for, and during, community meetings; f) secure technology for members to participate in virtual meetings; g) compensate members for their time; h) as separate cohorts, coordinate and implement Washington Weeks for the Community Council and Leadership Academy to meet with government leaders and relevant stakeholders, and i) disseminate to the ORR-funded network feedback obtained through the lived experience bodies' work that centers youth voice and lived experience.

The Equitable and Affordable Solutions to Electrification (EAS-E) Home Electrification Prize offers up to $2.4 million in prizes for innovative solutions that advance the electrification retrofits of residential homes across all building types and geographies. The goal is to make electrification more affordable and accessible in existing U.S. homes, with a focus on equitable solutions for all homeowners, including those in low-income and under-resourced communities. The prize supports design solutions, tools, and technology innovations that enable the switch to electric products and reduce carbon emissions. Low-power electrification solutions are strongly encouraged. The competition consists of two phases: Phase 1 focuses on presenting proposed solutions and up to five winners receive a $5,000 cash prize and a $75,000 voucher to work with DOE national laboratories. Phase 2 involves finalizing teams, demonstrating functional prototype solutions, and up to three winners receive prizes, with a top prize of $1 million. The competition is open to individuals, private entities, nonfederal government entities, and academic institutions. For more information, refer to the official rules document.

The Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) forecast provides information for eligible candidates interested in submitting applications for the Technical Assistance and Evaluation of the Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration (NextGen TA/Eval). This will be a cooperative agreement awarded to a single state or tribal child support agency. Under this cooperative agreement, the selected recipient will procure and manage an independent third-party organization(s) to provide technical assistance and evaluate the demonstration projects funded under the forecasted companion Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) HHS-2024-ACF-OCSE-FD-0015, Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration. This cooperative agreement will have a 60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods. Required activities will include:Implementation tracking and evaluationOutcome tracking and evaluationProviding programmatic and evaluation technical assistance to demonstration grant recipients, including leading regularly scheduled virtual learning community webinars and annual in-person meetings throughout the 5-year project periodImplementing and overseeing a Management Information System for grant recipients under the companion NOFO that systematically collects program services and short-term outcomes for participants in the demonstration projects funded under the companion NOFO or developing some other method to collect this informationDisseminating technical assistance materials, completed evaluation reports, and other lessons learned to a national audience, including presenting at national or state conferences. This may include offering technical assistance and support to non-grant recipient child support programs who want to start and/or strengthen their own child support-led employment services programs.Applicants for this grant may also apply under the companion NOFO, but it is not a requirement for application or selection under this announcement. A successful applicant under this NOFO may also be selected as a successful applicant under the companion NOFO, but one award is not related to the other. The recipient of this award will select a third-party organization to conduct the evaluation and will maintain impartiality regarding the evaluation of all project sites.OCSS forecasts the awardee may receive up to $8,057,059 over the 5-year project period. The annual award ceiling for years 1-2 is $3,587,353. The annual award ceiling for years 3-5 is $294,118. The award floor is the same as the ceiling and average cost.

The Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) forecast provides information for eligible candidates interested in submitting applications for the Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration (NextGen). The NextGen program model is based on lessons learned from the National Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration. Its goal is to expand and enhance child support-led employment services for noncustodial parents. All state and tribal child support programs are eligible. Each applicant will self-identify into one of the following three mutually exclusive groups:Tribal child support agenciesState child support agencies where at least one local jurisdiction participating in the demonstration does not currently have an employment and training program or the program has been in operation for less than 5 yearsState child support agencies where all local jurisdictions participating in the demonstration have had an employment and training program in operation for at least 5 yearsAll groups are expected to implement their employment and training programs according to the program design elements described below. Deviations are allowed, but they must be justified, and the applicant must explain how they propose to handle the design elements described below.All groups are expected to provide the following child support and related services to noncustodial parents who receive employment and training services:Initiating and expediting order review and if appropriate modificationSuspending enforcement tools while participating in the program, including removing license suspensions and bench warrantsProviding debt reduction if permitted by state lawHelping with parenting time ordersWraparound services, such as fatherhood and parenting classes, substance abuse, or mental health services, are a plus but not required. OCSS anticipates that the grant recipient will partner with other agencies and programs to provide the employment and training services and other wraparound services.Experience shows that programs work best if each partner focuses on their core competencies. The child support program is expected to be the fiscal agent, manage the day-to-day operation of the program, and provide child support and related services, including those listed above. OCSS does not anticipate that child support staff will provide the employment and training services or wraparound services since these are not the child support program core competencies. These services may be paid for by the grant, but in most instances, they will be delivered by partnering agencies.This grant program will have a 60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods. Year 1 will focus on start-up and development of the program design. Years 2, 3, and 4 will be devoted to providing services, and the final year will be dedicated to evaluation, close-out, and sustainability work. Grant recipients will receive technical assistance and evaluation support from the recipient of the Technical Assistance and Evaluation of the Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration grant (see companion forecast). They will also participate in peer-to-peer learning opportunities.Recipients may receive between $350,000 and $2,102,941 over the 5-year project period. The award ceilings and floors for each project year is as follows:Year 1 (initial application): $588,235 ceiling and $100,000 floorYear 2: $588,235 ceiling and $100,000 floorYear 3: $308,824 ceiling and $50,000 floorYear 4: $308,824 ceiling and $50,000 floorYear 5: $308,824 ceiling and $50,000 floorOCSS anticipates that the budget requested will be scaled up or down according to the number of people served by the project.

This funding opportunity supports early stage researchers in pursuing innovative and high-risk scientific projects that significantly diverge from their previous work, without the need for preliminary data.

This grant provides funding for early stage investigators to pursue innovative and high-risk research projects involving human participants, without the need for preliminary data.