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The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced it is accepting applications for two fiscal year (FY) 2019 Opioid Workforce Expansion Program (OWEP) funding opportunities: for grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=307938″>Professionals and Paraprofessionals.
The OWEP Professionals grant, funded at $39.3 million, is intended to enhance community-based experiential training focused on Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and other Substance Use Disorders (SUD) for approximately 29 students preparing to become behavioral health professionals. The OWEP Paraprofessionals grant funds this same training for peer support specialists and other types of behavioral health-related paraprofessionals. Thirty-three awards will be available to paraprofessionals totaling $29.8 million. Applications for each of these grants close May 7, 2019. Webinars will occur on March 19 and March 20 for the OWEP Professionals grant and OWEP Paraprofessionals grant respectively, here and here.
Separately, HRSA announced the availability of 75 awards of up to $1 million each for implementation grants under the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP). The awards will support networks and/or consortia to enhance substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), service delivery in high-risk rural communities over a three-year period.
Eligible applicants include all domestic public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit, including faith-based and community-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations. Applicants should serve rural communities at the highest risk for SUD in HRSA-designated rural areas. The organization must also be part of an established network or consortium that includes at least three other separately-owned entities.
HRSA plans to host a webinar on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 from 11:30am to 1:00pm ET to provide additional information. Applications are due by May 6, 2019.