USDA Announces Grant Funds

The USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) and the Delta RegionalAuthority (DRA) on April 14th announced that the Delta Health Care Services (DHCS) and the DRA have made funding available and will award grants to help in the rural communities in the Delta Region. The Delta Region consists of the 252 counties and parishes within Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee served by DRA.

The total funding for the DHCS grant is $5,775, 327 with a maximum award of $1,000,000 and minimum grant amount of $50,000. The total funding for DRA grants is $300,000, with a maximum award of $100,000 with no minimum grant amount for DRA grants. Applications for both grant programs are due June 13, 2014.

The grant programs provide direct financial assistance to support rural communities within the Delta region. The purpose of the joint solicitation is to ensure that there is a streamlined process for eligible applicants to leverage both programs while also strengthening the partnership between USDA and DRA.

The DHCS grant program is primarily to help rural areas in the Delta Region with technical assistance for healthcare related business and economic development planning. The grant program is designed to provide financial assistance with the cooperation among healthcare professionals, higher education and research institutions, economic development entities, healthcare cooperatives, and /or consortia of at least three entities in the Delta, plus other individuals.

DCHS grant funds may be used to develop healthcare services in education, job training, and develop and expand public health related facilities. DRA grants go to help develop healthcare services, educational programs, and job training in rural areas in the Delta region.

Go to www.rurdev.usda.gov/bcp_deltahealthcare.html for applications and forms to apply, or email RD.DeltaHealth@wdc.usda.gov, or call (202) 720-8460. Also,  information is available at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-04-14/pdf/2014-08363.pdf page 20857 of the April 14 Federal Register.

Also, USDA is stressing funding for mental health intervention services to help communities and specifically children and youth. USDA is also funding grants to train graduate students in counseling education. To move help forward to provide more mental health services, Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last December that USDA is planning to invest up to $50 million to increase access to mental health care in rural areas during the next three years.