June 11, 2026

What's New

Several new funding announcements for FORHP programs came out earlier this week. Additional opportunities from HRSA and other Federal departments are listed below in the Funding section.

Rural Northern Border Region Network Planning Program (RNBR-NP) – Apply by July 10. The RNBR-NP is a new program that provides one-year funding to build new, or strengthen existing health care networks, in the Northern Border Region.

Rural Communities Opioid Response Planning Program (RCORP – Planning) – Apply by July 8. The RCORP – Planning Program helps rural communities build the capacity to develop and sustain substance use disorder (SUD) services by lowering barriers to federal funding and preparing funded organizations to create larger, more complex networks.

Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Impact (RCORP – Impact) – Apply by July 8. The RCORP – Impact Program helps rural communities by expanding access to evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery services through the building of a larger, more responsive workforce to meet behavioral health needs.

Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program – Apply by July 8. The RRPD program provides start-up funding to grant recipients to create accredited rural residency programs in a qualifying medical specialty as well as FORHP-funded technical assistance for rural graduate medical education for the duration of their project period.

Funding and Opportunities

Department of Labor Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development Grant Program – June 23. This grant program is intended to improve rates of postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion among rural students through development of career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region. Health and human services are among the in-demand industry clusters.

HRSA Telehealth Nutrition Services Network Grant Program – July 8. HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) will make up to 18 awards each up to $300,000 per year, for a five-year project. The program supports telehealth nutrition services to help prevent and manage chronic diseases. Join OAT’s technical assistance webinar on June 16 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern.

HRSA Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program – July 8. HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) is accepting applications for a three-year project. Up to nine cooperative agreements, each funded with up to $475,000 per year, will be awarded to public, private, and nonprofit organizations delivering or supporting health care services in rural and underserved areas. The purpose of the program is to improve retention of health care providers and increase access to services through technology-enabled collaborative learning. OAT will hold a technical assistance webinar on June 18 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern.

HRSA Ryan White HIV/AIDS Part C: Early Intervention Services and Capacity Development – July 8. Part C Capacity Development grants help organizations strengthen their infrastructure. This helps grant recipients improve their ability to develop, enhance, or expand access to high-quality HIV primary health care services for people with HIV in low-income or rural communities.

HRSA Faculty Loan Repayment Program – July 9. Administered by HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce, this program provides up to $40,000 to help health professions faculty pay down their student loan debt. In return, these faculty members serve for two years as full or part-time faculty members at an eligible health professions school. Attend the Application Assistance webinar on Tuesday, June 16, from 2:00-3:30 pm Eastern to learn about the program and how to apply.

HRSA Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Leadership, Education, and Advancement in Undergraduate Pathways (LEAP) Training Program – July 10. The Maternal and Child Health LEAP Training Program establishes pathway programs that aim to expand the MCH workforce. These programs increase access to healthcare and public health services for maternal and child health populations, including in rural or other underserved communities.

HRSA Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program – July 10. Through this program, HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau helps improve mental and behavioral health for children and youth by giving pediatric primary care providers quick access to tele-consultation, training, and care coordination support.

U.S. Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods Program – August 6. These grants support improvement in the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in the most distressed communities. Projects should work to ensure school readiness, high school graduation, and access to a community-based continuum of high-quality services. One-third of grantees are located in rural areas.

Rural Health Research

Research in this section is located on the HRSA/FORHP-supported Rural Health Research Gateway. Sign up to receive alerts when new publications become available.

Marriage and Family Therapist and Mental Health Counselor Workforces in Rural America Under New Medicare Reimbursement Policy. Effective January 1, 2024, marriage and family therapists (MFTs) and mental health counselors (MHCs) were added to the list of providers eligible to independently bill Medicare for services related to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. This mixed-methods study describes how the U.S. MFT and MHC workforces changed across rural and urban counties before and after this new policy took effect, and a qualitative analysis of the perspective of rural health system leaders on the barriers and facilitators of utilizing this new policy to expand rural mental health services.

Rural Health Research: A Tour of Youth Behavioral Health Services – Wednesday, June 17 at 1:00 pm Eastern. This webinar will share findings from multiple studies on youth behavioral health issues in the rural U.S., describing the prevalence of behavioral health conditions among youth, the youth behavioral health workforce, the behavioral health licensure and reimbursement policy landscape, and the provision of youth behavioral health services.

Policy Updates

Send questions to ruralpolicy@hrsa.gov.

HHS Request for Comment on Chronic Disease of Addiction – Comment by July 5. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) invites public comment in response to this RFI on the research, development, programs, and policies that have been most successful in improving availability of and access to effective prevention, treatment, and recovery interventions for addiction, mental illness, and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. The purpose of this RFI is to identify research, programs, and policies that have been successful and recommend novel policy ideas and gaps in research that could be addressed and implemented to further the Great American Recovery using existing funding. FORHP’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) is cited as a current initiative helping HHS meet these goals.

Learning Events and Technical Assistance

VA Community Care Overview – Thursday, June 11 at 2:00 pm Eastern. Join the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Rural Engagement (ORE) as we host a collaborative event with our partners to present information beneficial to Veterans, service members, their families, and the public about VA benefits, programs and services. This collaborative event is open to Veterans and their families, and our partners aimed at improving the lives of Veterans and military families.

The Future of AI in Clinical Care: What Stakeholders Told HHS – Friday, June 12 at 10:00 am Eastern. Join HHS leadership to hear key takeaways and emerging themes from responses to the Department’s request for information on accelerating the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical care. The webinar will explore considerations for implementation science, evaluation, and other priorities for advancing AI across healthcare and human services delivery.

Learn About USDA Community Connect Grant Program – Wednesday, June 17 at 1:00 pm Eastern. USDA Rural Development hosts an Ask Me Anything webinar to answer questions about this program bringing high-speed internet access to rural communities. The deadline to apply for the USDA Community Connect Broadband Grant Program is June 29.

Transforming Rural Health: RHTP and Value-Based Payment – Monday, June 22 at 1:00 pm Eastern. Dr. Keith Mueller from the FORHP-supported Rural Health Value will provide an overview of Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) activities linked to value-based payment arrangements in rural communities and highlight relevant resources that may support states in this work.

Resources of the Week

MBQIP Quality Measures National Annual Report. This FORHP-funded report uses MBQIP (Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project) quality data to provide an overview of reporting and performance in all MBQIP measures for all Critical Access Hospitals in the United States.

Impact and Opportunities for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in Rural Communities. This resource from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration highlights opportunities and strategies for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) to fill service gaps in rural areas and to meet or exceed program requirements.

Exploring Rural Health Podcast: Preventing Death and Supporting Recovery. The Rural Health Information Hub’s Exploring Rural Health podcast is featuring a three-part series of the 2026 Innovation Tank finalists selected from FORHP’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) grantees. This first episode features first-place winners, Lincoln County Ambulance District Chief Ray Antonacci and Battalion Chief Sarah Czarnecki sharing their RCORP-funded initiative to provide buprenorphine to incarcerated individuals in their county jail.