U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Office on Women’s Health award Notice of Funding Opportunity

Medical Forensic Access Initiative

Opportunity Number

WH-AST-26-004

Application Due Date July 25, 2026

Technical Assistance Webinar Date June 29, 2026

Table of Contents Table of Contents

SUMMARY

A. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants

a. Eligible Entities ……………………………………………………………………………2

b. PD/PI Eligibility …………………………………………………………………………..3

c. Other Considerations

2. Application Responsiveness Criteria

B. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1. Expectations for Recipients

2. Federal Involvement in the Project

3. Eligibility criteria for project participants

4. Required Alignment with OASH Mission and Agency Priorities

C. AWARD INFORMATION

D. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

1.Format of the Application

a. Project Narrative – Formatting

b. Appendices to the Project Narrative – Formatting

c. Budget Package - Formatting

2. Content

a. Project Narrative - Content

b. Appendices to the Project Narrative – Content

c. Budget Package - Content

E. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DATES

1. Obtaining an Application Package

2. Required Registrations

a. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

b. Grants.gov Registration

3. Submission Instructions

a. Electronic Application Submission

b. Submission Dates and Times

c. NOFO Technical Assistance Webinar

4. Other Submission Requirements

a. Program-Specific Requirements

b. Follow-up Submission Requirements

F. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Application Qualification

Merit Review

Programmatic Technical Review and Risk Assessment

1. Responsiveness Review

b. Disqualifying Criteria

2. Merit Review Criteria

3. Merit Review and Selection Process

4. Review of Risk Posed by Applicant

G. AWARD NOTICES

H. AWARD REQUIREMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION

1. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

2. Program Specific Terms and Conditions

a. Paperwork Reduction Act Clearance Packages

3. Award Closeout

4. Lobbying Prohibitions

5. Non-Discrimination Requirements

6. Smoke- and Tobacco-free Workplace

7. Acknowledgement of Funding

8. HHS Rights to Materials and Data

9. Trafficking in Persons

10. Efficient Spending

11. Whistleblower Protection

12. Health Information Technology (IT) Interoperability

13. Certain telecommunications and video surveillance services or equipment

14. Human Subjects Protection

15. Research Integrity

16. Reporting

a. Performance Project Reports (PPR)

b. Financial Reports

c. Audits

f. Other Required Notifications

I. CONTACTS

Administrative and Budgetary Requirements Program Requirements Grants.gov Support SAM.gov Registration Support

J. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Checklist

2. Acronyms

3. Glossary

4. Object Class Descriptions and Required Justifications A. Considerations in Recipient Plans for Oversight of Federal Funds B. Financial Assistance General Certifications and Representations

BASIC INFORMATION

Opportunity Title Medical Forensic Access Initiative

Program Office Office on Women’s Health Application Submission and Format

Electronic application submitted via Grants.gov ONLY.

Opportunity Number Award Type Grant

Application Deadline July 25, 2026

Announcement Type Initial

Technical Assistance Webinar Date June 29, 2026

Assistance Listing 93.088

Technical Assistance Webinar Details

Visit the OWH website at: https://womenshealth.gov/about-us/work-us/funding-opportunities

Eligible Applicants (see Section A.1 for full details) Executive Order 12372 does apply to this NOFO (see section E.3.D)

Estimated Total Funding Available $5,000,000

Estimated Period of Performance (months) 24 months

• 12-month first budget period

• 12-month second budget period

Optional competitive third year Estimated Number of Awards 1-5

Anticipated Award Date September 30, 2026

Anticipated Award Funding Range 500,000—1,000,000

Anticipated Project Start Date September 30, 2026

QUESTIONS?

Additional contact information in Section G

SUMMARY

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) announces the anticipated availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 grants under the authority of section 229 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. § 237a), section 1703(a) of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. § 300u-2(a)), a. Congress provided additional information about its intent regarding funds for the Medical Forensic Access Initiative in the Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75) and Senate Report 119–55.

This notice solicits applications for practical, data-driven, and scalable projects that support States, Tribal communities, healthcare systems, or community-based organizations in collecting, analyzing, and reporting information related to access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault. Projects funded under this initiative should identify barriers, service gaps, workforce shortages, geographic gaps, wait times, and system-level challenges impacting women and girl survivor access to timely, forensic healthcare services.

Projects should support measurable systems improvement activities designed to strengthen forensic healthcare delivery, improve healthcare coordination, expand access to trained forensic examiners, enhance telehealth-enabled forensic care models, and improve the quality and consistency of services across healthcare systems.

Applicants are encouraged to propose collaborative approaches involving healthcare providers, forensic nursing programs, public health agencies, Tribal entities, victim service organizations, academic institutions, telehealth partners, and/or multidisciplinary response systems to improve women and girl survivor access, care coordination, and/or healthcare system responsiveness.

Funding priorities may include:

• Improving statewide, Tribal, territorial, or regional data collection and reporting capacity related to forensic examinations;

• Identifying healthcare delivery gaps and underserved geographic areas;

• Expanding access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) and forensic healthcare workforce development initiatives;

• Strengthening tele-SANE, tele-forensic, and rural access models;

• Supporting evidence-based systems improvement and healthcare quality initiatives;

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ75/pdf/PLAW-119publ75.pdf

• Improving coordination across healthcare, victim service, and/or public health systems; and

• Enhancing women and girl survivor follow-up care, referral pathways, and continuity of services.

OASH’s Grants and Acquisitions Management Division (GAM) will administer this competition.

All activities proposed in the application and budget narrative must align with applicable law, including but not limited to statutes, executive orders, federal regulations, and applicable judicial holdings. Accordingly, discretionary awards shall not be used to fund, promote, encourage, subsidize, or facilitate: racial preferences or other forms of racial discrimination by the recipient, including activities where race or intentional proxies for race will be used as a selection criterion for employment or program participation; denial by the recipient of the sex binary in humans, or the belief that sex is a chosen or mutable characteristic; illegal immigration; or any other initiatives that compromise public safety.

If an application does not align, the application will not receive funding to the extent permitted by law and applicable court orders

Applicants should review all program requirements, eligibility information, application format and submission information, evaluation criteria, and other information in this funding announcement to ensure that their application complies with all requirements and instructions

A. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants You must meet all of the eligibility requirements in order for us to review your application.

a. Eligible Entities

Eligible organizations include:

Any public or private (profit or nonprofit) entity located in a State (which includes one of the 50 United States, District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands) is eligible to apply for an award under this announcement. Community-based organizations, faith-based organizations and American Indian/Alaska Native/Native American (AI/AN/NA) organizations are eligible to apply.

Greater consideration will be given to State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) entities, Tribal organizations, and applicants demonstrating formal partnership with SLTT entities.

Examples of eligible Organizations include:

• State Governments

• U.S. territories

• County Governments

• City or township governments

• Special district governments

• Independent school districts

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

• Public Housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)

• Nonprofits having 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

• Private institutions of higher education

• For profit organizations, including small businesses.

Nonprofit organizations may be required to provide evidence of tax-exempt status. When projects involve the collaborative efforts of more than one organization or require the use of services or facilities not under the direct control of the applicant, written assurances of specific support or agreements may be required from the affected parties.

b. PD/PI Eligibility

There is no restriction on an individual’s eligibility to be Project Director (PD)/Principal Investigator (PI) on an application. However, we will not make an award with a PD/PI who has an active government-wide exclusion, suspension, or debarment recorded in SAM.gov.

We expect that throughout the period of performance the PD/PI will be involved in, and have substantial knowledge about, all aspects of the project. Although your organization may recognize co-PD/PIs on team-managed projects, we recognize only a single PD/PI who will be responsible for the programmatic aspects of the project.

c. Other Considerations Submitting Multiple Applications

You may submit more than one application, but each application must be for a distinctly different project.

If you submit multiple applications for the same project, we will accept only the last application submitted a Grants.gov timestamp that is before the due date and time. We will disqualify all other versions of the application. See Section F.1.b for all disqualification factors.

Submitting an Application as a Group or Consortium

For any given project, we will only make an award to a single eligible entity. More than one entity may choose to work together on a project under this opportunity, but only one entity may submit the application. If awarded, that entity will be the award recipient and will be responsible for conducting the project.

The other entities may participate in the project, if awarded, and would be responsible to the recipient for their respective roles, typically as subrecipients.

Groups may form a consortium, partnership, or other legally recognized entity for the purpose of applying for this opportunity and carrying out any awarded project. The resulting entity must exist and be legally recognized when it applies and must have an active registration in SAM.gov.

We will conduct a risk assessment on the applying entity (Section F.4) prior to making any award.

Eligibility Documentation

We do not require you to submit documentation of your eligibility (e.g., proof of 501(c)(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service or an authorizing tribal resolution) when you submit your application. It is important that your organization is correctly classified in your SAM registration (Section E.2.a).

During our review of your application, we might request additional documentation to support your eligibility. This request means only that your application is under review and not that you will receive an award.

More specific information on the type of documentation that we might request specific to this opportunity appears in Section E.4.b.

Application Disqualification

We will disqualify applications that fail to meet the eligibility, responsiveness, formatting, and submission requirements (Sections F.1.b) prior to conducting merit review. Disqualified applications will not undergo further review.

We will notify disqualified applicants at the end of the competition when we announce the award recipients.

2. Application Responsiveness Criteria

We will review your application to determine whether it meets the responsiveness criteria below.

If your application does not meet the responsiveness criteria, we will disqualify it from the competition; we will not review it beyond the initial screening.

The responsiveness criteria are as follows:

Eligible Applicant The applicant is an eligible entity as specified in this NOFO. All activities proposed under the application must be conducted within the United States or U.S. territories. Applications proposing activities outside the authorized geographic scope of this funding opportunity will be deemed non-responsive.

Alignment with National Priorities The proposed project aligns with Sections 503 and 504 of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-103, Division W) by supporting data collection, reporting, access assessment, healthcare systems improvement, or related activities associated with medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

Applications that do not clearly address forensic examination access, reporting, healthcare system coordination, or systems improvement activities will be deemed non-responsive.

Medical Forensic Examination Focus The proposed project focuses on improving access to evidence-based medical forensic examination services for women and girl survivors of sexual assault through healthcare system strengthening, workforce development, data modernization, service coordination, telehealth expansion, quality improvement, or related public health approaches.

Applications focused primarily on unrelated direct service activities without a clear connection to forensic examination access or healthcare systems improvement will be deemed non-responsive.

Data Collection and Reporting Capacity The application demonstrates the capacity to collect, analyze, manage, and/or report data related to access to medical forensic examinations, healthcare service delivery, workforce shortages, wait times, geographic access gaps, women and girl survivor support pathways, or related systems-level indicators.

Applications must include a clearly defined strategy for data collection, reporting, evaluation, quality improvement, or systems analysis activities.

Geographic Focus The proposed project clearly identifies the geographic area to be served, including States, Tribal communities, rural populations, underserved communities, healthcare systems, or other relevant jurisdictions impacted by forensic healthcare access gaps.

Applications that fail to clearly identify the intended population, geographic focus, or system-level need will be deemed non-responsive.

Evidence-based Approach The application describes an evidence-based framework that promotes dignity, confidentiality, emotional safety, and continuity of care for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ103/PLAW-117publ103.pdf

Applications must demonstrate an understanding of evidence-based healthcare practices and the importance of minimizing re-traumatization within forensic healthcare systems.

Partnerships and Systems Coordination Applicants must demonstrate coordination or partnership with relevant healthcare systems, forensic nursing programs, Tribal entities, victim service organizations, public health agencies, telehealth providers, academic institutions, law enforcement partners, or multidisciplinary response teams, as appropriate to the proposed project.

Applicants may be required to submit Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), letters of support, or documentation demonstrating active partnerships relevant to project implementation.

Workforce and Operational Capacity The application demonstrates organizational and operational capacity necessary to implement the proposed activities, including staffing infrastructure, subject matter expertise, project management capability, and experience related to forensic healthcare, women’s health, public health systems, healthcare quality improvement, data modernization, or multidisciplinary coordination.

Use of Funds The proposed use of funds aligns with allowable activities under this NOFO, including:

• Data collection and reporting activities;

• Healthcare systems assessment and improvement initiatives;

• Workforce development and forensic examiner training support;

• Tele-forensic or tele-SANE implementation;

• Quality improvement and systems coordination activities;

• Public health and healthcare infrastructure development; and/or

• Activities designed to improve women and girl survivor access to medical forensic examinations and related support services.

Applications proposing activities outside the scope of this funding opportunity will be deemed non-responsive.

Alignment with Program Goals The application clearly demonstrates alignment with the goals of this initiative, including:

• Improving access to medical forensic examinations;

• Identifying healthcare delivery gaps and underserved regions;

• Strengthening evidence-based healthcare systems;

• Improving statewide, Tribal, territorial, or regional reporting capacity;

• Enhancing healthcare coordination and women and girl survivor support pathways; and

• Supporting data-driven healthcare systems improvement efforts.

Completeness and Submission Requirements The application is complete and submitted in accordance with all instructions and requirements in this NOFO, including required forms, narratives, attachments, formatting requirements, and submission deadlines.

Applications that are incomplete, submitted after the deadline, or noncompliant with formatting or submission instructions will be deemed non-responsive.

3. Cost Sharing or Matching You are not required to provide cost sharing or matching in your proposed budget, however, applicants are strongly encouraged to demonstrate institutional commitment through investments that support sustainability beyond the federal project period.

B. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

OWH announces the anticipated availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 grants under the authority of section 229 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. § 237a), and section 1703(a) of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. § 300u-2(a)). This initiative also supports implementation activities associated with Sections 503 and 504 of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-103, Division W), which direct funding toward improving data collection and reporting related to access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

The primary focus of OASH is to lead Americans toward healthier lives by promoting health and well-being across the lifespan. The OWH mission is to provide national leadership and coordination to improve the health of women and girls through policy, education, and innovative programs. Grants funded through this NOFO will support practical, scalable, and data-driven projects designed to improve access to medical forensic examination services for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

Projects funded under this NOFO are intended to strengthen healthcare delivery systems, improve statewide and regional reporting capacity, identify healthcare access gaps, and support system-level improvements related to forensic healthcare services. Projects may include activities focused on workforce expansion, healthcare coordination, telehealth-enabled forensic care, data modernization, quality improvement initiatives, and evidence-based systems integration.

Projects funded under this NOFO should support one or more of the following goals:

• Expand and/or strengthen state, local, Tribal, territorial, or regional capacity to collect, analyze and report data on access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault;

• Address healthcare delivery gaps, workforce shortages, geographic variances, service delivery limitations, and barriers to timely access to medical forensic examination services;

• Develop actionable, data-driven recommendations to improve healthcare delivery systems and expand access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault;

• Improve the quality, consistency and interoperability of data collection and reporting systems related to medical forensic examination access and service delivery;

• Enhance healthcare coordination, women and girl survivor follow-up systems, and multidisciplinary response efforts to support improved access and continuity of care;

• Support workforce capacity and clinical readiness, specifically related to the deployment, training and utilization of SANE

• Support tele-SANE, tele-forensic, and other technology-enabled service delivery models and approaches that increase access to medical forensic examinations and related healthcare services; and/or

• Improve healthcare system responsiveness, operational efficiency, and evidence-based systems of care through quality improvement activities.

Projects funded under this initiative are expected to generate measurable system-level improvements and contribute to the identification of effective practices for improving women and girl survivor access to medical forensic examination services nationwide.

Background

Women and girl survivors of sexual assault frequently require timely access to medical forensic examinations as part of comprehensive healthcare and crisis response services. Medical forensic examinations serve multiple critical functions, including assessment and treatment of injuries, sexually transmitted infection prevention, evidence collection, safety assessment, behavioral health support, and referral to ongoing medical and supportive services. Access to these services is an important component of public health infrastructure, healthcare system responsiveness, and evidence-based care.

Despite longstanding national efforts to strengthen forensic healthcare systems, significant gaps remain in access to medical forensic examinations across the United States. Women and girl survivors in rural, Tribal, territorial, and underserved communities often experience delays in receiving care due to workforce shortages, geographic barriers, limited healthcare infrastructure, inconsistent service availability, and insufficient coordination across healthcare and victim service systems. Many hospitals and healthcare facilities continue to face challenges related to staffing, forensic examiner availability, retention of trained personnel, and implementation of consistent evidence-based practices.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-103, Division W) reinforced federal efforts to improve access to medical forensic examinations through Sections 503 and 504, which directed funding toward grants supporting data collection and reporting on access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault. The legislation recognized the need for improved understanding of healthcare delivery gaps, disparities in forensic healthcare access, and opportunities for system-level improvement across States and Tribal communities.

Current challenges extend beyond workforce shortages alone. Nationally, there is no unified system for tracking women and girl survivor access to forensic examinations, wait times, healthcare delivery capacity, geographic coverage, referral outcomes, or continuity of care. Data systems are often fragmented across healthcare organizations, public health systems, victim service providers, law enforcement agencies, and Tribal systems, limiting the ability to identify underserved areas, measure healthcare quality, or implement coordinated quality improvement strategies.

In addition, women and girl survivors may encounter inconsistent practices across healthcare settings, resulting in re-traumatization, inadequate communication, or limited follow-up support.

Medical forensic examination services are also frequently disconnected from broader women’s health, behavioral health, and public health systems, reducing opportunities for coordinated care and long-term recovery support.

OWH is positioned to support cross-sector collaboration, healthcare systems improvement, workforce development, data modernization, and evidence-based approaches related to medical forensic examinations. Through partnerships with States, Tribal communities, healthcare systems, forensic nursing programs, public health agencies, academic institutions, telehealth providers, and victim service organizations, OWH seeks to strengthen access to high-quality, evidence-based forensic healthcare services nationwide.

This funding opportunity is intended to support practical, scalable, and data-driven projects that improve access to medical forensic examinations, strengthen reporting and data collection capacity, identify healthcare delivery gaps, expand workforce readiness, improve healthcare coordination, and support systems-level improvements related to forensic healthcare delivery for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

1. Expectations for Recipients

Recipients funded under this NOFO will be expected to implement projects that improve access to medical forensic examination services for women and girl survivors of sexual assault through healthcare systems improvement, data collection and reporting activities, workforce expansion, telehealth-enabled service delivery, and/or multidisciplinary coordination efforts. Recipients must demonstrate the organizational capacity, staffing infrastructure, partnerships, and operational readiness necessary to successfully implement proposed activities and achieve measurable systems-level outcomes.

Recipients will be expected to:

• Support activities that improve access to timely, high-quality medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

• Develop or strengthen systems for collecting, tracking, analyzing, and reporting data related to forensic examination access, workforce capacity, healthcare delivery gaps, wait times, geographic disparities, referral pathways, or women and girl survivor follow-up services.

• Implement evidence-based approaches that promote safety, dignity, confidentiality, and continuity of care.

• Strengthen coordination among healthcare systems, forensic nursing programs, Tribal entities, victim service organizations, behavioral health providers, public health agencies, telehealth partners, and other multidisciplinary stakeholders, as appropriate to the project.

• Support expansion or improvement of workforce capacity related to forensic healthcare services, including activities associated with recruitment, training, certification, mentorship, retention, or clinical readiness of SANEs or other qualified forensic healthcare professionals.

• Develop or expand tele-SANE, tele-forensic, or technology-enabled service delivery models designed to improve access in rural, Tribal, territorial, underserved, or resource-limited communities.

• Identify healthcare delivery barriers, underserved regions, systems gaps, or operational challenges affecting women and girl survivor access to forensic examination services and implement data-driven quality improvement strategies to address identified gaps.

• Maintain appropriate policies, procedures, and safeguards to protect women and girl survivor privacy, confidentiality, and secure handling of sensitive information and data.

• Participate in technical assistance, monitoring, evaluation, and data reporting.

• Collect and report performance measures, project outcomes, implementation progress, and systems improvement activities in accordance with federal reporting requirements and NOFO expectations.

• Demonstrate measurable progress toward improving healthcare access, healthcare coordination, forensic workforce readiness, service responsiveness, or systems-level capacity related to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.

• Develop sustainability strategies to support continuation, integration, or expansion of successful project activities beyond the project period, where appropriate.

2. Federal Involvement in the Project If you receive an award, we will encourage you to seek the advice and opinion of federal staff when problems arise. However, you would be responsible for making sound programmatic and administrative judgments. The responsibility for operating decisions will be yours and does not shift to HHS, OASH, or Office on Women’s Health

Under a grant, the program office’s involvement may include routine monitoring and technical assistance such as monthly conference calls, occasional site visits, ongoing review of plans and progress, participation in relevant meetings, provision of training and technical assistance.

3. Eligibility criteria for project participants You must not restrict participation in the project on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic (See Section H.5).

4. Required Alignment with OASH Mission and Agency Priorities The recipients of this award must implement any funds awarded under this NOFO to effectuate program goals and agency priorities in accordance with the Priorities of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (available at https://health.gov/priorities), and when authorized by law according to statute, regulations, legislative mandates, and additional program guidance. Funded activities must advance and support OASH’s mission to improve the health and well-being of Americans.

Consistent with OASH’s mission, in carrying out any project that is funded under this NOFO, recipients must align program design and activities with the agency priorities, where consistent with the authority and scope of the award. Nothing in this NOFO shall be construed to authorize the use of federal funds for any activity prohibited by the Hyde Amendment, applicable appropriations acts, or other federal law. Funds are limited to approved systems-improvement, workforce-development, telehealth, data collection, reporting, and healthcare coordination activities, as described in this NOFO. Recipients remain responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable federal funding restrictions.

Recipients should ensure that women and girl survivors are provided medically accurate information regarding available healthcare services, including information on the full range of health risks for widely prescribed medications, consistent with applicable law, professional standards, and informed consent requirements. The recipients must demonstrate ongoing compliance with these priorities, in all programs that are authorized to advance them, through program design, implementation, reporting, and evaluation. Failure to meaningfully align funded activities with the applicable requirements may result in corrective action, additional reporting requirements, or other actions consistent with federal grant regulations found at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 and the terms and conditions of this award (including termination pursuant to 2 C.F.R. 200.340(a)(4) for no longer effectuating program goals or agency priorities).

Consistent with applicable state law, recipients are expected to only provide referrals for other medical procedures with the consent of a parent or other legally authorized decision-maker, such as a court-appointed guardian, legal custodian, or other individual or entity vested with decision-making authority under applicable law. Nothing in this requirement shall be construed to diminish parental rights where such rights remain legally intact and applicable.

https://health.gov/priorities

C. AWARD INFORMATION

Budget period(s)

We expect to fund awards in 12-month budget periods for a total period of performance up to 36 month(s). However, we may approve shorter periods of performance. Budget periods may vary from the estimated 12 months because of the timing of award issuance or other administrative factors.

For multi-year projects, recipients must submit a non-competing continuation (NCC) application for each budget period after the first. We will provide guidance generally 3 months prior to the end of the active budget period. Continuation funding is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, appropriate stewardship of federal funds, and the best interests of the government. Funding for all approved budget periods after the first is generally the same as the initial award amount and may be subject to any offset with funds unused in a previous budget period.

D. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

1.Format of the Application You must prepare your application using the forms and information described in this NOFO.

The official online application package on Grants.gov contains all necessary forms and guidance for preparing an application. This package includes but is not limited to:

• Full Text of the NOFO

• Standard forms (required) and their instructions o SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance o SF-424A Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs o SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities o Project Abstract Summary

• Sample templates, if available.

In addition to the four standard forms in the application package, your application will consist of 3 sections of materials you prepare:

1. Project Narrative

2. Appendices to the Project Narrative

3. Budget Package.

We strongly encourage you to read all instructions for the application format and content to avoid disqualification of your application. An application checklist is available in Section J.1.

a. Project Narrative – Formatting Following the formatting instructions below will help ensure that your application is readable for review process. Acceptable electronic file formats are in Section E.3.a.

Names of Individuals

We encourage you to use individuals’ full names (first, middle, last) on the standard forms and any other documents such as résumés/curricula vitae/biographical sketches to distinguish them for verification in the SAM exclusion records. Delays may result in award processing if full names are not provided.

You should avoid submitting personally identifiable information such as personal contact information (e.g., home address and telephone number) on résumés/curricula vitae/biographical sketches. Do not submit social security numbers.

If you receive an award, only one Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) will be named on the award documents. (Section A.1.b) Avoid using a placeholder or honorary PD/PI. If you have not hired an individual to be the PD/PI, you should name an interim PD/PI, and your application should clearly identify that person as such.

We typically expect the PD/PI to be named on the SF-424 in box 8.f. Avoid naming grant writers in box 8.f unless they have the expertise to respond to technical questions about the proposed project in a timely manner.

Identify other personnel who are essential or key to the execution of the proposed project clearly in your project narrative.

If you receive an award, a request for a change in PD/PI or key personnel under any circumstance requires prior approval of the grants management officer before becoming effective. We may disallow any costs incurred as a result of that change prior to our approval. See Section H.1.c.

Page Formatting

If you submit documents that do not conform to the following instructions, GAM will disqualify your application during the review process (SectionF.1.b).

Use an easily readable typeface, such as Times New Roman or Arial.

Use a 12-point font.

Use an 8.5” X 11” page size. Any other size page (e.g., A4, legal) will disqualify your application.

You must double-space the Project Narrative pages, or we will disqualify your application. You may single-space tables or use alternate fonts, but you must ensure the tables are easy to read.

Do not number pages or include a table of contents. Our grants management system will generate page numbers once your application is complete.

You must submit your application in the English language and in terms of U.S. dollars (2 C.F.R. §200.111).

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.111 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/section-200.111

Page Limits

Your project narrative and appendices must adhere to these page limits.

The page limits do not include the budget package (Section D.2.c)

The page limits do not include the required forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-LLL, and the Project Abstract Summary)

If your application exceeds the specified page limits when printed on 8.5” X 11” page, we will not review your application further.

We encourage you to print out your application before submitting it to ensure that it is within the page limits and is easy to read. Do not reduce pages to fit multiple pages on a single sheet to avoid exceeding the page limitation.

Do not hyperlink documents or sites outside of your application to augment your application. Reviewers will not be permitted to follow links to external content during their assessment of your application. The one exception to this is a link to your internal controls as part of your budget package (Section D.2.c.3).

Page Limit

Project Narrative ___ 25 ____

Project Narrative plus Appendices ____ 50 _____

Labeling Proprietary Information

Proprietary information includes patentable ideas, trade secrets, privileged or confidential commercial or financial information, the disclosure of which may harm the applicant.

You should include proprietary information in your application only to the extent that it is essential to the reviewers’ understanding of the project. Proprietary information should not appear in your Project Abstract Summary.

If your application contains proprietary information, you should clearly label the top of the first page of the project narrative. For example, Contains proprietary or confidential information that [Your Organization Name] requests not be released to persons outside the government, except for purposes of review and evaluation.

Awarded applications are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with redactions as the FOIA statute permits.

b. Appendices to the Project Narrative – Formatting Your appendices should include any specific items outlined in Section D.2.b. Your documents should be easy to read.

You should use the same formatting specified for the Project Narrative. However, documents such as résumés/curricula vitae/biographical sketches, organizational charts, tables, Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) or Letters of Commitment (LOCs) may have formatting common to those documents, so long as the pages are easy to read. For example, resumes, MOAs and LOCs may be single-spaced.

You must upload all of your appendices as a single, consolidated file in the Attachments section of your Grants.gov application. You must use an acceptable file format (Section E.3.a). We strongly encourage you to convert your file(s) to PDF format before uploading and review them to ensure accurate conversion.

Your Project Narrative plus the Appendices may not exceed the total number of pages for the application (Section D.1.a).

c. Budget Package - Formatting The budget narrative should use the formatting required of the project narrative for the explanatory text. Budget tables may be single-spaced but should be laid out in an easily readable format and within the printable margins of an 8.5” x 11” page. You must use an acceptable file format (Section E.3.a). We do not accept Excel or other similar spreadsheet formats.

The application page limit does not include the SF-424A or the budget narrative (including budget tables).

We recommend you present budget amounts and computations in a columnar format: first column, object class categories; second column, federal funds requested; third column, non-federal resources; and last column, total budget.

Object Class Federal Funds Requested

Non-Federal Resources Total Budget

Personnel $100,000 $25,000 $125,000

2. Content

a. Project Narrative - Content The Project Narrative is the most important part of your application. We will use it as the primary basis to determine whether your project merits an award. The project narrative should provide a clear and concise description of your project. We recommend that your project narrative include the following components with the requested information. Labeling the sections accordingly will help the reviewers find information quickly.

You must clearly describe the capability of the applicant organization and plans for delivering services that meet the expectations outlined in the NOFO. You should include all services to be provided by the project as part of the program plan. Proposed projects must adhere to all requirements of applicable statute; applicable regulations; and legislative mandates.

Successful proposals should include the following:

Statement of Need Applicants should clearly describe the need for improved access to medical forensic examination services within the geographic area to be served. Applications should demonstrate an understanding of healthcare delivery gaps, workforce shortages, access barriers, systems fragmentation, and challenges affecting women and girl survivors of sexual assault in accessing timely, evidence-based forensic healthcare services.

Applicants should describe:

• Current barriers to accessing medical forensic examinations;

• Geographic, rural, Tribal, territorial, or underserved access gaps;

• Existing workforce limitations, including shortages of SANEs or other qualified forensic healthcare professionals;

• Challenges related to healthcare coordination, follow-up care, or multidisciplinary response systems; and

• Data collection, reporting, or quality improvement limitations impacting healthcare system responsiveness.

Organizational Capacity Applicants should demonstrate organizational experience and capability in one or more of the following areas:

• Forensic healthcare services;

• Evidence-based care;

• Public health systems improvement;

• Data collection and reporting;

• Healthcare quality improvement;

• Telehealth implementation;

• Victim services coordination; and/or

• Women’s health programs.

Applications should clearly describe the administrative, operational, financial, clinical, and technical infrastructure necessary to successfully implement the proposed project.

Applicants should describe:

• Relevant organizational history and experience;

• Staffing structure and qualifications;

• Experience managing federal grants or healthcare systems projects;

• Access to qualified forensic healthcare professionals, public health personnel, data analysts, or multidisciplinary partners;

• Staff training and supervision practices; and

• Strategies to support workforce retention, operational continuity, and project sustainability.

Program Design and Service Delivery Applicants should provide a detailed description of the proposed project model and explain how proposed activities will improve access to medical forensic examinations and strengthen healthcare system responsiveness.

Applications should describe:

• Proposed implementation activities and operational approach;

• Data collection, reporting, or healthcare systems improvement methodologies;

• Evidence-based approaches to care;

• Strategies to improve access to forensic healthcare services;

• Workforce expansion, recruitment, retention, training, or clinical readiness activities;

• Tele-SANE, tele-forensic, or technology-enabled service delivery activities, where applicable;

• Healthcare coordination and referral systems;

• Multidisciplinary partnership and collaboration efforts; and

• Plans to support women and girl survivor follow-up care and continuity of services.

Projects should support one or more of the following:

• Expansion of access to forensic healthcare services;

• Improvement of statewide, Tribal, territorial, or regional reporting systems;

• Addressing healthcare delivery gaps and underserved regions;

• Strengthening forensic workforce capacity;

• Improvement of healthcare coordination and referral systems; and/or

• Enhancement of operational efficiency and healthcare responsiveness.

Data Collection and Reporting Plan Applicants should describe methods for collecting, managing, analyzing, and reporting data related to access to medical forensic examinations and healthcare delivery systems.

Applications should describe:

• Data sources and collection methodologies;

• Reporting infrastructure and quality assurance processes;

• Metrics related to healthcare access, workforce capacity, service utilization, geographic disparities, or wait times;

• Data privacy, confidentiality, and security protections;

• Plans for data analysis and dissemination; and

• Approaches to support continuous quality improvement and systems-level evaluation.

Applicants are encouraged to use standardized, evidence-informed, or interoperable approaches where appropriate.

Partnerships and Coordination Applicants should describe partnerships, referral relationships, and coordination activities with healthcare systems, Tribal entities, public health agencies, forensic nursing programs, behavioral health providers, victim advocacy organizations, telehealth partners, academic institutions, or other relevant stakeholders.

Applications should explain how these partnerships will:

• Improve women and girl survivor access to forensic healthcare services;

• Strengthen multidisciplinary coordination;

• Improve healthcare system responsiveness;

• Support data collection and reporting activities; and

• Enhance continuity of care and referral pathways.

Outcomes and Performance Measurement Applicants should describe methods for evaluating project effectiveness and measuring system-level outcomes.

Applications should describe project success related to:

• Increasing access to medical forensic examinations;

• Expanding forensic workforce capacity and readiness;

• Improving healthcare coordination and multidisciplinary response efforts;

• Addressing healthcare delivery gaps and underserved regions;

• Enhancing data reporting and quality improvement capacity; and

• Improving operational responsiveness and continuity of care.

Applicants should provide quantitative and qualitative performance measures where appropriate.

Sustainability Applicants should describe plans to sustain successful project activities beyond the project period, including strategies related to workforce retention, healthcare partnerships, reporting infrastructure, systems integration, operational continuity, and long-term healthcare systems improvement.

Budget and Budget Justification Applicants should provide a detailed and reasonable budget aligned with proposed project activities and allowable uses of funds under this NOFO.

Budget narratives should clearly explain proposed costs associated with:

• Personnel and staffing;

• Workforce training and certification;

• Telehealth and technology infrastructure;

• Data collection and reporting activities;

• Healthcare systems coordination;

• Quality improvement activities;

• Contractual partnerships;

• Travel and operational support; and

• Other project implementation activities necessary to achieve proposed outcomes.

b. Appendices to the Project Narrative – Content All items described in this section will count toward the total page limit of your application. You must submit them as a single electronic file uploaded to the Attachments section of your Grants.gov application.

Samples and optional forms/templates for some of these items are located under the Related Documents tab for this NOFO on Grants.gov.

Your application should include the following appendices:

• Work Plan A detailed work plan describing major project activities, timelines, milestones, deliverables, responsible staff, and anticipated outcomes for the entire project period.

• Organizational Chart An organizational chart identifying key personnel, project leadership structure, reporting relationships, and relevant operational or clinical oversight responsibilities.

• Staffing Plan and Key Personnel Resumes, curriculum vitae (CVs), position descriptions, biographies, certifications, licenses, or other documentation demonstrating qualifications and experience of key personnel involved in project implementation.

• Letters of Commitment or Support Letters from partner organizations, collaborating agencies, healthcare systems, Tribal entities, victim service organizations, academic institutions, telehealth partners, or other stakeholders demonstrating support for the proposed project and commitment to collaboration activities.

• Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) or Partnership Agreements Copies of existing or proposed agreements that support referral coordination, data sharing, telehealth implementation, workforce collaboration, multidisciplinary coordination, healthcare partnerships, or related project activities.

• Data Collection and Evaluation Materials Examples of data collection tools, reporting templates, evaluation frameworks, performance measurement plans, dashboards, quality improvement methodologies, or related materials supporting project implementation.

• Technology and Infrastructure Materials

• Documentation related to telehealth platforms, reporting systems, data infrastructure, cybersecurity safeguards, interoperability approaches, or technology…