Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Pathways | HRSA 25 093

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 25 093

The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) - Pathways (Funding Opportunity Number HRSA-25-093) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) focused on strengthening behavioral health in rural communities by investing directly in youth. The core idea is to help rural areas build new, youth-centered behavioral health support programs while also creating real, local pathways that introduce young people to behavioral health careers. Rather than treating youth only as service recipients, the program emphasizes youth engagement and leadership, aiming to improve access to behavioral health supports in rural places that have often faced persistent workforce shortages and limited services, especially in the context of the opioid crisis and related behavioral health challenges.

At the center of the program is the expectation that award recipients will build and operate within a network of organizations across their service area. This collaborative network approach is meant to connect schools, community groups, health and behavioral health providers, workforce and training partners, and other local stakeholders so that youth can both help design peer-driven supports and also see a clear on-ramp into behavioral health training and careers. In practical terms, RCORP-Pathways is about developing programming that is grounded in the realities of rural communities, leverages local partnerships, and builds capacity that lasts beyond the grant period.

The opportunity is organized around three main goals. Goal 1, Pathway, focuses on establishing pathway programs that expose youth to behavioral health careers and help them move toward formal training programs. This can include structured career awareness activities, mentorship and job shadowing opportunities, partnerships with training institutions, and supports that reduce barriers to entry for rural students. The aim is not just to spark interest, but to make the transition into education and training more attainable, ultimately strengthening the rural behavioral health workforce pipeline.

Goal 2, Engagement, emphasizes youth-led and peer-driven behavioral health programming. Applicants are expected to meaningfully engage youth in developing and implementing programming that supports behavioral health in their communities. This goal recognizes that peer influence and youth leadership can be powerful drivers of prevention, early intervention, and help-seeking behaviors. It also signals that the program is looking for approaches where youth are co-creators and implementers of supports, not an afterthought or a token advisory role.

Goal 3, Sustainability, requires applicants to plan for long-term continuation by developing innovative, multi-sector strategies that keep RCORP-Pathways activities available after federal funding ends. This could include braided funding approaches, institutionalizing successful programs within schools or community organizations, building durable referral and partnership structures, and securing commitments from local or regional stakeholders. The sustainability goal underscores that HRSA is looking for models that can persist and remain useful to the target rural area over time, rather than short-term pilots that disappear when the grant ends.

Funding details included in the notice indicate an award ceiling of $400,000, with an expected 12 awards. The application closing date is April 14, 2025, and the program is listed under Assistance Listing (CFDA) number 93.912. The funding instrument is a grant and the activity category is health, aligning the work with rural health improvement and behavioral health capacity-building.

Eligibility is broad and designed to fit the types of institutions that typically anchor rural initiatives. Eligible domestic applicants include public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations, including small businesses; state, county, city or township, and special district governments (including Washington, DC, U.S. territories, and freely associated states); independent school districts; Native American tribal governments; and Native American tribal organizations. The notice specifies that "domestic" includes the 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Individuals are not eligible to apply under this funding opportunity.

Overall, RCORP-Pathways is a rural behavioral health capacity and workforce pipeline initiative with a strong youth-development lens. It is designed to help rural communities create practical, peer-informed behavioral health supports while also helping young people envision and access behavioral health careers, using community networks and sustainability planning to make the improvements stick.

• The Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Pathways" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-01-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-04-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $400,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for HRSA 25 093

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