Deadline: 10-Sep-21
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking applications for its Children’s Healthy Learning Environments in Low-Income and/or Minority Communities to provide funds for capacity building activities to address disproportionate children’s environmental health harms and risks in school and/or childcare settings in, or that primarily serve, low-income and/or minority communities.
This RFA provides funding directly to organizations to support school- and/or childcare center-based capacity building projects that help school communities understand and address local environmental and public health issues that affect children. Projects must take place in schools and/or childcare centers that are located in minority and/or low-income communities and/or primarily serve student populations that are minority and/or lowincome (e.g., Head Start and Early Head Start programs, Title I schools, tribal schools).
Funding Information
- The total estimated funding expected to be available for awards under this RFA is approximately $2 million.
- EPA anticipates awarding up to 10 cooperative agreements under this announcement with each award not to exceed approximately $200,000 subject to the availability of funds, quality of evaluated applications, and other applicable considerations.
- Proposed project periods are for two years.
Outcomes
Examples of outcomes under the awards expected to be made include, but are not limited, to:
- Reduction in illness, learning disabilities, absenteeism, or asthma attacks
- Improvements in physical, behavioral, or social functioning
- Reduction in environmental health or safety risks affecting children
- Reduction in children’s exposure to environmental contaminants
- Reduction in costs as a result of new policy and guidance that support healthy learning environments, e.g., energy and resource conservation measures and improved facility maintenance
- Greater teacher retention and job satisfaction
- Increased awareness among students about the school environment and resource sustainability
- Reduction in unintentional injuries
Outputs
Examples of outputs under the awards expected to be made include, but are not limited, to:
- Final project report that documents activities and quantifies results
- Educational, training, or outreach materials developed
- Multi-stakeholder partnerships/collaborations established
- Areas and sources posing highest risks and action plan for reducing risk identified
- New policies, guidance or protocols to reduce environmental hazards in schools, childcare centers developed and/or adopted
- Measures to assess progress established
- IAQ management or environmental health plans, programs and trainings implemented.
Eligibility Criteria
Assistance under this competition is available to states or state agencies, territories, city or township governments, county governments, the District of Columbia, American Indian Tribes (federally recognized), and possessions of the U.S. It is also available to public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, or public or private nonprofit institutions. Nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply for funding. For-profit organizations, including proprietary colleges and universities, are not eligible for cooperative agreements under this RFA.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334805
