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The Iowa Departments of Public Health (IDPH) and Education were awarded $4.5 million dollars from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fund competitive grants for public school districts to train and sustain the state’s school health workforce on COVID response-and-recovery initiatives focused on social-emotional-behavioral health (SEBH).
The $4.5 million awarded to IDPH and the Iowa Department of Education is part of the $2 billion that the CDC is awarding to eligible jurisdictions to conduct activities necessary to expand, train and sustain a response-ready public health workforce.
Program Details
The purpose of the COVID-19 Public Health Workforce Supplemental Funding Grant is to support Iowa’s public school districts in building their capacity to address the increased SEBH needs of Iowa’s children resulting from or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One-time competitive planning grants ranging between $50,000 and $100,000 will be awarded to public school districts through a competitive process to be used for training and coaching school health care workers on COVID response-and-recovery initiatives focused on social-emotional-behavioral health. The grants can be used to cover costs associated with planning, training and coaching, including travel expenses for professional development opportunities.
See the Frequently Asked Questions document for more information.
Eligibility Criteria
Local education agencies for public PK-12 schools that were in operation before Dec. 27, 2021, and that demonstrate SEBH professional development and workforce needs surrounding health equity, diversity and inclusion related to COVID-19 are eligible to apply for this grant.
Applicants must include in their application:
- The cost of attendance at approximately 12 in-person professional development sessions for a leadership school health team from the district or school (estimated at $18,000 per application).
- A minimum leadership health team of five members.
- The cost of regular coaching for the school health leadership team and other district or school staff, ranging from once-a-week to funding a half-time temporary position, with costs ranging from $15,000 to $35,000 annually.
- Any additional variation that may increase or decrease the award amount, such as team size and the number of coaches.
- In-state travel amounts, not to exceed the limits established by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.
Selection Criteria
Districts will be scored by trained expert reviewers and sorted highest to lowest in three categories based on school size as determined by certified enrollment from the year in which the district is applying for the grant.
- Small: Certified enrollment up to 599 students.
- Medium: Certified enrollment between 6000 and 2,499 students.
- Large: Certified enrollment greater than or equal to 2,500 students.
School districts that do not currently receive additional federal funding to cover the costs of professional learning and coaching beyond currently available relief funds and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) school improvement funds will be given priority.
Program Period
The program period for the first round of awards is May 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. Grant funds will be dispersed on a quarterly reimbursement basis for expenses incurred during the program period.
The first round of award recipients was notified on March 24, 2022.
Round 2 Funding Opportunity
Nearly $4 million remains for additional grants.
Round 2 is currently open until May 19, 2022. Applications available through IowaGrants.gov.