Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2023 ACF OCS EMP 0085
The Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (+) grant opportunity is a discretionary, competitively awarded cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS). Under this announcement (Funding Opportunity Number HHS 2023 ACF OCS EMP 0085; CFDA 93.647), OCS planned to make about $1.6 million available in total, with an expectation of roughly six awards. Individual awards were capped at $250,000. Applications were due August 28, 2023, with electronic submissions required by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional eligibility details provided in the full notice.
The central goal of the funding is to help Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) build, expand, and strengthen their ability to deliver comprehensive legal services alongside wraparound social services for families with low incomes. The program is aimed at addressing "health-harming legal needs," meaning legal problems that directly worsen or destabilize health and well-being. In practice, this often includes issues tied to housing stability, access to benefits, family safety, employment-related concerns, immigration-related barriers, and other civil legal needs that can drive stress, prevent access to care, or create unsafe living conditions. By pairing legal support with social services and health settings, MLPs are intended to resolve underlying legal and social problems that contribute to poor health outcomes, rather than only treating the downstream medical effects.
This opportunity emphasizes capacity-building and stronger coordination across systems. Funded MLPs are expected to increase their ability to serve vulnerable families by enhancing and/or expanding legal service delivery and by building or deepening partnerships with social service providers so that legal needs and related social needs can be addressed in a more complete, coordinated way. The "Plus (+)" framing reflects that the work goes beyond traditional legal representation alone, pushing grantees to integrate legal assistance with broader supportive services and referrals that families may need to stabilize their situations and improve overall health.
A major condition of receiving funds is full participation in a federal evaluation. Grantees must follow evaluation protocols established by ACF and/or its designated contractor(s). This may include cooperating with data collection activities, providing administrative data about program participation and services, and engaging in other evaluation-related tasks. The evaluation may also examine how MLPs are implemented, which means recipients should be prepared to document operations, partnerships, service models, and the practical steps they take to identify and resolve health-harming legal needs. Because this is a cooperative agreement, recipients should generally expect a more involved federal role than in a standard grant, particularly around learning, monitoring, and evaluation expectations.
Overall, the opportunity is designed to help a limited number of MLPs scale up what they can deliver, improve cross-sector collaboration, and contribute to evidence-building about how integrated legal and social services can improve health and stability for low-income families.Apply for HHS 2023 ACF OCS EMP 0085
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families - OCS in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (+)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.647.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 27, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 28, 2023 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 pm Eastern Standard Time on the listed application due date.. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (+) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (+) grant opportunity?
The Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (+) opportunity is a discretionary, competitively awarded cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS).
Which agency is offering this funding?
This opportunity is offered by HHS/ACF/OCS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services).
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON) for this announcement?
The Funding Opportunity Number is HHS 2023 ACF OCS EMP 0085.
What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 93.647.
How much total funding was planned to be available?
OCS planned to make about $1.6 million available in total under this announcement.
How many awards were expected to be made?
The announcement stated an expectation of roughly six awards.
What was the maximum amount per individual award?
Individual awards were capped at $250,000.
What was the application due date?
Applications were due August 28, 2023.
What time were electronic applications due on the deadline?
Electronic submissions were required by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
Is this a grant or a cooperative agreement?
This opportunity is a cooperative agreement. That typically means recipients should expect a more involved federal role than in a standard grant, especially related to learning, monitoring, and evaluation expectations.
Is the funding discretionary and competitive?
Yes. The opportunity is described as discretionary and competitively awarded.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as "Others," with additional eligibility details provided in the full notice.
What is the main goal of the funding?
The central goal is to help Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) build, expand, and strengthen their ability to deliver comprehensive legal services alongside wraparound social services for families with low incomes.
Who is the program intended to serve?
The program is aimed at families with low incomes, described as vulnerable families, with a focus on addressing legal needs that directly affect health and stability.
What are "health-harming legal needs" in the context of this opportunity?
"Health-harming legal needs" are legal problems that directly worsen or destabilize health and well-being. The announcement explains that these legal problems can create stress, prevent access to care, or create unsafe living conditions.
What kinds of legal issues might be addressed through an MLP under this program?
The opportunity describes health-harming legal needs as often including issues tied to housing stability, access to benefits, family safety, employment-related concerns, immigration-related barriers, and other civil legal needs that can drive stress or instability.
How does an MLP approach differ from only providing medical care?
The model is intended to resolve underlying legal and social problems that contribute to poor health outcomes, rather than only treating downstream medical effects.
What does the "Plus (+)" aspect mean?
The "Plus (+)" framing reflects that the work goes beyond traditional legal representation alone. It emphasizes integrating legal assistance with broader supportive services and referrals that families may need to stabilize their situations and improve overall health.
What types of activities does the opportunity emphasize?
The opportunity emphasizes capacity-building and stronger coordination across systems, including enhancing and/or expanding legal service delivery and building or deepening partnerships with social service providers so that legal and related social needs can be addressed in a complete, coordinated way.
Are grantees expected to build partnerships?
Yes. Funded MLPs are expected to build or deepen partnerships with social service providers to improve coordinated responses to legal and social needs.
Is participation in a federal evaluation required?
Yes. A major condition of receiving funds is full participation in a federal evaluation.
What does "full participation" in the evaluation generally include?
The announcement indicates grantees must follow evaluation protocols established by ACF and/or its designated contractor(s). This may include cooperating with data collection activities, providing administrative data about program participation and services, and engaging in other evaluation-related tasks.
What aspects of the MLPs might the evaluation examine?
The evaluation may examine how MLPs are implemented. Recipients should be prepared to document operations, partnerships, service models, and the practical steps used to identify and resolve health-harming legal needs.
Why does the opportunity place such a strong emphasis on evaluation?
Based on the announcement description, a key purpose is evidence-building about how integrated legal and social services can improve health and stability for low-income families.
What is the overarching intended impact of this funding?
The opportunity is designed to help a limited number of MLPs scale up what they can deliver, improve cross-sector collaboration, and contribute to evidence-building on integrated legal and social services that support health and stability.
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