Grants / Department of Health and Human Services / Administration for Children and Families - OFA

HHS-2026-ACF-OFA-PG-0059: National Research Center for Promoting Work and Strong Families

Closed Closed August 31, 2026 Opportunity HHS-2026-ACF-OFA-PG-0059 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Administration for Children and Families - OFA notices from 2026.

• Award ceiling$2.9 million
• Award floor$2.7 million
• Total funding$2.9 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to any type of organization.

The statutory authority for this funding opportunity does not limit eligible entities to receive this funding. Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from the merit review and funding under this funding opportunity. Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible for awards under this funding opportunity.

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Is this a realistic fit?

• Most of the money in the 4 programs behind this notice (97% over five years) went to state and local governments.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) anticipates soliciting applications for a National Research Center for Promoting Work and Strong Families. The Center aims to improve the effectiveness of federal and state policies that promote the dignity of work, economic self-sufficiency, and family stability through marriage, responsible fatherhood, child care, and reduced dependency on public assistance. The Center will support rigorous, policy-relevant research and build stronger connections between researchers and policymakers in human services programs. The Center will carry out three core activities to achieve its goals:Fellowship program: Support in-residence fellows placed within ACF and other HHS offices to provide policy-relevant research expertise on work, earnings, family stability, child care, and human services programs. Extramural research grants: Oversee a competitive grant program to fund timely, actionable research aligned with ACF priorities. These priorities include: promoting the dignity of work, economic self-sufficiency, and family stability. Knowledge building and communication: Host in-person and virtual events. Produce policy-focused materials to make sure that research findings are accessible and actionable for federal, state, tribal, and local policymakers. The Center will emphasize research that promotes the dignity of work as a means to economic self-sufficiency and strong and stable families. This research will ideally help identify redundancies across government welfare programs and make sure that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently to help individuals and families rely less on public assistance. Activities must align with ACF"s statutory authorities and may not support diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI/DEIA) activities, consistent with General Policies in this NOFO.ACF anticipates making one cooperative agreement award for a five-year project period. Activities must align with the statutory authorities supporting this NOFO. The recipient must be able to show, and ACF must be able to monitor, that funds appropriated were spent on activities that can be directly attributed to those required and allowed by each funding source.

Category: Income Security and Social Services.

Other programs behind this notice

• Welfare Reform Research, Evaluations and National Studies 93.595
  $16.4 million in five years

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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