Federal grant programs / Department of Veterans Affairs

Payments to States for Programs to Promote the Hiring and Retention of Nurses at State Veterans Homes (64.053)

Also known as SVH RN Grant; Nurse Retention Grant

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$9.4 million
• Grant awards170
• Typical award$41,453
• Awarded in FY 2025$1.6 million
• Size rank1509 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $484,080 in fiscal 2021 to $1.6 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 1509th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 95% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 26 states and territories.

What the program funds

In accordance with the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 1744, this part sets forth the mechanism for a State to obtain payments to assist a State Veterans Home (SVH) in the hiring and retention of nurses for the purpose of reducing nursing shortages at that SVH.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

(a) To apply for payments during a Federal fiscal year, a State representative must submit to VA, in accordance with §53.40, a completed VA Form 10-0430 and documentation specified by the form (VA Form 10-0430 is available at VA medical centers and on the Internet at http://www1.va.gov/geriatricsshg/ or may be obtained by contacting the Geriatrics and Extended Care Office at 202-461-6750, VHA Headquarters, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420). The submission for payments for a fiscal year must be received by VA during the last quarter (July 1-September 30) of the preceding fiscal year. The State must submit a new application for each fiscal year that the State seeks payments for an incentive program. (b) As part of the application, the State representative must submit to VA evidence that the State has sufficient funding, when combined with the VA payments, to fully operate its employee incentive program through the end of the fiscal year. To meet this requirement, the State representative must provide to VA a letter from an authorized State official certifying that, if VA were to approve payments under this part, the non-VA share of the funds for the program would be by a date or dates specified in the certification, available for the employee incentive program without further State action to make such funds available.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

What the money can and cannot pay for

(a) VA will make payment to a State Veterans Home (SVH) for an employee incentive program to reduce the shortage of nurses at the SVH, when the following conditions are met: (1) The State representative applies for payment in accordance with the provisions of §53.20; (2) The SVH receives per diem payments from VA under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 1741 for one or more of the following: Adult day health care, domiciliary care, or nursing home care; (3) The SVH has a nursing shortage that is documented by credible evidence, including but not limited to SVH records showing nursing vacancies, SVH records showing nurse overtime use, and reports documenting that nurses are difficult to hire in the local area and difficult to retain as employees at the SVH; (4) The SVH does not use payments under this part to pay for all or part of a nurse's standard employee benefits, such as salary, health insurance, or retirement plan; (5) The SVH provides to the Director, Geriatrics and Extended Care Operations, documentation establishing that it has an employee incentive program that: (i) Is likely to be effective in promoting the hiring and retention of nurses for the purpose of reducing nursing shortages at that home, and (ii) Is in operation or ready for immediate implementation if VA payments are made under this part; (6) The payment amount applied for by the State is no more than 50 percent of the funding for the employee incentive program during the Federal fiscal year; (7) The SVH...

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Any application must be received in Geriatrics and Extended Care Program Office by September 30 of the preceding fiscal year to be considered.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

The amount of payments awarded under this part during a Federal fiscal year will be the amount requested by the State and approved by VA in accordance with this part. Payments may not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the employee incentive program for that fiscal year and may not exceed 2 percent of the amount of the total per diem payments estimated by VA to be made under 38 U.S.C. 1741 to the State for that SVH during that fiscal year for adult day health care, domiciliary care, hospital care, and nursing home care. The approximate average range is $40,000 to $200,000.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2015: FY 2015 funding: Minnesota Veterans Home – Minneapolis - $62,142.60 Minnesota Veterans Home – Silver Bay - $51,579.00 Fiscal Year2019: !. Registered Nurse or Licenses Practical Nurse Scholarship assistance 2. Loan forgiveness incentive 3. Clinical specialty training and certification 4. Software references or books

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.

By state

7 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.