Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (93.110)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.4 billion
• Grant awards842
• Typical award$1.1 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$258 million
• Size rank216 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $211 million in fiscal 2021 to $258 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 216th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 33% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 59 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Special Projects of Regional and National Significance Program (SPRANS) carries out maternal and child health (MCH) projects to support training and research; oral health integration; genetic disease testing, counseling, and information development and dissemination programs; newborn screening for sickle cell anemia and other genetic disorders; and comprehensive hemophilia diagnostic and treatment centers. The Supporting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Screening and Intervention helps reduce alcohol use during pregnancy and improves outcomes for children with FASD nationwide, especially in communities where there is a high rate of binge drinking during pregnancy, including rural areas and medically underserved communities. The program focuses on educating primary care providers and increasing the use of screening, intervention, and referral processes for high-risk pregnancies. The State Maternal Health Innovation program creates state-led maternal health task forces to bring together the voices of key leaders, and pregnant and postpartum individuals using state-specific maternal health data to develop and implement innovative approaches to address the most pressing maternal health needs and disparities. State approaches include strengthening partnerships and collaborations, improving state-level data surveillance on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and promoting and executing innovation in maternal health service delivery. The MCH Research Portfolio includes the MCH Research Consortium, Maternal Health Research Collaborative for Minority-Serving Institutions, MCH Research Network, and MCH Field-Initiated Innovative Research Studies programs. The research portfolio advances maternal and child health by generating and testing innovative, real-world approaches to improve population-level outcomes. The program addresses critical evidence gaps through the development of research infrastructure and the conduct of rigorous, community-engaged research in close partnership with families and other stakeholders. MCH RNs focus on collaborative, interdisciplinary. The Children’s Safety Network (CSN) purpose is to increase the capacity of Title V agencies to adopt and implement evidence-based child and adolescent safety programs, practices, and policies, with a specific focus on injury and violence-related to Title V performance and outcome measures, such as injury hospitalizations, bullying, safe sleep, and suicide, as well as leading causes of injury-related deaths among children and adolescents (e.g., motor vehicle crashes, firearms, and poisonings).

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

Open and forecast opportunities

• Women's Initiative for Screening and Health (WISH)
  Open · Closes January 8, 2027 (62 days left) · up to $1.0 million
• Regional Excellence for Access to Comprehensive Care for Hemophilia Networks (REACH Networks)
  Forecast · Expected deadline December 22, 2026 · up to $450,000
• Fetal, Infant, and Child Death Review Program
  Forecast · Expected deadline January 20, 2027 · up to $5.1 million
• Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH)
  Forecast · Expected deadline January 20, 2027 · up to $459,370
• Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nutrition Training Program
  Forecast · Expected deadline January 20, 2027 · up to $735,000
• Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program (HTPCP)
  Forecast · Expected deadline January 20, 2027 · up to $75,000
• Maternal and Child Health Encounters Networks (MCHEK)
  Forecast · Expected deadline March 18, 2027 · up to $1.0 million
• Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Research Network
  Forecast · Expected deadline March 18, 2027 · up to $1.6 million
• Infant-Toddler Court Program–National Resource Center
  Forecast · Expected deadline April 21, 2027 · up to $6.8 million
• Infant-Toddler Court Program–State Awards
  Forecast · Expected deadline April 21, 2027 · up to $700,000

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Training grants may be made to public or private nonprofit institutions of higher learning. Research grants may be made to public or private nonprofit institutions of higher learning and public or private nonprofit private agencies and organizations engaged in research or in MCH or Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) programs. Any public or private entity is eligible for hemophilia, genetics, and environmental health grants and other special project grants, including SPRANS and CISS. Eligible entities for the Supporting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Screening and Intervention program are any domestic public or private entity, including Indian tribes or tribal organizations (as those terms are defined at 25 U.S.C. 450b). See 42 CFR § 51a.3(a), and domestic faith-based and community-based organizations. Eligible entities for the State Maternal Health Innovation program include any domestic public or private entity, including Indian tribes or tribal organizations, as well as domestic faith-based and community-based organizations. Eligible entities for the Integrated Maternal Health Services program include any domestic public or private entity, including Indian tribes or tribal organizations, as well as domestic faith-based and community-based organizations.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Training grants are made to institutions of higher learning for training personnel for health care and related services for mothers and children. Research grants are for the purpose of research activities which show promise of a substantial contribution to the advancement of maternal and child health (MCH) services. Technical assistance grants support the effective and accurate use of data and evidence to support program development and implementation as well as performance measurement and evaluation. Genetic grants are for genetic disease testing, counseling and information development and dissemination. Hemophilia grants are for the support of centers which provide hemophilia diagnostic and treatment services. Sickle cell disease grants are made to support follow up for infants with sickle cell identified through newborn screening. Environmental health grants are made to decrease maternal and child morbidity and mortality associated with pre-and post-natal environmental exposures. Other special project grants are designed to support activities of a demonstration nature, which are designed to improve services for mothers and children.

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Opportunities may include matching requirements. Please refer to the notice of funding opportunity.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines

Award range and average, in the agency's words

(Project Grants) FY 23: act. $27,562 to $547,250; $206,451 FY 24: est. $12,910 to $547,250; $208,087 FY 25: est. $26,341 to $536,769; $208,376 (Project Cooperative Agreements) FY 23: act. $75,000 to $11,150,000; $1,053,622 FY 24 est. $75,000 to $11,282,998; $924,222 FY 25: est. $75,000 to $11,148,707; $982,349

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

Colleges and universities received 7.1% of the money, nonprofits 1.1% and state and local governments 0.5%.

By state

58 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.