CovidWorkforce@naccho.org

The National Association of County and City Health Officials offers funding for training and technical assistance activities that build workforce capacity in rural and frontier local health departments (LHDs) in order to help communities more effectively respond to and recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

The program focuses on strengthening COVID testing, vaccine administration activities, and longer-term emergency response sustainability. Workforce capacity building areas include administrative preparedness, emergency preparedness and response, communications, workforce mental health and well-being, health equity, and other emerging issues related to COVID-19 response and recovery.

Primary project activities include:

• Provision of training in content topics to build the workforce capability of responding to COVID-19
• Direct technical assistance to incorporate administrative preparedness processes and practices in COVID-19 response activities to support emergency preparedness infrastructure building and sustainability for current and future response needs

Governmental LHDs with at least 50% of their jurisdiction being designated as rural or frontier according to the USDA are eligible to apply.

For this opportunity rural and frontier areas are defined as follows:

• Rural areas are those with a Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) Code between 4 and 10.
• Frontier areas are those with a RUCA code of 10.

Awards are issued in the form of fixed price contracts of up to $35,000, with a project period of 9 months.

Approximately 35 awards will be made.

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the online application are available on the program website.

Applicant webinar recording