U.S. Administration on Aging National Resource Centers on Older Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaii Programs | HHS 2020 ACL AOA OIRC 0380

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2020 ACL AOA OIRC 0380

This grant opportunity, offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and the Administration on Aging (AoA), supports the creation and operation of National Resource Centers focused on Native American elders, including Older Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. The core purpose is to strengthen what is known about the needs, experiences, and challenges of Native elders and to turn that knowledge into better, more effective services in Native communities. Rather than funding direct service delivery alone, the program is designed to build national-level expertise and practical tools that tribes and Native-serving organizations can use to improve outcomes for elders.

The centers are expected to operate with a national scope and to function as hubs of specialized knowledge, technical guidance, and best practices. They will support Indian tribal organizations, Native American communities, and educational institutions such as Tribal Colleges and Universities, as well as professionals and paraprofessionals working with Native elders. Each center will choose one or more primary areas of concern to focus on, which may include health issues, long-term care (including in-home care), elder abuse, and other significant problems affecting Native communities. A key expectation is that each center not only studies these issues but also develops practical activities, models, and best practices that reflect the realities of different tribal and Native communities, acknowledging that needs and solutions can vary widely by geography, culture, and local infrastructure.

The work of the centers is grounded in requirements of the Older Americans Act (OAA). Grant funds are intended to support four main functions: gathering information, conducting research (including performance-related research), disseminating research findings, and providing technical assistance and training to organizations that serve Native elder populations. In practice, that means the centers should be producing usable knowledge, packaging it in ways that can be shared broadly, and directly helping service providers strengthen their programs through training and hands-on support. The emphasis is on building capacity across the field so that tribes and Native-serving entities can expand and improve services based on evidence and culturally aligned approaches.

Cultural competence is not treated as an add-on in this opportunity; it is expected to be integrated into staffing, program design, and day-to-day operations. The centers should incorporate Native cultural concepts and principles throughout their activities, and ACL/AoA strongly encourages that the directors of these centers be Native American as part of a broader commitment to culturally grounded leadership and credibility with communities. This focus reflects the idea that effective research, technical assistance, and best-practice development must be aligned with community values, language, and lived experience, especially in sensitive areas like caregiving, aging, and elder safety.

Applications must be outcomes-oriented. Each applicant is required to describe anticipated results from the proposed activities, explain how those results will be measured, and state how overall success will be determined. This signals that ACL/AoA expects clear goals, concrete deliverables, and an evaluation approach that goes beyond general intentions. Successful projects will likely demonstrate a strong plan for translating research and information into real-world improvements, such as better program models, stronger training systems, and more accessible, high-quality resources for tribal and Native elder service providers.

Eligibility is centered on institutions of higher education, including public or state-controlled universities and private universities, with allowance for other entities as clarified in the full announcement. However, eligible applicants must bring relevant experience, specifically in conducting research, assessing the needs of elders, and developing best practices that tribes, tribal organizations, and other culturally specific communities can implement, including Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian populations. In short, the program is looking for applicants who can credibly operate at a national level, produce high-quality and culturally grounded work, and help Native communities strengthen elder services through research-driven guidance and training.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism (meaning the federal agency is likely to have substantial involvement in the project). The opportunity number is HHS 2020 ACL AOA OIRC 0380, listed under CFDA 93.048, within the activity category of Income Security and Social Services. The maximum award amount is $340,000, with an expected three awards. The opportunity was posted on February 3, 2020, with an application due date of April 3, 2020, and electronic submissions required by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "U.S. Administration on Aging National Resource Centers on Older Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaii Programs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.048.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 03, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 03, 2020 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, 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 $340,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HHS 2020 ACL AOA OIRC 0380

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