Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants--Opioid. | RUS 19 01 DLT

Opportunity Information: Apply for RUS 19 01 DLT

The Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants--Opioid opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RUS 19 01 DLT) is a discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, Utilities Programs. It is part of the broader Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) Program authorized by 7 U.S.C. 950aaa and implemented under 7 CFR part 1734. The central purpose of DLT is to help rural communities overcome geographic isolation by funding technology that makes it easier to deliver education and health care services remotely. In practice, the program supports telecommunications-enabled solutions such as audio and video systems, information technology equipment, and related advanced technologies that allow students, educators, clinicians, and rural residents to connect to resources that would otherwise be limited or unavailable locally.

This specific "Opioid" funding round was driven by Congress setting aside an additional $20 million for the DLT Program through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141) specifically to help address the opioid epidemic in rural America. About half of that set-aside was awarded in FY 2018 for projects primarily focused on opioid treatment. The remaining funds, which this announcement targets, are meant for applications that directly support the prevention and treatment of opioid use disorder in rural areas, with an emphasis on strengthening local capacity rather than short-term, one-off activities.

Applicants are expected to frame their projects around one or more of three focus areas. The first is prevention, which can include remote education and training for community members and providers, public health outreach, and harm reduction approaches intended to reduce fatal overdoses and reduce the likelihood that new or at-risk individuals develop opioid use disorder. The second is treatment, which centers on expanding access to evidence-based clinical practices for opioid use disorder, including approaches like medication-assisted treatment, by using telemedicine or other distance-enabled clinical support models. The third is recovery, which includes building out services that help people maintain recovery and reduce relapse, such as peer recovery supports and other treatment-adjacent resources that can be delivered or coordinated through telehealth and distance platforms.

A major priority built into the competition is geographic risk related to injection drug use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified 220 counties and jurisdictions considered vulnerable to infection or disease outbreak associated with injection drug use. Under this opportunity, USDA prioritizes rural projects serving these "at-risk" counties. Applications that include end-user sites located in one or more of these designated counties receive additional points in the competitive scoring process, which can materially improve the application’s chances in a ranked competition. The list of at-risk counties is provided in the announcement materials, the FY 2019 DLT Grant Program - Opioid Application Guide, and on the CDC website page referenced in the notice.

Eligible applicants are broad and include state governments, special district governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Tribal governments, Tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding IHEs in those nonprofit categories), and small businesses. The activity categories tied to the opportunity are education and health, reflecting the program’s dual-use design for learning and clinical service delivery as long as the project is aligned with the opioid-related priorities described in the announcement.

Key competitive and administrative details include an award ceiling of $500,000, with an expectation of approximately 40 awards. The opportunity was posted February 14, 2019, with an original application closing date of April 15, 2019. Applicants are directed to prepare submissions using the specific Application Guide that includes "Opioid" in the title, available through USDA Rural Development’s DLT program page. The notice also makes clear that any costs incurred to develop an application are borne by the applicant, meaning proposal preparation expenses are not reimbursable simply for applying.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at helping rural communities deploy practical distance learning and telemedicine infrastructure to prevent opioid misuse, expand access to effective opioid use disorder treatment, and strengthen recovery support systems, with extra preference given to rural end-user sites located in CDC-identified vulnerable counties.

• The Department of Agriculture, Utilities Programs in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants--Opioid." and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.855.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 14, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 15, 2019. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 40 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Small businesses.

Apply for RUS 19 01 DLT

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