DOL Announces Workforce Development Funding Opportunity

On October 3, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of $80 million under the Nursing Expansion Funding Opportunity Announcement.  The grant will fund programs that address bottlenecks in training the U.S. nursing workforce, and expand and diversify the pipeline of qualified nursing professionals (including behavioral health nurses and psychiatric nurse practitioners) through two training tracks:  Nurse Education Professional Track, and Nursing Career Pathways Track.

Applications are due by January 6, 2023 on grants.gov.  Among the eligible applicants are nonprofit health care organizations affiliated with hospitals and other medical facilities, labor unions, nonprofit trade or employer associations, community-based organizations, higher education and vocational training providers, and workforce development entities.

A fact sheet is posted here, the funding announcement here, and general resources and information on DOL grants here.  We were delighted that Ali Khawar, Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, reached out directly to ensure that NACBH members saw this announcement.  Nice validation that he appreciated the invitation to keynote at our recent Public Policy Conference in Washington!  Please share the information widely.