Opportunity Information: Apply for WH AST 26 004
The Medical Forensic Access Initiative (Funding Opportunity Number: WH AST 26 004) is a discretionary grant program from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health focused on improving how communities understand and document access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault. The opportunity is centered on practical, data-driven, and scalable projects that help jurisdictions and organizations collect, analyze, and report information that shows where access is working well and where it breaks down. Rather than funding direct clinical services alone, the emphasis is on building a clear, usable picture of access so systems can make informed decisions and improvements.
Funded projects are expected to generate actionable data about the real-world obstacles survivors face when trying to obtain timely, forensic healthcare services. The initiative specifically calls for work that identifies barriers and service gaps, including workforce shortages (such as shortages of trained forensic examiners), geographic gaps (for example, long travel distances or limited coverage in rural or frontier areas), wait times, and broader system-level challenges. In practice, that could involve measuring how long survivors wait to be seen, mapping where trained providers are available versus where need exists, documenting referral and transfer patterns between facilities, or analyzing operational bottlenecks that delay exams. The goal is to move beyond anecdotes and provide decision-ready information that can guide staffing, training, regional coordination, telehealth strategies where appropriate, and policy or protocol changes.
A wide range of entities are eligible to apply, reflecting the fact that forensic exam access depends on coordination across healthcare, government, and community partners. Eligible applicants include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. This broad eligibility supports applications from statewide programs, tribal communities, hospital systems, universities, and community-based organizations that are positioned to gather and interpret data across multiple sites or service pathways.
The funding is offered as a grant under the Health activity category (CFDA number 93.088). The maximum award amount (ceiling) is $1,000,000, and the program anticipates making about 5 awards. The application deadline listed is July 27, 2026, and the opportunity was created on June 25, 2026. Overall, this initiative is designed to help communities develop a clearer, evidence-based understanding of survivor access to medical forensic exams and to produce scalable reporting and analysis that can be used to drive improvements in timeliness, availability, and system performance.Apply for WH AST 26 004
- The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Medical Forensic Access Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.088.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-06-25.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-07-27. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, 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, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Medical Forensic Access Initiative?
The Medical Forensic Access Initiative (Funding Opportunity Number: WH AST 26 004) is a discretionary grant program from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. It focuses on improving how communities understand and document access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.
What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?
The main goal is to support practical, data-driven, and scalable projects that help jurisdictions and organizations collect, analyze, and report information about access to medical forensic examinations. The intent is to produce decision-ready information that shows where access is working well and where it breaks down, so systems can make informed improvements.
Is this grant meant to fund direct clinical services?
The emphasis is not on funding direct clinical services alone. Instead, the opportunity prioritizes building a clear, usable picture of access through data collection, analysis, and reporting that can guide system improvements.
What types of projects are encouraged under this initiative?
Projects are expected to generate actionable data about real-world obstacles survivors face when trying to obtain timely forensic healthcare services. Examples described include measuring how long survivors wait to be seen, mapping where trained providers are available versus where need exists, documenting referral and transfer patterns between facilities, and analyzing operational bottlenecks that delay exams.
What kinds of barriers and service gaps should funded projects identify?
The initiative specifically calls for work that identifies barriers and service gaps such as workforce shortages (including shortages of trained forensic examiners), geographic gaps (like long travel distances or limited coverage in rural or frontier areas), wait times, and broader system-level challenges that affect access and timeliness.
What does "actionable data" mean in the context of this program?
In this context, actionable data means information that can be used to make decisions and improvements. The opportunity emphasizes moving beyond anecdotes and producing analysis and reporting that can guide staffing, training, regional coordination, telehealth strategies where appropriate, and policy or protocol changes.
What outcomes is the initiative trying to support with the data collected?
The intended outcome is a clearer, evidence-based understanding of survivor access to medical forensic exams, along with scalable reporting and analysis that can be used to drive improvements in timeliness, availability, and overall system performance.
Who is eligible to apply for this grant?
Eligible applicants include a broad range of entities: state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses.
Why is eligibility so broad for this opportunity?
The program notes that access to medical forensic examinations depends on coordination across healthcare, government, and community partners. Broad eligibility is intended to support applications from statewide programs, tribal communities, hospital systems, universities, and community-based organizations that can gather and interpret data across multiple sites or service pathways.
What is the funding mechanism and category for this opportunity?
Funding is offered as a grant under the Health activity category, with CFDA number 93.088.
What is the maximum award amount?
The maximum award amount (ceiling) is $1,000,000.
How many awards does the program expect to make?
The program anticipates making about 5 awards.
What is the application deadline?
The application deadline listed is July 27, 2026.
When was this funding opportunity created?
The opportunity was created on June 25, 2026.
What populations does the initiative explicitly mention?
The opportunity is focused on access to medical forensic examinations for women and girl survivors of sexual assault.
What does the opportunity mean by "scalable" projects?
Based on the description provided, scalable projects are those that produce reporting and analysis approaches that can be applied across multiple sites, jurisdictions, or service pathways, helping communities build a consistent, usable picture of access that can support broader system improvements.
What kinds of system improvements can the findings support?
The opportunity describes using findings to guide staffing decisions, training efforts, regional coordination, telehealth strategies where appropriate, and policy or protocol changes intended to improve access, timeliness, and system performance.
What is the funding opportunity number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is WH AST 26 004.
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