Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: National Capacity Building Center on Safe and Supportive Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors | HHS 2021 ACF ACYF EV 1940

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2021 ACF ACYF EV 1940

This funding opportunity is a discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), through the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) and its Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) Program. It will fund one National Capacity Building Center on Safe and Supportive Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors. The award will be made as a cooperative agreement, meaning the federal program office expects to be actively involved with the recipient during implementation, with FYSB collaborating closely with the grantee throughout the project period rather than simply providing funding and stepping back.

The core goal of the Center is to expand and improve housing stability options for domestic violence survivors by providing robust, national-level training and technical assistance (TTA). The emphasis is on helping systems and providers build practical capacity to offer safe, supportive, and sustainable housing pathways for survivors, recognizing that housing is often one of the biggest barriers to safety and long-term stability. The Center is expected to translate best practices into usable tools, guidance, and trainings that can be adopted across communities and service networks.

A central function of the project is to strengthen coordination among domestic violence programs, housing providers, and homeless services systems. This includes convening, coordinating, and leading a national consortium of federally funded TTA providers so that guidance is aligned, duplication is reduced, and survivors experience more seamless access to services. In practice, this means helping different parts of the crisis-response and housing systems work together more effectively, improving referral pathways and shared approaches while keeping survivor safety, confidentiality, and choice at the center.

The Center will also create resources that help communities integrate domestic violence-responsive practices across the full crisis-response continuum. That includes improving assessment and screening approaches, strengthening safety planning in housing contexts, and promoting voluntary, flexible supportive services that adapt to survivors needs rather than forcing survivors into rigid program requirements. The housing focus is broad and includes emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent housing options, with an underlying aim of ensuring survivors can move from immediate safety to longer-term stability without losing support.

In addition to these general housing and systems-integration goals, the opportunity highlights several specific content areas the Center must address. One is the impact of the opioid epidemic and substance use coercion on a survivors ability to obtain and keep safe housing. This points to a need for TTA that helps providers understand how coercion related to substance use can be used as a control tactic by abusers, how stigma and criminalization can block housing access, and how safety planning and housing advocacy can be adapted when substance use, recovery, or overdose risks are present. Another required focus area is the role of faith communities, specifically building and sharing resources on the capacity of faith-based organizations and networks to support domestic violence survivors in achieving and maintaining housing stability, which may include partnerships, referral relationships, and survivor-centered assistance that does not compromise safety or autonomy.

The award is tied to the FVPSA resource center ecosystem, meaning the Center will operate as part of a broader network of National, Special Issue, Culturally Specific, and Capacity Building Resource Centers. Within that network, the Center is expected to provide leadership and coordinated support to programs and systems serving domestic violence victims and their children, while also aligning its products and training strategies with other federally supported technical assistance efforts.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity number is HHS 2021 ACF ACYF EV 1940, and it falls under CFDA 93.592 in the category of income security and social services. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, and only one award is expected, with an annual award ceiling of $500,000. Eligible applicants include a wide range of entity types, such as nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations (including small businesses), and Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments), with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement. The original posting date was June 11, 2021, and the original application deadline was July 19, 2021, with electronic submissions due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children Families - ACYF/FYSB in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: National Capacity Building Center on Safe and Supportive Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.592.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 11, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 2021 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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: 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, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for HHS 2021 ACF ACYF EV 1940

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: