This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Planning (RCORP-Planning). RCORP is a multi-year HRSA initiative with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality resulting from substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), in high risk rural communities. This funding opportunity, RCORP-Planning, will advance RCORP’s overall goal by strengthening and expanding the capacity of rural communities to provide SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
The purpose of RCORP-Planning is to strengthen and expand the capacity of rural communities to engage high-risk populations and provide SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Recipients will conduct planning activities, engage multi-sector consortiums (as defined in Section III.1, “Eligible Applicants”), and participate in the RCORP-Planning learning collaborative (see Section IV.2, “Program Specific Instructions” for additional details). While the primary focus of RCORP-Planning is OUD, HRSA recognizes that many individuals with OUD are polysubstance users. Therefore, applicants may also choose to address an additional substance of concern in the target population.
RCORP-Planning funds will support 18 months of planning activities. For the purposes of this grant, planning activities are those that prepare a community to provide direct prevention, treatment, and recovery services. In addition to the required core planning activities (see Section IV.2, “Program Specific Instructions” for additional details), examples include (but are not limited to):
• Distributing naloxone to individuals/organizations who may need it;
• Providing community-based naloxone trainings;
• Recruiting and training providers and support staff in medication assisted treatment (NOTE: These grant funds cannot be used to pay providers/support staff to deliver medication assisted treatment);
• Creating a strategy to reach and engage individuals at high risk of SUD/OUD;
• Working with law enforcement to develop a diversion program;
• Training providers, administrative staff, and other relevant stakeholders to optimize reimbursement for treatment encounters through proper coding and billing.
Direct services may not be provided using these grant funds. Examples of direct services include (but are not limited to):
• Providing Medication Assisted Treatment
• Providing peer-based recovery services
• Transporting individuals to receive treatment
• Paying individuals to administer naloxone.
HRSA envisions that RCORP-Planning will establish the foundation for recipients to implement long-term, sustainable SUD/OUD services in the target rural area. HRSA also expects that planning activities will ensure that future OUD/SUD services are affordable and accessible.
If awarded you are encouraged to explore multiple avenues for sustainability, including alternate funding sources and optimizing reimbursement for treatment encounters.