Reducing Disparities in Vaccination Coverage by Poverty Status Among Young Children: An Assessment of Parental Experience, Barriers, and Challenges with Accessing Quality Vaccination Services | RFA IP 18 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA IP 18 001

This grant opportunity, titled "Reducing Disparities in Vaccination Coverage by Poverty Status Among Young Children: An Assessment of Parental Experience, Barriers, and Challenges with Accessing Quality Vaccination Services" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA IP 18 001), was released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It was offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement in the health category (CFDA 93.185). The overall aim is to generate a clearer, parent-centered understanding of why vaccination coverage differs between young children living below the poverty level and those living at or above it, with a focus on real-world experiences that shape access, utilization, and completion of recommended childhood vaccines.

The core purpose of the funding is to learn directly from parents and guardians of young children about the specific factors that contribute to observed disparities by poverty status. The CDC is looking for an assessment that surfaces practical barriers families face when trying to get children vaccinated, including difficulties accessing vaccination services at all (for example, transportation challenges, limited clinic hours, long wait times, lack of nearby providers, or difficulties getting appointments). The opportunity also highlights concerns about the quality of vaccination services, which can include issues such as inconsistent or unclear communication, rushed encounters, lack of culturally or linguistically appropriate care, poor service coordination, or gaps in follow-up and reminder systems that help families stay on schedule.

A notable emphasis in the description is the role of Medicaid and policy-related barriers that may disproportionately affect low-income families. This can involve complications tied to coverage and eligibility, provider participation, reimbursement-related constraints, administrative hurdles, or other program rules that shape where and how children can receive vaccines. The NOFO also signals interest in how parents knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about vaccination influence uptake, including trust in health care, confidence in vaccine safety and effectiveness, exposure to misinformation, and the perceived importance of vaccination compared with other immediate household needs. Competing priorities are specifically mentioned, recognizing that families living in poverty often must make tradeoffs among work schedules, childcare, housing instability, food insecurity, and other urgent demands that can push preventive care, including immunizations, down the list even when parents value it.

In practical terms, the project supported by this funding would be expected to gather and synthesize parental and guardian perspectives in a way that helps explain not just whether barriers exist, but how they are experienced and how they interact. The intent is to move beyond broad assumptions and capture what the pathway to vaccination actually looks like for families in different economic circumstances, including points where the process breaks down. The findings would ideally help public health agencies and partners identify actionable levers to improve service delivery, reduce administrative friction, and design interventions that address both access and experience, rather than focusing only on messaging or education.

The funding structure is a cooperative agreement, which generally means the CDC expects to be substantially involved during the project period compared with a standard grant. While the specific activities are not spelled out in the provided excerpt, cooperative agreements typically involve closer collaboration with the agency on project direction, deliverables, and alignment with federal public health priorities. The NOFO anticipated making a single award, with an award ceiling of $300,000, indicating the CDC intended to fund one lead organization to conduct this assessment and produce insights that could inform broader strategies.

Eligibility for applicants was broad and included multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), independent school districts, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, other tribal organizations, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status. This wide eligibility suggests the CDC was open to proposals from public health agencies, academic research groups, community-based organizations, and tribal entities, provided they had the capacity to conduct rigorous assessment work and engage meaningfully with parents of young children across income groups.

Key administrative details include the opportunitys creation date of November 14, 2017, and an original application closing date of January 18, 2018, with electronic submissions due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted effort to document and analyze parent-reported barriers and experiences that help explain poverty-linked gaps in childhood vaccination coverage, with the longer-term goal of informing improvements to access, quality, and equity in vaccination services for young children.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Reducing Disparities in Vaccination Coverage by Poverty Status Among Young Children: An Assessment of Parental Experience, Barriers, and Challenges with Accessing Quality Vaccination Services" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.185.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 14, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 18, 2018 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 500 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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 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.

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