Policy Briefs June 2026

On June 26, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)s opened applications for the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) Program, a federal funding opportunity that supports health professions schools to offer scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Applications for HRSA-26-096 are due July 28, 2026, by 11:59 p.m. ET. HRSA will also host a technical assistance webinar on July 8, 2026, from 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET.

The current notice identifies eligible health professions programs across a broad range of fields, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, behavioral and mental health, public health, allied health, midwifery, and physician assistant studies. Graduate programs in clinical social work are included under behavioral and mental health.

According to the funding notice, HRSA expects to make approximately 80 awards, with an estimated $51,079,900 available in FY 2026. The listed award range is $1 to $650,000, and there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement.

What’s New in This Solicitation
The new solicitation now opens with a broad statement requiring all proposed activities to comply with current federal law, executive orders, and court decisions. It specifically states that federal funds may not be used to:

The solicitation also includes some new language new language around determining which students qualify as “vulnerable.” The solicitation also references the Make America Healthy Again initiative and incorporates guidance from the Department of Justice (DOJ), among other changes.

Apply on Grants.gov

On June 24, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily stayed extra-statutory requirements that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) added to its professional degree definition under the RISE final rule. As a result, ED published an interim list of programs it will treat as awarding professional degrees for the duration of the court’s stay. These programs are now eligible for professional-level loan limits ($50,000 annual, $200,000 aggregate). Unfortunately, the social work profession was not included in the interim list of programs and will not qualify for the professional-level loan limits.

The stay is preliminary and remains in effect only pending further proceedings. The federal government retains an immediate right to appeal the stay and could seek to have the appellate court reverse or pause the district court’s order. ED’s announcement states that these interim designations “may change as litigation proceeds” and recommends that institutions consider capping loan disbursements at graduate-level amounts for programs temporarily classified as professional, specifically to protect students if the stay is later reversed or narrowed.

CSWE will continue to monitor the implementation of the final rule and the anticipated litigation that will follow.

On June 17, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced $96 million in funding at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) for a new Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program as part of the Great American Recovery Initiative. The program will provide up to eight awards of $3 million annually for four years to help communities address substance use and mental health disorders, connect individuals to treatment, and support recovery. Eligible applicants are cities, counties, and Indian tribes or tribal organizations, though hospitals, educational institutions, businesses, and other stakeholders may participate through formal partnerships established via memoranda of understanding (MOUs). The program does not fund harm reduction services such as syringe services programs (SSPs). Applications are due July 17, 2026.

Additionally, HHS is soliciting comments on a request for information (RFI) on the Chronic Disease of Addiction. Much like in the STREETS solicitation, the RFI highlights the Administration’s opposition to using harm reduction practices in its approach to tackling the overdose and addiction crisis. In particular, the RFI requests comments on the following topics:

Strengthening Agency Collaboration

Engaging Faith-Based Providers

Development of Non-Opioid Options

Integration of Health Records

Implementing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder

Ending Support for Harm Reduction

Interested parties are not required to respond to all aspects of the RFI. HHS indicates that stakeholder responses may be reflected in future solicitations or policies. Organizations with successful research programs or policy ideas are encouraged to leave comments ahead of the July 5, 2026, deadline.

CSWE will continue to monitor opportunities relevant to the social work profession and update membership accordingly.

On June 16, ED announced(opens in a new tab) four new Interagency Agreements (IAAs) with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). HHS will partner with ED on special education and rehabilitative services (under one IAA), and DOJ will partner with ED on civil rights enforcement, student privacy protection, and training and advisory services, outlined in three separate IAA’s. A fact sheet on the IAA’s with HHS can be found here(opens in a new tab), and the fact sheet(s) on the IAA’s with DOJ can be found at the bottom of ED’s press release found here(opens in a new tab).

While the Administration continues to move functions outside of ED through administrative actions, the Department cannot be eliminated without congressional approval. Because the Department of Education was established by statute, formally abolishing the agency or transferring many of its statutory responsibilities would require legislation passed by Congress and signed into law. In the meantime, Congress continues to exercise oversight of these agreements, with lawmakers from both parties raising questions about implementation, continuity of services, and whether the transfers are consistent with existing statutory authorities.

On June 8, the House Appropriations Committee released its full report for the FY 2027 Labor-HHS-Education bill. For programs within the Department of Education (ED), the bill proposes to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $7,445 for the 2027-2028 award year. It would fund the Federal Work Study (FWS) program at $908 million, a decrease of approximately $322 million from the enacted FY 2026 level but is significantly more than the $123 million that was proposed in President Trump’s FY 2027 Budget Request (PBR). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be funded at $47.3 billion, an increase of $100 million or 0.2% over FY 2026 enacted levels.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) would receive $8.7 billion in discretionary funding, notably more than the $1.9 billion in discretionary funding that was proposed in the PBR. Within HRSA, the bill would provide:

» $159 million for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) programs, a $1 million increase from FY 2026 levels;

» $48.2 million for the Geriatrics programs including the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program and Geriatric Academic Career Awards.

» $40 million for the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program, flat funding with FY 2026 enacted levels; and,

» $55 million for Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) would be funded at $7.3 billion in FY 2027, consistent with FY 2026 enacted levels. Within SAMHSA, the bill would level fund the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) in the amount of $19,516,000.