Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP)

Program Title

Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP)

Agency/Sub-Agency

HRSA/BHPr

Description

The goal of the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) is to assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake education to enter a health profession.The HCOP program works to build diversity in the health fields by providing students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to develop the skills needed to successfully compete, enter and graduate from health professions schools.The legislative purposes, from which HCOP funds maybe awarded are:

1. identifying, recruiting and selecting individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for education and training in a health profession;
2. facilitating the entry of such individuals into such a school;
3. providing counseling, mentoring, or other services designed to assist such individuals to complete successfully their education at such a school;
4. providing, for a period prior to the entry of such individuals into the regular course of education at such a school, preliminary education and health research training designed to assist them to complete successfully such regular course education at such a school, or referring such individuals to institutions providing such preliminary education;
5. publicizing existing sources of financial aid available to students in the education program of such a school or who are undertaking training necessary to qualify them to enroll in such a program;
6. paying scholarships, such as the Secretary may determine, for such individuals for any period of health professions education at a health professions school;
7. paying stipends for such individuals for any period of education in student-enhancement programs (other than regular courses), except that such a stipend may not be provided to an individual for more than 12 months;
8. carrying out programs under which such individuals gain experience regarding a career in a field of primary health care through working at facilities of public or private nonprofit community-based providers of primary health services;
9. conducting activities to develop a larger and more competitive applicant pool through partnerships with institutions of higher education, school districts and other community-based entities.

Eligible Entity(ies)

Eligible applicants include schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, public health, dentistry,veterinary medicine, optometry, pharmacy, allied health, chiropractic, podiatric medicine, public or non- profit private schools that offer graduate programs in behavioral and mental health, programs for the training of physician assistants, and other public or private nonprofit health or educational entities,including faith-based organizations and community-based organizations.

Intended Beneficiaries

Disadvantaged Students

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.

93.822

CFDA Category

Education

CFDA Sub-Category(ies)

Health Education and Training

Keyword(s)

Health, Diversity, Education

HHS Announcement No.

HRSA-08-057

New Funding Opportunity

Yes

Competition Type: (N), (CC) or (M)

N

Single Source / Limited Competition

NA

Est Annual Min Award

$932,016.00

Est Annual Max Award

$932,016

Est Number of Awards

4

Est Posting Date

10/1/2007

Est Application Deadline

2/22/2008

Est Award Date

8/31/2008

Est Start Date

8/31/2008

Program Contact Name

Stuart Weiss

Program Contact Telephone No.

(301) 443-5644

Program Contact Email

sweiss@hrsa.gov

Agency Forecast ID No.

HRSA24