Cooperative Newborn Screening System Priorities Program (NBS Co-Propel) | HRSA 24 052

Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 24 052

The Cooperative Newborn Screening System Priorities Program (NBS Co-Propel) is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) cooperative agreement funding opportunity designed to strengthen and modernize state and territory newborn screening (NBS) systems. Its central aim is to help ensure newborns and children who have, or may be at risk for, heritable disorders receive timely screening, clear communication of results, appropriate counseling, and access to health care services that support the best possible long-term outcomes. The program is framed around improving the real-world performance of the NBS system from the moment a baby is born through diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, with an emphasis on collaboration among public health agencies, clinical partners, and families.

Funding under this opportunity is intended for up to 10 recipients, with an award ceiling of $500,000. Recipients are expected to use the support to tackle state or territory-specific barriers and priorities, especially those that affect how quickly specimens are collected and processed, how fast results are reported, and how well the system connects families to care after an abnormal screen. A notable component is strengthening long-term follow-up (LTFU), particularly for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) and other conditions identified through newborn screening, in ways that intentionally link public health programs and clinicians while also building meaningful partnerships with families. The overall philosophy is to build on earlier HRSA investments by deepening collaboration with key NBS partners such as universities, nonprofits, and other specialized institutions, so that children identified through screening can access services and supports that help them remain healthy and thrive over time.

NBS Co-Propel is organized into two major focus areas. Focus Area 1 targets the front end of the screening pathway: improving specimen collection, laboratory testing, and results reporting. This includes efforts to increase timeliness across those steps and to implement screening for conditions newly added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP), which often requires updates to laboratory processes, workflows, and communications between birthing facilities, labs, and providers. Focus Area 2 centers on what happens after screening, spanning short-term follow-up through long-term follow-up and helping families navigate the journey from confirmatory diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care across the lifespan. This focus area explicitly includes expanding access to diagnostic and treatment resources for providers and families, with particular attention to infants with SCID and other NBS disorders, and it highlights reaching underserved populations and empowering families to participate and engage at all levels of the NBS system.

The opportunity sets clear performance targets to be achieved by June 2028, reflecting a strong emphasis on measurable improvements in speed, equity, and accountability. Programs are expected to increase by 5 percent the number of NBS specimens collected within 48 hours of birth, improve urgent communications by increasing by 10 percent the presumptive positive results for time-critical conditions that are communicated immediately to the newborns health care provider and no later than five days after birth, and increase by 5 percent the share of all NBS results (both normal and out-of-range) reported within seven days of birth, tracked overall and across all races and ethnicities to ensure progress is equitable. In addition to timeliness goals, recipients must strengthen long-term follow-up measurement: by June 2028, each participating state or territory NBS program must collect and report at least one NBS Long Term Follow Up Quality Indicator for at least one heritable condition identified through dried blood spot screening. Programs must also develop a data collection plan, in collaboration with NBS Excel, to measure the percentage of three-year-old children with at least one heritable condition identified through NBS who are thriving, and all related data and plans must be submitted to the recipient of NBS Excel (HRSA-23-077), signaling an expectation of coordination and shared measurement infrastructure.

Eligibility is broad but rooted in public systems and entities with relevant expertise. Applicants must be based in the United States and may include state governments and political subdivisions (such as counties, cities, townships, special districts, and independent school districts), consortia of two or more states or political subdivisions, US territories, and health facilities or programs operated by or through contracts or grants with the Indian Health Service. The announcement also allows other entities with appropriate newborn screening expertise as determined by the Secretary, including faith-based organizations, tribes, and tribal organizations. For purposes of this program, the term state includes not only the 50 states but also the District of Columbia and specified jurisdictions and freely associated states and territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau).

Administratively, this is a discretionary HRSA funding opportunity (CFDA 93.110) using a cooperative agreement structure, which typically indicates substantial programmatic involvement by the federal agency beyond what is seen in a standard grant. The opportunity is identified as HRSA-24-052, was created on 2023-11-21, and had an original closing date of 2024-02-23. Overall, NBS Co-Propel is aimed at helping state and territory newborn screening programs improve timeliness, coordination, family engagement, and long-term outcomes, while building stronger data and quality infrastructure to track whether children identified through screening are not just diagnosed, but supported well enough to thrive.

• The Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Newborn Screening System Priorities Program (NBS Co-Propel)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.110.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-23. (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 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Others.

Apply for HRSA 24 052

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