Lead Hazard Reduction Capacity Building Grant Program | FR 6600 N 31

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6600 N 31

The Lead Hazard Reduction Capacity Building Grant Program is a discretionary funding opportunity from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to help communities that do not yet have a strong, ready-to-run lead hazard control program build the core systems needed to launch one. The focus is on creating the operational infrastructure to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned housing, including both owner-occupied and rental units. A key eligibility condition is that the applicant must not have received a HUD lead hazard control grant, or been a sub-recipient of one, since January 1, 2010. By targeting jurisdictions without recent HUD lead funding, the program aims to expand lead hazard control capacity into places that may be behind on staffing, procedures, partnerships, and data systems needed to do this work at scale.

The opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 14.912 (Housing). Eligible applicants include state governments, Federally recognized Native American tribal governments (with an EPA-authorized lead abatement certification program), and local governments such as cities, counties, parishes, townships, and special district governments, along with other applicants as clarified in HUDs eligibility language. The funding opportunity number is FR 6600 N 31. The posting lists an award ceiling of up to $2,500,000 per award and anticipates making about 20 awards. The original application closing date shown is June 27, 2023, with the deadline set at 11:59:59 PM Eastern time.

At its core, the grant is meant to build the practical capacity required to successfully implement a future full lead hazard control grant program. That means developing the local ability to understand where childhood lead poisoning is occurring, especially among children under six in the targeted communities, and then using that information to focus housing interventions where they will prevent the most harm. The program also emphasizes establishing the technical and operational ability to address lead hazards safely during lead hazard control projects and during common housing activities like renovation, remodeling, and routine maintenance. A central theme is the integration of lead-safe work practices so that lead hazards are not accidentally created or worsened during repairs.

The capacity-building activities described go beyond technical construction practices and extend into the day-to-day machinery of running an effective public program. HUD highlights the need to create and implement clear procedures and guidelines for program operations, including intake processes for potential participants. It also calls for systems that help ensure units made lead-safe are affirmatively marketed to families with young children, for example by advertising available units where lead-based paint hazards have been controlled. This reflects a public health equity goal: not only fixing hazards, but actively connecting safer housing to households most at risk.

Staffing and organizational readiness are also central. The program stresses hiring qualified staff and ensuring the organization has strong management and financial systems so it can execute quickly once funding is awarded. In practice, that implies building the administrative backbone that many communities lack, such as procurement readiness, contractor oversight capacity, budget controls, compliance workflows, and performance tracking.

Another major emphasis is cross-sector coordination, particularly between health and housing. The grant encourages collaboration, data sharing, and joint targeting between health departments (which often hold blood lead level surveillance data) and housing agencies (which can drive inspections, remediation, and enforcement). The opportunity also pushes applicants to develop partnerships and subgrantee relationships with groups that can extend reach and trust within communities, such as faith-based organizations, coalitions, community-based organizations, and health entities. These partnerships can support outreach, referrals, education, and navigation for families and property owners.

HUD also frames lead hazard control as something that should not operate in isolation. Applicants are expected to build strategies that integrate lead hazard control into existing housing repair and improvement systems, such as housing rehabilitation programs, local housing ordinances and property maintenance efforts, weatherization and energy conservation initiatives, and other housing-related health hazard interventions. This integration is important because lead-safe practices can be mainstreamed into routine repair pipelines, allowing communities to reduce lead risk more efficiently and sustainably than through stand-alone projects alone.

Finally, the program places heavy weight on data quality and long-term sustainability. Applicants are expected to improve the quality of local data so resources can be targeted where need is greatest, and to build systems that will keep a lead hazard control program functioning after the capacity-building grant ends. In other words, the goal is not just to run a short-term initiative, but to leave behind durable policies, partnerships, staffing structures, and workflows that can support ongoing lead hazard identification and control work well into the future.

• The US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the housing sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Lead Hazard Reduction Capacity Building Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 27, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 27, 2023 The application deadline is 115959 PM Eastern time on. (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 $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FR 6600 N 31

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