Opportunity Information: Apply for HRSA 13 184
Apply for HRSA 13 184
- The Health Resources and Services Administration in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "MCH Research Network on Promoting Healthy Weight (HW RN) among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other Special Health Care Needs" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.110 Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 6, 2012 and posted on Dec 6, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 4, 2013. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Private institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Small businesses For profit organizations other than small businesses Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification) Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
- Only public and nonprofit agencies, including institutions of higher education, engaged in research related to promoting healthy weight through the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity and/or children and youth with autism spectrum disorde
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Opportunity Summary:
The MCH Research Network on Promoting Healthy Weight (HW RN) among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other Special Health Care Needs is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) grant opportunity designed to create a coordinated, interdisciplinary national research network focused on healthy weight in children and adolescents with special health care needs. The core idea is to bring together leading experts who can align research efforts, identify what is still unknown, and build a practical research agenda that improves prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in populations that face higher risk and more complex health and access challenges than the general pediatric population. While ASD is a central focus, the opportunity explicitly includes other special needs groups such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and spina bifida, and it leaves room for additional special health care needs populations as appropriate.
The funding emphasizes that children and youth with ASD and other special health care needs are more likely to experience overweight or obesity and, as a result, may also be more vulnerable to chronic and secondary conditions linked to excess weight. The announcement highlights a broad set of obesity-related health consequences that are relevant to these populations, including conditions like asthma, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, musculoskeletal pain, sleep apnea, low self-esteem, and early maturation. A major priority is improving the field s understanding of the true scope of the problem (how common overweight and obesity are in these groups), why risk may be elevated, and how weight status interacts with other medical, behavioral, and social factors over time.
A central expectation is that the Network will be genuinely interdisciplinary and include national-level expertise in both pediatric obesity and the specific special needs populations being studied. Depending on the research agenda the applicants propose, the Network may also incorporate specialists in fields such as health education and promotion, epidemiology, health psychology, and health services/administration. The intention is not simply to fund a single study, but to establish a collaborative structure that can set shared priorities, coordinate research activities across partners, and create momentum for a sustained body of work that can later attract additional funding from MCHB and other sources.
The opportunity lays out several major categories of work the Network should carry out. One is data-driven research using existing large or population-based datasets and/or health records to clarify prevalence, key risk factors, and associated chronic or secondary conditions. The risk factors called out in the announcement span multiple levels, including dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behavior, parenting styles and family characteristics, medication use, and broader community, demographic, and societal characteristics. This signals that the Network should not treat obesity as purely an individual behavior issue, but instead examine the full context shaping health behaviors and outcomes for children with disabilities and complex health needs.
Another expected area is formative research that captures the lived experience and perspectives of children and adolescents with special health care needs, and by implication their families and caregivers. This includes understanding how young people perceive and experience excess weight, what barriers they face in physical activity and healthy eating, and which psychological, biological, medical, social, and environmental influences most affect weight-related behaviors. This type of formative work is meant to ensure that later interventions are realistic, acceptable, and responsive to the constraints and priorities that families in these communities actually face.
The grant also aims to move beyond describing problems by supporting early-stage intervention development and testing. Applicants are encouraged to identify effective approaches and/or test the initial efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of intervention programs intended to reduce excessive weight among children and youth with ASD and other special health care needs. A specific suggestion in the announcement is to adapt an existing successful program originally designed for children without special health care needs, and then tailor it thoughtfully for special needs populations. This reflects a practical approach: build from evidence-based models when possible, but modify them to account for differences in communication, sensory needs, mobility limitations, medication effects, family burden, and service access that can make standard programs less effective or less usable.
A further priority is strengthening how these populations are represented in surveillance and health promotion systems. The Network is expected to identify opportunities to include children and adolescents with special health care needs in ongoing statewide or national surveillance efforts and health promotion programs. This matters because many surveillance systems undercount or fail to capture disability-related variables well, which can hide disparities and delay targeted solutions. Improving inclusion in surveillance helps policymakers and public health leaders see trends, allocate resources, and track whether interventions are actually closing gaps.
Dissemination is treated as a core responsibility rather than an afterthought. Applicants are expected to develop a plan to share Network findings through peer-reviewed publications, webinars, meetings, and related activities. Importantly, dissemination is framed not only as communication among researchers, but as active knowledge transfer to broader audiences such as clinicians and interdisciplinary care teams, policymakers, educators, and the general public. The announcement explicitly includes family members of children with ASD and other special health care needs as a key audience, reinforcing the expectation that results be accessible and actionable beyond academic circles.
Equity and access are built into the program expectations in line with HRSA s mission. Applicants are asked to describe how the Network will address the needs of underserved populations, which can include low-income communities, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, people with limited access to services, and other underserved groups as defined by the applicant. MCHB also stresses that research activities should be responsive to cultural and linguistic needs, that services and approaches should be family-centered and accessible to consumers, and that the Network should support broad representation of culturally distinct and historically underrepresented groups. In practice, this pushes applicants to show how recruitment, measurement, intervention design, and dissemination will work for families who may face language barriers, transportation limits, insurance gaps, rural isolation, or long-standing discrimination in health systems.
Structurally, this opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number HRSA-13-184) was offered as a cooperative agreement in the health category, meaning HRSA would typically have substantial involvement compared with a standard grant mechanism. The posting date was December 6, 2012, with an original and final closing date of February 4, 2013, and it was later archived on April 5, 2013. The opportunity anticipated a single award (Expected Awards: 1), and it stated no cost-sharing or matching requirement. Eligible applicants included a range of organizations, with eligibility language emphasizing public and nonprofit agencies (including institutions of higher education) engaged in relevant research, even though the broader eligibility list also referenced categories like small businesses and for-profit organizations; the announcement indicates applicants should rely on the additional eligibility clarification in the full text. The CFDA number associated with the program was 93.110 (Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs), and HRSA provided the standard call center contact for technical assistance accessing the announcement.
Overall, the grant opportunity is best understood as an effort to organize the field: create a national research network that can map what is known and unknown about obesity risk in ASD and other special health care needs populations, leverage existing data to quantify prevalence and drivers, conduct formative research to ground solutions in real-world experiences, pilot and tailor interventions that are practical for these communities, improve inclusion in surveillance systems, and widely disseminate results so they translate into better clinical guidance, stronger community programs, and more informed policy decisions.
FAQs: MCH Research Network on Promoting Healthy Weight (HW RN) Among Children with ASD and Other Special Health Care Needs
What is this grant opportunity?
This opportunity is the MCH Research Network on Promoting Healthy Weight (HW RN) among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other Special Health Care Needs. It is a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) grant designed to establish a coordinated, interdisciplinary national research network focused on healthy weight in children and adolescents with special health care needs.
What is the main purpose of the Research Network?
The main purpose is to bring together leading experts to align research efforts, identify key knowledge gaps, and build a practical research agenda that improves prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in children and youth with ASD and other special health care needs. The intent is to create a collaborative structure that can coordinate research activities across partners and build momentum for sustained work.
Is the focus only on autism (ASD)?
No. While ASD is a central focus, the opportunity explicitly includes other special health care needs populations such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and spina bifida. It also leaves room for additional special health care needs populations as appropriate.
Why does HRSA/MCHB emphasize healthy weight in these populations?
The funding emphasizes that children and youth with ASD and other special health care needs are more likely to experience overweight or obesity. Because of this elevated risk, they may also be more vulnerable to chronic and secondary conditions linked to excess weight, and they often face more complex health and access challenges than the general pediatric population.
What obesity-related health consequences are highlighted in the announcement?
The announcement lists a broad set of obesity-related consequences relevant to these populations, including asthma, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, musculoskeletal pain, sleep apnea, low self-esteem, and early maturation.
What kinds of research questions is the Network expected to address?
A major priority is improving understanding of the true scope of the problem (including how common overweight and obesity are in these groups), why risk may be elevated, and how weight status interacts with medical, behavioral, and social factors over time.
Is this intended to fund one study or something broader?
It is intended to be broader than a single study. The opportunity emphasizes establishing a collaborative national network that can set shared priorities, coordinate research across partners, and create a sustained body of work that can later attract additional funding from MCHB and other sources.
What does "interdisciplinary" mean in the context of this Network?
The Network is expected to include national-level expertise in both pediatric obesity and the specific special needs populations being studied. Depending on the proposed agenda, it may also include fields such as health education and promotion, epidemiology, health psychology, and health services/administration.
What types of data sources does the opportunity encourage for research?
The opportunity calls for data-driven research using existing large or population-based datasets and/or health records to clarify prevalence, identify key risk factors, and understand associated chronic or secondary conditions.
What risk factors related to overweight/obesity are specifically called out?
The announcement cites multi-level risk factors, including dietary intake, physical activity, sedentary behavior, parenting styles and family characteristics, medication use, and broader community, demographic, and societal characteristics.
Does the opportunity treat obesity as only an individual behavior issue?
No. The emphasis on family characteristics, medication use, and community/demographic/societal factors signals that the Network should examine the full context shaping behaviors and outcomes for children with disabilities and complex health needs.
What is "formative research" expected to cover?
Formative research is expected to capture lived experiences and perspectives of children and adolescents with special health care needs (and, by implication, their families and caregivers). This includes understanding how youth perceive and experience excess weight, barriers to physical activity and healthy eating, and psychological, biological, medical, social, and environmental influences on weight-related behaviors.
Why is formative research important in this program?
It is meant to ensure later interventions are realistic, acceptable, and responsive to the constraints and priorities that families in these communities face.
Does the opportunity support intervention development and testing?
Yes. The grant aims to move beyond problem description by supporting early-stage intervention development and testing, including identifying effective approaches and/or testing initial efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of programs intended to reduce excessive weight among children and youth with ASD and other special health care needs.
Can applicants adapt existing weight programs rather than invent new ones?
Yes. A specific suggestion is to adapt an existing successful program originally designed for children without special health care needs and tailor it for special needs populations.
What kinds of tailoring considerations are implied by the announcement?
The announcement signals the need to account for differences that can affect program usability and effectiveness, including communication needs, sensory needs, mobility limitations, medication effects, family burden, and service access.
What is the surveillance-related expectation for the Network?
The Network is expected to identify opportunities to include children and adolescents with special health care needs in ongoing statewide or national surveillance efforts and health promotion programs, addressing the problem that some systems undercount or do not capture disability-related variables well.
Why does inclusion in surveillance systems matter?
Improving inclusion helps policymakers and public health leaders see trends, allocate resources, and track whether interventions are reducing disparities.
What dissemination activities are expected?
Dissemination is a core responsibility. Applicants are expected to share findings through peer-reviewed publications, webinars, meetings, and related activities, with an emphasis on knowledge transfer beyond researchers.
Who are the intended audiences for dissemination?
The announcement frames dissemination for researchers and broader audiences, including clinicians and interdisciplinary care teams, policymakers, educators, the general public, and family members of children with ASD and other special health care needs.
How does the opportunity address equity, underserved populations, and access?
Applicants are asked to describe how the Network will address the needs of underserved populations, which may include low-income communities, racial and ethnic minorities, immigrants, people with limited access to services, and other underserved groups as defined by the applicant. MCHB stresses cultural and linguistic responsiveness, family-centered and consumer-accessible approaches, and broad representation of culturally distinct and historically underrepresented groups.
What practical barriers for underserved families are implied in the announcement?
The announcement points to real-world constraints that can affect participation and impact, such as language barriers, transportation limits, insurance gaps, rural isolation, and discrimination in health systems.
What is the funding mechanism for this opportunity?
This opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number HRSA-13-184) was offered as a cooperative agreement in the health category, meaning HRSA would typically have substantial involvement compared with a standard grant mechanism.
What are the key dates for this funding opportunity?
The posting date was December 6, 2012. The original and final closing date was February 4, 2013. The opportunity was later archived on April 5, 2013.
How many awards were expected?
The opportunity anticipated a single award (Expected Awards: 1).
Is cost-sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity stated there was no cost-sharing or matching requirement.
Who was eligible to apply based on the summary provided?
Eligible applicants included a range of organizations, with eligibility language emphasizing public and nonprofit agencies (including institutions of higher education) engaged in relevant research. The broader eligibility list also referenced categories such as small businesses and for-profit organizations, and the announcement indicates applicants should rely on additional eligibility clarification in the full text.
What CFDA number is associated with this program?
The CFDA number associated with the program was 93.110 (Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs).
What role does HRSA play in this type of award?
Because it is a cooperative agreement, HRSA would typically have substantial involvement compared with a standard grant mechanism, consistent with the structure described in the opportunity summary.
Does the opportunity mention technical assistance for accessing the announcement?
Yes. HRSA provided a standard call center contact for technical assistance accessing the announcement.
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