Rooted in Health: Establish or Expand Accredited Dental Hygiene Programs

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, through the Kentucky Department for Public Health, issued this Request for Application under the Rural Health Transformation Program to establish or expand accredited dental hygiene programs as part of the Rooted in Health: Rural Dental Access initiative. Kentucky's broader Rural Health Transformation Plan is supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through the Rural Health Transformation Fund and is intended to expand access and improve health outcomes for rural residents across the state. Within that larger strategy, this opportunity focuses on strengthening the dental hygienist workforce pipeline so more preventive oral health services can reach underserved rural communities. The solicitation explains that Kentucky's plan includes five interconnected initiatives and identifies rural dental access as one of them, with an emphasis on training programs, externships, and support for public health dental hygiene capacity. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to help academic institutions either launch new CODA-accredited dental hygiene programs or expand existing ones. The program is specifically designed to increase the number of dental hygiene training slots, strengthen partnerships with rural service sites such as Local Health Departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and rural clinics, improve rural training capacity and service reach, and do so in a cost-effective, sustainable, and compliant way. Compliance is tied directly to the standards of the Commission on Dental Accreditation, which the RFA defines as the recognized accreditor for dental education programs. The notice also defines rural broadly enough to include non-metropolitan counties and outlying metropolitan counties that do not include an urban area of 50,000 or more, including counties considered partially rural. Eligible applicants are nonprofit, Kentucky-based educational institutions that can educate, train, and supervise dental hygiene students in accordance with CODA standards. The RFA says this may include public or private colleges and universities, community and technical colleges, and other nonprofit academic institutions or consortia authorized to host CODA-accredited dental hygiene programs. Funded programs are expected to demonstrate readiness and commitment across six major CODA domains: institutional effectiveness, educational program quality, administration and staffing, educational support services, health and safety provisions, and patient care services. The solicitation therefore favors applicants that can show not only academic authority and leadership capacity, but also the facilities, staffing, clinical supervision, and operational systems necessary to support compliant training. The total amount of funding available beginning July 1, 2026 for accredited dental hygiene programs is $9.9 million, though the RFA does not set a standard minimum or maximum award size and states that award sizes may vary depending on the number of applicants and proposed budgets. Allowable uses of funds include personnel costs for a program director and faculty, renovation of existing buildings to house the program, equipment to support learning and simulation, teaching supplies, and fees associated with obtaining CODA accreditation. The RFA is explicit that funds may not be used for new construction or significant retrofitting of buildings because of CMS restrictions. Indirect costs are allowed up to 10 percent of total costs, and total administrative costs funded through both direct and indirect charges also may not exceed 10 percent of the total award value. The funding timeline places strong emphasis on readiness: applicants seeking funding available July 1, 2026 are expected to spend at least 50 percent of their anticipated total start-up costs by September 30, 2027. Applications are to be submitted by email to pam.stein@ky.gov. The application packet must include a one-page cover sheet with the program title, institution name, and main contact information; an application narrative of no more than twenty-five pages; and supporting documentation outside that page count. The narrative must address project intent and target population, methodology for launching the program, barriers and mitigation strategies, an evaluation plan, a sustainability plan, and a timeline with milestones and deliverables aligned to the funding schedule. Required supporting materials include letters of support from institutional leadership, documentation of engagement with rural community sites such as Local Health Departments, FQHCs, rural clinics, or rural high schools, and an FY27 budget using the required Attachment A template. The submission process itself is straightforward because the RFA does not describe a portal, registration prerequisite, or mandatory letter of intent for submission. Applications will be reviewed competitively using a 100-point scoring structure. Reviewers will examine application parameters such as whether pages are clearly marked and whether the budget is submitted in the required template. Program readiness scoring looks at leadership support, qualified faculty capacity, and whether the applicant accounts for CODA accreditation timing. Rural reach and impact scoring emphasizes the number of rural training slots proposed, the strength of the rural student pipeline and rural job placement plan, and documentation of rural partnerships. Sustainability scoring focuses on student recruitment and retention as well as post-grant financial viability. Additional points are assigned to the implementation timeline and the overall reasonableness of the budget. The RFA was released April 20, 2026, with an information session on April 28, 2026, office hours on May 8, 2026, applications due May 22, 2026, notification expected June 26, 2026, and the funding period beginning July 1, 2026. The solicitation says applications will be considered on a rolling basis, but it also sets a firm deadline for guaranteed consideration for the July 1, 2026 funding start. It further notes that similar opportunities are expected in future years of the Rural Health Transformation Program, which suggests a continuing initiative even though each competition may align to a specific budget period.

Use the required budget template and clearly mark requested pages; document qualified leadership and faculty credentials; fully account for CODA accreditation timing; quantify the number of rural training slots to be added or expanded; provide evidence of a rural student pipeline and rural job placement plan; include formal rural partnership documentation such as letters of support or MOUs; show a credible recruitment retention and post-grant financial sustainability plan; make Year 1 milestones specific time-bound and feasible, with at least 50% of start-up costs ready to be spent by 2027-09-30