Emergency Repatriation Planning, Training, and Exercises | HHS 2026 ACF OHSEPR RR 0009

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2026 ACF OHSEPR RR 0009

The Emergency Repatriation Planning, Training, and Exercises grant opportunity (HHS 2026 ACF OHSEPR RR 0009) is a discretionary funding announcement from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR). It uses a cooperative agreement model, which generally means recipients should expect active federal involvement and coordination during the period of performance, especially around planning standards, exercise expectations, and alignment with the national U.S. Repatriation Program framework. The assistance is tied to CFDA 93.579 and sits within the broader public mission area of income security and social services, reflecting its focus on helping vulnerable returning U.S. citizens access short-term support during crises.

The opportunity is built around the U.S. Repatriation Program, which exists to provide temporary assistance to eligible U.S. citizens and their dependents who are returned to the United States by the U.S. Department of State under emergency circumstances. The covered situations include destitution, illness, war, threat of war, or similar crises in a foreign country, when the individual has no available resources, as well as cases involving mental illness. Under 42 U.S.C. 1313(c), this temporary assistance begins upon arrival in the United States and is initially available for up to 90 days from the repatriate’s date of arrival. A key point that shapes program operations is that the assistance is provided as a service loan, meaning it is repayable to the U.S. Government rather than being a typical non-repayable benefit. OHSEPR leads domestic planning, coordination, and execution for repatriation plans and operations, while partners operating under Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) support OHSEPR in delivering the temporary assistance and carrying out mission activities when an emergency repatriation event occurs.

The main goal of the funding opportunity is preparedness: increasing state or territorial readiness and operational capability to carry out emergency repatriation missions. The funding is intended to support planning, training, and exercises that strengthen a jurisdiction’s ability to receive repatriates, coordinate services, and integrate repatriation operations into broader emergency management and human services systems. The work is meant to culminate in a concrete deliverable: an updated emergency repatriation plan for the state or territory. In other words, the grant is less about direct service delivery during a real-world incident and more about ensuring that, if a sudden repatriation event happens, the jurisdiction has staff who know their roles, procedures that are practiced, partners who are coordinated, and a plan that reflects current capabilities and gaps.

The NOFO’s stated purpose has two parts. First, it aims to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities of states or territories to conduct emergency repatriation operations, which typically implies structured training, role-based preparation, and practical coordination mechanisms across agencies and partner organizations. Second, it seeks to increase the number of states or territories that are sufficiently prepared for an emergency repatriation incident, signaling an emphasis on measurable readiness outcomes such as completed training cycles, executed exercises, identified corrective actions, and finalized plan updates. Because OHSEPR retains a leadership role in national repatriation operations, the preparedness activities funded here are likely intended to align closely with federal expectations for how repatriation missions are managed, including coordination channels, information sharing, and operational workflows among human services, emergency management, public health, and other stakeholders.

Eligibility for this opportunity is broad across domestic organizations that can contribute to planning and preparedness, including state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including small businesses). At the same time, the NOFO clearly excludes certain applicants: individuals (including sole proprietorships), federal entities, and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from merit review and funding. This makes the program primarily a jurisdictional and organizational preparedness investment rather than an individual fellowship or direct-to-person support mechanism.

Funding is limited and competitive. The award ceiling is $375,000, and OHSEPR expects to make 2 awards, indicating a small cohort of recipients. The original closing date for applications is August 17, 2026, and the opportunity was posted on July 17, 2026. Taken together, this is a targeted preparedness grant meant to help a small number of jurisdictions or organizations significantly strengthen repatriation readiness through structured planning, training, and exercise activities, producing an updated repatriation plan that can be used when the Department of State returns eligible U.S. citizens and dependents to the United States during overseas crises.

• The Administration for Children and Families - OHSEPR in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Emergency Repatriation Planning, Training, and Exercises" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.579.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-07-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-08-17. (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 $375,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for HHS 2026 ACF OHSEPR RR 0009

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