The Health Care Access Initiative(HCAI) on July 25, 2025, opened the application period for the Song Brown Primary Care Residency (PCR) grants and reminded applicants that completed applications are due Sept. 8, 2025, at 3 p.m., with an early-submission completeness review scheduled for Aug. 27, 2025, at 3 p.m.

The grants, administered by HCAIHealth Workforce Development, provide funding to residency and training programs to expand primary-care training in underserved communities. John Nguyen, program officer for Song Brown PCR, said the program has up to $31 million available in this cycle and outlined category-specific totals and application requirements.

HCAI staff outlined the most important application requirements and program rules for prospective applicants. Key points included how to register and set up roles in the funding portal, documentation required for new and expansion programs, the removal of an import feature for prior application data, and that demographic data on residents and graduates remains required for reporting even though underrepresented-in-medicine (URM) counts will not be scored this cycle pending legal review.

"Currently our e-app registration is now open," John Nguyen said, noting applicants may begin accounts immediately. He gave the application timeline and said, "Our application release date was on July 25, 2025. Our early submission review is Aug. 27, 2025. And our application deadline, very important here, is Sept. 8, 2025 at 3 p.m."

Why it matters: the Song Brown PCR grants are intended to fund residency slots, teaching health centers and program expansions that place trainees in medically underserved areas or sites serving large Medi-Cal populations. For programs seeking new slots, HCAI said eligibility depends on ACGME-related phases and, for some awards, a required match of 25 percent of the award amount.

Funding details provided by Nguyen listed category allocations: existing slots $8.6 million; teaching health centers $5.6 million; expansion slots $3.3 million; new programs $3.3 million; total available up to $31 million. New programs may be eligible for up to $1 million; new programs with a 25 percent match may seek up to $2 million.

HCAI staff described portal and application rules in detail. Applicants must register in the HCAI funding portal and select the "Organization for Healthcare Workforce Support" box (not the health-care-professional box) to access Song Brown PCR applications. All newly created accounts receive a grant-preparer role by default; only accounts assigned the program director role may initiate and submit applications. Nguyen instructed any program directors who need their role assigned to email the Song Brown inbox.

"All newly created accounts are assigned the grant preparer role. If you are the residency program director, however, please email us at songbrownhcai@hcaigov to request the program director role," Nguyen said. He added, "Only program directors may submit a completed application; grant preparers can view and edit but cannot submit."

The presenters emphasized exact-name and signatory accuracy: the contract/organization legal name must match the name on file with the IRS, and the STD-204 (Payee Data Record) signatory must be an authorized organizational signatory. HCAI warned incorrect information can delay award agreements.

For new-program applicants, HCAI said application phases A through D (and in some cases A through G) determine eligibility and what supporting documents are required at submission. Phase documentation examples include proof of ACGME application or accreditation activity (Phase A), a fiscal plan, project timeline and letters showing training sites recruited. For "new programs with match," applicants must show they will provide a 25 percent match of the award.

Nguyen announced several administrative changes and application rules: the portal import feature that previously copied training sites and graduate data from prior applications has been removed; payer-mix information is required for each primary training site (reported as whole numbers and not required to total 100); uploaded files must use specified filename prefixes; uploads may take up to 15 minutes; and some pages include tooltips to explain required fields.

On demographic reporting, Nguyen told attendees that HCAI will still collect race and ethnicity information for residents and graduates but that URM resident and URM graduate counts "will no longer be scored." Later in the Q&A he added the agencylegal office is reviewing whether the scoring change aligns with CaliforniaProposition 209.

"Currently, our legal office is reviewing that right now, and we're reviewing if it aligns with Prop 209," Nguyen said when asked why the data are no longer scored.

During the question-and-answer period, staff clarified common errors that delay applications: failing to enter resident or graduate data when applicable, submitting an incorrect contract organization name relative to IRS records, not providing the correct STD-204 signatories, adding out-of-state practice-site addresses for graduates when only California practice sites are required, and creating duplicate training-program entries without searching existing records first.

HCAI staff encouraged applicants to consult the grant guide and technical-assistance guide posted on the Song Brown PCR webpage and to use the early-submission completeness review to correct missing information; staff said early review looks for completeness and will prompt applicants to supply missing items but does not provide substantive application edits.

The presenters closed by reminding participants that the application portal will present a confirmation page with an application number after successful submission and that questions specific to an applicantshould be emailed to songbrownhcai@hcaigov. Chris Romina, lead communications analyst at Health Workforce Development, said both this webinar and an earlier session would be posted within 7 to 10 business days.

Article ending: Applicants should register in the HCAI funding portal well before the Sept. 8 deadline, verify their legal organization name and authorized signatories with finance or contracts offices, and consult the Song Brown grant and TA guides for required documents and filename prefixes. Questions about account roles, submission, or documentation should be sent to songbrownhcai@hcaigov.