The California Health Care Access and Information office said the Song Brown family nurse practitioner, physician assistant and certified nurse midwifery grant applications are open and available through HCAI’s eApp system, with an early submission review deadline of 3 p.m. Sept. 9 and a final submission deadline of 3 p.m. Sept. 24.

Why it matters: Song Brown grants fund education and training intended to expand primary care services in underserved California communities; timely, accurate applications are necessary for award consideration and for HCAI to prepare contracts and payments.

HCAI lead communications analyst Chris Rowena opened the webinar and directed applicants to eApp and the agency’s web resources. Charles Foust, grant officer for the Song Brown FNP/PA program, said, “The applications for FNP and PA, as well as CNM, are open now and have been since August 12,” and emphasized the agency’s fixed 3 p.m. open/close times.

Applicants must register in the eApp system before applying. HCAI advised using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge and warned that other browsers (for example, Internet Explorer) are no longer supported. New organizations may require up to five days for eApp approval; HCAI recommended registering early. Only users with the Grantee Director role can certify and submit an application; program directors may delegate preparer access but only directors may submit.

Foust said applicants should confirm their organization’s authority to enter agreements with HCAI before applying and have accounting and signatory information ready. HCAI instructs applicants to ensure the organization address and signatory information match IRS reporting (W-9/STD-204) because the information will be used to prepare grant agreements and DocuSign routing.

Required uploads include the program’s most recent accreditation or approval letter (file names must begin with APPR_). Foust also recommended collecting graduates’ National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), training-site payer-mix data for sites where students logged the most hours, and cumulative program expenditure figures for the 2024–25 academic year. He said training-site payer-mix is a scored item and that payer-mix information should be obtained directly from the training sites’ administrative office.

HCAI offers an early submission review: applicants who submit by 3 p.m. on Sept. 9 can receive written feedback and an opportunity to revise the application for final submission. Foust described the process: staff review early submissions, email a list of feedback, reopen the application and allow edits before final submission.

HCAI said award decisions are anticipated to be posted in January 2026.

Less critical details: the agency will post a recording of the webinar on its website and YouTube within seven to 10 business days after making it ADA‑compliant. HCAI also directs applicants to a grant guide, a technical assistance guide with page‑by‑page screenshots of eApp, and program pages for FNP/PA and CNM that contain resource links and contact information.

Contact and next step: HCAI provided a dedicated email, songbrown@hcai.ca.gov, for application questions and encouraged applicants to download the grant and technical assistance guides, confirm signatory authority before applying and to use the early submission review if possible.