Health Care Access and Information (HCAI) staff on a webinar said the Song Brown grant applications for family nurse practitioner (FNP), physician assistant (PA) and certified nurse midwifery (CNM) programs have been open since Aug. 12 and that applicants seeking an early completeness review must submit their applications before 3 p.m. on Sept. 9; the final deadline is 3 p.m. on Sept. 24.

The Song Brown program funds education and training intended to expand primary care services in underserved communities, HCAI program staff said. Charles Fost, program officer for the Song Brown FNP/PA grants, summarized the program’s statutory priorities as “graduating individuals to practice in medically underserved areas, enrolling members of underrepresented groups in medicine, locating the program's main training site in a medically underserved area, and operating a main training site at which most of the patients are Medi‑Cal recipients.”

Why this matters: Song Brown awards support clinical training that places primary care providers in medically underserved areas. HCAI staff warned that incomplete applications cannot be edited after final submission and encouraged use of the early submission review to correct errors before the Sept. 24 close.

Most important requirements and deadlines
- Applications opened Aug. 12; early submission for staff completeness review: before 3 p.m. Sept. 9; final deadline: 3 p.m. Sept. 24. (Times stated in the webinar.)
- Applicants must register and complete e‑app (use Chrome or Edge). Only users with the program director role can certify and submit an application; program directors may assign grant preparers view/edit access but not submit.
- New organizations may take up to five business days for approval in the system; applicants should verify their organization record before requesting a new entry.
- Required uploads include current accreditation or approval letters; CNM programs expanding must include documentation that indicates allowed expansion slot counts.
- Accreditation upload files must begin with the prefix “appr_” as described in the application interface; once an application is submitted, applicants cannot edit it.

Scoring and data expectations
- HCAI staff said the FNP, PA and CNM applications are scored on three main criteria totaling 75 points: (1) percent of graduates practicing in areas of unmet need (25 points), (2) percent of main training sites located in areas of unmet need (25 points), and (3) average payer mix across main training sites (up to 25 points).
- Training-site data account for two‑thirds of an application’s score; applicants should prepare payer‑mix information for up to the five sites where students cumulatively log the most clinical hours. Payer‑mix and cumulative student hours must be gathered from each training site’s administrative office.
- Only graduates practicing in California are scored; applicants are asked to provide graduate NPI numbers and practice-site information when available.

Application form mechanics and administrative details
- The e‑app requires applicants to keep profile information current; changes to profile fields must be made on the profile page to populate application fields.
- The contract administration page must match IRS reporting (W‑9) information; applicants should identify who will sign grant agreements and whether payment addresses differ from IRS addresses.
- The application asks for total program expenditures for the academic year 2024–25 (aggregate data), not just requested Song Brown funds.
- For CNM applicants approved to expand, the application permits requesting up to three expansion slots; applicants must still report total program expenditures for 2024–25.

Webinar logistics and follow-up
- The session was recorded and will be posted to HCAI’s website within 7–10 business days and is said to include slides and links to the grant guides and a technical assistance guide with screenshots of the application.
- Staff repeatedly recommended reading the full grant guide and the technical assistance guide before applying and encouraged applicants to use the Sept. 9 early submission review to identify missing items.
- During the Q&A, staff answered applicant questions about whether a change from a two‑year to a three‑year FNP program requires a new program name (answer: do not change the program name) and confirmed that application entry is the same for three‑year programs.

What officials directed and what remains discussion
- Direction: staff advised applicants to gather payer‑mix data, graduate NPIs, accreditation letters, and to ensure profile and IRS information match before submission; HCAI will perform early completeness reviews for applications submitted by Sept. 9.
- No formal funding decisions or awards were made during the webinar; the session was informational and intended to explain application mechanics and scoring.

Contacts and resources
- Staff noted resources were posted in the webinar chat, including program pages, grant guides and the technical assistance guide. Applicants were told to contact the Song Brown program team via the contact methods provided in the webinar materials for case‑specific questions.

The webinar concluded with staff reiterating deadlines and encouraging prospective applicants to sign up for HCAI’s health workforce mailing list and to consult the posted materials before submitting an application.