Connecticut DPH opens $2.5 million RFA for local public‑health gun‑violence prevention programs

The Connecticut Department of Public Health held a virtual RFA conference April 22 to outline a competitive grant opportunity that will make $2.5 million available to local public‑health approaches to reduce community gun violence, Colleen Violette, public health services manager for the Office of Firearm Injury Prevention, said.

The department is soliciting proposals from local offices of firearm injury prevention, municipalities, local health departments and 501(c)(3) organizations with missions focused on gun‑violence prevention. The agency will prioritize proposals from municipal or local health department lead applicants and those serving municipalities the department identified as having the highest rates of firearm‑related violent injury.

Colleen Violette said the RFA, number 20260907, asks applicants to define the local gun‑violence problem through data collection, identify evidence‑based prevention strategies across the primary/secondary/tertiary prevention continuum, engage multisector partners (for example, law enforcement, schools, hospitals, clergy and community organizations) and include a rigorous evaluation plan coordinated with a DPH‑contracted evaluator. "The award, the funding available, the amount of funding that is available is $2,500,000," Violette said during the webinar.

Key program and procedural details explained at the conference include: - Eligibility and preference: DPH seeks proposals from local firearm injury prevention offices, municipalities and local health departments; 501(c)(3) organizations may apply but will receive lower preference. The department "will give preference to such proposals" that demonstrate local partnerships and to submissions serving municipalities identified with the highest adjusted firearm injury rates. - Highest‑rate municipalities: the department identified Bridgeport, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, Stamford and Waterbury as meeting the high‑rate threshold used in the analysis (firearm age‑adjusted rates ≥ 5.2 per 100,000 using the department's analysis of the Connecticut Violent Death Reporting System and hospital discharge data, 2018–2022). - Funding and award size: total funding available is $2,500,000; DPH may make up to 10 awards. Applicants may propose budgets between $75,000 and $1,000,000 per year. Violette noted applicants should expect that selected proposals may be subject to budget negotiation with the department. - Contract term and schedule: contracts are expected to begin Sept. 1, 2025 (start date may vary) and run to June 30, 2027. The department expects to select proposers by June 13, 2025 and begin contract negotiations the week of June 16. - Submission requirements and deadlines: a letter of intent is required and must be submitted to the RFA mailbox on or before April 25, 2025; full proposals are due May 20, 2025 by 12:00 p.m. (noon) to the email address in the RFA. Violette said the RFA and webinar materials are posted on the Department of Public Health RFP web page and on the state source bidder (DAS) site. - Budget rules and restrictions: administrative costs are capped at 15% and include salary expenses for the lead applicant; subcontractor salaries are excluded from the administrative cap. Prohibited expenses include capital expenditures as defined by the Connecticut General Statute; food and childcare may be allowable when directly supporting proposed prevention activities. - Evaluation and technical assistance: applicants must develop logic models, identify metrics and work with the department's contracted evaluator on measurable outcomes; the Office of Firearm Injury Prevention will provide ongoing technical assistance to awardees.

Attendees asked several clarifying questions during the webinar about where the RFA is posted, how to prepare year‑by‑year budgets and whether current DPH Community Violence Intervention (CVI) grantees are eligible to apply. An attendee asked, "Could you please tell me exactly where I can locate it?" Violette replied that the RFA is on DPH's RFP page and on the state source bidder page and that applicants may email the RFA mailbox for further help. Violette also confirmed that current DPH CVI grantees are eligible and reiterated the department's stated preference for municipal or local health department applicants.

The RFA requires applicants to describe partner organizations and to identify neighborhood‑level high‑risk locations (for example, census tracts). Ideal applications should propose program components such as mentoring, after‑school programs, hospital‑based violence intervention, street outreach and other evidence‑informed, community‑centric strategies and must include plans for rigorous data collection and evaluation.

The webinar recording and slide deck will be posted on the two sites Violette named; questions were no longer being taken live because the official question period had closed. Violette closed the session by reminding applicants that the letter of intent is required and that selected applicants may enter contract budget negotiations with DPH.

The RFA document itself should be consulted for complete application instructions, scoring details and required attachments; the webinar presenters noted several corrections and clarifications to dates and budget instructions would be posted and that the official RFA governs the process.