Embryo Adoption Awareness and Services

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, through the Office of Population Affairs, is soliciting applications for the Embryo Adoption Awareness and Services program, a grant opportunity with a total funding pool of approximately $2,000,000 intended to support up to six awards. Applicants may request between $100,000 and $500,000 per year for a project period of up to three years, structured as two mandatory 12-month budget periods with an optional competitive third year. The program’s primary purpose is to enhance public awareness of embryo adoption as a viable path to family building while delivering comprehensive medical and administrative services to individuals and couples pursuing or donating embryos, as well as to the healthcare providers and facilities supporting them. Core activities include counseling and education for prospective adoptive and donating parties, training for medical providers, promotion of open or identified donation practices to safeguard children’s rights to knowledge of their biological origins, and implementation of adoption-equivalent screening procedures such as home studies, background checks, health evaluations, and post-placement supervision. All program design must center the long-term wellbeing of children born through embryo adoption. Proposals must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov by the deadline of July 10, 2026, and require applicants to maintain active registrations in SAM.gov and Grants.gov, including a valid Unique Entity Identifier. Applications must include a project narrative, appendices containing a work plan, resumes, organizational charts, memoranda of agreement or letters of commitment, and a consolidated budget package with SF-424A submitted separately. Evaluation will be conducted in two stages: first, a qualification review to confirm eligibility and responsiveness, followed by a merit review weighted across six factors—understanding of embryo adoption services, technical approach, evaluation plan, project management, need for the project, and budget reasonableness—for a total of 100 points. Award recipients must comply with extensive federal requirements, including 2 C.F.R. Part 200 management standards, human subjects protections under 45 C.F.R. Part 46, and statutory obligations under Title VI, Title VIII, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Age Discrimination Act, the False Claims Act, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act. Recipients expending $1 million or more annually are subject to single audit requirements, and all must submit quarterly Federal Financial Reports via the HHS Payment Management System, annual Performance Project Reports