SD RHT — Expand and Strengthen Rural Community Health Worker Workforce (26RFP-26-09RHT-006)
South Dakota
Eligible Entity Types
Tribal Provisions
South Dakota's Community Health Representatives (CHRs) — the tribal equivalent of Community Health Workers — are a significant workforce category in the state's nine federally recognized tribal nations. CHR programs operate under IHS funding at Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Cheyenne River, Standing Rock, and other reservations. This solicitation explicitly targets CHW/CHR programs, making tribal health programs operating CHR workforces directly eligible and well-positioned. The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board may also be a relevant organizational partner for tribal CHW network development.
Application Guide
26RFP-26-09RHT-006 funds technical assistance and support to expand and strengthen South Dakota's rural Community Health Worker (CHW) and Community Health Representative (CHR) workforce. This is Initiative 3 (Expanding and Strengthening Community Health Worker Workforce), with a 5-year total of $3.5 million.
The solicitation focuses on CHW/CHR program development and organizational capacity building, financial sustainability pathways (Medicaid billing, sustainable funding models), CHW/CHR certification and professional development, and recruitment and retention support for rural CHW programs.
CHRs in tribal health programs are a specific and distinctive target. Community Health Representatives operate under IHS-funded tribal health programs and are a federally recognized workforce category. South Dakota's large tribal population — nine nations including Pine Ridge (Oglala Sioux), Rosebud (Rosebud Sioux), Cheyenne River Sioux, and Standing Rock Sioux — means tribal CHR programs represent a significant share of the state's rural community health workforce. This solicitation is an important access point for tribal health workforce development.
Based on Initiative 3 program framing, eligible organizations include CHW/CHR programs (including tribal CHR programs under IHS), technical colleges with CHW training programs, community organizations with CHW program development capacity, FQHCs with CHW workforce development infrastructure, and state and regional CHW networks or associations.
Key question for tribal applicants: Confirm whether IHS-funded CHR programs can apply as subrecipients under the RHT program, and whether the third-party agreement pre-approval requirement applies to government-to-government relationships.
Application deadline: April 1, 2026. Solicitation event ID: 26RFP-26-09RHT-006; Posted: March 17, 2026. Initiative: Initiative 3 — Expanding and Strengthening Community Health Worker Workforce ($3.5M 5-year). Dollar amount: Not disclosed. Tribal CHR programs explicitly targeted.