The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced the availability of a total of $4.6 million in funds in the
Susan Harwood Training Grant Program.
The grants will fund the creation of in-person, hands-on training and educational programs and the development of materials for workers and employers in small businesses; industries with high injury, illness and fatality rates; and vulnerable workers who are underserved, have limited English proficiency or are temporary workers. The program is designed to help identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.
Those who are eligible and encouraged to apply for the grants include: nonprofit organizations including community and faith-based organizations, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, Indian tribes, and colleges and universities.
The program honors the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. Under her leadership, worker protection standards were developed for exposure to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead.
This funding opportunity includes two separate and distinct types of grants: Targeted Topic Training Grants and Capacity Building Training Grants.
Targeted Topic Training Grants support the development of quality training programs and educational materials that focus on identifying and preventing workplace hazards. Applicants must address the occupational safety and health hazards designated by OSHA in the announcement.
Two types of
Capacity Building Grants are available: Capacity Building pilot and Capacity Building Developmental grants. Pilot grants will assist organizations in assessing their needs and formulating a capacity-building plan before moving forward with a full-scale safety and health education program. Developmental grants focus on improving and expanding an organization's capacity to provide safety and health training, education, and related assistance to target audiences.
Applicants are encouraged to begin the process of registering with
www.grants.gov as soon as possible. Applications for both Targeted Topic Training grants (SHTG-FY-16-01) and Capacity Building grants (SHTG-FY-16-02) must be submitted by
June 28, 2016. All applications must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. EDT on the due date. No extensions of the deadline will be granted. A series of short webinars providing more details about the application process are available at
http://www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/index.html.
Questions from the public should be directed to Donna Robertson by emailing
harwoodgrants@dol.gov or calling 847-759-7700.
For more information, visit
http://www.osha.gov/.