RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (RCD)

Purpose:
To fund regional and tribal organizations that manage safe water systems in rural communities and provide training and technical assistance to very small, low-income rural communities in developing and managing affordable and safe water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Legislative Authority:
Section 680 (a) (3) (B) of the Community Services Block Grant Act, as amended; the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of1998 (P.L. 105- 285).

Appropriations:
In FY 2022, $11.0 million.
In FY 2021, $10.0 million.
In FY 2020, $10.0 million.

Eligible Applicants:
Multi-state, regional, private, non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations that can provide training and technical assistance to small, low-income, rural and tribal communities concerning their community facility needs.

Target Population:
Individuals with low incomes residing in the nation’s unincorporated areas and lowest income communities, including tribal and persistent poverty areas.

Uses:
RCD funds are used to provide training and technical assistance to:

• Increase access to safe water and waste disposal services in low-income communities;
• Manage safe water systems in rural and tribal communities;
• Preserve affordable community water and wastewater facilities;
• Ensure the safety and security of water systems;
• Improve local capacity and leadership to support water systems and services; and
• Train operators who manage water and waste water systems.

Type of Grant:
Competitive Discretionary Grant

Program Requirements:
RCD funds must be used to provide training and technical assistance to: increase access for low-income families to water supply and waste disposal services, preserve affordable water and waste disposal services in low-income rural communities, increase local capacity and expertise to establish and maintain needed community facilities, increase economic opportunities for low-income rural communities by ensuring they have basic water and sanitation, utilize technical assistance to leverage additional public and private resources, and promote improved coordination of Federal, state, and local agencies and financing programs to benefit low-income communities.

Program Highlights:
RCD is the only federal program that builds community capacity - through Regional Training and Technical Assistance grants and Tribal Training and Technical Assistance grants - for creating and maintaining safe and affordable water and wastewater systems for the nation’s unincorporated areas and the lowest income communities, including tribal areas.  

• RCD serves very small communities in sparsely populated areas, many of which have populations under 2,500 and are made up predominately of residents with low income who lack safe water and wastewater treatment services and often even indoor plumbing.
• RCD provides training and technical assistance to develop community governance structures, helping them develop their own systems, connecting systems to neighboring communities, and assisting in training water and wastewater systems operators.    
• For every $1 of RCD funding, $30 in funding from other sources is invested back into that community.
• There are currently eight active RCD grantees—six regional organizations and two organizations that specifically support tribal communities—which collectively serve all regions of the country.

Program Contact:
Harold J. Taylor, II., Program Specialist
Rural Community Development Program
Office of Community Services
Phone: 202-401-5711
OCSgrants@acf.hhs.gov
www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/rcd