Application for LNA Grants
The Vermont state legislature has appropriated $500,000 to the Agency of Human Services to invest in developing the LNA workforce in Vermont’s nursing homes. The Agency of Human Services has contracted with the Vermont Health Care Association to administer distribution of grants of up to $30,000 to nursing homes for eligible projects.
Application Deadline: September 5th, 2025 – GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
We anticipate all funds being expended in the first round of grants. Please see details below for how applications received in this round will be prioritized.
Application Form:
https://forms.office.com/r/gQ3agn2Xeg
Grant Categories:
All grants are for the purpose of increasing the pipeline of employed licensed nursing assistants (LNAs) at Vermont nursing homes, while decreasing dependence on contract or agency staff. Within that overall goal, there are several categories for FY2026.
- Intra-LNA Career Path – Increasing skills within the licensed role of LNA and/or prior to becoming an LNA.
- Employer-Sponsored LNA Training – Includes establishing training programs, apprenticeships, and marketing these opportunities.
- Strengthening High School Connections – Building awareness of an LNA and/or long-term care career path through high schools.
- Open Category of Grants – Projects not covered elsewhere
Read details about the categories and examples of eligible projects here: Grant Categories FY2026.docx
Please note that if you received funding in FY2025, the FY2026 project cannot replicate last year’s activities – any application within the same overall category should show a new phase, improvement, or expansion of previous work.
Grant Budgets:
Facilities may apply for up to $30,000 for their projects. This sheet provides details on constructing your proposed budget: Grant Budgets FY2026.docx
Grant Timeline:
Grant activities covered in the budget should be completed by June 30, 2026.
There is some margin for projects where the budget has been committed by that date, but final results require estimating the conclusion of activities in-process at that time. For example, if you subscribe to a yearlong training program starting October 15, 2025, then you will report how many LNAs have completed the program by June 30, 2026, and how many you expect to complete it by October 14, 2026. Another example would be if you update your onboarding process with scheduled orientation sessions, and the final session will be completed in early July, 2026, you can report the number of LNAs expected to attend that July session.
The application form provides a space to list activities and their expected timelines.
Grant Evaluations:
VHCA will review each project to ensure the activities and expenditures match the underlying guidelines. After that, eligible projects will be prioritized for:
- Supporting providers who did not receive an LNA grant in FY2025
- Reducing dependence on temporary agency staffing contracts
Facilities currently at high percentage permanent staff are still eligible to apply, as the grants support retention and ongoing recruitment efforts. However, a facility with high agency staffing who presents a proposal that will not reduce that dependence would receive a lower priority.
For example, improving onboarding for temporary staff can be a valuable project, but it is outside the Legislative intent and would receive a low priority. By contrast, restructuring that onboarding to reduce the stress permanent staff experience when there is turnover, or with a plan for transitioning temporary staff to permanent, would be within scope.
- Supporting a range of projects and providers
While providers can apply in more than one category, they must choose a first priority. All second priority grants will be evaluated after everyone has a first chance at funding. Providers cannot submit more than 2 project proposals.
- After the above screens have been applied, all eligible projects will be funded in the order in which they are received
Grant Reporting:
Based on updated legislative guidance and the FY2025 reporting results, there is a new standardized reporting form. The focus is to describe how many individual LNAs were positively impacted by these grants. The sample form is here for review: https://forms.office.com/r/146a6pnqx8
Questions about this grant program? Contact Helen Labun at hlabun@vhca.net