Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Grant for Program Year 2026-27 (PY 26-27)

Purpose

EMS Program funding will be awarded to increase the number of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in local communities with a particular focus in the inclusion of young adult participants who come from a disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, including experience in the justice system.

Description

The Employment Development Department (EDD), in coordination with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), announces the availability of up to $8.5 million in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Governor’s Discretionary funds for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program Year 2026-27 (PY 26-27) Solicitation for Proposals (SFP). EMS Program funding will be awarded to increase the number of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in local communities with a particular focus in the inclusion of young adult participants who come from a disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, including experience in the justice system. The selected pilot sites have designed, developed, and implemented programs incorporating data-driven strategies to increase the number of EMTs in local emergency health services throughout the EMS Corps Rounds 1 and 2. The continued funding intends to maintain meaningful and sustainable industry investment and partnerships, bolster healthcare systems, and continue to develop projects with the best potential to place participants into quality jobs and career pathways leading to self-sufficiency. The goal of EMS Program is to recruit, train, hire, and advance an ethnically and culturally inclusive health and human services workforce, with improved diversity and higher wages, who can service the community they live in with primary life support care and support their community's healthcare system, and fill workforce shortages in emergency medical services. Strong applicants will demonstrate the capability to continue existing collaboration between the Local Emergency Medical Service Authority (LMSA), fire departments, local training providers, and their partners, including labor partners, on implementing cohort training programs to increase ethnic and cultural diversity in the EMS workforce. These efforts should result in strategies that successfully recruit, train, and employ individuals as EMTs in counties across California. In addition to the EMT curriculum, this program must also continue to offer a holistic suite of wrap-around support, case management, and supportive service interventions designed to address the needs of the target populations to support program completion. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to leverage at least 20 percent of their budget with leveraged resources from other sources. Applicants are encouraged to leverage human capital, and utilize other resources to maximize the project's success. Proposals must be received by 11:59 p.m. PT on November 2, 2026. An informational webinar will be held on October 15, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. PT. Pre-registration is required for all attendees. Please register through the following link by October 15, 2026 at 12 p.m. PT: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qaI8bbIqQFSYP-wYWWuFSw. The EDD encourages applicants to submit a Notice of Intent to apply by October 16, 2026, at noon PT to WSBSFP3@edd.ca.gov. To view the SFP, visit the EDD Workforce Development Solicitations for Proposals webpage.