New workforce grants and funding opportunities come and go—and each one is usually built for a specific population and a specific service model. Below is a plain‑English overview of five current opportunities—three federal Veterans programs and two Maryland programs—so you can quickly see what each one funds and who it’s designed to serve.
Want to learn more or need help shaping a strong application? Connect with our team here:
https://www.crafteducation.com/landing/grant-support
At-a-glance: five opportunities, five distinct purposes
- Federal Veterans programs (DOL/VETS): Three related opportunities focused on employment outcomes for distinct veteran populations.
- Maryland workforce programs (MD Labor): Two separate programs with different structures—one aimed at healthcare worker upskilling and one focused on direct care workforce innovation.
Federal Veterans programs (DOL/VETS)
These programs share a common goal: helping veterans move toward employment through structured services and community connections. The difference is who each program is built to serve.
1) Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP)
What it funds: Employment-focused services for veterans who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
What a program often includes: A strong HVRP concept usually reads like a coordinated support plan—not a single class. Think outreach and intake, individualized case management, job readiness support, connections to training or credential pathways (delivered directly or through referrals), and partnerships that help participants address barriers that stand between them and sustained employment.
Who this tends to fit best: Intermediaries, nonprofits, and workforce organizations with existing relationships to veteran-serving partners (housing and supportive services) and a clear pathway to jobs.
2) Incarcerated Veterans’ Transition Program (IVTP)
What it funds: Employment and transition services for incarcerated veterans preparing to reenter the community.
What a program often includes: The strongest IVTP narratives make the “transition” concrete: how participants are identified before release, how they are connected to services immediately upon release, and how training and job placement are sequenced so the first steps are realistic (transportation, documents, basic stability, then skills, then employment).
Who this tends to fit best: Organizations with strong reentry partnerships (corrections, reentry service providers, local workforce systems) and the ability to deliver or broker employment services quickly after release.
3) Homeless Women Veterans’ and Homeless Veterans’ with Children Reintegration Program
What it funds: Employment-focused services for two priority groups: women veterans experiencing homelessness and veterans experiencing homelessness who have children.
What a program often includes: The “same” employment services become more effective when the design reflects real constraints—childcare schedules, safety and housing instability, transportation, and the need for supportive services that keep participation feasible. Strong proposals typically show how service delivery will work in practice (flexible scheduling, partner referrals, coordinated case management) and how the employment pathway fits participant realities.
Who this tends to fit best: Veteran-serving organizations and intermediaries that already coordinate wraparound services and can align employment supports with family responsibilities.
Maryland workforce programs (MD Labor)
Maryland’s two opportunities below are not interchangeable. One is structured around employer-paid training for healthcare workers, and the other is structured around innovation to stabilize and strengthen the direct care workforce.
4) Career Pathways for Healthcare Workers Program (CPHWP)
What it funds: Matching grants that help eligible employers pay for training attended by healthcare workers, with an emphasis on advancing skills and improving earnings.
What makes it distinct: The training partner structure matters. CPHWP is designed around training delivered through specific Maryland higher education providers (as defined in the program rules). That means a strong application clearly shows the employer–training provider relationship, the training timeline, and why that training leads to advancement.
What a strong program concept looks like:
- A defined group of current workers (who they are and what roles they’re in today)
- A training program that is clearly described (content, length, credential if applicable)
- A simple advancement story (what changes after completion—new role, new responsibilities, wage increase)
- A plan to document participation and outcomes
Important practical note: Because the program is structured as a matching grant, strong applications make the match and budget logic easy to follow.
5) Direct Care Workforce Innovation Program (DCWIP)
What it funds (in plain English): Initiatives to strengthen the direct care workforce—often through recruitment, retention, advancement supports, and practical barriers-to-participation solutions.
What makes it distinct: “Innovation” here usually means you’re not just delivering training—you’re addressing the reasons people don’t enter, stay, or advance in direct care roles. A strong DCWIP application typically explains the local workforce challenge, then lays out a realistic set of supports (recruitment strategies, training supports, stipends where allowed, supportive services, and a retention/advancement plan).
What a strong program concept looks like:
- Clear geographic scope and target population
- A recruitment approach that matches local realities
- Concrete supports that reduce barriers to entry and persistence
- A plan to measure outcomes and report required data
Important practical note: Like CPHWP, DCWIP includes match and documentation expectations—strong applications treat required attachments and partner letters as part of the program design, not an afterthought.
Where to get help with your application
If you’re considering applying or would like to explore collaboration, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect:
.webp)