Advancing Screening, Diagnosis, and Referral for Late Talking Children
Can you apply?
This grant is for research institutions seeking to improve screening, diagnosis, and referral for late talking children. Eligible applicants typically include universities, research hospitals, medical schools, and research-focused nonprofits with institutional research capacity. The research must involve community partnerships and be conducted in relevant settings such as primary care, specialty care, educational settings, or early childhood community programs.
The grant supports research on children ages birth to three years who are not meeting expressive language milestones. Research focusing on parents, caregivers, and professionals is also supported. Community engaged research approaches are required, not optional.
Applicants must have expertise in early language learning, early childhood education, early intervention, or primary care. Collaborative teams with dissemination and implementation science expertise are especially encouraged.
Key dates
- May 12, 2026 Applications open
- Oct 15, 2027 Application deadline in 501 days
- Jun 30, 2028 Award announced
- Jul 1, 2028 Project start
This grant is for research institutions seeking to improve screening, diagnosis, and referral for late talking children. Eligible applicants typically include universities, research hospitals, medical schools, and research-focused nonprofits with institutional research capacity. The research must involve community partnerships and be conducted in relevant settings such as primary care, specialty care, educational settings, or early childhood community programs.
The grant supports research on children ages birth to three years who are not meeting expressive language milestones. Research focusing on parents, caregivers, and professionals is also supported. Community engaged research approaches are required, not optional.
Applicants must have expertise in early language learning, early childhood education, early intervention, or primary care. Collaborative teams with dissemination and implementation science expertise are especially encouraged.
Program description
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tackling Acquisition of Language in Kids (TALK) initiative intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit research grant applications to improve the earliest steps in clinical practice for late talking children. The overarching purpose of this funding opportunity is to inform, develop, and evaluate evidence-based practices and implementation strategies to (1) effectively and efficiently identify early signs of late talking and (2) successfully guide parents, caregivers, and professionals in supporting the needs of late talking children at the first point of concern.
For this NOFO late talking is defined as a child, usually over the age of 18 months, not meeting expressive language milestones, for any reason. Populations of interest include, but are not limited to, children at higher risk for late talking due to premature birth, exposure to maltreatment or trauma, neurological conditions, motor and sensory disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, and intellectual and developmental disorders. Children who present as late talkers for no other known reason and with no other symptoms also are of interest for this NOFO.
For this NOFO, the early steps for services for children age birth to three years that are of interest include screening and developmental surveillance of late talking, referral and follow through for specialized services, and in-depth evaluation and diagnosis of language and other contributing delays/disorders. These services typically occur in primary care, specialty care, educational settings, and early childhood community settings. The research will need to be conducted in a relevant setting.
Research focusing on children as well as their parents, caregivers, and supporting community professionals is of interest, including how to support successfully navigating from initial concern to effective care. Community partnerships and community engaged research approaches will be a key requirement for this opportunity.
Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.
Investigators with expertise and insights into early language learning, late talking, early childhood education, early intervention, and primary care are encouraged to begin to consider applying for this new NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in clinical practice research, dissemination and implementation science, or community engaged research will be encouraged and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this application.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- Community Health Center
- County Government
- Nonprofits
- Private University
- Public Authority
- Public K-12 School
- Public University
- Small Business (SBA-defined)
- Special District
- State Government
- Tribal Nation
- Tribal Organization
Demographic focus
Details
This grant is for research institutions seeking to improve screening, diagnosis, and referral for late talking children. Eligible applicants typically include universities, research hospitals, medical schools, and research-focused nonprofits with institutional research capacity. The research must involve community partnerships and be conducted in relevant settings such as primary care, specialty care, educational settings, or early childhood community programs.
The grant supports research on children ages birth to three years who are not meeting expressive language milestones. Research focusing on parents, caregivers, and professionals is also supported. Community engaged research approaches are required, not optional.
Applicants must have expertise in early language learning, early childhood education, early intervention, or primary care. Collaborative teams with dissemination and implementation science expertise are especially encouraged.
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Research & Related Activities)
- Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Biographical Sketches (all key personnel)
- Research Strategy
- Letters of Support (from community partners)
Program contact
- 👤 TALK@nih.gov
- 📧 TALK@nih.gov
- 📞 Please contact via e-mail.
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.173 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$67,501,043
-
$39,056,528
-
$29,666,573
-
$25,009,162
-
$22,883,624
-
$22,740,456
-
$16,596,227
-
$13,255,879
-
$12,363,350
-
$12,276,804
Top States by Funding
- MA 11 awards $142.6M
- CA 10 awards $101.6M
- CT 2 awards $76.3M
- IA 5 awards $74.7M
- MD 7 awards $56.9M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.173). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $422,034,489 | |
| 2025 | $422,700,014 | |
| 2026 est. | $427,030,000 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Research institutions with capacity for clinical practice research and community partnerships. Universities, medical schools, and research-focused nonprofits are typical applicants. You must have established expertise in early language, early intervention, or primary care.
When is the application deadline?
The deadline is October 15, 2027. This is a fixed deadline, not rolling. Current notice is advance notification to allow time for collaboration development.
What research activities are supported?
Studies on screening, diagnosis, and referral strategies for late talking children birth to age three. Research on implementation strategies and community engaged approaches are prioritized. Work with parents, caregivers, and professionals is supported.
How competitive is this grant?
This is a moderately competitive NIH funding opportunity. The requirement for community partnerships and implementation science expertise narrows the applicant pool. Strong preliminary data and clear dissemination plans strengthen applications.
What is the typical funding range?
Award amounts up to $500,000 are typical for this mechanism. Actual funding varies based on project scope and reviewer assessment. No cost sharing is required.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Build your community partnerships now. The NOFO explicitly requires community engaged research approaches, so establish these collaborations before writing your application.
- Center implementation science in your proposal. Reviewers will expect clear strategies for how findings will be adopted in real clinical settings.
- Include multidisciplinary expertise. Teams combining primary care, early intervention, language development, and community research perspectives score higher.
- Use strong preliminary data on your screening or referral approach. Pilot results demonstrating feasibility and early effectiveness strengthen competitiveness significantly.
- Address health equity explicitly. Frame your research to show how your approach will identify and serve late talking children from underserved populations.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications lack genuine community partnerships or engage communities only superficially. Reviewers expect true collaboration from design through dissemination. Proposals focus only on basic science rather than clinical implementation and practice change. Researchers underestimate the work required to meet the community engaged research requirement.
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