Empowered Parents In Charge (EPIC) | PAS JOR FY25 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS JOR FY25 003

Empowered Parents In Charge (EPIC) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Mission to Jordan designed to strengthen disability inclusion in Jordan by focusing on one of the most influential stakeholder groups: parents of children with disabilities. The opportunity is framed around the reality that people with disabilities in Jordan face persistent barriers to education, employment, and social participation, even though disability is relatively common. Survey data cited in the announcement indicates that 11.2 percent of Jordanians over age five have a disability. While Jordan passed the 2017 Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and required ministries to allocate at least one percent of their annual budgets to accessibility and disability-related services, the notice emphasizes that public funding still does not meet the scale of need and that stigma and exclusion remain widespread.

The grant highlights how discrimination and social pressure often push families to keep children with disabilities at home, especially when parents anticipate bullying, inaccessible classrooms, or unfair treatment in schools. This has contributed to an extremely high exclusion rate from education: 79 percent of school-aged people with disabilities are reportedly not enrolled in any educational institution. The announcement links these early barriers directly to lifelong outcomes, noting that one third of illiterate Jordanians age 13 and older are people with disabilities, and that about 84 percent of working-age people with disabilities are unemployed. In other words, EPIC is positioned as an intervention that starts with families and schooling but is ultimately meant to affect long-term economic participation and social inclusion.

A central feature of EPIC is the deliberate pairing of Jordanian organizations and communities with American institutions and expertise to share best practices and demonstrate U.S. leadership on disability rights. The opportunity explicitly references the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 as a cornerstone of U.S. civil rights protections for people with disabilities, and it aims to use the U.S. experience as a practical and inspirational model. The program is meant to offer Jordanian parents concrete tools: advocacy skills, exposure to legal frameworks, guidance on financial resources, and training in civic engagement so they can more effectively push for inclusive education, appropriate services, and equal opportunities for their children.

The intended results are both personal and systemic. At the family level, EPIC aims to empower parents to keep their children in school and to navigate systems that may otherwise exclude them. At the broader societal level, the grant ties inclusion to workforce readiness and employment pathways, arguing that better education and preparation can help people with disabilities access jobs and contribute to Jordanian economic growth and stability. The opportunity also reflects a diplomatic objective: reinforcing Jordan as a stable regional partner and aligning the program with broader U.S. interests by building durable ties between American and Jordanian communities and institutions.

Another distinctive element is the program emphasis on science, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) as tools that can expand accessibility and independence for people with disabilities. EPIC intends to showcase how American advances in these fields have benefited people with disabilities and to explore how similar innovations could be applied in Jordan to strengthen advocacy, support services, and inclusion efforts. This suggests projects could incorporate assistive technologies, accessible digital solutions, or awareness and training components that connect emerging technologies to real-world accessibility and rights-based outcomes.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is a grant (Funding Instrument Type: Grant) under the Education, Employment, Labor and Training activity category (CFDA 19.040). The funding opportunity number is PAS JOR FY25 003. The program anticipates making one award, with an award ceiling of $350,000. The original application closing date listed is 2025-07-14, and the posting creation date is 2025-05-14.

Eligibility is geared toward nonprofit and civil society implementers. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations such as think tanks, educational institutions, and civil society/non-governmental organizations, with eligibility categories listing U.S. nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education) as well as other eligible entities noted in the announcement. The opportunity explicitly states that organizations from both the United States and Jordan are eligible to apply, reflecting the program’s cross-border partnership and exchange-oriented approach.

• The U.S. Mission to Jordan in the education, employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Empowered Parents In Charge (EPIC)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-05-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for PAS JOR FY25 003

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