Title 6 · Rural Development Expanded § Title VI

Community Facilities Program

Reauthorized and expanded. New priority categories for rural mental health, substance abuse, maternal health, and rural childcare. Modernized water and waste disposal infrastructure for systems serving fewer than 10,000 people.

Funding

Discretionary (part of $4.7B Title VI)

What it does

The Community Facilities Program (CF) is USDA’s primary tool for financing essential community facilities in rural areas. CF supports:

Healthcare facilities: hospitals, clinics, FQHCs, behavioral health
Educational facilities: schools, libraries, college infrastructure
Public safety: fire stations, police departments, emergency services
Childcare facilities: daycare centers, preschool infrastructure
Other community infrastructure: community centers, food banks, public transit

CF funds projects through:

Direct loans (typically 40-year amortization, low interest)
Grants (for the most needy areas)
Loan guarantees (through commercial lenders)

What changed in the Farm Bill 2.0

1. New priority categories added

Title VI adds explicit priority for:

Rural mental health, substance abuse, maternal health services (see Rural Health Care)
Rural childcare: addressing the rural childcare desert
Behavioral health services

2. Water and waste disposal modernization

USDA’s water and waste disposal program, part of broader Community Facilities authority, is reauthorized with mandatory modernization prioritizing systems serving fewer than 10,000 people.

This addresses chronic underinvestment in small rural water and wastewater systems.

3. Funding maintained or increased

CF discretionary funding continues at robust levels through Title VI authorizations.

Who CF matters for

Rural local governments: most common applicants
Public school districts and charter schools
Rural hospitals: including Critical Access Hospitals
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
Rural childcare operators
Rural fire and EMS departments
Tribal nations: direct CF eligibility

Application

Community Facilities applications go through USDA RD state offices. The process:

Pre-application consultation with state RD office
Eligibility determination (rural area definition: <20,000 population, or special carve-outs)
Engineering, environmental, financial review
Application submission with all required documentation
Decision and closing: typical timeline 6–18 months for direct loans