Department of Health & Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Program Office: Administration on Children, Youth, and
Families, Children's Bureau
Funding Opportunity National Resource Center for Permanency
Title: and Family Connections
Announcement Type: Initial
Funding Opportunity HHS-2009-ACF-ACYF-CZ-0061
Number:
CFDA Number: 93.556
Due Date for 05/26/2009
Applications:
Executive Summary:
The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to establish
the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections
(NRCPFC). The NRCPFC will work with other members of the Children's
Bureau (CB) Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Network to build
the capacity of State, local, Tribal, and other publicly administered or
publicly supported child welfare systems. The NRCPFC will provide
T/TA and consultation on Federal requirements administered by CB
related to children, youth and families involved with foster care
systems which access title IV-E and IV-B funding. Special attention will
be given to assisting States in improving conformity with the outcomes
and systemic factors defined in the Child and Family Services Review
(CFSR) and the requirements assessed in other monitoring reviews
conducted by CB (such as Title IV-E, AFCARS and SACWIS). These
efforts will focus on systems change and the development, expansion,
and improvement of the quality and effectiveness of child welfare
services to children, youth and families. The NRCPFC will engage
agencies in strategies to strengthen the integration of policy and
practice thereby improving the delivery of services and the outcomes
for children and youth. A primary focus of the NRCPFC will be to work
with other CB T/TA providers to assist States in planning and
implementing systemic change as defined in the States' Child and
Family Services Plan and the program improvement plans (PIPs)
related to all Federal monitoring reviews. In addition, the NRCPFC will
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provide T/TA and on-site consultation to grantees funded under the
Family Connection Grants program.
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
Statutory Authority
The statutory authority for this announcement is the Promoting Safe
and Stable Families Program Section 435 (d) of the Social Security Act
{42 U.S.C. 629e}.
Description
Background
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the Federal
Government's principal agency for protecting the health of all
Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those
who are least able to help themselves. Within HHS, the Administration
for Children and Families (ACF) is the agency responsible for Federal
programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families,
children, individuals, and communities. The Administration on
Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) administers national programs for
children and youth; works with States, Tribes, and local communities
to develop services that support and strengthen family life; seeks joint
ventures with the private sector to enhance the lives of children and
their families; and provides information and other assistance to
parents. Many of the programs administered by ACYF focus on children
from low-income families; abused and neglected children; children and
youth in need of foster care, independent living, adoption or other
child welfare services; preschool children; children with disabilities;
runaway and homeless youth; and children from Native American and
migrant families.
Within ACYF, the Children's Bureau (CB) plans, manages, coordinates,
and supports child abuse and neglect prevention and child welfare
services programs. The CB is the agency within the Federal
Government that is responsible for assisting child welfare systems by
promoting continuous improvement in the delivery of child welfare
services. CB programs are designed to promote the safety,
permanency, and well-being of all children, including those in foster
care, available for adoption, recently adopted, abused, neglected,
dependent, disabled, or homeless, and to prevent the neglect, abuse,
and exploitation of children.
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The purpose of the CB's programs is to promote strengthening of the
family unit in order to help prevent the unnecessary separation of
children from their families and encourage reunifying families, when
possible, if separation has occurred. State and Tribal child welfare
systems are designed to deliver direct services that protect children
who have suffered maltreatment, who are at risk for maltreatment, or
who are under the care and placement responsibility of the State
and/or Tribe because their families are unable to care for them. These
systems also focus on securing permanent legal placement with
families, such as reunification, guardianship, and adoption for children
and youth who are unable to return home. (For more information
about CB's programs, visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb.)
Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance Network
CB's Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance Network (T/TA
Network) is designed to improve child welfare systems and to support
States and Tribes in achieving sustainable, systemic change that
results in greater safety, permanency, and well-being for children,
youth, and families. The T/TA Network is currently comprised of a
group of training and technical assistance (T/TA) providers funded
entirely or partially by the CB through grants, contracts, and
interagency agreements. For over a decade, the CB has provided
funding for a growing network of National Resource Centers (NRCs),
Child Welfare Information Gateway, and other child welfare T/TA
providers.
T/TA Network members serve a variety of systems, agencies,
organizations, and institutions and perform a diverse range of services.
Despite being authorized by different statutes and charged with
diverse tasks and objectives, members of the T/TA Network are
collectively charged with the successful promotion of systems change
that will ultimately improve outcomes for children, youth, and families
in the United States and its territories. T/TA Network members hold
program-specific topical expertise in multiple aspects of child welfare
systems and across the continuum of child welfare practice and as
such, they are expected to provide States and Tribes with the
necessary information, T/TA, and consultation to build capacity within
their child welfare systems. Together, T/TA Network members are
expected to facilitate positive change in service delivery, and in some
cases comprehensive cross-system reforms, that collectively build
systemic capacity and result in more effective and promising practice.
Knowledge development and transfer, leadership development,
information management, and dissemination of effective and
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promising practices have all been key objectives of the T/TA Network.
While network members have overlapping responsibilities in several of
these areas, their roles are also complementary. National Quality
Improvement Centers (NQICs) develop knowledge by demonstrating
and evaluating innovative practices. National Resource Centers (NRCs)
transfer knowledge to State, Tribal, and local systems and identify
evidence-based approaches, while serving as repositories of national
expertise in topical areas of child welfare. Child Welfare Information
Gateway houses, manages, produces and disseminates child welfare
information and resources. The Workforce Institute delivers training
and cultivates leadership among professionals in child welfare. The
Technical Assistance Implementation Centers provide resources and
in-depth, long-term technical assistance to implement multi-year State
and Tribal projects for systemic change. Other members of the T/TA
Network support similar activities intended to build capacity, improve
systems, and improve policy and practice in child welfare. (More
information about T/TA Network members can be found at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm.)
The CB National Resource Centers (NRCs) are important members of
the CB T/TA Network. The following table lists the CB NRC funding
opportunities that are being announced in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009.
FY09 CB NRC Funding Opportunity Announcements
HHS-2009-ACF- Offers T/TA, teleconferences, and publications to
ACYF-CZ-0016 assist States and Tribes with strategic planning,
National Resource quality improvement, evaluating outcomes,
Center for Child facilitating stakeholder involvement, and
Welfare improving training and workforce development.
Organizational
Improvement
HHS-2009-ACF- Provides expert consultation and T/TA in all areas
ACYF-CZ-0015 of CPS, including intake, assessment, case
National Resource planning, and ongoing services. It will assist
Center for Child States and Tribes with system and practice issues
Protective Services that help improve the prevention, reporting,
assessment, and treatment of child abuse and
neglect, and it will provide resources and support
to State Liaison Officers (SLO) and Children's
Justice Act (CJA) grantees.
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HHS-2009-ACF- Provides T/TA and information services to build
ACYF-CZ-0061 the capacity of State, local, and Tribal foster care
National Resource programs. Areas of T/TA will include collaboration
Center for and engagement with parents, relatives,
Permanency and stakeholders and resource families to address
Family Connections children's safety, permanency, and well-being
needs and effectively address the issues causing
children and youth to be placed in out-of-home
care.
HHS-2009-ACF- Provides a broad range of T/TA on data and
ACYF-CZ-0054 information systems issues to improve the quality
National Resource of data that is collected, build the capacity to use
Center for Child the information for decision making in daily
Welfare Data and practice, and develop or improve case
Technology management and data collection systems.
HHS-2009-ACF- Lends its expertise to State and Tribal agencies
ACYF-CZ-0067 and courts on legal and judicial aspects of child
National Resource welfare practice. Areas of focus include
Center for Child permanency decision-making, adherence to ASFA
Welfare Legal and and other Federal laws, the court's role in the
Judicial Issues CFSRs and child welfare reform, high quality legal
representation for all parties, judicial and attorney
workloads, quality assurance for courts and legal
offices, effective forensic performance by
agencies, the impact of ASFA on youth in the
juvenile justice system, education needs of
children and youth in foster care, legal ethics, and
the interplay of domestic violence and child
welfare.
HHS-2009-ACF- Works with States, Tribes, and agencies to
ACYF-CZ-0065 increase their capacity in adoption and improve
National Resource the effectiveness and quality of adoption and post-
Center for Adoption adoption services provided to children, youth and
their families.
HHS-2009-ACF- Lends its expertise and provides T/TA in areas
ACYF-CZ-0066 including youth development, youth engagement
National Resource and service collaboration in child welfare policy,
Center for Youth planning, program development, and information
Development services promoting stakeholder involvement and
youth engagement in the CFSR processes, and
effectively implementing the Chafee Foster Care
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Independence and the Education and Training
Voucher programs.
HHS-2009-ACF- Provides T/TA regarding effective and promising
ACYF-CZ-0068 alternatives to out-of-home care and will build the
National Resource capacity of State, local, and Tribal systems to
Center for In-Home provide services that will ensure the safety and
Services well-being of children and youth in their homes
while preserving, supporting, and stabilizing
families.
HHS-2009-ACF- Functions as a case manager in receiving T/TA
ACYF-CZ-0058 requests from Tribes and coordinates with the
National Resource T/TA Network to provide coordinated and
Center for Tribes culturally competent T/TA. Provides coordinated
and culturally competent T/TA to Tribes. The
center is intended to successfully engage Tribes,
to enhance their access to and utilization of the
T/TA Network, to facilitate peer-to-peer
consultation between Tribes regarding child
welfare issues, and to increase cultural
competence and sensitivity to Tribal voices in the
T/TA Network.
HHS-2009-ACF- Builds the capacity of CBCAP lead agencies and
ACYF-CZ-0056 their partners to effectively implement the
National Resource requirements of the program and support
Center for evidence-informed and evidence-based child
Community-Based maltreatment prevention programs and activities.
Child Abuse It will facilitate State, local, Tribal, public, and
Prevention private agency efforts in the interagency, inter-
disciplinary, coordinated planning and
development of a network of community-based
programs and activities designed to strengthen
and support families to prevent child abuse and
neglect and promote stronger linkages with the
child welfare system.
One T/TA Network
The CB expects for its T/TA providers to function as "one T/TA
Network." Members are expected to function as a seamless entity in
their provision of T/TA service delivery to States and Tribes. They are
expected to individually provide topical expertise as a part of the
whole T/TA Network; each member of the Network is expected to:
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collaborate; coordinate their T/TA; perform project activities that
complement one another; subscribe to common principles; cross refer
to the appropriate T/TA Network member as needed to be responsive
to the needs of States and Tribes; and participate fully in common
messaging that clearly identifies each provider with the T/TA Network.
Whenever a T/TA Network member performs activities and provides
T/TA that are either entirely or partially supported by the CB, these
services must be clearly identified with the T/TA Network and
perceived by the individual provider's client to be a service of the CB.
States and Tribes should be made aware of any existing T/TA Network
efforts related to their child welfare systems. All T/TA Network
members are expected to inform their clients about the full array of
relevant T/TA Network resources when addressing requests for T/TA.
Integrated service delivery must be pursued when beneficial to the
client and collaboration shall take precedence over concerns about an
individual T/TA provider's scope of responsibility. A T/TA Network
member is expected to consult and partner with its Network peers at
the request of a client or if additional support or expertise is
appropriate, when such collaboration would increase the likelihood of
successfully achieving the objectives of the T/TA, and/or when it is
appropriate to do so in order to effectively address the T/TA needs of
the client.
Coordination
For several years, the CB has worked closely with the T/TA Network to
continuously develop a more coordinated strategy and approach to
working with States and Tribes. This was a progression from the
previous work and mission of the NRCs, which historically worked
independently of one another in the provision of T/TA. Collaboration,
communication, and coordination among T/TA Network members have
greatly increased as a result of this evolution. Membership in the T/TA
Network has been expanded in response to the important contributions
that these CB initiatives collectively offer in building capacity for
systemic change. T/TA Network members have developed into a
community of resources and centers of topical expertise that are
flexible, responsive, collaborative, and coordinated in responding to
changing Federal priorities and emerging challenges from the field. To
this end, the CB is committed to continuing to plan, implement, and
foster a stronger, formalized, coordinated, and seamless T/TA strategy
across the network of T/TA providers to support State and Tribal child
welfare systems in their change efforts.
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The CB does not expect any individual T/TA provider to have
comprehensive expertise across all aspects of child welfare practice in
a child welfare system. Therefore, NRCs are expected to regularly
engage with their peers in joint consultation, training, and other T/TA
activities when collaboration or partnership is necessary to most
effectively serve clients' T/TA needs. NRCs will collaborate and work
closely with Federal staff in CB Central and Regional Offices when
States and Tribes submit requests for on-site T/TA and other
substantial services. Each NRC will follow all approval and coordination
procedures for T/TA requests and will work cooperatively with the
entity designated by the CB to coordinate T/TA delivery. Each NRC will
be prepared to serve, if necessary, as a facilitator of collaborative
consultation and training in response to T/TA requests related to its
area of focus and topical expertise. NRCs will refer requests to other
T/TA Network members when appropriate and collaborate when the
expertise of more than one provider is necessary to achieve the
objectives of a T/TA request or need. The CB expects T/TA Network
members to operate collectively as a single, integrated T/TA service
delivery system, providing coordinated and timely implementation
delivery of T/TA that avoids delays or duplication of effort.
Child Welfare Monitoring and Technical Assistance
The CB employs several monitoring tools, including the Child and
Family Services Reviews (CFSRs), Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility
Review, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
(AFCARS) Assessment Review, and the Statewide Automated Child
Welfare Information System (SACWIS) Assessment Review, to ensure
conformity with Federal child welfare requirements and to help States
achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children. (For more
information about child welfare monitoring, see
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/index.htm.)
Section 1123A of the Social Security Act requires that technical
assistance be made available to States, to the extent feasible, to
enable them to develop and implement corrective action plans that
address those areas needing improvement. Program Improvement
Plans (PIPs) have become an important tool for planning corrective
action and pursuing strategies for change. PIPs are expected to build
on child welfare systems' strengths and address areas needing
improvement which were identified during Federal monitoring reviews.
PIPs emphasize building capacity and implementing changes that will
improve child welfare outcomes.
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While the work of several T/TA Network members focuses on
improving State and Tribal compliance with Federal requirements,
helping jurisdictions apply the knowledge gained from Federal child
welfare monitoring reviews, and assisting with the development and
implementation of PIPs, the ultimate purpose of the T/TA Network is to
improve child welfare systems, build capacity, and to support States
and Tribes in achieving sustainable, systemic change that yields better
outcomes for children, youth, and families. The CB has learned that
systemic reform requires a proactive approach to T/TA as well as a
commitment to strategic, focused, and sustained planning and
implementation.
Specific strategies adopted by a State or Tribe to improve a particular
outcome or an area of practice must be part of a larger, cohesive, and
comprehensive vision for change that permeates the child welfare
system at all levels of responsibility and leadership. The principles that
drive the change effort need to inform and infuse each step of the
reform process and to be supported before, during, and after
implementation.
Systems of Care Framework and CFSR Guiding Principles
T/TA Network members who provide services directly to child welfare
agencies and courts are expected to subscribe to a common set of
guiding principles. The Systems of Care (SOC) framework and CFSR
principles have become the foundation for an evolving model of
practice that guides the manner in which the T/TA Network entities
support States and Tribes in their pursuit of necessary systemic
change. The CB expects T/TA Network members to operate collectively
as a single, integrated T/TA service delivery system.
Adopted from its application in the mental health field, SOC refers to a
conceptual framework and set of principles that direct child welfare
agencies and systems to pursue individualized, coordinated, and
holistic approaches to working with children, youth, and families. In
child welfare, SOC is characterized by shared, cross-cutting principles
and a continuum of integrated services from prevention to
permanency support that span programs, agencies, and institutions. A
SOC approach is community-based, child-centered, family-focused,
strengths-based, culturally competent, and comprehensive. It
addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, educational, and
developmental needs of children, youth and their families while taking
into account the individual, family, community, and broader systemic
risk and protective factors that contribute to a child's safety and well-
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being. (More information regarding SOC can be found at
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/service/soc/.)
The guiding principles of the CFSR are consistent with this SOC
framework. Child safety, permanency, and well-being are closely tied
to principles of service delivery for effective practice including:
prevention services; family-focused and community-based services;
flexible, accessible, and coordinated services; culturally appropriate
services; and strengths-based and individualized services. Services
should be organized along a continuum and linked to a wide service
array to meet the multiple service needs of children, youth, and
families. The principles of the CFSR are more commonly described to
be:
ï‚· Family-centered practice;
ï‚· Community-based services;
ï‚· Individualized services; and
ï‚· Strengthening the capacity of families.
In the context of T/TA service delivery, subscribing to SOC and CFSR
principles means that NRCs are expected to collaborate with other
T/TA Network members and the CB and to collectively offer client-
centered, individualized, and strengths-based services to States and
Tribes. The NRCs will occupy a critical niche in an array of T/TA service
providers who address multiple legislative and child welfare service
priorities and address practice areas across the continuum of child
welfare service delivery. The NRC's T/TA will be proactive,
collaborative, coordinated, accessible, and culturally competent.
Together, members of the T/TA Network will build relationships and
engage child welfare systems. Frequently, they will conduct joint
assessments, provide collaborative consultation, and produce shared
products, particularly in programmatic areas where T/TA entities share
responsibility for practice issues. Network members will accept
individual and shared accountability for the quality of their consultation
and products and their ability to facilitate sustainable systemic
change. Furthermore, the NRCs are responsible for ensuring that the
consumers of its T/TA, State and Tribal child welfare systems and
ultimately the children, youth, and families they serve, have a voice in
decision-making regarding the quality and content of service provision.
T/TA Network members will work with States and Tribes to consider
how system change activities will support a seamless experience of
service delivery for children, youth and families. (Further information
about implementing SOC principles in child welfare can be found in
Primer Hands On Child Welfare, Improving Child Welfare Outcomes
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through Systems of Care: Building the Infrastructure, and other
publications at
http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/service/soc/build/soctoolkit.c
fm. More information about changing systems can be found at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/changing_culture.
htm.)
While its approach to service delivery must be aligned with the SOC
framework and CFSR principles, the substance of the NRC's T/TA
activities will be guided by them as well. Whether assessing systemic
problems, constructing strategic plans, facilitating dialogue, or
designing T/TA with its State and Tribal consumers, NRCs will observe
and critically examine management and practice issues through the
lens of the CFSR and SOC principles. While these principles are central
to the T/TA Network's operation and vision for change, the CB does
not expect the NRCs to uniformly advise States and Tribes to adopt
the SOC framework or to articulate their principles in the same way.
States and Tribes will differ significantly in their strengths and
challenges, organizational cultures, visions for the future, and
strategies for change. The CB intends for SOC and CFSR principles to
guide the NRC's service delivery approach rather than become
prescribed content that is uniformly disseminated to States and Tribes.
The NRCs are expected to tailor their T/TA to each of its clients and to
consider the impact of service delivery as children, youth and families
are transitioned to different programs within the child welfare agency.
Once a State or Tribe has identified a particular need, barrier, or issue
that requires attention, an NRC is expected to partner with its T/TA
peers, the CB, and the client to comprehensively assess and mutually
define the problem in the context of broader systemic conditions.
Rather than assuming that a problem is isolated, the NRCs will
approach identified problems as opportunities for further investigation,
broad systems thinking, and change that will result in sustainable
improvement.
Working with CB Research and Demonstration Grantees
The CB awards discretionary research and demonstration grants for
projects that test innovative approaches to addressing a variety of
child welfare issues. The NRCs will be expected to consider the
knowledge being developed by these projects as a potential resource.
Throughout the life of their cooperative agreements, NRCs will work
with their Federal Project Officers (FPOs) and others to identify
topically relevant discretionary grant activities, to determine areas of
knowledge being developed by these grantees that could be utilized by
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the NRC as it provides T/TA, and to make the most of potential
connections between the CB's knowledge development and knowledge
transfer initiatives. Information about CB Research and Demonstration
grants is available through the Discretionary Grants Library. This is an
online tool that allows users to search for and view CB program
announcements and other information related to specific CB grant
projects.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/programs_fund/index.htm#disc
The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family
Connections
The Need for NRCPFC
The need for permanency for children and youth in foster care and the
importance of permanency planning and timely decision-making for
these populations was initially established by Public Law (P.L.) 96-272,
the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980. Protections for
children and youth in foster care were established, including the
requirement for case plans which included goals, a description of the
placement and its appropriateness, periodic administrative reviews,
and judicial permanency placement determinations. The Adoption and
Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997 focuses on moving children and
youth who are in placement and care of the States into adoption or
other permanent placements as well as expediting children and youth's
permanent placement in families. ASFA embodies five key principles:
1. The safety of children is the paramount concern that must guide
all child welfare services.
2. Foster care is a temporary setting and not a place for children to
grow up.
3. Permanency planning efforts for children should begin as soon as
a child enters foster care and should be expedited by the
provision of services to families.
4. The child welfare system must focus on results and
accountability.
5. Innovative approaches are needed to achieve the goals of safety,
permanency, and well-being.
Child welfare programs require assistance in translating the philosophy
of these principles into concrete practice which casework staff can
effectively implement. Clearly there has been progress on which States
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can build. In Child Welfare Outcomes 2002-2005: Report to Congress,
the 2005 data suggest that, in many States, a majority of children
discharged to reunification were reunified in a timely manner. Across
States, the median length of stay of children reunified was 6.8
months; the median percentage of reunifications occurring in less than
12 months was about 70 percent. While data specific to children who
were reunified shows promise in relation to timeliness, longitudinal
analysis of children from the time of entry into foster care documents
challenges in achieving permanency in a timely manner. In at least 75
percent of the States, the majority of children who entered foster care
in the last 6 months of 2004 were still in foster care 12 months later.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cwo05/index.htm
Additionally, the Report to Congress documents that reentry into foster
care is an area needing improvement for many States. The median for
reentry into foster care within 12 months of discharge is close to 15
percent across States, and in five States, approximately 25 percent or
more of the children exiting foster care in 2004 reentered foster care
in less than 12 months. During the period from 2002 to 2005, there
were no national patterns of improvement or decline in performance
on measures pertaining to reduction of time in foster care to
reunification without increasing reentry.
In 2005, States were particularly successful in achieving permanent
homes for children and youth discharged from foster care who were
legally free for adoption at the time of discharge (median = 95.7
percent). However, the median percentages across States with regard
to achieving permanency for children with a diagnosed disability
(median = 79.0 percent), and for children who were older than age 12
when they entered foster care (median =73.1 percent) were less than
the median percent for all children exiting foster care (median = 87.8
percent). This pattern was true for all four years, 2002 through 2005,
and suggests that greater efforts are needed to achieve permanency
for these children.
Additionally, there are children and youth who spend a large portion of
their formative years in foster care. The data suggests that, in many
States, a substantial percentage of children and youth emancipated
from foster care in 2005 were in foster care for long periods of time
before they were emancipated. In about one-half of the States, 28
percent or more of the children and youth emancipated from foster
care were age 12 or younger when they entered foster care and 48
percent or more of the children and youth emancipated from foster
care were in foster care for 3 years or longer. The data for 2002
through 2005 reveals that 12.2 percent of children exiting foster care
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did not achieve permanency at the time of discharge. Most of these
children leave foster care when they reach the age of legal majority
and/or are emancipated. Consequently, they face the considerable
responsibilities of independent living at a young age and usually
without the supports that often are provided by a family.
A primary purpose of the NRCPFC is to provide T/TA and information
services to build the capacity of State, local, and Tribal child welfare
foster care systems in expediting permanency to support children's
and youth's long-term needs for safe family connections. In order to
accomplish this task, the NRCPFC will utilize the framework of the
seven outcomes in the domains of safety, permanency, and child and
family well-being defined in the Child and Family Services Review
(CFSR). Additional information on the outcomes may be found at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/tools_guide/proce
dures/appendixb.htm
Expectations
T/TA by the NRCPFC will assist State, local, Tribal, publicly
administered or publicly supported child welfare agencies, and Family
Connection grantees to:
ï‚· Institutionalize a safety-focused, family-centered, and
community-based approach to meet the multiple and complex
needs of children, youth and families when out-of-home
placement is required for children's safety;
ï‚· Assess children and families' strengths and needs;
ï‚· Engage families, children and youth in developing a plan to
remediate family needs and build on strengths;
ï‚· Develop, support and maintain a range of services which can be
individualized for children and youth in out-of-home care and for
their families;
ï‚· Provide safe quality care for children and youth in the placement
care of the State or Tribe;
ï‚· Increase the utilization of family-based placements and reduce
reliance on congregate care;
ï‚· Maintain continuity and relationships for children and youth in
care through parent/child visitation and sibling visitation,
enhancing parent/child relationships, and identifying and
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maintaining cultural and other important connections for children
and youth in care;
ï‚· Plan effectively and expeditiously for children and youth to be
moved from foster care to safe, permanent family placements;
ï‚· Utilize concurrent planning, dual licensure of foster and adoptive
homes, and other effective permanency program supports;
ï‚· Provide supports to families to build parental capacity, expedite
reunification when safe and appropriate, and prevent re-entry
into foster care;
ï‚· Provide a range of post-permanency stabilization supports after
reunification, relative placement, or guardianship has been
achieved;
ï‚· Improve the quality of caseworker contacts with children, youth,
and parents;
ï‚· Engage all family members, including fathers and absent parents
in assessment, case and permanency planning, service
assessment, and placement stabilization;
ï‚· Collaborate with judicial systems in developing effective, efficient
permanency planning and oversight;
ï‚· Improve outcomes, such as timeliness to permanency, reducing
re-entry, and increasing placement stability for children and
youth in placement; and
ï‚· Implement the Federal legislation administered by CB as well as
achieve the goals of ASFA, title IV-B, MEPA, and ICWA.
The NRCPFC will support the delivery of child welfare services in
modalities which strengthen parental capacity and reflect approaches
that are family-centered, community-based, culturally competent, and
individually focused. Enhancement of service delivery models which
strengthen such practices will be viewed as a relevant consideration in
the development of training and technical assistance activities. The
NRCPFC will support the following practices:
ï‚· Family-centered practice models designed to strengthen and
empower families to protect and nurture their children; safely
preserve family relationships and connections when appropriate;
recognize the strong influence social systems have on individual
15
behavior; enhance family autonomy; respect the rights, values,
and cultures of families; and focus on an entire family rather
than on selected individuals within a family.
ï‚· Community-based practice designed to support the needs of
children within the context of their families and communities;
emphasizing prevention-oriented services and support; and
providing local communities a role in identifying, designing,
implementing, and overseeing services within the community.
ï‚· Culturally competent practice designed to incorporate in child
welfare agencies and organizations appropriate values,
principles, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that, when
integrated through policy making, administration, practice,
service delivery, and the systematic involvement of consumers,
enhance the capacity of key stakeholders and communities to
work effectively in a variety of cultural contexts and program
settings. Cultural competency is defined as a developmental
process that evolves over an extended period. Both individuals
and organizations are at various levels of awareness, knowledge
and skills along the cultural competence continuum (adapted
from Cross, T., Bazron, B., Dennis, K. & Isaacs, M. (1989),
Towards a culturally competent system of care: A Monograph on
Effective Services for Minority Children Who Are Severely
Emotionally Disturbed: Volume I Washington, DC: Georgetown
University Child Development Center).
ï‚· Individualized services designed to tailor interventions to meet
the specific needs of children, youth and families served;
recognize that children, youth, and families are affected by both
individual and environmental factors; recognize that children,
youth, families and the environments in which they operate are
unique; and offer children, youth and families opportunities to
provide input into their strengths, needs, and goals and the
means to achieve those goals.
ï‚· Strengthening parental capacity through practices that enhance
services and support for both parents and recognize the value of
involving both parents in care of their children; promote parents'
strengths and self-esteem by emphasizing partnership with
service providers; and balance parental need for autonomy in
decision-making with the need for ongoing support.
In collaboration with members of the T/TA Network and CB, each NRC
will work with States and Tribes across the nation to address both
16
specific problems and broad child welfare performance issues. The
NRCPFC will:
ï‚· Subscribe to a SOC framework and CFSR principles in the
coordination, administration, and delivery of T/TA;
ï‚· Support and facilitate regional peer-to-peer mentoring and
networking between State and Tribal child welfare systems;
ï‚· Perform outreach that will engage States and Tribes and prompt
their participation in utilization of available T/TA and resources
from appropriate members of the CB T/TA Network;
ï‚· Build the capacity of State and Tribal child welfare systems to
achieve systemic change and improve outcomes for children,
youth, and families;
ï‚· Partner closely with CB, other members of the T/TA Network,
States, Tribes, and other regional and national stakeholders;
ï‚· Provide proactive T/TA that supports the implementation of
State and Tribal strategies for improved child welfare practice;
ï‚· Utilize the experience and expertise of CB Regional Offices, T/TA
Network, stakeholders, and other resources - making referrals
and developing collaborative T/TA strategies when appropriate;
ï‚· Provide coordinated and individualized T/TA that supports
existing services and resources available to States and Tribes;
ï‚· Participate fully in any national evaluation activities, if
applicable;
ï‚· Develop and conduct self evaluation;
ï‚· Present self evaluation findings to CB and the T/TA Network;
ï‚· Collaborate across regions to address common issues, improve
cross-system networking, and jointly develop and execute
mutual (NRC) evaluation activities;
ï‚· Consider the knowledge being developed by CB discretionary
research and demonstration projects as a potential resource in
the T/TA they provide, as described in the background section of
this program announcement; and
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ï‚· Coordinate and provide limited T/TA to grantees funded under
the Family Connection Grants program. The Family Connection
Grants program funds demonstration projects designed to
connect children and youth who are in, or at risk of entering,
foster care with family members; to provide support for kinship
caregiver families; to support family finding and engagement
efforts; to support family group decision-making meetings;
and/or to support residential family treatment programs.
Roles and Responsibilities
Within the CB T/TA Network, the NRCs develop knowledge, identify
emerging trends, transfer knowledge of effective and promising
practices, and provide T/TA to support systemic change nationwide.
The NRCPFC will provide national expertise in serving children in out-
of-home care and their families; engaging parents to effect
reunification, relative placement, guardianship and adoption plans for
children; connecting children who are in, or at risk of entering, foster
care with family members; and assessing children and families to
identify and address needs related to safety, permanency, and well-
being.
T/TA activities to be conducted by the NRCPFC will include, but are not
limited to:
1. Fostering an understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of
effective permanency and concurrent planning activities based in
active family engagement, resulting in improved outcomes for the
children, youth and families involved with the child welfare system
(including collaboration with National Foster Care Month activities);
2. Facilitating and assisting State, local, Tribal, public and private
agencies in the coordinated planning and development of a range of
services and supports which can be individualized to meet the safety,
permanency and well-being needs of children and youth in out-of-
home-care and their families, provide quality care for children and
youth in the care and custody of the State, and achieve permanency
plans for children and youth;
3. Conducting regular and ongoing needs assessments that will be
used to identify unmet needs and which also incorporate findings from
other statewide assessment processes such as Federal monitoring
reviews; and developing a national T/TA strategy to improve
permanency planning and family engagement.
18
4. Providing on-site T/TA and consultation to State and Tribal child
welfare agencies
5. Coordinating and providing T/TA to grantees funded under the
Family Connection Grant program.
6. Identifying and disseminating promising, innovative, and
evidence-based or evidence-informed practices that address emerging
child welfare issues related to safety-focused family-centered
practices, effective community collaboration strategies, culturally
competent practice, and foster care and permanency planning;
7. Demonstrating a commitment to meaningful stakeholder
involvement across the spectrum of programs which serve families
involved with child welfare, especially youth in foster care, and the
programs and services which serve them, by building State and Tribal
capacity to consistently involve courts, youth, families, Tribes, and
other relevant stakeholders in program planning, implementation,
evaluation, and other systems change initiatives;
8. Supporting States in the development and implementation of
their Program Improvement Plans resulting from Federal monitoring
reviews;
9. Building the capacity of child welfare agencies and enhancing
collaboration with courts by developing and disseminating information
and materials, including curricula, guidelines, and training materials;
10. Providing financial support and effective coordination for the
National Association of State Foster Care Managers (NASFCM),
including support of an annual meeting. The purpose of this
Association is to allow State foster care managers to keep each other
informed on the latest program, policy and practice developments,
laws, and strategies to maintain an efficient, state-of-the art foster
care and permanency planning program to improve the outcomes of
safety, permanency, and well-being for children and youth in foster
care. It is anticipated that NASFCM will meet once a year to discuss
relevant issues and will include relevant CB staff in the meeting;
11. Coordinating with CB's TTA Network, ACF Regional Offices and
State and Tribal agencies in the development of T/TA strategies;
12. Processing all on-site T/TA requests through the single point of
entry established by CB. This will involve the Regional Office staff, the
appropriate T/TA Network members, and CB staff as needed, as well
as any other critical stakeholders. These partners will facilitate an
19
assessment of T/TA needs and a coordinated and immediate response
that avoids delays or duplication of effort;
13. Actively participating in twice-a-year team meetings of CB's T/TA
Network and the T/TA Coordination Committee;
14. Collaborating with other CB T/TA network members, other
agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services, and other
agents of CB to strengthen T/TA efforts, avoid duplication, and
manage resources effectively;
15. Providing information and cooperation needed by CB as it
manages, maintains and updates to improve functionality, when
needed, the web-based tracking system for T/TA requests. This
system enables CB to track the NRC's responses to T/TA requests;
16. Providing data needed by CB to evaluate the results and benefits
of the T/TA provided by the NRCPFC; and
17. Considering the knowledge being developed by CB discretionary
research and demonstration projects as a potential resource in the
T/TA it provides, as described in the background section of this
program announcement.
Specific Tasks to be Performed- Planning Phase
Each applicant is required to submit a narrative (with accompanying
logic model) that clearly and concisely describes its strategy for a
three-month planning phase (Phase I) followed by a 57-month
implementation phase (Phase II).
During the Planning Phase, the NRCPFC will:
ï‚· Meet with the Federal Project Officer(FPO) and other
representatives of CB to discuss the scope of work of the
NRCPFC in the context of the current environment;
ï‚· Build and strengthen its relationships with CB, members of the
T/TA Network, and other key stakeholders;
ï‚· Work with the CB FPO to transition all materials and other
resources from previous National Resource Center for Family
Centered Practice and Permanency Planning grantee as
appropriate and needed;
ï‚· Review program announcement descriptions of required areas of
T/TA as well as roles, responsibilities, and expectations to
20
determine areas in which the work plan could be strengthened to
better respond to the announcement requirements;
ï‚· Revise and refine work plans and planning documents for
outreach to CB Regional Offices, States, and Tribes in
conjunction with the CB and the T/TA Network a regional forum;
ï‚· Assess its evaluation plan in relation to the CB TTA Network
cross-site evaluation activities;
ï‚· Obtain approval from CB for its revised work plans; and
ï‚· Initiate outreach to targeted States and Tribes and Family
Connection grantees.
SpecificTasks to be Performed During the Implementation
Phase
During the Implementation phase, the NRCPFC will:
ï‚· Implement the revised work plan, as approved by CB;
ï‚· Continue to engage States and Tribes and Family Connection
grantees;
ï‚· Collaborate in the assessment and analysis of needs and
strengths of States and Tribes;
ï‚· Respond to T/TA requests;
ï‚· Collaborate and regularly consult with CB and the T/TA Network;
ï‚· Provide coordinated and individualized T/TA that supports the
implementation of strategies for systems change;
ï‚· Collaborate with other members of the CB T/TA Network to
develop individualized strategies which address the specific
needs of State and Tribal child welfare systems;
ï‚· Coordinate and provide limited T/TA to grantees funded under
the Family Connections grant program;
ï‚· Support the National Association of State Foster Care Managers
(NASFCM) in the development of their annual conference and
collaborate with foster care managers in identification of specific
21
needs, issues, trends, and knowledge development related to
foster care, out-of-home care, and permanency achievement;
ï‚· Assist States and Tribes in disseminating knowledge and
promising practices though peer-to-peer T/TA, training and
conference presentations;
ï‚· Actively participate in knowledge development and dissemination
initiatives;
ï‚· Annually review and revise the NRCPFC work plan, incorporating
the information gained from evaluation activities;
ï‚· Obtain FPO approval of revised work plan; and
ï‚· Complete required reporting and distribute evaluation findings.
In its application, each applicant must describe how it proposes to
complete its required and proposed activities within the planning and
implementation phases of the project. After the award of the
cooperative agreement and prior to the implementation phase, plans
may be revised to accommodate coordination of activities with other
grantees. The applicant's plans will be subject to review, revision, and
final approval by CB.
Collaboration
The NRCPFC will lead collaborative efforts in its area of topical
expertise and will partner with other T/TA Network members to
address important systemic and practice issues related to topical areas
of expertise of other members of the T/TA network and for which
NRCPFC will not have principal responsibility. The NRCPFC will provide
consultation to CB's Implementation Centers and participate in
collaborative assessment activities and preparation that will support
the execution of their implementation projects. The NRCPFC will work
with Child Welfare Information Gateway to ensure that products and
resources are easily accessible and effectively disseminated and it will
partner with the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes to
support the provision of effective, culturally competent, foster care
services in Tribal communities. The NRCPFC will explore opportunities
to collaborate with other T/TA Network members. For example, it will
work with the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute to consider
training content related to enhancement of supervision skills and the
National Quality Improvement Centers to understand new findings
related to engaging nonresident fathers, establishing public-private
child welfare partnerships, implementing differential response, and
22
preventing maltreatment of young children. Additionally, the NRCPFC
will collaborate with the National Resource Center for Legal and
Judicial Issues as needed.
The NRCPFC is expected to build relationships with other Federal T/TA
providers external to CB's T/TA Network. The NRCPFC will work with
CB to identify and pursue T/TA partnerships across Federal bureaus,
offices, and agencies when appropriate.
Dissemination
The NRCPFC will be a repository for information and resources and a
vehicle for dissemination for products that address a broad range of
issues related to its topical areas of responsibility in the T/TA Network.
The NRCPFC is also expected to play a critical role in the dissemination
of evidence-based and evidence-informed practices.
Evidence-based practices are approaches to prevention or treatment
that are validated by some form of documented outcomes evaluation.
This could be findings established through scientific research, such as
controlled clinical studies, but other methods of establishing evidence
may also be valid.
Evidence-informed practices use the best available research and
practice knowledge to guide program design and implementation
within context. This informed practice allows for innovation and
incorporates the lessons learned from the existing research literature.
The CB expects the NRCPFC to be point of contact for easily accessible,
well-organized, and user-friendly resources for States and Tribes. In
addition to storing and organizing information, the NRCPFC will be
responsible for assessing the quality of its resources and for being
knowledgeable about their content. The NRCPFC will make general
information about itself, the T/TA Network, applicable programs and
services, as well as specific training curricula, research, reports, tools,
or other resources widely available. The NRCPFC is expected to consult
with Child Welfare Information Gateway and other T/TA Network
members to capitalize on opportunities to link useful information and
facilitate easy navigation by website users without unnecessarily
duplicating effort.
National Cross-Site Evaluation
The NRCPFC must allocate funds and devote sufficient resources to
participate fully in a national cross-site evaluation and to conduct its
own center-specific evaluation activities.
23
The NRCPFC will participate fully in CB's National Cross-site Evaluation
of the T/TA Network. The cross-site evaluation employs a participatory
and utilization-focused approach to 1) evaluate the activities,
processes, and approaches of the CB T/TA Network members in their
efforts to successfully achieve systems change, and 2) examine the
degree to which networking, collaboration, information sharing,
adherence to common principles, and common messaging occurs
across the T/TA Network. The National Cross-site Evaluation of the
T/TA Network began its design phase in Federal fiscal year 2009.
The NRCPFC will have regular contact with the cross-site evaluation
contractor and participate as an important stakeholder in the
evaluation. The NRCPFC will be actively involved in the execution of
the cross-site evaluation, participating as necessary in the
development of evaluation instruments, collection of qualitative and
quantitative information, interpretation of data, and utilization of
findings. The NRCPFC will be required to enter information into the
T/TA Network's automated data collection system within the
timeframes set by CB and the cross-site evaluation. CB expects
regular and timely reporting of on-site T/TA and other activities into
the web-based tracking system currently known as the Technical
Assistance Tracking Internet System (TATIS). The NRCPFC will be
responsible for including a quality assurance component in its
evaluation plan that tracks timely and accurate reporting into the
system.
Center-Specific Evaluation
In addition to performing evaluation activities that meet the
requirements of the cross-site evaluation, the NRCPFC will conduct its
own center-specific evaluation activities. CB expects the NRCPFC to
regularly evaluate its performance and to use this information to
improve its processes and services. The NRCPFC will design and
conduct an evaluation using multiple measures, employing both
qualitative and quantitative methods as necessary. Center-specific
evaluation activities must complement the NRCPFC's participation in
the cross-site evaluation and avoid unnecessary duplication.
In its center-specific evaluation activities, the NRCPFC will build on the
components of the national cross-site evaluation, addressing more
nuanced questions or examining different evaluation questions that are
likely to yield practical information and promote the improvement of
its T/TA modalities. Center-specific evaluation findings are expected to
be substantive, highlighting both project strengths and challenges.
During the course of the project period, the NRCPFC will facilitate
24
communication for the purpose of T/TA improvement ("feedback
loops"), ensuring that its findings are shared with other members of
the T/TA Network and CB's Central and Regional Offices.
A list of potential "domains" and examples of questions for center-
specific evaluation can be found in Section IV.2 PROJECT
DESCRIPTION: APPROACH.
Upon award of the cooperative agreements, the NRCPFC will share its
preliminary center-specific evaluation plans with other members of the
T/TA Network and the cross-site evaluation contractor. The NRCs may
choose to include common evaluation components (i.e., methods,
collection tools, processes, outputs, and/or outcomes) in their center-
specific designs, particularly when evaluating joint activities and
collaborative T/TA that is provided to a State or Tribal child welfare
system by multiple T/TA Network members.
All evaluation plans must be approved by the Federal project officer.
Prior to beginning its evaluation activities, the NRCPFC will review and
revise its center-specific evaluation design in partnership with CB.
The NRCPFC will regularly update its Federal project officer about
ongoing evaluation activities and findings in required progress
reporting and provide CB with a written report at the end of the
project. The NRCs will collaborate with each other, their State and
Tribal partners, the CB, the national evaluation contractor, and other
members of the T/TA Network when necessary to produce a
comprehensive evaluation report at the conclusion of the project
period and present findings to the CB, the T/TA Network, and other
stakeholders.
Logic Model
The applicant is required to submit in its application a logic model for
its planning and implementation. The logic model also must
accompany all subsequent submissions of plans related to this
announcement to CB.
Travel for Meetings, Conferences, and Presentations
Approximately six weeks after the award of the cooperative
agreement, the NRCPFC project director, the project evaluator, and
representatives of other key partners and/or subcontractors involved
in the execution of the award, if applicable, will be required to attend a
one-day meeting with the Federal project officer and other Federal
staff in Washington, D.C. The purpose of this meeting is to review and
25
approve activities and planning timelines in year one of the award and
to clarify expectations for the project.
Within six months of the award of the cooperative agreements, the
NRCPFC project director, project evaluator, and representatives of
other key partners and/or subcontractors involved in the execution of
the award, if applicable, must make an oral presentation to CB staff in
Washington, D.C., describing and supporting its implementation plans
for each of the major areas of activity.
The applicant's budget for the first 12-month budget period should
include anticipated costs for these two meetings, as well as costs for
two key staff persons to attend at least two CB conferences annually
as identified with the Federal project officer.
In addition, the NRCPFC project director or another designated
representative will attend T/TA Network meetings held twice annually
in the Washington, D.C. metro area over the duration of the five-year
project period. All expenses related to attendance at these two-day
meetings also should be included in the applicant's proposed budget.
Project Requirements
The acceptance of funds for projects responsive to this announcement
will signify the applicant's assurance that it will comply with the
following requirements:
1) Have the project fully functioning within 90 days following the
notification of the grant award.
2) Participate in any national evaluation or technical assistance
contract that relates to this program announcement.
3) Submit all performance indicator data, program, evaluation, and
financial reports in a timely manner in the required formats (see
Section VI.3). CB prefers and will accept the interim and final
reports on disk or electronically using a standard word-processing
program, however grantees are required to provide the original and
two copies of performance progress and final reports.
4) Submit an original and two copies of the final report, the final
evaluation report, and any program products to CB within 90 days
of the project end date.
5) Allocate sufficient funds in the budget to provide for the project
director, the evaluator, and other key partners to attend the
26
meetings described in this program announcement.
II. AWARD INFORMATION
Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement
Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,150,000
Expected Number of Awards: 1
Ceiling on Amount of Individual $1,150,000 per budget period
Awards:
Floor on Amount of Individual None
Awards:
Average Projected Award Amount: $1,150,000 per budget period
Length of Project Periods: 60-month project with five 12-month
budget periods
Awards under this announcement are subject to the availability
of funds.
Additional Information on Awards:
The cooperative agreement awarded will be for a project period of 60
months. The initial award will be for a 12-month budget period. The
award of continuation beyond each 12-month budget period will be
subject to satisfactory progress on the part of the awardee and a
determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of
the Federal Government.
Description of Anticipated Substantial Involvement under the
Cooperative Agreement:
A cooperative agreement is a specific method of awarding Federal
assistance in which substantial Federal involvement is anticipated. A
cooperative agreement clearly defines the respective responsibilities of
CB and the grantee prior to the award. CB anticipates that agency
involvement will produce programmatic benefits to the recipient
otherwise unavailable to them for carrying out the project. The
involvement and collaboration includes:
27
ï‚· CB review and approval of planning stages of the activities
before implementation phases may begin;
ï‚· CB and recipient joint collaboration in the performance of key
programmatic activities (i.e., strategic planning, implementation,
information technology enhancements, T/TA, publications or
products, and evaluation);
ï‚· Close monitoring by CB of the requirements stated in this
announcement that limit the grantee's discretion with respect to
scope of services offered, organizational structure, and
management processes; and
ï‚· Close monitoring by CB during performance which may, in order
to ensure compliance with the intent of this funding, exceed
those Federal stewardship responsibilities customary for grant
activities.
Please see Section IV.5 for any restrictions on the use of funds for
awards made under this announcement.
III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
1. Eligible Applicants
ï‚· State governments
ï‚· County governments
ï‚· City or township governments
ï‚· Special district governments
ï‚· Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
ï‚· Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than
institutions of higher education
ï‚· Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than
institutions of higher education
ï‚· Private institutions of higher education
ï‚· For profit organizations other than small businesses
ï‚· Small businesses
Collaborative efforts and interdisciplinary approaches are acceptable.
Applications from collaborations must identify a primary applicant
responsible for administering the cooperative agreement.
Foreign entities are not eligible under this announcement.
28
Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply under
this announcement.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: None
3. Other:
Disqualification Factors
Applications with requests that exceed the ceiling on the amount of
individual awards referenced in Section II. Award Information will be
deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under
this announcement.
Any application that fails to satisfy the deadline requirements
referenced in Section IV.3., Submission Dates and Times, will be
deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under
this announcement.
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
1. Address to Request Application Package:
ACYF Operations Center
c/o The Dixon Group, Inc.
ATTN: Children's Bureau
118 Q St., NE.
Washington, DC 20002-2132
Phone: 866-796-1591
Phone 2: or TTY 711
Email: cb@dixongroup.com
For hearing or speech impaired callers, contact the Federal Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339 (TTY (Text Telephone) / ASCII (American
Standard Code For Information Interchange)).
2. Content and Form of Application Submission:
This section provides information on the required form and content of
application submissions. Applicants are required to submit one original
and two copies of all application materials if applying in hard-copy. The
original signature of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR)
is required only on the original. Information on the required format,
Standard Forms (SFs) and other forms, D-U-N-S Requirement, Project
Description, Certifications, Assurances, Electronic Submission of
applications, and Hard Copy submission of applications is available in
29
this section. A Checklist of required application elements is available
for applicants' use in Section VIII of this announcement.
Each application must contain the following items in the order listed:
Application for Federal Assistance. (Standard Form (SF) 424, SF-
424A and SF-424-B). Follow the instructions that accompany the forms
and those in Section V, Application Review Information.
Certifications/Assurances. See Forms, Assurances, and
Certifications, below.
Table of Contents. List the major sections of the application, and
show the page that each section begins on.
Project Summary/Abstract (one page maximum, double spaced).
See Section IV.2 Project Description. Clearly mark this page with the
applicant name as shown on SF-424, identify the program
announcement and the title of the proposed project as shown on SF-
424 and the service area as shown on SF-424. The summary
description should not exceed 300 words.
Care should be taken to produce a summary/abstract that accurately
and concisely reflects the proposed project.
The Project Description. Applicants should organize their project
description in this sequence: 1) Objectives and Need for Assistance; 2)
Approach; 3) Evaluation; 4) Organizational Profiles; and 5) Budget and
Budget Justification.
Budget and Budget Justification. Include information on the
required cost item of Travel for Meetings and Presentations (see
Section I).
Non-Federal Resources (if applicable). Provide a letter of
commitment verifying the actual amount of the non-Federal share of
project costs (see Sections III.2 and V).
Indirect Charges. If claiming indirect costs, provide documentation
that the applicant currently has an indirect cost-rate approved by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or another
cognizant Federal agency.
Third-Party Agreements. If applicable, include a letter of
commitment or Memorandum of Understanding from each partner
and/or contractor describing their role, detailing specific project tasks
to be performed, and expressing commitment to participate if the
proposed project is funded. Note: General letters of support not
30
expressing specific commitments are not required and will not be
considered by reviewers under the evaluation criteria.
Staff and Position Data. Include job descriptions and curriculum
vitae/ resumes for proposed project staff.
Page Limit. The length of the entire application package may be less
than but must not exceed 110 pages. This includes but is not limited
to the required Federal Standard Forms and certifications (SF-424, SF-
424A, SF-424B, and Certification Regarding Lobbying), table of
contents, project summary, project description, logic model, Gantt
chart, budget/budget justification, supplemental documentation, proof
of non-profit status, summaries of sub-grants and contracts, letters of
agreement, resumes, CVs and any other pages included in the
application package. All pages of the application package must be
sequentially numbered, beginning with page one. All pages of each
application will be counted to determine total length. All pages
exceeding the 110 page limit will be removed and will not be
considered in the reviewing process. A cover letter and general letters
of support are not required. Applicants are reminded that if a cover
letter and general letters of support are submitted, they will count
towards the 110-page limit. Each applicant must organize its
application in the order listed in this section and number all application
pages. Pages will be counted in the order they are submitted in hard
copy and numbered when received electronically. All pages that
exceed the page limit will be removed and will not be reviewed.
General Content and Form Information. To be considered for
funding, each application must be submitted with the Standard Federal
Forms and must follow the guidance provided. The application must be
signed by an individual authorized to act for the applicant agency and
to assume responsibility for the obligations imposed by the terms and
conditions of the award.
The project description must be typed and double-spaced on a single
side of 8.5 x 11 inch plain white paper with a least one inch margins
on all sides, using black print with 12-point size Times New Roman
font.
For charts, budget tables, supplemental letters and documents,
applicants may use a different point size and font, but no less than 10-
point size and single spaced.
All copies of an application must be submitted in a single package. A
separate package must be submitted for each funding opportunity. The
31
package must be clearly labeled for the specific funding opportunity it
is addressing.
Because each application will be duplicated, do not use or include
separate covers, binders, clips, tabs, plastic inserts, maps, brochures,
or any other items that cannot be processed easily on a photocopy
machine with an automatic feed. Do not bind, clip, staple, or fasten in
any way separate subsections of the application, including supporting
documentation. Use a clip (not a staple) to securely bind the
application together. Applicants are advised that the copies of the
application submitted, not the original, will be reproduced by the
Federal Government for review.
Tips for Preparing a Competitive Application. It is essential that
applicants read the entire announcement package carefully before
preparing an application and include all of the required application
forms and attachments. The application must reflect a thorough
understanding of and support the purpose and objectives of the
applicable legislation. Reviewers expect applicants to understand the
goals of the legislation and the Children's Bureau's interest in each
topic. A "responsive application" is one that addresses and follows all
of the evaluation criteria in ways that demonstrate this understanding.
Applications that are considered to be "unresponsive" or do not clearly
address the evaluation criteria or program requirements generally
receive very low scores and are rarely funded.
CB's website (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb) provides a wide
range of information and links to other relevant websites. Before
preparing an application, applicants can learn more about CB's mission
and programs by exploring the website.
Organizing the Application. Reviewers will use the specific
evaluation criteria in Section V of this funding announcement to review
and evaluate each application. The applicant should address each of
these specific evaluation criteria in the project description. Applicants
should organize their project description in this sequence: 1)
Objectives and Need for Assistance; 2) Approach; 3) Evaluation; 4)
Organizational Profiles; and 5) Budget and Budget Justification. The
applicant must use the same headings as these criteria, so that
reviewers can readily find information that directly addresses each of
the specific review criteria.
Logic Model. A logic model is a tool that presents the conceptual
framework for a proposed project and explains the linkages among
program elements. While there are many versions of the logic model,
they generally summarize the logical connections among the needs
32
that are the focus of the project, project goals and objectives, the
target population, project inputs (resources), the proposed
activities/processes/outputs directed toward the target population, the
expected short- and long-term outcomes the initiative is designed to
achieve, and the evaluation plan for measuring the extent to which
proposed processes and outcomes actually occur. Information on the
development of logic models is available on the Internet at
www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/developing/toolkit/.
Evaluation. Project evaluations are very important. If the applicant
does not have the in-house capacity to conduct an objective,
comprehensive evaluation of the project, then CB advises that the
applicant contract with a third-party evaluator specializing in social
science or evaluation, or a university or college, to conduct the
evaluation. In either case, it is important that the evaluator has the
necessary independence from the project to assure objectivity. A
skilled evaluator can help develop a logic model and assist in designing
an evaluation strategy that is rigorous and appropriate given the goals
and objectives of the proposed project. Additional assistance may be
found in a document titled "Program Manager's Guide to Evaluation."
A copy of this document can be accessed at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/other_resrch/pm_guide_eval/r
eports/pmguide/pmguide_toc.html.
Protection of Human Subjects. See "Certifications" later in this
section. General information about the HHS Protection of Human
Subjects regulations can be obtained at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/.
Applicants may also contact OHRP by email (ohrp@csophs.dhhs.gov),
by phone (240-453-6900), or by Toll-Free Telephone within the U.S.
(866) 447-4777.
Electronic Submission
Applicants that submit their application electronically are advised to be
sure that they secure and retain their service ticket number for
reference whenever they have any interaction with the Grants.gov
Contact Center.
Non-Federal Reviewers
Since ACF will be using non-Federal reviewers in the review process,
applicants have the option of omitting from the application copies (not
the original) specific salary rates or amounts for individuals specified in
the application budget as well as Social Security Numbers, if otherwise
33
required for individuals. The copies may include summary salary
information.
If applicants are submitting their application electronically, ACF will
omit the same specific salary rate information from copies made for
use during the review and selection process.
Forms
Applicants seeking financial assistance under this announcement must
file the appropriate Standard Forms (SFs) as described in this
section. All applicants must submit an SF-424, Application for Federal
Assistance. For non-construction programs, applicants must also
submit an SF-424A, Budget Information and an SF-424B,
Assurances. For construction programs, applicants must also submit
SF-424C, Budget Information and SF-424D, Assurances. All required
Standard Forms are available at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html.
Non-profit private organizations (not including private universities) are
encouraged to submit the "Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for
Applicants" with their applications. Applicants using a hard copy
application, place the completed survey in an envelope labeled
"Applicant Survey." Seal the envelope and include it along with your
application package. Applicants applying electronically, please submit
this survey along with your application. The Survey may be found at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html.
D-U-N-S Requirement
All applicants must have a D&B Data Universal Numbering System (D-
U-N-S) number. A D-U-N-S number is required whether an applicant
is submitting a paper application or using the government-wide
electronic portal, Grants.gov. A D-U-N-S number is required for every
application for a new award or renewal/continuation of an award,
including applications or plans under formula, entitlement, and block
grant programs. A D-U-N-S number may be acquired at no cost by
calling the dedicated toll-free D-U-N-S number request line at 1-866-
705-5711 or you may request a number online at
http://www.dnb.com.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Part I THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION OVERVIEW
PURPOSE
34
The project description provides the majority of information by which
an application is evaluated and ranked in competition with other
applications for available assistance. The project description should be
concise and complete. It should address the activity for which Federal
funds are being requested. Supporting documents should be included
where they can present information clearly and succinctly. In
preparing the project description, information that is responsive to
each of the requested evaluation criteria must be provided. Awarding
offices use this and other information in making their funding
recommendations. It is important, therefore, that this information be
included in the application in a manner that is clear and complete.
GENERAL EXPECTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS
ACF is particularly interested in specific project descriptions that focus
on outcomes and convey strategies for achieving intended
performance. Project descriptions are evaluated on the basis of
substance and measurable outcomes, not length. Extensive exhibits
are not required. Cross-referencing should be used rather than
repetition. Supporting information concerning activities that will not be
directly funded by the grant or information that does not directly
pertain to an integral part of the grant-funded activity should be
placed in an appendix.
Part II GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING A FULL PROJECT
DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION
Applicants that are required to submit a full project description shall
prepare the project description statement in accordance with the
following instructions while being aware of the specified evaluation
criteria. The text options give a broad overview of what the project
description should include while the evaluation criteria identify the
measures that will be used to evaluate applications.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List the contents of the application including corresponding page
numbers.
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Provide a summary of the project description (one page or less) with
reference to the funding request.
OBJECTIVES AND NEED FOR ASSISTANCE
35
Clearly identify the physical, economic, social, financial, institutional,
and/or other problem(s) requiring a solution. The need for assistance
must be demonstrated and the principal and subordinate objectives of
the project must be clearly stated; supporting documentation, such as
letters of support and testimonials from concerned interests other than
the applicant, may be included. Any relevant data based on planning
studies should be included or referred to in the endnotes/footnotes.
Incorporate demographic data and participant/beneficiary information,
as needed. In developing the project description, the applicant may
volunteer or be requested to provide information on the total range of
projects currently being conducted and supported (or to be initiated),
some of which may be outside the scope of the program
announcement.
APPROACH
Outline a plan of action that describes the scope and detail of how the
proposed work will be accomplished. Account for all functions or
activities identified in the application. Cite factors that might accelerate
or decelerate the work and state your reason for taking the proposed
approach rather than others. Describe any unusual features of the
project such as design or technological innovations, reductions in cost
or time, or extraordinary social and community involvement.
To illustrate project schedules, applicants may include charts, such as
a Gantt chart, or a bar chart or other chart. In describing their center-
specific evaluation plans, applicants may choose to address the
following questions for center-specific evaluation (the domains these
questions would address are in parentheses): To what extent was T/TA
individualized or tailored to the needs of the State or Tribe that was
served? (Fit) How comprehensive is NRC's knowledge and resources in
its area(s) of topical child welfare expertise? Is the scope of resources
sufficient to serve its clients' needs? (Scope- Topical Service Array)
How effectively did NRC's T/TA meet the need(s) identified by the
State or Tribe? (Effectiveness) What was the quality of the T/TA
provided? What was the quality of the consultation provided by
individual NRC employees and contracted consultants? What was the
quality of the products created by each NRC? (Quality Assurance) How
effective was NRC in collecting and disseminating information about
evidence-based and promising practice in its areas of child welfare
expertise? (Evidence-Based Practice) How well did NRC assess the
needs of its client? Were other T/TA Network members or other
resources involved, as necessary? (Comprehensive assessment and
responsiveness) How effectively did NRC share information about the
process and the results of providing T/TA? Did feedback help inform
36
future decisions about T/TA? (Communication) How effectively did NRC
collaborate with other T/TA Network members in its provision of T/TA?
How well did NRCs collaborate across their evaluation activities,
particularly when a State or Tribe is served by multiple T/TA Network
providers? (Collaboration) How effective was NRC in helping States
and Tribes implement steps in their plans for corrective action and
systemic change? How effective was NRC in helping systems improve
their performance in response to federal requirements such as CFSR,
IV-E, SACWIS and AFCARS? (Implementation and improvement) To
what degree did NRC adhere to SOC and CFSR principles? (Principles)
Provide quantitative monthly or quarterly projections of the
accomplishments to be achieved for each function or activity in such
terms as the number of people to be served and the number of
activities accomplished.
When accomplishments cannot be quantified by activity or function,
list them in chronological order to show the schedule of
accomplishments and their target dates.
If any data is to be collected, maintained, and/or disseminated,
clearance may be required from OMB. This clearance pertains to any
"collection of information that is conducted or sponsored by ACF."
Provide a list of organizations, cooperating entities, consultants, or
other key individuals who will work on the project along with a short
description of the nature of their effort or contribution.
EVALUATION
Provide a narrative addressing how the conduct of the project and the
results of the project will be evaluated. In addressing the evaluation
of results, state how you will determine the extent to which the project
has achieved its stated objectives and the extent to which the
accomplishment of objectives can be attributed to the project. Discuss
the criteria to be used to evaluate results, and explain the
methodology that will be used to determine if the needs identified and
discussed are being met and if the project results and benefits are
being achieved. With respect to the conduct of the project, define the
procedures to be employed to determine whether the project is being
conducted in a manner consistent with the work plan presented and
discuss the impact of the project's various activities that address the
project's effectiveness.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
37
The following are requests for additional information that must be
included in the application:
ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION
Applicants must provide the following as certification of their
eligibility under this program announcement. Please provide:
Proof of Non-Profit Status
Non-profit organizations applying for funding are required to
submit proof of their non-profit status. Proof of non-profit status
is any one of the following:
ï‚· A reference to the applicant organization's listing in the
IRS's most recent list of tax-exempt organizations
described in the IRS Code.
ï‚· A copy of a currently valid IRS tax-exemption certificate.
ï‚· A statement from a State taxing body, State attorney
general, or other appropriate State official certifying that
the applicant organization has non-profit status and that
none of the net earnings accrue to any private
shareholders or individuals.
ï‚· A certified copy of the organization's certificate of
incorporation or similar document that clearly establishes
non-profit status.
ï‚· Any of the items in the subparagraphs immediately above
for a State or national parent organization and a statement
signed by the parent organization that the applicant
organization is a local non-profit affiliate.
When applying electronically, proof of non-profit status may be
submitted as an attachment; however, proof of non-profit status
must be submitted prior to award.
LOGIC MODEL
Applicants are expected to use a model for designing and
managing their project. A logic model is a tool that presents the
conceptual framework for a proposed project and explains the
linkages among program elements. While there are many
versions of the logic model, they generally summarize the logical
connections among the needs that are the focus of the project,
project goals and objectives, the target population, project
inputs (resources), the proposed activities/processes/outputs
38
directed toward the target population, the expected short- and
long-term outcomes the initiative is designed to achieve, and the
evaluation plan for measuring the extent to which proposed
processes and outcomes actually occur.
STAFF AND POSITION DATA
Provide a biographical sketch and job description for each key
person appointed. Job descriptions for each vacant key position
should be included as well. As new key staff is appointed,
biographical sketches will also be required.
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILES
Provide information on the applicant organization(s) and
cooperating partners, such as: organizational charts; financial
statements; audit reports or statements from Certified Public
Accountants/Licensed Public Accountants; Employer
Identification Number(s); contact persons and telephone
numbers; names of bond carriers; child care licenses and other
documentation of professional accreditation; information on
compliance with Federal/State/local government standards;
documentation of experience in the program area; and, other
pertinent information.
DISSEMINATION PLAN
Provide a plan for distributing reports and other project outputs
to colleagues and to the public. Applicants must provide a
description of the method, volume, and timing of distribution.
THIRD-PARTY AGREEMENTS
Provide written and signed agreements between grantees and
subgrantees, or subcontractors, or other cooperating entities.
These agreements must detail the scope of work to be
performed, work schedules, remuneration, and other terms and
conditions that structure or define the relationship.
BUDGET AND BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
Provide a budget with line-item detail and detailed calculations for
each budget object class identified on the Budget Information Form
(SF-424A or SF-424C). Detailed calculations must include estimation
methods, quantities, unit costs, and other similar quantitative detail
sufficient for the calculation to be duplicated. If matching is a
requirement, include a breakout by the funding sources identified in
Block 15 of the SF-424.
39
Provide a narrative budget justification that describes how the
categorical costs are derived. Discuss the necessity, reasonableness,
and allocation of the proposed costs.
GENERAL
Use the following guidelines for preparing the budget and budget
justification. Both Federal and non-Federal resources (when
required) shall be detailed and justified in the budget and budget
narrative justification. "Federal resources" refers only to the
ACF grant funds for which you are applying. "Non-Federal
resources" are all other non-ACF Federal and non-Federal
resources. It is suggested that budget amounts and
computations be presented in a columnar format: first column,
object class categories; second column, Federal budget; next
column(s), non-Federal budget(s); and last column, total
budget. The budget justification should be in a narrative form.
PERSONNEL
Description: Costs of employee salaries and wages.
Justification: Identify the project director or principal
investigator, if known at the time of application. For each staff
person, provide: the title; time commitment to the project in
months; time commitment to the project as a percentage or full-
time equivalent; annual salary; grant salary; wage rates;
etc. Do not include the costs of consultants, personnel costs of
delegate agencies, or of specific project(s) and/or businesses to
be financed by the applicant.
FRINGE BENEFITS
Description: Costs of employee fringe benefits unless treated as
part of an approved indirect cost rate.
Justification: Provide a breakdown of the amounts and
percentages that comprise fringe benefit costs such as health
insurance, FICA, retirement insurance, taxes, etc.
TRAVEL
Description: Costs of project-related travel by employees of the
applicant organization. (This item does not include costs of
consultant travel).
Justification: For each trip show: the total number of
traveler(s); travel destination; duration of trip; per diem;
mileage allowances, if privately owned vehicles will be used; and
other transportation costs and subsistence allowances. If
40
appropriate for this project, travel costs for key staff to attend
ACF-sponsored workshops should be detailed in the budget.
EQUIPMENT
Description: "Equipment" means an article of nonexpendable,
tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one
year and an acquisition cost that equals or exceeds the lesser
of: (a) the capitalization level established by the organization
for the financial statement purposes, or (b) $5,000. (Note:
Acquisition cost means the net invoice unit price of an item of
equipment, including the cost of any modifications, attachments,
accessories, or auxiliary apparatus necessary to make it usable
for the purpose for which it is acquired. Ancillary charges, such
as taxes, duty, protective in-transit insurance, freight, and
installation, shall be included in or excluded from acquisition cost
in accordance with the organization's regular written accounting
practices.)
Justification: For each type of equipment requested provide: a
description of the equipment; the cost per unit; the number of
units; the total cost; and a plan for use on the project; as well as
use and/or disposal of the equipment after the project ends. An
applicant organization that uses its own definition for equipment
should provide a copy of its policy, or section of its policy, that
includes the equipment definition.
SUPPLIES
Description: Costs of all tangible personal property other than
that included under the Equipment category.
Justification: Specify general categories of supplies and their
costs. Show computations and provide other information that
supports the amount requested.
CONTRACTUAL
Description: Costs of all contracts for services and goods except
for those that belong under other categories such as equipment,
supplies, construction, etc. Include third-party evaluation
contracts, if applicable, and contracts with secondary recipient
organizations, including delegate agencies and specific project(s)
and/or businesses to be financed by the applicant.
Justification: Demonstrate that all procurement transactions will
be conducted in a manner to provide, to the maximum extent
practical, open and free competition. Recipients and
subrecipients, other than States that are required to use 45 CFR
41
Part 92 procedures, must justify any anticipated procurement
action that is expected to be awarded without competition and
exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold fixed at 41 USC
403(11), currently set at $100,000.
Recipients might be required to make available to ACF pre-award
review and procurement documents, such as requests for
proposals or invitations for bids, independent cost estimates,
etc.
Note: Whenever the applicant intends to delegate part of the
project to another agency, the applicant must provide a detailed
budget and budget narrative for each delegate agency, by
agency title, along with the required supporting information
referred to in these instructions.
OTHER
Enter the total of all other costs. Such costs, where applicable
and appropriate, may include but are not limited to: insurance;
food; medical and dental costs (noncontractual); professional
services costs; space and equipment rentals; printing and
publication; computer use; training costs, such as tuition and
stipends; staff development costs; and administrative costs.
Justification: Provide computations, a narrative description and
a justification for each cost under this category.
INDIRECT CHARGES
Description: Total amount of indirect costs. This category
should be used only when the applicant currently has an indirect
cost rate approved by the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) or another cognizant Federal agency.
Justification: An applicant that will charge indirect costs to the
grant must enclose a copy of the current rate agreement. If the
applicant organization is in the process of initially developing or
renegotiating a rate, upon notification that an award will be
made, it should immediately develop a tentative indirect cost
rate proposal based on its most recently completed fiscal year, in
accordance with the cognizant agency's guidelines for
establishing indirect cost rates, and submit it to the cognizant
agency. Applicants awaiting approval of their indirect cost
proposals may also request indirect costs. When an indirect cost
rate is requested, those costs included in the indirect cost pool
should not be charged as direct costs to the grant. Also, if the
applicant is requesting a rate that is less than what is allowed
42
under the program, the authorized representative of the
applicant organization must submit a signed acknowledgement
that the applicant is accepting a lower rate than allowed.
PROGRAM INCOME
Description: The estimated amount of income, if any, expected
to be generated from this project.
Justification: Describe the nature, source and anticipated use of
program income in the budget or refer to the pages in the
application that contain this information.
NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES
Description: Amounts of non-Federal resources that will be used
to support the project as identified in Block 18 of the SF-424.
Justification: The firm commitment of these resources must be
documented and submitted with the application so that the
applicant is given credit in the review process. A detailed budget
must be prepared for each funding source.
(As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, P.L. 104-
13, the public reporting burden for the Project Description is estimated
to average 40 hours per response, including the time for reviewing
instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
reviewing the collection information. The Project Description
information collection is approved under OMB control number 0970-
0139, which expires 4/30/2010. An agency may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.)
Certifications
Applicants must furnish, prior to award, an executed copy of the
Certification Regarding Lobbying. Applicants must sign and return the
certification with their application. If any funds have been paid or will
be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an
officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or
employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in
connection with this commitment providing for the United States to
insure or guarantee a loan, the applicant shall complete and submit
Standard Form (SF)-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying," in
accordance with its instructions. The Certification Regarding Lobbying
may be found at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html.
43
When required for programs that involve human subjects, the
Protection of Human Subjects Assurance Identification/IRB
Certification/Declaration of Exemption form must be submitted. All
forms may be reproduced for use in submitting
applications. Applicants must sign and return the appropriate standard
forms with their application. The Protection of Human Subjects
Assurance Identification/IRB Certification/Declaration of Exemption
(Common Rule) form may be found at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html.
Assurances
By signing and submitting the application, applicants are making the
appropriate certification of their compliance with all Federal statutes
relating to nondiscrimination.
The Pro-Children Act of 1994, 20 U.S.C. 7183, imposes restrictions on
smoking in facilities where federally funded children's services are
provided. HHS grants are subject to these requirements only if they
meet the Act's specified coverage. The Act specifies that smoking is
prohibited in any indoor facility (owned, leased, or contracted for)
used for the routine or regular provision of kindergarten, elementary,
or secondary education or library services to children under the age of
18. In addition, smoking is prohibited in any indoor facility or portion
of a facility (owned, leased, or contracted for) used for the routine or
regular provision of federally funded health care, day care, or early
childhood development, including Head Start services to children under
the age of 18. The statutory prohibition also applies if such facilities
are constructed, operated, or maintained with Federal funds. The
statute does not apply to children's services provided in private
residences, facilities funded solely by Medicare or Medicaid funds,
portions of facilities used for inpatient drug or alcohol treatment, or
facilities where WIC coupons are redeemed. Failure to comply with the
provisions of the law may result in the imposition of a civil monetary
penalty of up to $1,000 per violation and/or the imposition of an
administrative compliance order on the responsible entity. Additional
information may be found in the HHS Grants Policy Statement at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_related.html.
Electronic Submission
Applicants to ACF may submit their applications in either electronic or
paper (hard copy) format. To submit an application electronically,
applicants must use the http://www.Grants.gov site. ACF will not
accept applications via facsimile or email.
44
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before submitting an application electronically,
applicants must complete the organization registration process as well
as obtain and register "electronic signature credentials" for the
Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Applicants also must
be registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). CCR
registration must be updated annually. Applicants will not be
able to upload an application to Grants.gov without current CCR
registration and electronic signature credentials for the
AOR. This process may take more than five business days, so it
is important to start this process early, well in advance of the
application deadline.
Be sure to complete all Grants.gov registration processes listed
on the Organization Registration Checklist
at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/registration_checklist.html.
Applicants will be able to download a copy of the application package,
complete it off-line, and then upload and submit the application via the
Grants.gov site.
If planning to submit an application electronically via
http://www.Grants.gov:
ï‚· It is strongly recommended that applicants do not wait
until the application due date to begin the application
process through Grants.gov. Applicants are encouraged to
submit their applications well before the closing date and time so
that, if difficulties are encountered, there will still be sufficient
time to submit a hard copy via express mail.
ï‚· In order to address any difficulties that may be
encountered during the submission process, it may be to
an applicant's advantage to submit their applications 24
hours ahead of the closing date and time.
ï‚· Applicants are encouraged to check the Grants.gov webpage for
announcements concerning system issues and updates that may
affect the submission of applications.
ï‚· Checklists and registration brochures are maintained at the
Grants.gov website to assist applicants in the registration
process and may be found at:
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
ï‚· If any difficulties are encountered in using Grants.gov, contact
the Grants.gov Contact Center at: 1-800-518-4726, or by email
45
at support@grants.gov, to report the problem and obtain
assistance. Remember to retain your service ticket number
for reference whenever you have any interaction with the
Grants.gov Contact Center.
ï‚· Electronic submission is voluntary, but strongly
encouraged. Applicants will not receive additional point value for
submitting an application in electronic format, nor will ACF
penalize any applicant that submits an application in hard copy.
ï‚· Applicants may access the electronic application and
downloadable application package for this program
announcement by using the FIND function at
http://www.Grants.gov.
ï‚· Applicants may submit all required documents electronically,
including all information typically included on the SF-424s,
narratives, charts, etc.
ï‚· Electronic formats for the application attachments, such as
narratives, charts, etc., should use standard software formats,
e.g., Microsoft (Word and Excel), Word Perfect, Adobe PDF,
JPEG, and GIF, etc..
ï‚· Though applying electronically, the application must still comply
with any page limitation requirements described in this program
announcement.
ï‚· When submitting an application via Grants.gov, applicants must
comply with all due dates AND times referenced in Section
IV.3. Submission Dates and Times of this program
announcement.
ï‚· Applicants that must demonstrate proof of non-profit status may
submit proof at the time of application by attaching the
documentation to the electronic application, if they wish to do
so. Proof of non-profit status, and any other required
documentation, may be scanned and attached as an "Other
Attachment." Assurances, certifications, and/or proof of non-
profit status that are not submitted electronically at the time of
application, are required to be submitted to ACF by the time of
award and in hard copy. Acceptable types of proof of non-profit
status are stated earlier in this section of the program
announcement under "Eligibility Certification."
46
ï‚· It is strongly recommended that the applicant retain a printed
hard copy of the application in case a hard copy must be
submitted to ACF.
After the application is submitted electronically, the applicant will
receive two emails from Grants.gov:
ï‚· An automatic acknowledgement of the application's submission
that will provide a Grants.gov tracking number.
ï‚· An acknowledgement that the submitted application package has
passed or failed a series of checks and validations.
ACF will retrieve the electronically submitted application from
Grants.gov. Applicants will receive an email notification from ACF
acknowledging that ACF has received the application.
ACF may request that the applicant provide original signatures on
forms at a later date.
The Grants.gov website complies with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. Grants.gov webpages are designed to work with
assistive technologies such as screen readers. If an applicant uses
assistive technology and is unable to access any material on the site,
contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at support@grants.gov for
assistance.
Hard Copy Submission of Applications
Applicants that are submitting their application in paper format should
submit one original and two copies of the complete application with all
attachments, unless directed otherwise. The original and each of the
two copies must include all required forms, certifications, assurances,
and appendices, be signed by the Authorized Organization
Representative (AOR), and be unbound. The original copy of the
application must have original signature(s). See Section IV.6 of this
announcement for address information for application submissions.
Please refer to Section VIII for a checklist of application requirements,
their location and due dates that applicants may use in developing and
organizing application materials.
Please refer to Section IV.3 for details concerning acknowledgement of
received applications.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
47
Due Date for Applications: 05/26/2009
Explanation of Due Dates
The due date for receipt of applications is referenced
above. Applications received after 4:30 p.m., eastern time, on the
due date will be classified as late and will not be considered in the
current competition.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring that applications are mailed or
hand-delivered or submitted electronically well in advance of the
application due date and time.
Mail
Applications that are submitted by mail must be received no later than
4:30 p.m., eastern time, on the due date referenced above at the
address listed in Section IV.6.
Hand Delivery
Applications hand carried by applicants, applicant couriers, other
representatives of the applicant, or by overnight/express mail couriers
must be received on or before the due date referenced above, between
the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., eastern time, at the address
referenced in Section IV.6., between Monday and Friday (excluding
Federal holidays).
Electronic Submission
Applications submitted electronically via Grants.gov must be submitted
no later than 4:30 p.m., eastern time, on the due date referenced
above.
ACF cannot accommodate transmission of applications by facsimile or
email.
Late Applications
Applications that do not meet the requirements above are considered
late applications. ACF shall notify each late applicant that its
application will not be considered in the current competition.
ANY APPLICATION RECEIVED AFTER 4:30 P.M., EASTERN TIME,
ON THE DUE DATE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR
COMPETITION.
Extension of Deadlines
48
ACF may extend application deadlines when circumstances such as
acts of God (floods, hurricanes, etc.) occur; when there are
widespread disruptions of mail service; or in other rare cases. A
determination to extend or waive deadline requirements rests with the
Chief Grants Management Officer.
Acknowledgement of Received Application
ACF will not provide acknowledgement of receipt of hard copy
application packages submitted via mail, courier services, or by hand
delivery. Applicants who submit their application packages
electronically via http://www.Grants.gov will receive two email
acknowledgements from that website:
ï‚· An automatic acknowledgement of the application's submission
that will provide a Grants.gov tracking number.
ï‚· An acknowledgement that the submitted application package has
passed or failed a series of checks and validations.
4. Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs:
State Single Point of Contact (SPOC)
This program is covered under Executive Order (E.O.) 12372,
"Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs," and 45 CFR Part
100, "Intergovernmental Review of Department of Health and Human
Services Programs and Activities". Under the Executive Order, States
may design their own processes for reviewing and commenting on
proposed Federal assistance under covered programs.
Applicants should go to the following URL for the official list of the
jurisdictions that have elected to participate in E.O. 12372
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc/.
Applicants from participating jurisdictions should contact their SPOC,
as soon as possible, to alert them of their prospective applications and
to receive instructions on their jurisdiction's procedures. Applicants
must submit all required application materials to the SPOC and
indicate the date of submission on the Standard Form (SF) 424 at item
19.
Under 45 CFR 100.8(a)(2), a SPOC has 60 days from the application
due date to comment on proposed new awards.
SPOC comments may be submitted directly to ACF to: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children
49
and Families, Office of Grants Management, Division of Discretionary
Grants, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW., 6th Floor East, Washington, DC
20447.
Entities that meet the eligibility requirements of this announcement
are still eligible to apply for a grant even if a State, Territory or
Commonwealth, etc., does not have a SPOC or has chosen not to
participate in the process. Applicants from non-participating
jurisdictions need take no action with regard to E.O.
12372. Applications from Federally-recognized Indian Tribal
governments are not subject to E.O. 12372.
5. Funding Restrictions:
Costs of organized fund raising, including financial campaigns,
endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar
expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, are
unallowable under this grant award.
Grant awards will not allow reimbursement of pre-award costs.
Construction is not an allowable activity or expenditure under this
grant award.
Purchase of real property is not an allowable activity or expenditure
under this grant award.
6. Other Submission Requirements:
Submit applications to one of the following addresses:
Submission by Mail
ACYF Operations Center
c/o The Dixon Group, Inc.
ATTN: Children's Bureau
118 Q St., NE.
Washington, DC 20002-2132
Hand Delivery
ACYF Operations Center
c/o The Dixon Group, Inc.
ATTN: Children's Bureau
118 Q St., NE.
Washington, DC 20002-2132
Electronic Submission
50
See Section IV.2 for application requirements and for guidance when
submitting applications electronically via http://www.Grants.gov.
For all submissions, see Section IV.3 for information on due dates.
V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
1. CRITERIA:
In considering how applicants will carry out the responsibilities
addressed under this announcement, competing applications for
financial assistance will be reviewed and evaluated against the
following criteria:
OBJECTIVES AND NEED FOR ASSISTANCE - 20 points
In reviewing the objectives and need for assistance, reviewers will
consider the extent to which:
1. The applicant demonstrates a clear and thorough understanding
of 1) the need for providing coordinated training and technical
assistance about foster care, permanency planning, timely
achievement of permanency, building parental capacity, and
finding and maintaining family connections to public and private
child welfare agencies responsible for serving the target
population(s), and 2) the goals of the applicable legislative
mandates.
2. The applicant demonstrates a strong understanding of 1) the
Systems of Care framework, systems thinking, and the Child and
Family Service Review principles that will guide the project's
activities, and 2) the structure and purpose of the T/TA Network.
3. The training and technical assistance objectives of the project
will effectively build the capacity of State and Tribal agencies to
develop, operate, expand, and enhance effective evidence-based
and evidence-informed strategies aimed at improving outcomes
for the children, youth and families involved with the foster care
system.
4. The applicant presents a clear, concise, and appropriate vision
for the proposed project. The overall vision for the training and
technical assistance approach reflect an understanding of the
51
priorities described in the "Purpose", "Expectations" and "Roles
and Responsibilities" section of the grant announcement.
APPROACH - 40 points
In reviewing the approach, reviewers will consider the extent to which:
1. The applicant clearly demonstrates that it would function as a
member of "one T/TA Network" as described in the Background
section of this funding opportunity announcement. The
application includes a detailed description of how it would
collaborate, coordinate its T/TA, perform project activities that
complement the work of its CB T/TA Network partners, subscribe
to common principles, and participate fully in common
messaging that would clearly identify itself with the T/TA
Network.
2. There is a reasonable timeline (e.g., charts such as a Gantt
chart, bar chart or other chart that illustrates project schedules)
for implementing the proposed project, including the activities to
be conducted in chronological order, showing a reasonable
schedule of accomplishments and target dates and the factors
that may accelerate or decelerate the work.
3. The application provides a workable plan of action. The plan
relates to the stated objectives and scope of the project and
reflects the intent of the legislative mandates. The overall plan
for the training and technical assistance approach reflect an
understanding of the priorities described in the "Expectations"
and "Roles and Responsibilities" sections of the grant
announcement.
4. The application presents a sound and feasible Planning Phase
and Implementation Phase that are consistent with the
expectations described in this announcement.
5. The application describes sound strategies for effectively
providing technical assistance and building the capacity of State,
Tribal and local public and private agencies to create and support
networks of coordinated resources and activities designed to
strengthen and support families to enhance their parenting
capacity and aimed at improving outcomes for the children,
youth and families involved with the foster care system.
52
6. The applicant details how its T/TA will be highly accessible,
coordinated, and individualized. The applicant explains how T/TA
Network members and stakeholders will be engaged and
facilitated to support State and Tribal child welfare agencies and
their partners and how the duplication of efforts and services will
be avoided. The applicant's approach to T/TA is client-directed
and includes sound plans for supporting State and Tribal child
welfare agencies and their partners with expert consultation in
assessment, strategic planning, and implementation that is likely
to result in systemic change.
7. The application describes strategies to help lead agencies
promote the movement towards evidence-based and evidence-
informed programs and practices. The applicant's T/TA strategies
would ensure that agencies successfully adopt, implement, and
sustain these programs.
8. The applicant provides a convincing plan for delivering T/TA to
its State and/or Tribal partners. The applicant describes the
types of T/TA that it expects to provide and the frequency and
intensity of services that will be available.
9. The application describes effective strategies to help State and
Tribal child welfare agencies develop a child-focused, family-
centered approach to the delivery of foster care, permanency,
and family connection programs and activities that reinforce and
complement the State's efforts to provide services to enhance
the capacity of families and achieve safety, permanency and
well-being for children. The plan includes strategies that will
enhance State and Tribal child welfare agencies capacity to
promote protective factors and reduce risk of re-entry in to
foster care. The plan includes strategies that promote parent and
youth leadership and involve parents and youth in the planning,
implementation, and evaluation of funded programs. The plan
includes strategies to ensure that system change activities will
support a seamless experience of service delivery for children,
youth and families.
10. The project would promote: (1) interagency collaboration
and implementation of new procedures for blending and
leveraging funding streams; (2) collaborative long-range
planning of foster care, permanency, and family connections
delivery options; and (3) management improvement strategies
that facilitate interagency coordination. The awardee would
assist State and Tribal child welfare agencies to become more
53
active in partnering in various systems change efforts such as
the Child and Family Services Reviews, Program Improvement
Planning processes, Child and Family Services Plan, and other
related Federal and State initiatives.
11. The applicant demonstrates a commitment to developing
protocols and other joint efforts for coordinated T/TA to States
and Tribes with other members of the T/TA Network.
12. The applicant demonstrates a commitment to follow all
approval and coordination procedures for T/TA requests and
work collaboratively with any national T/TA coordinating entity
that CB chooses to establish during the course of the project
period.
13. The applicant presents a sound plan for promoting,
strengthening, and formalizing peer-to-peer consultation and
problem-solving across State and Tribal child welfare agencies
and their partners. The applicant should propose networking
activities that are likely to increase peer-to-peer learning and
transfer of knowledge and communication between State and
Tribal child welfare agencies and their partners.
14. The applicant would effectively coordinate activities with
other members of the T/TA Network funded by CB.
15. The applicant includes plans to collaborate and coordinate
with other Federal and national efforts.
16. The applicant's services, program activities, and materials
will be developed and provided in a manner that is racially and
culturally sensitive to the population being served.
17. The applicant describes how it will utilize the knowledge
being developed by CB discretionary research and demonstration
projects and other related research in its T/TA activities.
EVALUATION - 15 points
In reviewing the evaluation plan, reviewers will consider the extent to
which:
1. The logic model effectively illustrates the project's approach and
guides its evaluation plan. The evaluation strategy addresses
both process and outcomes. The plan includes methods and
criteria to evaluate the results and benefits of the technical
54
assistance project in terms of its stated objectives. The goals
and objectives are stated in specific measurable form and will
document change, improvement, and effectiveness. The awardee
will collect appropriate data. The project proposes appropriate
measure(s) for each goal, objective, result or benefit.
2. The applicant presents a reasonable preliminary evaluation plan
that can be expected to provide regular, meaningful feedback for
project improvement. The applicant identifies specific evaluation
questions for investigation, appropriate methods (e.g., written
surveys, questionnaires, conference calls, focus groups, and
unstructured telephone or in-person interviews), and realistic
timeframes. Its proposed methods and quantitative and
qualitative measures are appropriate for the objectives of the
evaluation. The applicant proposes a sound process for making
certain that evaluation findings are provided to the TTA Network.
The proposed measures are aligned with the principles of the
SOC framework and CFSR principles, and the evaluation design
is likely to support a coherent vision for TA with the T/TA
Network.
3. The center-specific evaluation plan is likely to yield substantive
and useful information in the domains listed in Section VI.2
PROJECT DESCRIPTION- APPROACH. The plan clearly identifies
the domains in which evaluation findings will be pursued and
provides sound rationale for these selections.
4. The applicant demonstrates sufficient in-house capacity to
conduct an objective evaluation of the project, or provides a
sound plan for contracting with a third-party evaluator
specializing in social science or evaluation, or a university or
college to conduct the evaluation.
5. The applicant presents a sound plan for documenting project
activities and results, including the development of a data
collection infrastructure that is sufficient to support a
methodologically sound evaluation. Appropriate data sources are
identified and relevant data would be collected. There is a sound
plan for collecting and analyzing these data, securing informed
consent and implementing an Institutional Review Board (IRB)
review and Tribal review, if applicable.
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILES - 20 points
55
In reviewing the organizational profiles, reviewers will consider the
extent to which:
1. The applicant organization and its staff document experience and
expertise in successful collaboration with a variety of partners in
the provision of T/TA. The applicant makes a strong case that it
has the capacity and the commitment to function as a member
of "one T/TA Network" as described in the Background section of
this funding opportunity announcement.
2. The applicant (and its partners and contractors, if applicable)
demonstrates sufficient and relevant experience and expertise in
administration, development, implementation, management, and
evaluation of similar projects. The applicant has sufficient
experience, expertise and understanding in child welfare
systems, foster care, permanency planning and achievement,
and building family capacity and connections, family centered
practice, family engagement, and out-of-home care issues to
provide high quality TA. The applicant possesses sufficient
knowledge about State and Tribal child welfare systems and
populations to develop sound, State and Tribal child welfare
agency focused and culturally competent outreach and
networking activities.
3. The proposal clearly demonstrates the applicant's ability to
administer and implement the project effectively and efficiently.
The applicant and any partnering organizations collectively have
sufficient experience and expertise in: (1) identifying the training
and technical assistance needs of an agency or organization; (2)
developing or participating in the development of a plan to meet
those needs; (3) designing, developing and delivering training
and technical assistance including recruiting, assigning, and
deploying staff with appropriate experience; and (4) designing,
developing, delivering and evaluating training materials. If the
project involves partnerships with additional agencies,
organizations or subcontractors; the each partnering
organization has the ability and organizational capacity to fulfill
its roles and functions.
4. The roles, responsibilities, and time commitments of each
proposed key project staff position, including consultants,
subcontractors and/or partnering agencies or organizations, are
clearly defined and appropriate for the successful
implementation of the proposed project. The applicant has
secured commitments from its key partners, if applicable. The
56
application includes appropriate Memorandum(s) of
Understanding (MOU) or letters of commitment from key
partnering organization(s) as appropriate.
5. The proposed project director and key project staff possess
sufficient relevant knowledge, experience and capabilities to
implement and manage a project of this size, scope and
complexity effectively. The role, responsibilities and time
commitments of each proposed project staff position, including
consultants, subcontractors and/or partners, are clearly defined
and appropriate to the successful implementation of the
proposed project.
6. There is a sound management plan for achieving the objectives
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including
clearly defined responsibilities, timelines and milestones for
accomplishing project tasks and ensuring quality. The plan
clearly defines the role and responsibilities of the lead agency.
The plan clearly describes the effective management and
coordination of activities carried out by any partners,
subcontractors and consultants (if appropriate). There would be
a mutually beneficial relationship between the proposed project
and other work planned, anticipated or underway with Federal
assistance by the applicant.
7. The applicant possesses the organizational capability to
successfully perform the activities described in this
announcement and to fulfill its assigned role and function within
the larger T/TA Network.
BUDGET AND BUDGET JUSTIFICATION - 5 points
In reviewing the budget and budget justification, reviewers will
consider the extent to which:
1. The costs of the proposed project are reasonable, in view of the
activities to be conducted and expected results and benefits. The
budget includes the costs associated with travel to provide on-
site T/TA to States, Tribes and Family Connection grantees,
support for the NASFCM's annual conference and for
collaboration each year with National Foster Care Month
activities.
2. The applicant's fiscal controls and accounting procedures would
ensure prudent use, proper and timely disbursement and
57
accurate accounting of funds received under this program
announcement.
2. Review and Selection Process:
No grant award will be made under this announcement on the basis of
an incomplete application.
Initial ACF Screening: Each application will be screened to determine
whether it was received by the closing date and time and whether the
requested amount exceeds the stated ceiling. Late applications or
those exceeding the funding limit will be returned to the applicants
with a notation that they were unacceptable and will not be reviewed.
A panel of at least three reviewers (primarily experts from outside the
Federal Government) will use the evaluation criteria described in this
announcement to evaluate each application. The reviewers will
determine the strengths and weaknesses of each application, provide
comments about the strengths and weaknesses, and give each
application a numerical score.
The results of the competitive review are a primary factor in making
funding decisions. In addition, Federal staff conducts administrative
reviews of the applications and, in light of the results of the
competitive review, will recommend applications for funding to the
ACYF Commissioner. ACYF may also solicit and consider comments
from ACF Regional Office staff in making funding decisions. ACYF may
take into consideration the programmatic involvement of the private
sector, national, or State or community organizations or the potential
for high benefit from low Federal investment. ACYF may elect not to
fund any applicants having known management, fiscal, reporting,
programmatic, or other problems that make it unlikely that they would
be able to provide effective services or effectively complete the
proposed activity.
With the results of the peer review and the information from Federal
staff, the Commissioner of ACYF makes the final funding decisions. The
Commissioner may give special consideration to applications proposing
services of special interest to the Federal Government and to achieve
geographic distributions of grant awards. Applications of special
interest may include, but are not limited to, applications focusing on
underserved or inadequately served clients or service areas and
programs addressing diverse ethnic populations.
Approved but Unfunded Applications
58
Applications that are approved but unfunded may be held over for
funding in the next funding cycle, pending the availability of funds, for
a period not to exceed one year.
3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates:
Applications will be reviewed during the Summer 2009. Grant awards
will have a start date no later than September 30, 2009.
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
1. Award Notices:
Successful applicants will be notified through the issuance of a Notice
of Award (NoA) document that sets forth the amount of funds granted,
the terms and conditions of the grant, the effective date of the grant,
the budget period for which initial support will be given, the non-
Federal share to be provided (if applicable), and the total project
period for which support is contemplated. The NoA will be signed by
the Grants Officer and transmitted via postal mail.
Following the finalization of funding decisions, organizations whose
applications will not be funded will be notified by letter, signed by the
Program Office head.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements:
Grantees are subject to the administrative requirements in 45 CFR Part
74 (for non-governmental entities) or 45 CFR Part 92 (for
governmental entities).
Direct Federal grants, sub-award funds, or contracts under this ACF
program shall not be used to support inherently religious activities
such as religious instruction, worship, or proselytization. Therefore,
organizations must take steps to separate, in time or location, their
inherently religious activities from the services funded under this
program. Regulations pertaining to the Equal Treatment for Faith-
Based Organizations, which includes the prohibition against Federal
funding of inherently religious activities, can be found at the HHS web
site at: http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/waisgate21.pdf.
A faith-based organization receiving HHS funds retains its
independence from Federal, State, and local governments, and may
continue to carry out its mission, including the definition, practice, and
expression of its religious beliefs. For example, a faith-based
59
organization may use space in its facilities to provide secular programs
or services funded with Federal funds without removing religious art,
icons, scriptures, or other religious symbols. In addition, a faith-based
organization that receives Federal funds retains its authority over its
internal governance, and it may retain religious terms in its
organization's name, select its board members on a religious basis,
and include religious references in its organization's mission
statements and other governing documents in accordance with all
program requirements, statutes, and other applicable requirements
governing the conduct of HHS funded activities.
Additional information on "Understanding the Regulations Related to
the Faith-Based and Community Initiative" can be found at:
http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/regulations/index.html.
HHS Grants Policy Statement
The HHS Grants Policy Statement (GPS) is the Department of Health
and Human Services new single policy guide for discretionary grants
and cooperative agreements. Unlike previous HHS policy documents,
the GPS is intended to be shared with and used by grantees. It
became effective October 1, 2006 and is applicable to all Operating
Divisions (OPDIVS), such as the Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), except the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The GPS
covers basic grants processes, standard terms and conditions, and
points of contact, as well as important OPDIV-specific requirements.
Appendices include a glossary of terms and a list of standard
abbreviations for ease of reference. The GPS may be accessed at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_related.html.
3. Reporting Requirements:
Grantees will be required to submit performance progress and financial
reports periodically throughout the project period. Frequency of
reporting is listed later in this section.
Beginning with FY 2009 awards, most ACF grantees will begin using
the a Standard Form (SF) for required performance progress reporting
(PPR). The SF-PPR is a standard government-wide performance
progress reporting format consisting of a series of forms implemented
by Federal agencies to collect performance information from award
recipients. Most ACF grantees will begin using the standard format
implemented through ACF's Office of Grants Management (OGM),
entitled the "ACF-OGM-SF-PPR." Use of the ACF-OGM-SF-PPR will
begin for new awards and continuation awards made by ACF in FY
2009. At a minimum, grantees will be required to submit the ACF-
60
OGM-SF-PPR, which consists of the ACF-OGM-SF-PPR Coversheet and
the ACF-OGM-SF-PPR Appendix B Program Indicators.
ACF Programs that utilize other SF-PPR reporting formats, or other
reporting forms or formats that differ from the new ACF-OGM-SF-PPR,
have listed those forms or formats below. Grant award documents will
inform grantees of the appropriate performance progress report form
or format to use beginning in FY 2009.
Grantees will continue to use the Financial Status Report (FSR) SF-269
(long form) for required financial reporting.
The SF-269 (long form) and the ACF-OGM-SF-PPR may be found at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html. Grantees
should consult their award documents to determine the appropriate
performance progress report format required under their award.
Performance progress and financial reports are due 30 days after the
end of the reporting period. Final program performance and financial
reports are due 90 days after the close of the project period.
Final reports may be submitted in hard copy to the Grants
Management Office Contact listed in Section VII. of this
announcement.
Program Progress Reports: Semi-Annually
Financial Reports: Semi-Annually
VII. AGENCY CONTACTS
Program Office Contact:
Patsy Buida
Children's Bureau
1301 Young Street, Room 945
Dallas, TX 75202-5433
Phone: 214-767-1971
Email: patsy.buida@acf.hhs.gov
For hearing or speech impaired callers, contact the Federal Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339 (TTY (Text Telephone) / ASCII (American
Standard Code For Information Interchange)).
Grants Management Office Contact:
61
Ben Sharp, Grants Officer
Division of Discretionary Grants
ACYF/ Operations Center
c/o Dixon Group, Inc. ATTN: Children's Bureau
118 Q St., NE.
Washington, DC 20002-2132
Phone: 866-796-1591
Phone 2: or TTY 711
Email: cb@dixongroup.com
For hearing or speech impaired callers, contact the Federal Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339 (TTY (Text Telephone) / ASCII (American
Standard Code For Information Interchange)).
VIII. OTHER INFORMATION
Additional information about this program and its purpose can be
located on the following website:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/
For general information regarding this announcement please contact:
ACYF Operations Center
c/o The Dixon Group, Inc.
ATTN: Children's Bureau
118 Q St., NE.
Washington, DC 20002-2132
Phone: 866-796-1591 or TTY 711
Email: cb@dixongroup.com
Checklist
You may use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your
application package.
When to
What to Submit Where Found Submit
SF-424 Referenced in Section IV.2 under "Forms" and found By
at application
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
62
IV.3.
SF-424A Referenced in Section IV.2 under "Forms" and found By
at application
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
SF-424B Referenced in Section IV.2 under "Forms" and found By
at application
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
SF-LLL "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying" is referenced in By
Section IV.2 under "Certifications" and found at application
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html due date
Submission of this form is required if any funds have found in
been paid, or will be paid, to any person for Overview
influencing, or attempting to influence, an officer or and
employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an Section
officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a IV.3.
Member of Congress in connection with this
commitment providing for the United States to insure
or guarantee a loan.
Certification Regarding Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement By date of
Lobbying under "Certifications" and found at award.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html
Table of Contents Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement. By
application
due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
Project Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement. By
Summary/Abstract application
due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
63
Project Description Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement. By
application
due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
Budget and Budget Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement. By
Justification application
due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
Third-Party Agreements Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement By
under "Project Description." application
due date
found in
Overview
and
Section
IV.3.
Proof of Non-Profit Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement By date of
Status under "Eligibility Certification." award.
Protection of Human Referenced in Section IV.2 of the announcement By date of
Subjects Assurance under "Certifications" and found at award.
Identification/IRB http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html
Certification/Declaration
of Exemption Form
This program is covered Applicants should go to the following URL for the By
under E.O. 12372, official list of the jurisdictions that have elected to application
"Intergovernmental participate in E.O. 12372 due date
Review of Federal http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html as found in
Programs," and 45 CFR indicated in Section IV.4 of this announcement. Overview
Part 100, and
"Intergovernmental Section
Review of Department IV.3.
of Health and Human
Services Programs and
activities". Applicants
must submit all
required application
materials to the State
Single Point of Contact
(SPOC) and indicate the
date of submission on
the Standard Form (SF)
64
424 at item 19.
Date: 03/19/2009 Maiso Bryant
Acting Commissioner
Administration on Children, Youth and Families
65