Dire_Needs_NOFO FAQs_12.2.2021.pdf

Publication Month Year

HHS Office of Population Affairs Web: opa.hhs.gov | Email: opa@hhs.gov Twitter: @HHSPopAffairs | Y

Updated November 26, 2021

HHS Office of Population Affairs Web: opa.hhs.gov | Email: FY22.TitleXNOFO.DireNeed@hhs.gov Twitter: @HHSPopAffairs | YouTube: HHSOfficeofPopulationAffairs

PA-FPH-22-003 Notice of Funding Opportunity

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

file://ct-files/g-drive/Fertility%20and%20Family%20Structure/OPA%20Communications/Option%20Year%202/1-%20Strategic%20Communications/1.8%20Graphic%20Design/opa.hhs.gov file://ct-files/g-drive/Fertility%20and%20Family%20Structure/OPA%20Communications/Option%20Year%202/1-%20Strategic%20Communications/1.8%20Graphic%20Design/opa.hhs.gov mailto:FY22.TitleXNOFO.DireNeed@hhs.gov

1. How are the National Title X Services NOFO and the Dire Need NOFO different?

The Dire Need NOFO solicits applications for one-time 15-month grants to help to meet the current and expected increase in demand for Title X family planning services, including emergency contraception and other Title X family planning services for clients both within and outside states where restrictive laws and policies impact reproductive health access. The national Title X service grants solicits applications for up-to five-year projects to provide Title X family planning services throughout the 50 United States, District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Outlying Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated State of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Applicants will be able to apply for both the national NOFO and the dire needs NOFO and will need to show that they are not duplicating services or funding across the two NOFOs.

2. I would like more information on the Funding to Address Dire Need for Family

Planning Services grant. Could you please point me in the direction of this application, and provide any information I might need to complete it?

You can find more information about this funding opportunity on the OPA website. We encourage you to subscribe to open funding opportunity announcements on Grants.gov to ensure you receive any updates to the announcement or supporting materials. For additional guidance on the grant application process, please see Grants 101.

3. What is the authority for the Title X family planning service grant program?

Established in 1970, Title X is governed by statutory language (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.)

and regulations (42 CFR part 59, subpart A). This funding opportunity announcement closely follows the language and intent of the statute and is consistent with the implementing regulations.

4. Who may apply?

Any public or private nonprofit entity located in a State (which includes one of the 50 United States, District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Outlying Islands (Midway, Wake, et al.), the Marshall Islands, the Federated State of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau) is eligible to apply for a grant under this announcement.

Faith-based organizations and American Indian/Alaska Native/Native American (AI/AN/NA) organizations are eligible to apply for Title X family planning services grants.

Examples of eligible organizations include:

• State Governments

• U.S. territories

• County Governments

• City or township governments

• Special district governments

• Independent school districts

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)

• Public Housing authorities/Indian housing authorities https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101.html https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/title-x-statute-attachment-a_0.pdf https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/07/2021-21542/ensuring-access-to-equitable-affordable-client-centered-quality-family-planning-services

• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal

• governments)

• Nonprofits having 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of

• higher education

• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of

• higher education

• Non-profit private institutions of higher education

5. Can current Title X grantees apply to this NOFO? Do you need to be a current Title

X grantee to apply?

Yes, current Title X grantees may apply to this NOFO. No, you do not need to be a current Title X grantee to apply. Any eligible identity defined on page 12 of the NOFO may apply.

6. When is the application due?

All applications are to be submitted through Grants.gov and received no later than Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

7. We are interested in applying for NOFO: Address Dire Need for Family Planning Services Grants (PA-FPH-22-003) but were not able to attend the webinar last week. Will this be posted with the NOFO on grants.gov or on the OPA website?

The slides and FAQs for the Dire Needs Technical Assistance Webinar will be posted to Grants.gov under “Related Documents” tab.

8. How will past performance of a grantee (audits, performance reporting) inform the funding decisions?

Past performance as reported in audits, project performance under prior awards, and timeliness of reporting under prior and current awards (whether OPA or not) are all considered in the risk analysis process. This includes providing timely acceptable documentation to close prior awards that have expired. We may delay or decide not to make an award to you if you have not met your obligations under previous awards.

9. Is the disparity impact statement required as part of the NOFO application? Is there a framework for the disparities impact statement?

The disparity impact statement is not required as part of the NOFO application. As part of the federal award’s program specific terms and conditions, all successful applicants, upon funding, may be expected to develop one using local data to identify populations at highest risk for health disparities and low health literacy. Additional information and links to resources are available in Section K of the NOFO.

10. Since we won't know if our 15 month application is successful by the time our 5 year application is due, how do we handle the budget narratives for the 15 month application and the 5 year application?

The Dire Needs NOFO and the National Title X Service Grant NOFO are two different funding opportunities that require separate budget narratives. The budget narrative content for the Dire Need NOFO should be based on (1) number of clients who will receive services, (2) broad range of methods and services that will be provided, (3) average cost of providing family planning services per client in the service area in the https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334698 past, (4) availability of non-Title X funds to support the provision of family planning services in the defined service area, and (5) activities that enhance quality, access, or equity that would impact the cost of services.

11. Is the expectation that grantees be ready to start seeing Title X patients in January? For applicants who are not current Title X grantees, is it acceptable to apply for these funds with time built in to get policies/processes in place, train staff, etc. and start seeing patients under the program in March or April?

All activities funded under this announcement must be in compliance with requirements of the Title X statute and any program regulations, as of the time the requirement is applicable and in effect. OPA expects recipients to develop and implement plans to address our program priorities and provide evidence of the project’s capacity to address program priorities. Activities funded under this announcement are also expected to follow all program guidance issued by OPA. This is a competitive NOFO, as such, applicants should put forward the best proposal the organization can create based on application and evaluation criteria published in the announcement.

12. Will a project be considered responsive to the NOFO if funds are used to conduct a needs assessment addressing racial disparities in accessing family planning in the service area? The needs assessment outcomes would inform the strategies for delivering services outlined in our national competitive service application in years 2-5.

For the NOFO application, applicants should submit in their application a description of:

• Their process for assessing the need for services within the proposed service area and how you have/will continue to use the results of your assessment to inform and improve service delivery.

• The proposed service area, including the service area boundaries, and the increased need or demand for Title X family planning services in the proposed service area resulting from restrictive laws and policies that impact reproductive health access (e.g., Texas Law SB8) or lack of or limited Title X support in the area.

• The current availability of family planning services in the proposed service area and any existing gaps in the availability or accessibility of services.

• The population demographics and any unique disparities they face which intersect with issues of access, equity, and quality of sexual and reproductive health services.

Successful applicants must comply with all terms and conditions outlined in the Notice of Award, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Grants Policy Statement (GPS), requirements imposed by program statutes and regulations and HHS grant administration regulations, as applicable, as well as any requirements or limitations in any applicable appropriations acts.

13. I noticed the Anticipated Start Date on page 13 of the solicitation was changed to January 10, 2021. Can you please confirm this date is accurate, or provide the appropriate date?

The anticipated start date of the funding to Address Dire Need for Family Planning Services project is January 10, 2021. You can find more information about this funding https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/grants/grants/policies-regulations/hhsgps107.pdf https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/grants/grants/policies-regulations/hhsgps107.pdf opportunity on the OPA website https://opa.hhs.gov/. We encourage you to subscribe to open funding opportunity announcements on Grants.gov to ensure you receive any updates to the announcement or supporting materials. For additional guidance on the grant application process, please see Grants 101 (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101.html).

14. What are the criteria that will be used to create the application?

Applicants are encouraged to review all program requirements, eligibility information, application format and submission information, evaluation criteria, and other information in this funding announcement to ensure that its application complies with all requirements and instructions. This is a competitive NOFO, as such, applicants should put forward the best proposal the organization can create based on application and evaluation criteria published in the announcement.

15. I notice that legislative mandates are not included in this NOFO. Can you comment on this?

This opportunity is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (PL 117-2) signed by President Biden to provide immediate relief to Americans from the economic and public health crises. An estimated $9.25 million has been allocated to fund Title X grants through this opportunity. This NOFO is but one example of how those funds are being used.

16. Can you please offer a training on how to correctly complete the SF forms?

If you have questions about a specific f ield, please first refer to your application instructions provided by your offering agency. If specific instructions are not provided, you can find general information by hovering your cursor over the field; a description of the field should display. Fields that are not highlighted or marked with an asterisk are optional and should only be completed if it applies to your organization/application.

Below are some of the fields that customers often have questions about. Please note that, depending on the version of your form, some of these fields will not display for you.

Type of Submission: Select the type of submission that you'll be completing.

Type of Application: Select the type of application you'll be submitting.

Applicant Information: Enter the information about your organization in the fields provided. Please note that the Zip Code should be entered in XXXXX-XXXX format.

Type of Applicant: Select the type of applicant you are applying on behalf of (ex.

Individual, For-profit Organization, Small Business, etc.)

Name of Federal Agency/Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This information is entered by the offering agency.

Descriptive Title: Enter a brief descriptive title of the project. Please note, it is highly recommended that you do not copy/paste this text from a word processor document.

Congressional District: Enter the congressional district code. The code is the state abbreviation (SA) followed by the district number in SA-### format. If the state only has one district, enter the code with the correct state abbreviation in SA-001 format. You may verify the congressional district by visiting www.house.gov. If outside of the US, enter 00-000.

Proposed Project: Select the start and end dates of the project.

https://opa.hhs.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101.html

Estimated Project Funding: Enter the dollar amounts in the fields provided.

State Executive Order 12372: Select the appropriate option based on whether State Executive Order applies, is not covered or was not selected.

Authorized Representative: Enter the requested information. Please note that the Zip Code should be entered in XXXXX-XXXX format.

Please note, the following fields will be completed by Grants.gov upon submission of the application package:

• Signature of Authorized Representative

• Date Signed The answers can also be found here.

17. If we had to withdraw from Title X due to rule change - will we be assessed as higher risk than a grantee who was able to stay in the program?

Applications will be assessed using the criteria outlined in the NOFO. Applicants should put forth a proposal that best meets the application and evaluation criteria based on the capabilities and expertise of the applicant organization.

18. Would a grant application be disqualified if we showed a need and planned to spend out the dire needs grant in the first three months? We plan to apply for the Title X Services grant that would begin after we spent out the dire needs grant making them separate and distinct budget periods.

PA-FPH-22-003 does not include information specifically addressing the timing of when to spend the funds. This opportunity is limited to no more than 15 months with no anticipated future funding or continuation awards. You can ensure that your application is not disqualif ied by carefully following the Application Responsive Criteria found under the Eligibility Information as well as the Application Disqualif ication Criteria.

19. Per the "Funding to Address Dire Need for Family Planning Services" (FOA: PA- FPH-22-003), can we apply as both a subrecipient and primary recipient of funding?

Yes, you may apply as a direct award recipient and also be included in another applicant’s application as a subrecipient. Applications, including letters of commitment, should clearly describe the roles and responsibilities under each project with which you proposed to be involved to ensure there is no inappropriate overlap. Funds may not be used to pay for the same work twice. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs may consider the factors in Section G.2 of the NOFO to recommend a reduced funding level, a reduction in scope, and/or an unfunded status.

https://gditshared.servicenowservices.com/hhs_grants?pt=Grants