EJIG HSC FAQs_FINAL.docx

Notice of Funding Opportunity Elder Justice Innovation Grants- FY2024

HHS-2024-ACL-AOA-EJIG-0014

Information Call Overview & Frequently Asked Questions

May 1, 2024

On May 1, 2024, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services held an informational call about the Elder Justice Innovation Grants funding opportunity (HHS-2024-ACL-AOA-EJIG-0014). Below is a summary of the information shared and a set of “frequently asked questions” related to this funding opportunity.

The topics addressed below highlight information from this Notice of Funding Opportunity. This document is not a complete overview of the funding announcement, and prospective applicants should review the announcement closely for complete details. All referenced pages numbers correspond to those found in the lower right-hand corner of the Notice of Funding Opportunity announcement’s PDF.

I. General Information

· Eligibility is limited to the highest courts of a state per Title XX of the Social Security Act, Subtitle B, the Elder Justice Act of 2009, Section 2042(c)(2)-(3). Additional eligibility information can be found starting on Page 10. Applicants are also required to meet the responsiveness and screening criteria, which are listed on Pages 12-13.

II. Key dates

· Letters of Intent are requested by May 17, 2024 (Page 15).

· Letters of Intent are not required and need only be provided in the form of an email stating an intent to apply.

· Letters of Intent should be sent via email to Sara Planthaber, Aging Services Program Specialist (Sara.Planthaber@acl.hhs.gov).

· Applications are due by 11:59 PM ET on June 18, 2024 (Pages 22-23).

III. Award Information

· ACL expects to award approximately six (6) Cooperative Agreements, ranging from $250,000 to $500,000, per year, for a 36-month period (Page 8).

· The purpose of these awards is to enhance the fairness, effectiveness, timeliness, safety, and integrity of adult guardianship/conservatorship proceedings in states. More information about the funding overview can be found on Pages 5-6.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Q: I work for a division of the state’s court system which has original jurisdiction over guardianship cases, but appeals are heard by a different division. Is my court division eligible to apply to this NOFO?

A: Per Page 11 and 12, eligibility is limited to the highest courts of state per Title XX of the Social Security Act, Subtitle B, the Elder Justice Act of 2009, Section 2042(c)(2)-(3). Section III.3 “Application Responsiveness Criteria” on Page 12 provides more information on who is eligible to apply, specifying that: "the applicant is the highest state court of the state, which may be an office within the highest state court of the state that conducts administrative and/or policy functions (and a letter of commitment is included from the Chief Judge or Presiding Justice)” and that “the applicant has documented its authority to implement changes to the statewide guardianship system.” Applicants are responsible for demonstrating that meet this criteria, in addition to the other Responsiveness Criteria, to have their applications accepted for review.

2. Q: Is the budget included as part of the Project Narrative’s 20-page limit?

A: No. Please see Page 15 for a list of required components of the Project Narrative which are and are not counted as part of the 20-page limit.

3. Q: Where can I find the funding opportunity?

A: The funding opportunity is available at grants.gov. If you enter “highest state courts” into the keyword(s) search, the opportunity will appear (HHS-2024-ACL-AOA-EJIG-0014). Interested applicants are encouraged to download the full application package, because this will register your email address for important updates regarding this funding opportunity.

4. Q: How much is the match for this funding opportunity?

A: The required match for this funding opportunity is 20%. Please refer to the “Cost Sharing or Matching” section found on Pages 11-12 for more detailed guidance. The Code of Federal Regulations 45 C.F.R. 75.306 governs cost sharing or matching and can be an additional source of information.

5. Q: How much funding is available under this funding opportunity?

A: For Federal Fiscal Year 2024, ACL anticipates awarding $2 million to approximately six applicants under this opportunity. The range for each individual award is $250,000 to $500,000 per year. The maximum amount an individual grantee could receive over a three-year period is $1.5 million in federal dollars. Please refer to Page 8.

6. Q: Will the grant award be provided for each of the three grant years?

A: Applications for continuation funding beyond the initial year will be reviewed on a non-competitive basis, subject to the availability of funds, contingent on satisfactory progress of the grantee, and a determination by ACL that continued funding will be in the interest of the government. This information is found on Page 8.

7. Q: For continuation grants in years 2 and 3, will the application be similar to this year, or will there be another process?

A: Continuation applications do not go through a competitive process. Applicants are required to submit a project description, work plan, and budget covering all three years of the potential funding. Additional information, work plans, and budgets would be submitted only if there are changes proposed to the project that were not in the application as originally submitted, reviewed, approved, and funded. Please refer to Pages 8 and 12.

8. Q: Is funding tracking required as part of this grant?

A: Yes, the Code of Federal Regulations requires all grantees to have standard accounting practices in place to track funds, and you will also be required to submit federal financial forms. Please refer to Page 29. Pages 8-10 also outline the cooperative agreement terms. In addition, ACL provides information about grant reporting on the “Managing a Grant” webpage under “Federal Funding Requirements” (https://acl.gov/grants/managing-grant).

9. Q: Per page 22, the applicant should have a role entitled Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Our program manager {name omitted} has created a Grants.gov account has been granted the “Expanded AOR” and “Workspace Manager” roles. Does this satisfy the requirement? I would assume this means our program manager would then be authorized to submit the letter of intent and other documents of the application.

A: If your program manager has been designated as your organization’s AOR, and has registered with Grants.gov as the AOR, then she will be able to submit your application and associated documents. If she is not able to, or experiences any difficulties, she should call or email the Grants.gov Support Center at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov for assistance with resolving these issues.

10. Q: Page 14 of the grant application instructions mentions that all applicants must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintain an active registration until the application process is complete, and during all times in which has an active award. We have a UEI, and we are registered with SAM. We are also aware that we need to renew our SAM application annually. Should we then ignore the listed expiration date of June 22, 2024, that is listed within the application workspace on Grants.gov?

A: Applicants are encouraged to check the status of their registration at: https://sam.gov/content/status-tracker. Applicants should review the FAQs available on the entity status-checker pages, as well as the general Sam.gov Help information (https://sam.gov/content/help). Applicants can also go to the Federal Service Desk at  HYPERLINK "https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp" FSD.gov (https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp) to find entity registration user guides, frequently asked questions, how-to videos, and more. For technical support, you can submit an incident ticket, use live chat, or call a help desk agent at  HYPERLINK "https://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp" FSD.gov. FSD.gov provides Live Help Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.