EJIG Improving Results for APS Clients 2022 FAQ FINAL.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity Elder Justice Innovation Grants - Improving Results for APS Clients FY2022

HHS-2022-ACL-AOA-EJIG-0055

Frequently Asked Questions

April 4, 2022

On March 30, 2022, the Administration for Community Living, Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services held an informational call about the Elder justice Innovation Grant – Improving Results for APS Clients FY2022 funding opportunity (HHS-2022-ACL-AOA-EJIG-0055). These frequently asked questions reflect the questions that were received and addressed during the informational call.

I. Preparing Grant Proposals

Can you have two people serve as Co-Directors of the project?

Applicants must identify one Project Director. More individuals can be added to the grant team to share grant responsibilities. Please see the section on Organizational Capacity on pages 18- 19 of the NOFO.

The application responsiveness criteria on page 12 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) references “Demonstrated Knowledge” about experience to design, plan, and execute projects that contribute to the scientific literature. Are reviewers going to look at the number of publications that a person has produced?

Reviewers will only look at the content that was included in the application. If the applicant wants reviewers to consider prior publications, they should be included in the CV/resume or the Project Director, or other Key Personnel. For more information on what reviewers will consider, please see the scoring criteria on pages 25-27.

On page 5 of the NOFO, in the section where it lists the minimum questions that should be addressed by applications, ACL lists “community services (human, social, and civil legal).”

Does that mean an Adult Protective Services (APS) project that is focused on working with law enforcement or the criminal justice system would not be an appropriate project for this grant opportunity?

This NOFO is focused on the transition of clients from APS to community services. Please consider the full Funding Opportunity Description, on pages 3-8 to determine if your proposed project aligns with the intent of the funding.

If we have a FY 2021 EJIG grant, can we apply for a FY 2022 EJIG grant?

Yes, you can apply for a FY 2022 Elder justice Innovation Grant to expand or enhance current projects, or to propose something new. It would not be allowable to apply for a new grant duplicating or continuing the same grant project as a current grant project. For more information, see page 24 of the NOFO on Funding Restrictions.

II. Budget and Allowable Expenses

If your federally approved indirect rate is 40%, can you charge the whole amount to the grant?

Yes, if you have a current Federally approved indirect cost rate, the full amount can be charged to the grant. As part of the application package, you would need to include a copy of the approved indirect cost agreement, see page 40 of the NOFO for additional information.

In the NOFO, ACL indicates that it will fund no more than 75% of the project’s total cost, which means the applicant must cover at least 25% of the project’s total cost with non- Federal resources. My agency’s internal policies make it difficult for us to provide a 25% match. What options are available to us?

The purpose of matching funds is to augment the amount of resources available to the project from federal grant funds and to promote sustainability of the project. Applicants may satisfy the match requirement with either cash or in-kind services, and may also require sub-grantees, if applicable, to contribute to the matching requirement. “Match” is identified as a requirement for this funding opportunity on pages 11-12, and we expect all applicants to show a 25% match in their applications.

ACL recognizes that it may be difficult for qualified applicants to satisfy the match requirement because of unique internal policies. Please note that the inclusion of “match” is not identified as a “responsiveness” nor a “screening” criterion in the NOFO (see pages 12-13), and therefore applicants will not be disqualified from review on the basis of this issue alone. ACL encourages applicants to contact the grants management specialist identified in the NOFO to discuss any questions they may have about what constitutes appropriate match.

Just a clarification, the amount per budget period is around $1 million per year?

The maximum amount that can be requested per budget period (12 months) is $1 million, and the floor amount, or minimum that can be requested, is $300,000 per budget period. This is a two-year project period (24 months), so the maximum request for the full project period would be $2 million. See the Award Information on page 8 of the NOFO.

Can you provide an overview of other ACL grant funding opportunities and then speak more about why and how you are “flexing funds” across these grant opportunities?

ACL has two other EJIG funding opportunities, “Enhancing APS Approaches to Cases Involving Opioids and Substance Use Disorders” and “Improving Results for APS Clients.” ACL will award $6 million dollars across all three EJIG funding opportunities. A planned total of 20 cooperative grants across all three opportunities will be awarded. The number of grants awarded in each of the three Elder Justice Innovation Grants will depend upon the number of grant applications that are received, the amount of each grantees’ request for funding, and how objective reviewers score each application.

III. Miscellaneous

If we have additional questions after this call, what is the process for submitting these questions?

Please email additional questions to Elizabeth Petruy at Elizabeth.petruy@acl.hhs.gov.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337805 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337805 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=335067 mailto:Elizabeth.petruy@acl.hhs.gov