Foa_Content_of_HHS-2020-ACF-OPRE-YE-1823.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants

HHS-2020-ACF-OPRE-YE-1823

Application Due Date: 04/19/2022

Table of Contents Executive Summary

I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

III.3. Other

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address to Request Application Package

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications

The Project Description

The Project Budget and Budget Justification

Application Submission Options

IV.3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

IV.4. Submission Dates and Times

Explanation of Due Dates

Acknowledgement of Received Application

IV.5. Intergovernmental Review

IV.6. Funding Restrictions

IV.7. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

V.1. Criteria

V.2. Review and Selection Process

V.3. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VI.1. Federal Award Notices

VI.2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

VI.3. Reporting

VII. HHS Award Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

Reference Websites

Application Checklist

Funding Opportunity Title:

Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants Announcement Type:

Modification Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2020-ACF-OPRE-YE-1823

Primary CFDA Number:

93.575 Due Date for Applications:

04/19/2022 Executive Summary Notice:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) carefully and observe the application formatting requirements listed in Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission. For more information on applying for grants, please visit "How to Apply for a Grant" on the ACF Grants & Funding Page at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting applications for Early Care and Education Research Scholars:

Child Care Dissertation Grants. Funds aim to support dissertation research by advanced graduate students who are working on child care policy issues in partnership with a Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agency or administrator and with faculty mentors. These grants focus on building capacity in the research field by addressing questions relevant to child care policy decision-making and program administration, as well as on fostering mentoring relationships between faculty members and doctoral students. OPRE is looking for research that addresses issues of significance related to CCDF; aims to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly for underserved / understudied populations; and utilizes the most rigorous research methodology for the selected research question. Applicants must consult with a CCDF agency or administrator in the conceptualization of the research plan, from development and refinement of the research questions, through the proposed data collection, interpretation, and dissemination of findings. Eligible Tribally Controlled Land Grant Colleges and Universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and faith-based institutions of higher education are encouraged to apply. The applicant organization must have a history of research and budget oversight and must have appropriate research support resources to support the student. The faculty mentor who will serve as principal investigator must have a Ph.D. or equivalent in the respective field and conduct research as a primary professional responsibility.

Faculty mentors with doctoral training and research expertise will be able to provide proper supervision and quality control over the research project to help ensure a quality end product. To be eligible for award, the graduate student must provide evidence of an approved dissertation proposal before award. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has previously been published under the name Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Research Scholars. For further information about prior awards made to Child Care Research Scholars, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant please refer to https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-care-and-education-research-scholars-child-care-dissertation-grants. For further information about OPRE, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre. For information about the Office of Child Care and CCDF, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ.

I. Program Description Statutory Authority Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.)

Description A. Background The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is an $9.5 billion block grant program that provides funding to states, territories, and tribes to provide access to child care services for low-income families with children under age 13. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-186) was signed into law November 19, 2014, and reauthorized as the CCDF program for the first time since 1996. The CCDBG Act of 2014 renews authority for CCDF through fiscal year (FY) 2021 and represents a historic re-envisioning of the program with an increased focus on balancing dual purposes: promoting economic self-sufficiency for low-income families and supporting healthy development and school success for children.

The CCDBG Act of 2014 is designed to meet the dual program purposes with increased focus on the delivery of high quality services and on child development through the following expanded goals: (1) protect the health and safety of children in child care; (2) help parents make informed consumer choices and access information to support child development; (3) provide equal access to stable, high-quality child care for low-income children; and (4) enhance the quality of child care and the early childhood workforce.

In 2016, the Office of Child Care (OCC) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), revised the CCDF Regulations found at 45 CFR Part 98 to provide more details and amend CCDF policies (the "Final Rule").

The CCDBG Act of 2014 and the 2016 Final Rule contain requirements to carry out the provisions outlined above, while giving lead agencies in states, territories, and tribes flexibility in the implementation of these provisions to address their particular circumstances and populations served. See http://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/ccdf-reauthorization for more information regarding CCDF reauthorization.

OCC has invested significant resources in research and evaluation to identify effective policies and practices that support the implementation of CCDF, foster the employment and economic self-sufficiency of low-income working parents, and promote high-quality early care and education environments for children. Since 2000, CCDF discretionary funds for child care research and evaluation have supported a variety of projects that add to our knowledge in the areas of child care policy and practice. Previously funded Child Care Dissertation Grants have made significant contributions to the child care policy research field. This Notice of Funding Opportunity has previously been published under the name Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Research Scholars. To learn about previously funded Child Care Research https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-care-and-education-research-scholars-child-care-dissertation-grants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-care-and-education-research-scholars-child-care-dissertation-grants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ

Scholars projects, please visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/research/project/child-care-research-scholars.

To ensure that research is responsive to both the changing needs of low-income families and children and to questions of interest to OCC, graduate students are required to: (1) develop projects that clearly link to CCDF program goals, and (2) consult with state or local CCDF administrators in the design and implementation of their projects. Partnerships between the graduate student, his/her faculty mentor, and CCDF agencies or administrators are especially significant, as they ensure the research will be policy-relevant and help to foster the skills necessary to successfully contribute to both the policy and scientific communities. For CCDF state agency contact information and links to state CCDF administration websites, please visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/ccdf-grantee-state-and-territory-contacts. To learn more about how state-level policies and concerns fit within the broader national context, please visit OCC's website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource-library. In particular, the Child Care and Development Fund Reports to Congress provide background information, summarize data regarding children and families served and types of care used, and highlight recent initiatives and research. You can find the Reports to Congress online at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/reports-to-congress.

B. Goals and Requirements of the Child Care Dissertation Grants The Child Care Dissertation Grants aim to support research that has direct implications for child care policy decision making and program administration; to foster collaboration between researchers and CCDF agencies and/or administrators; to facilitate connections between graduate students, senior researchers in the field, and key stakeholders; and to support mentoring relationships between faculty mentors and doctoral students. Specifically, the goals of the grant program are to:

1. Build capacity in the early care and education field by supporting high-quality dissertation research and student-faculty collaboration and mentorship.

The Child Care Dissertation Grants support the training and professional development of the next generation of early care and education researchers. Under the support of this grant, students are expected to become autonomous researchers with specialized knowledge and skills to conduct rigorous research that is responsive to the unique context of the CCDF program, including its policies, practices, and populations served. Previous Child Care Scholars have made significant contributions to the child care field.

The Child Care Dissertation Grants will fund original student dissertation work.

Each scholar will work in partnership with a faculty mentor. These mentor-student relationships will: a) support the scholar’s independent line of research; b) encourage collaboration with qualified, experienced researchers in the field; and c) further the scholar’s graduate training and professional development in policy-relevant, applied research. The faculty mentor, who will serve as the PI for the grant, must have a doctoral degree and research expertise that is aligned with the goals of the proposed project in order to provide proper mentorship and guidance for the proposed activities. Students may also seek guidance from other qualified professionals, in addition to their faculty mentor, to support the successful execution of their projects.

2. Conduct rigorous research that has the capacity to inform child care programs, policies, and practices.

The Child Care Dissertation Grants program supports high-quality dissertation projects that address issues of immediate relevance to CCDF programs and policies. Projects should contribute to the broader knowledge base by conducting applied research with clear significance to the CCDF program goals, policies, services, and/or populations served. All funded projects will use the most appropriate and rigorous research methods to answer the selected research question(s). This award may be used to fund the collection of new data and/or the analysis of existing datasets using rigorous qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods approaches.

See Section I.C. Program Description, Priority Topics for this Opportunity for research topics of particular interest for this year’s awards.

3. Support active communication, collaboration, and partnerships between researchers and CCDF policymakers.

The Child Care Dissertation Grants aim to foster connections between researchers and child care policymakers in order to: a) ensure the funded research is responsive to the changing needs of child care programs, policies, and communities and b) increase programs' capacity to understand and use research. To this end, partnerships between the graduate student, their mentor, and the CCDF agency or administrator are an essential component of the grant program. Partnerships ensure the research will be relevant to CCDF policies and will teach the graduate student necessary skills in partnership building that will inform their continued contributions to the policy and scientific communities.

Scholars must maintain a collaborative partnership with a CCDF agency or administrator.

Scholars’ close partnership must be evidenced within the development of their proposal and selection and refinement of their research questions. Scholars are expected to carry out a responsive, culturally sensitive, tailored plan for engaging with their collaborative partners throughout the entire project and, if applicable, through data collection, with participating families and children. Consultation and collaboration with relevant partners and stakeholders is expected for all projects, including those proposing secondary analysis of existing data sources. Child Care Dissertation Scholars will also engage their collaborative partners during the interpretation and dissemination of findings. Gathering feedback and input will greatly strengthen the research questions, analyses plans, and interpretation of results.

For the CCDF program office contact list, please visit:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/ccdf-grantee-state-and-territory-contacts.

4. Foster the exchange of current research, ideas, and information among research, policy, and practice communities.

Results and implications of the studies funded through this opportunity should be shared with appropriate research, policy, and practice audiences. Participation in conferences, meetings, and dissemination activities facilitates connections between graduate students, senior researchers in the field, and key stakeholders. In order to facilitate communication and dissemination of research, scholars are required to participate in the following activities:

a. Conferences. For each budget period of the award (e.g., from September 30, 2022– September 29, 2023), the student and faculty mentor are required to attend two conferences.

1) The Annual Meeting of the Child Care and Early Education Policy Research Consortium (CCEEPRC).This 2-day meeting is typically held in Washington, D.C.

(although could be held virtually) and brings together OPRE grant recipients, contracted researchers funded by ACF, and Head Start and CCDF administrators to discuss early care and education research. To learn about previous CCEEPRC meetings, please visit: https://www.researchconnections.org/federal-efforts/meetings/child-care-and-early-education-policy-research-consortium-cceeprc-meetings.

2) ACF's National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC). This 3-day meeting is typically held in Washington D.C. (although could be held virtually) during alternating years. To learn more about previous NRCEC meetings, please visit: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/events/head-start-national-research-conferences.

⦁ During a year in which NRCEC is not hosted, students should attend a professional society conference that corresponds to their project or area of expertise.

b. Meetings. Students and their faculty mentors are required to attend the annual Early Care and Education Scholars Grant Recipient Meeting. Whenever possible, the Grant Recipient Meeting takes two days and occurs prior to or subsequent to another required event (so as to reduce travel requirements).

c. Dissemination. The scholar is expected to prepare and carry out a thorough dissemination plan to effectively translate and share project findings with researchers, policymakers, and collaborative partners. This may include the development of manuscripts, briefs, posters, infographics, presentations, briefings, webinars, articles for inclusion in partner newsletters, and/or other products that would effectively communicate to key audiences. ACF seeks to promote transparency in the conduct of research and evaluations and to support making data available for potential secondary analyses (see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/acf-evaluation-policy for the ACF Evaluation Policy). Grant recipients will consult with the Federal Program Officer and the Child and Family Data Archive to determine whether the project data and supporting metadata would meet the basic requirements for archiving (see https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/pages/cfda/share.html for information about data archiving).

When issuing statements, press releases, publications, requests for proposal, bid solicitations and other documents --such as tool-kits, resource guides, websites, and presentations (hereafter “statements”) -- describing the projects or programs funded in whole or in part with HHS federal funds, the recipient must clearly state:

1. the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the program or project funded with federal money; and,

2. the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program funded by non-governmental sources.

When issuing statements resulting from activities supported by HHS financial assistance, the recipient entity must include an acknowledgement of federal assistance using this or a similar statement.

"This [project/publication/program/website, etc.] [is/was] supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.)

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $XX with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy Requirements."

C. Priority Topics for this Opportunity A range of priority research topics and areas for 2022 are identified. Proposals are encouraged but not required to address these topics.

Top topical priorities for the 2022 opportunity include (but are not limited to) improved understanding and building the evidence-base for:

1. Understanding how the implementation of CCDF policies (e.g., family copayments, state payment rates, subsidy provisions) may be related to equal access for families;

2. The effectiveness of states' investments in quality of early care and education programs serving subsidized children and families;

3. Understanding how consumer education supports parents’ child care choices;

4. Strategies to increase the supply of subsidized care for children in households with working parents;

5. Strategies to retain and/or support a qualified child care workforce.

6. Strategies to recruit and retain child care providers to participate in the child care subsidy program; and

7. Understanding how reimbursement rates based on market rate vs cost affect equity, access, and quality.

Additionally, other topics of interest for this opportunity include (but are not limited to):

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements

1. Effect of changes from the CCDBG Act of 2014 and the 2016 Final Rule on children, families, providers, teachers, local early care and education systems, and the child care market;

2. To what extent have states implemented policies to reduce the “cliff effect” and has there been any effect from the policy changes?

3. Understanding how stabilization policies (e.g., contracts, payments based on enrollment rather than attendance) affect providers and the broader child care market;

4. Issues and opportunities related to the increased awareness of child care as an important factor in the labor force and their effects on the field of child care.

5. Increasing access to high-quality care for different populations (e.g., infants and toddlers);

6. Understanding the unique features of home-based child care, and how to increase the supply and quality of home-based child care;

7. Issues related to tribal child care, including maintaining culture, language, and traditions through intergenerational approaches to child care and coordination with states;

8. Understanding the child care needs of diverse low-income families and/or improving child care programs and policies for various subpopulations, including:

a. families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, families who have transitioned off the TANF program, low-income working families at risk of needing TANF benefits;

b. language, ethnic, and racial minority families and children, including dual language learners and American Indian/Alaska Native families and children;

c. immigrant families and children, including refugees and victims of trafficking;

d. families with children with special needs or disabilities;

e. families and children in contact with the child welfare system, especially abused and/or neglected children and foster children;

f. homeless children and families;

g. families who work non-traditional hours;

h. children of workers employed in agricultural and seasonal industries; i. families with infants, toddlers, and school-age children;

j. grandparent-headed families; and

k. families and children living in rural United States.

9. Factors that play a role in parents' decisions about work, child care, and subsidy access;

10. Understanding parents’ ideal work and child care preferences, which may include options that are not available (e.g., flexible work schedules, part-time work, preferred child care setting in an area where that sitting is not available);

11. Cost-effective investments (e.g., professional development interventions, child care environment improvement strategies, service coordination models) to improve child care quality in all settings;

12. Understanding the salient aspects of coaching and training in Social Emotional Learning that leads to changes in teachers’ behaviors and ultimately child outcomes;

13. Effectiveness of the state program standards and the effects on child outcomes to include but not limited to kindergarten readiness;

14. Understanding the required elements and feasibility of a national, competency-based certification system in an effort to increase child care provider quality as a separate path from

BA, MA, and CDA certifications;

15. Drivers of per-child cost escalations, and innovations to mitigate per-child costs, such as private-public partnerships and shared services;

16. Issues and outcomes related to early childhood workforce development including the effects of existing efforts and of tying increased competencies, skills, and training to increased compensation;;

17. Identifying and understanding misalignment of policies across child care and other early childhood programs and agencies that create unintended barriers to partnerships among early childhood systems and to families accessing support;

18. Analyses of state licensing and monitoring data to assess reliability and validity of licensure practices and to identify needed efficiencies in the system;

19. Effectiveness of monitoring systems in the context of licensing, Quality Rating and Improvement System ratings, and other benchmarking or accountability systems in the state to improve and maintain quality of early care and education services; and

20. Studies using secondary data to address questions of relevance to local CCDF programs and policies.

Potential projects with secondary data include, but are not limited to:

a. National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE)

b. National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES):

c. National-level or state-level administrative and systems data (e.g., ACF-801 Monthly Child Care Data; CCDF Policies Database)

d. State Workforce Registries; Data on Quality Ratings and Improvement Systems (QRIS); State Licensing and Program Monitoring Data

For further information about these datasets and their locations, please refer to the Child and Family Data Archive at https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/pages/cfda/data.html or the Early Childhood Data Sets listed at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/research/topic/overview/archived-data.

D. Definitions (for the purpose of this opportunity)

Budget Period: Each 12-month period of time for which funds are made available to a particular grant recipient.

Grant Recipient: The eligible entity (e.g., the institute, university, or organization) that was awarded the grant for the project on behalf of the PI/Faculty Mentor.

Principal Investigator (PI): The faculty mentor of the doctoral-level graduate student.

Project Period: The total length of the proposed project, which is either 12 or 24 months. For a 1-year proposed project, the project period would start September 30, 2022, and end September 29, 2023. For a 2-year proposed project, the project period would start September 30, 2022, and end September 29, 2024.

Scholar: The doctoral-level graduate student who has designed and will execute the proposed dissertation project.

E. Questions Regarding Applications For questions regarding this funding opportunity and/or the application process, please call (877) 350-5913, or direct inquiries via email to OPRE Child Care Dissertation Grant Review at

CCScholarsGrants@icf.com.

F. Transferability The merit of the application and the award are associated with the support of a single graduate student, who is specified in the application. Awards may not be transferred to support any other graduate student.

Grant awards are not transferable to another organization or institution without prior written approval from ACF. In addition, grant funds may not be used to support project activities outside the scope of the proposal for the awarded project without prior written approval by ACF.

G. Sharing of Awards The awards are for support of an individual graduate student researcher. Awards cannot be divided among two or more students (i.e., no co-investigators).

H. Indirect Costs If the applicant institution voluntarily relinquishes their indirect costs, or chooses to apply off-campus research rates, an authorized representative of the institution must submit a written acknowledgement that the indirect costs are being relinquished or a lower rate is being used. This voluntary decision to relinquish indirect costs, or to apply off-campus research rates, will not impact eligibility to submit an application and will not be a factor during objective review.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) Estimated Total Funding:

$150,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$25,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$20,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$25,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/30/2022 Length of Project Periods:

12-month project period and budget period

24-month project period with two 12-month budget periods mailto:CCScholarsGrants@icf.com.

Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' As appropriate to the study design, please select a 12 month or 24 month project period.

Additional Information on Awards:

Awards made under this funding opportunity are subject to the availability of federal funds.

Applications requesting an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period, or per project period, as stated in this section, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for the first 12-month budget period for projects with multiple budget periods. If the project and budget period are the same, the disqualification applies to the Award Ceiling listed for the project period. Please see Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Note: For those programs that require matching or cost sharing, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period or by project period for fully funded awards, even if the projected commitment exceeds the required amount of match or cost share. A recipient's failure to provide the required matching amount may result in the disallowance of federal funds.

For more information on these requirements, see Section III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching.

Applicants conducting high-quality research, including research that involves primary data collection or secondary data analysis, using various methodologies and designs, may apply for either a 12-month project period (with one budget period) or a 24-month project period (with two 12-month budget periods). Initial awards will be made for the first 12-month budget period.

Applicants proposing a 12-month project period will be awarded up to $25,000 for the 12-month budget period. Applicants proposing 24-month project periods will be awarded up to $25,000 for the first 12-month budget period and up to $25,000 for the second 12-month budget period, for a total not exceeding $50,000 for the entire 24-month project period. The 24-month project period should be noted in Item 17 on the Standard Form SF-424 and the need for a 24-month project period should be identified in the project narrative, budget, and budget justification.

For 24-month projects, non-competing continuation awards for the second 12-month budget period will be required and subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress by the grant recipient, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government. Applicants proposing 24-month projects will receive instructions during the first budget period on how to submit non-competing continuation applications to request funds for the second budget period. A second-year budget period will not be granted if the student has graduated by the end of the first-year budget period.

Indirect Costs Indirect Costs are included in the Award Ceiling and are taken into consideration under the Award Ceiling disqualification factor.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants are public, private, and state controlled institutions of higher education; state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; non-profit organizations; for-profit organizations; small businesses; Native American tribal governments and organizations; and public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. See Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity. Faith-based organizations may apply for this award on the same basis as any other organization, as set forth at and, subject to the protections and requirements of 45 CFR Part 87 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq., ACF will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization's religious character, affiliation, or exercise.

Reference to Legal Status See Section IV.2. Legal Status of Applicant Entity for documentation required to support eligibility.

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost Sharing / Matching Requirement:

No For all federal awards, any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third-party in-kind contributions, must be accepted as part of the recipient’s cost sharing or matching when such contributions meet all of the criteria listed in 45 CFR § 75.306.

For awards that require matching by statute, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period, or by project period for fully funded awards, even if the projected commitment exceeds the amount required by the statutory match. A recipient’s failure to provide the statutorily required matching amount may result in the disallowance of federal funds.

Recipients will be required to report these funds in the Federal Financial Reports.

For awards that do not require matching or cost sharing by statute, where “cost sharing” refers to any situation in which the recipient voluntarily shares in the costs of a project other than as statutorily required matching, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period, or by project period for fully funded awards. These include situations in which contributions are voluntarily proposed by a recipient or subrecipient and are accepted by ACF. Non-federal cost sharing will be included in the approved project budget so that the recipient will be held accountable for proposed non-federal cost sharing funds as shown in the Notice of Award (NoA). A recipient’s failure to provide voluntary cost sharing of non-federal resources that have been accepted by ACF as part of the approved project costs and that have been shown as part of the approved project budget in the NoA, may result in the disallowance of federal funds. Recipients will be required to report these funds in the Federal Financial Reports.

III.3. Other The scholar must provide evidence of an approved dissertation proposal. Please refer to Section IV.2. The Project Description, Additional Eligibility Documentation below for further details and guidance, including a deadline for this requirement.

Government agencies generally define plagiarism as the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. It is prohibited by federal regulations. Any suspected plagiarism will be reported to the applicant university and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General for investigation.

Application Disqualification Factors Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

Award Ceiling Disqualification

Applications that request an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period or per project period ("per project period" refers only to fully funded awards), as stated in Section II. Federal Award Information, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for the first 12-month budget period for projects with multiple budget periods. If the project and budget period are the same, the disqualification applies to the Award Ceiling listed for the project period.

Required Electronic Application Submission

ACF requires electronic submission of applications at www.Grants.gov. Paper applications received from applicants that have not been approved for an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

Applicants that do not have an internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents to the internet may contact ACF for an exemption that will allow the applicant to submit applications in paper format. Information and the requirements for requesting an exemption from required electronic application submission are found in "ACF Policy for Requesting an Exemption from Electronic Application Submission."

Missing the Application Deadline (Late Applications)

The deadline for electronic application submission is 11:59 pm ET on the due date listed in the Overview and in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times. Electronic applications submitted to www.Grants.gov after 11:59 pm ET on the due date, as indicated by a dated and time-stamped email from www.Grants.gov, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. That is, applications submitted to www.Grants.gov, on or after 12:00 am ET on the day after the due date will be disqualified from competitive https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACF_Policy_for_Requesting_an_Exemption_from_Required_Electronic_FINAL_0.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACF_Policy_for_Requesting_an_Exemption_from_Required_Electronic_FINAL_0.pdf https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

Applications submitted to www.Grants.gov at any time during the open application period, and prior to the due date and time, which fail the www.Grants.gov validation check, will not be received at, or acknowledged by ACF.

Each time an application is submitted via www.Grants.gov, the submission will generate a new date and time-stamp email notification. Only those applications with on-time date and time stamps that result in a validated application, which is transmitted to ACF will be acknowledged.

The deadline for receipt of paper applications is 4:30 pm ET on the due date listed in the Overview and in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times. Paper applications received after 4:30 pm ET on the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. Paper applications received from applicants that have not received approval of an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

Notification of Application Disqualification Applicants will be notified of a disqualification determination by email or by USPS postal mail within 30 federal business days from the closing date of this NOFO.

IV. Application and Submission Information IV.1. Address to Request Application Package Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation Child Care Dissertation Grant Review c/o ICF International 9300 Lee Highway Fairfax

VA

22031-6050 1-877-350-5913

(703) 934-3740 CCScholarsGrants@icf.com Application Packages

Electronic Application Submission:

The electronic application submission package is available in the NOFO's listing at www.Grants.gov.

Applications in Paper Format:

For applicants that have received an exemption to submit applications in paper format, Standard Forms, assurances, and certifications are available in the "Select Grant Opportunity Package" available in the NOFO's Grants.gov Synopsis under the Package tab at www.Grants.gov. See Section IV.2. Request an Exemption from Required Electronic Application Submission if https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.Grants.gov/ https://www.Grants.gov/ applicants do not have an Internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents (files) to www.Grants.gov.

Federal Relay Service:

Hearing-impaired and speech-impaired callers may contact the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) for assistance at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay.

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

FORMATTING APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

Each applicant applying electronically via www.Grants.gov is required to upload only two electronic files, excluding Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms. No more than two files will be accepted for the review, and additional files will be removed. Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms will not be considered additional files.

FOR ALL APPLICATIONS:

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) AOR is the designated representative of the applicant/recipient organization with authority to act on the organization’s behalf in matters related to the award and administration of grants. In signing a grant application, this individual agrees that the organization will assume the obligations imposed by applicable Federal statutes and regulations and other terms and conditions of the award, including any assurances, if a grant is awarded.

Point of Contact In addition to the AOR, a point of contact on matters involving the application must also be identified. The point of contact, known as the Project Director or Principal Investigator, should not be identical to the person identified as the AOR. The point of contact must be available to answer any questions pertaining to the application.

Application Checklist Applicants may refer to Section VIII. Other Information for a checklist of application requirements that may be used in developing and organizing application materials.

Accepted Font Style Applications must be in Times New Roman (TNR), 12-point font, except for footnotes, which may be TNR 10-point font. Pages that contain blurred text, or text that is too small to read comfortably, will be removed.

English Language Applications must be submitted in the English language and must be in the terms of United States (U.S.) dollars. If applications are submitted using another currency, ACF will convert the foreign currency to U.S. currency using the date of receipt of the application to determine the rate of exchange.

http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay

Page Limitations Applicants must observe the page limitation(s) listed under "PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:". Page limitation(s) do not include SFs and OMB-approved forms.

All applications must be double-spaced. An application that exceeds the cited page limitation for double-spaced pages in the Project Description file or the Appendices file will have extra pages removed, and those pages will not be reviewed.

Application Elements Exempted from Double-Spacing Requirements The following elements of the application submission are exempt from the double-spacing requirements and may be single-spaced: the table of contents, the one-page Project Summary, required Assurances and Certifications, required SFs, required OMB-approved forms, resumes, logic models, proof of legal status/non-profit status, third-party agreements, letters of support, footnotes, tables, the line-item budget and/or the budget justification.

Adherence to NOFO Formatting, Font, and Page Limitation Requirements Applications that fail to adhere to ACF’s NOFO formatting, font, and page limitation requirements will be adjusted by the removal of page(s) from the application. Pages will be removed before the objective review. The removed page(s) will not be made available to reviewers.

Applications that have more than one scanned page of a document on a single page will have the page(s) removed from the review.

For applicants that submit paper applications, double-sided pages will be counted as two pages.

When the maximum allowed number of pages is reached, excess pages will be removed and will not be made available to reviewers.

NOTE: Applicants failing to adhere to ACF’s NOFO formatting, font, and page limitation requirements will receive a letter from ACF notifying them that their application was amended.

The letter will be sent after awards have been issued and will specify the reason(s) for removal of page(s).

Corrections/Updates to Submitted Applications When applicants make revisions to a previously submitted application, ACF will accept only the last on-time application for pre-review under the Application Disqualification Factors. The Application Disqualification Factors determine the application's acceptance for competitive review. See Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors and Section IV.2.

Application Submission Options.

Copies Required Applicants must submit one complete copy of the application package electronically. Applicants submitting electronic applications need not provide additional copies of their application package.

Applicants submitting applications in paper format must submit one original and two copies of the complete application, including all Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms. The original copy must have original signatures.

Signatures Applicants submitting electronic applications must follow the registration and application submission instructions provided at www.Grants.gov.

The original of a paper format application must include original signatures of the authorized representatives.

Accepted Application Format With the exception of the required Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved forms, all application materials must be formatted so that they are 8 ½" x 11" white paper with 1-inch margins all around.

If possible, applicants are encouraged to include page numbers for each page within the application.

ACF generally does not encourage submission of scanned documents as they tend to have reduced clarity and readability. If documents must be scanned, the font size on any scanned documents must be large enough so that it is readable. Documents must be scanned page-for-page, meaning that applicants may not scan more than one page of a document onto a single page. Pages with blurred text will be removed from the application.

PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:

Each application may include only one proposed project, submitted in two files: The Project Description File (File 1) and the Appendices File (File 2).

Page Limits. The length of the entire application must be limited to 100 pages. This page limit applies to the combined length of the Project Description File and the Appendices File. The recommended page limit for each file is 50 pages. Pages submitted beyond the first 100 pages in the application will be removed prior to panel review. The required Standard Forms (SF), assurances, and certifications are submitted separately from the Project Description and Appendices Files, and are not included in the 100-page limit.

Organization of Files. Pages in the Project Description File must be numbered, beginning with the Table of Contents. Throughout both files, applicants are strongly encouraged to use headings and subheadings that correspond to the required application sections (listed below and in Section IV.2. The Project Description and Section IV.2. The Project Budget and Budget Justification).

Additional headers and subheaders may be used to organize the content of each section. Clear headings must be used to ease reviewers’ identification of information relevant to the application review criteria.

Tables and Figures. Applications may include tables and/or figures as needed to supplement, but not replace, the narrative components of their applications. Tables and figures count in the 100-page limit.

Style Guideline. The proposal and tables/figures must be consistent with the citation format and style guidelines of the current version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The research must comply with the "Ethical Standards" detailed in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association

(APA, 2002).

The Project Description File must be carefully developed in accordance with ACF’s research goals and agenda as described in Section I. Program Description and incorporate information related to the criteria that will be used to evaluate the application, as described in Section V.1.

Criteria. We suggest organizing the Project Description File according to the sections presented below. See Section IV.2. The Project Description, Approach for additional instructions for preparing each section.

The Project Description File must include:

1. Table of Contents (includes a list of all pieces of the application being submitted across both files with corresponding page numbers)

2. Project Summary (one page maximum)

3. Approach

a. Background, Significance, and Objectives

b. Research Design and Methodology

c. Collaborative Partner Plan

d. Dissemination Plan

e. Management Plan

f. References

4. Budget and Budget Justification

The Appendices File must include the following components:

For items 1 through 9 see Section IV.2. The Project Description for additional guidance.

1. Letter of Support from PI/Faculty Mentor

2. Curriculum Vitae for the PI/Faculty Mentor

3. Curriculum Vitae for Scholar

4. Scholar’s Unofficial Transcript

5. Documentation of Approved or Scheduled Doctoral Dissertation Proposal (see Section IV.2.

Project Description, Additional Eligibility Documentation)

6. Letter(s) of Support from the Collaborative Partner(s)

7. Additional Letters of Support, if applicable

8. Documentation of Research as a Primary Organizational Activity

9. Proof of Non-profit or For-profit Status, if applicable (see Section IV.2. The Project Description, Legal Status of Applicant Entity)

10. Organizational Capacity

11. Plan for Oversight of Federal Award Funds and Activities

12. Protection of Sensitive and/or Confidential Information

13. Third-Party Agreements

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Applicants are required to submit their applications electronically unless they have requested and received an exemption that will allow submission in paper format. See Section IV.2. Application Submission Options for information about requesting an exemption.

Electronic applications will only be accepted via www.Grants.gov. ACF will not accept applications submitted via email or via facsimile.

Each applicant is required to upload ONLY two electronic files, excluding SFs and OMB-approved forms.

File One: Must contain the entire Project Description, and the Budget and Budget Justification (including a line-item budget and a budget narrative).

File Two: Must contain all documents required in the Appendices.

Adherence to the Two-File Requirement No more than two files will be accepted for the review.