Foa_Content_of_HHS-2022-ACF-ORR-ZT-0051.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Refugee Resettlement

Direct Services for Survivors of Torture

HHS-2022-ACF-ORR-ZT-0051

Application Due Date: 07/08/2022

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 (UEI) 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

Appendix

Funding Opportunity Title:

Direct Services for Survivors of Torture Announcement Type:

Initial Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2022-ACF-ORR-ZT-0051

Primary CFDA Number:

93.604 Due Date for Applications:

07/08/2022 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 Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is accepting applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Direct Services for Survivors of Torture (DS SOT) Grant Program. The aim of the program is to help survivors and their families overcome the severe, pervasive, and long-lasting effects of torture and achieve sustained physical, social, emotional, and economic well-being. ORR intends to achieve this aim through the following two objectives: i) to increase survivors' access to and engagement with effective, holistic, strengths-based, trauma-informed services; and ii) to maintain and grow a strong and sustainable national network of culturally responsive service providers.

Under the DS SOT Program, direct services are provided to persons who have been tortured on foreign soil under the color of law. The program offers holistic and integrated services including medical, psychological, legal, and social work services, which are provided either by Program recipients and/or through recipients’ partners or affiliates.

I. Program Description Statutory Authority Section 5(a) of the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998, Public Law 105-320 (22 U.S.C. 2152 note)

Assistance for Treatment of Torture Victims—the Secretary of Health and Human Services may provide grants to programs in the United States to cover the cost of the following services:

1. Services for the rehabilitation of victims of torture, including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

2. Social and legal services for victims of torture.

3. Research and training for health care providers outside of treatment centers, or programs for the purpose of enabling such providers to provide the services described in number 1.

Description

BACKGROUND

Torture constitutes one of the most extreme forms of trauma, with the potential for long-term psychological and physical suffering and intergenerational harm. Torture is defined in section 3 of the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-320) with references to 18 U.S.C.

2340(1) as “an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control." Section 3 of the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 also specifies that the term “torture” includes the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence by a person acting under the color of law upon another person under their custody or physical control. Severe mental pain or suffering means prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from the following:

A. the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering;

B. the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality;

C. the threat of imminent death; or D. the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality. 18 U.S.C. 2340(2).

The psychosocial and health repercussions of torture, violence, and traumatic stress have emerged as significant public health concerns across the globe, wherever survivors are to be found. In the United States, survivors of torture constitute an extremely vulnerable demographic cohort, especially after their arrival in the country as refugees and immigrants. A meta-analysis report from 2015 indicated that approximately 44 percent of refugees and asylees have experienced torture and estimated that as many as 1.3 million torture survivors may be living in the United States. Survivors may experience long lasting physical consequences of torture such as acute injury, infections, chronic pain, and exacerbations of chronic illness. Additionally, they may suffer from the psychological effects of torture, which include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders. ORR recognizes that survivors’ families include secondary survivors, who are defined in this NOFO as individuals who have been adversely affected by the torture experience of the primary survivor. Therefore, ORR advocates for a whole-family approach when designing and delivering services. ORR also recognizes that access to trauma-informed health care providers is crucial in the healing and recovery process for both primary and secondary survivors.

The pervasive effects of torture on survivors require an interdisciplinary and holistic approach that is strengths-based and focused on survivors' resiliency. Moreover, the provision of therapeutic, social, and legal services in survivors' language of preference (to the greatest extent possible) may help restore survivors' sense of self-efficacy, allowing them to regain a sense of health and wellbeing and to function as productive members of their new communities.

DS SOT PROGRAM OVERVIEW

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of the DS SOT Program is to help survivors and their families overcome the severe, pervasive, and long-lasting effects of torture and achieve sustained physical, social, emotional, and economic well-being.

The primary objective of the DS SOT Program is to increase survivors' access to and engagement with effective, holistic, strengths-based, trauma-informed, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services. For the purpose of this NOFO, holistic services are defined as including medical, psychological, legal, and social work services to address the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual effects of torture on survivors and their families. ORR-funded programs (recipients) must provide all these services either directly or through a combination of direct and indirect services provided via partnerships and/or affiliations.

The second objective of the DS SOT Program is to maintain and grow a strong and sustainable national network of culturally responsive specialized service providers to assist torture survivors and their families in the healing and recovery process so that they can attend to their health, build effective support networks, and function as active members of their communities.

Objective-Centered Program Activities and Relevant Assessment Areas Recipient activities must align with DS SOT Program objectives. ORR will assess recipient activities under the following three main areas: core service delivery, organizational capacity development, and community engagement and education. ORR-funded activities may fall under one or more assessment areas. For example, telehealth options for core services fall under both core service delivery and organizational capacity development.

Assessment Area I: Activities under Core Services Recipients must provide core services for adult, adolescent, and pediatric clients allowing options for telehealth and remote delivery. Core services must include, but are not limited to, the following:

Assessing and documenting survivors’ experience of torture.

Conducting comprehensive intake assessments and establishing personal wellness plans to help survivors identify and advance toward goals for healing and recovery.

Offering specific interventions for women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) survivors, recognizing that they experience systemic bias and sexual violence specifically based on their gender and sexual identities.

Ensuring pediatric and adolescent services are developmentally appropriate and appropriately tailored to the unique needs of these age groups.

Developing models of care that focus on the integration of medical services and psycho-social services.

Providing medical, psychological, social work, and legal services to address the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual effects of torture on survivors and their families, with the option of telehealth for all core services. For clients choosing to receive services remotely, recipients must offer at minimum two in-person appointments yearly.

Providing strengths-based, trauma-informed case management to coordinate care and connect clients to other services and community resources as needed.

Offering individual and group therapy for clients and their families, including family-strengthening interventions to mitigate the collective and intergenerational trauma on those families.

Facilitating support groups and providing referrals and linkages to help survivors build a sustainable social support network.

Conducting quarterly outcome assessments each fiscal year for each client, and ensuring that personal wellness plans contain specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) goals for both clients and caseworkers, with regular updates throughout the service period.

Linking eligible clients to employment, entrepreneurship, and career training programs such as ORR’s Matching Grant Program, Microenterprise Development Program, and Refugee Career Pathways Program.

Seeking and incorporating regular client input on services through individual assessments, focus groups, or satisfaction surveys to ensure client-centered programming, evaluate program effectiveness, and improve service delivery.

Implementing an evidence-based triage system for effective management and reduction of waitlists, including linkage of waitlisted individuals to community resources.

Assessing clients at the end of each service year and informing them of their eligibility for case closure based on their achievement of goals outlined in their wellness plans.

Meeting with continuing clients at the start of each fiscal year to inform them of their service options and to identify client goals to work toward during that period.

Assessment Area II: Activities under Organizational Capacity Development ORR expects DS SOT Program recipients to engage in activities designed to increase their capacity and to ensure the sustainability of services to survivors. These activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Determining and enrolling the optimal number of new clients commensurate with their funding levels.

Maintaining an equitable ratio of new and continuing clients.

Assessing client needs and outcomes to ensure appropriate levels of service and case management. This could result in tiered services with Tier One clients falling under the “In-Crisis” and “Vulnerable” categories in domains of need and Tier Two clients falling under the “Stable” category.

Moving toward integrated service delivery for survivors through program enhancement and expansion, staff training, and strategic partnerships.

Ensuring that program staff and volunteers providing professional services participate in ORR-sponsored and/or other professional training events each year, which can include peer-consultation groups.

Developing and implementing a strategic training program to ensure the quality and sustainability of services provided by staff.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/refugees/matching-grants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/refugees/microenterprise-development https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/refugees/refugee-career-pathways

Ensuring that new staff are trained in ORR HHS grants policy requirements, use of GrantSolutions and Payment Management System, as well as SOT reporting requirements, which include program data points in the Refugee Arrivals Data System (RADS) and performance progress narrative and metrics.

Encouraging and promoting the professional development of bi/multilingual and bicultural staff from underserved refugee and immigrant communities to promote healthcare equity through increased representation and visibility of those communities in those professions.

Ensuring peer support and adequate supervision of client-facing staff with particular attention to client-case worker ratios.

Integrating survivors within organizational and programmatic structures through establishing advisory boards comprised of former clients and community members, encouraging, in particular, the participation of female and LGBTQ survivors.

Offering mentorship programs for survivors to allow them to inform service delivery, lead survivor-focused initiatives, and simultaneously enhance their employability/professional credentials.

Collaborating with a national network of organizations serving survivors of torture and participating in activities, such as community engagement, and research projects.

Engaging in rigorous program monitoring and evaluation to improve processes (e.g., intake process and referrals) and systems (e.g., data collection).

Diversifying program funding sources and identifying sustainable sources of funding, such as medical billing.

Fundraising and solicitation of funds are not allowable activities under this grant (45 CFR § 75.442). Please see Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions for further information.

Assessment Area III: Activities under Community Engagement and Education The following activities are included in community engagement and education in addition to some of the activities listed in Assessment Area II.

Conducting outreach to refugee and immigrant communities, which may include torture survivors who are unaware of the DS SOT Program and the services for which they may be eligible.

Providing educational workshops to refugee and immigrant communities and/or community members who interact with this population to increase community awareness of and support for survivors.

Working with culturally and linguistically appropriate community health workers who are part of the SOT program or community health centers to conduct home visits.

Communicating and coordinating at least quarterly with State Refugee Coordinators and Refugee Health Coordinators regarding service populations, resources, training opportunities, and migration/resettlement trends.

Partnering with ethnic community-based organizations to develop, deliver, or promote culturally and linguistically appropriate services for survivors from those communities.

Providing professional training for medical, behavioral health, legal, and social service providers on identifying and caring for survivors to enhance their capacity to meet the needs of this underserved population.

Training staff at community health centers in cultural competency and the needs of torture survivors to optimize the care survivors receive within such health centers.

Collaborating with family strengthening programs that are geared toward forced migrant populations.

Providing professional mentoring and/or case consultations to mainstream local service providers to increase the capacity of those agencies to serve survivors of torture.

Raising mainstream public awareness of torture survivors, especially by elevating survivors’ voices and expressions through art and music as a way of generating support and resources and promoting healing.

Eligible Populations for DS SOT Services Individuals eligible for services under the DS SOT Program are those who have suffered torture in foreign countries and who are now present in the United States, regardless of immigration status. They may include refugees, asylees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and other forced migrants or immigrants. U.S. citizens who were tortured abroad are also eligible for services.

Recipients must determine individuals’ eligibility for ORR-funded services by using the definition of torture cited in 18 U.S.C. 2340(1). Services must be provided to refugees and immigrants without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), or political opinion.

DS SOT APPROACH

Integrated, Strengths-Based, and Trauma-Informed Service Delivery Model The DS SOT Program requires that the following service model be available to survivors and eligible family members:

Culturally and linguistically appropriate core services for the client population.

Direct provision of core services by the recipient and/or indirect provision through partner organizations and/or affiliates under Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), mandating administrative oversight and care coordination by the primary recipient.

Integrated service delivery, using a multidisciplinary team with shared systems and regular communication to coordinate provision of behavioral health, primary care, and social services.

A strengths-based, client-centered approach to service delivery at every stage of the project, including planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Comprehensive assessment at intake of the clients' medical, psychosocial, spiritual, and immigration needs.

Access to trauma-informed legal and social support, such as housing, employment or vocational assistance, which may preclude or reduce the need for more specialized psychological and medical services.

A family-focused service plan including services for eligible family members who may experience the effects of torture and trauma in their relationship with the survivor, particularly during initial healing and recovery and when reunited after an extended period of separation.

Assessment and mitigation of the effects of torture and trauma on the survivor’s family to prevent intergenerational trauma through family strengthening interventions.

Regular quarterly assessment of outcomes aligned with client-identified goals in the individual service plan.

Optimized Access to Services Recipients must ensure survivors' timely access to services through the following:

Triage and support to waitlisted individuals Regular review of waitlists using evidence-based triage systems to ensure adequate follow-up.

Linkage of those waitlisted to community service providers Implementation of activities outlined under Assessment Area II (Organizational Capacity

Development) and Assessment Area III (Community Education and Engagement).

DS SOT Case Files Recipients must maintain client case files (electronic or physical) in a secure location, while ensuring regular updates on indirect services and referrals. The following list identifies essential documents for inclusion in client case files.

List of Client Case File Contents

Intake assessment Eligibility determination form Enrollment and service agreement Informed consent and release information form Grievance policy letter Goal-centered Individual Self-Sufficiency and Wellness Plan Detailed case notes documenting regular client-case worker interaction Quarterly assessments Survivor Family Self-Sufficiency and Wellness Plan Referrals Records of any mentoring or volunteering that the client is providing or receiving Records of any goods or services donated to the client with client signatures Records of client employment training and education Case closure letter

DS SOT Program Guidelines While this NOFO outlines the essential aspects of program implementation for SOT recipients, ORR recognizes the need for further explication of programmatic issues. Accordingly, ORR will issue guidelines specific to the DS SOT Program following publication of this NOFO/announcement of awards.

Subawards Recipients under this grant program may opt to transfer a portion of substantive programmatic work to other organizations through subaward(s). The prime recipient must maintain a substantive role in the project. ACF defines a substantive role as conducting activities and/or providing services funded under the award that are necessary and integral to the completion of the project. Subrecipient monitoring activities alone, as specified in 45 CFR § 75.352 do not constitute a substantive role. Furthermore, ACF does not fund awards where the role of the applicant is primarily to serve as a conduit for passing funds to other organizations unless that arrangement is authorized by statute.

Subrecipient(s) must meet the eligibility requirements identified in the NOFO, Section III.1.

Eligible Applicants. Additionally, all subrecipient(s) must obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, or after government-wide implementation, a Unique Entity Identifier assigned by the System for Award Management (SAM), if they do not already have one. Prime recipients are required to check SAM to verify that the subrecipient(s) is/are not debarred, suspended, or ineligible.

Please reference the Award Term and Condition on Subawards on the ACF Administrative and National Policy Requirements website for further requirements involving subawards.

POST-AWARD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

DS SOT Meetings and Trainings Each year of the project period, ORR will conduct an in-person meeting with grant recipients in Washington, DC (conditions permitting, or the meeting may be remote via teleconference), to which recipients must send at least one key representative. Additionally, recipients must participate regularly in educational and professional development opportunities, such as webinars (e.g., reviewing program data collection and reporting requirements), technical assistance trainings, and recipient meetings.

DS SOT Performance Measures Recipients awarded under this NOFO are required to submit an annual Program Data Points (PDP) each fiscal year of the project period (Office of Management and Budget [OMB] approval number 0970-0490, expiration date January 31, 2023). The PDP include program (i.e., demographic, output) and outcome indicators for new and continuing clients who receive services from recipients either directly or indirectly during the fiscal year.

The DS SOT program indicators are, as follows:

Client count during reporting period (active and closed cases);

Age when first subjected to torture;

Type of torture suffered;

Reason for torture;

Country where torture occurred;

Client goals at intake;

Gender;

Immigration category/status at intake;

Age at intake;

Education prior to arrival (for clients > 18 years of age at intake);

Employment status in the U.S. at intake (for clients > 18 years of age at intake);

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements#book_content_14 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements

Length of time in the U.S. at intake;

Country of origin;

Ethnicity;

Religion;

Languages used;

Clients served by service category;

Professionals/community members trained; and Pro bono professional service hours donated.

The DS SOT outcome indicators are levels of need in the following seven domains:

Legal (Immigration);

Housing;

Employment;

Physical health;

Mental health;

Access to community resources; and U.S.-based support systems.

DS SOT Program Self-Assessment To support future evaluations of DS SOT recipient programs, recipients awarded under this NOFO must submit a completed Survivors of Torture Integrated Care Continuum (SOT-ICC) form at the beginning of each fiscal year. Recipients must submit an updated form following any changes to their program’s model of care.

NOTE: Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), under this NOFO, ORR will not conduct or sponsor – and a person is not required to respond to -a collection of information covered by such Act, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. ACF will obtain OMB approval under the PRA prior to collecting or requesting the collection of any additional information that is subject to PRA.

DS SOT Program Performance Monitoring and Assessment ORR SOT Program staff and/or contract monitors will undertake periodic site visits as well as remote desk audits to monitor recipients’ performance and to assess their service delivery model.

Areas of assessment have been described earlier in this section under Objective-Centered Program Activities and Relevant Assessment Areas.

Following the visit, ORR will issue an official monitoring report categorizing the recipient as one of the following: i) A Center of Excellence; ii) A Recipient in Good Standing; or iii) An Unsatisfactory Service Provider.

ORR categorizes recipients’ performance as follows.

A Center of Excellence is an agency that:

Demonstrates consistently excellent outcomes in all three assessment areas.

Has contributed to the field of services for torture survivors through published research in a peer reviewed journal.

Merits ORR recognition of one or more notable practices.

Earns community recognition for its services.

Has developed integrated service models.

A Recipient in Good Standing is a recipient that:

Posts consistently good outcomes in all three assessment areas.

Is found to have no outstanding areas of non-compliance.

Meets goals in terms of numbers projected to be served.

An Unsatisfactory Service Provider is a recipient that:

Posts consistently low outcomes in one or more assessment areas.

Is found to be in non-compliance with one or more DS SOT Program requirements and

ORR/HHS Policy Guidelines.

A recipient falling under the category of An Unsatisfactory Service Provider will be placed under a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) based on the number of non-compliance areas and the failure to demonstrate client progress and achievement of program outcomes. Such a recipient must comply with training and technical assistance as required under the terms of PIP. Upon the recipient’s completion of and compliance with PIP, ORR will conduct a follow-up monitoring review to assess the effectiveness of PIP.

Staffing Requirements

ORR requires that key staff for recipient programs possess appropriate professional credentials and licensures to address the medical and mental health, legal, and social work needs of their client populations. Additionally, where recipients are unable to engage bicultural or multilingual staff, staff from mainstream communities must demonstrate cultural awareness of and sensitivity to the ethnic and cultural groups represented in their service population. Onsite interpretation is a key requirement where staff do not possess proficiency in the languages represented in their client caseload. Adequate and effective client-case manager staff ratios are also an essential required staffing element. Recipients must inform ORR in advance of key program personnel changes and ensure subsequent mandatory ORR specific training for new staff as outline in Section I. Assessment Area II: Activities under Organizational Capacity Development.

Key Program Personnel Key program personnel are salaried or unpaid individuals whose contributions are essential for project implementation. They include, but are not limited to, the following:

Program Director- This individual oversees and coordinates program implementation and serves as the point of contact for ORR.

Medical Director or Coordinator- A licensed medical doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant who oversees the medical care of survivors, helps develop and maintain a network of primary care and specialty providers, supervises referrals, follows up to ensure timely and appropriate service delivery, and collects outcome information.

Legal Services Director or Coordinator- This individual must be an attorney or accredited legal professional who develops and maintains pro-bono or low-bono service networks, as well as a forensic evaluation provider network. This individual provides consultations and supervision for legal services and collects outcome information.

Social Services Director or Coordinator- This individual must possess at minimum a master’s degree in social work.

DS SOT Federal Program Evaluation If ACF identifies resources to fund a federal study of DS SOT Program activities, then the recipient must participate in that study. Such a study will use an external non-recipient evaluation team and will focus on the processes, implementation, progress indicators, and quality improvement of ACF-funded activities.

For more information on application components specific to this NOFO, please refer to Section IV.2. The Project Description and The Project Budget and Budget Justification.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) Estimated Total Funding:

$16,230,198 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$650,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$300,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$475,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/30/2022 Length of Project Periods:

60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods

Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' 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 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.

Additional language on award amounts:

Applicants that request the ceiling amount may not receive that amount even if they have been approved for funding. ORR will determine calculations of appropriate funding levels based on the cost of living in recipients’ service location and the proposed estimated number of survivors to be served.

ORR award decisions will be based in part by the applicant’s length of service to survivors of torture, the number of refugee/asylum seekers in the service region, and the applicant’s past performance, especially regarding compliance.

ORR has calculated the average cost of service per client by dividing the average award amount in FY2020 by the average total number of clients served that year. ORR estimated that for an average of 208 clients served in FY2020, the per capita calculation totaled $1,776, which was then rounded up to $2,000. For planning purposes, ORR suggests applicants anticipate spending approximately $2,000 for each client receiving core services (e.g., if a recipient is awarded $400,000, at $2,000 per capita, ORR suggests the recipient would serve approximately 200 clients).

Awards for the second, third, fourth, and fifth 12-month budget periods will be made upon approval of non-competing continuation applications and will be subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress by the recipient, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government. Satisfactory progress means that the recipient is meeting the grant requirements and achieving project goals as identified in the approved plan.

III. Eligibility Information III.1. Eligible Applicants Eligibility is open to the following types of entities: state governments, 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, Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments), nonprofits having a 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, private institutions of higher education, for profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and 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.

Funding Restrictions Reference Please see Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions for any limitations on the use of federal funds that could affect the eligibility of an applicant or project.

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 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 Application Disqualification Factors Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and 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 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 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 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 Grants.gov after 11:59 pm ET on the due date, as indicated by a dated and time-stamped email from Grants.gov, will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. That is, applications submitted to Grants.gov, on or after 12:00 am ET on the day after the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity.

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

Each time an application is submitted via Grants.gov, the submission will generate a new date and time-stamp email notification. Only those applications with on-time date and time stamps 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 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 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 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 Sabrina Torres Administration for Children and Families Office of Refugee Resettlement Division of Refugee Health 330 C Street, SW.

Mailroom 5123 Washington

DC

20201 202-260-7802 202-430-8341

(202) 401-5772 Sabrina.Torres@acf.hhs.gov http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/ Application Packages

Electronic Application Submission:

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

Applications in Paper Format:

For applicants that have received an exemption to submit applications in paper format, Standard Forms (SFs), assurances, and certifications are available in the "Select Grant Opportunity Package" available in the NOFO's Grants.gov Synopsis under the Package tab at Grants.gov. See Section IV.2. Request an Exemption from Required Electronic Application Submission if applicants do not have an Internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents (files) to 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 Grants.gov is required to upload only two electronic files, excluding SFs and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-approved forms. No more than two files will be accepted for the review, and additional files will be removed. SFs 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.

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 http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay 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 and 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 SFs 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 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 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:

With the exception of SFs and OMB-approved forms, the application submission in its entirety (Project Description and Appendices File) is limited to 70 pages.

The Project Description File must include the following items:

Table of Contents Project Summary Project Narrative (e.g., needs statement, approach, expected outcomes) Logic Model (see Appendix for sample) Program Performance Evaluation Plan Plan for Oversight of Federal Award Funds and Activities Project Budget and Budget Justification Project Sustainability Plan Protection of Sensitive and/or Confidential Information

The Appendices File must include the following:

Legal Status of Applicant Entity Organizational Capacity (e.g., organizational charts, resumes) Third-Party Agreements Letters of Support Any other information the applicant deems relevant and necessary

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Applicants are required to submit their applications electronically unless they have 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 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. Applications with additional files will be amended and files will be removed from the review. SFs and OMB-approved forms will not be considered additional files.

Application Upload Requirements ACF strongly recommends that electronic applications be uploaded as Portable Document Files (PDFs). One file must contain the entire Project Description and Budget Justification; the other file must contain all documents required in the Appendices.