Foa_Content_of_HHS-2022-ACL-AOA-LAEP-0054.pdf

Administration for Community Living

Administration on Aging

Legal Assistance Enhancement Program

HHS-2022-ACL-AOA-LAEP-0054

05/03/2022

Table of Contents Executive Summary

Additional Overview Content/Executive Summary

I. Funding Opportunity Description

II. Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

3. Responsiveness and Screening Criteria

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Letter of Intent

Project Narrative

Project Abstract

Project Relevance and Current Need

Approach

Special Target Populations and Organizations

Outcomes

Evaluation

Project Deliverables and Dissemination

Project Management and Qualifications

Organizational Capability

Budget Narrative/Justification

Project Work Plan

Letters of Commitment from Key Participating Organizations and Agencies

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

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

7. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Anticipated Announcement Award Date

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

4. FFATA and FSRS Reporting

VII. Agency Contacts

VIII. Other Information

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-13)

Appendix

Instructions for Completing Required Forms

Budget Narrative/Justification- Sample Format

Instructions for Completing the Project Summary/ Abstract

Logic Model Example

ACL Center:

Administration on Aging Funding Opportunity Title:

Legal Assistance Enhancement Program Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2022-ACL-AOA-LAEP-0054

Primary CFDA Number:

93.048 Due Date for Letter of Intent:

Date will be generated on synopsis publication Due Date for Applications:

05/03/2022 Date for Informational Conference Call:

03/22/2022 Applications that fail to meet the application due date will not be reviewed and will receive no further consideration. You are strongly encouraged to submit your application a minimum of 3-5 days prior to the application closing date. Do not wait until the last day in the event you encounter technical difficulties, either on your end or, with https://www.grants.gov. Grants.gov can take up to 48 hours to notify you of a successful submission.

Executive Summary Additional Overview Content/Executive Summary The purpose of ACL’s Legal Assistance Enhancement Program (LAEP) is to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of legal assistance provided to older adults. Although a wide https://www.grants.gov/ range of legal assistance services for older adults exist, current approaches to delivering legal services may be inadequate to comprehensively meet the legal needs and secure the rights of older adults. Through the LAEP funding opportunity, ACL aims to, among other things, break down barriers to accessing legal assistance, increase the availability of legal assistance, especially for historically underrepresented populations of elders, and enhance the efficacy of legal assistance to meet the evolving needs of older adults. For this opportunity, ACL intends to award approximately eight (8) grants, ranging from a minimum of $150,000 to a maximum of $250,000 per grant per year, for up to 3 years, depending on the availability of funding.

I. Funding Opportunity Description Background

The Older Americans Act (OAA) highlights the key role of legal assistance in securing independence for and the rights of older Americans. Legal assistance providers enable older Americans to assert their rights and remove barriers to economic and personal independence and self-determination. Interventions by providers can address social determinants of health and well-being by preserving older Americans’ access to appropriate services and supports their rights to live free from or to recover from the experience of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.[1]

The OAA authorizes the provisions of these services to older Americans with social or economic need (eligible clients), with a specific focus on those who are isolated by reason of geography, language, culture, or residential setting.[2] The OAA mandates that legal assistance for eligible clients be accessible; that is, easy to locate and use, and delivered by knowledgeable, well-trained legal assistance providers.[3] Additionally, under the OAA, a wide range of legal services are to be available to eligible clients on key legal matters, from advice through full legal representation.[4]

Experiencing civil legal problems can have an especially dire impact on older adults. Accordingly, the OAA prioritizes critical issue areas and case types for legal assistance delivery. These priority case types include income, health care, long-term care, nutrition, housing, defense of guardianship, abuse, neglect, and age discrimination.[5] In redressing these issues, legal assistance providers prevent homelessness among older Americans by contesting unwarranted evictions and foreclosure in communities and by representing long-term care residents in unlawful involuntary removal from long-term residential facilities and support residents rights in transitioning to community settings. They enable elders to enforce their rights of access to and coverage of needed health care through Medicare and Medicaid, and to quality care in nursing facilities and in home and community-based services. They empower the decisional rights of older Americans through offering tools such as powers of attorney and health care proxies and by contesting, diverting individuals from and revoking inappropriate guardianship orders.

In addition, legal assistance providers are able to deploy a wide range of civil legal remedies in the fight against elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, from protective orders through restoration of title of property stolen by abusers, to establishing entitlement to public benefits denied due to alleged transfer of assets that masks theft by abusers. These legal assistance interventions prevent abuse and, for those who have experienced abuse, can restore an elder’s sense of agency over her life, supporting the process of transforming victims into survivors, making them whole again.

Legal assistance providers funded under the OAA are procured through contract with Area Agencies on Aging (AAA). The OAA requires that the providers selected by AAAs must be “best able” to deploy staff with relevant expertise, as well as demonstrate the capacity to provide effective administrative and judicial representation, support other advocacy efforts (such as those of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program), and to extend their legal services to institutionalized, isolated, and homebound older individuals.[6] Moreover, legal assistance providers must be able to deliver their services in the principal language spoken by their older clients in areas where a significant number of such clients do not speak English as their principal language.[7] Legal assistance providers must also have the skills and capacity to support eligible clients through a range of the critical life issues prioritized in the OAA.

Efficient and effective legal assistance delivery involves the successful coordination of a range of activities across four critical areas: outreach, intake, partnership development and maintenance, and client representation. Outreach and intake largely set the tone for engaging potential legal assistance clients. Outreach efforts serve to educate eligible clients and the broader aging network about problems experienced by older adults, how legal assistance can help to resolve those legal issues, and how and where such legal assistance may be sought.

Outreach also plays a role in identifying older adults who may have legal issues, particularly those in underrepresented and underserved populations, such as people of color, elders with limited-English proficiency, and LGBTQI+ people, who are uniquely impacted. Ideally, intake strategies are integrated into the broader aging network, as well, enabling legal assistance providers to engage with older adults where they are likely to congregate or present themselves when they have a potential legal problem.

Partnerships across the aging network play a key role in, among other things, promoting legal issue spotting and providing multi-disciplinary services to older adults, such as by facilitating seamless (“warm”) referrals for appropriate legal representation. Partnerships with entities that serve communities of older adults are essential to enable issue-spotting and appropriate cross-referrals to address legal issues. Potential partners include, but are not limited to, Area Agencies on Aging, Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Adult Protective Services, entities that provide housing for older adults, including those with disabilities, and service providers such as nutrition services and home and community-based organizations that assist older adults with disabilities.

A central tenet of legal assistance is ensuring that eligible clients have access to the complete range of legal assistance services, from brief service and advice to full representation. While some legal issues can be redressed through brief service, others require full legal assistance representation to adequately resolve the legal issues. That may include representation in administrative and/or judicial forums, as provided in the OAA. Ideally, there is a balance in the legal services network that allows both for brief services and for full representation for every older adult client whose case requires that level of service. Ongoing substantive skills training and professional development for legal assistance providers, aligned to the priority issues commonly encountered by eligible clients is critical to increasing availability of full representation, as are culturally competent approaches to the communities of eligible clients whom the programs serve.

Despite efforts to provide quality legal services to older adults, a Legal Services Corporation report study found that low-income older adults only sought legal assistance for 19% of their legal issues.[8] Key reasons included not recognizing that their issue had legal solutions, not knowing where to turn for help, and reluctance to ask for help. Further, the report found that low-income elders received inadequate or no professional legal help for 87% of their civil legal problems.[9] Isolation by virtue of geography, language and other factors, such as living in rural, frontier or tribal communities, only increases the access gap. These factors make outreach and education to older individuals about their rights more difficult.

Further, it has not always been possible for legal assistance providers to optimize outreach and intake processes to best meet the needs of specific populations, such as older adults. For example, while older adults may receive a range of services across the aging network, those services may not provide a mechanism for identifying potential legal needs or connecting older adults to legal assistance services. Improving connections between the outreach and intake processes may yield efficiencies and increase opportunities for older adults to connect with legal assistance providers.

In addition, there are system challenges for older adults in obtaining legal services. Older adults are experiencing an increasingly complex array of legal problems that call for complicated legal interventions and require high levels of substantive legal expertise and skills. However, access to the substantive expertise and skills necessary to address their legal issues is not consistently available in all communities. The ability to provide full representation to older adults is often limited by organizational capacity, or a lack of expertise in a particular issue area affecting an older adult. Further, there is a lack of programs designed to address the unique needs of older adults, and few delivery models that successfully and fully integrate legal services into the array of aging network services and programs.

Funding Description

Although a wide range of programs provide legal assistance services to older adults, current approaches to delivering legal services are often not coordinated across the aging network or may be inadequate to meet the current legal needs of older adults. To bolster legal assistance network capacity to address the current and emerging legal challenges faced by older adults, ACL established the Legal Assistance Enhancement Program (LAEP). With this grant program, ACL seeks to break down barriers to accessing legal assistance for adults, increase the availability of legal assistance, and enhance the expertise and efficacy of legal assistance to meet the evolving needs of older adults.

Through this funding opportunity, ACL aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of existing legal services programs for older adults by supporting projects proposing to address the following objectives:

1. Expand access to legal assistance for older adults;

2. Improve the delivery of legal assistance services to older adults;

3. Increase legal service providers’ substantive expertise and skills across the spectrum of legal issues experienced by older adults; and

4. Increase collaboration between legal service providers and the aging network.

As the objectives for this funding opportunity target expanding and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of existing legal services programs for older adults, ACL invites applications that seek to achieve quantifiable and sustainable enhancements that build upon current programmatic organizational capacity and work. This opportunity offers legal assistance providers the opportunity to identify and implement enhancements or innovations to their existing legal assistance program. ACL expects proposals to take one of the following approaches to meet the grant objectives:

1. Enhance current programmatic work: Improve and enhance current work by developing or adopting programs, activities, or approaches.

2. Expand programmatic work: Implement and deploy programs, activities, or approaches that have not previously been undertaken.

ACL encourages applicants to embrace new and different approaches to service delivery, cultivate new and innovative pathways to provide legal assistance, and design or adopt programs and activities that specifically address the unique attributes of the older adult population. ACL expects successful applications will demonstrate how their proposed innovations, enhancements, and new activities support the goal and objectives of the LAEP as outlined above. An applicant’s proposed activities must address all four of the components for the efficient and effective delivery of legal assistance services to older adults (described above in detail). Applicants may propose additional domains not listed here:

1. Outreach,

2. Intake,

3. Partnership development and maintenance, and

4. Client representation

Applications should describe activities that they propose to meet the LAEP goal and objectives, under the above framework for efficient and effective delivery of legal assistance to older adults. Below are some examples of activities related to outreach, intake, partnerships, and representation. These examples are illustrative only. Applicant scores will not be affected by whether an application includes an activity listed here.

Outreach example activities:

Developing and implementing or adopting innovative communication platforms that are tailored towards sharing information and educating older adults especially those in underrepresented, marginalized communities and the aging network about both common and unique issues that may be amenable to legal solutions.

Developing and implementing or adopting outreach mechanisms that strategically link legal assistance intake processes to partners at locations where eligible clients live and/or congregate.

Intake example activities:

Using technology to identify and directly connect eligible clients to appropriate legal assistance resources in a manner that decreases the burden on older adults to explain their legal issues to multiple offices or personnel.

Applying trauma-informed approaches to legal assistance intake throughout the course of client engagement and representation.

Implementing community lawyering options that contemplate the best locations and methods for engaging with older adults with potential legal needs.

Partnership Development and Maintenance example activities:

Developing and implementing or adopting strategies to strengthen relationships between Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs with legal assistance providers networks to secure the rights of nursing home residents or community-dwelling elders.

Creating/adopting mechanisms that enable a diverse range of partners for example Adult Protective Services and/or clinical settings that serve older adults to make appropriate referrals for legal assistance and conduct work jointly with legal assistance providers to increase access holistically while reducing client burden.

Client Representation example activities:

Developing/adopting new processes and protocols to improve legal assistance case-handling in matters involving complex legal issues.

Implementing approaches that enable older adult clients to receive robust representation from a team of practitioners as is necessary to comprehensively resolve their all components of their legal needs.

Providing interactive or experiential substantive legal education and skills training and professional development opportunities for legal assistance providers throughout a legal assistance organization.

The applicant’s proposed project goal/s, objectives, and activities should be addressed in the application narrative, for which detailed instructions can be found in Section IV.2 of this opportunity.

Additional Requirements

Grantee Meetings

Please note that ACL plans to convene grantee meetings during the first six months of each budget period, in person or virtual as public-health circumstances permit. Grantees are required to attend these meetings, absent extenuating circumstances, and grant funds may be used to cover this grant-related expense if a meeting is held in person. If applicants intend to use grant funds to attend this meeting, they should include this expense in the application budget.

Data Collection

Grantees will be required to submit de-identified, aggregated data on direct legal assistance provided under this grant, in a manner consistent with ACL’s State Performance Report (SPR) format and that includes, at a minimum, the data elements for legal services in the SPR.[10] These data will be reported by all providers of direct legal assistance to older adults under the grant, and should be included with the grantee’s semi-annual reports throughout the grant period. ACL anticipates that these data will comprise a key component of grantees’ project evaluation.

[1] Galvan, S., & Mbaku, V. (2020). The Role of Civil Legal Aid in Elder Abuse. Generations:

Journal of the American Society on Aging, 44(1), 84–90.

[2]42 C.F.R. § 1321.71(c)(4), (5).

[3]42 C.F.R. § 1321.71(c)(1),(2).

[4] Id.

[5] 42 U.S.C. § 3027(a)(11)(E).

[6] 42 U.S.C. § 3027(a)(11)(B); 42 C.F.R. § 1321.71(c)(2),(3),(4).

[7] 42 C.F.R. § 1321.71(c)(5).

[8] Legal Services Corporation, The Justice Gap: Measuring the Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans, June 2017, available at https://www.lsc.gov/sites/default/files/images

/TheJusticeGap-FullReport.pdf.

[9] Id.

[10] See “Legal Assistance SPR Guidebook” and other SPR resources (available at https://oaaps.acl.gov/Resources/legalRes)

Statutory Authority Section 420(a)(2), Title IV of the Older Americans Act, as amended

II. Award Information Funding Instrument Type:

CA (Cooperative Agreement) Estimated Total Funding:

$1,500,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$250,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$150,000 Per Budget Period http://www.lsc.gov/sites/default/files/images https://oaaps.acl.gov/Resources/legalRes

Length of Project Period:

36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' Under this competition, ACL will award approximately eight (8) new, cooperative agreements ranging from $150,000 - $250,000 each. The project period for all awards will be for 36-months (or, 3 years), and the budget periods will be three (3), 12-month periods. Applications for continuation funding beyond the initial year will be reviewed on a non-competitive basis, subject to the availability of funds, contingent on satisfactory progress of the grantee, and a determination by ACL that continued funding will be in the best interest of the government.

Final award decisions will be made by the ACL Administrator and will be based on recommendations of the review panel (see Section V), reviews for programmatic and grants management compliance, geographic distribution, and the reasonableness of the estimated cost considering the available funding and anticipated results.

This funding opportunity announcement is for a new cooperative agreement. As provided by the terms of the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-224), this Cooperative Agreement provides for the substantial involvement and collaboration of ACL in activities that the recipient organization will carry out in accordance with the provisions of the approved grant award.

By accepting an award under this funding opportunity announcement, the grantee agrees to execute the responsibilities outlined below:

1. Fulfill all requirements of the grant initiative as outlined in this program announcement, and carry out project activities as reviewed, approved, and awarded.

2. Collaborate with the Administration for Community Living (ACL) in the execution of the work plan, and collaborate with ACL in understanding the programmatic and budgetary issues of the project. Based on these negotiations and emerging issues in the field, if necessary, the grantee will revise the project work plan and/or budget detailing expectations for major activities and products during the grant period.

3. Evaluate the impact of project activities, and provide recommendations to ACL on ways to enhance the program. Include progress and information/data on the project’s outcomes and the evaluation in semi-annual reports, and at other times as agreed upon by the grantee and ACL.

4. Meet with the ACL project officer at least once each month, or at such other times as are agreed upon, to improve the effectiveness of the activities carried out under this Agreement.

5. Create products and/or materials under this award that are accurate, objective, unbiased, and of high professional quality, and that do not violate federal, departmental, or agency grant rules. Before publicly disseminating materials developed under this grant, grantee will provide the ACL project officer a copy of the final product in order for the ACL project officer to have at least 15 business days to ensure the product meets the requirements set forth in the program announcement and cooperative agreement.

6. Submit to the ACL project officer a final, clean copy of all data developed or supported with these grant funds, in the format in which it was developed or produced, as provided for in the HHS Grants Policy Statement and referenced in the Notice of Award. The HHS Grants Policy Statement defines “data” as: “recorded information, regardless of the form or media on which it may be recorded, and includes writings, films, sound recordings, pictorial reproductions, drawings, designs or other graphic representations, procedural manuals, forms, diagrams, work flow charts, equipment descriptions, data files, data processing or computer programs (software), statistical records, and other research data” (HHS Grants Policy Statement, Part II, “Rights in Data”, page II-69).

7. Include the following disclaimer on all products produced using grant funding, including those produced by sub-awards: “This [project/publication/program/website, etc.] [is/was] supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $XX with XX percentage funded by ACL/HHS and $XX amount and XX percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S.

Government.”

The ACL project officer agrees to execute the responsibilities outlined below:

1. Perform the day-to-day federal responsibilities of managing a grant initiative and will work with the grantee to ensure that the minimum requirements for the grant are met.

2. Work cooperatively with the grantee to clarify the programmatic and budgetary issues to be addressed by the grantee project, and, as necessary, negotiate with grantee to achieve a mutually agreed upon solution to any needs identified by the grantee or ACL.

3. Assist the grantee project leadership in understanding the policy concerns and/or priorities of ACL, and the Department of Health and Human Services by conducting periodic briefings and by carrying out ongoing consultations. ACL will also share information with the grantee about other federally sponsored projects and activities relevant to the interests of the grantee and their activities.

4. Provide technical assistance to grantee with the refinement and carrying out of the project’s evaluation plan via regular conference calls, email correspondence, webinars, and annual grantee meetings, as well as by ensuring technical assistance for grantee is available from the National Center on Law and Elder Rights..

5. Provide technical advice on grantee work products to ensure they are accurate, objective, unbiased, and of high professional quality, and that they do not violate federal, departmental, or agency grant rules. Before publicly disseminating materials developed under this grant, grantee will provide the ACL project officer a copy of the final product, and within 15 business days, the ACL project officer will provide guidance and feedback on whether the product meets the requirements set forth in the program announcement and this cooperative agreement.

6. Provide consultation to the grantee in identifying emerging issues and modifying work plan as necessary.

7. Meet with the grantee project director at least once each month, or at such other times as are agreed upon, to improve the effectiveness of the activities carried out under this Agreement.

Upon execution of this cooperative agreement, requests to modify or amend it or the work plan may be made by ACL or the awardee at any time. Modifications and/or amendments of the Cooperative Agreement or work plan shall be effective upon the mutual agreement of both parties, except where ACL is authorized under the Terms and Conditions of award, 45 CFR Part 74 or 92, or other applicable regulation or statute to make unilateral amendments. When an award is issued the cooperative agreement terms and conditions from the program announcement are incorporated by reference.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants For FY 2022 the below guidance is provided to advance the Administration’s policy, as stated in E.O. 13985, to “pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.” This guidance is intended to begin to address inequities in HHS programs, processes, and policies that may serve as barriers to equal opportunity. By advancing equity in our NOFOs, we can “create opportunities for the improvement of communities that have been historically underserved, which benefits everyone.”

Domestic public or private non-profit entities including state and local governments, Indian tribal governments and organizations (American Indian/Alaskan Native/Native American), faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, hospitals, and institutions of higher education.

Foreign entities are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.

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

Yes For awards that require matching or cost sharing by statute, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources (at or above the statutory requirement) in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period, or by project period for fully funded awards. The applicant will be held accountable for all proposed non-federal resources as shown in the Notice of Award (NOA). A recipient's failure to provide the statutorily required matching or cost sharing amount (and any voluntary committed amount in excess) 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, recipients are not expected to provide cost sharing or matching. However, recipients are allowed to voluntarily propose a commitment of non-federal resources. If an applicant decides to voluntarily contribute non-federal resources towards project costs and the costs are accepted by ACL, the non-federal resources will be included in the approved project budget. The applicant will be held accountable for all proposed non-federal resources as shown in the Notice of Award (NOA). A recipient's failure to meet the voluntary amount of non-federal resources that was accepted by ACL as part of the approved project costs and that was identified in the approved 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.

Under this ACL program, ACL will fund no more than 75% of the project’s total cost, which means the applicant must cover at least 25% of the project’s total cost with non-federal resources. In other words, for every three (3) dollars received in federal funding, the applicant must contribute at least one (1) dollar in non-federal resources toward the project’s total cost.

This “three-to-one” ratio is reflected in the formula included under Item 18 in the “Instructions for Completing Requested Forms.” You can use this formula to calculate your minimum required match. A common error applicants make is to match 25% of the federal share, rather than 25% of the project’s total cost.

There are two types of match: 1) non-federal cash and 2) non-federal in-kind. In general, costs borne by the applicant and cash contributions of any and all third parties involved in the project, including sub-grantees, contractors and consultants, are considered matching funds. Volunteered time and use of facilities to hold meetings or conduct project activities may be considered in-kind (third party) donations. Examples of non-federal cash match includes budgetary funds provided from the applicant agency’s budget for costs associated with the project. ACL encourages you to not exceed the minimum match requirement. Applications with a match greater than the minimum required will not receive additional consideration under the review.

Match is not one of the responsiveness criteria as noted in Section III, 3 Application Screening Criteria.

3. Responsiveness and Screening Criteria Application Responsiveness Criteria Applications that do not meet the following responsiveness criteria will be administratively eliminated and will not be reviewed. Applications will be deemed to have met the initial responsiveness criteria by demonstrating all of the following:

1. Demonstrated history of organizational capacity serving the legal needs of older adults who have economic or social need;

2. Demonstrated history of organizational capacity to address Older Americans Act priority legal case type areas: income, health care, long-term care, nutrition, housing, defense of guardianship, abuse, neglect, and age discrimination;

3. The applicant is substantively and meaningfully involved in the activities of the project and does not appear to be serving as a “conduit” or “pass through” for funding;

4. Letters of Commitment are included, as required per Section IV.2 “Letters of Commitment from Key Participating Organizations and Agencies”;

5. CVs/Resumes are included for each person identified as “key personnel”;

6. Application includes a budget, as required, covering all 3 years (36 months) of the project;

7. Application includes a work plan, as required, covering all 3 years (36 months) of the project.

Application Screening Criteria All applications will be screened to assure a level playing field for all applicants. Applications that fail to meet the three (3) screening criteria described below will not be reviewed and will receive no further consideration.

In order for an application to be reviewed, it must meet the following screening requirements:

1. Applications must be submitted electronically via http://www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, by the due date listed in section IV.3 Submission Dates and Times.

2. The Project Narrative section of the Application must be double-spaced, on 8.5” x 11” plain white paper with 1” margins on both sides, and a standard font size of no less than 11 point, preferably Times New Roman or Arial.

3. The Project Narrative must not exceed 20 pages. Project Narratives that exceed 20 pages will have the additional pages removed and only the first 20 pages of the Project Narrative will be provided to the merit reviewers for funding consideration.

NOTE: The Project Abstract, Project Work Plan, Bibliography/Works Cited, Letters of Commitment, Vitae of Key Project Personnel, Logic Model, and Budget are NOT counted for purposes of the 20- page limit.

Unsuccessful submissions will require authenticated verification from http://www.grants.gov indicating system problems existed at the time of your submission.

For example, you will be required to provide an http://www.grants.gov submission error notification and/or tracking number in order to substantiate missing the application deadline.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package Application materials can be obtained from https://www.grants.gov or https://www.acl.gov/grants/applying-grants.

Please note, ACL requires applications for all announcements to be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov in Workspace. Grants.gov Workspace is the standard way for organizations and individuals to apply for federal grants in Grants.gov. An overview and training on Grants.gov Workspace can be found here at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

The Grants.gov registration process can take several days. If your organization is not currently registered, please begin this process immediately. For assistance with https://www.grants.gov, please contact them at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Eastern Time.

At the https://www.grants.gov website, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site, including the hours of operation. ACL strongly recommends that you do not wait until the application due date to begin the application process because of the time involved to complete the registration process.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.acl.gov/grants/applying-grants http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/

All applicants must have a UEI and be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM, www.sam.gov) and maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete, and should a grant be made, throughout the life of the award. Effective June 11, 2018, when registering or renewing your registration, you must submit a notarized letter appointing the authorized Entity Administrator. Please be sure to read the FAQs located at www.sam.gov to learn more. Applicants should allot sufficient time prior to the application deadline to finalize a new, or renew an existing registration. This action should allow you time to resolve any issues that may arise. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in your inability to submit your application or receive an award. Maintain documentation (with dates) of your efforts to register or renew at least two weeks before the deadline. See the SAM Quick Guide for Grantees at:

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/help/samQUserGuides.jsf.

Note: Once your SAM registration is active, allow 24 to 48 hours for the information to be available in Grants.gov before you can submit an application through Grants.gov. This action should allow you time to resolve any issues that may arise. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in your inability to submit your application or receive an award.

Note: Failure to submit the correct EIN Suffix can lead to delays in identifying your organization and access to funding in the Payment Management System.

Effective October 1, 2010, HHS requires all entities that plan to apply for and ultimately receive federal grant funds from any HHS Operating/Staff Division (OPDIV/STAFFDIV) or receive subawards directly from the recipients of those grant funds to:

1. Register in SAM prior to submitting an application or plan;

2. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active award or an application or plan under consideration by an OPDIV; and

3. Provide its UEI number in each application or plan to submit to the OPDIV.

Additionally, all first-tier subaward recipients must have a UEI number at the time the subaward is made.

The Federal Government will transition from the DUNS Number to the New Unique Entity Identifier. By April of 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities. At that point, entities doing business with the federal government will use a Unique Entity Identifier (SAM) created in SAM.gov. It is entered on the SF-424. It is a unique, nine-digit identification number, which provides unique identifiers of single business entities.

Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 866-705-5711.

You must submit all documents electronically, including all information included on the SF424 and all necessary assurances and certifications. In accordance with the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce reporting burden for recipients of federal financial assistance, the general certification and representation requirements contained in the Standard Form 424B (SF-424B) – Assurances – http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/help/samQUserGuides.jsf

Non-Construction Programs, and the Standard Form 424D (SF-424D) – Assurances – Construction Programs, have been standardized federal-wide.

Effective January 1, 2020, the updated common certification and representation requirements will be stored and maintained within SAM. Organizations or individuals applying for federal financial assistance as of January 1, 2020, must validate the federally required common certifications and representations annually through SAM located at SAM.gov.

After you electronically submit your application, you will receive an automatic acknowledgement from https://www.grants.gov that containshttps://www.grants.gov tracking number. The Administration for Community Living will retrieve your application form fromhttps://www.grants.gov.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living

Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services c/o Mr. Sandy James

Email: sandy.james@acl.hhs.gov

2. Content and Form of Application Submission Letter of Intent Number of Days from Publication 30

Date will be generated on synopsis publication Applicants are requested, but not required, to submit a letter of intent to apply for this funding opportunity to assist ACL in planning for the application independent review process. The purpose of the letter of intent is to allow our staff to estimate the number of independent reviewers needed and to avoid potential conflicts of interest in the review. Letters of intent should be sent to:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Community Living

Mr. Sandy James Office of Elder Justice and Adult Protective Services

Email: sandy.james@acl.hhs.gov

Project Narrative The Project Narrative must be double-spaced, on 8.5” x 11” paper with 1” margins on both sides, and a standard font size of no less than 11 point, preferably Times New Roman or Arial. You can use smaller font sizes to fill in the Standard Forms and Sample Formats. The suggested length for the Project Narrative is 15 to 18 pages; 20 pages is the maximum length allowed. Project Narratives that exceed 20 pages will have the additional pages removed and only the first 20 pages of the Project Narrative will be provided to the merit reviewers for funding consideration.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ mailto:sandy.james@acl.hhs.gov mailto:sandy.james@acl.hhs.gov

The Project Narrative is the most important part of the application, since it will be used as the primary basis to determine whether your project meets the minimum requirements for this funding opportunity. The Project Narrative should provide a clear and concise description of your project. Your project narrative will be reviewed and scored based on the components below.

The components of the Project Narrative counted as part of the 20 page limit include:

Project Relevance and Current Need

Approach

Special Target Populations and Organizations

Outcomes

Evaluation

Project Deliverables & Dissemination

Project Management and Qualifications

Organizational Capability

The components of the Project Narrative that are required but not counted as part of the 20-page limit include:

Abstract

Bibliography/Works Cited

Budget Narrative/Justification

Project Work Plan

Logic Model

Vitae of Key Personnel

Letters of Commitment

Project Abstract This section will not count towards the 20-page limit.

This section should include a brief (265 words maximum) description of the proposed project, including: goal(s), objectives, outcomes, and products to be developed. Detailed instructions for completing the summary/abstract are included in the “Instructions for Completing the Project Summary/Abstract.”

Project Relevance and Current Need This section should describe the nature and scope of the problem or issue the proposed intervention is designed to address. Strong applications will demonstrate that the proposed project is justified in terms of the most recent, relevant, and available information, evidence-based practices, and/or new and cutting-edge research.

Specifically for this funding opportunity, this section should detail the current problems and challenges that need to be addressed and how the current provision of legal assistance could be improved to more enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, quality, accessibility, and availability of legal assistance services to older adults with social or economic need. It is recommended that applicants focus their problem statement on the specific aspects of the programmatic and policy considerations bearing on the development of prevention and intervention programs as it pertains to their proposed activities, rather than providing a broad or sweeping historical overview that is not directly related to the proposed interventions and activities. Applicants may also cite prior experience with other grants or activities that have informed the development of this application.

Approach This section should include the following types of information:

Goals & Objectives

In Section I, ACL identified an overarching goal and set of objectives for the Legal Assistance Enhancement Program:

1. Expand access to legal assistance for older adults;

2. Improve the delivery of legal assistance services to older adults;

3. Increase legal service providers’ substantive expertise and skills across the spectrum of legal issues experienced by older adults; and

4. Increase collaboration between legal service providers and the aging network.

Applications should describe their proposed project’s goal(s) and major objectives. Applications must have at least one (1) project goal and must address the four (4) project objectives above. Applications are free to propose more than the goal and objectives listed by ACL;

however, application scores will not be based on, nor correspond to, the number of proposed goals or objectives.

Project Activities

This section pertains to the activities proposed under the selected approach to meet the application’s goals and objectives under the framework outlined in Section I, and provide:

1. A clear and concise description of what will be done, and how it will be accomplished;

2. The rationale for using a particular approach or intervention (i.e., why they were chosen);

3. A clear connection between identified system gaps/needs in “Project Relevance and Current Need” and the proposed activities (i.e., how the proposed activities will improve effectiveness and efficiency);

4. Discussion of major barriers and/or existing opportunities that are anticipated, and how the project will be able to overcome or leverage those; and

5. A description of how the proposed activities will supplement and enhance the current and not supplant or diminish existing activities

In describing the proposed activities, applications should discuss how and to what extent the selected approaches innovate on existing pathways addressing the unique attributes of the older adult population and their legal needs.

Geographic Area

Applicants are asked to identify the geographic area for the proposed project and provide justification for the proposed project area. The geographic area served should be no larger than statewide.

Special Target Populations and Organizations Applicants should document how they will reflect ACL’s commitment to advancing equity, racial justice, and equal opportunity, including ensuring that people from underrepresented and underserved communities are at the table to inform the work in the execution of their grant activities. Applicants should specify whether, and if so, how, the proposed intervention will target underrepresented, marginalized, hard- to-reach populations, including limited-English speaking populations, those of greatest economic need, and/or those of greatest social need.

Further, applicants should describe stakeholders in the geographic area who are providing legal or other assistance to older adults with economic or social need, and how the project will interact with those entities to reduce burden and comprehensively offer seamless legal assistance to elders within the geographic area to be served. Additionally, the application should identify which stakeholder groups will be targeted and meaningfully involved to ensure success of the project. Be sure to describe the role and makeup of any strategic partnerships that will be critical for successfully implementing the intervention, including other organizations, supporters, and/or consumer groups.

Outcomes Applications will be scored on the nature of the proposed outcomes and the clarity with which the applicant describes how the outcomes will be measured/evaluated, as explained below, not on the quantity/number of outcomes cited.

This section of the project narrative must identify the measurable outcomes that will result from the project. ACL will not fund any project that does not include measurable outcomes. This section should also describe how the project’s findings and results could help other legal assistance providers and their partners throughout the nation address the same or similar problems. Outcomes and project impact should be described in clear and realistic terms and should be consistent with the objectives and purpose of the project and funding opportunity.

Measurable outcomes may also be included in the optional work plan grid (“Project Work Plan – Sample Template”).

A “measurable outcome” is a change in the responsiveness or cost-effectiveness of a service delivery system; a new model of support or care that can be replicated; new knowledge;

a measurable increase in community awareness; or a measurable increase in quality. A measurable outcome could also describe a change in the degree to which consumers exercise autonomous choice over the types of services they receive, or whether they are satisfied with the way a service is delivered. A measurable outcome could also be an observable end result that describes how a particular intervention benefits consumers. It demonstrates the functional status, mental well-being, knowledge, skill, attitude, awareness, or behavior. A measurable outcome is not a measurable “output”, such as: the number of clients served; the number of training sessions held; or the number of service units provided.

*Please Note: You should keep the focus of this section on describing what outcomes and what impact will be produced by the project. You should use the “Evaluation” section below to describe how the outcomes will be measured and reported.

Logic Model

In addition to the discussion in the narrative, this section must reference the application’s logic model that illustrates/shows the activities the applicant proposes to accomplish the project’s goals and objectives, and the outcomes and measures of success of the overall project. A sample logic model is included in Section VIII. Other Information.