Foa_Content_of_HHS-2023-ACF-ACYF-YO-0019.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families-Family and Youth Services Bureau

FY 2023 Street Outreach Program

HHS-2023-ACF-ACYF-YO-0019

Application Due Date: 06/20/2023

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:

FY 2023 Street Outreach Program Announcement Type:

Initial Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2023-ACF-ACYF-YO-0019

Primary CFDA Number:

93.557 Due Date for Applications:

06/20/2023 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 Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) supports organizations and communities that work every day to end youth homelessness, adolescent pregnancy, and domestic violence. FYSB works toward a future in which all of the nation's youth, individuals, and families-no matter what challenges they may face - can live healthy, productive, violence-free lives. FYSB’s Division of Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) is accepting applications for the Street Outreach Program (SOP). The purpose of the SOP is to provide prevention and intervention services to street youth and young adults who have runaway, and are experiencing homelessness, and have been subjected to, or are at-risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of trafficking in persons.

I. Program Description

Statutory Authority This program is authorized by Title III, part E, section 351 of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (34 U.S.C. § 11261)

Description

ADMINISTRATION ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES' RUNAWAY AND

HOMELESS YOUTH PROGRAM

ACYF, through FYSB, is committed to safety, permanency, well-being, and self-sufficiency for youth and young adults who cannot live safely with a parent, legal guardian, or relative and have no safe, alternative living arrangement.

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

FYSB’s Division of RHY promotes a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, which integrates strengths-based approaches to emphasize youths' self-determination, resilience, life skills, and strengths. It provides a meaningful framework to consistently support youth in identifying their strengths and using their skills towards personal growth, decision-making, development, and success. This PYD framework is essential to ensure a young person has a sense of safety, structure, belonging, membership, self-worth, social contribution, independence, and control over one’s life, as well as skills to develop plans for the future, set goals, make decisions, and foster healthy interpersonal relationships. The Division of RHY also promotes increasing youth leadership capacity through intentional projects and activities designed to enhance this skill set.

Additionally, FYSB’s Division of RHY supports projects to increase prevention and intervention focusing on sexual exploitation and all forms of human trafficking within RHY programs. These ongoing efforts seek to minimize sexual exploitation and trafficking incidents among youth and young adults who have runaway and are experiencing homelessness, equip programs with the necessary tools to prevent these incidents, and identify youth who are either experiencing or at risk of experiencing human trafficking.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In response to growing concern for the safety of youth living on the streets or in unsafe environments, Congress established the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, also referred to as the SOP. The SOP funds street-based outreach and education for youth who have runaway or left home without permission, youth experiencing homelessness, and youth living on the street.

NOFO will refer to eligible youth and young adults as “runaway, homeless, and street youth” to maintain consistency with section 351 of the RHY Act (34 U.S.C. 11261(a)). FYSB has funded SOP since 1996.

Pursuant to section 351 of the RHY Act (34 U.S.C. 11261(a)), SOP grants are awarded for, "the purpose of providing street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual exploitation, severe forms of trafficking in persons, (as defined in section 7102(9) of title 22), or sex trafficking (as defined in section 7102(10) of title 22)."

Pursuant to the RHY Program federal regulations, codified at section 45 CFR § 1351.27(a) and (b), projects, “shall provide services that are designed to assist clients in leaving the streets, making healthy choices, and building trusting relationships in areas where targeted youth congregate;” and projects, “shall directly or by referral provide treatment, counseling, prevention, and education services to clients as well as referral for emergency shelter.”

Pursuant to section 45 CFR § 1351.23(d) of the RHY Rule, recipients, "shall perform outreach to locate runaway and homeless youth and to coordinate activities with other organizations serving the same or similar client populations, such as child welfare agencies, juvenile justice systems, schools, and Continuums of Care [(CoCs)], as defined by HUD."

Organizations receiving awards funded by the RHY Act shall abide by the purpose, function, and eligibility criteria set forth in law and regulation. Eligibility and priorities of HUD’s CoCs shall not supersede those of the RHY Act. See the Appendix, Definitions, Continuums of Care for more information.

PROJECT GOAL AND VISION

Goal: Provide street-based services to street youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or have runaway, who are under 21 years of age and who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, exploitation, and severe forms of trafficking (sex and/or labor); and to build relationships between street outreach workers and these youth to move them into safe and stable housing or emergency shelter and prepare them for independence.

Vision: Prevent the sexual abuse, human trafficking, or exploitation of young people living on the streets or in unstable housing.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Consistent with the statutory mandates set forth in the RHY Act, as well as the regulatory requirements set forth in the RHY Rule, SOP projects shall include the following components:

Conduct Street Outreach and Provide Access to Shelter

SOP projects must conduct outreach and engage with street youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or have runaway to keep them safe and help them leave the streets.

Drop-In Center (optional service): SOP projects may utilize this service; however, drop-in centers supported through RHY funds must be accessible to youth and provide services such as resource materials (e.g., cards and/or pamphlets containing information about appropriate resources), showers, hot meals, laundry, e-mail, phone, and case management. Additionally, SOP projects that support drop-in centers must not use the drop-in center to replace required outreach and engagement efforts. Drop-in centers enhance street outreach and engagement.

SOP projects provide street youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or have runaway access to emergency shelter or safe and stable housing on a 24-hours-a-day basis. When referring youth to a shelter, the shelter must have a vacancy for the youth/young adult. Projects should have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Letter of Commitment with the shelter(s) to ensure commitment that this partner will assist youth to safely exit the street. When applicable and available, the shelter must meet the state requirements for licensing; be supervised and age-appropriate, and provide a youth-friendly environment that fosters trust (i.e. exercises principles of PYD and creates safe spaces vulnerable populations such as for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit LGBTQIA2S+ youth and youth of color.)

SOP projects provide transportation to shelters, as needed. For shelter provided through referrals, safe housing for youth victims of trafficking and/or domestic violence must be carefully considered when identifying emergency shelters.

Comprehensive Youth-Centered Services Model

Social and Emotional Well-being and Strength-based Approach:

SOPs utilize a trauma-informed approach, which involves understanding and responding to the symptoms of chronic, interpersonal trauma and traumatic stress, as well as the behavioral and mental health consequences of trauma and prevention of re-traumatization. For more information about the effects of trauma and utilizing a trauma-informed approach, visit https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/infographics/6_principles_trauma_info.htm.

SOP projects also utilize a PYD framework that includes healthy messages, safe and structured places, adult role models, skill development, and opportunities to serve others. PYD is an intentional, pro-social approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive.

Employing PYD also means promoting increased youth leadership capacity through intentional projects and activities designed to enhance this skill set. These activities often include employing young people with lived homelessness expertise as staff and ensuring that projects are infusing authentic youth voice and youth input on program implementation and service improvement from youth advisory boards and youth with lived expertise. For more information on PYD, visit https://rhyclearinghouse.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/PosYthDevel.pdf.

Ensuring Equity RHY projects must ensure equitable treatment of all youth receiving services under RHY-funded programs. According to research conducted by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, youth of color, notably Black and Latino youth, are at greater risk of experiencing housing instability and youth homelessness (https://www.chapinhall.org/voices-of-youth-count-graphics). Roughly 11 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native youth and young adults are overrepresented in the homeless youth population relative to 4 percent of White, non-Hispanic youth. Additional data from FYSB’s RHY-Homeless Management Information System (RHY-HMIS), on gender identity or sexual orientation of youth served in the RHY program reveals roughly 26 percent of youth and young adults who participated in RHY programs in fiscal year 2021 identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and Two-spirit (LGBTQIA2S+) or being uncertain of their sexual orientation. To this end, FYSB is committed to awarding grants to organizations who address these disparities in the prevalence and severity of experiences faced by youth related to ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. As such, SOP projects must have a plan to provide safe and inclusive spaces for all youth, including youth of color, youth who identify as LGBTQIA2S+, and other underserved populations. SOP project outreach and interventions strategies must reflect policies and practices that are sensitive to people of color and other underserved populations including sexual and gender minority populations. Furthermore, SOP projects must be inclusive of language access needs of youth and families of youth served.

Outreach Implementation Strategy:

Projects utilize an outreach implementation strategy that includes the following:

https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/infographics/6_principles_trauma_info.htm https://rhyclearinghouse.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/PosYthDevel.pdf https://www.chapinhall.org/voices-of-youth-count-graphics

Street Outreach Plan: SOP projects employ a plan to locate youth and young adults where they congregate. The plan describes individualized strategies to conduct face-to-face outreach to youth during scheduled hours at locations where youth/young adults congregate, the number of full-time equivalent outreach workers needed, the frequency of visits planned, and the techniques for branding the organization and the services available. SOP plans provide details about carrying basic need packs (which may include but are not limited to hygiene supplies, snack items, socks, and/or items branded with the SOP project’s logo/contact info), how the organization will utilize street outreach workers to meet programs goals, and the development of street-based safety protocols, including a safety plan for staff. SOP plans also include protocols and strategies to respond to youth who have experienced or are at-risk of experiencing sex or labor trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Education and Awareness: SOP projects inform the community and young people about street outreach projects through social media (i.e., Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Grinder);

public service announcements; postings and QR codes in public spaces, collaborations with other youth-serving organizations; culturally specific, community-based organizations; school settings; sexual violence prevention and response organizations;

organizations that provide support or services to those who have experienced trafficking or are at-risk of experiencing trafficking; law enforcement; health care providers; legal services; and other collaborators.

Youth Engagement and Collaboration: SOP projects must outline a plan for engaging youth with lived experience to assist in the development of the plan for locating youth;

developing a youth-focused outreach strategy that is individualized to meet the youth's needs; and ensuring education and awareness strategies are grounded in youth voice and collaboration (examples of strategies could include, but are not limited to, engaging young people for identifying scheduled outreach locations and times, building a youth referral network, and/or employing peer outreach mentors).

Gateway services:

Project outreach staff provide food, drink, clothing, transportation, and hygiene products to prevent malnutrition and ill-health, and referrals to emergency shelter, while building trust with the youth they encounter on the street. Project outreach staff build rapport to identify youth who are at-risk of being or are victims of sexual trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, labor trafficking, and other forms of victimization. SOP staff provide valuable information to youth in case of potential trafficking or life-threatening situations (e.g., the National Suicide Hotline, National Runaway Safeline, National Human Trafficking Hotline, and National Domestic Violence Hotline).

Screening and Assessment:

Projects implement standardized methods used to assess each youth during engagement on the street, during intake, or at program entry at a drop-in center (drop-in centers are an optional service). Assessments determine a youth's immediate needs, such as physical, behavioral, sexual, and reproductive health, connection to family and other positive social supports, safety, access to resources, trafficking victimization and sexual exploitation, issues of neglect or abuse, and other risk and protective factors impacting the well-being and self-sufficiency of youth. Assessments should also identify the youth’s strengths, assets, and goals. At intake, the SOP project, at a minimum, should ensure they are working with their local CoC program to ensure that referrals are coordinated and that youth/young adults have access to all of the community’s resources, including emergency shelter, Transitional Living, Rapid Rehousing, and/or Permanent Supportive Housing resources funded through the CoC program (and the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, if applicable), as described in 45 CFR § 1351.1 of the RHY Rule.

Projects should also screen for prior foster care involvement to determine availability of resources through the HUD's such as the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Voucher program.

Assessments are individualized with priority on reunifying youth who have left home without permission to a parent, guardian, another adult relative, or another adult that has the young person’s best interest in mind, and can provide safe and stable housing, as defined in 45 CFR §

1351.1 of the RHY Rule. Assessment tools evaluate the unique needs of subpopulations of youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or have runaway, including, but not limited to the following: 1) youth who are pregnant or parenting; 2) system-involved youth, to include juvenile justice and child welfare; 3) labor and/or sexually trafficked or exploited youth; 4) youth in need of substance abuse and mental health services; and 5) other vulnerable populations (e.g., tribal youth, LGBTQIA2S+, youth with disabilities, as described in 45 CFR § 1351.23(a) of the RHY Rule).

FYSB has a list of screening and assessment tools available for applicants to use when deciding what type of interventions and services each young person may need: https://rhyclearinghouse.acf.hhs.gov/screening-tool

Harm reduction:

SOP projects educate and engage street youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or have runaway regarding establishing safety plans (see Appendix, Definitions, Follow-up Services) and ways to reduce risk of violence, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, sexual assault, pregnancy prevention and unplanned pregnancies, and/or any other harm associated with street life.

For more information on supporting youth/young adults with reproductive health and pregnancy crisis support needs see https://reproductiverights.gov/#rights, and https://activatecollective.org/resource-explorer/. For more resources for supporting youth/young adults who are, or have, experienced sexual and/or labor trafficking, or domestic violence, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/victim-assistance/services-available-victims-trafficking and https://www.thehotline.org/.

Service coordination plan:

SOP projects coordinate activities with other organizations serving the same or similar client populations, such as child welfare agencies, juvenile justice systems, schools, and CoCs as defined by HUD and the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Projects. A list of the system of care services must include social services, educational services, organizations that provide support or services to those who have experienced trafficking or are at-risk of experiencing trafficking, mental, behavioral health, and/or substance use disorders, and health care programs, including sexual and reproductive health services. The following optional services may be included, but are not required: vocational training, money management and other self-supporting life skills, referrals to law enforcement, legal services, health insurance plans and coverage, https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/Foster_Youth_to_Independence_Initiative_Notice_Overview_V2.0_.pdf https://rhyclearinghouse.acf.hhs.gov/screening-tool https://reproductiverights.gov/#rights https://activatecollective.org/resource-explorer/ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/victim-assistance/services-available-victims-trafficking https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/victim-assistance/services-available-victims-trafficking https://www.thehotline.org/ affordable childcare, and/or child education programs (e.g., Early Head Start/Head Start Services, etc.). In addition, projects which encounter youth that have absconded from the legal jurisdiction or placement of the juvenile justice or child welfare systems must take steps to ensure that these young people are returned to the dependent care of these services. SOP projects should also support youth who have exited foster care to obtain any benefits they may be eligible for in their county or state (i.e., medical assistance, FYI vouchers, Family Unification Program vouchers, Chafee Grants, Title IV-E re-entry, etc.). For more information on determining what services may be available to young people who have exited the dependent care of a child welfare agency in your community, see https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/extensionfc.pdf and https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=dJKhmPZL9Ow.

Crisis stabilization:

SOP projects provide services that assist with deescalating the severity of a person's level of distress and/or need for urgent care associated with substance use or mental health conditions, and are able to link youth/young adults to appropriate crisis resources (i.e., the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Hotline, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National 1-800- 662-HELP Helpline, and local crisis hotlines).

Case Management:

SOP projects may also include intensive case management to ensure that youth receive assistance with physical, emotional, and behavioral health challenges, access to resources, and engagement with caring professionals and service providers while developing a plan for permanency. Pursuant to 45 CFR § 1351.27(a) and (b), SOP, “shall provide services that are designed to assist clients in leaving the streets, making healthy choices, and building trusting relationships in areas where targeted youth congregate." And, “…directly or by referral provide treatment, counseling, prevention, and education services to clients as well as referral for emergency shelter.”

Coordination with RHY national communication system:

SOP projects shall coordinate their activities with the 24-hour national toll-free and internet communication system, currently known as the National Runaway Safeline (https://www.1800runaway.org/), which links RHY projects and other service providers with runaway or otherwise homeless youth, as appropriate to the specific activities provided by the applicant. (45 CFR § 1351.23(b))

Follow-up:

SOP projects provide follow-up care to youth who have been engaged through street outreach, agreed to a client assessment, case planning, and/or shelter. (See Appendix for definition of Follow-up services.)

Street-Based Services to RHY Experiencing, or At-Risk of Experiencing, Human Trafficking

SOP projects identify and provide street-based services to youth who have runaway and are experiencing homelessness, or at-risk of experiencing, labor or sex trafficking.

SOP projects are required to integrate human trafficking elements (sex and labor https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/extensionfc.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJKhmPZL9Ow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJKhmPZL9Ow https://www.1800runaway.org/ trafficking) into street outreach plans, screening and assessment tools, and program approaches to enhance organizational capacity to address trafficking for youth/young adults

SOP projects should enhance their human trafficking prevention and intervention strategies, including training and staff development to minimize human trafficking incidents among street youth.

Performance Standards The RHY Rule establishes RHY program performance standards as measures of successful outcomes for youth. The performance standards are used to monitor project performance in achieving the purposes of the RHY Act.

Projects collect and report on data via the RHY-HMIS and the Performance Progress Report (PPR) on data standards detailed in Section VI.3., Reporting. Reporting is to include contacts with runaway, homeless, and street youth and the percentage of youth engaged in the SOP project. For the purposes of the SOP performance standards, "date of engagement" is defined as the date an interactive client relationship results in a deliberate client assessment or the beginning of a case plan.

FYSB received approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for information collection under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) on the SOP program performance standards for post-award reporting. The RHY-HMIS Report process is found under PRA OMB Control Number 0970-0573. Please see Section VI.3., Reporting for more information.

Training Recipients must send at least one key staff person to attend the annual National RHY Grantee Training, the annual regional training, and any other required training or technical assistance sponsored by the RHY Program.

Sustainability Plan Successful SOP projects plan for project sustainability from the beginning of the project design and revisit and revise the plan throughout the life of the project. These plans include the following:

Sustainability through diversification of funding to continue services in the event of a loss of FYSB funding, as well as plans to address staff recruitment and retention and staff turnover;

Accountability in meeting FYSB’s SOP performance standards; and Collaboration through building meaningful partnerships with other service agencies, youth with lived experience of homelessness, as well as other experts on runaway and homeless youth in the community.

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 https://rhy-hmis.acf.hhs.gov/ 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 Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) assigned by the System for Award Management (SAM), if they do not already have one.

Prime recipients are required to check the 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.

Response to Nationally Declared Emergency

If, during the project period, RHY and/or recipients are required to adjust program and/or recipient requirements due to nationally declared emergency, RHY will exercise maximum flexibilities as needed. Requirements may be conducted virtually and/or timelines modified in consultation with RHY.

II. Federal Award Information

Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) Estimated Total Funding:

$4,582,625 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$150,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$90,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$100,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/29/2023 Length of Project Periods:

36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods

Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' Additional Information on Awards:

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

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.

Continuation of Project An initial grant award will be for a 12-month budget period. The award of continuation grants beyond the initial 12-month budget period will be subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress on the part of the recipient and a determination that the continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government.

The Grants Project Team (Grant Management Specialist, Federal Project Officer, and Technical Assistance Provider) will use the recipient’s semi-annual performance progress and financial reports, site visits, audit reports, onsite or virtual monitoring, data from the RHY-HMIS, and other supporting documentation to determine, in accordance with the requirements in the NOFO and statute, if satisfactory progress is being made. FYSB will factor in the recipient’s ability to meet the due dates as identified in the NOFO. The Grants Project Team’s review of reports and other documentation will be used to assess progress in the following: 1) accomplishing the project goals, objectives, and activities; 2) completing proposed activities; and

3) documenting allowable expenses that support project goals, objectives, and the approved budget. Please refer to Section VI.3. Reporting for more information on required reports.

Please see Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions for limitations on the use of federal funds awarded under this announcement.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

Public (state, local and tribal) and private non-profit entities (including faith-based, community, and tribal organizations) and coordinated networks of such entities, are eligible to apply for a RHY Program grant unless they are part of the juvenile justice system. For-profit organizations are not eligible. Private institutions of higher education must be non-profit entities. In selecting applications to receive grants under the SOP, priority will be given to public and non-profit private agencies that have experience in providing services to street youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness or have runaway.

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:

Yes Recipients are required to meet a non-federal share of the project cost, in accordance with section 383 of the RHY Act. (34 U.S.C. § 11274)

Recipients must provide at least 10 percent of the total approved cost of the project. The total approved cost of the project is the sum of the ACF (federal) share and the non-federal share. The non-federal share may be met by cash or in-kind contributions, although recipients are encouraged to meet their match requirements through cash contributions. For example, in order to meet the match requirements, a project requesting $150,000 in ACF (federal) funds must provide a non-federal share of the approved total project cost of at least $ 16,667 , which is 10 percent of total approved project cost of $ 166,667 .

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.

Federal Amount Non-Federal Share Total Project Cost for 12-month period

$50,000 $5,555 $55,555

$75,000 $8,333 $83,333

$100,000 $11,111 $111,111

$125,000 $13,889 $138,889

$150,000 $16,667 $166,667

Matching Waiver Pursuant to 48 U.S.C. 1469a(d) Matching requirements (including in-kind contributions) of less than $200,000 (up to $199,999) are waived under grants made to the governments of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (other than those consolidated under other provisions of 48 U.S.C. 1469) pursuant to 48 U.S.C. 1469a(d). This waiver applies whether the matching required under the grant equals or exceeds $200,000.

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 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

FYSB Operations Center c/o F2-Solutions Attn: Street Outreach Program NOFO HHS 1401 Mercantile Lane Suite 401 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

Largo

MD

20774 1-855-792-6551 TechAssist@fysb.net 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.

http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay

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 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 forms approved by OMB, the application submission is limited to 85 pages in its entirety. The two files applicants must submit are as follows:

File 1: The Project Description file must include the following items:

1. Table of Contents

2. Project Summary

3. Need for Assistance

4. Approach

5. Logic Model

6. Organizational Capacity: Narrative

7. Program Performance Evaluation Plan

8. Line-Item Budget and Budget Justification

9. Geographic Location

10. Plan for Oversight of Federal Awards and Activities

11. Project Sustainability Plan

File 2: The Appendices file must include the following items:

1. Legal Status of Applicant Entity

2. Third-party Agreements/Memorandums of Understanding

3. Organizational Capacity: Organizational Charts, Resumes, and Other required documents listed in the Organizational Capacity section.

4. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)

5. Letters of Support (including testimonials from concerned parties and youth action boards).

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. Details on the content of each of the two files, as well as page limitations, are listed earlier in this section.

To adhere to the two-file requirement, applicants may need to convert and/or merge documents together using a PDF converter software. Many recent versions of Microsoft Office include the ability to save documents to the PDF format without need of additional software. Applicants using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software will be able to merge these documents together. ACF recommends merging documents electronically rather than scanning multiple documents into one document manually, as scanned documents may have reduced clarity and readability.

Applicants must ensure that the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader they are using is compatible with Grants.gov.