Guidance for Funding Opportunity for 2024_CC_HHS-2023-ACF-OPRE-YE-0154.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Child Care Dissertation Grants

HHS-2023-ACF-OPRE-YE-0154

Application Due Date: 05/16/2024

Due Date for Applications:

FY2024: 5/16/2024

FY2025: 5/15/2025

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

Funding Opportunity Title:

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

Modification Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2023-ACF-OPRE-YE-0154

Assistance Listing Number:

93.575 Due Date for Applications:

05/16/2024 Due Date for Applications:

FY2024: 5/16/2024

FY2025: 5/15/2025

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 an award, please visit "Applying for an ACF Award" at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant.

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

Child Care Dissertation Grants. Funds support dissertation research by advanced graduate students working on child care policy issues in partnership with a Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agency or administrator and with faculty mentors. These grants focus on building capacity in the research field by:

1. addressing questions relevant to child care policy decision-making and program administration,

2. supporting applied research experiences through collaboration with CCDF agencies,

3. fostering mentoring relationships between faculty members and doctoral students.

OPRE is interested in research that addresses issues of significance related to CCDF; aims to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly for populations that are underserved/understudied; and utilizes the most rigorous research methodology for the selected research question. Applicants must consult with a CCDF agency or administrator in the conceptualization of the research plan, from development and refinement of the research questions, through the proposed data collection or secondary analyses of data, interpretation, and dissemination of findings. Eligible tribally controlled land grant colleges and universities, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and faith-based institutions of higher education are encouraged to apply. The applicant organization must have a history of research and federal funding oversight and must have appropriate research support resources to support the student. The faculty mentor who will serve as Principal Investigator (PI) must have a Ph.D. or equivalent in the respective field and conduct research as a primary professional responsibility. Faculty mentors with doctoral training and research expertise must be able to provide proper supervision and quality control over the project and interactions with participating agencies to help ensure successful completion of sound dissertation research that addresses critical policy questions of interest to local CCDF partner(s) and ACF. To be eligible for award, the graduate student must provide evidence of an approved dissertation proposal with their application. This is a change from previous years when applicants were given additional time to submit evidence of an approved dissertation proposal after the application due date. The 2024 application due date and the due date for the evidence of an approved dissertation proposal are the same and are specified in this NOFO. For further information about prior awards made to Child Care Research Scholars, please refer to www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-care-and-education-research-scholars-child-care-dissertation-grants. For more information about OPRE, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre. For information about the Office of Child Care (OCC) and CCDF, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ. Please subscribe to this forecast at grants.gov to receive notifications of any updates.

I. Program Description

Statutory Authority Section 658O(a)(5) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. 9858m(a)(5)).

Description CCDF is a $9.5 billion block grant program authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act (Public Law 113-186) that provides funding to states, territories, and tribes to provide access to child care services for families with low incomes with children under age 13. The CCDF also provides funding to improve the quality of care by supporting efforts such as child care licensing, quality improvement systems, and training and education for child care providers and the workforce.

The CCDBG Act increased focus on balancing dual purposes: promoting economic self-sufficiency for low-income families and supporting healthy development and school success for children. It is designed to meet these program purposes through the following expanded goals:

(1) protect the health and safety of children in child care; (2) help parents make informed consumer choices and access information to support child development; (3) provide equal access to stable, high-quality child care for low-income children; and (4) enhance the quality of child care and the early childhood workforce.

In 2016, OCC in ACF under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), revised the CCDF Regulations found at 45 CFR Part 98 to provide more details and amend CCDF policies. The CCDBG Act and the Part 98 regulations contain requirements to carry out the provisions outlined above, while giving lead agencies in states, territories, and tribes flexibility in the implementation of these provisions to address their particular circumstances and populations https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-care-and-education-research-scholars-child-care-dissertation-grants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/early-care-and-education-research-scholars-child-care-dissertation-grants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ served. See Child Care and Development Fund Reauthorization | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov) for more information regarding CCDF reauthorization.

OCC invested significant resources in research and evaluation to identify effective policies and practices that support the implementation of CCDF, foster the employment and economic self-sufficiency of working parents with low incomes, and promote high-quality early care and education environments for children. Since 2000, CCDF discretionary funds for child care research and evaluation have supported a variety of projects that add to our knowledge in the areas of child care policy and practice. Previously funded Child Care Dissertation Grants have made significant contributions to the child care policy research field.

Recipients will use rigorous methods to study their proposed research questions. Methods may include quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and secondary analyses approaches. Methods should be chosen that are appropriate to the state of the field for the given research questions and the state of knowledge and understanding of the proposed constructs under study.

Student researchers will use an equity lens to the extent possible in their current work, and research questions, analyses and interpretation will identify paths for future work to advance understanding of equity-related issues for child care.

Equity

In line with the HHS Equity Action Plan, scholars are encouraged to carry out projects that will help ACF advance equity in the delivery of human services. Examples of equity focused research include projects that examine historical and social context, processes and practices shaping access to services, and service implementation and outcomes for subgroups of interest, especially historically marginalized and minoritized communities. Equity-focused research plans also pay attention to distributions of power and privilege, by seeking to engage multiple voices, marginalized communities, and/or individuals with lived experiences in the research process and by discussing how equity and inclusion informed the proposed research questions, design and approach.

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

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/ccdf-reauthorization https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/ccdf-reauthorization https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hhs.gov%2Fabout%2Fnews%2F2022%2F04%2F14%2Fhhs-statements-on-new-plan-advance-equity-delivery-health-human-services.html&data=05%7C02%7CToria.Herd%40acf.hhs.gov%7Cfef49c4477d74a97d0ea08dbfbf30b47%7Cd58addea50534a808499ba4d944910df%7C0%7C0%7C638380793498757524%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2Bd5UI7FfjApNoUdkq5lii0wYuwsDfw82BcN9%2BMc5a84%3D&reserved=0 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/ccdf-grantee-state-and-territory-contacts https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource-library https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/reports-to-congress

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scholars’ close partnership must be evidenced within the development of their proposal and selection and refinement of their research questions. Scholars are expected to carry out a responsive, culturally sensitive, tailored plan for engaging with their collaborative partners throughout the entire project and, if applicable, through data collection, with participating families and children. Consultation and collaboration with relevant partners and stakeholders is expected for all projects, including those proposing secondary analysis of existing data sources.

Child Care Dissertation Scholars will also engage their collaborative partners during the interpretation and dissemination of findings. Gathering feedback and input will greatly strengthen the research questions, analyses plans, and interpretation of results.

For the CCDF program office contact list, please visit:

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

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

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

a. Conferences. For each budget period of the award (e.g., from September 30, 2024–September 29, 2025), the student and faculty mentor are required to attend two conferences:

1. The Biennial Meeting of the Child Care and Early Education Policy Research Consortium (CCEEPRC). This 2-day meeting is typically held in Washington, DC (although could be held virtually) and brings together OPRE recipients, contracted researchers funded by ACF, and Head Start and CCDF administrators to discuss early care and education research. To learn about previous CCEEPRC meetings, please visit:

https://www.researchconnections.org/federal-efforts/meetings/child-care-and-early-education-policy-research-consortium-cceeprc-meetings.

2. ACF's National Research Conference on Early Childhood (NRCEC). This 3-day meeting is typically held in Washington DC (although could be held virtually) during alternating years. To learn more about previous NRCEC meetings, please visit:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/events/head-start-national-research-conferences.

3. During a year in which NRCEC is not hosted, students should attend a professional society conference that corresponds to their project or area of expertise (e.g., Society for Research in Child Development, National Association for the Education of Young Children).

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/ccdf-grantee-state-and-territory-contacts https://www.researchconnections.org/federal-efforts/meetings/child-care-and-early-education-policy-research-consortium-cceeprc-meetings https://www.researchconnections.org/federal-efforts/meetings/child-care-and-early-education-policy-research-consortium-cceeprc-meetings https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/events/head-start-national-research-conferences

b. Meetings. Students and their faculty mentors are required to attend the annual Early Care and Education Scholars Recipient Meeting. Whenever possible, the Recipient Meeting takes 2 days and occurs prior to or subsequent to another required event (so as to reduce travel requirements).

c. Dissemination. The scholar is expected to prepare and carry out a thorough dissemination plan to effectively translate and share project findings with researchers, policymakers, and collaborative partners. This may include the development of manuscripts, briefs, posters, infographics, presentations, briefings, webinars, articles for inclusion in partner newsletters, and/or other products that would effectively communicate to key audiences. ACF seeks to promote transparency in the conduct of research and evaluations and to support making data available for potential secondary analyses (see https:/www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/acf-evaluation-policys for the ACF Evaluation Policy). Recipients will consult with the Federal Program Officer and the Child and Family Data Archive to determine whether the project data and supporting metadata would meet the basic requirements for archiving (see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/child-and-family-data-archive-2018-2023 for information about data archiving).

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

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

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

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

"This [project/publication/program/website, etc.] [is/was] supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $XX with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy Requirements."

C. Priority Topics for this Opportunity A range of priority research topics and areas for 2024 are identified. Proposals are encouraged but not required to address these topics.Top topical priorities for the 2024 opportunity include (but are not limited to) improved understanding and building the evidence-base for:

1. Understanding the child care needs of diverse families with low-incomes and/or improving policies and programs to increase access to high-quality child care for various subpopulations, including:

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

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/acf-evaluation-policy https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/acf-evaluation-policy https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/child-and-family-data-archive-2018-2023 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements

2. families and children with a range of language, ethnic, and racial identities, including dual language learners and American Indian/Alaska Native families and children;

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

4. families with children with special needs or disabilities;

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

6. homeless children and families;

7. families who work non-traditional hours;

8. children of workers employed in agricultural and seasonal industries;

9. families with infants, toddlers, preschool-age, and school-age children;

10. grandparent-headed families; and

11. families and children living in rural areas of the United States.

2. Impact of stabilization funds: Understanding how the infusion of funding resulting from the COVID 19 stabilization funds have affected providers and the child care market, including retention and recruitment of the CCEE workforce, supply of CCEE that responds to the needs and preferences of families for CCEE post pandemic, financial viability of CCEE programs/providers to provide services to families, and availability of child care in different communities;

3. Impact of subsidy policy on equal access: Understanding how the implementation of CCDF policies (e.g., family copayments, state payment rates, subsidy provisions) may be related to addressing inequities in the CCEE system and to equal access for all families;

4. Quality investments: The focus and effectiveness of states’ investments in quality of early care and education programs serving children and families who use subsidies;

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

6. Retaining qualified workforce: Strategies to recruit, retain, and support a qualified child care workforce in specific states, including whether impacts are consistent across all programs and how providers and states are combatting inconsistent impacts based on whether programs accept subsidies.

7. Participation in subsidy program: Understanding barriers and supports for providers’ participation in subsidy program, and strategies to recruit and retain child care providers to participate in the child care subsidy program;

8. Impacts of different cost estimation approaches: Understanding how payment rates based on different approaches to estimating costs (i.e., market rate, cost estimation data) relate to equity, access to, and quality of child care; and

9. Child care in tribal communities: Issues related to child care in tribal communities, including maintaining culture, language, and traditions through intergenerational approaches to child care and coordination with states.

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

1. Understanding how consumer education supports parents’ child care selections and how states have implemented strategies to ensure equal access to information about child care by all families;

2. To what extent have states implemented policies to reduce the “cliff effect”, or the effect of losing subsidies when a family’s income increases above income eligibility for subsidy child care?

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

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

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

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

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

8. Understanding the salient aspects of coaching and training in social-emotional learning that leads to changes in teachers’ behaviors and ultimately child outcomes;

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

10. Understanding the required elements and feasibility of a national, competency-based certification system in an effort to increase child care provider quality as a separate path from Bachelor's (BA), Master's (MA), and Child Development Associate (CDA) certifications;

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

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

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

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

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

16. Studies using secondary data to address questions of relevance to local CCDF programs and policies. Potential projects with secondary data include, but are not limited to:

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

2. National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES)

3. National-level or state-level administrative and systems data (e.g., ACF-801

Monthly Child Care Data; CCDF Policies Database)

4. State Workforce Registries; Data on Quality Ratings and Improvement Systems

(QRIS); State Licensing and Program Monitoring Data

For further information about these datasets and their locations, please refer to the Child and Family Data Archive at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/child-and-family-data-archive- 2018-2023 or the Early Childhood Data Sets listed at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/archived-data)

D. Definitions (for the purpose of this opportunity) Budget Period: Each 12-month period of time for which funds are made available to a particular recipient.

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

PI: The faculty mentor of the doctoral-level graduate student.

Project Period: The total length of the proposed project, which is either 12 or 24 months. For a 1-year proposed project, the project period would start September 30, 2024, and end September 29, 2025. For a 2-year proposed project, the project period would start September 30, 2024, and end September 29, 2026.

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

E. Questions Regarding Applications For questions regarding this funding opportunity and/or the application process, please call 877- 350-5913, or direct inquiries via email to OPRE Child Care Dissertation Grant Review at CCScholarsGrants@icf.com. Please note that no pre-application assistance can be given other than quoted information stated in this NOFO.

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

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

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

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

II. Federal Award Information

Funding Instrument Type:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/child-and-family-data-archive-2018-2023 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/child-and-family-data-archive-2018-2023 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/archived-data mailto:CCScholarsGrants@icf.com.

G (Grant) Estimated Total Funding:

$150,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$25,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$20,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$25,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/30/2024 Length of Project Periods:

12-month project period and budget period

24-month project period with two 12-month budget periods

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

Additional Information on Awards:

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

Applications requesting an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period, or per project period, as stated in this section, will be disqualified from the merit review and funding under this funding opportunity. Please see Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Project Periods and Non-Competitive Continuation Awards Applicants conducting high-quality research, including research that involves primary data collection or secondary data analysis, using various quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methodologies and designs, may apply for either a 12-month project period (with one budget period) or a 24-month project period (with two 12-month budget periods). Initial awards will be made for the first 12-month budget period. Applicants proposing a 12-month project period will be awarded up to $25,000 for the 12-month budget period. Applicants proposing 24-month project periods will be awarded up to $25,000 for the first 12-month budget period and up to $25,000 for the second 12-month budget period, for a total not exceeding $50,000 for the entire 24-month project period. The 12-month or 24-month project period should be noted in Item 17 on the Standard Form SF-424 and the need for a 12-month or 24-month project period must be identified in the project narrative, budget, and budget justification.

For 24-month projects, non-competing continuation awards for the second 12-month budget period will be required and subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress by the recipient, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government. Satisfactory project performance and progress is judged, in part, on information provided in your semi-annual progress reports. This includes adhering to the timeline for when you plan to complete the future activities (aligned with the written description of planned activities), and providing a detailed description of any changes in the activities and/or timeline from what was originally proposed. During the first budget period, applicants proposing 24-month projects will receive instructions on how to submit non-competing continuation applications to request funds for the second budget period. A second-year budget period will not be granted if the student has graduated by the end of the first-year budget period.

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

III. Eligibility Information

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

The application must include evidence of an approved dissertation proposal by the application due date identified in this NOFO.

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

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost Sharing / Matching Requirement:

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

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

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

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

See Section IV.2. The Project Budget and Budget Justification, Commitment of Non-Federal Resources for more information.

III.3. Other Government agencies generally define plagiarism as the appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit. Any suspected plagiarism will be reported to the applicant university and the HHS, Office of Inspector General for investigation.

Approved Dissertation Proposal Disqualification Factor: The application must include evidence of an approved dissertation proposal by the application due date identified in this NOFO. Please refer to Section IV.2. The Project Description, Additional Eligibility Documentation for further details and guidance. If the application does not include evidence of an approved dissertation proposal, the application will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this NOFO.

Application Disqualification Factors Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from the merit 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, as stated in Section II. Federal Award Information, will be disqualified from the merit 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 that have not been approved for an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from the merit review and funding under this funding opportunity.

If you do not have an internet connection or sufficient capacity to upload large documents to the internet you may contact ACF for an exemption that will allow you to submit your application 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 the merit review and funding under this funding opportunity.

Applications submitted to Grants.gov which fail their validation check, will not be received at, or acknowledged by ACF. If you submit an application for the same NOFO more than once, only the last on-time submission will be acknowledged.

Paper applications with an approved exemption from the electronic submission requirement must be received by 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 the merit 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 Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation Child Care Dissertation Grant Review c/o ICF International 1902 Reston Metro Plaza Reston 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

VA

20190 1-877-350-5913 703-934-3740 CCScholarsGrants@icf.com Application Packages

Electronic Application Submission:

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

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

FORMATTING APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

Notice of Two-File Requirement Applicants applying via Grants.gov must upload only two electronic files, excluding Standard Forms (SFs) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-approved forms. Additional files will be removed prior to the merit review.

FOR ALL APPLICATIONS:

Signature of Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) Each applicant must designate an authorized organization representative (AOR) with authority to act on the organization’s behalf on matters related to the application submission and administration of awards. The AOR signature must appear on all forms in which a signature is required. By signing, the AOR agrees the organization will abide by all applicable Federal statutes, regulations and terms and conditions of the award.

Accepted Font Style and Size Applications must be in Times New Roman 12-point font, except for footnotes, which may be 10-point font. Pages that contain blurred or illegible text will be removed.

If documents must be scanned, the font size on any scanned documents must be large enough so that it is readable. You may not scan more than one page of a documents onto a single page.

Pages with blurred text will be removed from the application.

English Language Applications must be submitted in the English language and must be in the terms of United States (U.S.) dollars. See 45 CFR §75.111 for more information.

Page Limitations You must observe the page limitation(s) listed under "PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS" later in this section. 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 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:

• Table of Contents

• One-page Project Summary

• Required Assurances and Certifications

• SFs and OMB-approved forms

• Resumes, Logic Models, Proof of Legal Status/Non-Profit Status, Third-Party

Agreements, Letters of Support, footnotes and tables

• 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 merit review 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 revise a previously submitted application, ACF will accept only the last on-time application for pre-review under the Application Disqualification Factors. 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 must follow the registration and application submission instructions provided at Grants.gov.

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.

PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:

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

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

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

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

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

Style Guideline. The proposal and tables/figures must be consistent with the citation format and style guidelines of the current version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The research must comply with the "Ethical Standards" detailed in the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association [APA], 2002).

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

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

The Project Description File must include:

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

2. Project Summary (one page maximum)

3. Approach

1. Background, Significance, and Objectives

2. Research Design and Methodology

3. Collaborative Partner Plan

4. Dissemination Plan

5. Management Plan

6. References

4. Budget and Budget Justification

The Appendices File must include the following components:

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

1. Letter of Support from:

a. PI/Faculty Mentor

b. Collaborative Partners

c. Additional Letters of Support, if Applicable

2. Curriculum Vitae for:

a. PI/Faculty Mentor

b. Scholar

3. Documentation of Approved Dissertation Proposal (see Section IV.2. Project Description, Additional Eligibility Documentation)

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

5. Organizational Capacity

6. Plan for Oversight of Federal Award Funds and Activities

7. Protection of Sensitive and/or Confidential Information

8. Third-Party Agreements

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

You are required to submit applications electronically unless you 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.