HHS-2019-ACL-AOD-DDTI-0351.pdf

Administration for Community Living

Administration on Disabilities

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome National Training Initiative

HHS-2019-ACL-AOD-DDTI-0351

Application Due Date: 08/20/2019

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome National Training Initiative

HHS-2019-ACL-AOD-DDTI-0351

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description II. Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

3. Responsiveness and Screening Criteria

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

3. Submission Dates and Times

4. Intergovernmental Review

5. Funding Restrictions

6. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Anticipated Announcement Award Date

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

4. FFATA and FSRS Reporting

VII. Agency Contacts VIII. Other Information

Department of Health & Human Services

ACL Center: Administration on Disabilities Funding Opportunity Title: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome National

Training Initiative Announcement Type: Modification Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2019-ACL-AOD-DDTI-0351 Primary CFDA Number: 93.632 Due Date for Letter of Intent: 07/05/2019 Due Date for Applications: 08/20/2019 Date for Informational Conference Call: N/A

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

Executive Summary The Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD), Administration on Disabilities (AOD), Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funds to award on a competitive basis one University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities a three-year National Training Initiative (NTI) grant that will address Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome/Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome. Use of opioids during pregnancy can result in a drug withdrawal syndrome in newborns called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NAS). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the dramatic rise in maternal opioid use has increased the number of infants experiencing opioid withdrawal at birth. It is estimated that one baby experiencing opioid withdrawal is born every 15 minutes. Research suggests that children with NAS are at risk for poorer developmental outcomes, making it imperative that communities are better prepared to screen, monitor, and care for children and families impacted by NAS.

This NTI grant supports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary's priority to address the opioid crisis and supports the strategy to provide better addiction prevention, treatment and recovery services. Specifically, this training grant seeks to close gaps in access and delivery of quality treatment and services to infants, young children and families impacted by NAS and build sufficient provider capacity and confidence in applying evidence-based practices in serving this population. The purpose of this NTI is to train interdisciplinary teams in targeted states on emerging knowledge and evidence-based practices in screening, monitoring and interdisciplinary care for children with NAS, or impacted by related substance exposure. This cooperative agreement builds upon work AIDD supported beginning in October 2018 to develop and pilot such training, which substantiated the need for adequate training for professionals and providers on strategies to support the growing population of children and https://www.grants.gov families impacted by NAS.

I. Funding Opportunity Description The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the entire federal government are committed to ending the crisis of opioid addiction in America. HHS has a five-point strategy to stop the epidemic, which includes better addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Such services need to be inclusive of the needs of families with infants and young children impacted by neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Research suggest that children with NAS are at risk for lower developmental scores (language, cognitive, motor) than children not exposed when measured at two years of age (Merhar et al.,2018).

There has been a fourfold increase in opioid use by women in the prenatal period across the United States from 1999 to 2014, and a fivefold increase from 2004 to 2014 with the rate increasing to 6.5 cases of opioid use disorder per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations (Haight, Ko, Tong, Bohm, Callaghan,2018). The rising frequency (and costs) of drug withdrawal in newborns demonstrates the need for measures to reduce prenatal exposure to opioids. This increase in opioid use disorder in pregnant women has resulted in a corresponding increase of over $1.5 billion dollars in hospital expenditures over the last decade (Patrick et al.,2012). The overall hospital costs, length of stay (LOS), and healthcare expenditures for both opioid-dependent mother and exposed neonate continue to rise (Patrick, Davis, Lehman,& Cooper, 2015). Nationally, the mean charges for a neonate with NAS are $66,700 per hospital stay, compared to an uncomplicated newborn stay of $3,500.00 (Patrick et al.,2015). Data suggests that family presence at the bedside following childbirth, coupled with the use of trauma-informed care (TIC) by providers, serve in decreasing the average hospital length of stay while improving prospective health outcomes for both the mother and the child (Rehm & Herndon, 2018).

With the rising frequency and costs of treating drug withdrawal in newborns, there is a need to ensure access to and delivery of quality treatment and services to infants, young children and families impacted by NAS. This National Training Initiative (NTI) seeks to address the opioid epidemic by supporting training that will help to close gaps in access and delivery of quality treatment and services to infants, young children and families impacted by NAS and build sufficient provider capacity and confidence in applying evidence-based practices in serving this population. The purpose of this NTI is to train interdisciplinary teams on emerging knowledge and evidence-based practices in screening, monitoring and care for children with NAS, or affected by related substance exposure. The project builds upon work AIDD supported beginning in October 2018 to develop and pilot a virtual interdisciplinary training to professionals and providers in Wyoming and Ohio. The training offered through this pilot was well received by the participants and met an unmet demand for information related to NAS.

The NTI will be framed by the following four key components to address health, education and behavioral strategies for professionals to improve outcomes of children and families impacted by NAS:

1. Implementation of a Culturally Competent NAS Interdisciplinary Training Model Curriculum in Targeted States: The interdisciplinary training model should be culturally competent, evidenced based, address relevant areas of need, and include the following topics, some of which were recommended by the AIDD-funded 2018 NAS training pilot, such as family level/caregiver support, including programs to address children's mental health; trauma-informed care in prevention and treatment services for children, families, and communities; data sources to inform surveillance efforts to improve data quality and relevance to prevention and treatment efforts, increased accuracy in screening, effectiveness in monitoring and higher quality of care for children diagnosed with NAS, and managing secondary trauma in the early childhood workforce and self-care of practitioners.

2. Formation and Training of Interdisciplinary in Targeted States: The training will target up to ten states with the highest need as identified by the applicant using current data sources. For purposes of this NTI, states are those defined in Section 155 of the DD Act: Each of the several of States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and Guam. Each targeted state will have a primary lead program that will serve as a project liaison and will identify and recruit state interdisciplinary teams and key programs. These may include but are not limited to Part C, Part B, Head Start, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), Mental Health programs and others the state determines relevant.

During the first year, up to ten interdisciplinary state teams will be convened for training. For the subsequent years of the grant, the training will expand to other states based on need and continue to offer additional training as needed to year one states.

3. NAS Interdisciplinary Training Sustainability/ Dissemination Plan: An expected outcome of this project will be the development of a sustainability plan for continuing a NAS interdisciplinary training model for targeted states that will promote further development of community support and services to families and children living with NAS. Working in collaboration with national organizations, including the UCEDD Resource Center, the network of UCEDDs and federal partners, the project will employ effective and efficient methods for quality assurance, marketing and maintaining the project over time. The project plan is expected to include methods that will be used to develop and disseminate the project’s results and findings and products in culturally competent and multiple accessible formats, to parties who might be interested in replicating the results of the project to inform practice, service delivery, program development, and/or policy-making.

4. Evaluation: The project is expected to employ formative and summative evaluation techniques for continuous progress monitoring and for performance adjustments as needed and to most importantly ensure that NAS Interdisciplinary Training intervention achieves the project’s ultimate desired outcomes:

Closing gaps in access and delivery of quality education, treatment and support services to children and families impacted by neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) or by related substance exposure in targeted states by 2022.

Building sufficient provider capacity and confidence in applying evidence-based practices in serving this population in targeted states each year of the project period.

The application should describe a rigorous evaluation plan that discusses method(s), including pre and post interventions data collection, techniques and tools that will be used to report on the outcomes achieved including how activities and milestones achieved will support attainment of this FOA’s ultimate desired outcomes by 2022. AIDD will provide on-going monitoring and evaluation of the project as outlined in section II. Award Information of this FOA, under the Role of the AIDD Project Officer. The application is expected to describe how data will be collected from interdisciplinary state team participants. Additionally, the application should include a logic model outlining the need, activities, outputs, and immediate/intermediate outcomes.

Examples of expected outputs to support attainment of the ultimate desired outcomes of the project include but are not limited to:

Number of interdisciplinary teams trained in NAS strategies. Number of participants from rural and urban areas.

Number of participants by discipline (e.g., health allied health, education, behavioral health, family systems, early childhood, etc.)

Number of States/UCEDDs participating in NAS trainings.

Number of collaborative partnerships among agencies at the local, state and national levels to jointly address NAS.

Demographic data of participants including gender, race, ethnicity, education, SES.

Number of participants continuing in more than one or all trainings.

Number/types of NAS training products/ materials disseminated.

Number of training strategies implemented by interdisciplinary state team participants in targeted states.

Examples of expected immediate performance outcomes to support attainment of the ultimate desired outcomes of this project include but are not limited to:

Professionals trained report increased confidence in treating NAS and other family challenges.

Professionals trained report increased knowledge in NAS and trauma-informed care approaches.

Examples of expected intermediate performance outcomes to support attainment of the ultimate desired outcomes of this project include but are not limited to:

Professionals report implementation of learned skills/ strategies to provide better treatment.

Professionals report increased confidence in treating NAS and other family challenges.

Providers/Caregivers report increased educational, health and behavioral supports.

Statutory Authority AIDD is the lead agency in AOD, ACL, HHS for administering the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act of 2000) (42 U.S.C. 15001, et seq.). The purpose of the DD Act of 2000 is to assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of and have access to needed community services, individualized supports, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, integration and inclusion in all facets of community life, through culturally competent programs [Section 101(b)]. To achieve this purpose, the DD Act authorizes under Subtitle D University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDDs). Section 151(b) of the DD Act of 2000 states that appropriations authorized under section 156(a)(1) and reserved under section 156(a)(2), grants shall be made to University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) to carry out national training initiative grants.

In accordance with the DD Act, the Secretary shall make grants under section 152(d) to UCEDD Centers after AIDD has made UCEDD core grant awards with a cost of living adjustment, funded T/TA , remaining funds may be used to award NTI grants to entities in each State designated as UCEDDs.

II. Award Information Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement Estimated Total Funding: $452,199 Expected Number of Awards: 1 Award Ceiling: $452,199 Per Budget Period Award Floor: $452,199 Per Budget Period Length of Project Period: 36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods Section 151(b) of the DD Act of 2000 states that from appropriations authorized under section 156(a)(1) and reserved under section 156(a)(2), grants shall be made to UCEDDs to carry out National Training Initiative grants. Entities eligible to apply for funds under this funding opportunity announcement are the 67 current AIDD grantees that are designated UCEDDs.

ACL/AIDD plans to fund one (1) cooperative agreement at a funding level of up to $452,199 per year, for three years (36 months), pending the availability of federal funds. Future year amounts are contingent upon annual appropriations.

Applications will only be accepted from the 67 UCEDDs listed at https://acl.gov/programs /aging-and-disability-networks/national-network-university Applications from other entities not designated as a current UCEDD will not be reviewed.

As a cooperative agreement, substantial involvement is anticipated between the agency and the grantee (Consortium) during performance of the project. Under this cooperative agreement, the roles and responsibilities of the grantee and the AIDD project officer are:

Role of the Grantee:

Collaborate with AIDD in the execution of the work plan and in understanding the programmatic and budgetary issues of the project. Either the AIDD project office or project director may propose revisions to the final work plan at any time. Any changes to the final work plan will require an agreement of both parties.

Obtain guidance and approval of each stage of the project i.e. prior to starting subsequent stages https://acl.gov/programs/aging-and-disability-networks/national-network-university of the project; and Meet with the AIDD project officer at least quarterly, or at such other times as agreed upon, to ensure the effectiveness of the activities carried out under this agreement and to ensure that projects activities are on schedule and Coordinate and collaborate with the UCEDD Resource Center.

Role of the AIDD Project Officer:

Provide guidance on the project to ensure that it meets the goals and overall intent of the FOA;

Review and approve each phase of the project before subsequent phases are started;

Provide guidance where needed in the design or direction of planning activities to ensure that it is in accordance with the overall intent of the FOA;

Provide technical assistance to the grantee in implementing project activities throughout the development of the course of the project;

Assist project staff to understand the policy concerns and/or priorities set forth by the AIDD by conducting on-going consultations. The project officer will also share with the project staff information about other relevant federally supported projects and activities;

Monitor grantee’s progress in the implementation of program requirements;

Meet with project staff at least quarterly, or at such other times as agreed upon, to ensure that the activities carried out under this agreement are effective and to ensure that projects activities are on schedule; and Coordinate and collaborate with the UCEDD Resource Center and federal partners.

Once a cooperative agreement is in place, requests to modify or amend it or the work plan may be made by ACL or the awardee at any time as long as it stays within the original confines of the proposed project description. Major changes may affect the integrity of the competitive review process. Modifications and/or amendments of the Cooperative Agreement or work plan shall be effective upon the execution of an award notice. When an award is issued the cooperative agreement terms and conditions from the program announcement are incorporated When an award is issued the cooperative agreement terms and conditions from the program announcement are incorporated by reference unless ACL is authorized under the Terms and Conditions of award, 45 CFR Part 75, or other applicable regulation or statute to make unilateral amendments.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants Section 151(b) of the DD Act of 2000 states that from appropriations authorized under section 156(a)(1) and reserved under section 156(a)(2), grants shall be made to UCEDDs to carry out National Training Initiative grants. Entities eligible to apply for funds under this funding opportunity announcement are the 67 current AIDD grantees that are designated as UCEDDs.

Applications will only be accepted from the 67 UCEDDs listed at https://acl.gov/programs /aging-and-disability-networks/national-network-university. Applications from other entities not designated as a current UCEDD will not be reviewed.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

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

This “three-to-one” ratio is reflected in the formula included under Item 18 in the “Instructions for Completing Requested Forms.” The applicant can use this formula to calculate the minimum required match. A common error applicants make is to match 25% of the Federal share, rather than 25% of the project’s total cost. Grantees are required to meet a non-Federal share of the project cost, in accordance with Section 154(d) of the DD Act of 2000. Grantees must provide at least 25% percent of the total approved cost of the project.

Reduced Match Amount - 10% match to the total federal funds for the UCEDDs whose activities or products target individuals with developmental disabilities who live in an urban or rural poverty area.

Reduced Match - Section 154 (d)(2) of the DD Act of 2000 states: In the case of a project whose activities or products target individuals with developmental disabilities who live in an urban or rural poverty area, as determined by the Secretary of HHS, the Federal share of the cost of the project may not be more than 90 percent of the necessary costs of the project, as determined by the Secretary of HHS.

DEFINITIONS:

Poverty area: Census tracts or block numbering areas (BNAs) where at least 20 percent of residents are below the poverty level.

Urban Area: Collective term referring to all areas that are urban. For Census 2000, there are two types of urban areas: urban clusters and urbanized areas.

Urban Cluster (UC): A densely settled territory that has at least 2,500 persons but fewer than 50,000.

Urbanized Area (UA): An area consisting of a central place(s) and adjacent territory with a general population density of at least 1,000 persons per square mile of land area that together have a minimum residential population of at least 50,000 persons. The U.S. Census Bureau uses published criteria to determine the qualification and boundaries of UAs.

Rural: Territory, population and housing units not classified as urban. Rural classification cuts across other hierarchies and can be in metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas. Rural can include frontier, which are places having a population density of six or fewer persons - per square mile.

TWO-TIER ELIGIBILITY SYSTEM FOR REDUCED MATCH

To meet the requirements in the DD Act of 2000, AIDD has developed a system that UCEDDs can use to request a reduced match on the core grant. Such a request is optional and not a requirement for UCEDDs. AIDD will use a two-tiered system for determining eligibility for the reduced match:

Tier 1: UCEDDs in States where the poverty rate is equal to or greater than the official national poverty rate would automatically qualify for the reduced match.

Tier 2: UCEDDs in States with a poverty rate not equal to or greater than the official national poverty rate would have to show that the UCEDD activities target individuals with developmental disabilities in urban or rural poverty areas. In doing so, the UCEDD would demonstrate that at least 25 percent of the UCEDD projects target individuals with developmental disabilities who live in urban and rural poverty areas by providing the following information to AIDD:

1. The current State poverty rate;

2. A full listing of all the UCEDD's current projects [this can be generated from the National Information Reporting System (NIRS)];

3. Identification of which UCEDD activities are targeting individuals with developmental disabilities living in urban and rural poverty areas by stating whether the UCEDD activity is associated with any of the Urban and Rural Poverty Indicators listed in the announcement or is targeted for individuals with developmental disabilities in an urban and rural poverty area through some other means.

A UCEDD seeking to establish eligibility for a reduced match through means other than showing an activity is associated with one or more of the Urban and Rural Poverty Indicators must include in its application other information that establishes that its activities are targeted to benefit individuals with developmental disabilities in an urban or rural poverty area. Because there are not Federal poverty rates for Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, these jurisdictions can qualify for the reduced match by establishing that the UCEDD activity is associated with any of the Urban and Rural Poverty Indicators listed in the announcement or is targeted for individuals with developmental disabilities in an urban or rural poverty area through some other means.

The table below shows the Urban or Rural Poverty Indicators that will be used to determine eligibility for the reduced match.

Urban and Rural Poverty Indicator

Description

Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities

(EZ/EC)

Areas designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as communities with high rates of poverty. The UCEDD project would have to be implemented in an

EZ/EC.

Food Stamps The Food Stamp Program helps low-income people and families buy the food they need for good health. The UCEDD project would have to target individuals with Developmental Disabilities and their families who receive food stamps.

National School Lunch Program

(NSLP)

Also referred to as Free and Reduced Lunch Program NSLP is a federally assisted meal program operating to provide low-cost or free lunches to children.

The UCEDD project would have to be implemented in a school that qualifies for the NSLP.

Head Start The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families. The UCEDD project would have to work with a Head Start program.

Housing Assistance

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a variety of housing assistance programs, such as Section 8 housing assistance programs.

The UCEDD project would have to target individuals with Developmental Disabilities and their families who are receiving Federal housing assistance.

Medicaid Title XIX of the Social Security Act

Is a Federal/State entitlement program that pays for medical assistance for certain individuals and families with low incomes and resources. The UCEDD project would have to target individuals with developmental disabilities and their families who are Medicaid-eligible.

Supplemental Security (SSI)

Is designed to help aged, blind and disabled people, who Income (SSI) have little or no income. It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing and shelter.

The UCEDD project would have to target individuals with developmental disabilities who are SSI recipients

Temporary Assistance for

TANF

Is a Federal poverty program that provides assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work opportunities to needy families through grants to States. The UCEDD project would have to target individuals with developmental disabilities, children with developmental disabilities, and their families who are TANF recipients.

Other The UCEDD may provide other indicators of poverty not included in this list.

The UCEDD would have to provide adequate information to justify use of the 'other' category. In doing so, the UCEDD will have to demonstrate the project is targeting individuals with developmental disabilities in rural and urban poverty areas. ADD will determine the adequacy of the justification for eligibility for a reduced match.

In accordance with the DD Act of 2000, AIDD will review all the information submitted by the UCEDD to determine eligibility for the reduced match.

SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO AIDD

To streamline the process, below is a suggested format for submitting the information to AIDD.

Official National Poverty Rate 13.7

State Poverty Rate

UCEDD Project Title and Description Indicators of Poverty

Provide Name of Project and project description List name of poverty program targeted by project

Of the total UCEDD projects, the percent that is targeting individuals with developmental disabilities living in urban and rural poverty areas

Fill in percentage

STATES IN TIER 1 and TIER 2

Tier 1

State Percent

Mississippi 20.8

Louisiana 20.6

New Mexico 19.1

Kentucky 18.3

Arizona 18.2

West Virginia 17.7

Washington, DC 17.3

Arkansas 16.8

Alabama 16.8

Georgia 16.8

Tennessee 15.6

Oklahoma 15.4

Florida 15.3

North Carolina 15.3

South Carolina 15.0

Texas 15.0

California 14.5

Ohio 14.3

United States 13.7

Tier 2

South Dakota 13.7

Nevada 13.4

New York 13.3

Indiana 13.3

Maine 13.2

Oregon 12.7

Kansas 12.6

Illinois 12.4

Pennsylvania 12.4

Idaho 12.0

Michigan 11.9

Montana 11.9

Massachusetts 11.5

Rhode Island 11.3

Washington 11.2

Alaska 11.1

Delaware 11.0

Missouri 10.9

Wisconsin 10.8

Virginia 10.8

Nebraska 10.8

New Jersey 10.6

North Dakota 10.3

Hawaii 10.3

Colorado 10.2

Iowa 10.1

Wyoming 10.1

Vermont 9.9

Utah 9.4

Connecticut 9.2

Maryland 8.9

Minnesota 8.3

New Hampshire 6.9

The total approved cost of the project is the sum of the ACL share and the reduced non-Federal share.

The reduced non-Federal share may be met by cash or in-kind contributions, although applicants are encouraged to meet their match requirements through cash contributions. For example, in order to meet the match requirements, a project with a total approved project cost of $607,830 requesting $547,000 in ACL funds, must provide a non-Federal share of at least $60,783 (10 percent of total approved project cost). Grantees will be held accountable for commitments of non-Federal resources even if they exceed the amount of the required match. Failure to provide the required amount will result in the disallowance of Federal funds. A lack of supporting documentation at the time of application will not exclude the application from competitive review.

3. Responsiveness and Screening Criteria

Application Responsiveness Criteria Applications received from entities other than the 67 existing grantees defined as UCEDDs.

Applications other than those cited in Section III.1.of this announcement, will be considered non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under this announcement. Applications disqualified for this reason will not be returned.

Application Screening Criteria

1. Applications must be received from eligible UCEDDs. Applications must be submitted electronically via http://www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time.

2. The Project Narrative section of the Application must be single spaced on 8 ½” x 11” plain white paper and a standard font size of not less than 12, preferably Times New Roman or Arial.

3. The Project Narrative must not exceed 40 pages. The Project Narratives that exceed 40 pages will have the additional pages removed and only the first 40 pages of the Project Narrative will be provided to the merit reviewers for funding consideration. NOTE: The Project Work Plan, Letters of Commitment, and Curricula Vitae of Key Project Personnel are not counted as part of the Project Narrative for purposes of the 40-page limit.

Unsuccessful submissions will require authenticated verification from http://www.grants.gov indicating system problems existed at the time of your submission. For example, you will be required to provide an http://www.grants.gov submission error notification and/or tracking number in order to substantiate missing the application deadline.

IV. Application and Submission Information

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

Please note, ACL is requiring applications for all announcements to be submitted electronically through http://www.grants.gov. The Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) registration process can take several days. If your organization is not currently registered, please begin this process immediately. For assistance with http://www.grants.gov, please contact them at support @grants.gov or 800-518-4726 between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

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

All applicants must have a DUNS number (http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/) and be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM, www.sam.gov) and maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete, and should a grant be made, throughout the life of the award. Applicants should finalize a new, or renew an existing, registration at least two weeks before the application deadline. This action should allow you time to resolve any issues that may arise. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in your inability to submit your application or receive an award.

Maintain documentation (with dates) of your efforts to register or renew at least two weeks before the deadline. See the SAM Quick Guide for Grantees at: https://www.sam .gov /sam/ transcript/ SAM_Quick_ Guide_Grants_ Registrations-v1.6. ;pdf.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Since October 1, 2003, The Office of Management and Budget has required applicants to provide a Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number when applying for federal grants or cooperative agreements. It is entered on the SF-424. It is a unique, nine-digit identification number, which provides unique https://www.acl.gov/grants/applying-grants http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov?subject=Support mailto:support@grants.gov?subject=Support http://www.grants.gov/ http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/ http://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/sam/transcript/SAM_Quick_Guide_Grants_Registrations-v1.6.pdf https://www.sam.gov/sam/transcript/SAM_Quick_Guide_Grants_Registrations-v1.6.pdf identifiers of single business entities. The DUNS number is free and easy to obtain.

Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free

DUNS Number request line at 866-705-5711 or by using this link to access a guide: http ://www. ;whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/omb/grants/duns _num_guide.pdf.

You must submit all documents electronically, including all information included on the SF424 and all necessary assurances and certifications.

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

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Pamela O'Brien Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Phone Number: (202) 795-7417 E-mail: Pamela.O'Brien@acl.hhs.gov

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Letter of Intent

Due Date for Letter of Intent: 07/05/2019 Applicants are requested, but not required, to submit a letter of intent to apply for this funding opportunity to assist ACL in planning for the application independent review process. The purpose of the letter of intent is to allow our staff to estimate the number of independent reviewers needed and to avoid potential conflicts of interest in the review. Email to Pamela.O 'Brien@acl.hhs.gov.

Project Narrative The Project Narrative must be double-spaced, on 8 ½” x 11” paper with 1” margins on both sides, and a standard font size of not less than 12, preferably Times New Roman or Arial. You can use smaller font sizes to fill in the Standard Forms and Sample Formats. The suggested length for the Project Narrative is 40 pages; 40 pages is the maximum length allowed. Project Narratives that exceed 40 pages will have the additional pages removed and only the first 40 pages of the Project Narrative will be provided to the merit reviewers for funding consideration.

The Project Work Plan, Letters of Commitment, and Vitae of Key Personnel are not counted as part of the Project Narrative for purposes of the 40-page limit, but all of the other sections noted below are included in the limit.

The sample components of the Project Narrative counted as part of the 40 page limit include:

Summary/Abstract Project Relevance and Need/Problem Statement http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/grants/duns_num_guide.pdf http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/grants/duns_num_guide.pdf http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:Pamela.O'Brien@acl.hhs.gov mailto:Pamela.O'Brien@acl.hhs.gov

Goal(s) and Objective(s) Approach Special Target Populations and Organizations Outcomes Project Impact Dissemination Organizational Capability

Summary/Abstract This section should include a brief - no more than 265 words maximum - description of the proposed project, including: goal(s), objectives, outcomes, and products to be developed.

Detailed instructions for completing the summary/abstract are included in the “Instructions for Completing the Project Summary/Abstract.”

Project Relevance and Need/Problem Statement This section should describe, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, the nature and scope of the particular problem or issue the proposed intervention is designed to address, including how the project will potentially support families, caregivers, children with NAS or individuals with lived experience and address gaps in access and service delivery of health care and social services systems.

Goals and Objectives This section should consist of a description of the project’s goal(s) and major objectives. Unless the project involves multiple, complex interventions, we recommend you have only one overall goal.

Proposed Intervention/Approach This section should provide a clear and concise description of the approach you are proposing to use to address the problem described in the “Problem Statement”. You should also describe the rationale for using the particular approach, including factors such as: “lessons learned” for similar projects previously tested in your community, or in other areas of the country; factors in the larger environment that have created the “right conditions” for the intervention (e.g., existing social or economic factors that you’ll be able to take advantage of, etc.). Also note any major barriers you anticipate encountering, and how your project will be able to overcome those barriers. Be sure to describe the role and makeup of any strategic partnerships you plan to involve in implementing the intervention, including other organizations, supporters, and/or consumer groups.

For this FOA, the Proposed Intervention is a clear, concise description of the approach, including assurance that you will use the funding with at least one partner organization to implement an interdisciplinary training and utilize a variety of innovative knowledge exchange and transfer strategies that address the gaps in access and delivery of quality services to children diagnosed with NAS.

Special Target Populations and Organizations Describes in detail how applicant will train interdisciplinary teams in targeted states on emerging knowledge and evidence-based practices in screening, monitoring and interdisciplinary care for children with NAS, or impacted by related substance exposure.

Outcomes This section of the project narrative must clearly identify the measurable outcome(s) that will result from the project. (NOTE: ACL will not fund any project that does not include measurable outcomes). This section should also describe how the project’s findings might benefit the field at large, (e.g., how the findings could help other organizations throughout the nation to address the same or similar problems.) List measurable outcomes in the optional work plan grid (“Project Work Plan – Sample Template”) under “Measurable Outcomes” in addition to any discussion included in the narrative along with a description of how the project might benefit the field at large.

A “measurable outcome” is an observable end-result that describes how a particular intervention benefits consumers. It demonstrates the functional status, mental well-being, knowledge, skill, attitude, awareness or behavior.) It can also describe a change in the degree to which consumers exercise choice over the types of services they receive, or whether they are satisfied with the way a service is delivered. Additional examples include: a change in the responsiveness or cost-effectiveness of a service delivery system; a new model of support or care that can be replicated in the ACL network; new knowledge that can contribute to the field of community living; a measurable increase in community awareness; or a measurable increase in persons receiving services. A measurable outcome is not a measurable “output”, such as: the number of clients served; the number of training sessions held; or the number of service units provided.

Customer satisfaction cannot be the only outcome; to be responsive to this FOA, inclusion of initial/intermediate outcomes are also required. Specifically, the customer satisfaction measure assesses the participants' satisfaction with the activity they participated in. It is different from the initial intermediate outcome measure in that, the customer satisfaction measure does not capture if the activity impacts the participants' knowledge, skills,etc. The initial intermediate outcome measure assesses the positive change in the participants' knowledge, attitudes and/or skills, health and/or well-being, and /or service delivery methods(s). It is different from the customer satisfaction measure in that the participants' satisfaction with the activity is not relevant.

Keep the focus of this section on describing what outcome(s) will be produced by the project.

Use the Evaluation section noted below to describe how the outcome(s) will be measured and reported.

Your application will be scored on the clarity and nature of your proposed outcomes, not on the number of outcomes cited. It is totally appropriate for a project to have only ONE outcome that it is trying to achieve.

Project Management This section should include a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of project staff, consultants and partner organizations, and how they will contribute to achieving the project’s objectives and outcomes. It should specify who would have day-to-day responsibility for key tasks such as: leadership of project; monitoring the project’s on-going progress, preparation of reports; communications with other partners and ACL. It should also describe the approach that will be used to monitor and track progress on the project’s tasks and objectives.

Evaluation This section should describe the method(s), techniques and tools that will be used to: 1) determine whether or not the proposed intervention- (Approach) achieved its anticipated outcome(s), and 2) document the “lessons learned” – both positive and negative - from the project that will be useful to people interested in replicating the intervention, if it proves successful.

Dissemination This section should describe the method that will be used to disseminate the project’s results and findings in a timely manner and in easily understandable formats, to parties who might be interested in using the results of the project to inform practice, service delivery, program development, and/or policy-making, including and especially those parties who would be interested in replicating the project.

Organizational Capacity Statement Each application should include an organizational capability statement and vitae for key project personnel. The organizational capability statement should describe how the applicant agency (or the particular division of a larger agency which will have responsibility for this project) is organized, the nature and scope of its work and/or the capabilities it possesses. It should also include the organization’s capability to sustain some or all project activities after Federal financial assistance has ended.

This description should cover capabilities of the applicant agency not included in the program narrative, such as any current or previous relevant experience and/or the record of the project team in preparing cogent and useful reports, publications, and other products. If appropriate, include an organization chart showing the relationship of the project to the current organization.

Please attach short vitae for key project staff only. Neither vitas nor an organizational chart will count towards the narrative page limit. Also include information about any contractual organization(s) and or partner organization(s) that will have a significant role(s) in implementing project and achieving project goals.

Budget Narrative/Justification The Budget Narrative/Justification can be provided using the format included in the document, “Budget Narrative/Justification – Sample Format.” Applicants are encouraged to pay particular attention to this document, which provides an example of the level of detail sought. A combined multi-year Budget Narrative/Justification, as well as a detailed Budget Narrative/Justification for each year of potential grant funding is required.

Provide a budget with line-item detail and detailed calculations for each budget object class identified on the Budget Information Form (SF-424A). Detailed calculations must include estimation methods, quantities, unit costs, and other similar quantitative detail sufficient for the calculation to be duplicated. If matching is a requirement, include a breakout by the funding sources identified in Block 18 of the SF-424.

Provide a narrative budget justification for each of the three years of the proposed project. The narrative budget justification should describe how the categorical costs are derived. Discuss the necessity, reasonableness, and allocation of the proposed costs.

The budget narrative should clearly outline how funds awarded under this grant will support the administration or operation of the UCEDD. Funds made available through the grant will be use to supplement, and not supplant, the funds that would otherwise be made available for activities related to interdisciplinary pre-service preparation and continuing education, community services, research, and information dissemination.

General:

Use the following guidelines for preparing the budget and budget justification. Both Federal and non-Federal resources (when required) shall be detailed and justified in the budget and budget narrative justification. "Federal resources" refers only to the ACL grant funds for which you are applying. "Non-Federal resources" are all other non-ACL Federal and non-Federal resources. It is suggested that budget amounts and computations be presented in a columnar format: first column, object class categories; second column, Federal budget; next column(s), non-Federal budget(s); and last column, total budget. The budget justification should be in a narrative form.

Personnel Description: Costs of employee salaries and wages.

Justification: Identify the project director or principal investigator, if known at the time of application. For each staff person, provide: the title; time commitment to the project in months;

time commitment to the project as a percentage or full-time equivalent; annual salary; grant salary; wage rates; etc. Do not include the costs of consultants, personnel costs of delegate agencies, or of specific project(s) and/or businesses to be financed by the applicant.

Fringe Benefits:

Description: Costs of employee fringe benefits unless treated as part of an approved indirect cost rate.

Justification:

Provide a breakdown of the amounts and percentages that comprise fringe benefit costs such as health insurance, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, retirement insurance, taxes, etc.

Travel:

Description: Costs of project-related travel by employees of the applicant organization. (This item does not include costs of consultant travel).

Justification: For each trip show: the total number of traveler(s); travel destination; duration of trip; per diem; mileage allowances, if privately owned vehicles will be used to travel out of town; and other transportation costs and subsistence allowances. If appropriate for this project, travel costs for key staff to attend ACL-sponsored workshops should be detailed in the budget.

Equipment Description: "Equipment" means an article of nonexpendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost that equals or exceeds the lesser of: (a) the capitalization level established by the organization for the financial statement purposes, or (b) $5,000. (Note: Acquisition cost means the net invoice unit price of an item of equipment, including the cost of any modifications, attachments, accessories, or auxiliary apparatus necessary to make it usable for the purpose or which it is acquired.