HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-EV-1936.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

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

Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: Culturally Specific Special

Issue Resource Centers (CSSIRCs)

HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-EV-1936

Application Due Date: 06/21/2021

Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: Culturally Specific Special

Issue Resource Centers (CSSIRCs)

HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-EV-1936

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview Executive Summary

I. Program Description II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

3. Other

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management

(SAM)

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

7. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

1. Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

VII. HHS Awarding Agency Contact(s) VIII. Other Information

Department of Health & Human Services Administration for Children and Families

Funding Opportunity Title: Family Violence Prevention and

Services Discretionary Grants:

Culturally Specific Special Issue Resource Centers (CSSIRCs)

Announcement Type: Initial Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-EV-1936 Primary CFDA Number: 93.592 Due Date for Letter of Intent: 05/22/2021 Due Date for Applications: 06/21/2021

Executive Summary

Notice:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire funding opportunity announcement (FOA) carefully and observe the application formatting requirements listed in Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission.

For more information on applying for grants, please visit "How to Apply for a Grant" on the ACF Grants & Funding Page at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), Family Violence Prevention and Services (FVPSA) Program seeks to award three cooperative agreements under the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, to establish and maintain three Culturally-Specific Special Interest Resource Centers (CSSIRC) that will enhance intervention and prevention efforts for victims of domestic violence for members of racial and ethnic minority groups: African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and Latino/Latina.

The CSSIRC grantees are part of a network of National, Special Issue, Culturally Specific, and Capacity Building Resource Centers providing leadership, training, technical assistance, resources, and support to programs and systems serving victims of domestic violence and their children.

The awards will be cooperative agreements, which is an award instrument used when substantial involvement is anticipated between the awarding office and the grantee during performance of the contemplated project. FYSB will collaborate with the grantee throughout the project period.

I. Program Description

Statutory Authority http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto

The statutory authority for this funding opportunity announcement is Section 310 of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, as amended. See 42 U.S.C. § 10410(a)(2)(A)(ii), (b)(2)(E), and (c)(3).

Description History and Purpose of FVPSA FVPSA provides the primary federal funding stream dedicated to the support of emergency shelter and supportive services for victims of family violence, domestic violence and dating violence (also known as intimate partner violence or IPV), as well as their dependents.

First authorized as part of the Child Abuse Amendments of 1984 (Pub.L. 98–457), FVPSA became the first federal commitment to creating a pathway to safety for survivors of domestic violence and their children. FVPSA has been amended eight times and was most recently reauthorized in December 2010 for 5 years by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 10401 - 10414).

Since 1984, Congress has continued to make its intent clear that FVPSA funds be used to raise awareness of domestic violence, prevent its occurrence, provide services to victims and their children, and support domestic violence providers to enhance their responses through training and technical assistance.

Specifically, FVPSA's statutory purposes are to:

1. Assist states and Indian tribes in efforts to increase public awareness about and primary and secondary prevention of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence;

2. Assist states and Indian tribes in efforts to provide immediate shelter and supportive services for victims of family violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and their dependents;

3. Provide for a national domestic violence hotline; and

4. Provide for technical assistance and training relating to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence programs to states and Indian tribes, local public agencies (including law enforcement agencies; courts, and legal, social service, and health care professionals), nonprofit private organizations (including faith-based and charitable organizations, community- based organizations, and voluntary associations), tribal organizations, and other persons seeking such assistance and training.

FVPSA is administered by the FVPSA program, located in FYSB, a division of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). FYSB administers mandatory FVPSA formula grants to the following: 1) states and territories, 2) tribes, and 3) state domestic violence coalitions. FVPSA grants are awarded to every state and territory, and over 200 tribes.

Funds awarded to states, territories, and tribes reach more than 1,600 local public, private, nonprofit, and faith-based organizations and programs demonstrating outcomes in the field of domestic violence services and prevention. These domestic violence programs provide victims of family, domestic, and dating violence, and their children with shelter, safety planning, crisis counseling, information and referral, legal advocacy, and additional support services.

Domestic Violence Resource Network (DVRN)

CSSIRC's will be a part of FYSB's Domestic Violence Resource Network (DVRN), a nationwide network composed of National Resource Centers, Special Issues Resource Centers, Culturally Specific Special Issue Resource Centers, and Emerging Issue Capacity Building Centers focused on the intervention and prevention of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence. The DVRN will provide information, resources, training, and technical assistance to improve the capacity of individuals, organizations, governmental agencies, local communities, Tribes, and tribal organizations, to prevent family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, and to provide evidence-based and evidence-informed intervention services. As part of the DVRN, the culturally specific special issue resource centers will work collaboratively to share their national expertise and deliver domestic violence and dating violence related training and technical assistance. While FYSB's culturally specific special issue resource center grant recipients are members of the DVRN, they will maintain independent governance of their own organizations, but will be required to share their expertise with other DVRN members, actively participate in the coordination of technical assistance, attend semi-annual DVRN meetings, and work collaboratively to develop resources as needed.

All DVRN resource centers are expected to conduct their activities in an accessible, linguistically appropriate, culturally responsive, and trauma informed manner and to proactively focus their activities to address racial inequities that exist for survivors of domestic violence, both within victim services and other systems related to the issue areas of the specific resource center. DVRN resource centers actively work to ensure access to services for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) and Two-Spirit survivors and their children, and to ensure that no person shall on the basis of actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or activity funded in whole or in part through FVPSA, in accordance with FVPSA regulations at 45 CFR part 1370 (a) and (c).

Culturally Specific Special Issue Resource Center (CSSIRC) Program Requirements Through this FOA and in accordance with FVPSA, U.S.C. 10410(a)(2)(A)(ii), (b)(2)(E), and (c)(3), the Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities for three CSSIRCs focused on the prevention and intervention of domestic violence and dating violence in three culturally specific racial/ethnic communities: African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and Latino/Latina. Applicants may demonstrate expertise in addressing domestic and dating violence within one of the three aforementioned culturally specific racial/ethnic communities listed. The three grant recipients will be required to provide national leadership on engaging underserved communities and will be required to share their expertise to provide a specific context for domestic violence as it relates to the ethnic, racial, cultural, faith-based, and linguistic diversity of victims of domestic violence and dating violence from traditionally underserved communities.

The three CSSIRCS will be required to pursue the following goals and objectives and to demonstrate their ability to achieve the same in their grant applications and work plans:

1. Deliver state-of-the-art nationwide training and technical assistance to enhance organizational capacity of domestic violence programs; state domestic violence coalitions;

FVPSA state administrators; Indian tribal governments; tribal organizations, federal, state and local government agencies; national, statewide, and local community-based organizations;

allied professionals; and other key stakeholders to provide culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate and accessible, trauma-informed, survivor-centered domestic violence and dating violence intervention and prevention services accessible to all victims and their children, including services that address lifetime exposure to violence; survivors from Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) communities; and other historically marginalized and underserved populations;

2. Raise and enhance the visibility of culturally specific domestic violence and dating violence intervention and prevention strategies, prevalence statistics, emerging issues, and special topics through the development and distribution of innovative resources and multi-media and multi-platform public awareness, social media, and marketing campaigns;

Prevention Definitions:

o Primary Prevention: Strategies, policies, and programs to stop both first-time perpetration and first-time victimization. Primary prevention is stopping domestic and dating violence before they occur. Primary prevention includes, but is not limited to school-based violence prevention curricula, programs aimed at mitigating the effects on children witnessing domestic or dating violence, community campaigns designed to alter norms and values conducive to domestic or dating violence, worksite prevention programs, and training and education in parenting skills and self-esteem enhancement.

o Secondary Prevention: Identifying risk factors or problems that may lead to future family, domestic, or dating violence, and taking the necessary actions to eliminate the risk factors and the potential problem, which may include, but are not limited to, healing services for children and youth who have been exposed to domestic or dating violence, home visiting programs for high-risk families, and screening programs in health care settings.

3. Support service innovation by identifying culturally specific evidence-based and evidence-informed practices for the prevention and intervention of domestic violence and dating violence and assist with the dissemination, promotion, adoption, and adaptation of such practices in the field;

4. Develop and enhance family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence intervention and prevention strategies by fostering culturally specific promising practices development and adaptation throughout the domestic violence field that includes nationwide training and technical assistance and the creation, collection, and dissemination of guidelines, materials, and other relevant resources, such as sample policies, protocols, forms and related procedures;

5. Engage public and private systems and institutions through policy development to create national, statewide, tribal, or local improvements in systemic responses to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, such as integrating culturally specific domestic violence policies and practices into home visitation and public housing programs; public health care clinics; school-based dating violence prevention programs; work force development initiatives;

and other public welfare programs to enhance accessibility for all victims and their families;

6. Address current and emerging issues related to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence through the provision of training and technical assistance that is comprehensive and national in scope. This includes service needs of girls/women of color; services for male victims; engaging faith communities; needs of elder victims; needs of LGBTQ victims; the co-occurrence of HIV and domestic violence; human trafficking; family/youth homelessness;

family self-sufficiency; social capital; child support; needs of children of all ages who witness violence; maternal health and maternal mortality; trauma-informed support for formerly incarcerated survivors; meeting the needs of survivors with substance use histories; the intersection of intimate partner violence, gun violence, and community violence prevention; and other topics identified as priorities by the program office;

7. Conduct or contribute to research related to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence prevention or intervention for culturally specific, traditionally underserved victims of domestic violence and dating violence and children exposed to domestic violence;

8. Work collaboratively with national, statewide, and local community-based domestic violence programs; state domestic violence coalitions; FVPSA state administrators, federal, state, and local government agencies; Indian tribal governments; tribal organizations; national, statewide, and local culturally specific organizations; LGBTQ organizations; and other entities involved in assisting survivors of domestic violence and dating violence to identify and respond to emerging issues, technical assistance requests, the adaptation of promising practices, and increasing service demands;

9. Implement periodic needs assessments of the domestic violence field and the culturally specific community to identify unmet training and technical assistance needs, including the identification of unaddressed or under-addressed topic areas and audience;

10. Participate actively in the coordination of nationwide technical assistance and training with the members of the DVRN and work collaboratively to develop resources as needed for the field;

11. Plan conferences, webinars, topical meetings, or major project meetings in consultation with FYSB to ensure participation of FYSB staff and facilitate at least two FYSB-sponsored webinars each budget period;

12. Provide virtual training to a range of audiences and audience sizes, including, but not limited to, securing the necessary technical tools/platforms and ensuring staff or consultant subject matter expertise on adult learning, instructional design, and learning management systems best practices;

13. Assist FYSB with technical and logistical support of grantee meetings and conferences, including providing insight from first-hand knowledge and experience that can inform planning, analysis, and implementation as related to identified training and technical assistance topics;

identifying meeting/conference venues; subcontracting with quality presenters; facilitators and consultants; working with stakeholders to develop an agenda, arranging travel; providing onsite support; and following up on conference evaluations; and

14. Plan travel expenses for at least one representative from each CSSIRC grantee organization to participate in two DVRN meetings and one FYSB-sponsored meeting each budget period.

CSSIRC Expectations

CSSIRC grantees are expected to use their expertise to provide a specific context for domestic violence as it relates to the ethnic, racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of victims of domestic violence and dating violence from traditionally underserved, culturally specific communities.

CSSIRC grantees are further expected to offer a comprehensive and national scope of training and technical assistance that is trauma-informed, culturally specific, linguistically relevant and responsive to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence intervention and prevention services. This technical assistance is also required to include experts and advisors from culturally specific communities, programs and research related to adult and youth victims of domestic violence and dating violence and children who are exposed to domestic violence.

CSSIRC grantees are expected to provide evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies and information that enhance the capacity of individuals, organizations, governmental agencies, and communities to intervene and prevent family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence.

Each CSSIRC grantee has statutory programmatic components and expectations that are required by 42 U.S.C. 10410. These statutory requirements are detailed throughout this announcement and must be addressed by all applicants.

CSSIRC grantees are expected to focus on enhancing the cultural and linguistic relevancy of service delivery; resource use; policy, research, and technical assistance; public awareness and community education; intervention; and prevention initiatives. CSSIRC grantees are expected to enhance prevention and intervention efforts for victims of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence who are members of culturally specific, and underserved racial and ethnic communities by building the capacity of domestic violence prevention and intervention programs to provide culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate services and coordinate outreach efforts to diverse communities.

By the end of the grant period, FVPSA-funded grantees are expected to have provided an array of training, expertise, problem-solving strategies and other forms of technical assistance to federal, state, and local governmental agencies; Indian tribes and tribal organizations; state domestic violence service coalitions; FVPSA state administrators; national, statewide, and local community-based organizations including culturally specific organizations and other key stakeholders related to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence intervention and prevention services for victims of dating violence, domestic violence and their children.

The CSSIRC grantees are expected to offer educational opportunities, conferences, peer-to-peer consultations, webinars, webcasts, e-learning modules, podcasts, and other forms of technical assistance that allow domestic violence programs, state domestic violence coalitions, tribes and tribal organizations, culturally specific community-based organizations, health, and social service agencies to learn from the CSSIRC grantees' expertise regarding family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence intervention and prevention.

Grantees are expected to share their expertise to lead practice improvements as well as organizational capacity building. Grantees are further expected to foster partnerships between organizations that have not traditionally worked together to address family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence, such as public institutions, faith-based organizations, culturally specific organizations, LGBTQ organizations, and community-based organizations. Grantees will lead or contribute to family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence intervention and prevention-related research that could include program evaluation, national research projects, drafting applied research papers, holding focus groups, conducting community assessments, and collaborating with a wide range of individuals and organizations leading domestic violence and dating violence-related research or evaluation.

Grantees are expected to have a communication plan and national dissemination strategy for sharing promising practices, research findings, project outcomes, and resources nationwide.

Grant products will be disseminated broadly, including posting on the grantee's website, the FYSB website, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) clearinghouse, and other platforms to reach a broad audience of individuals and communities addressing family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence prevention and intervention. CSSIRC grantees are expected to maintain the organizational capacity to implement the project, including relevant subject matter expertise (domestic violence and as needed for proposed projects); research and evaluation capacity; administrative capacity; project management capacity; national resource center leadership; and sufficient staffing to meet project goals and deliverables. Grantees shall maintain clear plans for maintaining organizational capacity and continuity of services during an emergency, disaster, and/or pandemic situations and transition of key project staff.

CSSIRC grantees must ensure that the grant approach, workplans, and deliverables are consistent with a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. Grantee will provide a comprehensive community equity plan (or other similar documentation within the application) that demonstrates the processes and policies the grantee has in place to ensure the proactive identification of systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved populations and strategic incorporation of activities to redress such barriers in ongoing workplans. This plan (or other similar documentation within the application) will also address policies and practices that are in place to ensure that the grant staffing plan supports the capacity to address those disparities in an ongoing, strategic, and culturally responsive manner, especially for particular underserved populations with documented history of long-standing significant disparities related to the topic of the grant.

o “Underserved” definition: For purposes of this FOA, “underserved population”, “underserved communities” or “people who have been historically underserved” should be read to be consistent with FVPSA statutory and regulatory definitions (at 42 U.S.

Code § 10402 (14) and 45 CFR part 1370.2). For reference, the definition at 45 CFR part 1370.2 is given here: “Underserved populations means populations who face barriers in accessing and using victim services, and includes populations underserved because of geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, underserved racial and ethnic populations, and populations underserved because of special needs including language barriers, disabilities, immigration status, and age. Individuals with criminal histories due to victimization and individuals with substance use disorders and mental health issues are also included in this definition. The reference to racial and ethnic populations is primarily directed toward racial and ethnic minority groups (as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300(u–6)(g)), which means American Indians (including Alaska Natives, Eskimos, and Aleuts); Asian American; Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders; Blacks and Hispanics. The term ‘‘Hispanic’’ or ‘‘Latino’’ means individuals whose origin is Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or any other Spanish speaking country. This underserved populations’ definition also includes other population categories determined by the Secretary [of Health and Human Services] or the Secretary’s designee to be underserved.

Grantees must ensure that the grant approach, workplans, and deliverables are consistent with prohibitions on discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation and proactively support access and redress barriers for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ) and Two-Spirit survivors and their children and that technical assistance and training in conducted in alignment with FVPSA regulations at 45 CFR part 1370 (a) and (c) requiring ensuring that no person shall on the basis of actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or activity funded in whole or in part through FVPSA Grantees must maintain up-to-date expertise on the needs of victims of domestic and dating violence within the identified culturally specific community, including conducting periodic needs assessments of the domestic violence field and special issue area systems in order to identify unmet training and technical assistance needs, including the identification of unaddressed or under-addressed topic areas and audiences. This shall include, but not be limited to, completion of a national needs assessment in the first 6 months of project year 1 and year 4.

Finally, as this is a cooperative agreement that will include substantial involvement from the FVPSA Program in FYSB, the applicants must actively partner with the FVPSA program officers in implementing the resource centers' deliverables. Grantees shall plan conferences, meetings, or major project meetings in conjunction with FYSB to allow participation of FYSB staff. Grantees shall plan to develop, review, and discuss a detailed plan for project implementation, a work-plan, a trainings/events schedule, an evaluation schedule, and a plan for reporting on the outcomes of the project. Applicants will need to plan to partner with FVPSA program officers in the planning, coordination, and implementation of meetings for FVPSA grantees. More information on how FYSB will be involved is included in Section II. Federal Award Information: Description of ACF's Anticipated Substantial Involvement Under the Cooperative Agreement.

Applicants must plan travel to participate in at least one FVPSA Program/FYSB meeting per budget period. Grantees must plan to assist FYSB with technical and logistical support of grantee meetings and conferences, including providing insight from first-hand knowledge and experience that can inform planning, analysis, and implementation as related to identified training and technical assistance topics; identifying meeting/conference venues; subcontracting with quality presenters; facilitators and consultants; working with stakeholders to develop an agenda; arranging travel; providing onsite support; and following up on conference evaluations.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement Estimated Total Funding: $2,250,000 Expected Number of Awards: 3 Award Ceiling: $1,000,000 Per Budget Period Award Floor: $500,000 Per Budget Period Average Projected Award Amount: $725,000 Per Budget Period Anticipated Project Start Date: 09/30/2021

Length of Project Periods:

Length of Project Period: 60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods

Additional Information on Awards:

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

Applications requesting an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period, or per project period, as stated in this section, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for the first 12-month budget period for projects with multiple budget periods. If the project and budget period are the same, the disqualification applies to the Award Ceiling listed for the project period. Please see Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Note: For those programs that require matching or cost sharing, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period or by project period for fully funded awards, even if the projected commitment exceeds the required amount of match or cost share. A recipient's failure to provide the required matching amount may result in the disallowance of federal funds. See Section III.2. of this announcement for information on cost-sharing or matching requirements.

Description of ACF's Anticipated Substantial Involvement Under the Cooperative Agreement

Applications for continuation grants funded under these awards beyond the 1-year period will be considered in subsequent years on a non-competitive basis, subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the grantee, review and approval of the project plan submitted in year one, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the Federal Government.

The grant award will be a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement is an award instrument used when substantial involvement is anticipated between the awarding office and the grantee during performance of the contemplated project. FYSB will collaborate with the grantee throughout the project period.

FYSB will provide consultation and will review and approve the work plan for the project, as well as the structure and integrity of the approved project as needed. FYSB will also approve any revisions to the work plan or structure of the approved project during each budget period.

Additionally, FYSB will approve significant project activities and changes to project plans.

FYSB will review and approve final drafts of all new or updated materials, articles, major publications, and research reports that are developed or distributed with resources made available under the cooperative agreement.

FYSB will be involved in the development of long-term strategies for the implementation of the project and will participate in major project activities, such as conferences, topical meetings, or major project meetings. As FYSB determines appropriate, FYSB will make changes to the grantee's detailed plan for project implementation including its work plan, trainings/events schedule, and evaluation schedule, in consultation with the grantee.

FYSB will organize periodic consultations, meetings, briefings, teleconferences, webinars, and other forums necessary to review current and planned activities, to share information, and to promote coordination. FYSB will keep the grantee informed about expectations for performance, current FYSB policy, and FYSB's vision for addressing domestic violence and dating violence.

FYSB does not anticipate substantial involvement in the grantee’s creation of data collection activities, such as those related to needs assessments, evaluations, and requests for feedback, and grantees are not expected to submit such data collection instruments for program office review and approval. In cases where FYSB is directly involved in the creation of data collection activities under this FOA, data collection will be conducted consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) and display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

To be eligible to receive a grant to establish or maintain a CSSIRC under 42 U.S.C. 10410, an entity shall be a private non-profit organization that focuses primarily on issues of domestic violence in a racial or ethnic community or a public or private non-profit educational institution that has a domestic violence institute, center, or program related to culturally specific issues in domestic violence and (i) has documented experience in the areas of domestic violence prevention and services and experience relevant to the specific racial or ethnic population to which information, training, technical assistance, and outreach would be provided under the grant; (ii) demonstrates the strong support of advocates across the nation who are working to address domestic violence; (iii) has a record of demonstrated success in enhancing the cultural and linguistic relevancy of service delivery.

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 this part and 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., the Department will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization’s religious character, affiliation, or exercise.

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

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 of the criteria listed in 45 CFR § 75.306.

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

For awards that do not require matching or cost sharing by statute, where “cost sharing” refers to any situation in which the recipient voluntarily shares in the costs of a project other than as statutorily required matching, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period, or by project period for fully funded awards. These include situations in which contributions are voluntarily proposed by a recipient or subrecipient and are accepted by ACF.

Non-federal cost sharing will be included in the approved project budget so that the recipient will be held accountable for proposed non-federal cost-sharing funds as shown in the Notice of Award (NOA). A recipient’s failure to provide voluntary cost sharing of non-federal resources that have been accepted by ACF as part of the approved project costs and that have been shown as part of the approved project budget in the NOA, may result in the disallowance of federal funds. Recipients will be required to report these funds in the Federal Financial Reports.

III.3. Other

Application Disqualification Factors Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.

Award Ceiling Disqualification Applications that request an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period or per project period ("per project period" refers only to fully funded awards), as stated in Section II. Federal Award Information, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for 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 www.Grants.gov. Paper applications received from applicants that have not been approved for an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.

Applicants that do not have an Internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents to the Internet may contact ACF for an exemption that will allow the applicant to submit applications in paper format. Information and the requirements for requesting an exemption from required electronic application submission are found in "ACF Policy for Requesting an Exemption from Electronic Application Submission" at www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto#chapter-6.

Missing the Application Deadline (Late Applications) The deadline for electronic application submission is 11:59 p.m., ET, on the due date listed in the Overview and in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times. Electronic applications submitted to www.Grants.gov after 11:59 p.m., ET, on the due date, as indicated by a dated and time-stamped email from www.Grants.gov, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement. That is, applications submitted to www.Grants.gov, on or after 12:00 a.m., ET, on the day after the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.

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

Each time an application is submitted via www.Grants.gov, the submission will generate a new date and time-stamp email notification. Only those applications with on-time date and time stamps that result in a validated application, which is transmitted to ACF, will be acknowledged.

The deadline for receipt of paper applications is 4:30 p.m., ET, on the due date listed in the Overview and in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times. Paper applications received after 4:30 p.m., ET, on the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement. Paper applications received from applicants that have not received approval of an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.

Notification of Application Disqualification Applicants will be notified of a disqualification determination by email or by USPS postal mail https://www.grants.gov https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto#chapter-6 https://www.Grants.gov https://www.Grants.gov https://www.Grants.gov https://www.Grants.gov https://www.Grants.gov within 30 federal business days from the closing date of this FOA.

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address to Request Application Package

Family and Youth Services Bureau Operations Center c/o F2-Solutions Attn: Family Violence Prevention and Services Program Funding 1401 Mercantile Lane Suite 410 Largo, MD 20774 Phone: (855) 792-6551 Email: TechAssist@FYSB.net

Electronic Application Submission:

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

Applications in Paper Format:

For applicants that have received an exemption to submit applications in paper format, Standard Forms, assurances, and certifications are available in the "Select Grant Opportunity Package" available in the FOA's Grants.gov Synopsis under the Package tab at www.Grants.gov. See Section IV.2. Request an Exemption from Required Electronic Application Submission if applicants do not have an Internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents (files) to www.Grants.gov.

Federal Relay Service:

Hearing-impaired and speech-impaired callers may contact the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) for assistance at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay.

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

FORMATTING APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

Each applicant applying electronically via www.Grants.gov is required to upload only two electronic files, excluding Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms. No more than two files will be accepted for the review, and additional files will be removed. Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms will not be considered additional files.

FOR ALL APPLICATIONS:

Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) AOR is the designated representative of the applicant/recipient organization with authority to act on the organization’s behalf in matters related to the award and administration of grants. In signing a grant application, this individual agrees that the organization will assume the obligations imposed by applicable Federal statutes and regulations and other terms and mailto:TechAssist@FYSB.net https://www.Grants.gov https://www.Grants.gov https://www.grants.gov http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay https://www.grants.gov/ conditions of the award, including any assurances, if a grant is awarded.

Point of Contact In addition to the AOR, a point of contact on matters involving the application must also be identified. The point of contact, known as the Project Director or Principal Investigator, should not be identical to the person identified as the AOR. The point of contact must be available to answer any questions pertaining to the application.

Application Checklist Applicants may refer to Section VIII. Other Information for a checklist of application requirements that may be used in developing and organizing application materials.

Accepted Font Style Applications must be in Times New Roman (TNR), 12-point font, except for footnotes, which may be TNR 10-point font. Pages that contain blurred text, or text that is too small to read comfortably, will be removed.

English Language Applications must be submitted in the English language and must be in the terms of United States (U.S.) dollars. If applications are submitted using another currency, ACF will convert the foreign currency to U.S. currency using the date of receipt of the application to determine the rate of exchange.

Page Limitations Applicants must observe the page limitation(s) listed under "PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:". Page limitation(s) do not include SFs and OMB-approved forms.

All applications must be double-spaced. An application that exceeds the cited page limitation for double-spaced pages in the Project Description file or the Appendices file will have extra pages removed and those pages will not be reviewed.

Application Elements Exempted from Double-Spacing Requirements The following elements of the application submission are exempt from the double-spacing requirements and may be single-spaced: the table of contents, the one-page Project Summary, required Assurances and Certifications, required SFs, required OMB-approved forms, resumes, logic models, proof of legal status/non-profit status, third-party agreements, letters of support, footnotes, tables, the line-item budget and/or the budget justification.

Adherence to FOA Formatting, Font, and Page Limitation Requirements Applications that fail to adhere to ACF’s FOA formatting, font, and page limitation requirements will be adjusted by the removal of page(s) from the application. Pages will be removed before the objective review. The removed page(s) will not be made available to reviewers.

Applications that have more than one scanned page of a document on a single page will have the page(s) removed from the review.

For applicants that submit paper applications, double-sided pages will be counted as two pages.

When the maximum allowed number of pages is reached, excess pages will be removed and will not be made available to reviewers.

NOTE: Applicants failing to adhere to ACF’s FOA formatting, font, and page limitation requirements will receive a letter from ACF notifying them that their application was amended.

The letter will be sent after awards have been issued and will specify the reason(s) for removal of page(s).

Corrections/Updates to Submitted Applications When applicants make revisions to a previously submitted application, ACF will accept only the last on-time application for pre-review under the Application Disqualification Factors. The Application Disqualification Factors determine the application's acceptance for competitive review. See Section III.3. Application Disqualification Factors and Section IV.2. Application Submission Options.

Copies Required Applicants must submit one complete copy of the application package electronically. Applicants submitting electronic applications need not provide additional copies of their application package.

Applicants submitting applications in paper format must submit one original and two copies of the complete application, including all Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms. The original copy must have original signatures.

Signatures Applicants submitting electronic applications must follow the registration and application submission instructions provided at www.Grants.gov.

The original of a paper format application must include original signatures of the authorized representatives.

Accepted Application Format With the exception of the required Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved forms, all application materials must be formatted so that they are 8 ½" x 11" white paper with 1-inch margins all around.

If possible, applicants are encouraged to include page numbers for each page within the application.

ACF generally does not encourage submission of scanned documents as they tend to have reduced clarity and readability. If documents must be scanned, the font size on any scanned documents must be large enough so that it is readable. Documents must be scanned page-for-page, meaning that applicants may not scan more than one page of a document onto a single page. Pages with blurred text will be removed from the application.

PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:

The Project Description (File One) must be no more than 50 pages and include the following:

1. Table of Contents

2. Project Summary/Abstract (one page)

3. Objectives and Need for Assistance

4. Expected Outcomes

5. Approach

6. Logic Model

7. Program Performance and Evaluation Plan

8. Organizational Profile

9. Dissemination Plan

10. Protection of Sensitive and/or Confidential Information

11. Budget and Budget Justification

The Appendices (File Two) must be no more than 50 pages and include the following:

1. Staff Position Information (e.g., resumes of key staff, job descriptions, organizational chart)

2. List of Board of Directors or other governing body members (as applicable)

3. Third-Party Agreements/Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) (as applicable)

4. Letters of Support

5. Certifications and Assurances

6. LGBTQ Accessibility Policy

7. Proof of Legal Status

8. Indirect Cost Rate Letter (as applicable)

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Applicants are required to submit their applications electronically unless they have requested and 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 www.Grants.gov. ACF will not accept applications submitted via email or via facsimile.

Each applicant is required to upload ONLY two electronic files, excluding SFs and OMB-approved forms.

File One: Must contain the entire Project Description, and the Budget and Budget Justification (including a line-item budget and a budget narrative).

File Two: Must contain all documents required in the Appendices.

Adherence to the Two-File Requirement No more than two files will be accepted for the review. Applications with additional files will be amended and files will be removed from the review. SFs and OMB-approved forms will not be considered additional files.

Application Upload Requirements ACF strongly recommends that electronic applications be uploaded as Portable Document Files (PDFs). One file must contain the entire Project Description and Budget Justification; the other file must contain all documents required in the Appendices. Details on the content of each of the two files, as well as page limitations, are listed earlier in this section.

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

Applicants must ensure that the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader they are using is compatible with Grants.gov. To verify Adobe software compatibility please go to Grants.gov and click on “Applicants” at the top bar menu and select “Adobe Software Compatibility", which is listed under "Applicant Resources." The…