HHS-2021-ACF-OPRE-PD-1915.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Human Services Interoperability Innovations

HHS-2021-ACF-OPRE-PD-1915

Application Due Date: 09/01/2021

Human Services Interoperability Innovations

HHS-2021-ACF-OPRE-PD-1915

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: Human Services Interoperability

Innovations Announcement Type: Initial Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2021-ACF-OPRE-PD-1915 Primary CFDA Number: 93.647 Due Date for Letter of Intent: 08/02/2021 Due Date for Applications: 09/01/2021

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 Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announces the availability of funds for the ACF Human Services Interoperability Innovations demonstration program. This demonstration program is intended to expand data sharing efforts by state, local, and tribal governments to improve human services program delivery, and to identify novel data sharing approaches that can be replicated in other jurisdictions.

This cooperative agreement will focus on addressing longstanding barriers to interoperability, including technology, business, legal, organizational, and process-oriented factors. Results will be disseminated to inform future efforts and facilitate replication of promising practices.

I. Program Description

Statutory Authority Title XI, Part A, section 1110 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1310).

Description

BACKGROUND

Human services professionals are called upon to help the most vulnerable in society - children, individuals, and families who are in need – overcome the challenges they face and achieve self-http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto sufficiency. Doing so requires information, or data, in order to make informed decisions regarding care, placement, and benefits. While individual programs collect data relevant to the administration of that program, there are numerous instances where access to additional information would be beneficial to the client as well as service providers. Frequently, the data programs need are available, but from an external source, so the question becomes one of how to access the data in a repeatable, automated manner. Even when the benefits of data sharing are clear, the factors that inhibit sharing can be difficult to overcome.

While data sharing may lead to positive outcomes for programs and clients, it is not a panacea.

It is important to put data sharing in context as a tool whose success depends greatly on how it is utilized. Frequently cited benefits of data sharing include the following:

• Informed decision making

• Avoiding duplicate data collection

• Improved accuracy and data quality

• Reduced system integration costs

• Bolster protection of sensitive data The ability to share or exchange data is often described by the term interoperability, which includes the technology, business, legal, organizational, and process-oriented factors that can enable or inhibit the sharing of data.

ACF at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognizes that enhanced interoperability for effective data sharing is necessary to achieve large scale operational efficiencies and to address the holistic needs and improve outcomes for those we serve.

While it is tempting to view interoperability as primarily a technology issue, technology factors alone are not sufficient to address the data needs of programs and clients. A more holistic approach requires alignment of legal, policy, and business practices, which all influence potential technical solutions. Inconsistent rules for data access, for example, can inhibit sharing just as much as differences in software. Whatever the barriers to data sharing, they must be identified, understood, and addressed collectively, and this often requires working across programmatic lines.

The ACF Interoperability Initiative was created in response to the growing needs expressed across the human services community and provided coordination of effort across ACF program offices. The initiative has developed numerous products to accelerate interoperability efforts at all levels of government, including the ACF Confidentiality Toolkit, National Human Services Interoperability Architecture, and the Cost Allocation Methodology (CAM) Toolkit. This has also been the proving ground through which ACF explored the potential of data standards and leveraging existing, government-wide, best practices such as the National Information Exchange Model, and Health Level 7 International (HL7).

Interoperability, or the ability to integrate and share data, is an essential element in the delivery of effective human service programs. This approach represents a starting point for achieving an integrated human services ecosystem and will evolve as we learn and grow. This effort will succeed, only if ACF, and the grantee work collectively to achieve it, and ACF stands ready to do our part to help make this vision a reality.

HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) has been adopted widely in the healthcare space, and now ACF plans to bring this capability to the Human Services domain.

FHIR has brought unprecedented capabilities to the development of applications. Building on an HL7 FHIR infrastructure creates opportunities that have yet to be imagined. These opportunities facilitate creating ecosystems that will benefit human services for decades to come.

Other benefits accrue by using the FHIR standard, which includes security using the authorization framework OAuth2, making applications and application components secure.

Using FHIR resources, applications and application components necessary to build new human services applications can be implemented in significantly less time. This has been proven by constructing an application and Smart on FHIR infrastructure that provides care coordination and connected to Smart on FHIR (SoF) application components for assessment, consent, medical, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Blue Button 2.0 claims data, Data Analysis and Data Visualization. FHIR is the first data standard that can be used to build standards-based applications. Although, FHIR to-date has been used primarily for healthcare applications, there are many FHIR resources that would be reused for Human Services applications. The HL7 work group called Gravity, has begun work on defining social determinants of health (SDoH), and is beginning to work on new human services determinants, such as violence, and others.

More information on these and other resources can be found here:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/about/interoperability https://www.hl7.org.

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PURPOSE

ACF and OPRE are actively working to implement and expand information sharing across programs and levels of government in a manner that meets human services business needs, minimizes cost and complexity, maximizes reuse of promising practices, and complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

The technologies that support human services programs and systems are evolving rapidly.

Therefore, it is critical to continually seek new opportunities to elevate the "state of the art" with respect to human services data collection, sharing, and analysis. This grant program is largely a response to the needs identified through ACF’s interoperability efforts and seeks to identify promising practices to common or longstanding challenges that will serve as models for reuse and advancement.

All Interoperability Innovations grantees will address an interoperability issue.

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

This section describes OPRE's expectations for projects funded under this grant program.

1. Solve a Data Interoperability Issue for Human Services Interoperability Innovations grantees will address specific and defined local community data interoperability need for human services. For the purposes of this announcement, "local" refers to a state, county, municipal, or tribal jurisdiction. The overall issues identified in interoperability may be large in scope and have long-term goals, but the Interoperability https://www.acf.hhs.gov/about/interoperability https://www.hl7.org

Innovations grants will address some portion of the larger problem that is achievable within the scope of the grant program funding and time line. Focus areas for the projects may be longstanding barriers to interoperability, such as privacy, security, and legal issues with the emphasis on addressing local data needs and priorities. Projects will establish new data exchanges and/or new data use practices that demonstrate an outcome that can be measured.

Each project will identify and gather metrics before and after implementation of the innovation(s), to examine performance and identify areas for continued quality improvement.

Although it is likely that a portion of each project will involve technology development or procurement to enhance data capacity and address identified needs, each project funded under the Interoperability Innovations demonstration program will include a substantial focus on improving the contextual features that may serve as barrier. Each project will also examine improvement in the context of the innovation, and improve chances for success through identifying, renovating, or removing barriers to effective implementation (e.g., assessing and addressing business, legal, organizational, and process-oriented challenges).

Some examples include automating business processes that rely on real-time data exchange;

developing multi-agency rules engines; or integrating identity and access management functionality across multiple programs and jurisdictions. These capabilities are provided as examples only, as there are a broad range of local data needs that can be addressed through interoperability improvements.

2. New or Novel Implementation Approach Projects under this demonstration program are not expected to continue or expand existing efforts, but to design and implement novel and innovative approaches that result in meaningful change in systems’ effectiveness. For example, creation of a new regional data management partnership that involves a multi-lateral data sharing agreement could be considered a novel approach; adding a new organization to an existing partnership would be less so. The project will focus on building new interoperability and data sharing infrastructure and practices, rather than supporting operations and maintenance (O&M) for existing efforts.

Grantees will use a FHIR infrastructure implementation readiness, that will launch Smart on FHIR application components using OAuth2. All grantees will be implementation ready, and begin with a FHIR infrastructure in a pre-production, or production user environment. The application developed will support the use of the HL7 FHIR Care Plan, and human and health services for children and families with low income.

Funded innovations should build on the current body of knowledge of human services interoperability and expand available solutions and resources for the human service community.

To the extent possible, these projects are expected to enhance the “state of the art” for data interoperability in human services. While a major goal is sharing promising practices with other jurisdictions, projects will also demonstrate readiness to sustain and incorporate innovative solutions into their business practices.

3. Promising Practices, Replication, and Dissemination The Interoperability Innovations funding will support projects that provide replicable solutions that may be adoptable in other programs, organizations, and jurisdictions. Each project will identify and develop tools or products that will disseminate information about their efforts.

These products will be developed in partnership with OPRE, their fellow grantees, and the interoperability support team.

For example, reuse of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) template or the use of the Trusted Exchange Framework Common Agreement (TEFCA), could speed the creation of data sharing partnerships elsewhere; or the use of a standard such as HL7 FHIR for data exchange might pave the way for nationwide adoption of common data definitions and structures. The use of a HL7 FHIR infrastructure, with Smart on FHIR applications would be highly desired to be used in proposals to this FOA. These are only possible examples of the products or practices that may be useful to human services more broadly.

4. Implementation Ready and Cost Efficient Each project will be expected to begin very quickly after award. To the extent practical, Interoperability Innovations projects should be "implementation ready," meaning the substantive project work can begin on or close to the award date.

In addition, Interoperability Innovation projects will be cost-effective and efficient, designing and implementing innovations that result in measurable differences in human services data systems for manageable costs. Projects should result in "promising practices" that can be implemented by other jurisdictions, agencies, or organizations with a reasonable investment.

5. Collaboration with OPRE and Other Grantees In addition to direct financial support, technical assistance (TA) will be available from OPRE, which will also coordinate with existing program-specific TA centers to promote project success. In order to help meet grant program objectives, grantees will be eligible to receive TA that may include feedback on project design, implementation guidance from experts with experience in integrated systems, guidance on legal or policy requirements pertaining to data sharing, or other support identified in the course of the work. TA is not a replacement for the hard work of the grantee, but it is an additional layer of support to help projects stay on target and disseminate effectively. Shortly after award, OPRE and grantee will meet and discuss potential needs for technical support of the funded activities.

OPRE anticipates frequent contact with awardees in support of the cooperative agreement structure of these awards. Grantees should inform the project officer of obstacles and barriers as they arise over the course of the project. See Section VI.3 Reporting.

Grantees who have proposed activities of similar or overlapping scope will be supported in peer-collaboration activities, such as regular remote meetings. Grantees will participate in opportunities for collaboration with federal partners and peer groups throughout the award period.

6. Travel Grantees will attend, at minimum, one 2-day meeting in Washington, DC, and one 3-day trip to a regional/national conference of relevance to the funded activities. Each grantee will host a single 2-day federal site visit at the grantee location with logistics to be determined post-award.

If COVID-19 continues to restrict travel, then remote meetings may replace physical travel. The grantee should budget for both options, since it is unclear at this time, what travel restrictions, if any, will be in place.

Grantees should plan to send individuals to the Washington, DC, national grantee meeting and one other to either the regional or national meeting.

Grantees should plan to send the Program Manager, the Project Manager, and one or two team members.

7. Partnerships As appropriate Interoperability Innovation grantees will collaborate for effective data sharing and integration efforts with previously established partners (e.g., organizations, agencies, or institutions). Given the short time period of the project the project will benefit from partnerships developed prior to application. Partnership agreements are established through a variety of methods (e.g., MOUs, letters of agreement, subcontracts, sub-awards, etc.).

8. Sub-awards If the grantee decides that sub-awards are the appropriate method for establishing such an agreement, there are several additional restrictions and regulations that apply. If the primary recipients have not secured sub-recipients by the time of the award, they must do so within 90 days from the start of the project, unless specified otherwise, and they must notify ACF when the sub-recipients are known.

Sub-awards may be provided to entities that will effectively support the primary grantee in their proposed funded activities. When using a sub-award mechanism, sub-recipients must meet the same eligibility requirements as the grantee organization did for funding under this FOA. See Section III.1. Eligible Applicants for more information. Additionally, all sub-recipients must obtain a DUNS number if they do not have one already, and they must have an active registration with SAM. See Section IV.3. Unique Entity Identify and System for Award Management (SAM).

Sub-awards must generally be awarded competitively and the role of each sub-recipient must be well-defined, with clear delineation of responsibilities that are distinct from those of other sub-recipients or the primary recipient. The sub-award agreement should clearly define milestones, progress markers and reporting requirements, and the potential for discontinuation of the sub-award if these are not satisfactorily met. The primary grantee must conduct a risk assessment for each potential sub-recipient.

Accountability for project performance will reside with the primary award recipient, who will bear the responsibility of managing and coordinating the performance of any sub-recipient(s).

The primary recipient shall remain responsible for budget and progress reporting to ACF regarding the federally funded activities (including expenditures by the sub-awardee). Primary award recipients that issue sub-awards must, at a minimum, abide by 45 CFR § 75.351 - 75.353.

If a sub-recipient should be deficient or ineffective in their effort, the primary grantee shall consult with OPRE project officer and identify alternative plans for meeting project goals and objectives. If goals and objectives cannot be met within the scope of the original proposal, the funding for the primary recipient may be terminated.

Each sub-award identified by the grantee must advance the proposal’s goals and objectives, and must be relevant, cost effective, and efficient. The primary grantee may not sub-award more than 75 percent of their funds to sub-recipient(s). Any requirements pertaining to cost sharing/matching and funding restrictions (see Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions) also apply to funds provided to sub-recipients.

If the sub-award mechanism is utilized, recipients may be required to report under the Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act. See: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/award-term-for-federal-financial-accountability-and-transparency.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement Estimated Total Funding: $1,200,000 Expected Number of Awards: 3 Award Ceiling: $600,000 Per Project Period Award Floor: $200,000 Per Project Period Average Projected Award Amount: $400,000 Per Project Period Anticipated Project Start Date: 11/15/2021

Length of Project Periods:

Length of Project Period: 18-month project period and budget period The project and budget period for this Cooperative Agreement is 18 months.

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.

The Cooperative Agreement is fully funded at the time of the award.

Since the cost sharing amount is not part of the federal share, it does not factor into the Award Ceiling for the purposes of Award Ceiling Disqualification.

Indirect Costs are included in the Award Ceiling and are taken into consideration under the Award Ceiling disqualification factor in Section III.3. Other.

Additionally, for more information regarding “Indirect Cost Rates” please see Section IV.2. The https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/award-term-for-federal-financial-accountability-and-transparency https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/award-term-for-federal-financial-accountability-and-transparency

Project Description, The Project Budget and Budget Justification, Indirect Charges.

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

Under this cooperative agreement, substantial involvement and communication is anticipated between ACF and the grantee throughout the duration of the funded project. ACF/OPRE staff will collaborate with the recipient of funds regarding the roles and responsibilities outlined in this announcement, prior to finalizing the cooperative agreement.

OPRE’s role in this collaboration includes, but is not limited to, the following: 1) ensure program requirements are met, in particular those pertaining to promising practices and reuse;

2) provide assistance in defining data exchange requirements and implementation of relevant standards; 3) enable open communication with relevant national experts; 4) help disseminate results and promote replication; and 5) provide oversight and monitoring to ensure project success.

OPRE will monitor the grantee, providing guidance and TA when necessary, and will work collaboratively with the grantee to facilitate accomplishment of project goals. OPRE will facilitate collaboration and coordination with other ACF-sponsored grantees and ACF program offices as needed.

OPRE will have limited TA available to support grantee implementation, and ensure that deliverables supporting development of best practices or project replication are being adequately addressed. For example, OPRE can offer expertise in data sharing, data standards, privacy and confidentiality, security, data analytics, and research/evaluation. Grantees should anticipate discussions with OPRE shortly after award to review any technical support needs and clarify any remaining questions regarding project scope or objectives.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

According to statute, grants and cooperative agreements may be made to states and public and other organizations and agencies.

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: Yes Grantees are required to meet a non-federal share of the project cost, in accordance with the Social Security Act Section 1110(a)(1)(A).

Grantees must provide at least 1 percent of the total approved cost of the project. The total approved cost of the project is the sum of the ACF (federal) share and the non-federal share.

The non-federal share may be met by cash or in-kind contributions, although applicants are encouraged to meet their match requirements through cash contributions. For example, in order to meet the match requirements, a project requesting $600,000.00 in ACF (federal) funds must provide a non-federal share of the approved total project cost of at least $6,061.00 , which is 1 percent of total approved project cost of $606,061.00 .

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.

Applicants must provide a cost sharing amount in the application's Budget and Budget Justification. Since the cost sharing amount is not part of the federal share, it does not factor into the Award Ceiling for the purposes of Award Ceiling Disqualification.

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 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 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 within 30 federal business days from the closing date of this FOA.

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address to Request Application Package

OPRE Review Team Administration for Children and Families 330 C Street, SW.

Washington, DC 20201 Phone: (202) 565-0181 Email: kenneth.salyards@acf.hhs.gov

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 mailto:kenneth.salyards@acf.hhs.gov https://www.Grants.gov https://www.Grants.gov https://www.grants.gov http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay

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 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 https://www.grants.gov/ 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:

Page Limits and Numbering Applicants must submit no more than two files:

File 1: Project Narrative and Budget Justification.

File 2: Other Attachments.

Page Limit Requirement: In combination, the files cannot exceed 100 pages. Extra pages will be removed and not included in the review.

As described earlier in this Section, the required SF and OMB-approved forms are not counted in the page limit. Applicants are reminded to include all required forms and materials.

Writing Style The proposal should be consistent with the format and style guidelines of the current Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Organization of Application OPRE recommends applicants organize their submissions based on the outline below, which will improve clarity and consistency across applications. Applicants are strongly advised to use headings and subheadings that correspond to the required information, application sections, and evaluation criteria. Sections should be carefully labeled to ease reviewers' identification of information relevant to the application review criteria. References and project timelines must be included in the Project Narrative section.

File 1: Project Narrative and Budget Justification

1. Table of Contents

2. Project Summary

3. Objectives / Need for Assistance

4. Approach / Project Plan

5. Project Timeline and Milestones

6. Organizational Capacity and Staffing Plan

7. Program Performance Evaluation Plan

8. Dissemination Plan

9. Project Sustainability Plan

10. Plan for Oversight of Federal Award Funds and Activities

11. Budget and Budget Narrative (Justification)

File 2: Other Attachments (as applicable)

1. Organizational Capacity

2. Letters of Support or Commitment

3. Third Party Agreements (e.g., MOU, etc.)

4. Data Governance Documents

5. Logic Model (required, but may be included in the narrative)

6. Legal Status of Applicant Entity

7. Plan for Protection of Sensitive and/or Confidential Information

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 Adobe verification process allows applicants to test their version of the software by opening a test Workspace PDF form. Grants.gov also includes guidance on how to download a supported version of Adobe, as well as troubleshooting instructions for use, if an applicant is unable to open the test form.

The Adobe Software Compatibility page located on Grants.gov also provides guidance for applicants on filling out a Workspace PDF form. In addition, it addresses local network and/or computer security settings and the impact this has on use of Adobe software.

Required Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved Forms Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved forms, such as the SF-424 application and budget forms and the SF-P/PSL (Project/Performance Site Location), are uploaded separately at Grants.gov. These forms are submitted separately from the Project Description and Appendices files. See Section IV.2. Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications for the listing of required Standard Forms, OMB-approved forms, and required assurances and certifications.

Naming Application Submission Files Carefully observe the file naming conventions required by www.Grants.gov. Limit file names to 50 characters (characters and spaces). Special characters that are allowed under Grants.gov’s naming conventions, and are accommodated by ACF’s systems, are listed in the instructions available in the "Select Grant Opportunity Package" at Grants.gov. Please also see https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/submitting-utf-8-special-characters.html.

Use only file formats supported by ACF It is critical that applicants submit applications using only the supported file formats listed here.

While ACF supports all of the following file formats, we strongly recommend that the two application submission files (Project Description and Appendices) are uploaded as PDF documents in order to comply with the two file upload limitation. Documents in file formats that are not supported by ACF will be removed from the application and will not be used in the competitive review. This may make the application incomplete and ACF will not make any awards based on an incomplete application.

ACF supports the following file formats:

Adobe PDF – Portable Document Format (.pdf) Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) Microsoft Excel (.xls or .xlsx) Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt) https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/submitting-utf-8-special-characters.html

Image Formats (.JPG, .GIF, .TIFF, or .BMP only)

Do Not Encrypt or Password-Protect the Electronic Application Files If ACF cannot access submitted electronic files because they are encrypted or password protected, the affected file will be removed from the application and will not be reviewed. This removal may make the application incomplete and ACF will not make awards based on an incomplete application.

FORMATTING FOR PAPER APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS:

The following requirements are only applicable to applications submitted in paper format.

Applicants must receive an exemption from ACF in order for a paper format application to be accepted for review. For more information on the exemption, see "ACF Policy on Requesting an Exemption from Required Electronic Application Submission'" at www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/ howto#chapter-6

Format Requirements for Paper Applications All copies of mailed or hand-delivered paper applications must be submitted in a single package. If an applicant is submitting multiple applications under a single FOA, or multiple applications under separate FOAs, each application submission must be packaged separately.

The package(s) must be clearly labeled for the specific FOA it addresses by FOA title and by Funding Opportunity Number (FON).

Applicants using paper format should download the application forms package associated with the FOA's Synopsis on www.Grants.gov under the Package tab.

Because each application will be duplicated, do not use or include separate covers, binders, clips, tabs, plastic inserts, maps, brochures, or any other items that cannot be processed easily on a photocopy machine with an automatic feed. Do not bind, clip, staple, or fasten in any way separate sections of the application. Applicants are advised that the copies of the application submitted, not the original, will be reproduced by the federal government for review. All application materials must be one-sided for duplication purposes. All pages in the application submission must be sequentially numbered.

Addresses for Submission of Paper Applications See Section IV.7. Other Submission Requirements for addresses for paper format application submissions.

Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications

Applicants seeking grant or cooperative agreement awards under this announcement must submit the listed Standard Forms (SFs), assurances, and certifications with the application. All required Standard Forms, assurances, and certifications are available in the Application Package posted for this FOA at www.Grants.gov.

Forms / Assurances Submission Requirement Notes / Description https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto#chapter-6 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto#chapter-6 https://www.grants.gov

/ Certifications

SF-424A - Budget Information - Non- Construction Programs and SF- 424B - Assurances - Non- Construction Programs

Submission is required for all applicants when applying for a non-construction project.

Standard Forms must be used.

Forms must be submitted by the application due date.

By signing and submitting the SF-424B, applicants are making the appropriate certification of their compliance with all federal statutes relating to nondiscrimination.

Required for all applications when applying for a non-construction project.

SF-424 -

Application for Federal Assistance

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Required for all applications.

SF-

Project/Performance Site Location(s)

(SF-P/PSL)

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Required for all applications. In the SF- P/PSL, applicants must cite their primary location and up to 29 additional performance sites.

Certification Regarding Lobbying (Grants.gov Lobbying Form)

Submission required of all applicants with the application package. If it is not submitted with the application package, it must be submitted prior to the award of a grant.

Submission of the certification is required for all applicants.

SF-LLL - Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

If submission of this form is applicable, it is due at the time of application. If it is not available at the time of application, it may also be submitted prior to the award of a grant.

If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a member of Congress in connection with this commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, the applicant shall complete and submit the SF-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying," in accordance with its instructions.

SF-424 Key Contact Form

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Required for all applications.

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