HHS-2022-ACF-ACYF-CO-0095 modification for publication.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families - Children's Bureau

AdoptUSKids

HHS-2022-ACF-ACYF-CO-0095

Application Due Date: 06/27/2022

Table of Contents Executive Summary

I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

III.3. Other

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address to Request Application Package

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications

The Project Description

The Project Budget and Budget Justification

Application Submission Options

IV.3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)

IV.4. Submission Dates and Times

Explanation of Due Dates

Acknowledgement of Received Application

IV.5. Intergovernmental Review

IV.6. Funding Restrictions

IV.7. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

V.1. Criteria

V.2. Review and Selection Process

V.3. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VI.1. Federal Award Notices

VI.2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

VI.3. Reporting

VII. HHS Award Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

Reference Websites

Application Checklist

Funding Opportunity Title:

AdoptUSKids Announcement Type:

Modification Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2022-ACF-ACYF-CO-0095

Primary CFDA Number:

93.652 Due Date for Applications:

06/27/2022 Executive Summary Notice:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) carefully and observe the application formatting requirements listed in Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission. For more information on applying for grants, please visit "How to Apply for a Grant" on the ACF Grants & Funding Page at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant.

NOTE: This Notice of Funding Opportunity has ben modified in the following places:

1. Section II Federal Award Information has been modified to indicate that the Average Projected Award Amount is $6,900,000 per budget period and

2. A sentence later in the same section has been modified to read "In each subsequent budget period (years 2 - 5), the maximum federal share of the project is not to exceed $6,900,000."

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to establish, by awarding a cooperative agreement, a multi-faceted national AdoptUSKids project designed to assist states, tribes, and territories (STTs) in the recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents for children in public foster care. The AdoptUSKids project will encompass the following components:

1. National Adoption Internet Photolisting Service: Maintain and manage the National Adoption Internet Photolisting Website (www.AdoptUSKids.org) and coordinate with all STTs for the listing of their eligible children/youth, while incorporating best practices and quality improvement standards in photolisting;

2. National Adoption Recruitment Campaign: Plan, develop, and implement the Children's Bureau's (CB) multimedia National Adoption Recruitment Campaign and a corresponding Recruitment Response Support Initiative intended to reach and inspire adult Americans to adopt by offering important, accurate information about the foster care system and the adoption process;

3. National Adoption and Foster Care Information Exchange System: Maintain a National Adoption and Foster Care Information Exchange System that raises public awareness and assists STTs in recruiting foster and adoptive parents for children in foster care;

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

4. Adoptive and Foster Family Support Activities: Develop and disseminate information, strategies, and effective or evidence-based models for the implementation of adoptive and foster family support activities for STTs. Develop and disseminate information on innovative approaches for creating communities of practice, peer-to-peer technical assistance, and leadership training to enhance and support adoptive and foster family support groups;

5. Capacity Building Services for Diligent Recruitment and Retention of Foster/Adoptive Families: Provide constituency services and universal product development and dissemination to STTs across the nation to assist in building agency capacity for the diligent recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families, primarily focused on models of best practices related to photolisting, diligent recruitment, recruitment media, customer service and adoptive and foster family support activities;

and

6. Minority Professional Leadership Development (MLPD) in the Adoption Field:

Provide for the on-going implementation of the MPLD program to promote professional leadership development of minorities in the adoption field.

I. Program Description Statutory Authority Section 203(b)(2)(3)(4)(9) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (CAPTA), (42 U.S.C. 5113(b)(2)(3)(4)(9)), as amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (Public Law. 111-320)

Description

BACKGROUND

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the federal government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. Within HHS, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is the agency responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) within ACF administers national programs for children and youth; works with states, tribes, and local communities to develop services that support and strengthen family life; seeks joint ventures with the private sector to enhance the lives of children and their families; and provides information and other assistance to parents.

Promoting equity is essential to the Department’s mission of protecting the health of Americans and providing essential human services. This view reflects the values underpinning many of President Biden’s policies and pronouncements thus far particularly Executive Order (EO) 13985 entitled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (January 20, 2021). EO 13985 sets forth a comprehensive approach for the federal government to advance equity for all, including for people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

The Children’s Bureau

Within ACYF, CB plans, manages, coordinates, and supports child abuse and neglect prevention, child protection, and child welfare services programs. CB is the agency within the federal government that is responsible for assisting child welfare systems by promoting continuous improvement in the delivery of child welfare services. CB programs are designed to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of all children, including those in foster care, available for adoption, recently adopted, and those abused, neglected, dependent, disabled, or homeless.

CB promotes practice principles to support improved outcomes for children and families. These principles include family-centered social work practice, community-based services, and individualized services that respond to the unique needs of children and families and strengthen parental capacity to protect and provide for their children. CB has a vision that shifts the future focus of child welfare toward supporting families and communities in ways that will prevent maltreatment and keep children within their families and communities. In addition, CB is actively involved in a number of federal interagency collaborative efforts that are striving to support state efforts at systems integration and systems change to improve outcomes for families and communities.

The Need for the National AdoptUSKids Project According to the most recently published Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) report, there are 407,000 children and youth in the U.S. foster care system (AFCARS, 2020). Of this number, 117,000 youth under the age of 18 years are currently waiting for adoptive families. Though current foster parents and relatives adopt approximately 86 percent of these youth awaiting an adoptive home, the remaining 14 percent need the additional recruitment methods associated with a vibrant and effective recruitment campaign and photolisting service.

Since the AdoptUSKids project began in 2002, their photolisting website, that provides nationwide exposure for children and youth in foster care waiting to be adopted, has proven to be an essential step in finding homes for 36,000 youth that had previously been photolisted on their website. In addition, 39,000 families interested in fostering and adopting youth have been listed on the website to facilitate their being matched with waiting children/youth.

Related Federal Legislation The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) of 1994, as amended, prohibits the delay or denial of any adoption or placement in foster care due to the race, color, or national origin of the child or the foster or adoptive parents. It also requires states to provide for diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children for whom homes are needed. Section 1808 of Public Law 104-188 affirms the prohibition against delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or foster care on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the foster or adoptive parents of the child involved (42 U.S.C.1996b).

To meet MEPA’s diligent efforts requirement, states must have a comprehensive plan that includes the following: (1) a description of the characteristics of waiting children; (2) specific strategies to reach all parts of the community; (3) diverse methods of disseminating both general and child- specific information; (4) strategies for assuring that all prospective parents have access to the home study process, including location and hours of services that facilitate access by all members of the community; (5) strategies for training staff to work with diverse cultural, racial, and economic communities; (6) strategies for dealing with linguistic barriers; (7) non-discriminatory fee structures; and (8) procedures ensuring a timely search for prospective parents awaiting a child, including the use of exchanges and other interagency efforts, provided that such procedures ensure that the placement of a child in an appropriate household is not delayed by the search for a same race or ethnic placement.

State agencies that operate a program pursuant to title IV-E of the Social Security Act are required to submit a 5-year comprehensive Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) that outlines initiatives and activities STT will carry out in administering programs and services to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families. In the CFSP, each STT must describe its plan for the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflects the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the state for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed. In the Annual Services and Progress Report, STTs must describe their progress and accomplishments made in the past fiscal year with regard to the diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children in the state for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed as well as explain planned activities for recruiting foster and adoptive families in the coming year.

The passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) (Public Law 105-89) mandated that STTs no longer are permitted to use jurisdictional barriers as a reason to delay or deny a permanent home to a child. ASFA calls upon STTs to use regional and national information exchange systems (particularly electronic exchange systems), and to report on this utilization in their CFSP.

As a result of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351), recruitment of foster and adoptive parents is needed to provide for sibling placements and to ensure children and youth can remain in their school upon placement into foster care.

The Adoption Opportunities Program, CAPTA Reform Act of 1978, sections 201-205 (Pubic Law 95-266) as amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-36) provides for the promotion of professional leadership development of minorities in the adoption field.

Additional Information for Applicants It is essential that applicants read the entire NOFO package carefully before preparing an application and include all of the required application forms and attachments. The application must reflect a thorough understanding of and support the purpose and objectives of the applicable legislation.

Reviewers expect applicants to understand the goals of the legislation and CB's interest in each topic and to address and follow all of the evaluation criteria in ways that demonstrate this understanding. Applications that do not clearly address the evaluation criteria or program requirements generally receive very low scores and are rarely funded. CB's website (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb) provides a wide range of information and links to other http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb relevant websites. Before preparing an application, applicants can learn more about CB’s mission and programs by exploring the website.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

Through a cooperative agreement, AdoptUSKids is expected to include the following project components:

Project Components

A. National Adoption Internet Photolisting Service. The National Adoption Internet Photolisting website (www.AdoptUSKids.org) must be easily accessible by the general public for general information about foster care and adoption, and for the introductory, non-protected information about the specific children for whom foster or adoptive families are sought. This website must be kept up to date through coordination with all STTs for the listing of their eligible children/youth while incorporating best practices and quality improvement standards in photolisting. The standards set by the International Standards Organization (ISO 27001) for an information security management system, a framework of policies and procedures that includes all legal, physical, and technical controls needed to keep information and critical infrastructure secure, must be planned for and adhered to for the photolisting website. If the incumbent AdoptUSKids recipient is not chosen for the new award, the new recipient must ensure that the website continuously operates during the transition from the previous recipient and that its operational on October 1, 2022.

B. National Adoption Recruitment Campaign. The project must consist of the on-going planning, development, and implementation of the multi-media national public service adoption recruitment campaign in donated media to include public service announcements (PSAs) on television, radio, print, social media and other means to reach individuals most likely to adopt children and youth ages 9 and over from the foster care system. This project is to build on the CB annual adoption recruitment campaign's body of work completed between 2004 and 2022, by providing capability to renew talent used in the prior campaigns conducted between the years noted above. The National Adoption Recruitment Campaign must also further develop and maintain a corresponding Recruitment Response Support Initiative. These are both intended to reach and inspire adult Americans to adopt by offering important, accurate information about the foster care system and the adoption process. This project must provide support to STTs to provide increased access to new recruitment media and increase their capacity to respond in a timely and customer-friendly manner. This component must provide for a localization of the campaign materials for STTs.

C. National Adoption and Foster Care Information Exchange System. The National Adoption and Foster Care Information Exchange System must raise public awareness and assist STTs in recruiting foster and adoptive parents for children in foster care. The Information Exchange System must provide a 24-hour nationwide inquiry and response system for inquiries from prospective foster and adoptive parents and to the general public. Live response must be available from 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time zone) each business day and response must be within the following business day for all inquiries received during non-business hours.

D. Adoptive and Foster Family Support Activities. The support activities to foster and adoptive families must include the development and dissemination of information, strategies, and effective or evidence-based models for implementation by STTs. The development and dissemination of information on innovative approaches for creating communities of practice, peer-to-peer technical assistance, and leadership training to enhance and support adoptive and foster family support groups is included in this aspect of the project.

E. Capacity Building Services for Diligent Recruitment and Retention of Foster and Adoptive Families. The capacity building aspect of the project is expected to provide constituency services and universal product development and dissemination to STTs across the nation to assist in building agency capacity for the diligent recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families, primarily focused on models of best practices related to photolisting, diligent recruitment, recruitment media, customer services, and adoptive and foster family support activities.

F. Minority Professional Leadership Development in the Adoption Field. The minority professional leadership development component promotes the leadership development of persons in child welfare and specifically the adoption field who represent the racial and cultural background of the children/youth that are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system and improve the competency of child welfare professionals in the delivery of adoption services.

The AdoptUSKids project should also include the following additional requirements:

Additional Project Requirements

G. Collaboration. The AdoptUSKids project is expected to actively collaborate with CB and other partners to achieve the purposes of this NOFO. The project will require collaboration with agencies and organizations, which is critical to successfully implement the proposed project. The STTs and private organizations that will be impacted by any of the AdoptUSKids project services will be required partners.

H. Race Equity. In addition to implementing the minority professional leadership development in the adoption field component of the AdoptUSKids project, the recipient is expected to address ways to advance race equity in achieving each purpose and additional component of the NOFO.

I. Youth Engagement. The AdoptUSKids project is expected to incorporate the youth voice and authentically engage youth with lived experience in foster care in all components of the project.

J. Using Evidence-Based and/or Evidence-Informed Practices. Evidence-based practices are approaches to prevention or treatment that are validated by some form of documented outcomes evaluation. This could be findings established through scientific research, such as controlled clinical studies, but other methods of establishing evidence may also be valid and should be described and supported. Evidence-informed practices use the best available research and practice knowledge to guide program design and implementation within context. This informed practice allows for innovation and incorporates the lessons learned from the existing research literature.

K. Evaluation. The AdoptUSKids project will conduct a rigorous, practical, and feasible program evaluation that will document and support the achievement of the purposes of this funding opportunity and document the outcomes and effectiveness of the project and whether project activities have been implemented as intended. The evaluation design will answer key questions about project performance and support the refinement/quality improvement of all services offered through the project. The evaluation must be efficient and able to provide timely and useful information. ACF’s Evaluation Policy demonstrates ACF’s commitment to conducting rigorous, relevant evaluations and to using evidence from evaluations to inform policy and practice. The five principles of ACF’s Evaluation Policy are rigor, relevance, transparency, independence, and ethics. It is expected the project evaluation will adhere to ACF’s Evaluation Policy.

L. Dissemination. AdoptUSKids will be a repository for information and resources, and a vehicle for dissemination for products that address a broad range of issues related to the recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents. AdoptUSKids is also expected to play a critical role in the dissemination of evidence-based and evidence-informed practices. CB expects AdoptUSKids to be a point of contact for easily accessible, well-organized, and user-friendly resources for STTs. In addition to storing and organizing information, AdoptUSKids will be responsible for assessing the quality of its resources and for being knowledgeable about their content. AdoptUSKids will make general information about itself, other applicable programs and services, and specific training curricula, research, reports, tools, or other resources widely available. AdoptUSKids is expected to consult with Child Welfare Information Gateway, the Capacity Building Center for States, the Capacity Building Center for Tribes, and the Capacity Building Center for Courts to capitalize on opportunities to link useful information and facilitate easy navigation by website users without unnecessarily duplicating effort.

M. Operational Requirements. The AdoptUSKids project must be fully operational within the first 90 days following the project start date. Also, within 90 days of the project start date, the Project Director, Evaluator, and/or other key staff must attend a mandatory meeting in Washington, DC.

In cases where CB is directly involved in the creation of data collection activities under this NOFO, 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. CB will not conduct or sponsor--and a person is not required to respond to--a collection of information covered by the PRA, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type:

CA (Cooperative Agreement) Estimated Total Funding:

$6,900,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$6,900,000 Per Budget Period https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/acf-evaluation-policy

Award Floor:

$4,000,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$6,900,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/30/2022 Length of Project Periods:

60-month project period with five 12-month budget periods

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

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

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

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

For more information on these requirements, see Section III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching.

The initial award will be for a 12-month budget period. The award of continuation beyond each 12-month budget period will be subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress on the part of the recipient (i.e. demonstrating a commitment to achieving expected outcomes and collaborating with CB to overcome any barriers), and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government.

In each subsequent budget period (years 2 -5), the maximum federal share of the project is not to exceed $6,900,000.

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

A cooperative agreement is a specific method of awarding federal assistance in which substantial federal involvement is anticipated. A cooperative agreement clearly defines the respective responsibilities of CB and the awardee prior to the award. CB anticipates that agency involvement will produce programmatic benefits to the recipient otherwise unavailable to them for carrying out the project. The involvement and collaboration include the following:

CB review and approval of planning stages of the activities before implementation phases may begin;

CB and recipient joint collaboration in the performance of key programmatic activities (i.e., strategic planning, implementation, information technology enhancements, training and technical assistance (T/TA), publications or products, and evaluation); and

Close monitoring of the requirements stated in this announcement that limit the awardee’s discretion with respect to scope of services offered.

III. Eligibility Information III.1. Eligible Applicants Eligibility is open to states, local government entities, and public or private organizations (Public Law 108-36).

Applicants must demonstrate experience in child welfare, foster home development, adoption services, national adoption recruitment campaigns, collaboration with public service advertising agencies and private advertising agencies offering pro bono work, and professional leadership development for minority populations. (See Section IV.2 The Project Description, Organizational Capacity).

CB will accept applications that represent partnerships among organizations with relevant experience. Applicants may subcontract with organizations to carry out a portion of the project's work. Applications from collaborations must identify a primary applicant responsible for administering the cooperative agreement.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. See Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity. Faith-based organizations may apply for this award on the same basis as any other organization, as set forth at and, subject to the protections and requirements of 45 CFR Part 87 and 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., ACF will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization's religious character, affiliation, or exercise.

Reference to Legal Status See Section IV.2. Legal Status of Applicant Entity for documentation required to support eligibility.

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost Sharing / Matching Requirement:

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

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

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

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

III.3. Other Application Disqualification Factors Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity.

Award Ceiling Disqualification

Applications that request an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period or per project period ("per project period" refers only to fully funded awards), as stated in Section II. Federal Award Information, will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for the first 12-month budget period for projects with multiple budget periods. If the project and budget period are the same, the disqualification applies to the Award Ceiling listed for the project period.

Required Electronic Application Submission

ACF requires electronic submission of applications at Grants.gov. Paper applications received from applicants that have not been approved for an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity.

Applicants that do not have an internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents to the internet may contact ACF for an exemption that will allow the applicant to submit applications in paper format. Information and the requirements for requesting an exemption from required electronic application submission are found in "ACF Policy for Requesting an Exemption from Electronic Application Submission."

Missing the Application Deadline (Late Applications)

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

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

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

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

Notification of Application Disqualification Applicants will be notified of a disqualification determination by email or by USPS postal mail within 30 federal business days from the closing date of this NOFO.

IV. Application and Submission Information IV.1. Address to Request Application Package CB Operations Center c/o LCG, Inc.

1400 Key Boulevard, Suite 900 Arlington

VA

22209

(888) 203-6161 CB@grantreview.org Application Packages

Electronic Application Submission:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACF_Policy_for_Requesting_an_Exemption_from_Required_Electronic_FINAL_0.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACF_Policy_for_Requesting_an_Exemption_from_Required_Electronic_FINAL_0.pdf

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

Applications in Paper Format:

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

Federal Relay Service:

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

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

FORMATTING APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

Each applicant applying electronically via Grants.gov is required to upload only two electronic files, excluding SFs and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-approved forms. No more than two files will be accepted for the review, and additional files will be removed. SFs and OMB-approved forms will not be considered additional files.

FOR ALL APPLICATIONS:

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) AOR is the designated representative of the applicant/recipient organization with authority to act on the organization’s behalf in matters related to the award and administration of grants. In signing a grant application, this individual agrees that the organization will assume the obligations imposed by applicable Federal statutes and regulations and other terms and conditions of the award, including any assurances, if a grant is awarded.

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

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.

http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Application Submission Options.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:

With the exception of SFs and forms approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the application submission is limited to 100 pages in its entirety. The two files applicants must submit are:

The Project Description file must include the following items:

1. Table of Contents

2. Abstract

3. Objectives and Need for Assistance

4. Approach

5. Evaluation

6. Organizational Capacity

7. Logic Model

8. Line Item Budget and Budget Justification

The Appendices file must include the following items:

1. Certifications and Assurances

2. Proof of Legal Status (if applicable)

3. Third-party agreements

4. Staff and Position Data (e.g., resumes, job descriptions, organizational charts)

5. Indirect Cost Rate Letter (if applicable)

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Applicants are required to submit their applications electronically unless they have received an exemption that will allow submission in paper format. See Section IV.2. Application Submission Options for information about requesting an exemption.

Electronic applications will only be accepted via Grants.gov. ACF will not accept applications submitted via email or via facsimile.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Applicants must ensure that the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader they are using is compatible with Grants.gov. 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 SFs and OMB-approved Forms SFs and OMB-approved forms 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 SFs, OMB-approved forms, and required assurances and certifications.

Naming Application Submission Files Carefully observe the file naming conventions required by Grants.gov. Limit file names to 50 characters (characters and spaces). Please also see https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/submitting-utf-8-special-characters.html.

Use only file formats supported by ACF Applicants must 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 PDFs 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) 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 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/submitting-utf-8-special-characters.html accepted for review. For more information on the exemption, see "ACF Policy for 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 NOFO, or multiple applications under separate NOFOs, each application submission must be packaged separately. The package(s) must be clearly labeled with the NOFO title and Funding Opportunity Number.

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

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 an award under this funding opportunity must submit the listed SFs, assurances, and certifications with the application. All required SFs, assurances, and certifications are available in the Application Package posted for this NOFO at Grants.gov.

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description

Certificate of Good Standing

Submission is required for all for-profit organizations.

Sole proprietorships are not eligible applicants. The submission of the Certificate of Good Standing, along with the current list of board members, and organizational documents that require the establishment and maintenance of a Board of Directors, provide proof of eligibility for for-profit organizations.

SF-424 - Application for Federal Assistance

Submission is required for all applicants by the

Required for all applications.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/howto#chapter-6

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description application due date.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) registration.

Required of all applicants.

Applicants must have a UEI and maintain an active SAM registration throughout the application and project award period.

Obtain a UEI and SAM registration at: http://www.sam.

gov.

See Section IV.3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) for more information.

SF-424 Key Contact Form

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

Required for all applications.

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-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.

SFs must be used.

Forms must be submitted by the

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

https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.sam.gov/

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description 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.

SF-Project/Performance Site Location(s) (SF-P/PSL)

Su…