hhs-2024-acf-acyf-ts-0098.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application due September 16, 2024

Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) Division of Positive Youth Development

Title V Competitive Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE): New Mexico Opportunity number: HHS-2024-ACF-ACYF-TS-0098

Contents Before you begin 3

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 4

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Program description 9

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 20

Get registered 21

Find the application package 21

Learn more 21

Pre-application webinar 22

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 23

Application contents and format 24

Step 4: Learn About Review and Award 37

Application review 38

Award notices 45

Step 5: Submit Your Application 46

Application submission and deadlines 47

Application checklist 50

Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award 52

Post-award requirements and administration 53

Contacts and Support 56

Appendix 59

Contents 2

Before you begin If you believe you are a good candidate for this funding opportunity, secure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations now. If you are already registered, make sure your registration is active and up-to-date.

SAM.gov registration (this can take several weeks) You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Grants.gov registration (this can take several days) You must have an active Grants.gov registration. Doing so requires a Login.gov registration as well.

See Step 2: Get Ready to Apply

Apply by September 16, 2024 Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 16, 2024.

To help you find what you need, this NOFO uses internal links. In Adobe Reader, you can go back to where you were by pressing Alt + Left Arrow (Windows) or Command + Left Arrow (Mac) on your keyboard.

Before you begin 3 https://sam.gov/ https://grants.gov/

Jump to a step

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1:

Review the Opportunity

In this step

Basic information 5

Eligibility 7

Program description 9

Basic information Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB)

Division of Positive Youth Development

The Title V Competitive SRAE Program provides funding to organizations to implement sexual risk avoidance education.

Have questions?

See Contacts and Support.

Key facts

Opportunity Name: Title V Competitive Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE): New Mexico

Opportunity Number:

HHS-2024-ACF-ACYF-

TS-0098

Federal Assistance Listing:

93.787

Statutory authority number: 42 U.S.C. 710

Key dates

Application deadline:

September 16, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET

Expected award date:

September 29, 2024

Expected start date:

September 30, 2024

See deadlines.

Summary The purpose of the Title V Competitive SRAE program is to competitively fund projects to implement sexual risk avoidance education that teaches youth to voluntarily refrain from sexual activity. The program is designed to teach youth personal responsibility, self-regulation, goal setting, healthy decision making, a focus on the future, and the prevention of risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, without normalizing teen sexual activity. Projects must do the following:

• Use medically accurate information referencing peer-reviewed publications by educational, scientific, governmental, or health organizations.

• Implement an evidence-based approach integrating research findings with practical strategies that align with the needs and desired outcomes for the intended audience.

• Teach the benefits associated with personal responsibility, self-regulation, goal setting, healthy decision making, and a focus on the future.

• Discourage sexual coercion, dating violence, and other youth risk behaviors such as underage drinking or illicit drug use.

• Be culturally appropriate, recognizing the experiences of youth from diverse communities, backgrounds, and experiences.

• Normalize avoiding non-marital sexual activity.

• Be age-appropriate.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 5

Funding details Type: Grant

Estimated total program funding: $529,812

Total expected awards: 2

Minimum award amount for the first budget period (award floor): $250,000

Maximum award amount for the first budget period (award ceiling): $350,000

Funding periods: 24-month period of performance with two 12-month budget periods

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

Funds for year two will be awarded based on submission and approval of the non-competing continuation applications. Awards are subject to the following:

• Satisfactory progress by the prime recipient.

• A determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government.

• The availability of federal funds, which could be affected by a state claim for its regular annual allotment of funds.

To determine satisfactory progress, we will use your semi-annual performance progress and financial reports, site visits, audit reports, and other supporting documentation.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 6

Eligibility Who can apply

Eligible applicants These types of entities may apply:

• County governments

• City or township governments

• Special district governments

• Independent school districts

• Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education

• Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)

• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities

• Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)

• Nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education

• Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

• Private institutions of higher education

• For-profit organizations other than small businesses

• Small businesses

• Others (see other eligibility criteria for clarification)

Individuals, including sole proprietorships, and foreign entities may not apply.

Other eligibility criteria Locality restrictions Eligible applicants are limited to local organizations and entities, including faith-based organizations or consortia, with the capacity to develop and implement Title V Competitive SRAE projects in New Mexico who did not accept FY 2024 allocations for Title V State SRAE.

Applications received from entities located in ineligible states and territories will be disqualified from this competitive merit review process.

Applicants located outside of New Mexico cannot propose a project that serves New Mexico.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 7

In the case of collaborative groups (consortia) applying to serve in New Mexico, applications from entities that are not located in New Mexico will be disqualified from merit review and from award under the NOFO.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible for awards under this funding opportunity.

See initial review for disqualification factors.

Cost sharing This program has no cost-sharing requirement. If you choose to include cost-sharing funds, we won’t consider it during review. However, we will hold you accountable for any funds you add, including through reporting. If you don’t provide your promised amount, we may have to decrease your award amount or use other enforcement actions.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 8

Program description For a glossary of terms used in this NOFO, please see the appendix.

The goal of the Title V Competitive SRAE Program is to provide messages to youth that normalize avoiding non-marital sexual activity and other risky behaviors that increase the risk for teen sex.

The objectives of this program are to:

• Implement curricula that include medically accurate information, based on adolescent learning and developmental theories for the age group receiving the education.

• Implement curricula and strategies that are age-appropriate and culturally appropriate, recognizing the experiences of youth from diverse communities, backgrounds, and experiences.

• Teach risk avoidance skills through methods that do not normalize teen sexual activity.

• Serve youth ages 10 to 19.

Projects funded under this program must meet the requirements detailed in the following sections. Full program implementation through funded projects must start within 90 days of award.

Medically accurate; age, culturally, and linguistically appropriate; trauma-informed;

and inclusive Title V Competitive SRAE projects must be medically accurate, culturally appropriate, linguistically appropriate, and age appropriate.

Your project should also be inclusive and trauma-informed.

• Medically accurate: Program materials, such as texts, supplements, workbooks, videos, flyers, handouts, posters, and flash cards should be reviewed in comparison to currently available medical information.

• Age appropriate: Your program must also provide age-appropriate information and activities. The topics, messages, and teaching methods implemented by the project must be consistent with the developmental and social maturity of the program participants and emphasize preventing and reducing teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and sexual activity.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 9

• Culturally appropriate: You must provide plans to use culturally sensitive interventions that incorporate the norms, beliefs, and values of the population served.

• Linguistically appropriate: Your project should demonstrate responsiveness to the preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs of the population served.

• Trauma informed: Your project should incorporate trauma-informed approaches.

You should train staff to realize the widespread impact of trauma and recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in youth. You should build organizational and staff capacity to fully integrate knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and resist re-traumatizing youth.

• Inclusive: Your project should be inclusive. This means celebrating and amplifying perspectives, voices, and values of youth who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent inequities. Inclusive programming and environments create equitable access to resources and opportunities for all youth receiving services funded by our programs. We are committed to addressing disparities related to disability status, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity among youth and young adults.

◦ Therefore, you must have a plan to provide safe, inclusive, and culturally responsive spaces and services for all youth, including youth facing disabilities; youth of color; youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and/or two spirit (LGBTQIA2S+); and youth from other underserved populations.

◦ Also, you must be inclusive of the language access needs of youth and their families.

◦ Inclusive programming helps youth feel safe, respected, engaged, and valued for who they are and enables grant recipients to be more sensitive and responsive to their needs. Project materials, practices, and services should not discriminate, alienate, exclude, or stigmatize youth and their families.

Title V Competitive SRAE programs must ensure that:

• Any information provided on contraception is medically accurate and complete and ensures that students understand that contraception reduces but does not eliminate physical risk.

• The education provided does not include demonstrations, simulations, or distribution of contraceptive devices.

Youth participation in the Title V Competitive SRAE programs must be voluntary.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 10

Evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions and strategies In accordance with the Title V SRAE legislation (42 U.S.C. 710) (b)(3), the interventions your program uses must address the following A-F topics:

a. “The holistic individual and societal benefits associated with personal responsibility, self-regulation, goal setting, healthy decision-making, and a focus on the future."

b. The advantage of refraining from non-marital sexual activity in order to improve the future prospects and physical and emotional health of youth.

c. The increased likelihood of avoiding poverty when youth attain self-sufficiency and emotional maturity before engaging in sexual activity.

d. The foundational components of healthy relationships and their impact on the formation of healthy marriages and safe and stable families.

e. How other youth risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol usage, increase the risk for teen sex.

f. How to resist and avoid, and receive help regarding, sexual coercion and dating violence, recognizing that even with consent teen sex remains a youth risk behavior.

Title V Competitive SRAE programs must exclusively implement education in sexual risk avoidance, defined by statute as voluntarily refraining from non-marital sexual activity (42 U.S.C. 710(b)(1)).

You are not required to choose from a prescribed list of curricula, but recipients of this award must, at a minimum, implement evidence-based projects that comply with the following requirements:

• Teach the benefits associated with personal responsibility, self-regulation, goal setting, healthy decision making, and a focus on the future.

• Discourage sexual coercion, dating violence, and other youth risk behaviors such as underage drinking or illicit drug use.

• Normalize avoiding non-marital sexual activity.

• Provide formal training for facilitators/educators in the program model and youth risk and protective factors. This training must be delivered by professionals who can provide follow-up technical assistance to facilitators.

• Provide formal training for facilitators/educators on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Link program participants to services with local community partners and other agencies that support the health, safety, and well-being of program participants.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 11

The partnering agencies should share a commitment to positive youth development.

• Select curricula that have been identified in social science and educational research as having program elements that are key in attaining positive behavior change (for example, preventing and reducing teen pregnancies, STIs, and sexual activity) for the population served.

• Select curricula that are medically accurate, age-appropriate, culturally appropriate, linguistically appropriate, and LGBTQIA2S+ inclusive.

• Select curricula that address healthy relationships, life skills, and decision making with a positive youth development (PYD) approach.

• Make education in sexual risk avoidance the exclusive purpose of the award.

We encourage you to review evidence-informed or evidence-based programs to determine whether the interventions can be adapted, subject to copyright restrictions;

implemented with fidelity; and adhere to the core curriculum components to meet the requirements of programs designed for this award. More information on evidence-based programs may be found on the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review website.

Positive youth development approach You must incorporate positive youth development (PYD) into your program.

You can learn more at Youth.gov about the key principles of PYD. For more information on integrating PYD into programs, please see Integrating Positive Youth Development into Programs on Youth.gov.

Meaningful youth engagement and leading in partnership with youth and young adults are important components of the overarching PYD strategy. Meaningful youth engagement views youth as equal partners with adults in the decision-making process rather than mere beneficiaries of programs. Involving youth as partners in making decisions that affect them increases the likelihood that the decisions will be accepted, adopted, and made part of their everyday lives.

PYD also encourages projects to consult with and engage young people and offer them opportunities to have input on program implementation. When engaging and collaborating with youth and young adults who have experienced homelessness, you are encouraged to provide compensation for their expertise and may do so using these funds. You can learn more at Youth.gov about ways to lead in partnership with youth and young adults with lived experience. For additional information on youth partnership, please see Involving Youth in Positive Youth Development on Youth.gov.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 12 https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/hecat/index.htm https://youth.gov/evidence-innovation/tpper https://youth.gov/evidence-innovation/tpper https://youth.gov/youth-topics/key-principles-positive-youth-development https://youth.gov/youth-topics/integrating-positive-youth-development-programs https://youth.gov/youth-topics/integrating-positive-youth-development-programs https://youth.gov/youth-topics/key-principles-positive-youth-development https://youth.gov/youth-topics/involving-youth-positive-youth-development

You can also use the online assessment tool at Youth.gov to find effective ways to engage youth in your programs.

Equity and populations served Your program should advance equity by assessing existing inequities in programs and youth needs and collaborating with young people and communities.

Your program must provide services to youth populations between the ages of 10 and 19.

Your program may target services to youth populations who are vulnerable, including, but not limited to, the following groups:

• Youth living in under-resourced regions and areas with high rates of teen births and STIs.

• Youth populations who are historically and culturally underrepresented and underserved, especially Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and American Indian/ Alaska Native teens, and teens from rural areas and territories.

• Youth in, or aging out of, foster care or adjudication systems.

• Youth who are victims of trafficking.

• Youth who have run away or left home without permission.

• Youth experiencing homelessness.

• Youth who identify as LGBTQIA2S+.

Your program should coordinate, communicate, and engage with community-based organizations whose mission is to reach such populations. Your program should also include staff development and training opportunities to increase knowledge of equity-related barriers and opportunities related to gender, race, and other characteristics.

Referrals and linkages to youth-friendly healthcare and other services Linkages and referrals to healthcare and other services are important components of supporting youth holistically. Such linkages and referrals should be youth friendly.

Your program should include referrals and linkages to youth-friendly services including, but not limited to, the following:

• Healthcare.

• Educational services (such as tuition for formal K-12 or General Education Diploma classes).

• Career development.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 13 https://youth.gov/docs/pyd_AssessmentTool.pdf

• Counseling services (such as substance abuse treatment, tobacco cessation, mental health counseling, and intimate partner violence counseling).

• Public benefits, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other relevant benefit programs.

You should provide referrals for necessary services but cannot pay for the services themselves with FYSB funding. We encourage you to develop partnerships to help facilitate these referrals and document such referrals. When feasible, you should track the initiation of service delivery.

Performance measurement Performance measures are a set of indicators that reflect program performance. Twice a year, all recipients and subrecipients, including their implementation sites, are required to collect and submit information on program implementation and program outcomes through a common set of performance measures. This requirement applies to any community partners who agree to host a site or recruit program participants (such as school districts or nonprofits).

The purpose of the performance measures is:

• To monitor and provide feedback about whether recipients are implementing SRAE programs as intended.

• To demonstrate progress toward expected objectives.

• To create a foundation for program improvement efforts, through federal, recipients’, and program providers’ examination of the data.

SRAE performance measures provide information based upon these three categories of data collection:

• Structure, cost, and support for program implementation.

• Attendance, reach, and dosage.

• Participants’ entry and exit surveys (which capture characteristics, behaviors, program experiences, and perceptions of effects).

Recipients will be expected to check local and state laws, policies, and procedures to ensure the feasible collection of performance measures data and obtain any necessary permissions (for example, formal agreements with partners, Institutional Review Board approval, copies of school district approvals).

Recipients are responsible for ensuring all subrecipients and implementation sites collect and submit the SRAE performance measures data. FYSB will provide training on how to conduct performance measures data collection and submission. Recipients may develop additional questions of program performance, as needed, including adding items to the entry or exit surveys. Feedback from youth participants on their

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 14 satisfaction with the services can be included as additional questions beyond the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-approved measures for participant entry and exit surveys.

However, all FYSB OMB-approved items must be administered first, in the order presented in the approved survey, before any additional items are added. Any additional survey items should be added at the end, and separately from the OMB-approved performance measures survey.

For more information about the SRAE performance measures, including definitions, survey instruments, and data collection tools, please see the SRAE Performance Analysis Study website.

Note: Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C.

3501-3521), under this NOFO, ACF will not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information covered by such Act, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. ACF has obtained OMB approval (OMB Control Number 0970-0536 expiration date January 31, 2025) under PRA to request and collect performance measures.

Local evaluation You have the option to conduct a recipient-specific program evaluation, referred to as a “local evaluation,” of your project. If you intend to conduct a local evaluation, you must provide a detailed description of your evaluation plan in the approach section of your application.

Local evaluations are separate from performance measurement and must be conducted by an independent evaluator, or “local evaluator.” SRAE local evaluations are designed to answer recipient-driven research questions that assess a specific program’s effectiveness, impact, implementation, and/or participant outcomes. A local evaluation provides an opportunity for you to learn whether your programs are achieving desired outcomes and identify areas for program improvement. A local evaluation also gives you a chance to contribute to the evidence base for SRAE programming.

If you opt to conduct a local evaluation, you may propose only one. It must answer one or more recipient-specific research questions related to your program.

In accordance with the legislation, any Title V Competitive SRAE evaluation that you opt to conduct must be:

• Rigorous.

• Evidence-based.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 15 https://www.sraepas.com/ https://www.sraepas.com/

• Designed and conducted by independent researchers who have experience in conducting and publishing research in peer-reviewed journals or other outlets.

If you opt to conduct a local evaluation, you are permitted to conduct any of the following three types of methodologies:

• Impact evaluations: Efficacy/effectiveness studies that have a control/comparison group that either receives no services or distinct services from the intervention group. These studies should also evaluate behavioral outcomes beyond the period directly following the end of programming, when appropriate.

• Comprehensive needs assessments: Scientific/systematic investigations that identify needs and challenges around a given issue, determine root causes, identify current barriers to addressing the need, and set priorities for future actions.

• Descriptive studies: Studies that both document and link program implementation and participant outcomes. Descriptive evaluations generate knowledge or understanding about the programs and populations served and do not have a comparison/control group.

Well-conducted evaluations require time for planning, implementation, analysis, reporting, and dissemination activities. We advise you to carefully consider, based on the study selected, whether you have allotted sufficient time and resources, per guidance for the budget, for conducting your evaluation. We also recommend that you review the current SRAE evaluation resources to inform your evaluation plan.

Local evaluations must be designed and conducted by independent researchers, called “local evaluators,” who have experience in conducting evaluations of youth-focused programs in the community. The evaluator should match the type of methodology to the proposed local evaluation. Independent evaluators may be from universities, research organizations, evaluation consultancies, or other institutions with experience in conducting high-quality evaluations of community programs.

If you plan to conduct a local evaluation, your application must include the following:

• Research questions.

• Research design.

• Plan for recruiting participants.

• Planned sample size, including the size of each condition, if applicable, as well as the timing of sample enrollment (that is, when sample enrollment will begin and end, and the monthly and annual sample enrollment targets).

• Measures (including any measures in addition to the required performance measures).

• Data collection methods.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 16 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/sexual-risk-avoidance-education-national-evaluation-2018-2023

• Data analysis methods.

• Program evaluation plan (that is, a work plan for executing the proposed research design).

If multiple waves of data collection will be conducted, plans must describe the timing of those waves and how respondents will be tracked over time for later data collection.

We will provide technical assistance and/or training to prime recipients conducting local evaluations and to their local evaluators on evaluation planning, implementation, analysis, reporting, and dissemination.

As part of the technical assistance, prime recipients may also be asked to complete standardized forms and templates to describe their evaluation plans and submit evaluation updates. These forms and templates are subject to OMB approval under the PRA. ACF/FYSB will obtain OMB approval prior to requiring prime recipients to complete the forms and templates. ACF/FYSB will review and provide suggestions to prime recipients to improve plans prior to the initiation of local evaluation activities.

Improvements may include revisions to the evaluation design and funding.

Prime recipients’ funding levels will not be adjusted if a local evaluation is not proposed. Applicants should carefully assess whether they have the capacity and sufficient funding allocated to conduct a local evaluation within the project period while still maintaining robust programming.

SRAE programs that choose to conduct a local evaluation are required to set aside a maximum of 20% of their annual funding allocation for evaluation activities.

National evaluation We will conduct a national, descriptive study with grant recipients. We may invite a subset of program projects to participate in a rigorous federal evaluation. Federal evaluations are subject to the PRA, and ACF/FYSB will receive all approvals prior to launching any evaluations.

Project sustainability Recipients should collaborate with their subrecipients and partners to implement their sustainability plan to ensure that the project continues after the period of federal funding ends.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 17

Funding policies and limitations We do not allow the following costs under this NOFO:

• Pre-award costs

• Construction

• Purchase of real property

• Major renovation

You will also need to observe the following rules:

• No more than 20% of funds can be used for evaluation.

• Title V Competitive SRAE allows funded agencies and organizations to assist the youth in their programs in finding services and making referrals, but such healthcare and other services must not be paid for with Title V Competitive SRAE funds.

• Funds under this NOFO cannot be used for the following purposes:

◦ To supplant or replace current public or private funding

◦ To supplant ongoing or usual activities of any organization involved in the project

See 45 CFR §§ 75.420–75.475 for information on costs that are always unallowable or have restrictions.

Indirect costs Indirect costs are those for a common or joint purpose across more than one project and that cannot be easily separated by project. Learn more at 45 CFR § 75.414, Indirect Costs.

To charge indirect costs you can select one of two methods:

Method 1 — Approved rate. You currently have an indirect cost rate approved by your cognizant federal agency.

Method 2 — De minimis rate. Per 45 CFR § 75.414(f), if you have never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, you may elect to charge a de minimis rate. If you are awaiting approval of an indirect cost proposal, you may also use the de minimis rate. If you choose this method, costs included in the indirect cost pool must not be charged as direct costs.

This rate is 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC). See 45 CFR § 75.2 for the definition of MTDC. You can use this rate indefinitely.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 18 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-A/part-75/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFR5d90ba314caea08 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-75.414 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-75#p-75.414(f) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-75#p-75.2(Modified%20Total%20Direct%20Cost)

Subawards The prime recipient must maintain a substantive role in the project. We define a substantive role as conducting funded activities and providing services that are necessary and integral to completing the project. Monitoring your subrecipient’s activities alone is not a substantive role. See 45 CFR § 75.352 for information on subrecipient monitoring.

We do not fund awards where the role of the applicant is primarily to serve as a conduit for passing funds to other organizations unless that arrangement is authorized by statute.

Subrecipients must meet the eligibility requirements of this NOFO.

Statutory authority The Title V SRAE Program is authorized and funded by section 510 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 710).

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 19 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-75.352

Step 2:

Get Ready to Apply

In this step

Get registered 21

Find the application package 21

Learn more 21

Pre-application webinar 22

Get registered SAM.gov You must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier. SAM.gov registration can take several weeks. Begin that process today.

To register, go to SAM.gov Entity Registration and click Get Started. From the same page, you can also click on the Entity Registration Checklist for the information you will need to register.

Grants.gov You must also have an active account with Grants.gov. You can see step-by-step instructions at the Grants.gov Quick Start Guide for Applicants.

Need help? See Contacts and Support.

Find the application package The application package has all the forms you need to apply. You can find it online. Go to Search Grants at Grants.gov and search for opportunity number HHS-2024-ACF- ACYF-TS-0098. Then, click the “Package” tab.

If you can’t use Grants.gov to download application materials, you may request them from the Grants Management Contact.

If you are also unable to apply through Grants.gov, see exemptions for paper submissions.

Learn more Visit Applying for an ACF Grant Award on the ACF Grants Page.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 21 https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration https://grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration http://www.grants.gov/quick-start-guide/applicants https://grants.gov/search-grants https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

Pre-application webinar For more information about this opportunity, applicants are able to access the recording and transcript for the pre-application webinar.

This pre-application webinar was conducted for the previously published Title V Completive SRAE (HHS-2024-ACF-ACYF-TS-0040) NOFO.

If there is a discrepancy between the NOFO and the presentation and/or presentation materials, the NOFO takes precedence.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 22 https://youtu.be/l_EWbB8aqZ0 https://youtu.be/l_EWbB8aqZ0

Step 3:

Prepare Your Application

In this step

Application contents and format 24

Application contents and format Application components You will submit two files plus the standard forms in the application package.

File One: Project Narrative Attachment Form Includes:

• Table of contents

• Project summary, one page

• Project narrative

• Line-item budget and budget narrative

File Two: Other Attachments Form Includes all attachments.

Other required forms Includes other required forms.

Required format Page limit for File One and File Two combined: 100 pages

File Format: Portable Document File (PDF) is recommended, but not required. ACF supports the following file formats when you attach files to the Project Narrative Attachment Form and the Other Attachments Form:

• 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)

Paper Size: 8 ½ inches x 11 inches

Margins: 1 inch all around

Language: English

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 24

If possible, include page numbers

Do not include external links to information you want reviewers to assess.

Fonts Font: Times New Roman

Size: 12-point font

Footnotes and text in tables and graphics may be 10-point.

Spacing Table of contents: Must be single-spaced

Project summary: Must be single-spaced

Project narrative: Must be double-spaced

Logic model: Must be single-spaced

Line-Item budget and budget narrative: Can be single-spaced

Attachments: As needed

Tables and footnotes throughout: Can be single-spaced

Table of contents At the beginning of File One, insert a table of contents that guides a reader through the contents of both files in your application. If possible, include links to the relevant content in File One.

Project summary Provide a one-page summary of the project description. Do not cross-reference to other parts of the application. The summary must include:

• At the top, the project title, applicant name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, and any website URL.

• A brief description of the project, including the needs and population you will address and your proposed services.

Project narrative The project narrative is where you address all your proposed activities. It is a critical section of your application, which we evaluate and rank against other applications using the merit review criteria. Remember that substance and measurable outcomes

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 25 are more important than length. We are particularly interested in project narratives that convey strategies for achieving intended performance.

In it, you must:

• Explain how the project will meet the purpose of the NOFO, as described in the program description section.

• Make sure your narrative is clear, concise, and complete.

• Use cross-referencing rather than repetition.

• Be sure to include any required supporting documents noted. You generally provide these in your attachments.

• Use the headings and order of the sections that follow.

Geographic location Provide the precise physical location of your project and boundaries of the area you will serve. If you include any subrecipients in your project that will serve the geographic areas, include their locations as well. Please see locality restrictions for guidance.

Need for assistance Identify the problems you plan to solve. These problems could be physical, economic, social, financial, institutional, etc. To do so:

• Demonstrate the need, including the nature and scope of the problem.

• You may provide supporting documentation, such as letters of support and testimonials, in an application appendix.

• Include any relevant data based on planning studies or needs assessments. You may refer to them in the endnotes or footnotes.

• Use demographic data and participant or beneficiary information where you can.

Objectives State your main objectives and any sub-objectives. Address how the objectives stated relate to the overall purpose of this program, including voluntary participation of youth, and describe how you will achieve the objectives.

Expected outcomes Identify the outcomes you plan to achieve from the project. Outcomes should relate to the overall program, as described in the program description section. If research is part of the proposed work, outcomes must include hypothesized results and implications of the proposed research.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 26

Approach Outline your action plan. Describe the scope and detail of how you will accomplish your proposed project. Account for all functions or activities you identify in your application.

Explain potential obstacles and challenges to accomplishing your project goals. Explain the strategies you will use to address them.

Use the headings and order of sections that follow.

Medically accurate; age, culturally, and linguistically appropriate; trauma-informed; and inclusive

• Describe how interventions will address the trauma needs of youth and be trauma informed.

• Explain how you will ensure that all curricula, services, and materials are medically accurate and culturally, linguistically, and age appropriate.

• Explain how you will ensure that your project is inclusive and will create equitable access to resources and opportunities for all youth receiving services funded by the project.

• Describe how you will certify that all SRAE materials presented as factual will be grounded in scientific research. Explain how information shared is medically accurate and aligns with the needs and desired outcomes for the intended audience.

Evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions and strategies

• Describe how the project will address each of the A-F topics outlined in the legislation, as noted in the program description. You must address how the education is based on adolescent learning and developmental theories for the age group receiving the intervention.

• Provide a detailed description of the curriculum modules and types of interventions and activities that will be conducted and how they align with the SRAE program requirements.

• Provide a rationale for choosing the selected curriculum, citing evidence that demonstrates how the curriculum and overall proposal apply key program elements to positively influence youth behavior change, namely delaying initiation of sexual activity.

• Describe the process and tools that you will use to monitor program fidelity, and, if adaptations are planned, provide a clear rationale for the proposed adaptations.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 27

• Describe any design or technological innovationsyou propose to use and how they will support the project.

Positive youth development approach

• Describe how the program will incorporate a PYD approach, including targeting risk and protective factors in young people’s lives that are known to influence sexual activity.

• Demonstrate ways in which you plan to incorporate meaningful youth engagement as part of the larger PYD approach.

Equity and populations served

• Describe how you identified your chosen population and describe the rationale for selecting it, as well as a clear justification for the estimate of the overall number of program participants expected to participate in each year of the project.

◦ FYSB requires that you include a description of the types of participants by age groups or grades, race, ethnicity, and other descriptive factors.

• Describe how you will coordinate, communicate, and engage with community-based organizations whose missions include reaching underrepresented and underserved populations.

Describe staff development and training opportunities to increase knowledge of equity-related barriers and opportunities related to gender, race, and other characteristics.

• Provide a detailed, thorough, and realistic description of the recruitment and retention plan for youth ages 10 to 19. The approach described must be specific for the population, service delivery location, and implementation setting.

• Identify the methods you will use to ensure facilitators/educators who will deliver the program have been or will be formally trained in the proposed SRAE program model and/or strategies. Describe the types and frequency of diversity, equity, and inclusion training that will be conducted throughout the project period.

Referrals and linkages to youth-friendly healthcare and other services

• Describe how your program will include referrals and linkages to youth-friendly services, including how you will leverage existing partnerships and form new ones to facilitate such referrals and linkages.

• Describe the range of mechanisms that will be used to deliver services (such as school-based programs, clinics, and/or youth development programs). The description should identify referral resources and include information about how

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 28 referrals will be made to other services and details on how you will follow up on and track referrals, when appropriate.

Project timeline and milestones Provide a timeline for your project that includes milestones. To do so:

• Organize the information by task and subtask, showing related milestones.

• Provide monthly or quarterly quantitative projections for what you plan to accomplish and by when. For example, provide the number of people you plan to serve or the number of a certain activity you plan to complete.

• If you can’t quantify some of your accomplishments, provide their target dates.

• Cover the full period of performance in your timeline.

Organizational capacity Provide the following information for your full project team including the applicant organization and any cooperating partners, contractors, and subrecipients:

• Provide evidence that your team has the relevant experience and expertise needed to carry out your project.

• Describe your team’s experience with administering, developing, implementing, managing, and evaluating similar projects.

• Provide evidence that your team has the organizational capability to fulfill their roles and functions effectively.

• Describe the recruitment, retention, professional development training, and technical assistance plan for facilitators/educators throughout the project period.

Describe how each proposed position is appropriate and relevant to the successful implementation of the proposed project.

• Describe the organizational executive leadership and the existing staffing structure or a proposed staffing plan that will support full program implementation within 90 days of award.

• Provide a succinct plan to monitor the effective management and coordination of activities by any partners, contractors and subcontractors, and consultants, if applicable.

You will provide some supporting information in the attachments section.

Current and pending funding support Provide a list of your current and pending funded support for ongoing projects and proposals. Include all sources such as federal, state, and local governments; public or private foundations; for-profit organizations, etc.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 29

Be sure to indicate which projects and proposals require committed time from the Project Director, Principal Investigator, or other key personnel.

Show the total award amount, awarding entity, and the amount of time each key staff member will devote to each project.

Plan for oversight of federal award funds and activities You must ensure proper award oversight. The regulation that governs this oversight is 45 CFR Part 75 Subpart D. It includes standards for:

• Financial and program management

• Property management

• Procurement

• Performance and financial monitoring and reporting

• Subrecipient monitoring and management

• Record retention and access

• Remedies for noncompliance

• Prior written approval

Describe your framework to ensure proper oversight of federal funds and activities.

Include:

• A description of the governance, policies and procedures, and systems you use for record keeping and financial management.

• A description of the procedures to identify and mitigate risks and issues. These might include audit findings, continuous performance assessment findings, and monitoring.

• The key staff who will be responsible for maintaining oversight of program activities staff and any partners or subrecipients.

Project performance evaluation plan This section of your application demonstrates how you will meet the performance measurement requirement outlined in the program description.

Describe a plan for how you will evaluate your project’s performance and how it will contribute to continuous quality improvement. This plan must describe:

• How you will monitor ongoing activities and the progress towards the project’s goals and objectives.

• The inputs, key activities, and expected outcomes of the funded activities. Inputs might include your collaborative partners, key staff, budget, service processes, or other resources.

1. Review 2. Get Ready 3. Prepare 4. Learn 5. Submit 6. Award Contacts

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 30 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-75/subpart-D

• How you will measure the inputs, activities, and outcomes.

• How you will use the resulting information to inform improvement of funded activities.

• Any processes that support the overall data quality.

• The organizational systems and processes that will track performance outcomes.

• How your organization will collect and manage data in a way that allows for accurate and timely reporting of performance outcomes. This might include assigned skilled staff, data management software, and data integrity.

• Any potential obstacles to implementing the project performance evaluation and how you will address them.

• A timeline for how you will review information from the performance evaluation and apply it to your ongoing project.

• How data will be collected and reported on OMB-approved program performance measures.

Local evaluation (optional) State whether you plan to conduct an optional local evaluation or not.

If you propose to conduct a local evaluation, you must provide a plan to implement the evaluation in the 24-month project period. Explain how the evaluation will do the following:

• Answer important questions of interest to you, to the community, and to the larger field of SRAE.

• Include an appropriate evaluation design.

• Describe the use of viable methods to determine if the project outcomes were achieved.

• Address sexual risk avoidance outcomes—specifically, sexual activity or other sexual behaviors, to include preventing pregnancy among youth.

• Address key program outcomes.

• Meet expectations of rigorous evaluation design that ACF provides through a system of technical assistance.

• Describe how you will procure an independent evaluator. Include the independent evaluator’s experience and proposed evaluation infrastructure.

Plans should be described clearly with an understanding that modifications may be required after an evaluator is officially hired and/or federal government-sponsored technical assistance is provided.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 31

National evaluation You must also clearly state your assurance/agreement that your organization and any subrecipients will participate in the national evaluation, if selected by FYSB.

Logic model You must submit a logic model for designing, managing, and evaluating the project. A logic model is a diagram that:

• Presents how inputs drive activities to produce outputs, outcomes, and the ultimate goals of the proposed project.

• Explains the links among project elements.

• Targets the identified objectives and goals of the project.

While there are many versions of logic models, for the purposes of this funding opportunity, the logic model may include the connections between:

• Inputs such as additional resources, organizational profile, collaborative partners, key staff, or budget.

• The population, such as the individuals to be served or identified needs.

• Activities, mechanisms, and processes such as evidenced-based practices, best practices, approach, key intervention and evaluation components, and continuous quality improvement efforts.

• Outputs, which include the immediate and direct results of program activities.

• Outcomes, which include the expected short- and long-term results the project you expect to achieve. These are typically described as changes in people or systems.

• Project goals, such as overarching objectives and reasons for proposing the project.

Where possible, your logic model should specify short-term and long-term goals.

Your logic model should…