hhs-2024-acf-ofvps-ev-0039_Full_Announcement.pdf

Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS)

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Application due June 12, 2024

Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: Specialized Services for Abused Parents and Their Children (Demonstration Projects) Opportunity number: HHS-2024-ACF-OFVPS-EV-0039

Contents Before you begin 3

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 4

Basic information 5

Eligibility 6

Program description 7

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 17

Get registered 18

Find the application package 18

Learn more 18

Join the information session 19

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 20

Application contents and format 21

Step 4: Learn About Review and Award 33

Application review 34

Award notices 40

Step 5: Submit Your Application 41

Application submission and deadlines 42

Application checklist 45

Step 6: Learn What Happens After Award 46

Post-award requirements and administration 47

Contacts and Support 49

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 June 12, 2024 Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 12, 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 6

Program description 7

Basic information Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS)

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) program provides funding to increase awareness and supportive services for victims/survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault.

Have questions?

See Contacts and Support.

Key facts

Opportunity Name:

Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants:

Specialized Services for Abused Parents and Their Children (Demonstration Projects)

Opportunity Number:

HHS-2024-ACF-OFVPS-

EV-0039

Federal Assistance Listing:

93.592

Key dates

Application deadline:

June 12, 2024

Optional Notice of Intent deadline:

May 13, 2024

Expected award date:

September 30, 2024

Expected start date:

October 1, 2024

See deadlines.

Summary Our purpose is to expand the capacity of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence service programs and community-based programs to serve adult, child, and youth survivors of domestic violence and prevent future domestic violence.

This program provides direct counseling, victim advocacy, and services to support the social, emotional, and developmental needs of adults, children, and youth who have been abused or exposed to domestic violence.

Funding details Type: Cooperative agreement

Estimated total program funding: $19,125,000

Total expected awards: 50

Minimum award amount for the first budget period (award floor): $275,000

Maximum award amount for the first budget period (award ceiling): $450,000

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

Under the authorizing statute, we may only award projects for two years. If successful, there may be an opportunity for an additional continuation project of no more than two more years if approved by the ACF Assistant Secretary.

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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 5

Eligibility Who can apply

Eligible applicants According to FVPSA, 42 U.S.C. §10412(b), eligible entities are:

• A local agency (an agency that serves a local jurisdiction, such as a county, city, or special district government entity)

• A nonprofit private organization, including faith-based and charitable organizations, community-based organizations, and voluntary associations (providing services for a city, county, region, state, or territory)

• A tribal organization (serving tribal communities)

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

Other eligibility criteria All eligible applicants may also:

• Have a demonstrated record of serving victims of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence and their children. FVPSA, 42 U.S.C. §10412(b).

• Be a direct domestic violence victim services provider or a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)-designated state domestic violence coalition or have a history of meaningful, collaborative partnerships working with local, state, or domestic violence service providers.

• Not be a recipient under previous NOFOs HHS-2016-ACF-ACYF-EV-1163 or HHS-2020-ACF-ACYF-EV-1812, according to FVPSA, 42 U.S.C. §10412(a)(2).

See initial review for disqualification factors.

In your attachments, you will provide eligibility documentation.

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.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 6

Program description Background The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act is the main federal funding source for emergency shelters and support services for domestic violence (DV) victims/survivors and their children. The goal is to increase awareness of DV, prevent it, and provide services for adults, children, and youth nationwide. FVPSA funding aims to improve how DV providers respond to victims/survivors through training and technical assistance. FVPSA funding supports culturally specific and linguistically appropriate services for victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. FVPSA funding also supports a National Domestic Violence Hotline for domestic violence and dating violence victims/survivors that is free and confidential.

Under this program, we have awarded two rounds of demonstration projects. The second round has implemented demonstration projects and will complete their final year of performance and evaluation on September 30, 2024. This new NOFO funds a third round of demonstration grants.

Activities Our purpose is to expand the capacity of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence service programs and community-based programs to serve adult, child, and youth victims/survivors and prevent future domestic violence.

We plan to fund 50 programs to build the knowledge base for domestic violence programs and expand capacity to address the needs of abused parents and their children.

Required activities Required activities include:

• Direct counseling

• Services that are developmentally, age, culturally, and linguistically appropriate to the victims and children

• Advocacy on behalf of victims/survivors of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence and their children, including coordinating services with those provided by the child welfare system

• Services for non-abusing parents to support their roles as caregivers and in responding to the social, emotional, and developmental needs of their children

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 7

• Services that work with the non-abusing parent and child together, where appropriate. Services do not always have to be provided together with both the parent and child physically present

Optional activities Optional activities include:

• Early childhood development and mental health services

• Coordinating activities with and providing technical assistance to community-based organizations serving victims/survivors of abuse or children and youth exposed to domestic violence

• Services and referrals for children, including child care, transportation, educational support, respite care, supervised visitation, mobile or offsite services, or other necessary services

Service requirements Services must:

• Be shelter-, home-, or community-based

• Be voluntary, trauma-informed, and developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate

• Be accessible to adults, children, or youth with disabilities and provide reasonable modifications

• Include age-specific services and activities for children, teens, and adolescents

• Include peer support for non-abusive parents and/or children and youth

• Include advocacy on behalf of the child and, as appropriate, the non-abusive parent

• Provide structure and support to children and families who are required to, or choose to, remain in contact with a parent who has been abusive when it is either:

◦ Determined to be safe, meaningful, appropriate, and in the child’s best interest

◦ Requested by the non-abusive parent and children

• Provide support for non-abusive parents in responding to the financial, social, emotional, and developmental needs of their children

• Make referrals to long-term services, as appropriate, to foster and support the family’s ongoing goals

• If services include early childhood development and mental health services, they must be domestic violence trauma-informed and responsive

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 8

• Expand access to legal services necessary to develop structure and arrangements for safe contact, engagement, parenting time, or visitation with the abusive parent

• Include community-based projects and outreach

• Develop prevention programs for children and youth that support healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence, risky behaviors, and sexual coercion

• Maintain ongoing contact, including home visitation or mobile service delivery, with the family or child after the family has left the shelter or non-residential services

• Focus on developing programs and workforce capacity to enhance services for children and youth exposed to domestic violence and their abused parents. This includes:

◦ Building infrastructure within systems to enhance collaboration, decrease barriers to services, and increase access to existing services, such as institutionalizing communication among interdisciplinary partners

◦ Supporting the development of policies or procedures to operationalize quality practice and other strategies that promote family well-being, protective factors, and self-sufficiency

◦ Promoting awareness and using integrated, multi-disciplinary interventions that provide comprehensive family support across systems

Program goals and objectives You must address the needs of abused parents and children and youth exposed to domestic violence and contribute to the knowledge base for domestic violence programs focused on children and youth by meeting the following goals:

Improve systems and responses You must improve systems and responses to abused parents and their children across the targeted community, state, or tribe by:

• Developing and enhancing community-based interventions for children and youth exposed to DV whose parents may or may not have sought support services from a domestic violence program. This includes addressing barriers that may have kept them from doing so

• Ensuring access to safe, structured contact, engagement, or parenting time with the abusing parent, when it is safe and meaningful to do so

• Developing and disseminating guidelines for service providers or for other organizations and agencies that impact children and youth exposed to domestic violence

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 9

• Providing training or technical assistance to help make positive changes and put into practice methods that support workers and help identify children and youth who have been exposed to domestic violence. These efforts must focus on various systems that affect child and youth development, family independence, and self-sufficiency. These systems include:

◦ Early childhood education programs like Head Start, Early Head Start, home visitation, and childcare

◦ Educational systems

◦ Child protective services and child welfare systems

◦ Child support services

◦ Disability service providers

◦ Public benefits programs like Women, Infants and Children; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, housing assistance, and Earned Income Tax Credit

◦ Health care services

◦ Behavioral health services

◦ Faith-based programs

◦ Family courts and the legal system

◦ Responsible fatherhood and healthy relationships programs

◦ Youth development and youth services, including homeless youth

Provide new services You must coordinate or provide new or enhanced residential and non-residential services for children and youth exposed to domestic violence by:

• Enhancing and testing service or program models, implementation strategies, evaluation tools, and measures

• Documenting and disseminating lessons learned

• Developing, adopting, and evaluating innovative programs like:

◦ Arts, movement, and mindfulness interventions

◦ Trauma-informed and culturally relevant interventions for abused parents or their children exposed to domestic violence that strengthen the parent-child bond and reinforce the engagement of the non-abusing parent

• Expanding safe, structured contact, engagement, or parenting time with the abusing parent, when it is safe and meaningful to do so

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 10

Enhance evidence-informed practices You must enhance evidence-informed and practice-informed services, strategies, advocacy, and systems change efforts with principles to improve outcomes and interventions for parents and children and youth exposed to domestic violence by:

• Providing peer-to-peer technical assistance within the network of demonstration projects

• Developing a plan to evaluate practices and measure programming outcomes in partnership with the National Capacity Building Center to Expand Services for Children, Youth, and Abused Parents Impacted by Domestic Violence (ESCYAP), currently operated by Futures Without Violence. See the separate NOFO HHS-2016-ACF-ACYF-EV-1157 at Grants.gov

• Documenting lessons learned and implementation strategies to share with the broader field

About evidence-informed practices For purposes of this NOFO, evidence-informed practices are practices that bring together the best available research, professional expertise, and input from service, advocacy, prevention, and related communities to identify and deliver services that have promise to achieve positive outcomes for abused parents and children exposed to domestic violence.

Outcomes By the end of the grant period, you must have:

• Improved processes and outcomes for abused parents and children and youth exposed to domestic violence by implementing a program that:

◦ Improves systems and responses to abused parents and their children and youth exposed to domestic violence

◦ Expands capacity to provide residential and non-residential services that are accessible to abused parents, children, and youth exposed to domestic violence

◦ Enhances evidence-informed services, strategies, advocacy, safety planning, and interventions for children and youth exposed to domestic violence

• Expanded your capacity as an organization to provide support, skills development, and resources to increase the healing, resilience, and protective capacities of parents and families to prevent future domestic violence by

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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 11 https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/283309 https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/283309 addressing, in an appropriate manner, the needs of children and youth exposed to domestic violence and their abused parents

Activities evaluation plan If funded, you will participate in a cross-site evaluation conducted by the technical assistance and training provider. This will involve participating in data collection and other programmatic activities.

Other program requirements In designing your program, you must:

• Incorporate the needs of children and youth exposed to domestic violence in planning and carrying out all activities. This commitment must include providing relevant training for all staff as determined in partnership with the FVPSA Program and ESCYAP, the designated training and technical assistance provider.

• Enhance the resilience of children and youth exposed to DV and promote work with abused parents and their children together to strengthen the parent-child bond, which is proven to increase children’s resiliency.

• Incorporate the voices of children and youth as well as their non-abusive parents in your program design, adaptation, or implementation through strategies such as focus groups, surveys, opportunities for storytelling, or other mechanisms for gathering meaningful feedback.

• Comply with FVPSA confidentiality requirements in 42 U.S.C. § 10406(c)(5).

• Be evidence-informed by identifying existing solutions, scaling up practices that are working, and designing solutions with regular input of the people and communities you will serve.

• Provide a comprehensive community equity plan (or other similar documentation within the application) that demonstrates the process and policies you use to ensure the proactive identification of systematic barriers to opportunities and benefits for underserved populations, including racial and ethnic minorities.

• Consider the socio-emotional needs of children and youth regarding their abusing parent and, where appropriate, safe, and meaningful, consider provision of services to the abusive parent and child within their respective service systems to restore the parent-child bond.

• Address co-occurring issues that intersect with domestic violence, such as child sexual abuse, substance use, mental health, and teen dating violence, explicitly detailing how the program will incorporate these contexts into its interventions and services.

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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 12 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2021-title42/html/USCODE-2021-title42-chap110-sec10406.htm

• Be structured to include an evaluative process that documents appropriate culturally relevant, trauma-informed, and age-appropriate outcomes for abused parents and their children.

• Demonstrate ongoing continuous quality improvement efforts in service design and delivery, particularly as they pertain to being survivor-centered and child-focused to improve the lives of DV-impacted children and their families.

• Plan for major meetings or events in conjunction with OFVPS.

• Provide a detailed plan for project implementation, a work plan, a training and events schedule, an evaluation schedule, and a plan for reporting on the outcomes of the project.

• Plan for three representatives of your organization, including the local evaluation partner, to travel to an orientation within the first six months of award. We have not yet determined the location.

• Plan for at least two representatives from your organization to participate in at least one OFVPS-sponsored meeting each project period.

Reports and evaluation

• You will incorporate a six-month planning period that includes conducting a needs assessment and developing an evaluation plan in coordination with the national technical assistance provider.

• We do not require a rigorous evidence-based study design that includes a comparison condition. Propose activities that will meet a feasible and realistic standard of evaluation.

• You must develop and report internal outputs and outcomes appropriate to your unique project.

◦ Outputs and outcomes must be measurable, domestic violence-focused, trauma-informed, and culturally relevant.

◦ Outcomes must be analyzed by designated evaluators who have experience with quantitative and qualitative data collection, management, and analysis, and who are supported by sufficient time and resources for this purpose.

◦ Evaluators must work collaboratively with program staff on developing data collection plans and analyzing results to help inform program implementation. OFVPS’s ESCYAP will provide support and consultation for you and your evaluators in developing your outcomes.

• You must also work with ESCYAP, which in turn will work with OFVPS program staff and national, state, and local experts, to:

◦ Develop, refine, and use a small set of consistent outcome measures for all recipients

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 13

◦ Conduct qualitative interviews, focus groups, or surveys with parents, staff, or community stakeholders

◦ Draft a final lessons-learned report from their project implementation and evaluation

Cooperative agreement — description of ACF’s involvement Because awards under this NOFO will be cooperative agreements, OFVPS will play a substantial role in your project. Our involvement includes:

• Providing significant guidance and consultation on project design and implementation to the primary recipient throughout the project period to ensure the successful implementation of the project and to improve the outcomes of the program

• Reviewing, providing feedback on, and approving the project scope, activities, and work plan for the project, as well as the structure and integrity of the resource center, in conjunction with the recipient. This includes any changes to key personnel on the project

• Proposing and approving significant changes to project scope, activities, and work plans

• Reviewing and approving final drafts of all updated or new materials, articles, major publications, and research reports that are developed or distributed with resources made available under this cooperative agreement

• Being involved in the development of strategies for the implementation of the project

• Participating in major project activities, such as advisory or other leadership committee meetings, conferences, topical meetings, trainings, or major project meetings

• Keeping you informed about OFVPS, HHS, and ACF priorities

• Organizing frequent consultations, meetings, briefings, teleconferences, webinars, and other forums necessary to review current and planned activities, share information, and promote national coordination

We will incorporate the respective responsibilities of OFVPS and recipients into the Notice of Award (NoA) and its terms and conditions. We will discuss them with applicants during the pre-award negotiations. We do not expect that the cooperative agreement will change the project requirements for the recipients under this NOFO.

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 14

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

• Construction

• Purchase of real property

• Major renovation

• Pre-award costs

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.

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

Learn more at 45 CFR 75.414, Indirect Costs.

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 funding opportunity.

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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 15 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/part-75#p-75.414(f) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-75#p-75.2(Modified%20Total%20Direct%20Cost) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-75.414 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-75.352

Statutory authority The statutory authority for this funding opportunity announcement is FVPSA, 42 U.S.C.

§10412(b).

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

Step 1: Review the Opportunity 16 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2021-title42/html/USCODE-2021-title42-chap110-sec10412.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2021-title42/html/USCODE-2021-title42-chap110-sec10412.htm

Step 2:

Get Ready to Apply

In this step

Get registered 18

Find the application package 18

Learn more 18

Join the information session 19

Get registered SAM.gov Your entity must have an active registration 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- OFVPS-EV-0039. 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 18 https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration http://grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration http://www.grants.gov/quick-start-guide/applicants https://grants.gov/search-grants https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

Join the information session Please join us for an information session about this NOFO:

Date: May 6, 2024

Time: 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)

Registration link: ACF Zoom webpage

Passcode: 429929

During this session, we will provide clarifications and answers to questions about this

NOFO.

Your participation is voluntary, and you can remain anonymous. If you can’t make the session, you can view it later. We will place the recording on the OFVPS website. The NOFO remains the primary information source.

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

Step 2: Get Ready to Apply 19 https://acf-hhs-gov.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_tfMk-xKKSQ6qsjykHtAkvg https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofvps

Step 3:

Prepare Your Application

In this step

Application contents and format 21

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: 50 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 21

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

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 are more important than length. We are particularly interested in project narratives that convey strategies for achieving intended performance.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 22

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 will include any subrecipients in your project that will serve the geographic areas include their locations as well.

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.

• 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.

• In your attachments, you can provide supporting documentation such as letters of support and testimonials.

Objectives and target population State your main objectives and any sub-objectives. Address how the objectives stated relate to the overall purpose of this program and describe how you will achieve the objectives.

• Describe your target audience and provide a compelling justification for focusing on your identified population. Incorporate demographic data and participant or beneficiary information, including:

◦ Information and data on both children and youth exposed to DV and abused parents in your community and the capacity of stakeholders in your community to meet their needs

◦ When appropriate, a literature review should be used to support the objectives and needs described in this section

• If proposing to serve a marginalized or underserved community, describe, in detail, the following:

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 23

◦ A demonstrated history of working with or in that population

◦ Significant program staff, evaluators, and/or board demographics that are reflective of the population

◦ An understanding of the unique issues facing the population

◦ How the program or service has been adapted or is uniquely culturally responsive

◦ How the program or service addresses gaps specific to the population

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.

You may include research based on the work of ESCYAP, your own efforts, or other research that is credible and rigorous.

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.

In this section:

• Explain potential obstacles and challenges to accomplishing your project goals.

Explain the strategies you will use to address them.

• Describe any design or technological innovations, reductions in cost or time, or extraordinary social or community involvement in the project.

• Provide a list of organizations, cooperating entities, consultants, or other key individuals that will work on the project along with a short description of the nature of their effort or contribution. In your attachments, you will include third-party agreements.

• Describe how you will prioritize the safety and confidentiality of information about victims of family violence, DV, or dating violence, and their children.

• Describe how you will provide trauma-informed services that are developmentally, culturally, linguistically, and age-appropriate to victims and children.

• Describe how you will ensure that professionals working with the children receive training and technical assistance appropriate and relevant to the unique needs of children exposed to family violence, DV, or dating violence.

Be sure to consider the program goals, requirements, and activities in the program description.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 24

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.

• Indicate how you arrived at the number of people served under this program based on the population within the geographical locations and their needs.

• 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 full project team has the organizational capability to fulfill their roles and functions effectively, including experience and knowledge delivering DV-informed services with families.

• In your attachments, you will provide some supporting information.

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.

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.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 25

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. You must describe:

• The governance, policies and procedures, and systems you use for record keeping and financial management

• 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 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

• 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

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

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 26 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-75/subpart-D

• 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

• The frequency of data collection

• The specific measures you plan to evaluate, such as increasing parenting capacities of abused parents, improving child safety planning, operationalizing strategies to enhance family well-being and self-sufficiency, etc.

• How you will use program data to make program adjustments or adaptations

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

• Target population, such as the people to be served or identified needs

• Activities, mechanisms, and processes such as evidenced-based practices, best practices, approach, key intervention and evaluation components, 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

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 27

Project sustainability plan You must propose a plan for project sustainability after the period of federal funding ends. We expect you to sustain key elements of your project. These elements can include strategies or services and interventions that were effective in improving practices and outcomes.

Provide an approach to project sustainability that is effective and feasible. Describe:

• The key people and organizations whose support you will require

• The types of alternative support you will require to maintain the project

• If the proposed project involves key project partners, how you will maintain their cooperation or collaboration after the federal funding ends

Protection of sensitive or confidential information Describe how you will collect and safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other information that is considered sensitive. Make sure your approach is consistent with applicable federal, state, local, and tribal laws regarding privacy and obligations of confidentiality. Provide:

• The methods and systems you will use to ensure that you properly handle confidential and sensitive information including any subrecipients and/or contractors

• A plan for the disposition of such information at the end of the period of performance

See 45 CFR 75.303(e) for more information.

Protecting victim data To protect their safety, you must protect the confidentiality and privacy of all victims and their families. See 45 CFR 1370.4. Provide a plan that explains how you will protect victims’ and their families’ data.

You and all organizations involved in your project may not:

• Disclose any personally identifying information collected in connection with services requested, delivered, or denied under your program

• Reveal any personally identifying information without informed, written, reasonably time-limited consent by the person about whom information is sought

• Require an adult, youth, or child victim of family violence, domestic violence, or dating violence to provide a consent to release their personally identifying information as a condition of eligibility for services

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

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 28 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/part-75#p-75.303(e) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-1370.4

Dissemination plan Propose a plan to disseminate reports, products, and project outputs to key target audiences. Include:

• Dissemination goals and objectives

• Strategies to identify and engage with target audiences

• How you will allocate sufficient staff time and budget for dissemination

• A preliminary plan to evaluate the extent to which target audiences receive project information and use it as intended

• The dissemination timeline

Line-item budget and budget narrative The line-item budget and budget justification support the information you provide in the Budget Information Standard Form SF-424-A. See other required forms.

It justifies the costs you ask for and includes added detail, including detailed calculations for the “object class categories” in the Budget Information Standard Form.

You will provide this information for the initial 12-month budget period. See funding periods.

As you develop your budget, consider:

• If the costs are necessary, reasonable, allocable, and consistent with your project’s purpose and activities

• How you calculate your costs in ways that are clear and repeatable

• How funds are restricted. See funding policies and limitations

We encourage you also to review the Standard Form instructions.

To create your line-item budget and justification, see detailed instructions on our website.

In general, you must:

• Indicate the method you will use for your indirect cost rate. See indirect costs for further information.

• Include estimation methods, quantities, unit costs, and other similar quantitative detail sufficient for the calculation to be duplicated.

• For any cost sharing, include a detailed listing of any funding sources identified in Block 18 of the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance.

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

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 29 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/prepare-budget

In your budget, plan for:

• Three representatives of your organization, including the local evaluation partner, to travel to an orientation within the first six months of award. We have not yet determined the location.

• Travel expenses for at least two representatives from the recipient organization to participate in at least one OFVPS-sponsored meeting each project period.

Proprietary or personally identifiable information In your application, you may identify salary or other proprietary information or personally identifiable information. We will remove this information from applications before they go to reviewers.

If you have an exemption for paper submission, you can protect salary information and any proprietary information by placing that information only in the original application. You can remove the information from the copies, keeping summary information.

Attachments You will upload attachments in Grants.gov using the Other Attachments Form. These attachments are included in the overall application page limit unless it says otherwise in this section.

Indirect cost agreement If you include indirect costs in your budget using an approved rate, include a copy of your current agreement approved by your cognizant agency for indirect costs. If you use the de minimis rate, you do not need to submit this attachment.

See indirect costs for more information.

Legal proof of nonprofit status If your organization is a nonprofit, you need to attach proof. We will accept any of the following:

• A reference to your listing in the Internal Revenue Services’ (IRS) most recent list of tax-exempt organizations

• A copy of a current tax exemption certificate from the IRS

• A letter from your state’s tax department, Attorney General, or another appropriate state official saying that your group is a nonprofit and that none of your net earnings go to private shareholders or others

• A certified copy of your certificate of incorporation or similar document. This document must show that your group is a nonprofit

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#p-75.2(Cognizant%20agency%20for%20indirect%20costs)

• Any of these documents for a parent organization. Also, include a statement signed by an official of the parent group that your organization is a nonprofit affiliate

Additional eligibility documentation Provide documentation that you meet the requirements in other eligibility criteria.

Documentation might include your vision or mission statement or other materials that clearly show your organization’s focus on domestic violence.

Organizational capacity supporting information You must attach the following information to support the information in your organizational capacity section:

• Organizational charts

• Resumes or Curricula Vitae for all key personnel

• Job descriptions for each vacant key position

• List of your Board of Directors

• Financial statements adhering to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), if available, for up to the two most recently completed fiscal years (this requirement does not apply to start-up organizations)

• Audit summary report including auditor’s opinion, if applicable

• Copy or description of the applicant organization’s fiscal control and accountability procedures

• Copy or description of the applicant organization’s personnel policies

• Information on compliance with federal, state, and local government standards

Third-party agreements You must submit agreements with all third parties involved in the project. Third parties include subrecipients, contractors, and other cooperating entities. Third-party agreements include letters of commitment, memoranda of understanding (MOU), and memoranda of agreement (MOA). We do not consider general letters of support to be third-party agreements.

Any such agreement must:

• Describe the roles and responsibilities for project activities.

• Describe the support and resources that the third party is committing to the proposed project.

• Be signed by the person in the third-party organization with the authority to make such commitments.

Step 3: Prepare Your Application 31

• Detail work schedules and estimated compensation with an understanding that the parties will negotiate a final agreement after award.

• Describe the fair and appropriate compensation to be provided.

If your organization has a primary purpose other than the provision of DV services and supports, you must provide a formal partnership and signed MOU with a primary purpose DV service provider.

Letters of support Attach statements from community, public, or commercial leaders that support your project. At minimum, each letter of support must identify the person writing the letter, the organization they represent, the date, and their reasons for supporting the project.

Include letters of support from stakeholders such as local, state, tribal, and national organizations that have experience with your organization and can speak to your prior work and capacity to undertake the project.

The letters must, alone or in combination, include stakeholders that are working to address DV, advocate on behalf of or provide age-appropriate services to children or youth, and represent the communities you intend to serve.

Other required forms You will need to complete some other required forms. Upload the forms listed here at Grants.gov. You can find them in the NOFO application package or review them and their instructions at Grants.gov Forms.

Forms Submission requirement

Application for Federal Assistance

(SF-424)

With the application

Budget Information for…