oppONDCP-DRUGCOURTTTA-2018-cfda95.005-instructions.docx

CFDA #95.005

Office of National Drug Control Policy Executive Office of the President 750 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20503

FY 2018 Competitive Grant Solicitation Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Grant

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) No: ONDCP-DRUGCOURTTTA-2018 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No: 95.005 Release Date: May 11, 2018

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Executive Office of the President, is seeking applications from a non-profit entity as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code with expert knowledge and extensive experience in training drug court and other criminal justice practitioners on the application of evidence-based practices to address addiction among people involved in the criminal justice system.

Deadline:

Applicants must register with Grants.gov before applying. All applications are due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on July 13, 2018.

A. ELIGIBILITY

ONDCP invites applications from non-profit organizations (including faith-based, community, and tribal organizations), and institutions of higher learning (including tribal institutions of higher education) with demonstrated expertise in leading state and local governments in criminal justice systems reform. Applicants must be able to secure the participation of expert practitioners.

ONDCP welcomes joint applications from two or more eligible applicants; however, one applicant must be clearly indicated as the primary applicant (for correspondence, award, and management purposes) and the others indicated as co-applicants. The applicant should provide information that demonstrates the strength of the commitment of their partnering organizations, as set forth in Memorandums of Understanding, letters of support, statements of work, etc. All co-applicants must have demonstrated expertise in the provision of training and technical assistance on criminal justice systems reform and substance use disorders.

B. HOW TO APPLY

Applicants must register in, and submit applications through Grants.gov, a “one-stop storefront” to find Federal funding opportunities and apply for funding. Find complete instructions on how to register and submit an application at www.Grants.gov.

Applicants that experience technical difficulties during this process should call Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except Federal holidays. Registering with Grants.gov is a one-time process; however, processing delays may occur, and it can take several weeks for first-time registrants to receive confirmation and a user password. ONDCP encourages applicants to register several weeks before the application submission deadline.

In addition, ONDCP urges applicants to submit applications 72 hours prior to the application due date to allow time to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov and to correct, in a timely fashion, any problems that may have caused a rejection notification. Further, ONDCP strongly encourages all prospective applicants to sign up for Grants.gov email notifications regarding this announcement. If this announcement is canceled or modified, individuals who sign up with Grants.gov for updates will be automatically notified.

C. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

ONDCP’s Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Grant support training and technical assistance (TTA) that helps states, state courts, local courts, units of local government with drug courts or considering drug courts develop, maintain, and enhance alternatives to incarceration for individuals with addiction. The President’s priority is to enhance public safety by providing those who have engaged in criminal activity with greater opportunities to lead productive lives by addressing a range of issues, including mental health, vocational training, job creation, after-school programming, substance abuse, and mentoring through evidence-based rehabilitation programs. ONDCP seeks to reduce drug use and its consequences through evidence-based practices, and this grant will apply these principles to the criminal justice system.

The purpose of this grant is to: (1) educate, train, and produce materials to improve adherence to best practices, (2) decrease justice costs and recidivism, (3) improve access to services and service delivery, and (4) reduce disproportionality of punishment in the criminal justice system. The grant recipient shall:

· Use expert practitioners in the fields engaged in the science of addiction, criminal justice, healthcare, and drug courts.

· Provide in-person training, online training, and jurisdiction-specific technical assistance to a variety of demographically-composed areas at the state, local, and tribal levels.

· Include ONDCP policy priorities in the development and execution of training and technical assistance programs and educational materials:

· Applying a comprehensive approach to addressing opioid use disorders, including overdose prevention and naloxone administration training, and programs that provide access to medication-assisted treatment.

· Diversion programming with evidenced-based and comprehensive case management, treatment for substance use disorders, recovery and other necessary services.

· Consistency of practice among drug courts

· Collect and analyze data from jurisdictions engaged in grantee programming on alternatives to incarceration to determine the effectiveness of the trainings and on-site assistance.

All portions of the application must reflect these objectives and subject matter areas.

Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables

Goal. The program’s goals are: (1) to provide TTA to criminal justice practitioners to develop, maintain, and enhance evidence-based interventions from arrest to reentry; (2) to educate criminal justice professionals on substance use disorders; and (3) to develop TTA on medication-assisted treatment and overdose reversal medications to expand use in drug courts, to support recovery, and to prevent overdose deaths.

Program Objectives. The objectives of the program are as follows:

· To provide tools that educate and train at statewide, regionally, and nationally of no-cost, on-request curricula on evidence-based interventions at all points of engagement with the criminal justice system to ensure systematic implementation.

· To provide statewide, regionally, and nationally of no-cost evidence-based training for treatment providers working with drug court.

· To provide statewide and regional training for drug courts on census expansion with a focus on probation violators.

· To develop tools that educate drug court practitioners on the implementation of the evidence-based drug court standards for adult drug courts.

· To provide TTA to drug court practitioners on the evidence-based drug court standards for adult drug courts.

· To develop educational materials to address substance use disorders and opioid strategies for people in the criminal justice system.

· To develop and conduct no-cost training events for drug court professionals on medication-assisted treatment and overdose prevention.

· To conduct evaluations of trainings provided under this grant.

D. ORGANIZATION INVOLVEMENT & DELIVERABLES

Deliverables. The program narrative should reflect how the applicant will accomplish the activities. Subsequent deliverables may be developed according to need and funding ability. When the project ends, ONDCP will require the awardee to transfer products to ONDCP. The successful applicant will develop the following:

1. Project Plans

· A work plan that describes how the grantee will incorporate data, materials, and processes from the current service provider into the new program approach, including the collaboration and interface needed during the startup phase.

· A strategic plan (including timelines, performance measures, and benchmarks for measuring internal progress) that specifies which activities the grantee will conduct to achieve the program goals and objectives.

· A plan of action for the TTA requests to assist in developing a comprehensive strategic plan and the capacity to collect and use program evaluation management data.

2. Marketing

· A program marketing strategy that outlines the development of products and materials that will inform state, local, and tribal justice systems of the available TTA services.

3. Technical Assistance

· Training, technical assistance, and evaluation protocols to ensure consistency and quality of service delivery.

· A directory of TTA experts in each field identified in this FOA, who possess skills and abilities relevant to the subject matter areas identified in this FOA.

· A projected plan for onsite technical assistance visits.

4. Training

· A training proposal that includes the experts/organizations that will develop and provide training; locations for regional/statewide trainings; and projected materials and modules that will be available for those unable to attend in-person training.

5. Materials

· Applicant should identify at least two materials to be produced each year of the grant award period. The materials produced should support the training and technical assistance relating to the three issue areas in this FOA:

· Medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders and overdose prevention;

· The Adult Drug Court Best Practice Standards (found here: http://www.nadcp.org/Standards); and

· Justice systems change to incorporate diversion programming, case management, and supportive services.

· Materials that will need to be produced to support the objectives of the grant should be described in the application materials to the best extent possible and may include: fact sheets, workbooks, manuals, toolkits, brochures, project plans for individual jurisdictions, and/or other materials.

Applicants should be realistic in estimating the cost of deliverables and in detailing the implementation schedule. ONDCP also encourages applicants to be innovative and expects applicants to propose alternative approaches to the delivery of TTA to maximize resources.

Evidence-based Programs or Practices ONDCP places a strong emphasis on the use of data and evidence in policy making and program development. ONDCP considers programs and practices to be evidence-based when their effectiveness has been demonstrated by causal evidence, generally obtained through one or more outcome evaluations. Causal evidence documents a relationship between an activity or intervention (including technology) and its intended outcome, including measuring the direction and size of a change, and the extent to which a change may be attributed to the activity or intervention. Causal evidence depends on the use of scientific methods to rule out, to the extent possible, alternative explanations for the documented change. The strength of causal evidence, based on the factors described above, will influence the degree to which ONDCP considers a program or practice to be evidence-based.

Authorizing Statutes and Governing Regulations Applicable to this Funding Opportunity: The authority for this opportunity is Public Laws 115-141 and 115-31, 21 U.S.C. 1534(a)(1)(B). The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards are applicable to the government and applicants, grant applications, and grant awards to non-Federal entities. See, 2 CFR Part 200, et seq., as adopted in full by ONDCP at 2 CFR Part 3603, et seq.

E. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Estimated Amount and Length of Award

ONDCP expects to award one Federal grant of $4,000,000 under the Drug Court Training and Technical Assistance Initiative for a 2-year period, beginning approximately October 2018. All applications and awards are subject to such additional requirements expressed in governing law. See, 2 CFR Part 200, et seq.

ONDCP anticipates that it will make any award from this FOA in the form of a cooperative agreement, which is a particular type of grant used if ONDCP expects to have substantial ongoing involvement in award activities. Substantial involvement includes direct oversight and coordination with the grantee organization in the implementation of the grant but does not involve day-to-day project management.

All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and to any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law.

Match Requirement This solicitation does not require a match.

F. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Application Content:

1. Proof of Eligibility Page:

Describe how the organization and its mission will contribute to the Training and Technical Assistance Initiative. Describe any planned collaboration, partnership, or consortium with other organizations and entities. Include written documentation on the development of the types of associations including letters of intent from the member organizations. Describe each organization and its members’ experience, and expertise, as discussed in the Eligibility Section noted above.

2. Program Narrative:

The narrative must respond to the solicitation and the selection criteria on pages 7 – 9. The program narrative should be double-spaced, using standard 12-point font, with 1-inch margins and should not exceed 20 pages. Please number pages “1 of 20,” “2 of 20,” etc.

The following sections should be included:

· Project design and implementation

· Capabilities and competencies

· Project timeline with each category, expected completion date, and responsible person and/or organization.

3. Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative:

Applicant must provide an itemized budget for the grant period. Applicant must submit budget worksheets and budget narrative in one file. The budget narrative should thoroughly and clearly describe every category of expense listed in the worksheet. Proposed budgets are expected to be complete, reasonable and allowable, cost-effective, and necessary for project activities. The narrative should be mathematically sound and correspond with the information and figures provided in the budget detail worksheet. The narrative should explain how costs were calculated and how they are relevant to the completion of the proposed project.

4. Performance Measures:

The awardee will be required to provide to ONDCP data that measure the results of training and technical assistance and to report the applicable performance measures quarterly.

G. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1. Eligibility: Applications will not be considered that fail to demonstrate the organization’s expert knowledge of drug courts and extensive experience in developing and providing training and technical assistance for drug court professionals. ONDCP may contact applicants to seek clarification or discuss perceived weaknesses.

ONDCP may request budget modifications where the budget and the budget narrative fail to demonstrate price reasonableness and price realism.

2. Merit Criteria: The merit of each application will be based on a review of the following, with regard to scores, as addressed:

Statement of Problem:

Provide an understanding of the need to provide training and technical assistance on the initiative’s three issue areas (Evidence-based Interventions/Systemic Implementation; Behavioral Management/Science of Addiction; Current and Emerging Issues Facing Justice Systems, particularly Drug Courts). Describe the challenges faced by criminal justice professionals and jurisdictions in implementing evidence-based interventions throughout the various stages of the criminal justice system and the need for a variety of responsive trainings and education. Please limit your responses to no more than 500 words. (10 points of 100) Program Design and Implementation:

Describe the goals, objectives, and deliverables for the three issue areas. Identify strategies for designing and implementing the deliverables. Include a timeline for completing tasks and the responsible entity/person. Provide a thorough description of all components of training curricula and the technical assistance plan and describe strategy and selection criteria for site-based and statewide trainings or technical assistance. Include target audience, mode of knowledge transfer, the expected number of participants per event/training, and strategy for course dissemination. Please limit your responses to no more than 2,000 words. (40 points of 100) Capabilities and Competencies Describe the management structure, staffing, and in-house or contracted capacity to complete each of the projects or trainings outlined. Illustrate the ability to manage complex training programs and projects effectively. Applicants must have technical communication capability to facilitate the announcement of the training opportunity nationwide, conduct webinars as appropriate, and to provide information and technical assistance to training participants following completion of programs. (30 points of 100) A higher number of points will be given to applicants with proven experience in training state and local judges, law enforcement management and officers, and other criminal justice representatives on the science of addiction and best practices, as well as organizations with experience in implementing programs that address public health and public safety issues related to persons with substance use disorders that are entering the criminal justice system. Applicants must have extensive knowledge of this population and must exhibit knowledge of the latest science or evidence-based practices in dealing with the population. In addition, applicants must demonstrate a history of developing and maintaining partnerships to increase the knowledge of and service to justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders.

A higher number of points will be given to applicants that include a consortium of organizations with the necessary subject matter and discipline-specific expertise, and a directory of expert practitioners in the fields to which they will deliver trainings. Applicants must form successful collaborations and partnerships with organizations within the criminal justice and substance use training and service spectrum that possess extensive experience and a successful track record in:

· conducting trainings and recruiting faculty with scientific expertise in the neurology/biology of addiction, the effectiveness of treatment, including medication-assisted treatment, and other interventions for justice-involved people with substance use disorders;

· disseminating program standards for drug courts and training practitioners in their implementation;

· delivering evidence-based interventions to justice-involved people with substance use disorders; and

· developing and delivering training and providing technical assistance for multi-disciplinary criminal justice teams.

Budget and Budget Narrative: Provide a proposed budget and budget narrative that is complete, reasonable and allowable, cost-effective, and necessary for project activities. ONDCP may request budget modifications where the budget and the budget narrative fail to demonstrate price reasonableness and price realism. (10 points of 100) Performance Measure Data Collection: Describe the process the applicant will use to measure the performance of the project. This should include measures of appropriate grant management, including adhering to timelines, meeting deliverable schedules, obtaining input from customers, and seeking feedback from stakeholders; it should also include outcomes of the services provided, such as the number and type of jurisdictions that change justice practices to reflect the information obtained during trainings and through the provision of technical assistance. Identify the person or group responsible for collecting and reporting the required performance measurement data. Describe any baseline data that will be used, the method to be used to store data, and any safeguards that will be put in place to protect personally identifiable information (PII). Describe how findings will be used to improve the program. (10 points of 100) ONDCP will review the risk posed by applicants using publicly available information in the OMB-designated integrity and performance system accessible through SAM prior to making a Federal award.

ONDCP will review applications against the established evaluation criteria and make an award to the responsive applicant determined to offer the best value to ONDCP and the President’s National Drug Control Program.

H. FEDERAL AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

A notice of Federal Award, signed by the ONDCP Chief of Staff, will be issued and is the authorizing document for the successful awardee to begin performance.

Federal Financial Reports are required to be submitted quarterly, and within 90 days after the grant, activity is closed out. Program income must be accounted for and reported on the Federal Financial Reports.

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls

If selected for funding, the applicant must:

(a) Establish and maintain effective internal controls over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with the guidance in “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government,” issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and the “Internal Control Integrated Framework,” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

(b) Comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal awards.

(c) Evaluate and monitor the non-Federal entity’s compliance with statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal awards.

(d) Take prompt action when instances of noncompliance are identified, including noncompliance identified in audit findings.

(e) Take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identified information and other information the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity designates as sensitive or the non-Federal entity considers sensitive consistent with applicable Federal, state, and local laws regarding privacy and obligations of confidentiality.

I. FEDERAL AWARD AGENCY CONTACTS

For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035, or via email to support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Support Hotline hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except Federal holidays.

Applicants who experience unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond their control that prevent them from submitting their application, by the deadline, must email all required application data to Jayme Delano (jdelano@ondcp.eop.gov) within 24 hours after the application deadline, including a brief explanation of issues experienced, evidence of issue experienced, and a formal request for acceptance of an application not submitted via Grants.gov.

For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, applicants may contact Jayme Delano, Office of National Drug Control Policy by email at jdelano@ondcp.eop.gov.

J. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Applicant Disclosure of Pending Applications: Applicants are to disclose whether they have pending applications or awards for Federally funded grants or sub-grants (including cooperative agreements) that include requests for funding to support the same or similar projects being proposed under this solicitation and will cover identical cost items outlined in the budget worksheet and narrative in the application under this announcement. The disclosure should include both direct applications for Federal funding (e.g., applications to Federal agencies) and indirect applications for such funding (e.g., applications to State agencies that will sub-award Federal funds). ONDCP seeks this information to help avoid any inappropriate duplication of funding. Leveraging multiple funding sources in a complementary manner to implement comprehensive programs or projects is encouraged and is not seen as inappropriate duplication.

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: All applicants must complete this information. Applicants that expend any funds for lobbying activities are to provide the detailed information requested on the form, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL). Applicants that do not expend any funds for lobbying activities are to enter “N/A” in the text boxes for Item 10 (“a. Name and Address of Lobbying Registrant” and “b. Individuals Performing Services”).

Awardees must electronically submit Federal Financial Reports (FFR) using the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Payment Management (DPM). The completion of the Direct Deposit Form (SF-1199), available at www.DPM.PSC.gov.