PKG00262605-instructions.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

OFFICE OF THE

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH

Office of Minority Health

Funding Opportunity: Community-based Approaches to Strengthening

Economic Supports for Working Families

Opportunity Number: MP-CPI-20-005

Application Due Date:

Monday August 17, 2020 6:00 PM Eastern

OVERVIEW

FEDERAL AGENCY NAME

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Minority Health

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE

Community-based Approaches to Strengthening Economic Supports for Working Families

ACTION

Notice

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE

Initial Competitive Grant

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER

MP-CPI-20-005

CFDA NUMBER AND PROGRAM:

93.137 Community Program to Improve Minority Health

DATES

Application Deadline: Monday, August 17, 2020 by 6:00 PM Eastern.

Technical Assistance: Webinar Monday, July 20, 2020.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Office of Minority Health (OMH) announces the availability of funds for Fiscal Year

(FY) 2020 grant awards under the authority of Section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act (42

U.S.C. § 300u-6).

This notice solicits applications for projects under the Community-based Approaches to

Strengthening Economic Supports for Working Families Initiative to serve low-income working families disproportionately at risk for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including racial and ethnic minority families. This initiative seeks to determine if implementation of earned income tax credit (EITC) outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs can result in (1) increased EITC receipt and (2) changes in risk and/or protective factors for ACEs.

According to a recent study, one in six adults reported experiencing four or more types of

ACEs events during childhood.1 At least five of the top 10 leading causes of morbidity and mortality are associated with ACEs as well as poor socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood.1

Women, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), African Americans, and other racial/ethnic minority populations are more likely to experience four or more types of ACEs compared with men and whites.1 The EITC, a benefit for working people with low to moderate income, has been shown to reduce child maltreatment and foster positive health outcomes and reduced health care costs by reducing poverty and enhancing economic stability of low-income, working families.2,3

OMH expects projects funded under this initiative to: (1) establish multi-sectorial partnerships to support EITC outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs; (2) plan and implement EITC outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs;

(3) develop and implement a process and outcome evaluation plan; (4) communicate and disseminate findings, successes and lessons learned; and (5) plan for sustainability of successful interventions. OMH expects recipients to demonstrate effective outreach strategies to communities disproportionately at higher risk for ACEs, including racial and ethnic minority communities, and a collaborative multi-sectoral approach which should include partners in community-level sectors and community-based organizations, such as social services agencies, child support agencies, home visiting programs, early childhood service providers, housing agencies, business/labor organizations, and health systems. In the long term, OMH expects projects to lead formalized and sustainable systems change and enhanced partnerships that foster economic stability in order to prevent ACEs. OMH anticipates funding up to six grants for

$300,000 to $450,000 each per year, for up to three years.

HHS/OASH encourages applicants to review all program requirements, eligibility information, application format and submission information, evaluation criteria, and other information in this funding announcement to ensure that its application complies with all requirements and instructions.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DETAILS

A. DATES

1. Application Deadline

Your application is due Monday August 17, 2020 by 6 p.m. Eastern Time. To receive consideration, you must submit your application electronically via Grants.gov no later than this due date and time. If you do not submit your application by the specified deadline, we will return it to you unread. You must submit electronically via Grants.gov unless you obtain a written exemption from this requirement 2 business days in advance of the deadline from the Director, HHS/Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Grants and Acquisitions Management

(GAM) Division. To obtain an exemption, you must request one via email from the HHS/OASH

GAM, and provide details as to why you are technologically unable to submit electronically through Grants.gov. Your request should be submitted at least 4 business days prior to the application deadline to ensure your request can be considered prior to 2 business days in advance of the deadline. If you request an exemption, include the following in your e-mail request: the

HHS/OASH announcement number; your organization's DUNS number; your organization’s name, address and telephone number; the name and telephone number of your Authorizing

Official; the Grants.gov Tracking Number (for example, GRANT####) assigned to your submission; and a copy of the "Rejected with Errors" notification from Grants.gov. Send the request with supporting documentation to ogm.oash@hhs.gov. Note: failure to have an active

System for Account Management (SAM) registration prior to the application due date will not be grounds for receiving an exemption to the electronic submission requirement. As a result of the public health emergency for COVID-19, the requirement for an active SAM registration at the time of application submission has been waived (see Section F.4). However, if you do not have a

DUNS number at this time, you should contact the Grants.gov to establish a temporary DUNS number. Your application will not be accepted through Grants.gov without this number. Failure to follow Grants.gov instructions to ensure software compatibility will not be grounds for receiving an exemption to the electronic submission requirement.

The HHS/OASH/GAM will only accept applications via alternate methods (hardcopy paper via U.S. mail or other provider or PDF via email) from applicants obtaining prior written approval. If you receive an exemption, you must still submit your application by the deadline.

Only applications submitted through the Grants.gov portal or alternate format (hardcopy paper via

U.S. mail or other service or PDF via email) with an approved written exemption will be accepted.

See Section F.8 (“Other Submission Requirements”) for information on application submission mechanisms.

Executive Order 12372 comment due date: The State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) has

60 days from the application due date to submit any comments. For more information on the SPOC see section F.6 Intergovernmental Review.

To ensure adequate time to submit your application successfully, HHS/OASH recommends that you register as early as possible in Grants.gov since the registration process can take up to one mailto:ogm.oash@hhs.gov month. You must register an authorizing official for your organization. HHS/OASH does not determine your organization’s authorizing official; your organization makes that designation. For information on registering for Grants.gov, refer to http://www.grants.gov or contact the Grants.gov

Contact Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (excluding Federal holidays) at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

Your organization is strongly encouraged to register multiple authorized organization representatives in Grants.gov to ensure someone is available to submit your application.

2. Technical Assistance

A technical assistance webinar for potential applicants will be held on Monday July 20, 2020. Please check the Office of Minority Health website, www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov, for more detailed information.

We recommend you review the entire announcement promptly so you can have any questions answered well in advance of the application due date. We also recommend you subscribe to this announcement in Grants.gov so you receive any amendments, question and answer documents, or other updates.

B. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) announce the availability of funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 grant awards under the authority of

Section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 300u-6). OMH is dedicated to improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate health disparities. Through its demonstration grants, OMH supports the identification of effective approaches for improving health outcomes with the ultimate goal of promoting dissemination and sustainability of these approaches. This particular http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/ grant aligns with the Healthy People 2020 focus area of Injury and Violence Prevention, the U.S.

Surgeon General’s priority on Community Health and Economic Prosperity and HHS Strategic

Goal 2: Protect the Health of Americans Where They Live, Learn, Work, and Play.4,5,6

1. Background

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a pressing public health issue in the United

States, affecting people across the lifespan and disproportionately experienced by racial/ethnic minority communities.1 ACEs are potentially traumatic experiences and events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) and can include: (1) physical, emotional and sexual abuse; (2) physical and emotional neglect; (3) growing up in a household with substance misuse, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or incarceration of a parent, sibling or other member of the household; or (4) witnessing violence.2 ACEs are linked to negative, lasting effects which directly and indirectly affect health, behaviors and life potential, including educational attainment, employment, and earning potential.2 ACEs also are associated with higher health care, economic and social costs.2 ACEs in children can disrupt healthy brain development, affect social development, compromise immune systems, and can lead to substance misuse and other unhealthy coping behaviors.2 At least five of the top 10 leading causes of morbidity and mortality are associated with ACEs as well as poor socioeconomic outcome in adulthood.1

According to a recent study, one in six adults reported experiencing four or more types of

ACEs events during childhood.1 Women, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), African

Americans and other racial/ethnic minority populations were more likely to experience four or more types of ACEs compared with men and whites.1 Racial/ethnic minority children were more likely to live in poverty, experience loss of a caregiver through incarceration or death, or witness domestic violence than white children.7 The poverty rate for African American and AI/AN children (33%) is three times the rate for white children (11%).8 Over one in four Hispanic children

(26%) live in poverty. 8 Almost one in five AI/AN children (19%), over one in seven African

American children (15%), and 7% of Hispanic children had a parent who was ever incarcerated, compared with 6% of white children.9 Disparities in the experience of community-level ACEs also are apparent. While 17.5% of African American children, 12.2% of Hispanic children, and 13% of children of other races/ethnicities were found to have witnessed violence in the neighborhood, only 8% of white children did.7 Compared with 1.6% of white children, 8.4% of Hispanic children, 12.4% of African American children, and 13.7% of children of other races/ethnicities were treated unfairly due to race/ethnicity.7

Risk factors for ACEs include financial hardship; parental stress; substance use and/or mental health issues, including depression, in the family; parental characteristics such as young age, low education, single parenthood and low income; intimate partner violence in the family;

community violence; concentrated neighborhood disadvantage (e.g. high poverty and residential instability, high unemployment rates).2,10 Protective factors include household financial security and economic stability; parental employment; parental education; adequate housing; supportive family environment and social networks; concrete support for basic needs; and access to health care and social services.2,10 ACEs are often associated with a wide range of experiences such as food insecurity, housing insecurity, poverty and community violence.2 Socioeconomic conditions experienced by children directly affect the health status over the lifespan.11,12 Exposure to persistent poverty and trauma among children can lead to toxic stress and harmful changes in the formation of the developing brain that can result in unhealthy behaviors as adults, increase risk of physical illnesses, as well as inhibit later economic success.10,11 The COVID-19 pandemic also poses implications for the risk for, experience of, and long-term impact of ACEs, as individuals and families are increasingly exposed to stressful events.

Socioeconomic interventions have been shown to have moderate to strong impact on adverse parenting, household mental illness, child maltreatment and neglect, exposure to domestic violence, parental separation, childhood physical abuse, household criminality, childhood victimization and substance abuse.13 Policies that have increased household income, such as the

EITC, have led to the reduction of the risk for child maltreatment by improving the primary caregiver’s ability to provide for children’s basic needs and pay for adequate child care.2,3,11 Such policies improve primary caregivers’ health and behaviors; reduce financial hardship and the physical, mental and emotional strain of survival; and improve family relationships.2,3,11 The EITC is a benefit for working people with low to moderate income, and reduces the amount of tax owed and may also result in a refund.3,14 To qualify, individuals must meet certain requirements and file a tax return.13 EITC receipt has been linked to declines in child maltreatment, including fewer cases of physical neglect and failure to provide a child’s basic material needs.15,16,17 Recent CDC

Foundation data shows that EITCs can significantly improve health outcomes in five years or less, especially in maternal and child health. 3

The EITC is an effective policy that could have a positive impact on low-to-moderate-working families and their children. 3 The federal EITC alone has lifted 4.4 million people out of poverty each year, with over half of them being children.18 The EITC has kept more children living above the poverty line than any other tax credit program.19 Unfortunately, an estimated 20 percent of eligible people do not claim this benefit.19 Barriers to claiming the EITC include lack of knowledge about the program and confusion about program rules.21 Eligible taxpayers from certain groups have been found to be less likely to know about and claim the EITC benefit, including communities with moderately sized immigrant populations; and those who live in rural areas, are self-employed, do not have qualifying children, are Hispanic, do not speak English well, did not finish high school, are grandparents, or recently changed their filing status.22,23 Research suggests that activities to promote awareness of the credit and assistance with tax preparation increases EITC participation rates.22 Community partners can work together to increase receipt of the EITC and prevent ACEs by addressing risk and protective factors, thus creating and sustaining safer, stable, nurturing environments where children can thrive.2

Previous efforts by OMH to address ACEs have focused on individual youth who had experienced trauma. The Communities Addressing Childhood Trauma (ACT) policy demonstration was an initiative developed by OMH to identify evidence-based practices that reduce disparities in health among youth who had been exposed to trauma. This FOA aligns

OMH’s efforts with current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by focusing on the identification of approaches that address social determinants of health in order to prevent childhood trauma. 2

2. Expectations

This initiative seeks to determine if implementation of EITC outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs can result in (1) increased EITC receipt and (2) changes in risk and/or protective factors for ACEs. To achieve this goal, OMH expects recipients to address the following objectives:

a. Establish multi-sectorial partnerships to support EITC outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs.

Partnerships across a diverse range of sectors, including health, education, social services, justice, and finance, can support increased outreach to and engagement of families and individuals for education about the EITC and other supportive services. OMH expects the target population for the funded projects to be low-income families and individuals in communities at higher risk for ACEs, including racial and ethnic minority communities. OMH strongly encourages recipients to serve communities located in designated Opportunity Zones.i

Recipients should establish multi-sectorial partnerships to collaboratively provide EITC outreach and education to parents/caregivers and other individuals in the community(ies) of focus and to connect them to supportive services. Partners should be involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the initiative. Projects should include community-based organizations and partners from sectors that work in the community such as, but not limited to, the following:

o Family-serving agencies o Social services agencies o Law enforcement (e.g.

public safety, juvenile justice) o Child support providers o Fatherhood programs o Home visiting programs o Early Childhood providers o Healthy marriage providers o Housing agencies o Libraries i An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Localities qualify as Opportunity Zones if they have been nominated for that designation by the state and that nomination has been certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury via his delegation of authority to the Internal Revenue Service.24 o Business/labor organizations o Philanthropic organizations o Mental health and substance use treatment providers o Faith-based organizations o State/tribal/territorial/loc al government agencies o Public health associations o WIC Offices o Institutions of higher education o Local school districts o Youth-serving agencies o Public health entities, private and non-profit o Health system partners o Financial institutions o Tribal nations, urban

Indian and tribally designated organizations

Subrecipients must also be public or non-profit entities. If a partner is a subrecipient, it must also be a public or nonprofit entity. The recipient has the responsibility to determine whether an entity is considered to be a subrecipient. Characteristics which support the classification of the non-Federal entity as a subrecipient can be found at HHS Uniform Administrative Requirements

(UAR), 45 CFR 75.351. The applicant should consult with its counsel for advice concerning the applicability of this regulation to its particular situation.

b. Plan and implement EITC outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs.

Certain groups who have been found to be less likely to know about and claim the EITC benefit, including communities with moderately sized immigrant populations, and individuals who are self-employed, who do not have qualifying children, are Hispanic, who are limited English speaking, or who did not complete high school.22,23

OMH expects recipients to plan and implement effective, culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach and education activities in communities at higher risk for ACEs to increase

EITC participation and receipt. Outreach and education activities should be tailored based on an understanding of where higher risk communities and populations are, who the key stakeholders are, what gaps in EITC outreach and education exist, and the needs and resources of the community. OMH expects the recipient to coordinate among the community partners to implement activities to reach, engage and educate low-income families and individuals about the EITC and other supportive services. Recipients should identify and address the barriers that keep low-income working families and individuals from claiming the EITC.

The CDC Foundation recently published “Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Public Health

Action Guide” includes strategies to educate the public about the benefits of EITCs and increase

EITC participation, such as the use of EITC outreach materials, educating people to build trust in the EITC and referring people to free, high-quality tax help like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.3 In alignment with these strategies, OMH expects recipients to use or build upon existing informational and educational resources from the IRS and national EITC outreach campaigns like “Get It Back” to support outreach and education about the

EITC in the communities of focus.14 Recipients should also raise awareness about IRS-certified tax assistance services, such as the VITA program. In addition, recipients should work with community partners to increase awareness among at-risk and low-income individuals and families about other supportive services to facilitate participation in these services. Recipients may not use funds for individual or family tax preparation services.

c. Develop and implement a process and outcome evaluation plan.

OMH expects projects to implement a rigorous program evaluation to assess the impact of project activities. Recipients should develop and propose, in coordination with community partners, an evaluation plan, to include an evaluation design that will allow for detection of a significant increase in EITC claims and changes in a least one or more ACEs risk and/or protective factors. The evaluation plan should identify and provide rationale for appropriate indicators/measures to document and monitor the impact of the intervention on outcomes.

Through a power analysis or other technique to establish/determine statistical significance, the evaluation plan should clearly demonstrate that evaluation of the impact of the intervention will https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/PublicHealthActionGuide_EITC.pdf https://www.cdcfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/PublicHealthActionGuide_EITC.pdf be able to detect a statistically significant difference on key project outcomes, if such impact is present. OMH expects the impact analysis of the intervention to be conducted within the project period.

OMH anticipates recipients will be able to demonstrate whether the following occurred by the end of the first budget period:

• Increased use by project staff of existing resources and tools for EITC marketing/education

• Increased partnership awareness of risk and protective factors for ACEs

OMH anticipates recipients will be able to demonstrate whether the following occurred by the end of the second budget period:

• Increased EITC claims among the population(s) of focus, including racial/ethnic minority populations

• Increased receipt of EITC among the population(s) of focus, including racial/ethnic minority populations

• Increased protective factors for ACEs among the population(s) of focus, including racial/ethnic minority populations, such as increased social supports for parents/caregivers

• Decreased risk factors for ACEs among the population(s) of focus, including racial/ethnic minority populations, such as reduced parental/caregiver stress and depression and improved psychological functioning

d. Communicate and disseminate findings, successes and lessons learned.

OMH anticipates the project will give rise to new knowledge about the impact of EITC outreach and education activities on EITC receipt and on ACEs risk and protective factors. The recipient should document project knowledge and findings, to include implementation process, lessons learned, successes and challenges. OMH expects the recipient to communicate and disseminate project knowledge and findings, to include dissemination to federal, state, territorial and tribal public agencies; policymakers; community organizations; community members; and other stakeholders.

e. Plan for sustainability of successful interventions.

OMH expects the recipient to develop a sustainability plan to sustain and support continued implementation of successful interventions that will be implemented once OMH funding ends.

Sustainability plans are expected to leverage funds and resources to sustain and expand EITC outreach and education activities and ACEs primary prevention work. Recipients should develop a sustainability plan within one year following the award. OMH expects projects that have demonstrated: (a) increased EITC claims; (b) increased EITC receipt; (c) increased protective factors, and/or; (d) decreased risk factors to begin implementing the sustainability plan in year two of the award.

C. AUTHORITY

Section 1707 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 300u-6)

D. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

The Office of Minority Health intends to make funds available for competing grants.

We will fund awards in annual increments (budget periods) and generally for a project period up to 3 years, although we may approve shorter project periods. Budget periods may also vary from the estimate indicated below due to timing of award issuance or other administrative factors. Funding for all approved budget periods beyond the first is generally level with the initial award amount and is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, adequate stewardship of Federal funds, and the best interests of the Government.

Award Information

Estimated Federal Funds Available: $2,000,000

Anticipated Number of Awards: Up to 6

Award Ceiling (Federal Funds including indirect costs): $450,000 per budget period

Award Floor (Federal Funds including indirect costs):$300,000 per budget period

Anticipated Start Date: September 30, 2020

Estimated Period of Performance: Not to exceed 3 years

Anticipated Initial Budget Period Length: 12 months

Type of Award: Grant

Type of Application Accepted: Electronic via Grants.gov ONLY unless an exemption is granted

E. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants.

• State Governments

• 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 having 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education

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

• Private non-profit institutions of higher education

• U.S. Territories

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

You are not required to provide cost sharing or matching in your proposed budget.

3. Application Disqualification Criteria

If you successfully submit an application, we will screen it to ensure it meets the below requirements. If we determine your application fails to meet the criteria described below we will disqualify it, that is, we will not review it and will give it no further consideration.

a) You must submit your application electronically via www.grants.gov (unless an exemption was granted 2 business days prior to the deadline) by the date and time indicated in the DATES section (A.1) of this announcement.

b) If you successfully submit multiple applications from the same organization for the same project, we will only review the last application received by the deadline.

c) HHS/OASH/GAM deems your application eligible according to section E.1 Eligible

Applicants.

d) You must complete the required forms in the application package: SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL, and Project Abstract Summary.

e) Your Project Narrative section of the application must be double-spaced, on the equivalent of 8 ½ ” x 11” inch page size, with 1” margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) and font size not less than 12 points.

f) Your Project Narrative must not exceed 50 pages. NOTE: The following items do not count toward the Project Narrative page limit: all required forms, including SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B, SF-LLL, Project Abstract Summary, and Budget Narrative

(including budget tables).

g) Your total application, including the Project Narrative plus Appendices, must not exceed 70 pages. NOTE: items listed in “f” immediately above do not count toward total page limit.

http://www.grants.gov/

h) Your Federal funds request including indirect costs must not exceed the maximum indicated in Award Ceiling.

i) Your Federal funds request including indirect costs must not be below the minimum indicated in Award Floor.

F. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package

You may obtain an application package electronically by accessing Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov/. You can find it by searching on the CFDA number shown on page 2 of this funding opportunity announcement. If you have problems accessing the application or difficulty downloading, contact:

Grants and Acquisitions Management Division

Phone: 240-453-8822

Email: OASH_Grants@hhs.gov

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Application Format

Your application must be prepared using the forms and information provided in the online application package.

The Project Narrative, and total application including appendices, must adhere to the page limit indicated in Application Disqualification Criteria listed in Section C. The page limit does not include the Budget Narrative (including budget tables), required forms, assurances, and certifications as described in the Application Disqualification Criteria. Please do not number pages or include a table of contents. Our grants management system will generate page numbers once mailto:ogm.oash@hhs.gov your application is complete. If your application exceeds the specified page limits for the Project

Narrative or Project Narrative plus Appendices when printed on 8.5” X 11” paper by

HHS/OASH/GAM, we will not review it. We recommend you print out your application before submitting electronically to ensure that it is within the page limits and is easy to read.

You must double-space the Project Narrative pages.

You should use an easily readable typeface, such as Times New Roman or Arial. You must use 12-point font. You may single-space tables or use alternate fonts but you must ensure the tables are easy to read.

b. Appendices Format

Your Appendices should include any specific documents outlined in Section D.2.iii., under the heading “Appendices” in the Application Content section of this funding opportunity announcement. Your documents should be easy to read. You should use the same formatting specified for the Project Narrative. However, documents such as résumés/CVs, organizational charts, tables, or letters of commitment may use formatting common to those documents, but the pages must be easy to read. All of your appendices must be uploaded as a single, consolidated file in the Attachments section of your Grants.gov application.

c. Project Abstract Summary Format

You must complete the Project Abstract Summary form provided in the application package. The abstract will be used to provide reviewers with an overview of the application and will form the basis for the application summary in grants management and program summary documents. If your project is funded, HHS may publish information from your form; therefore, do not include sensitive or proprietary information.

d. Budget Narrative Format

The Budget Narrative should use the formatting required of the Project Narrative for the explanatory text. Budget tables may be single-spaced but should be laid out in an easily-readable format and within the printable margins of the page.

3. Application Content

Successful applications will contain the following information:

a. Project Narrative Content

The Project Narrative is the most important part of the application, since it will be used as the primary basis to determine whether your project meets the minimum requirements for an award under this announcement. The Project Narrative should provide a clear and concise description of your project. HHS/OASH recommends that your project narrative include the following components: 1) Problem Statement; 2) Organizational Capacity; 3) Approach; 3a) Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes; 3b) Project Plan; 3c) Collaboration/Partners; 4) Evaluation Plan; 5)

Dissemination Plan; and 6) Sustainability Plan.

1) Problem Statement

Identify and define the problem and contributing factors that will be addressed by the proposed project and activities. You should describe in this section, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, the nature and scope of the specific and particular problem or issue, and the need for EITC outreach/education and ACEs prevention activities. Describe the population(s) to be served by the project (e.g., race/ethnicity, age, gender, educational level, income, etc.), including geographic area(s) targeted, and provide rationale. Describe and document (with data) the significance or prevalence of the problem or issue affecting the population(s) of focus, including poverty/income level, disparities in EITC participation, and prevalence of and risk for ACEs. You should detail how the project will potentially affect the populations served, specific subgroups within those populations, and other interested stakeholders as identified. You should also describe how your proposed intervention will serve (1) racial/ethnic minority populations and (2) communities located in Opportunity Zones.

2) Organizational Capacity

Your application should include an organizational capacity statement. The organizational capacity statement should describe how your organization is organized; the nature and scope of its work; your organization’s fiscal control and accountability procedures; evidence that your organization, and any partnering organizations, have relevant experience and expertise with administration, development, implementation, management, and evaluation of programs similar to that offered under this announcement; evidence that each participating organization, including partners and/or subcontractors, possess the organizational capacity to fulfill their role(s) and functions effectively; and evidence that you and proposed partners possess readiness to implement the project and ability to demonstrate impact on outcomes within the project period. An organizational chart must be provided in the appendices. Demonstrate established linkages with other programs in the community for client outreach, education and engagement. Describe the extent of your and any proposed partner’s knowledge of and experience with cultural competence and the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and

Health Care (National CLAS Standards)

(https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/Content/clas.asp).

The applicant must provide description of proposed program staff, including job descriptions for key personnel, qualifications, define role and responsibilities of each staff member https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/Content/clas.asp with allocated percentage time each will commit to the project. Provide a description of duties for proposed consultants and volunteers, and statement of work for proposed subcontractors. Include organizational charts of collaborative partners and describe how these organizations will interface with the applicant organization. Describe how the applicant plans to communicate with collaborative partner organizations.

3) Approach

a. Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes

You should describe in this section the project’s proposed goal(s) and major short and long-term objectives. Describe how all objectives are linked to increased EITC receipt and at least one or more increased protective factors/decreased risk factors in prevention of ACEs, and state them in SMART (specific, measureable, accurate, realistic and timely) terms. SMART objectives should include baseline data and quantifiable timeframes for achievement. Objectives must focus on overall goals of the project rather than project activities. Goals must be achievable by the end of the project period.

You should clearly identify the measurable outcome(s) that will result from your project, and provide specific, quantified estimate of expected outcome(s). HHS/OASH will not fund any project that does not include measurable outcomes. In addition to discussion in the narrative, you should describe how you envision the project will benefit the field at large.

A “measurable outcome” is an observable end-result that describes how a particular intervention benefits program participants. It demonstrates the “impact” of the intervention. For example, a change in a client’s financial, health, and/or functional status; mental well-being;

knowledge; skill; attitude; awareness; or behavior. It can also describe a change in the degree to which participants exercise choice over the types of services they receive. Additional examples include: a change in the responsiveness or cost-effectiveness of a service delivery system; a new model of support or care that can be replicated; new knowledge; a measurable increase in community awareness; or a measurable increase in persons receiving services. A measurable outcome is not a measurable output, such as: the number of clients served; the number of training sessions held; or the number of service units provided.

b. Project Plan

Provide a detailed summary of activities to be undertaken and how they will assist in achieving the project goals and objectives. You should also describe the approach that will be used to monitor and track progress on the project’s tasks and objectives. Include a work plan describing how the project will be accomplished. Your Work Plan should reflect, and be consistent with, the

Project Narrative and Budget Narrative, and must cover all years of the project period. However, each year’s activities should be fully attainable in one budget year. You may propose multi-year activities, as well as activities that build upon each other, but each phase of the project must be discreet and attainable within a single budget year. Your Work Plan should include a statement of the project’s overall goal, anticipated outcome(s), key objectives, and the major tasks, action steps, or products that will be pursued or developed to achieve the goal and outcome(s). For each major task of each year, action step, or product, your work plan should identify the timeframes involved

(including start- and end-dates), and the lead person responsible for completing the task.

You should provide a clear and concise description of the activities you are proposing to use to address the need identified in the program announcement and the problem described in the

“Problem Statement” above. Describe your approach for (1) developing and implementing a plan for EITC outreach and education activities that will result in increasing EITC claims among low-income families and individuals in communities disproportionately experiencing or at heightened risk for ACEs; (2) developing or building on existing EITC informational and educational resources; and (3) increasing awareness of and connection to supportive services in collaboration with partners. You should explain the rationale for project activities and present a clear connection between identified system gaps and needs and your proposed activities. Your proposal should detail the nature of the activities to be undertaken, how they address system gaps and identified issues, and how they will assist in achieving the overall project goals and objectives. You should clarify why these specific activities were selected (i.e., has this approach been successful in other settings? Does the research suggest this direction?). Delineate the estimated number of individuals expected to be served through your proposed project, and how this estimate has been determined.

Describe your approach for reaching, engaging and retaining the population(s) of focus in the proposed project, to support the feasibility of obtaining measurable outcomes within the project period. Describe how you will use the National CLAS Standards to ensure the proposed project will be implemented in a culturally appropriate manner tailored to the population(s) of focus. Also note any major barriers you anticipate encountering and how your project will be able to overcome those barriers. At a minimum, you should:

• Indicate a plan for addressing problems or issues should they arise.

Provide detailed descriptions of specific products or outcomes proposed for development or modification

• Provide specifics about the strategies, activities, expected outcomes, and barriers for all anticipated years of the awards

You should also submit a detailed logic model that demonstrates linkages between objectives, activities and outcomes, as described below in Appendices (Section F.3.d).

c. Collaboration/Partnerships

Describe the proposed multi-sectoral collaborative approach for the project, and how the partnerships will promote EITC participation and linkages to supportive services. Provide rationale for the partnerships included. Your proposal should describe how your organization has already established, or will establish, multi-sectoral partnerships. You should describe the specific roles, responsibilities, resources, and contributions of partner(s) to the project – including planning, implementation, and evaluation – that will complement the lead organization’s capability and capacity to implement the intervention, improve key outcomes, and sustain the program. You should also describe how you plan to involve partners, including community-based organizations, in a meaningful way in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the proposed project. To the extent possible, you should document the level of commitment of the partners as described below in the Appendices (Section F.3.d). Include a brief history of any existing partner(s); its current membership and leadership; a list of current activities; and access/connection to the proposed population(s) to be served.

4) Evaluation Plan

Describe your evaluation design and how your evaluation design will clearly establish whether outreach and education activities result in statistically significant increases in EITC receipt and changes in at least one or more ACEs risk and/or protective factors. A technique to establish/demonstrate statistical significance (e.g., a power analysis or Baysian analysis) should also be included and show that the evaluation design will be able to detect intervention impact, if present. Describe how you will measure and report the expected project outcomes. You should describe the quantitative and/or qualitative tools and techniques that you will employ to measure the outcome(s). Describe your approach for collecting, at minimum, baseline, interim, and post-intervention process and outcome measures for both control and intervention groups. Describe how you will evaluate all project components of the project that are part of the project’s logic model, including how the inputs, processes and outcomes will be measured, and how the resulting information will be used to inform uptake of EITC activities. Describe how you will evaluate the quality of the implementation of the National CLAS Standards through process and outcome measures. Describe the relationship between your evaluator and your organization and the degree of independence the evaluator will have. Describe the systems and processes that will support the organization’s performance management through effective tracking of performance outcomes, including a description of how the organization will collect and manage data that allows for accurate and timely reporting of performance outcomes. Describe how you will involve partners in evaluation activities. Describe any potential obstacles for implementing the performance evaluation and how those obstacles will be addressed.

5) Dissemination Plan

The section should describe the method that will be used to document and disseminate the project’s implementation process, findings, results, successes, challenges, and lessons learned during the period of performance in plain language to the target audience, the general public, and other parties who may be interested in using the results of the demonstrative project. All appropriate findings and products may be posted on a HHS/OMH sponsored website as determined by HHS/OMH.

Therefore, you should propose innovative approaches to inform parties who might be using the results of your project to inform practice, service delivery, program development, and/or policy-making, especially to those parties who would be interested in replicating the project.

6) Sustainability Plan

Recipients are expected to sustain key successful and promising practices, strategies, services and interventions that have proven to be effective and have improved outcomes for the population(s) of focus. Describe your approach for developing the sustainability plan, including the identification of key individuals and/or organization(s) whose support will be required in order to sustain activities. Describe how you will identify financial and other resources to be utilized and how partnerships will be maintained after federal funding ends.

b. Budget Narrative Content

Project budget calculations must include estimation methods, quantities, unit costs, and other similar quantitative detail sufficient to verify the calculations. If matching or cost sharing is required, you must include a detailed listing of any funding sources identified in box 18 of the SF-

424 (Application for Federal Assistance).

Please be sure to carefully review section F.7 Funding Restrictions for specific information regarding allowable, unallowable, and restricted costs.

You must provide an object class category budget using Section B, box 6 of the SF 424A for the first year of the proposed project. Provide a budget justification, which includes explanatory text and line-item detail, for the first year of the proposed project. The budget narrative should describe how the categorical costs are derived. Discuss the necessity, reasonableness, and allocation of the proposed costs.

For subsequent budget years, provide a summary narrative and line item budget. For categories or items that differ significantly from the first budget year, provide a detailed justification explaining these changes. Note, do not include costs beyond the first budget year in the object class budget in box 6 of the SF- 424A or box 18 of the SF-424; the amounts entered in these sections should only reflect the first budget year.

Your budget narrative should justify the overall cost of the project as well as the proposed cost per activity, service delivered, and/or product. For example, the budget narrative should define the amount of work you have planned and expect to perform, what it will cost, and an explanation of how the result is cost effective. For example, if you are proposing to provide services to clients, you should describe how many clients are you expecting to serve, the unit cost of serving each client, and how this is cost effective.

Use the following guidelines for preparing the detailed object class budget required by box

6 of the SF-424A. The object class budget organizes your proposed costs into a set of defined categories outlined below. Both federal and non-federal resources (when required) must be detailed and justified in the budget narrative. "Federal resources" refers only to the HHS/OASH funds for which you are applying. "Non-federal resources" are all other non-HHS/OASH federal and non-federal resources. We recommend you present budget amounts and computations in a columnar format: first column, object class categories; second column, federal funds requested;

third column, non-federal resources; and last column, total budget.

Sample Budget Table

Object Class Federal Funds

Requested

Non-federal

Resources

Total Budget

Personnel $100,000 $25,000 $125,000

Note, subrecipient/contract and consultant detailed costs should all be included in those specific line items, not in the overall project object class line items, i.e., subrecipient travel should be included in the Contractual line item not in Travel.

1) Object Class Descriptions and Required Justifications

a. Personnel Description

Costs of staff salaries and wages, excluding benefits.

b. Personnel Justification

Clearly identify the project director or principal investigator, if known at the time of application. Provide a separate table for personnel costs detailing for each proposed staff person:

the title; full name (if known at time of application), time commitment to the project as a percentage or full-time equivalent: annual salary and/or annual wage rate; federally funded award salary; non-federal award salary, if applicable; and total salary. No salary rate may exceed the statutory limitation in effect at the time you submit your application (see D.6 Funding Restrictions, Salary Rate Limitation for details). Do not include the costs of consultants, personnel costs of delegate agencies, or of specific project(s) and/or businesses to be financed by the applicant.

Contractors and consultants…