wounded warrior service dog program (wwsdp) - statement of work -finalized copy 6-6-15.docx

WOUNDED WARRIOR SERVICE DOG PROGRAM (WWSDP)

STATEMENT OF WORK

FEDERAL AWARDING AGENCY NAME: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TITLE: HU0001-15-USU-0001

FEDERAL OPPORTUNITY TITLE: Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program (WWSDP) APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 7, 2015 ANTICIPATED AWARD TYPE: The Government intends to award multiple grants. The Government reserves the right to award other assistance instrument, if deemed in the best interest of the Government.

AWARD NOTICE: Awards will be made no later than September 30, 2015. Any assistance instrument awarded under this Funding Opportunity will be governed by the award terms and conditions, which conform to DoD’s implementation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 2, Part 200, “Uniformed Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” (2 CFR Part 200).

I. Funding Opportunity Description: To provide competitive grants to support nonprofit organizations committed to training and placing assistance dogs with disabled Service Members (SMs) and Veterans.

II. Background. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 included $1M in Defense Health Program funding to establish a $1M Wounded Warrior Service Dog competitive grant pilot program for nonprofit assistance dog organizations that serve SMs and Veterans with physical and psychological disabilities. The scope of work and eligibility requirements for this $1M grant pilot program have been developed after review of Congressional intent including H.R. 2847, introduced in July 2013. It is estimated that awards will be made to between 5 and 12 organizations.

III. Scope of Work. Awards will be offered to multiple applicants if they meet eligibility requirements. Awards shall be provided to ensure a wide distribution and opportunity for all eligible applicants, with a ceiling on the amount any one organization may receive under this grant program. It is recognized that there is a wide range of estimated costs ($15,000-$60,000) associated with placing an assistance dog by assistance dog organizations. There is also a significant difference in the cost of raising and training a purpose bred assistance dog over a two year period versus placing a trained shelter dog. This difference will be reflected in the award per dog. Grant awards per assistance dog are not intended to cover the full costs of placing an assistance dog with a disabled SM or Veteran, rather grants are intended to support operations related to such placements.

IV. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants: Assistance dog organizations with 501(c)3 nonprofit status.

Other Eligibility Requirements. Assistance dog organizations seeking to apply for grants under the WWSDP must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Provide assistance dogs to SMs and Veterans who have disabilities as a result of blindness or visual impairment, loss of a limb, paralysis or other significant mobility issues, loss of hearing, traumatic brain injury, or post-traumatic stress disorder.

2. Be currently registered with the System for Award Management (SAM).

3. Provide assistance dogs, related client training, and follow up, at no cost to SMs and Veterans.

4. Be committed to comparable standards of the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) at http://www.igdf.org.uk/ or Assistance Dogs International (ADI) at http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/standards/assistance-dogs/.

5. Have experience working with military medical treatment facilities or medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

6. Have demonstrated success in placing assistance dogs with SMs or Veterans who have documented disability ratings from the Department of Defense (DoD) and/or Veterans Affairs (VA) physical evaluation board.

V. Application Requirements. The applicant is required to address the following factors within 25 pages.

1. Provide evidence of 501(c)3 status (IRS approval letter).

2. Provide a detailed description and timeline of the training that will be provided by the organization to SMs and Veterans who are receiving an assistance dog.

3. Provide a detailed description of the training of the dogs that will serve as assistance dogs. A well-trained assistance dog should be trained at a minimum of 1 to 2 hours per day or 180 to 360 hours over a 6 month period.

4. Provide a detailed description of the aftercare services the organization will provide for the assistance dogs, SMs and Veterans.

5. Provide the plan for publicizing the availability of the organization’s assistance dogs through a targeted marketing campaign to SMs and Veterans with disabilities.

6. Describe the recognized expertise and success of the organization in breeding and training assistance dogs.

7. Provide a description of your commitment to comparable standards as that of IGDF or ADI.

8. Provide a description of your commitment to humane standards for animals.

9. Provide a detailed description of your experience working with military medical treatment facilities or medical facilities of the VA.

10. Provide number of assistance dogs placed within the calendar year 2014 with SMs and Veterans.

11. Applicants shall provide a proposed number of assistance dogs expected to be placed with SMs and Veterans in FY 2016 (Oct 1, 2015 to Sept 30, 2016) as part of this grant program.

12. Provide a proposed budget (SF424) that includes direct and indirect costs associated with the estimated cost per assistant dog. An itemized budget (not modular) should include but not limited to the following: a detailed budget justification; percentage (%) effort; number of dogs placed; supplies; travel; housing and training of dogs. The Government will review all proposals to determine reasonable and equitable grant amounts considering the number of purpose bred dogs and sheltered dogs with a ceiling for the amount of grant funds any organization may receive. Grant awards are intended to partially support operational costs related to such placement.

VI. Application Process and Rules. The following rules will govern the grant application process:

1. Applicants shall not seek grant funding reimbursement for dogs placed with disabled SMs and Veterans prior to Oct 1, 2015.

2. Assistance dog organizations that have affiliated or related organizations serving SMs and Veterans may submit only one application under this grant program.

3. Applicants must agree to report on the use of grant funds in accordance with reporting requirements below.

4. Grant awardees must state in their application that they agree to a progress and financial as a condition for receiving a grant.

5. Grants awardees who do not achieve proposed outcomes (number of dog placements) within Fiscal Year 2016 may not be eligible for any future funding made available under this grant program.

VII. Program Funding

Funding will be awarded to grantees for a 12 month period. The Government anticipates total cumulative funding $1 million, distributed among eligible applicants. The Government will not consider cost sharing or matching.

VIII. Application and Submission Information

The deadline for application submission is August 7, 2015 in order to be considered for funding. No applications will be considered after that date. Applications packages must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (www.grants.gov).

Application may not be sent by mail, e-mail or facsimile (FAX).

The electronic submission of your application must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and is authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance. For more information on the registration requirements that must be completed in order to submit an application through Grants.gov, go to www.Grants.gov and click on “Applicants” on the top of the page and then go to the “Get Registered” link on the page. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible. Please note that the registration process also requires that your organization have a DUNS number and a current registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov. Applicants must ensure that all registration requirements are met in order to apply for this opportunity through Grants.gov and should ensure that all such requirements have been met well in advance of the submission deadline.

Content and Form of Application Submission

Please follow all instructions below carefully. Applications that do not include all information or comply with stated requirements will not be considered. Applicants must set forth accurate and complete information as required by this announcement.

Applicants must ensure:

1. The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity. The page limitation is 25 pages including references. All pages are numbered.

2. All documents are in English.

3. All budgets are in U.S. dollars.

4. All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

5. All materials are submitted in one of the following formats: .xls, .xlsx, .doc, .docx, .pdf, .jpeg. No other file types will be reviewed.

IX. Application Review Process

The Uniformed Services University is committed to ensuring a fair and open process for awarding grants. USU will use qualified subject matter experts as reviewers for the applications under this announcement.

Reviewers will rate each applicant on the following criteria:

1. Does the application illustrate that the program will reach disabled Veterans and disabled member of the Armed Forces?

2. How strong is the applicant’s history and success (% of dogs still placed) training assistance dogs?

3. Does the applicant demonstrate that their staff, resources and infrastructure are capable of providing a quality program for disabled Veterans and members of the Armed Forces?

4. Is the budget reasonable compared to program deliverables?

5. Preference given towards organizations demonstrating past performance working with military medical treatment facilities or medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

X. Deliverables

1. Organizations selected for funding shall be required to submit 2 comprehensive progress and final reports (6 months progress and 12 months final report). Both reports shall be reviewed to ensure grant funds are used for the purposes stated in the grant applications and shall include:

a. Number of dogs under training and number of dogs placed; name of SM/Veteran recipient and their current contact information.

b. Description of the training provided to SMs and Veterans.

c. Description of the training of the assistance dogs that were placed.

d. Description of the aftercare services that the organization provided for assistance dogs, SMs and Veterans.

e. Plan utilized to publicize the availability of the organization’s assistance dogs and marketing campaign to SMs and Veterans with disabilities.

f. Organization’s ongoing expertise in breeding and training assistance dogs.

g. A statement of the organization’s continuing commitment to IGDF and ADI standards.

h. A statement of the organization’s continuing commitment to humane standards for animals.

XI. Evaluation Effectiveness

Each recipient of a grant shall use a portion of the funds made available through the grant to conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried out through the grant by such recipient.

XII. Definitions

1. Assistance Dog/Service Dog. For the purposes of this program, a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of a disability for blindness or visual impairment, loss of a limb, paralysis or other significant mobility issues, loss of hearing, traumatic brain injury, or post-traumatic stress disorder. This term does not include a dog specifically trained for comfort, personal defense or protection.

2. Assistance Dog Organization. Includes nonprofit organizations that place guide dogs for the visually impaired, hearing dogs for the deaf and hard of hearing, and assistance dogs for people with disabilities other than those related to vision or hearing.

3. Service Member. A member of the Armed Services who is receiving medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, in medical hold or medical holdover status, or covered under section 1202 of 1205 of title 10, United States Code.

4. Veteran. A Veteran who is enrolled in the health care system established under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code.

5. Disabled Service Members/Veterans. Assistance dog recipients with documented disability ratings from the DoD and/or VA physical evaluation board.