The purpose of this program announcement is to establish, by awarding cooperative agreements, five regional Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers (Implementation Centers). Guided by a Systems of Care (SOC) approach and informed by the Children's Bureau's (CB) monitoring reviews, Implementation Centers will fill a gap in CB's existing Training and Technical Assistance Network (T/TA Network).

Implementation Centers will pilot a new, complementary approach to technical assistance (TA) by expanding the T/TA Network and enhancing its ability to provide in-depth and long-term consultation and support to States and Tribes. Implementation Centers will partner with States and Tribes to execute projects that will focus on the implementation of strategies that their child welfare systems have identified to improve the quality and effectiveness of child welfare services for children, youth, and families. 

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

Legislative Authority

The legislative authority is:

Section 203 of Subchapter II - Adoption Opportunities of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act [42 USC 5113]; and

Sections 105(b)(5) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended

[42 USC 5106].

Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose

The purpose of this program announcement is to establish, by awarding cooperative agreements, five regional Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers (Implementation Centers). Guided by a Systems of Care (SOC) approach and informed by the Children's Bureau's (CB) monitoring reviews, Implementation Centers will fill a gap in CB's existing Training and Technical Assistance Network (T/TA Network).

Implementation Centers will pilot a new, complementary approach to technical assistance (TA) by expanding the T/TA Network and enhancing its ability to provide in-depth and long-term consultation and support to States and Tribes. Implementation Centers will partner with States and Tribes to execute projects that will focus on the implementation of strategies that their child welfare systems have identified to improve the quality and effectiveness of child welfare services for children, youth, and families. 

In collaboration with members of the T/TA Network and CB, each Implementation Center will work with States and Tribes in its geographic service area to address both specific problems and broad child welfare performance issues.  Implementation Centers will:

1. Perform regional outreach to States and Tribal child welfare systems and engage them in a formalized system of networking and problem solving;
   
   
2. Enter into formal partnerships with States and Tribes to execute implementation projects that will facilitate systemic change and successful institutionalization of child welfare principles, policies, and effective or promising models of practice;
   
   
3. Provide intensive, coordinated, and individualized TA to State and Tribal partners;
   
   
4. Collaborate with members of the T/TA Network to utilize their knowledge and expertise in assessment and effective child welfare practice; and
   
   
5. Collaborate with each other across geographic service areas to address common child welfare issues and to effectively evaluate this initiative as a whole.

Each Implementation Center will enter into mutually binding agreements with multiple State and/or Tribal child welfare systems in its designated regions to develop and execute multi-year strategic plans for sustainable systems change. These implementation projects are intended to advance State and Tribal plans for improving child welfare outcomes by fostering change in organizational culture, administration, and direct practice with children and families. Implementation projects may pursue systemic change within a child welfare system or across multiple systems that are integral to successful child welfare practice. Implementation Centers will provide intensive TA to their State and Tribal partners and employ a collaborative and empowerment approach, valuing the experience and knowledge possessed by State and Tribal child welfare administrations.

Applicants may apply in one or more regional geographic service areas described in this announcement. A separate and complete application must be submitted for each geographic area.

Background

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. Within HHS, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is the agency that is responsible for Federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) administers national programs for children and youth; works with States and local communities to develop services that support and strengthen family life; seeks joint ventures with the private sector to enhance the lives of children and their families; and provides information and other assistance to parents. Many of the programs administered by ACYF focus on children from low-income families; abused and neglected children; children and youth in need of foster care, independent living, adoption or other child welfare services; preschool children; children with disabilities; runaway and homeless youth; and children from Native American and migrant families. 

Within ACYF, CB plans, manages, coordinates, and supports child abuse and neglect prevention and child welfare services programs. CB programs are designed to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of all children, including those in foster care, available for adoption, recently adopted, abused, neglected, dependent, disabled, or homeless and to prevent the neglect, abuse, and exploitation of children. 

CB programs also promote strengthening the family unit to help prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families and encourage reunifying families, when possible, if separation has occurred. State child welfare systems are designed to deliver direct services that protect children who have suffered maltreatment, who are at risk for maltreatment, or who are under the care and placement responsibility of the State because their families are unable to care for them. These systems also focus on securing permanent living arrangements through foster care and adoption for children who are unable to return home. CB is the agency within the Federal Government that is responsible for assisting State child welfare systems by promoting continuous improvement in the delivery of child welfare services. (For more information about CB's programs, visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb.)

Legislation

Authority for the activities described in this announcement come from Sections 105(b)(5) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act and from the Adoption Opportunities program under Section 203 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act. These pieces of Federal legislation provide for discretionary funds to improve child welfare agencies and systems that attempt to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families. Several other statutes are also described below. They authorize the training and TA that CB currently provides to State and Tribal child welfare systems through its larger T/TA Network.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974 [42 USC §§ 5101 et seq.; 42 USC §§ 5116 et seq.], Public Law (P.L.) 93-247, was originally enacted in 1974. It has been amended multiple times and was reauthorized as part of the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-36). CAPTA is one of the key pieces of legislation that guides child protection. Under section 2 of CAPTA, Congress asserts that a successful response to child maltreatment requires a comprehensive, integrated, culturally sensitive, and coordinated approach that supports necessary training for professionals and emphasizes prevention, assessment, investigation, and treatment.  Furthermore, Congress finds that a child protection system should be child-centered, family-focused, and community-based, incorporating prevention and promotion of recovery. 

The reauthorization provides a number of amendments to the eligibility requirements for the CAPTA State grant including: policies and procedures that address the needs of drug-exposed infants; triage procedures for referral of children not at imminent risk of harm to community or preventative services; notification of an individual who is the subject of an investigation about allegations made against them; training for CPS workers on their legal duties and parents' rights; and provisions to refer children under age three who are involved in a substantiated case to early intervention services under Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). P.L. 108-36 amends other provisions of CAPTA including the authority for the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, research and TA, grants for demonstration programs and projects, Children's Justice Act grants, and Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (formerly known as the Community-Based Family Resource and Support Grants). P.L. 108-36 also gives flexibility for States to determine open court policies in cases of child abuse and neglect.

Section 105 of CAPTA authorizes a variety of projects, including programs to train professionals that work in the field of child welfare, to establish resource centers for the purpose of disseminating information to the field, and to coordinate services across local public service agencies. Section 105(b) of CAPTA specifically provides for discretionary grants, including innovative projects that show promise in the prevention and treatment of child maltreatment.

The Adoption Opportunities [42 USC §§ 5111 et seq.] program provides discretionary funds for projects designed to eliminate barriers to adoption and help find permanent families for children who would benefit from adoption, particularly children with special needs. Activities authorized by the program legislation in section 203 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-266) include developing and implementing an adoption training and technical assistance program; increasing services in support of the placement in adoptive families of minority children who are in foster care and have the goal of adoption with a special emphasis on the recruitment of minority families; studying the nature, scope, and effects of the placement of children in kinship care arrangements and pre-adoptive or adoptive homes; and studying the efficacy of States' contracting with public and private non-profit agencies (including community-based and other organizations). The Adoption Opportunities program was also reauthorized by P.L. 108-36 in 2003.

A compilation of CAPTA and Adoption Opportunities text, dated February 2004, can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/cblaws/capta03/index.htm. For precise text of law please see the United States Code applicable to these laws.

Additional Statutes

The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) governs the jurisdiction, placement, termination of parental rights, and adoption of Native American children. This Act, passed in 1978, provides key standards that must be met by States when working with Tribal children, including notice to Tribes of State custody; standards for placement of Indian children in foster homes and termination of parental rights; active efforts to provide rehabilitative services; transfer of jurisdiction to Tribal courts and preferred placement of Indian children with extended families and other Indian families; and the Tribal right to intervene in State custody proceedings.

With the passage of Public Law (P.L.) 96-272, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, the Federal Government established a clear focus on the need for permanency for children in foster care and the importance of permanency planning and timely decision-making for these children. At that time, the law increased protections for children in foster care by requiring case plans that included goals, a description of the placement and its appropriateness, periodic administrative reviews and judicial permanency placement determinations.

In 1986, Congress amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (the Act) by adding section 479, that requires the Federal government to institute a foster care and adoption data collection system. The Adoption and Foster Care Automated Reporting System (AFCARS) collects case level information on all children in foster care for whom the State child welfare agency has responsibility for placement, care or supervision and on children who are adopted under the auspices of the State's public child welfare agency.

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993 (P.L. 103-66) provided States with the opportunity to obtain 75 percent enhanced funding through the Title IV-E program of the Social Security Act to plan, design, develop, and implement a Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) (Federal fiscal years 1993-1996). Title V, Section 502 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 extended SACWIS enhanced funding through Federal fiscal year 1997. Additionally, the legislation provided an enhanced SACWIS cost allocation to States so that Title IV-E would absorb all SACWIS costs for foster and adopted children, without regard to their Title IV-E eligibility. A SACWIS is expected to be a comprehensive, automated, case-management tool that supports social workers' foster care and adoption assistance case-management practice. Additionally, the systems may contain functionality that supports child protective and family preservation services, thereby providing a unified automated tool to support all child welfare services. By law, a SACWIS is required to support the reporting of data to AFCARS and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System.

The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994, as amended, prohibits the delay or denial of any adoption or placement in foster care due to the race, color or national origin of the child or the foster or adoptive parents and requires States to provide for diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children for whom homes are needed. Section 1808 of P.L. 104-188 affirms the prohibition against delaying or denying the placement of a child for adoption or foster care on the basis of race, color, or national origin of the foster or adoptive parents or the child involved. 

Authorized by the Social Security Act Amendments of 1994 (P.L. 103-432) and guided by ASFA's principles and emphasis on accountability, the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) process was published in a final rule in the Federal Register (65 FR 4076-93) on January 25, 2000. Unlike previous review systems, the CFSRs require States to demonstrate that children and families served by their child welfare systems are experiencing positive results. By June 2004, all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had participated in the first round of CFSRs. After completing the reviews, participants began developing and implementing Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) to build on their strengths and address areas needing improvement that were identified during the review process. PIPs emphasize building capacity and implementing sustainable systemic change that will improve outcomes for children and families in child welfare systems. By March 2008, all States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico are expected to have completed the implementation of their PIPs. CB began the second round of CFSRs in March 2007.

In November 1997, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) (P.L. 105-89) amended titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. This law impacts the State child welfare system in two ways. It focuses on moving children who are languishing in the system into adoption or other permanent placements, and it seeks to change the experience of children entering the system to increase the timeliness of securing permanency. ASFA embodies five key principles:

1.    The safety of children is the paramount concern that must guide all child welfare services.

2.    Foster care is a temporary setting and not a place for children to grow up.

3.    Permanency planning efforts for children should begin as soon as a child enters foster care and should be expedited by the provision of services to families.

4.    The child welfare system must focus on results and accountability.

5.    Innovative approaches are needed to achieve the goals of safety, permanency, and well-being.

To implement these principles, the law requires that child safety be the paramount concern in making service provision, placement, and permanency planning decisions. It reaffirms the importance of making reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families, but also specifies that States are not required to make efforts to keep children with their parents when doing so places a child's safety in jeopardy. To ensure that the system respects a child's developmental needs, the law includes provisions that shorten the time frame for making permanency planning decisions, and that establish a time frame for initiating proceedings to terminate parental rights. 

In 1999, the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) was enacted under the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, section 477 of the Social Security Act, as amended. This Act expanded the purposes and resources of the Federal Independent Living Program (ILP) originally enacted in 1986 under P.L. 96-272.  CFCIP offers assistance to help current and former foster care youths achieve self-sufficiency. Grants are offered to States who submit a plan to assist youth in a wide variety of areas designed to support a successful transition to adulthood. Activities and programs include, but are not limited, to help with education, employment, financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults for older youth in foster care as well as youth aged 18 through 21 who have aged out of the foster care system. A reporting system for States and a program evaluation component will be used to attain more knowledge about the outcomes of youth transitioning to adulthood.

Under Title II of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Amendments (PSSF Amendments) of 2001 (P.L. 107-133) is the Education and Training Vouchers for Youths Aging Out of Foster Care Program (ETV). It amends section 477 of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, adding a new purpose to CFCIP specifically targeting additional resources to meet the education and training needs of youth aging out of foster care. The law authorizes payments to States for post secondary educational and training vouchers for youth that have aged out of foster care or are otherwise eligible for services under the State program under this section. The full text of the above applicable laws enacted since 1996 can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/index.htm#laws. 

Title IV-B, subpart 2 of the Social Security Act, Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF), provides funds to States to provide family support, family preservation, time-limited family reunification services, and services to promote and support adoptions. These services are primarily aimed at preventing the risk of abuse and promoting nurturing families, assisting families at risk of having a child removed from their home, promoting the timely return of a child to his/her home, and if returning home is not an option, placement of a child in a permanent setting with services that support the family. As part of this program, the Court Improvement Program provides grants to help State courts improve their handling of proceedings relating to foster care and adoption. After regular assessments of court practices and policies, States use these funds for recommended improvements and reform activities. Typical activities include development of mediation programs, joint agency-court training, automated docketing and case tracking, linked agency-court data systems, one judge/one family models, time-specific docketing, collaborative relationships with the child welfare agency, and legislative change. With a strong emphasis on collaboration between agencies, courts and tribes, two additional funding streams were authorized in 2005 to provide funding for data collection and analysis and for training judges, attorneys and other legal personnel, including cross-training with agency staff.  

The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-145) encourages States to focus greater effort on finding adoptive families for children ages nine and older. Under the legislation the Adoption Incentive Program will now include a targeted bonus for States successful in increasing the number of older children adopted from foster care, and continue to recognize overall progress in increasing adoptions from foster care.

Training and Technical Assistance Network

CB's Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance Network (T/TA Network) is designed to provide States and Tribes with the necessary information, training, and consultation to build capacity within their child welfare systems. T/TA Network members hold expertise in multiple aspects of child welfare practice, and they are expected to provide resources and assistance that will support and facilitate positive change, and in some cases comprehensive cross-system reforms, that will result in more effective and promising practice. Some of the current members of the T/TA Network include: the Child Welfare Information Gateway (Information Gateway), the National Quality Improvement Centers, the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids (AdoptUsKids), and the National Child Welfare Resource Centers (NRCs). The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (Workforce Institute) will join the T/TA Network in the fall of 2008. (A description of the Network and a complete list of the NRCs is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm#technical.)

CB employs several monitoring tools including the CFSR, Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility Review, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Assessment Review, and the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) Assessment Review to ensure conformity with Federal child welfare requirements and to help States achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children. (For more information about child welfare monitoring, see http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/index.htm.) While a major function of the T/TA Network is to prepare States for child welfare monitoring and to help them apply the knowledge gained from these reviews, the ultimate purpose of the network is to improve child welfare systems and to support States in achieving sustainable, systemic change that yields better outcomes for children, youth, and families.

Gaps in Current Training and Technical Assistance

For several years, CB has worked closely with its entire T/TA Network to provide high quality and coordinated services to States. Collaboration between T/TA Network members has greatly increased as a result of this effort, and membership in the T/TA Network has also expanded in recognition of important roles that different CB initiatives play in building capacity.

Knowledge development, transfer of knowledge, leadership development, information management, and dissemination of effective and promising practices have all been key components of the T/TA Network. National Quality Improvement Centers develop knowledge by demonstrating and evaluating innovative practices. National Child Welfare Resource Centers transfer knowledge and identify evidence-based approaches while serving as repositories of national expertise in topical areas of child welfare. The Information Gateway houses, manages, produces, and disseminates child welfare information and resources, and the Workforce Institute will deliver training and cultivate leadership among professionals in child welfare.

The T/TA Network has been designed to respond to State and Tribal needs related to Federal reviews and the implementation of PIPs. CB has learned that the systemic reform encouraged by these reviews requires a proactive approach to T/TA as well as a commitment to strategic, focused, and sustained planning and implementation. Specific strategies adopted by a State or Tribe to improve a particular outcome or an area of practice must be part of a larger, cohesive, and comprehensive vision for change that permeates the child welfare system at all levels of responsibility and leadership. The principles that drive the change effort need to infuse each step of the reform process and be supported during and after implementation.

T/TA Network members have developed into a community of resources and centers of expertise that are flexible and able to respond to changing Federal priorities and challenges in the field. While the T/TA Network provides critical services that help States and Tribes assess and improve their performance, a variety of barriers can prevent systemic change from occurring. Some child welfare systems require an enhanced level of T/TA to successfully implement complex and extensive systems reforms. Despite their efforts to adopt and institutionalize new principles and evidence-based or evidence-informed practices, States and Tribes are often without the resources necessary to implement comprehensive strategic plans, and the current T/TA Network has been limited in its ability to provide intensive, long-term TA.

The Implementation Centers described in this announcement are intended to complement the existing T/TA Network and to carry out a new approach that will address barriers to T/TA utilization. Implementation Centers will support and facilitate more formal communication and networking across State and Tribal child welfare systems to capitalize on existing expertise and promote cooperative problem solving, and they will enter into formal partnerships with States and Tribes to execute projects that will provide the resources and intensive TA necessary for child welfare systems to implement multi-year plans for systemic change.

Systems of Care Framework and CFSR Guiding Principles

Implementation Centers are expected to drive necessary systemic change while subscribing to a Systems of Care (SOC) framework and the CFSR guiding principles.

Adopted from its application in the mental health field, SOC refers to a conceptual framework and set of principles that directs child welfare agencies and systems to pursue individualized, coordinated, and holistic approaches to working with children and families. In child welfare, SOC is characterized by shared, cross-cutting principles and a continuum of integrated services from prevention to permanency support that span programs, agencies, and institutions. A SOC approach is community-based, child-centered, family-focused, strengths-based, culturally competent, and comprehensive. It addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, educational, and developmental needs of children, youth and their families while taking into account the individual, family, community, and broader systemic risk and protective factors that contribute to a child's safety and well-being. (More information regarding SOC can be found at http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/service/soc/.)

Like incidents of maltreatment, child welfare interventions do not take place in isolation. The services provided by a child welfare program have the potential to significantly affect dynamics and circumstances within and external to the child's family. They also have implications for the decision-making and practices of other programs within the community, the larger service agency, and the child welfare service system. Adopting a SOC approach in child welfare requires a commitment to collaboration and often demands the reform of conventional agency practice and organizational culture. 

The guiding principles of the CFSR are consistent with this SOC framework. As described under Section 1355.25 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), child safety, permanency, and well-being are closely tied to principles of service delivery for effective practice including: prevention services; family-focused and community-based services; flexible, accessible, and coordinated services; culturally appropriate services; and strengths-based and individualized services. Furthermore, the Section states that services should be organized along a continuum and linked to a wide service array to meet the multiple service needs of families. The principles of the CFSR are more commonly described to be:

• Family-centered practice,
• Community-based services,
• Individualizing services, and
• Strengthening the capacity of families.

 (Complete text of 45 CFR 1355.25 can be found at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html, and more information about changing the culture of the workplace to be consistent with the principles of the CFSR can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/changing_culture.htm.)

As members of a service delivery network, Implementation Centers will subscribe to these SOC and CFSR principles in their approach to delivering TA to States and Tribes. Implementation Centers are expected to collaborate with all T/TA Network members and CB and to collectively offer proactive, integrated, culturally competent, individualized, client-centered, strengths-based services.

While each Implementation Center's TA must be aligned with the SOC framework, CFSR principles, and current knowledge of sound practice in child welfare, the States and Tribes being served are not expected to adopt the SOC framework or to articulate their principles in the same way. States and Tribes will differ significantly in their strengths and challenges, organizational cultures, visions for the future, and strategies for change. CB intends for SOC and CFSR principles to guide the Implementation Centers' service delivery approach rather than become prescribed content that is uniformly disseminated to States and Tribes.

Once a State or Tribe has identified a particular need, barrier, or issue that requires attention, an Implementation Center is expected to partner with its client to comprehensively assess and mutually define the problem in the context of broader systemic conditions. Implementation Centers are expected to tailor their TA to each of their clients. Rather than assuming that a problem is isolated, the Implementation Center will approach identified problems as opportunities for further investigation, broad systems thinking, and change that will result in sustainable improvement.

Implementation Centers

The purpose of this program announcement is to establish, by awarding cooperative agreements, five Implementation Centers. Implementation Centers will provide States and Tribes with the intensive TA and resources necessary to implement strategies for systemic change in their respective child welfare systems. 

Expectations

Implementation Centers will be expected to:

• Subscribe to a SOC framework and CFSR principles in the coordination, administration, and delivery of TA;
  
  
• Support and facilitate regional peer-to-peer mentoring and networking between State and Tribal child welfare systems;
  
  
• Perform regional outreach that will engage States and Tribes and prompt their participation in networking activities, utilization of available TA and resources, and submission of proposals for implementation projects;
  
  
• Enter into mutually binding agreements with States and Tribes for intensive, multi-year strategic planning and implementation of child welfare projects for systemic change;
  
  
• Build the capacity of State and Tribal child welfare systems to achieve systemic change and improve outcomes for children and families;
  
  
• Partner closely with CB, current members of the T/TA Network, States, Tribes, and other regional and national stakeholders;
  
  
• Provide proactive TA that supports the implementation of State and Tribal strategies for improved child welfare practice;
  
  
• Utilize the experience and expertise of the CB Regional Offices, T/TA Network, stakeholders, and other resources - making referrals when appropriate;
  
  
• Provide coordinated and individualized TA that does not duplicate or supplant existing services and resources available to States and Tribes;
  
  
• Participate fully in any national evaluation activities, if applicable;
  
  
• Develop and conduct evaluation;
  
  
• Present evaluation findings to CB and the T/TA Network; and
  
  
• Collaborate across geographic regions to address common issues, improve cross-system networking, and jointly develop and execute mutual evaluation activities.

Roles and Responsibilities

Implementation Centers will have a clearly defined role in CB's T/TA Network. While other members of the T/TA Network develop knowledge, manage resources, transfer knowledge of effective and promising practices, and provide TA to support systemic change, Implementation Centers will be primarily responsible for the coordination and maintenance of regional peer networks, forming partnerships, and executing projects that support the implementation of knowledge. Unlike NRCs, Implementation Centers are not expected to function as entities that provide TA nationwide. Instead, Implementation Centers will promote peer-to-peer consultation between child welfare systems and provide intensive and long-term TA and support to those States and Tribes with whom they have entered into formal partnerships. Rather than serve as national experts in a topical area of child welfare, Implementation Centers will possess expertise in strategic implementation, organizational change, and systemic intervention and be grounded in a thorough understanding of child welfare systems.

The principal goal of each Implementation Center is to facilitate the institutionalization of principles, policies, and proven or promising practices that a State or Tribe has adopted. Implementation Centers are most concerned with how a system can move from vision and values to changes in organizational culture and practice that are likely to result in sustainable improvements in outcomes for children and families.

REGIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SERVICE AREAS

Each Implementation Center will serve States and Tribes in one of the following ACF regional pairings: Regions I and II; Regions III and IV; Regions V and VIII; Regions VI and VII; or Regions IX and X. (To view a map of the ACF Regions, visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/oro/regions/acf_regions.html.) Each Implementation Center is expected to be knowledgeable about the child welfare systems in its geographic area and to be available to its formal State and/or Tribal partners (described under "STATE AND TRIBAL PROJECTS") for TA related to implementation of strategies for organizational change. While an Implementation Center is not required to be physically located in its geographic service area, it must be readily accessible to States and Tribes in its ACF regions and it must be prepared for frequent on-site consultation.

For some States and Tribes, systemic change will require addressing issues that span multiple systems and jurisdictions. Implementation Centers are expected to collaborate with each other across regional boundaries on critical interstate and Tribal child welfare issues when necessary.

Shortly after the award of the cooperative agreements, successful applicants and CB will agree to formal names for the Implementation Centers.  CB expects each Implementation Center to be easily identifiable by geographic service area while also promoting a shared identity as members of the T/TA Network.

COLLABORATION

Because each Implementation Center will be funded under a cooperative agreement, the successful applicant must collaborate with CB's Central and Regional Offices to meet the goals of this program announcement. In addition, Implementation Centers are expected to become important, active members of CB's T/TA Network. They will be immediately responsible for initiating strong collaborative partnerships with members of the T/TA Network, including the NRCs, AdoptUsKids, Information Gateway, and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. Implementation Centers must also collaborate with one another to share information, coordinate networking and TA, complete evaluation activities, and provide mutual consultation.

During the course of its project, an Implementation Center may have opportunities to consult and/or collaborate with State and Tribal child welfare systems, other Implementation Centers, CB, the NRCs, other members of the T/TA Network, and various national, regional, and community stakeholders to develop products regarding best and promising practices for capacity-building, implementation, and other topics related to systemic change. CB expects Implementation Centers to participate to the extent feasible in these activities and to assist with the strategic dissemination of such products to the child welfare field. As members of the T/TA Network, Implementation Centers also will collaborate with CB and their T/TA Network counterparts in the promotion, planning, organization, and facilitation of CB-sponsored national meetings.

OUTREACH

Implementation Centers will perform outreach activities to engage State and Tribal child welfare systems in T/TA Network services and regional peer networking activities (described in "STATE AND TRIBAL NETWORKING") and to recruit formal partners for implementation projects. Because utilization of existing T/TA Network services differs substantially among child welfare systems, CB expects Implementation Centers to consider issues of accessibility and need when planning and performing their outreach to States and Tribes. An Implementation Center may decide to target its outreach to particular child welfare systems that are likely to benefit from TA but have experienced internal or external barriers to engagement with the T/TA Network in the past.

Implementation Centers should also be sensitive to issues that might deter child welfare systems from being receptive to outreach efforts. Implementation Centers have the flexibility to tailor outreach activities to systems in their respective service areas, and CB expects each Implementation Center to design deliberate and culturally competent plans for outreach to both Tribal and State child welfare systems, where applicable.

Implementation Centers are expected to educate States and Tribes in their geographic service areas about the function that they serve in the larger T/TA Network, provide information about the specific services and resources available from the T/TA Network, build relationships, successfully engage targeted systems in networking opportunities, and encourage the submission of proposals for implementation projects (described in "STATE AND TRIBAL PROJECTS"). Each Implementation Center is expected to consult regularly with CB's Regional Offices in its geographic service area. Implementation Centers are strongly encouraged to utilize the Regional Offices' knowledge of States and Tribes when crafting an outreach approach. 

Regional Forums

During the first year of the project period, each Implementation Center will plan, organize, facilitate, and fund one regional forum for States and Tribes in its geographic service area. Each forum will be a venue to inform States and Tribes about the T/TA Network's resources and the Implementation Center's activities, including networking opportunities and implementation projects. The meeting's principal objective, however, will be to increase knowledge about the process of systems change and to promote solution-focused dialogue about the challenges that can prevent interventions from achieving intended reforms and sustainable improvement. The forum will "kick-off" the Implementation Center's activities and will build support and momentum for strategic planning and systemic improvement efforts across the region.

Each Implementation Center is encouraged to consider how to best utilize its regional forum to share information, engage participants, and promote initial networking. In some cases, Implementation Centers may choose to hold more than one forum if, for example, separate events are expected to be more effective for securing participation from Tribal systems.

Each Implementation Center will work closely with CB Central Office and Regional Staff to plan its forum, and all final plans for the forum must be approved by the Federal project officer. Attendance at regional forums should be accessible to representatives of both States and Tribes in the Implementation Center's geographic service area, and Implementation Centers will pay for the travel, lodging, and meal expenses of forum participants. CB expects that each forum will be held in a city within the applicable geographic area where an ACF Regional Office is located (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, or Seattle). 

STATE AND TRIBAL NETWORKING

In an effort to capitalize on institutional and historical knowledge and on relationships that already exist between States and Tribes, Implementation Centers will dedicate considerable effort to promoting, strengthening, and formalizing peer-to-peer consultation and problem-solving between child welfare systems. Each Implementation Center will provide regular opportunities for State and Tribal child welfare systems to share information, experiences, and lessons with each other. Networking should promote cross-system learning and communication between numerous State and Tribal jurisdictions and involve as many child welfare systems as reasonable and feasible.

Implementation Centers are expected to find creative and innovative ways to secure participation from Tribes and States and to build collaborative networks that foster systemic change and improvement. While neither required nor exhaustive, examples of activities that an Implementation Center could choose to perform to formalize peer-to-peer networking and mentoring include:

• Regional workgroups for States and Tribes to discuss best practices and implementation models in an area of child welfare and to develop State- and Tribe-specific work plans;
  
  
• Regional meetings or events featuring national experts and/or peers from outside the region to share effective models and best practices and to increase knowledge dissemination across the nation; 
  
  
• Peer-to-peer site visits that demonstrate how organizational and practice changes have been successfully achieved in one system to support the development of an implementation approach in another; and
  
  
• Facilitated conference calls for groups of States and/or Tribes to convene regularly to discuss issues of common interest.

In some cases, States and Tribes may be better served by networking activities that span multiple geographic areas of responsibility. Implementation Centers must collaborate with one another, CB, the T/TA Network, and State and Tribal systems to integrate networking approaches that are well-coordinated, practical, appropriate, and likely to increase cross-system consultation.

Implementation Centers will be challenged to successfully engage both Tribes and States on topics that are relevant, meaningful, and sensitive to their sometimes differing needs and capacities. While some networking activities will be open to State and Tribal participants across a geographic service area, Implementation Centers may choose to target other peer-to-peer activities specifically to systems that share common models of practice, cultures, organizational characteristics, objectives, and/or challenges.

STATE AND TRIBAL PROJECTS

Implementation projects will be the primary means by which Implementation Centers facilitate sustainable systems change. CB has found that many States and Tribes are often without the resources necessary to develop and successfully execute their strategic plans for improvement. Further, the current T/TA Network has been limited in its ability to provide in-depth, long-term TA. Each Implementation Center will enter into mutually binding agreements with multiple State and/or Tribal child welfare agencies for intensive, multi-year planning and implementation activities. Implementation projects may support personnel, consultants, training, and/or other activities necessary for Implementation Centers to effectively partner with States and Tribes and jointly build the capacities of child welfare systems for improved performance and positive change.

Implementation projects will be individualized, strengths-based, and highly responsive to the needs of State and Tribal partners. Based on Federal monitoring reviews, internal evaluation, external analyses, consumer and stakeholder reports, or other sources of information, each State or Tribe will develop a project proposal and identify the specific problems, needs, and/or areas of performance that it intends to address systemically. In some cases a project candidate will have already engaged multiple internal and external stakeholders and completed a comprehensive assessment of its needs and challenges. In others, the development of a proposal will initiate a new or more thorough assessment process that can be expanded over the course of an implementation project.  

When a proposal is selected, the Implementation Center and project candidate will partner to thoroughly analyze the State or Tribe's identified needs and problems and to develop or revise initial strategic plans for implementing change that will address them. After mutually agreeing to a project plan, the State or Tribe and its regional Implementation Center will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), contract, or other mutually binding agreement.  The Implementation Center will facilitate and coordinate implementation project activities in collaboration with designated State or Tribal staff, and the Implementation Center will allocate those funds necessary to secure resources, plan systemic interventions, implement the change process, and complete the project.  The Implementation Center will provide intensive TA to support successful execution of the implementation project. The Implementation Center and its partners will engage those stakeholders and systems necessary to achieve the project's purpose, and Implementation Centers will facilitate the utilization of other important sources of expertise within and outside of the T/TA Network.

Each partnership's plan for implementation and systemic change will differ in its vision, objectives, scope, and activities. Implementation projects may vary in intensity, duration, and approach, but each project's activities should be consistent with a clear and coherent vision for improving the State or Tribe's child welfare system. While Implementation Centers subscribe to the guiding principles of SOC and the CFSR in their TA approach, States and Tribes are not expected to adopt this particular framework or to articulate their principles in the same way. Each implementation project's activities should infuse the targeted child welfare system with the State or Tribe's own principles for effective child welfare practice and sound service delivery. All projects are also expected to involve important stakeholders and systems in their strategic planning and implementation efforts. Local child welfare agencies, governance bodies, courts, health and education departments, social service systems, mental health and substance abuse agencies, law enforcement and justice systems, community-based service providers, and a variety of other entities may be essential to the reform and improvement efforts that are proposed. Implementation projects may pursue systemic change within a child welfare system or across multiple systems that are integral to successful child welfare practice.

For example, a project might focus on the implementation of a four-year strategic plan to address overrepresentation in out-of-home placement and disproportionately poor outcomes for children of color in care. The State and Implementation Center's plan for systemic change may require implementing specific evidence-based models of practice and infusing the child welfare agency's internal systems (including but not limited to, its human resources, training, supervision, personnel management, financing, quality assurance, information management, evaluation, and contracting) with the agency's vision and principles (i.e., prevention, family-centered practice and cultural competence) for change. Further, successful systemic reform may demand that external systems (i.e., courts, juvenile justice, public health, mental health, education, elected leadership, community- and faith-based organizations) that play a critical role in the outcomes for these children be engaged in the implementation project.

Structure

Implementation projects are intended to be substantial and capable of supporting implementation activities that will drive sustainable positive change in organizational culture and child welfare practice. Implementation Centers have the flexibility to select proposals, allocate funds, and enter into projects within the guidelines described below.

Projects must be at least 24 months in duration and may involve a period of assessment and strategic planning prior to implementation activities. Each Implementation Center will dedicate funds directly to the execution of implementation projects and track and report expenditures for each project separately in its administrative reporting.

In Fiscal Year 2009 (FY 2009) or "year one" of its cooperative agreement, an Implementation Center will devote no less that 35 percent of its Federal funds to multiple implementation projects. No fewer than two projects shall be operating by July 1, 2009.

In years two through five (FY 2010 through FY 2013), each Implementation Center is required to devote no less than 75 percent of its annual Federal funds to implementation projects. The budget for each project shall not be less than $100,000 and shall not exceed $700,000 in any budget period. An Implementation Center may choose to accept proposals and initiate projects once or multiple times during its five-year award, but all implementation projects are expected to conclude by September 28, 2013. No fewer than two implementation projects shall be operating at any time throughout years two through five.

The table below summarizes the minimum and maximum implementation project requirements for an Implementation Center in its geographic area over the five-year award.

Within these restrictions, each Implementation Center has the freedom to propose the number of projects, the duration of the projects, and the amount of funds dedicated to each project in its geographic service area. To illustrate this flexibility, one Implementation Center could conduct several small implementation projects, devoting a uniform amount of annual funds to each over a standard period of time. By contrast, another Implementation Center may prefer to support a combination of projects with diverse timeframes and projected costs (e.g., one 52-month project, two 28-month projects, and four 24-month projects). Yet a third Implementation Center could choose to enter into long-term partnerships, focusing on two or three large-scale projects over an extended period.

An Implementation Center may also choose to target particular systemic issues and/or child welfare outcomes when crafting its program announcement.

All Implementation Centers will collectively develop common proposal expectations and processes with one another and CB prior to soliciting proposals. All implementation projects must receive final approval from the Implementation Center's Federal project officer, and CB's Regional Offices will participate in the review of proposals and/or be consulted regarding the design of the review process.

Implementation Centers will enter into formal agreements with States and Tribes; supply resources, TA, and consultation; and facilitate effective utilization of the T/TA Network to provide each partner with comprehensive support. Implementation projects must be feasible for the time and resources available and likely to result in sustainable improvement.

Coordinated Technical Assistance

Through their projects, Implementation Centers and their State and Tribal partners are expected to support the sound and effective implementation of agreed upon strategies for systemic change in child welfare. Successful implementation will demand regular consultation and collaboration with CB, the NRCs, and other members of the T/TA Network. Implementation Centers will rely on the knowledge of the T/TA Network and CB's Central and Regional Offices for State- and Tribal-specific information and topical expertise in child welfare. Implementation Centers will also refer States and Tribes to NRCs and the Workforce Institute for leadership, workforce, and programmatic training.

Implementation Centers are expected to complement existing resources and services available to States and Tribes. In addition to carefully coordinating implementation activities with the T/TA Network's current services, Implementation Centers should not duplicate services or supplant resources that would otherwise be utilized for the same purpose. Implementation Centers must be familiar with existing (and potentially untapped) Federal and non-Federal funds and resources when developing implementation approaches with States and Tribes. Within the first six months of the project period, Implementation Centers are required to develop common protocols for coordinating TA, making referrals to other T/TA Network members, and tracking activities. These protocols will be established in collaboration with CB and the T/TA Network.

Individualized Technical Assistance

Implementation Centers are intended to facilitate sustainable systems change that will ultimately improve outcomes for children, youth and families. While each Implementation Center's TA must be aligned with the SOC framework, CFSR principles, and current knowledge of sound practice in child welfare, its TA must also be tailored to its State and/or Tribal partners. States and Tribes will differ significantly in their strengths and challenges, organizational cultures, guiding principles, visions for the future, and strategies for change. CB expects that an Implementation Center will be skilled in multiple implementation and management approaches and capable of recommending the most appropriate models for the States and Tribes they serve.

When a State or Tribe identifies a particular need, barrier, or issue that requires attention, an Implementation Center is expected to partner with its client to comprehensively assess and mutually define the problem in the context of broader systemic conditions. Rather than assuming that a problem is isolated, the Implementation Center will approach identified problems as opportunities for further investigation, broad systems thinking, and change that will result in sustainable improvement.

Implementation Centers will partner with States and Tribes that are also likely to be at very different stages in the process of comprehensive assessment.  Implementation Centers will collaborate with their clients, the T/TA Network, and CB to utilize recent assessment findings and to build on them as appropriate. The knowledge of NRCs should be utilized to examine system functioning and outcomes in their respective areas of expertise. Thorough and informed assessments allow Implementation Centers to view each State and Tribal system as a unique client and to craft their TA accordingly.

CB recognizes that not all child welfare systems will be equally receptive to TA. Implementation Centers must, therefore, employ a client-centered and client-directed approach to serving States, Tribes, and their respective stakeholders. In addition to being culturally competent and well-informed, each Implementation Center's processes and activities should be responsive to and guided by the State or Tribe being served. Implementation Centers must successfully build relationships and empower child welfare systems to lead and own their own systemic change.

EVALUATION

Implementation Centers are likely to employ different methods to engage State and Tribal systems, ensure service coordination, facilitate cross-system networking, execute implementation projects, and provide intensive TA. The fundamental purpose, functions, and objectives of each Implementation Center, however, are the same. This program announcement creates a new, complementary group of TA providers within CB's T/TA Network, and CB expects the evaluation of this initiative to be informative and rigorous. Implementation Centers will, therefore, evaluate their ability to build capacity, execute effective implementation strategies, and drive systemic change. Implementation Centers will participate fully in any national evaluation contract that relates to this program announcement.

In addition to participation in any applicable national evaluation, CB expects each Implementation Center to regularly evaluate its own performance and to use this information to improve its processes and services. These evaluation activities should provide practical and immediate feedback to Implementation Centers. Each Implementation Center will design and conduct an evaluation using multiple measures, and each center will employ both qualitative and quantitative methods as necessary. Upon award of the cooperative agreements, Implementation Centers may choose to develop common evaluation components (i.e., methods, collection tools, processes, outputs, and/or outcomes). While evaluation plans may have some common components, they will also be site specific and reflect the diversity of the Implementation Centers' approaches. Evaluation measures should be aligned with the Implementation Centers' guiding principles and should focus on formative evaluation for the purpose of improvement.

For example, in addition to collecting outputs to monitor client contact and service delivery, an evaluation could evaluate the degree to which an Implementation Center's processes and activities are consistent with particular SOC and CFSR principles. An Implementation Center might track its outreach activities, identify whether targeted systems were successfully engaged, and assess whether or not its outreach efforts were perceived by clients (State and/or Tribal child welfare systems) to be strengths-based and culturally competent. An Implementation Center might also convene periodic focus groups to evaluate whether its model of technical assistance delivery was well integrated, client-centered, comprehensive, and sensitive to changing needs and challenges during the pursuit of organizational change. Evaluation findings in these examples might help an Implementation Center to identify areas for improving the quality of services and ensuring consistency with the principles of the center.

Implementation Centers will regularly update their Federal project officer about ongoing evaluation activities and findings in required progress reporting and provide CB with a written report at the end of the project. Implementation Centers with collaborate with each other, their State and Tribal partners, CB, and any applicable national evaluation contractor(s) to produce a comprehensive evaluation report at the conclusion of the project period and present findings to CB, the T/TA Network, and other stakeholders.

Applicants must allocate sufficient funds to conduct their evaluation activities. Funds for evaluation must appear in the budget, and each applicant must state the percentage of the total budget that will be allocated to evaluation.

Specific Tasks to be Performed by the Implementation Centers during the Planning and Implementation Phases

Each applicant is required to submit a narrative (with accompanying Gantt chart and logic model) that clearly and concisely describes its strategy for a six-month planning phase (Phase I) followed by a 54-month implementation phase (Phase II). 

During Phase I, each Implementation Center will:

• Build and strengthen its relationships with CB, members of the T/TA Network, its implementation counterparts, and other key stakeholders;
  
  
• Establish common protocols for coordinating networking activities and TA with CB and the T/TA Network;
  
  
• Revise and refine its plans for outreach, a regional forum, interstate and inter-Tribal networking, execution of implementation projects, and evaluation;
  
  
• Obtain approval from CB for its revised plans;
  
  
• Initiate outreach to targeted States and Tribes; and
  
  
• Develop project proposal expectations and a selection process .

During Phase II, each Implementation Center will:

• Continue to engage States and Tribes;
  
  
• Convene and facilitate a regional forum;
  
  
• Collaborate and regularly consult with CB and the T/TA Network;
  
  
• Provide coordinated and individualized TA that supports the implementation of strategies for systems change;
  
  
• Execute plans for peer-to-peer networking across child welfare systems;
  
  
• Enter into formal partnerships with States and/or Tribes and execute implementation projects;
  
  
• Implement evaluation plans; and
  
  
• Complete required reporting and distribute evaluation findings.

In its application, each applicant must describe how it will complete its required and proposed activities within the planning and implementation phases of the project. After the award of the cooperative agreements and prior to implementation, plans may be revised to accommodate coordination of activities with other grantees. The applicant's plans will be subject to review, revision, and final approval by CB. 

Logic Model and Gantt Chart

The applicant is required to submit in its application both a logic model and Gantt Chart for its planning and implementation. The logic model and Gantt Chart also must accompany all subsequent submissions of plans related to this announcement to CB.

Travel for Meetings, Conferences, and Presentations

Approximately six weeks after the award of the cooperative agreements, the project director of each Implementation Center, the project evaluator, and representatives of other key partners and/or subcontractors involved in the execution of the award, if applicable, will be required to attend a one-day meeting with the Federal project officer and other Federal staff in Washington, D.C. This meeting is to review and approve activities and planning timelines in year one of the award and to clarify expectations for the project.

Within six months of the award of the cooperative agreements, each Implementation Center project director, project evaluator, and representatives of other key partners and/or subcontractors involved in the execution of the award, if applicable, must make an oral presentation to CB staff in Washington, D.C., describing and supporting its implementation plans for each of the major areas of activity.

The applicant's budget for the first 12-month budget period should include anticipated costs for these two meetings, as well as costs for two key staff persons to attend CB's annual grantee meeting, usually held in the winter or spring in Washington, D.C. The focus of this meeting is for CB grantees to network, discuss lessons learned, and meet with their assigned Federal project officer for monitoring purposes. In years two through five of the cooperative agreement, each Implementation Center is required to send the project director and the project evaluator to the annual grantee meeting.

In addition, as a member of the T/TA Network, each Implementation Center's project director or another designated representative will attend T/TA Network meetings held twice annually in the Washington, D.C. metro area over the duration of the five-year project period. All expenses related to attendance at these two-day meetings also should be included in the applicant's proposed budget.

Project Requirements

The acceptance of funds for projects responsive to this announcement will signify the applicant's assurance that it will comply with the following requirements:

II. AWARD INFORMATION

Substantial Involvement with Cooperative Agreement:

A cooperative agreement is a specific method of awarding Federal assistance in which substantial Federal involvement is anticipated. A cooperative agreement clearly defines the respective responsibilities of CB and the grantee prior to the award. CB anticipates that agency involvement will produce programmatic benefits to the recipient otherwise unavailable to them for carrying out the project. The involvement and collaboration includes:

• CB review and approval of planning stages of the activities before implementation phases may begin;
  
  
• CB involvement in the establishment of policies and procedures that maximize open competition, and rigorous and impartial development, review and funding of cooperative agreement or sub-grant activities, if applicable;
  
  
• CB and recipient joint collaboration in the performance of key programmatic activities (i.e., strategic planning, implementation, information technology enhancements, T/TA, publications or products, and evaluation);
  
  
• Close monitoring by CB of the requirements stated in this announcement that limit the grantee's discretion with respect to scope of services offered, organizational structure, and management processes; and
  
  
• Close monitoring by CB during performance which may, in order to ensure compliance with the intent of this funding, exceed those Federal stewardship responsibilities customary for grant activities.

Explanation of Other:

Awards under this announcement are subject to the availability of funds.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants:

• State governments
• County governments
• Local Governments
• Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
• Non-profits with 501(c)(3) IRS status (other than institutions of higher education)
• Non-profits without 501(c)(3) IRS status (other than institutions of higher education)
• Private institutions of higher education
• For-profit organizations (other than small businesses)
• Small businesses

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the statutory eligibility requirements are eligible to apply under this announcement.

Foreign entities are not eligible under this announcement.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Yes

3. Other:

Disqualification Factors

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package:

2. Content and Form of Application Submission:

Each application must contain the following items in the order listed:

Application for Federal Assistance. (Standard Form (SF) 424). Follow the instructions that accompany the form.

Budget Information. Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) and Budget Justification. Follow the instructions that accompany the form and those in Section V, Application Review Information. Note that Federal funds provided to States and services or other resources purchased with Federal funds may not be used to match project awards.

Certifications/Assurances. See Forms, Assurances, and Certifications, below.

Project Summary/Abstract (one page maximum, double spaced). Clearly mark this page with the applicant name as shown on SF-424, identify the program announcement and the title of the proposed project as shown on SF-424 and the service area as shown on SF-424. The summary description should not exceed 300 words.

Care should be taken to produce a summary/abstract that accurately and concisely reflects the proposed project. It should describe the objectives of the project, the approach to be used, and the results or benefits expected.

The Project Description. Applicants should organize their project description in this sequence: 1) Objectives and Need for Assistance; 2) Approach; 3) Evaluation; 4) Organizational Profiles; and 5) Budget and Budget Justification.  

Non-Federal Resources (if applicable). Provide a letter of commitment verifying the actual amount of the non-Federal share of project costs (see Sections III.2 and V).

Indirect Charges. If claiming indirect costs, provide documentation that the applicant currently has an indirect cost-rate approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or another cognizant Federal agency.

Third-Party Agreements. If applicable, include a letter of commitment or Memorandum of Understanding from each partner and/or sub-contractor describing their role, detailing specific project tasks to be performed, and expressing commitment to participate if the proposed project is funded. Note: General letters of support are not required and are not considered under the evaluation criteria.

Staff and Position Data.  Include job descriptions and curriculum vitae and/or resumes for proposed project staff.

Page Limit. The application limit is 75 pages. Pages over this page limit will be removed from the application and will not be reviewed. This page limit does not include standard forms 424, 424A, 424B, certifications, assurances, third party agreements, letters of commitment, job descriptions, resumes, and curriculum vitae.

General Content and Form Information. To be considered for funding, each application must be submitted with the Standard Federal Forms and must follow the guidance provided. The application must be signed by an individual authorized to act for the applicant agency and to assume responsibility for the obligations imposed by the terms and conditions of the award.

The application must be typed, double spaced, printed on only one side, with at least 1-inch margins on each side and 1 inch at the top and bottom, using standard 12-Point fonts (such as Times New Roman or Courier). All pages must be numbered. When spacing, margins, and font instructions are not followed, excess pages will be removed and will not be reviewed.

All copies of an application must be submitted in a single package.  A separate package must be submitted for each funding opportunity. The package must be clearly labeled for the specific funding opportunity it is addressing.

Because each application will be duplicated, do not use or include separate covers, binders, clips, tabs, plastic inserts, maps, brochures, or any other items that cannot be processed easily on a photocopy machine with an automatic feed. Do not bind, clip, staple, or fasten in any way separate subsections of the application, including supporting documentation. Use a clip (not a staple) to securely bind the application together. Applicants are advised that the copies of the application submitted, not the original, will be reproduced by the Federal Government for review.

Tips for Preparing a Competitive Application. It is essential that applicants read the entire announcement package carefully before preparing an application and include all of the required application forms and attachments. The application must reflect a thorough understanding of and support the purpose and objectives of the applicable legislation.  Reviewers expect applicants to understand the goals of the legislation and the Children's Bureau's interest in each topic. A "responsive application" is one that addresses and follows all of the evaluation criteria in ways that demonstrate this understanding. Applications that are considered to be "unresponsive" or do not clearly address the evaluation criteria or program requirements generally receive very low scores and are rarely funded.

CB's website (http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb) provides a wide range of information and links to other relevant websites. Before preparing an application, applicants can learn more about CB's mission and programs by exploring the website.

Organizing the Application. Reviewers will use the specific evaluation criteria in Section V of this funding announcement to review and evaluate each application. The applicant should address each of these specific evaluation criteria in the project description. Applicants should organize their project description in this sequence: 1) Objectives and Need for Assistance; 2) Approach; 3) Evaluation; 4) Organizational Profiles; and 5) Budget and Budget Justification. The applicant must use the same headings as these criteria, so that reviewers can readily find information that directly addresses each of the specific review criteria.

Logic Model. A logic model is a tool that presents the conceptual framework for a proposed project and explains the linkages among program elements. While there are many versions of the logic model, they generally summarize the logical connections among the needs that are the focus of the project, project goals and objectives, the target population, project inputs (resources), the proposed activities/processes/outputs directed toward the target population, the expected short- and long-term outcomes the initiative is designed to achieve, and the evaluation plan for measuring the extent to which proposed processes and outcomes actually occur. Information on the development of logic models is available on the Internet at http://childwelfare.gov/preventing/developing/toolkit/.

Gantt Chart. A Gantt chart is a project management tool used to organize and present project tasks and subtasks and their corresponding timelines during the project period. Generally, each project task is assigned to a row in the first column of a grid. Then, a unit of time is assigned to each subsequent column, beginning with the first unit (i.e., week, month, quarter) of the project and ending with the last.  Shading, arrows, or other markings are used across the applicable grid boxes or cells - representing units of time, to indicate the approximate duration and/or frequency of each task and its start and end dates within the project period.

Evaluation.  Project evaluations are very important. If the applicant does not have the in-house capacity to conduct an objective, comprehensive evaluation of the project, then CB advises that the applicant contract with a third-party evaluator specializing in social science or evaluation, or a university or college, to conduct the evaluation.  In either case, it is important that the evaluator has the necessary independence from the project to assure objectivity. A skilled evaluator can help develop a logic model and assist in designing an evaluation strategy that is rigorous and appropriate given the goals and objectives of the proposed project. Additional assistance may be found in a document titled "Program Manager's Guide to Evaluation."  A copy of this document can be accessed at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/other_resrch/pm_guide_eval/reports/pmguide/pmguide_toc.html.

Protection of Human Subjects.  Evaluation plans that include obtaining identifiable private information about clients may involve non-exempt human subjects research and require compliance with the HHS Protection of Human Subjects regulations (45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 46). Applicants proposing such research are asked to describe: (a) the procedures for protecting the privacy of clients and ensuring the confidentiality of data collected about clients; and (b) the process for obtaining institutional review board (IRB) review of the proposed evaluation plans. While IRB approval is not required at the time of award, applicants proposing non-exempt human subjects research will be required, as a condition of award, to hold a Federal-wide Assurance (FWA) approved by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and to provide certification to ACF that an IRB designated under the FWA has reviewed and approved the research prior to enrolling any subjects in the proposed evaluation. Certifications of IRB approval may be submitted to ACF using the form at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/assurance/OF310.rtf.

General information about the HHS Protection of Human Subjects regulations can be obtained at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/. Applicants may also contact OHRP by email (ohrp@csophs.dhhs.gov) or by phone (240-453-6900).

D-U-N-S Requirement

Proof of Non-Profit Status

Forms, Assurances, and Certifications