Notice of Funds Available (RFP) Print Apply for this Grant

Specifications

Posted	Applications Due	Start Date	End Date	Amount	Match	Poverty Match	Council Staff
	Jun 14, 2017	Oct 01, 2017	Sep 30, 2022	$85,000.00	$28,333.00	$9,444.00	Danny Fikac

Introduction

The Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) approved funds up to $85,000 per year for up to five years for one project to develop a sustainable Texas Statewide Sibling Network. The Network will increase opportunities for siblings of people with developmental disabilities living in Texas to: connect, receive and share information; develop leadership and advocacy skills; and receive support to advocate for themselves and their siblings. The network should meet the needs of older teen and adult siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities and be responsive to the different cultural values and customs that exist in Texas.

Funding for the second through fifth years is not automatic. See the "Continuation Funding" section of this Request for Proposals (RFP) for more information about continuation funding application requirements. TCDD does not plan to provide funding for these projects beyond five years.

If you have questions after reading this RFP, contact Joanna Cordry, Planning Director, at Joanna.Cordry@tcdd.texas.gov or at 512-437-5410.

About TCDD

TCDD is a state entity that is funded by the federal Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) in accordance with the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act). TCDD's mission is to create change so that all people with disabilities are fully included in their communities and have control over their own lives. TCDD awards grants to entities sharing TCDD's vision and values for projects that are consistent with the Goals and Objectives in the Five Year State Plan. TCDD expects this project to help TCDD meet the following TCDD FY 2017 - 2021 State Plan Goal:

Goal 3: Increase the access that individuals with developmental disabilities and families of individuals with developmental disabilities have to information, training, and support to advocate for themselves and/or to collaborate with allies to impact public policy, service systems, and community supports.

You may read more about TCDD, TCDD's mission and values, and the Five Year State Plan, at www.TCDD.texas.gov.

Who May Apply

Public agencies, not-for-profit organizations, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions, faith-based institutions, and for-profit businesses may apply. The entity that applies for this grant must be the entity that will administer the grant and receive, disburse, and account for grant funds.

Individuals may not apply for this grant.

Funding and Duration

TCDD may award a maximum of $85,000 per year for up to 5 years. TCDD reserves the right to negotiate the budget as needed and may choose not to award funding for these projects.

TCDD grantees must provide a matching contribution each year. Matching contributions may include funding, volunteer hours, or other "in-kind" donations, such as office space and utilities. Other federal funds may not be used as match. Items or funds that are used for match for another federally-funded project also may not be used as match. TCDD prefers that the amount of match increase each year of the project.

Project activities located in counties not designated as federal poverty areas require matching resources equal to at least 25 percent of total project costs. Project activities located in counties designated as federal poverty counties require matching resources equal to at least 10 percent of the total project costs. The minimum amount of required match can be found on the front page of this RFP.

A list that identifies poverty counties is included in the "DD Suite Guide and Application Instructions" attached to this RFP.

Due Dates

All questions must be asked in writing and emailed to Joanna.Cordry@tcdd.texas.gov by 5:00 PM Central Daylight Time (CDT) on 5/19/17. Questions will not be accepted after that date and time. TCDD will post questions and answers on DD Suite as an attachment to this RFP by 5:00 PM CDT on 5/24/2017 .

Proposals must be received by 5 PM CDT on 6/14/17. Late proposals will not be reviewed. User errors that result in a failed or late submission will not be grounds for an exception to the deadline. If you have questions about DD Suite and cannot find answers in the DD Suite Guide and Application Instructions attached to this proposal, email Joanna.Cordry@TCDD.Texas.Gov or call 512-437-5410. This should be done as early in the process as possible.

TCDD will notify applicants within 30 days following the Council meeting.

How to Apply

To submit your proposal:

1. Complete all required sections of the application in DD Suite. If the application is not complete, the proposal will not be reviewed for funding.
2. Complete all sections of the Supplemental Forms packet and upload it to DD Suite as an attachment to your proposal. If Supplemental Forms packet is not complete, the application will not be reviewed.
3. Upload the Supplemental Forms packet and other required documents to DD Suite as attachments to your proposal. Documents received by fax, email, hand delivery, or mail will not be considered.
4. If you have Letters of Support or letters from other entities or individuals that state they will partner on the project, upload them to DD Suite as an attachment to your proposal. Letters will not be accepted by fax, email, hand delivery, or mail.
5. Submit the completed proposal, the Supplemental Forms, and allowed attachments through DD Suite by the due date and time. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Please note:

• The DD Suite application states "no budget selected." This is because TCDD requires the budget to be submitted as a part of the Supplemental Forms packet that must be completed and uploaded to DD Suite. Proposals that do not include a budget will not be reviewed.
• The "DD Suite Guide and Application Instructions" provides information about using DD Suite. You may also click on the "Help" link in the upper right hand corner of DD Suite. If you still have a question, TCDD staff are available to help.
• TCDD will only accept applications and documents that are submitted through DD Suite by 5:00 PM CDT on the due date.

Bidders' Conferences

TCDD will hold two telephone bidders' to provide more information about TCDD and TCDD's proposal review and grant award process. The same information will be covered at each teleconference. You are not required to attend in order to apply.

Telephone bidders conferences will be held:

• 5/11/17 12 PM CDT
• 5/16/17 10 AM CDT

Please email Joanna.Cordry@tcdd.texas.gov to sign up. To join the conference, dial the toll free number:

• Dial 1-877-820-7831
• Enter participant Passcode 649944#

Background

The sibling relationship is considered “the longest-lasting relationships of the human experience” (Cicirelli 1994), providing the greatest opportunity for mutual support and care. Thus, the need to define and promote healthy, positive adult sibling relationships is paramount. However, the experiences, perceptions, and needs of teen and adult siblings are often not acknowledged within our existing support system. It is necessary to obtain input from all siblings, not just those who self-identify as the most involved, to better understand how older teen and adult siblings are affected and how they contribute to the lives of their brothers and sisters.

Siblings often support individuals with developmental disabilities throughout their lives and can assist their sibling to advocate for themselves and, if needed, may advocate for them. Siblings may need specific information about their sibling’s disability and its implications; information about available services, including long-term services and supports; and education and training to effectively advocate for their sibling and to support their sibling to be self-advocates. Additionally, siblings have the opportunity to shape policy change. As people with intellectual and developmental disabilities begin to outlive their parents, systems need to be modified to ensure that siblings are included in planning earlier and to the degree desired. Thus, siblings have a vested interest in the design and portability of benefits. Those who understand person-centered thinking, best practices related to the provision of services, and the long term services and supports system are better able to support their sibling and to be more effective advocates for their siblings and others.

Compared to what is available for parents, supports and information tailored for siblings is limited. There is a gap in formal support opportunities for teens and adult siblings living in Texas. Existing resources currently available to siblings include:

• The Arc’s For Siblings (http://www.thearc.org/siblings) is an email list for all siblings of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). The list informs siblings about I/DD related policy updates and developments. The emails contain information for siblings to become involved in The Arc’s advocacy efforts nationwide, information about sibling stories and sibling-specific resources, and updates on sibling related events.
• The national Sibling Leadership Network (http://siblingleadership.org/), founded in 2007, develops and fosters a broad network of siblings who share their experience of disability and connects them to supports needed across the lifespan. The goals of the Sibling Leadership Network are to provide information and updates about activities, initiatives, policy decisions, and to hold sibling-related events so that siblings may be effective advocates for and with their brother, sister, and their families. Currently, there are 19 chapters in other states. There is no formal chapter in Texas, but there has been social media connections and informal meetings. More information about the latter may be found here: https://www.facebook.com/TXSLN/

The Texas Network may support people to have access to existing available resources. TCDD would also welcome a project that is a partnership with organizations already supporting siblings.

Please note: TCDD funds may not be used to support people to engage in activities that would require registration with the Texas Ethics Commission as a lobbyist.

Outputs and Outcomes

TCDD expects the project to:

• Recruit a minimum of 50 sibling participants the first year and increase the total number of siblings by 25% each year.
• Establish a sustainable statewide sibling network by the end of five years. A “network,” used in this context, describes a group of people who are supported by a coordinating entity that implements specific activities that may include but are not limited to: conducting outreach; providing information and training; and supporting sibling members to share information, contacts, and experiences.
• Provide TCDD with information about relevant public policy issues, how public policy issues can be or were addressed, and whether efforts to address them were successful. Public policy issues might be related to such things as rules, laws, budgets, practices, or other barriers that prevent people from accessing information, services and supports, and/or being included in community life.
• Provide TCDD with at least one story each year about a person who experienced a benefit from the project.
• Provide TCDD with relevant information to better understand and address the experiences of diverse groups of people who are unserved and underserved (including, but not limited to, people of color, people living in rural areas, and people living in poverty).
• Ensure that the project outcomes have a sustained long-term impact that benefits people with developmental disabilities. This might include things such as:
• changing or creating at least one policy, procedure, statute, and/or regulation;
• educating and sharing information with decision makers or others in the community;
• training, supporting, and/or organizing people with developmental disabilities to advocate for themselves and/or serve in leadership positions;
• creating new partnerships that increase the capacity of the community to support individuals with developmental disabilities;
• creating a new program, model, or technology that continues to be available after the grant funding ends;
• producing a product that will be of value beyond the life of the grant; and/or
• enabling more people to have access to services and supports.

This is not an exhaustive list. You may identify other ways through which a long-term impact and the creation of a sibling network will be achieved. TCDD staff may contact grantees annually for up to five years after a grant has ended to evaluate the long-term impact.

It is your responsibility to determine what the sustained change or impact of your project will be and to explain that in their proposal. You are expected to begin work on this in the first year of their project.

Project Description and Milestones

This project will establish a statewide network that meets the needs of teen and adult siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities and that continues to exist after TCDD funding has ended.The Network's activities should reflect the needs and preferences of the members and may include, but is not limited to, activities such as:

• Assisting siblings to understand current and future needs to better support their sibling;
• Providing disability-related education, including the history of disability rights movement;
• Conducting forums to share information or to provide support;
• Arranging opportunities for siblings to openly discuss concerns about specific issues;
• Educating and providing training on available services and various types of support including accessing and managing Medicaid Waiver services;
• Educating siblings about the importance of futures planning and how to be involved;
• Training and supporting siblings to participate in public policy advocacy opportunities;
• Developing a toolkit for siblings who will or plan to become the primary caregivers and decision makers;
and/or
• Informing siblings about and/or facilitating training in person-centered practices.

The Network must reach out to and include geographically, racially, and linguistically diverse groups of siblings.

By the end of the first year, you must:

• Determine what resources and activities are most needed by:
• reviewing existing data and literature to identify best practices and barriers related to providing siblings with support, information, and training;
• seeking input and guidance from siblings who have been supporting and/or advocating for their brother or sister; and
• gathering input from geographically, racially, and linguistically diverse groups of siblings to ensure that the network supports involvement of siblings in culturally appropriate ways.
• Recruit a minimum of at least 50 sibling participants

Throughout the project, you must:

• Support the network to grow by 25% each year;
• Continue to reach out to and support participation of geographically, racially, and linguistically diverse groups of siblings;
• Conduct activities to develop sustainability of the network;
• Develop any needed materials or resources; and
• Use best practices to support the members of the network to achieve identified outcomes

By the end of the project, you must have developed a sustainable Texas Statewide Sibling Network as described in this RFP.

Project Evaluation

All proposals should describe how you will evaluate, at a minimum, the following:

• The number of participants.
• The degree to which training or educational activities increased the skill level of participants.
• The successes and barriers related to recruiting and including siblings from unserved or underserved populations.
• The types of benefits that Network members believe they have experienced through their participation.
• Your progress towards achieving the expected long-term impact/sustainability.

You will also be expected to report the Performance Measures relevant to your project. Please see the list of Performance Measures attached. TCDD can assist you with selecting measures and providing templates to gather data, but you must ensure that data is gathered, analyzed, and reported to TCDD. Explain in the Project Evaluation section how you will gather this information.

Qualifications and Organizational Experience

Entities that receive grants must be able to disburse funds for project activities and expenses, complete TCDD's forms correctly and on time, and be legally able to receive grant funds to reimburse the organization for expenses. Some forms must be submitted online and some must be submitted through email.

The proposal must show that grant activities and funds can be managed effectively.

Reporting Requirements

Grantees must submit quarterly reports, data for Performance Measures, continuation proposals to request funding for the second through fifth years, and a final report at the end of the grant. These must be submitted on time. Failure to meet reporting and spending requirements may impact continuation or future grant awards. TCDD Grants Specialists will provide more information about these processes to the successful applicant(s).

Continuation Funding

If the RFP states that the project may be funded for more than one year, you may apply for continuation funding each year, up to the maximum number of years. TCDD does not automatically provide continuation funding and may choose not to award continuation grants.

In addition to addressing progress on the project and other grant requirements, continuation applications should include information about public policy issues that caused barriers, if or how they were addressed, and the results of any efforts to address them. TCDD also expects you to provide at least one story about a person or family who benefited from the project.

Continuation funding will be based on a review of the project's accomplishments, progress towards stated goals and objectives, financial management, compliance with reporting requirements, review of the most recent program audit and findings of TCDD's onsite reviews, development of alternative funding, and the availability of TCDD funds.

Proposals for continuation years shall not request funding that exceeds the maximum funding amount stated in the RFP.

Terms

Applicants must agree to the following terms:

• Applicants must disclose any conflicts of interest between themselves and TCDD council members, employees or their immediate families.
• Applicants must use respectful language. For examples of respectful language, please see TCDD’s "People First Language" resource in the Supplemental Forms Packet and the DD Suite Guide and Application Instructions.
• All printed materials must be available in Spanish and in an appropriate accessible format — including electronic, tagged PDF, or large print. Funding for this should be included in the budget.
• Videos, DVDs and teleconferencing and distance learning activities produced by this project must be fully accessible. Any videos or DVDs must be captioned.
• TCDD will retain rights to all products created using funding awarded through this RFP. The grantee will retain rights to materials that were created prior to receiving the grant and the rights to materials created without using funds that are associated with this project.
• TCDD reserves the right not to fund any proposal under this announcement.
• Proposals received by TCDD are subject to release consistent with provisions of the Texas Public Information Act.

See "Assurances" in the attached Supplemental Forms for all terms relating to this grant.

The Review Process

Evaluation Criteria will include, but is not limited to: program quality, costs, financial ability to perform services, regional needs and priorities, improved access for underserved and unserved areas and/or groups of individuals; ability to continue services at the conclusion of grant funding, and past performance and compliance with previous grant awards.

An independent review panel consisting of people with expertise related to this RFP will evaluate each proposal based on how well the proposal responds to the RFP requirements and intent and how well the applicant follows instructions in the outline questions. Reviewers will also take into account the extent to which the proposed project may move TCDD closer to meeting the State Plan Goals and Objectives.

Priority will be given to strong proposals that address the needs of people living in rural areas; people living in poverty; and others who are frequently unserved and/or underserved, such as people of color and people whose primary language is one other than English.

Reviewers consider only the information included in the DD Suite application form, the attached Supplemental Forms Packet, and documents that are specifically allowed and are attached to the application. Applicants will not have the opportunity to clarify or add to the information provided in the proposal after the deadline unless they are awarded the grant. TCDD will only review materials specifically requested or allowed by the RFP, the application, or the application instructions.

The review panel considers all evaluation criteria and provides recommendations to TCDD's Executive Committee. The Executive Committee makes all funding decisions.