Notice of Funds Available (RFP)
2017-4: Peer Support Specialist - Community
Specifications
| Posted | Applications Due | Start Date | End Date | Amount | Match | Poverty Match | Council Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2017 | Jan 01, 2018 | Dec 31, 2021 | $100,000.00 | $33,333.00 | $11,111.00 | Danny Fikac |
Introduction
Note: The due date for this Request for Proposals has been extended to September 15, 2017.
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities may award a maximum of $100,000 for year one and may award a maximum of $125,000 for years two, three and four to one organization. TCDD reserves the right to negotiate the budget as needed and may choose not to award funding for this project.
TCDD has approved funding to develop and pilot a peer supports training program for individuals who live independently with the use of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) so they understand their options and can lead their own person centered planning process.
Funding for the second through fourth 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 four years.
If you have questions after reading this RFP, contact Danny Fikac, Planning Specialist, at Danny.Fikac@tcdd.texas.gov or at 512-437-5415.
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 these projects 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.
Objective 3.5: Demonstrate at least one program through which people with developmental disabilities provide peer supports to other people with developmental disabilities by 9/30/2021.
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
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities may award a maximum of $100,000 for year one and may award a maximum of $125,000 for years two, three and four to one organization. TCDD reserves the right to negotiate the budget as needed and may choose not to award funding for this project.
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 Danny.Fikac@tcdd.texas.gov by 5:00 PM Central Standard Time on August 10, 2017. 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 Central Standard Time August 14, 2017.
Proposals must be received by 5 PM on August 30, 2017. 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.
THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR THIS RFP HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 AT 5:00 PM. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT DANNY FIKAC AT DANNY.FIKAC@TCDD.TEXAS.GOV OR 512-437-5415.
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 about decisions within 30 days following the Council meeting.
How to Apply
To submit your proposal:
- Complete all required sections of the application in DD Suite. If the application is not complete, the proposal will not be reviewed for funding.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Central Standard Time on the due date.
Bidders Conferences
TCDD will hold two telephone bidders' conferences 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:
- July 20, 2017 at 12:00 PM CST
- August 2, 2017 at 10:00 AM CST
Please email Danny.Fikac@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 Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released new Medicaid Home and Community Based Services settings rules in 2014. The rules require that:
- providers take full advantage of opportunities for people to have access to the benefits of community living and to receive services in the most integrated setting
- Medicaid funding and policy support strategies meet obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
- service plans are developed through a person-centered planning process
- individuals with developmental disabilities receive information and support to lead the process and make informed choices
People who have not been fully integrated in their communities may find it hard to imagine the opportunities they have. Peers who have the experience of independent living can assist them to see what is possible, to identify both opportunities and barriers to achieving their goals, and help them to successfully address barriers. A peer can also provide objective encouragement, guidance, listening, teaching, suggestions, and a bridge to community. The Medicaid/CHIP Division of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) recognizes the benefits of peer supports and has expressed interest in both promoting peer supports and partnering in the development and implementation of the training program developed through this project.
TCDD has funded peer to peer support projects in the past. This project would be similar in some ways, but would focus specifically on connecting persons with developmental disabilities who are receiving HCBS waiver services that require a person-centered service plan with well-informed peers who can support them to take control of their plans. Other Councils on Developmental Disabilities that have developed similar training include:
- The Virginia Board for People with Disabilities is building a peer to peer mentor project to link one peer who provides supports with two peers who receive supports. The training has components TCDD would want to see in a Texas peer to peer supports project: Basic mentoring skills, Medicaid Services, tools like a “My Story Worksheet” and others.
- The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities funded a one year youth peer mentoring pilot. Peer mentors were required to mentor a peer for at least one year. The mentoring included weekly contact with the person they were mentoring by phone, e-mail or in person, and attending social events together. Both people kept a journal of their successes and challenges. TCDD has the training material from this project.
- The Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council provides an annual Peer Mentoring 101 workshop for the purpose of training people with developmental disabilities to become effective peer mentors to others with developmental disabilities. Peer Mentoring is a Medicaid covered service in Michigan when it is written in an individual’s plan of service.
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 your project to:
Develop a training curriculum for Peer Support Specialists and Coaches. The training must include, at a minimum:
- Important aspects of service planning processes;
- Mentoring skills;
- Medicaid acute and long-term care services;
- Basic employment supports;
- Options for deeply affordable housing and rental supports that may be available through local public housing or MH/IDD authorities;
- Formal and informal services and supports that foster self-determination and independence;
- Benefits of Consumer Directed Services;
- Person-centered thinking; and
- Person-centered planning.
Before the end of the grant, identify and train at least 20 people with developmental disabilities to become Peer Support Specialists.
Ensure that each year, the trained Peer Support Specialist assists at least ten individuals with developmental disabilities to create a person-centered plan with specific goals and make sure the implementation plan includes the needed services and supports.
Each year, the 10 participating individuals may include new individuals and or previous participants.
Prepare a training manual and share the information at statewide conferences.
Track and survey all of the participants' advocacy activities and their satisfaction with the project.
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; state, program, or provider level policies, procedures, or billing guidelines; 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 assist TCDD 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, people for whom English is a second language, and people living in poverty).
Ensure that the project outcomes have a sustained long-term impact that benefits people with developmental disabilities. "A sustained long-term impact" 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.
It is your responsibility to determine what the sustainable 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
The grant project will develop and pilot a peer supports training program for individuals who use Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) so they understand their options and can lead their own person centered planning process.
The project will specifically focus on connecting persons with developmental disabilities who are receiving HCBS waiver services that require a person-centered service plan with well-informed peers who can support them to take control of their plans and to ensure that the implementation of the plan includes the needed services and supports.
Definitions:
Peer Support Specialists are individuals who:
- have a developmental disability;
- live in the community;
- use publicly funded services and supports, such as: SSI, publicly-funded housing, Medicaid waiver services, work incentives and supported employment; and
- have received training to provide certain types of supports to peers.
Peer Support Specialists must demonstrate respect for an individual’s rights and honor the individual’s culture and beliefs, even if that individual makes choices they might never make.
Coaches are individuals who:
- may or may not have a developmental disability
- who will provide emotional support, information, and direct assistance to the Peer Support Specialists to develop specific action plans for providing support to the individuals with whom they are working and;
- identify the resources needed to make sure their peer’s plan is implemented.
By the end of the first year, you must:
- Research and incorporate useful ideas from similar projects;
- Conduct outreach to identify a diverse group of individuals with developmental disabilities who are active and included in their communities and support them to participate in the development of job descriptions and training curriculum;
- Develop job descriptions for Peer Support Specialists and their coaches;
- Develop a plan to ensure that policies and procedures associated with planning processes of current programs and billing guidelines include peer supports as a service option; and
- Develop the training curriculum for peer support specialist and coaches and have TCDD approve the curriculum. You must begin implementing this training before or during the second year.
Throughout the project, you must:
- Build relationships with HCBS waiver participants, providers and service coordinators using person-directed planning, state agency program staff, local authorities, managed care organizations, and legally authorized representatives;
- Hold listening sessions with Coaches, Peer Support Specialists, and people receiving peer supports to capture their stories and the lessons they learned;
- Pay Peer Support Specialists, arrange and maximize the use of available supports, such as personal assistance and supported employment, required for them to meet their duties, and make sure that employment supports are understood and in place to lessen the risk of losing benefits as a result of earned income;
- Collaborate with TCDD and HHSC on program design, implementation, and policies and procedures as needed;
- Evaluate the project and use the information gained to improve the training; and
- Adapt a training curriculum for Peer Support Specialists and Coaches as needed based on feedback and evaluation.
- Track and survey all of the participants' advocacy activities and their satisfaction with the project.
Project Evaluation
All proposals should describe how you will evaluate, at a minimum, the following:
- How people with developmental disabilities who participated in the project activities increased their knowledge of how to take part in the discussions and decisions that affect their lives, the lives of others, and/or systems;
- The development or improvement of promising practices affecting those individuals live independently and are utilizing Home and Community Based Services.
You will also be expected to report the Performance Measures relevant to your project. Please see the list of Performance Measures attached. These measures are relevant to this project, although you may report "0" for some of them. TCDD will assist you with understanding measures and will provide templates to gather data, but you must ensure that data is gathered, analyzed, and reported to TCDD. In the Project Evaluation Section, explain 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.