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

Specifications

Introduction

The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council (MODDC) has approved funding for one project for up to three years to develop a lay educational advocacy project for self-advocates, family members, and other concerned citizens to gain the skills and expertise to advocate for educational services of students with developmental disabilities in the neighborhood school, with students who do not have disabilities, and accessing grade level academics (inclusive education).

If you have questions after reading this Notice of Funding Available, contact Katheryne Staeger-Wilson, Program Coordinator, at kstaeger-wilson@moddcouncil.org or at 417-895-7446.

About MODDC

MODDC 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). Individuals may read more about AIDD and the DD Act at:
https://acl.gov/Programs/AIDD/index.aspx

The Council's Mission is:

"To assist individuals, families, and the community to include all people with developmental disabilities in every aspect of life."

The Council believes that mission will be achieved when people with developmental disabilities: make informed choices about where they live, work, play, and worship; receive individual and family supports which are flexible, based on need, and provided in a culturally sensitive manner; have the opportunity to engage in productive employment and meaningful retirement; experience continued growth toward their full potential; live in homes in the community with the availability of individualized supports; are treated with dignity and respect; attend neighborhood schools with their peers in regular classrooms, and are members of powerful advocacy networks made up of individuals and parents and family members.

The Council also believes that individuals, parents, and family members are the most powerful forces in forging a responsive and flexible support network for people with developmental disabilities.

MODDC develops a five year state plan that includes goals and objectives. The goals and objectives are the steps MODDC plans to take to create change. MODDC awards grants to organizations sharing MODDC's vision and values for projects that are consistent with the Goals and Objectives in the Five Year State Plan.

Read more about MODDC, MODDC's mission and values, and the Five Year State Plan, at www.moddcouncil.org.

Federal Definition of Developmental Disability

The term 'developmental disability' means a severe, chronic disability of a person which:

"A. Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments;
B. Is manifested before the person attains age 22;
C. Is likely to continue indefinitely;
D. Results in substantial functional limitations in three of more of the following areas of major life activity:
(i) Self-care, (ii) Receptive and Expressive language, (iii) learning, (iv) mobility, (v) Self-direction, (vi) capacity for independent living, and (vii) economic self-sufficiency; and
E. Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, treatment, or other services which are of life long or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.

Relationship to MODDC State Plan Goals

MODDC expects this project to help MODDC meet the following MODDC FY 2017-2021 State Plan:

Primary Objectives:
Early Intervention/Education Objective 1: Increase the number of children with I/DD who have access to inclusive early childhood care, school, and out of school activities. (Education)

Early Intervention/Education Objective 2: Increase the academic achievement and social integration of Missouri students with I/DD in collaboration with parents, schools and agencies. (Education)

Advocacy Objective 1: Support at least 150 self-advocates with I/DD and their families in receiving leadership training that will enable them to take action to improve their lives and/or their communities. (Grassroots)

Employment & Transportation Objective 2: Develop at least three (3) resources for families to support the development of employment skills for children and youth with I/DD, before graduation. (Education)

Community Living Objective 5: By September 30, 2021, Increase the awareness of persons with I/DD and their families of resources and supports available to them throughout the lifespan. (Education)

Purpose

The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council (MODDC) is inviting proposals to provide a lay educational advocacy training program that will empower self-advocates, family members, and community members to support families and students who receive IDEA or 504 services in their neighborhood school, with students who do not have disabilities, while accessing grade level curriculum.

The purpose of this grant is to implement trainings and workshops, statewide, using an education law curriculum that has already been developed for this purpose. This training program will assist and enable concerned citizens to master information and negotiate systems in order to help secure the educational opportunity that are a civil right and legal mandate for students with disabilities. The scope of work includes marketing the program, recruitment of participants, coordination and facilitation of the program, organizing and provision of program materials to participants, providing accommodations and materials in accessible formats, and providing an accessible/inclusive learning environment.

The curriculum that will be provided is estimated to be a 40-60 hour training. The training is a general overview of what one needs to know about special education law and advocacy and assumes no knowledge of these issues. The curriculum writer indicated that if one attempted to average a full chapter a week with a facilitated training, one would expect implementing the curriculum to require an 8 to 10 week program that would run 6 to 8 hour sessions once a week. The full curriculum will be shared during the informational conference call on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.

The Lay Educational Advocacy trainings developed will:
Assist and enable concerned citizens to master information and negotiate systems in order to help secure the educational opportunities that are a civil right and legal mandate for students with disabilities.
Provide trainees with the best information on the complex issues surrounding Missouri's educational system to raise competency levels of people advocating on behalf of students with disabilities.

The trainings will be culturally responsive, incorporate multi-modality learning and the concepts of universal design for learning. Trainings will be grounded in the socio-political model of disability. Trainings will assume to hold each student to high expectations with the presumption of competence, practices of inclusive education, and be easily adaptable for changes in the education practices and policies of Missouri schools.

The proposal will include how the potential grantee will partner with other agencies that provide educational services to students with disabilities and their families to ensure the curriculum is specific to the patterns of exclusion for Missouri. Potential partners may include: Missouri Protection & Advocacy Services, Missouri Family-to-Family Resource Center, MPACT, and Legal Services of Eastern Missouri's Children's Legal Alliance.

Project models include the Georgia Advocacy Office's Parent Leadership Support Project lead by Leslie Lipson, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's Volunteer Advocacy Project, and Disability Rights Nebraska's program in development.

Who May Apply

Public agencies, private not-for-profit agencies, institutions of higher education, schools, and private for-profit organizations may apply for this grant. The organization that applies for this grant must be the organization that will administer the grant and receive, disburse, and account for grant funds. Individuals may not apply for this grant.

Maximum Funding and Duration

MODDC may award a maximum of $240,000 for up to three years to one organization. MODDC reserves the right to negotiate the budget as needed and may choose not to award funding for this project.

Grantees are expected to provide match per MODDC guidelines. The match for non-poverty counties is $80,000 and $24,000 for poverty counties. Match may be in-kind or cash. The match must come from non-federal funds (e.g. state, local, agency, and or private funds). In-kind match from a variety of sources can be considered. For additional information regarding match see attachments.

MODDC funds may not be used for capital expenditures or acquisition, construction, remodeling, rental or purchase of buildings. These grant funds cannot be used for ongoing organizational activities, to supplant existing private, state or federal funding sources, to purchase equipment or furnishings, or to duplicate or replace existing services provided to people with developmental disabilities.

All funding for this NoFA is contingent on receipt of MODDC federal grant funding. MODDC may choose to reduce the amount of grant funding at the time of the grant award.

Application Timeline

The application consists of a project abstract, narrative, workplan with targeted performance measures and a budget. Applications must be submitted online via www.ddsuite.org prior to the published deadline. No paper copies will be accepted. New applicants should register for a DD Suite account as soon as possible prior to completing and submitting an application. Detailed instructions on completing DD Suite grant applications can be viewed in the Applicant/Grantee User Guide in the HELP section of DD Suite at www.ddsuite.org. Applicants must have an active account and be logged in to view the guide.

An informational conference call will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 from 2 pm to 4 pm (central standard time). Please call the bridge or toll free numbers: 573-526-5904 / 866-630-9352 to participate.

Deadline to submit written questions - May 14, 2018, 1pm, (central standard time)
Deadline to submit applications - 5pm (central standard time) June 5, 2018
Applicants notified of decision - June 19, 2018
Project begins - Aug 1, 2018; Project ends - July 31, 2021

All questions regarding this grant solicitation must be submitted in writing via electronic mail to: Katheryne Staeger-Wilson, kstaeger-wilson@moddcouncil.org no later than: 2pm Central Standard Time on May 14, 2018

There will be no debriefing for applicants who do not receive funding.

Application Evaluation

Applications submitted by the deadline will undergo a technical review. Minimum criteria include meeting applicant eligibility requirements, adherence to all instructions for completing the application, and funding parameters.

Applications meeting the minimum criteria will be evaluated for quality, applicability and appropriateness of responses, innovation, projected performance measures, cost effectiveness, and organizational capacity to successfully achieve the project's goals and objectives.

Assurances

The following terms and conditions apply to all organizations awarded MODDC grant funds:

The Council reserves a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use, any work developed under any grant awarded by the MODDC.

Final drafts of any training materials, publications, videos, websites or other products shall be reviewed and approved by the MODDC prior to dissemination to the general public. Products must acknowledge Council funding (e.g. "This product was funded through a grant from the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council under provisions of P.L. 106-402, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act 2000.")

As a condition of grant award, Grantees will collect and provide data to the Council for post-project performance measures for 24 months after the grant period has ended.

Grantees shall administer and report survey results annually using the MODDC Satisfaction Surveys and through DD Suite reporting of performance measures.

All materials developed by grantees under this award shall be available and/or reproducible in accessible formats.

The applicant will need to complete the assurances page (Attachment #2) and submit along with the proposal. The page must contain the signature of a general or registered agent of the organization.

The selected applicant will be required to complete and submit state and federal contract and assurance forms as a condition of grant award.

Project Evaluation

The proposal shall include a plan to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum and to document the target audiences reached.

The proposal must address how the MODDC performance measures will be met:
IFA.1.1 The number of people with developmental disabilities who participated in Council supported activities designed to increase their knowledge of how to take part in decisions that affect their lives, the lives of others, and/or systems.
IFA.1.2 The number of family members who participated in Council supported in activities designed to increase their knowledge of how to take part in decisions that affect the family, the lives of others, and/or systems.
IFA.1.3 (NF) The number of 'other individuals' who participated in Council supported in activities designed to increase their knowledge.
IFA.2.2.1 The percent of people who are better able to say what they want or say what services and supports they want or say what is important to them.
IFA.2.2.2 The percent of people who are participating now in advocacy activities.
IFA.3.1 The percent of people with developmental disabilities satisfied with a project activity.
IFA.3.2 The percent of family members satisfied with a project activity.
SC.1.3.1 The number of promising practices created.

Proposals must include at least one story each year about a person who experienced and benefitted from the project.

Proposal must include relevant information to assist MODDC 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, socio-economic status, sexual orientation and gender identity, religion, and disability).

Proposals must also include a plan to measure and document that the expected outputs and outcome(s) are reached.

Proposals should also describe the plan to evaluate:
•how successful you were in reaching your goal;
•how satisfied the people that collaborated on the curriculum development were with the project.
•how you will gather data to report the Performance Measures described in the "Expected Outcomes" section of this NoFA;
•how you will keep evaluating your successes and barriers beyond the length of the grant. MODDC may follow-up with your organization after completion of grant funding to evaluate long-term impact;
•how you will gather input from participants, funding sources, Project Advisory Committee members, and relevant partners; and
•How you will evaluate how well people with diverse disabilities and/or their families were included fully throughout the project.

It is the responsibility of the grantee to determine what the sustainable change or impact of the project will be and to explain that in the proposal. It is expected that the grantee begin work on this in the first year of the project to address sustainability.

MODDC staff may contact organizations that received grants each year for three to five years after their grant has ended. MODDC will want to know if activities continued and what kind of long-term impact the grant project may have had.


Grantees may wish to contract with an external evaluator to ensure a thorough evaluation, but they are not required to do so.

Qualifications and Organizational Experience

Any organization that receives a MODDC grant must be able to disburse funds for project activities and expenses, complete MODDC's forms correctly and on time, and be legally able to receive grant funds to reimburse the organization for expenses.


Proposals must show that the organization submitting the proposal has the infrastructure, experience, and capability to implement project activities successfully. Proposals also must demonstrate that the organization can manage funds effectively.

Reporting Requirements

Grantees must submit quarterly reports, continuation proposals to request additional funding if needed, and a final report at the end of the grant. These must be submitted on time. MODDC Program Coordinators will provide more information about these processes to the successful applicant.

Grantees also must report on federally-defined Performance Measures. MODDC staff will provide assistance to grantees to understand the Performance Measures.

Terms

Applicants must agree to the following terms:
•Applicants must disclose any conflicts of interest between themselves and MODDC members, employees or their immediate families.
•Applicants must use respectful language, people first language (see attachment).
•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.
•MODDC will retain rights to all products created using funding awarded through this NoFA.
•MODDC reserves the right not to fund any proposal under this announcement.

Match Requirement

MODDC requires that grantees 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 project funded with federal funds also may not be used as match.

MODDC funds may not pay for more than 75% of the total project cost for projects located in counties not designated as federal poverty areas. MODDC funds may not pay for more than 10% of total project cost for projects located in counties designated as federal poverty counties. The remainder of the project cost must be provided as match.

The Review Process

An independent review panel of 3-5 people with expertise related to this NoFA will evaluate each proposal based on how well the proposal responds to the NoFA and instructions in the outline questions, and the extent to which the proposed project may move MODDC closer to meeting the State Plan Goals and Objectives. 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. MODDC will only review materials specifically requested or allowed by the NoFA, the application, or the application instructions.

The review panel ranks the top proposals and provides funding recommendations to MODDC's Education and Supporting Families Committee.

Continuing Funding

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

MODDC does not plan to provide funding for these projects beyond the number of months offered in this NoFA.

Supporting Documents

• 5 year state plan APPROVED as of 11-1-16 with committee assignments.docx
• NoFA Assurances.pdf
• NOFA Budget Sheet.doc
* Curriculum Outline