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

Specifications

Introduction

The Nebraska Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCDD, or Council), under the State of Nebraska, Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”), Division of Public Health, announces the release of a Notice of Funds Available (NoFA) through a Request for Applications to meet the State Plan Goal of Lifespan Transition. Funds for these projects are provided by the Council under DHHS through the Federal Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person program.

Project Description

Goal 1, Objective C: An increased number of individuals with I/DD and their families will be provided with information to expand their knowledge and acquire skills for developing self-directed, person-centered plans.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Final Rule of 2014 defined person-centered planning requirements for individuals in home and community-based services. The Final Rule requires that individuals have an assessment completed to determine their individual needs and strengths, whether living in a home setting or community-based setting. An individualized person-centered planning process will ensure that individuals receive the services they need in a way that works best for them.

Person-centered planning remains a priority for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Team meetings, outcomes, and goals should all be person-centered. With the Developmental Disability waiver unbundling and changes to waiver definitions, it is important that families, service providers, and service coordinators understand person-centered planning and the difference between person-centered planning and self-direction. This can be accomplished through training.

The Council is seeking proposals from a national consulting entity to bring person-centered planning training to Nebraska. This training will educate self-advocates, families/guardians, developmental disabilities service providers, aged and disabled service providers, service coordinators, and other professionals on person-centered plans and the power of person-centered plans. The funds from Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person program are to expand this training to additional stakeholders including families with children, adults with disabilities, the aged and their respective service coordination agencies in person-centered planning. Bringing a national entity to Nebraska will provide a broad, new perspective of how other states are conducting person-centered planning, provide new resources, and bring a renewed energy for ensuring that individuals have a voice in creating their plans.

Expected Outcomes:
• Present a person-centered training curriculum to self-advocates, families/guardians, developmental disabilities service providers, aged and disabled service providers, service coordinators, and other advocates. Staff and leadership from the Divisions of Developmental Disabilities and Medicaid and Long Term Care will also be invited to attend. Curriculum can be created or adapted from existing curriculum to be specific for Nebraska. Training should:
o Include examples of person-centered planning worksheets that can be utilized in the planning process.
o Include a brief section on self-direction and the difference between self-direction and person-centered. Discuss how the concept of self-direction would flow from person-centered training.
o Be developed to empower individuals and families to use person-centered planning to establish meaningful day and residential services. Particular focus will be on identifying meaningful community inclusion experiences that are individualized and incorporating these into one’s Individual Support Plan (ISP).
o Cover ways for providers to assist individuals and families by completing needs assessments and identifying goals of what they want as a pre-cursor to annual meetings.

• Provide a work plan and timeframe for each project objective. Include the number and geographic locations of training sessions, the number of individuals expected to be trained, and the person responsible for each objective. Work plan should demonstrate collaboration with the Nebraska Association of Service Providers, the DHHS Division of Developmental Disabilities and DHHS MLTC Home and Community-Based Services Unit, Early Development Network, League of Human Dignity, and the Area Agencies on Aging to ensure service providers and service coordinators from across the state are in attendance at the trainings.

• At least one training will be recorded and made accessible for review by attendees or individuals who are unable to attend the training in person.

• An RFA for second-year funding is expected to be released. Second year funding would build on the training component to create a pilot project to address person-centered planning. One aspect would include technical assistance in the form of in-person observation of the ISP planning process to ensure the person-centered training is being correctly applied. The project coordinator would observe the planning session and provide feedback on what they did well and where they could improve. For example, self-advocates and parents/guardians would receive feedback from these planning sessions on how to better advocate for what they want and participation in the planning process.

Qualifications and Guidelines

Money is available to fund one project for a maximum of $108,000 for one year. One additional year of funding may be available. Funds from Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person program in the amount of $78,000 are being utilized with $30,000 in Council funds. Note: A total award of this amount of funding is not guaranteed, but is subject to actual money awarded to DHHS from the Awarding Agencies and to DHHS’ discretion. One additional year of Council funding is expected to be available. In order to receive continuation funding, the subrecipient must demonstrate appropriate activities in the previous year and must submit an application to be approved by members of the Nebraska Council on Developmental Disabilities for the following year.

The DD Council

NCDD is an independent agency funded by the federal government to work with the State of Nebraska to better support people with developmental disabilities and their families. The Council engages in Advocacy, Capacity Building, and System change activities that assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design and have access to needed community services, individualized support, and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life.

NCDD is comprised of 24 volunteer members appointed by the governor and a small staff. Members include individuals with developmental disabilities and family members or guardians of individuals with developmental disabilities, professionals, advocates, and representatives of state and private agencies.

Council Goals and Objectives

A complete list of the Council's 5-Year State Plan Goals and Objectives is available in Attachment 2.

Definitions

Community Inclusion refers to areas such as where an individual lives, works, or goes to school; relationships; pursuit of personal interests; meeting spiritual needs; learning and personal growth; physical and emotional health; self-direction; and exercising rights, roles and responsibilities as a citizen.

Developmental Disability - The term “developmental disability” means a severe, chronic disability of a person that:
• Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments;
• Is manifested before the person attains age twenty-two;
• Is likely to continue indefinitely;
• Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity: (a) self-care; (b) receptive and expressive language; (c) learning; (d) mobility; (e) self-direction; (f) capacity for independent living; and (g) economic self-sufficiency;
• Reflects the individual’s need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary or generic services, individualized supports, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated;
• Is an individual from birth to age 9, inclusive, who has a substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired condition, may be considered to have a developmental disability without meeting three or more functional limitations in major life activities, if the individual, without services and supports, has a high probability of meeting those criteria later in life.

Diverse Identities refers to people of various races, cultural and ethnic heritages, genders, gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, ages, and religions from diverse socio-economic and geographic backgrounds.

Application and Project Timeline

The application consists of a cover sheet (Attachment 1), a set of questions, work plan, budget, and budget justification to be submitted with the application.

Applications must be submitted online via www.ddsuite.org, NCDD's grants management system, prior to the published deadline. No hard copies will be accepted. Applicants must have or create a DD Suite user account and an organization account in order to submit an application. Go to www.ddsuite.org/TA for detailed instructions on creating DD Suite user and organization accounts (Systems Information/Accounts and Organizations).

Deadline to submit applications: Applications must be submitted through DD Suite by 11:59 PM on Monday, July 29, 2019.

Applicants notified of decision: August 30, 2019. All applicants who respond to this NOFA will be notified of the outcome of their application (awarded, application modifications requested, or denied) by email through DD Suite.

Projects will begin no earlier than October 1, 2019 and must be completed by September 30, 2020.

All questions regarding this grant solicitation must be submitted in writing via email to Joni Dulaney, NCDD Program Specialist, at joni.dulaney@nebraska.gov.

Applicants may be instructed to revise and resubmit incomplete applications.

The resulting subawards from this RFA are subject to and shall follow federal regulation, as set forth herein. Subrecipients receiving subaward funds may only be paid up to the actual and allowable costs (as defined herein) of completing the Project Description. No Subawards resulting from this RFA will be fee-for-service contracts, regardless of the method of payment, and no Subrecipient may keep a profit from its subaward. Program income must be noted as Match. More detail about the terms of this funding is set forth in Section 15.6 Program Income, and 15.7 Matching Requirements.

Community Support

The Council is mandated by federal law with assuring that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families are integrated and included in all facets of community life. Community inclusion factors are taken into consideration when Council members review applications. The extent that a subaward application promotes full participation of the target population in the same activities of community life, recreation, employment, and education being utilized by other community members goes into the decision process. Inclusion of the larger community in the planning and implementation of the project proposal is important to enhance awareness and the expectation of success.

Project Sustainability

Council subawards are awarded for one year. Applicants must describe in detail their plan to sustain the project once Council funds end (i.e., who will maintain the project, etc.). Subaward applicants can increase the likelihood that projects will be sustained by including local community service groups, businesses, public education, and local government entities in their development. The plan should identify the activities, features, or practices that the applicant wants to sustain.

Subaward Funds and Match

Money is available to fund one project for up to $108,000 for one year. Note: A total award of this amount of funds is not guaranteed, but is subject to actual money awarded to DHHS from the Awarding Agencies and to DHHS’ discretion. One additional year of Council funding may be available. In order to receive continuation funding, the subrecipient must demonstrate appropriate activities in the previous year and must submit an application to be approved by members of the Nebraska Council on Developmental Disabilities for the following year.

Applicants are required to provide a 25% match of the funds requested. The match can be either cash or in-kind. Cash match is support provided to a project by an agency that they would have to pay for. Examples include part of someone’s salary, rental space, or postage. In-kind match examples are donated time or items such as volunteer time or copying provided by a business. To determine the minimum matching funds required, divide the amount of Council funds requested by 3 (e.g., $30,000 divided by 3 = $10,000 minimum match required).

Council subaward funds cannot be used for the following:
• Construction or renovation costs
• Direct services for people with developmental disabilities (unless these services are part of a model demonstration).

RFA Overview

11.1 Period of Performance
The Period of Performance is the time during which a successful Applicant may incur costs to carry out the work authorized under this RFA and the resulting Subaward. See the definitions in 2 CFR § 200.77 or 45 CFR § 75.2. The initial Period of Performance for this RFA is from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. This period may be extended by DHHS as allowable by the Federal Funding Agency. If state funds are involved in the award, this may also determine whether DHHS may extend a Period of Performance.

For the initial Period of Performance, all costs must be invoiced to DHHS by October 31, 2020 and liquidated (i.e., spent) by October 31, 2020. These dates are dependent on federal periods of allowability and DHHS’ own ability to timely process payments. They may be subject to change; final dates will be included in the final Subaward between the parties. If an Applicant believes it cannot meet these deadlines, it should not apply for funding under this RFA. Obligation and liquidation deadlines may be extended as allowed by the Federal Funding Agency, but no extensions are guaranteed. Future Periods of Performance, as allowed by DHHS, may have different obligation and liquidation deadlines.

11.2 Applicable Law
Because the funds to support the activities under this RFA involve federal funds, usage of these funds is subject to federal law, in addition to any applicable state law. The Uniform Grant Guidance, 2 CFR §§ 200 et seq. (“UGG”) applies to subawards funded from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or other federal agencies. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has adopted the UGG, but has implemented and re-codified it at 45 CFR §§ 75 et seq. (“HHSGG”); for awards funded by HHS, those regulations apply. Throughout this RFA, both the UGG and the HHSGG will be cited, although they are substantially similar.

The HHSGG shall apply to this RFA if it awards funds from block grants authorized by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, unless Nebraska statute or regulation has established provisions for the payment costs and services; in all other respects, as provided herein, those block grant subawards are governed by 45 CFR §§ 96 et seq.

Additional federal and state statutes and regulations may apply to the funding contained herein. These may be included in the Additional Program Requirements section as well as in the Subaward itself.

Further information about allowable costs and activities may be set forth herein.

11.3 Eligibility
501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, schools, private for-profit organizations, and public agencies are eligible to apply for these funds. the organization that applies for this subaward must be the organization hat will administer the subaward and receive, disburse, and account for subaward funds.

Applicants must demonstrate a working knowledge of the issues that affect people with developmental disabilities and their families, experience working with and/or advocating on behalf of people with developmental disabilities, and a history of conducting education in the activity area identified in the application. NCDD strongly encourages applications from organizations that are located in rural or urban poverty areas, organizations that employ staff with disabilities, and/or organizations that represent linguistic and cultural minorities.
Additional requirements for determining the eligibility of entities may also be included in the Project Description.

11.4 Funding Parameters
One applicant will be awarded up to $108,000 for project activities to begin on or after October 1, 2019 and end no later than September 30, 2020. NCDD will award a minimum of two subawards in any of the four goals identified in this solicitation.

The minimum non-federal matching funds required for this project shall be an amount equal to 25% of the grant funds awarded (e.g., $10,000 match for a $30,000 subaward.) Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide additional non-federal matching funds to the project. The source of non-federal matching funds can include a direct financial contribution, revenue from other organizations, and in-kind contributions from the applicant or a third party such as volunteer time, supplies and meeting space.

NCDD subaward 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 and family members.

RFA Procedure

This RFA seeks Applications to complete activities allowable under the funding source identified in the Period of Performance section above. All Applications must conform to all instructions, conditions, and requirements included in this RFA. Applicants should carefully examine this RFA, as well as the requirements on the state or federal funds involved.

12.1 Evaluation
All Applications submitted by the deadline in response to the RFA must meet the technical application requirements set forth in the Technical Review Criteria (Attachment 3). The Council's Grants Review Committee members will review each application using the Subaward Evaluation Criteria Score Sheet (Attachment 4) on August 15, 2019. Council members will also receive copies of the applications and are encouraged to review each application. Committee recommendations for funding will be presented at the August 16, 2019 Council meeting where members will vote on the applications to be funded.

Applicants will be notified through DD Suite of funding decisions by Friday, August 30, 2019. Applicants selected for funding may receive a contingency notice requesting clarification or additional information prior to the official award. Upon receipt and approval by Council staff of any contingencies, a formal subaward document will be sent to the applicant for electronic signature. The award will be effective on the approved project start date regardless of when all required documents are submitted and approved. If there are no contingencies to be addressed, the subaward document will be sent to the applicant for electronic signature. All subaward signatures will be obtained using DocuSign. No work shall begin on the project prior to October 1, 2019.

All applicants who respond to the public posting of this solicitation will be notified of the decision on their application (awarded, application modifications requested, or denied) by email through DD Suite. Applicants may also log on to their account on DD Suite at www.ddsuite.org to check the status of their application.

12.2 Grievance and Protest Procedures

All grievances must follow the DHHS Subaward Grievance/Protests Procedures, available on the DHHS website, www.dhhs.ne.gov. Grievances must be filed timely.

Project Specific Requirements

At a minimum, projects must include these following activities:
- Develop training/education curriculum and materials, if applicable
- Conduct outreach to publicize training and recruit trainees, if applicable
- Offer reasonable accommodations (including translation) as requested
- Conduct training/education activities, if applicable
- Collect verifiable data on the number, category and race of people (individuals/family members) participating in training/education activities
- Implement follow-up strategies and collect verifiable data to measure the number of individuals and family members who report increasing their activity as a result of your efforts.
- As applicable, identify strategies to successfully recruit and train individuals from culturally diverse communities.

Subrecipients must collect and report federal performance measure data to NCDD through periodic programmatic reports. Guidance to reporting on the new Federal Performance Measures is included as Attachment 5 to this notice.
Subrecipients must collect and report project expenses to NCDD through periodic expense reports.

Requirements of All NCDD Subrecipients

The following terms and conditions apply to all organizations awarded NCDD grant funds:
- Organizations receiving NCDD grant funds must provide updates on project activities as established and scheduled by NCDD. All Subrecipients shall submit periodic programmatic and expense reports online through the DD Suite. Detailed instructions on completing these reports can be found in the Grantee Process Help Modules on the Help page at http://www.ddsuite.org/TA.

- Subrecipients shall administer and report survey results using an NCDD approved Customer Satisfaction Survey (Attachment 7).

- General Terms - Subawards

- Verification of Taxpayer Reporting (W9) and ACH Form for electronic funds transfer payments. Note: Electronic fund transfer (EFT) is the required method of payment for all payees doing business with the State of Nebraska.

- Organizations that receive NCDD subaward funds shall submit quarterly payment requests on invoices that are provided by NCDD.

-NCDD 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 NCDD.

- Final drafts of any training materials, publications, videos, websites or other products shall be reviewed and approved by NCDD prior to dissemination to the general public. Products must acknowledge NCDD funding (e.g., Funded through a grant from the Nebraska Council on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Federal Award No. 93.630).

- All materials developed by subrecipients under this award shall be available and/or reproducible in accessible formats. Materials will be submitted to the Council office in electronic format. Hard copy may be requested.

- As a condition of grant award, Subrecipients will collect and provide data to NCDD for post-project performance measures after the grant period has ended. Applicants are encouraged to review the Performance Measures in Attachment 5.

- The following federal audit requirements are applicable to NCDD funds: Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, A-87, A-122, and A-133, as well as Title 48 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 31, as well as the Single Audit Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-502).

- The following regulations from Title 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) may be applicable to all sub-Subrecipients. 45 CFR Parts 16, 30, 76, 80, 81, 84, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92, 93, 97, 100, 1385, and 1386.

Terms

Applicants must be aware of the following terms when submitting their Applications. These terms will be included in the resulting Subaward between the parties, as well.

15.1 Addenda
The following Addenda will be incorporated into any Subaward with a selected Applicant. They are available online at http://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Grants-and-Contract-Opportunities.aspx:

• Addendum A - DHHS Standard Terms – Subawards
• Addendum B - DHHS Insurance Requirements – Subawards

DHHS reserves the right to amend these terms at any time during the RFA; to negotiate the terms with selected Applicants; to amend or change these terms for any subsequent Subaward signed and executed by the parties; or any combination of the above. Terms required by federal or state law will not be negotiated, and if an Applicant cannot agree to these terms, DHHS may withdraw or modify the Intent to Subaward and take any of the actions set forth herein.

15.2 DD Act Program Specific Requirements
The parties agree to comply with the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act that:
A. The individuals served under the proposal meet the federal definition of developmental disabilities.

B. Funds will be used to make a significant contribution toward enhancing the independence, productivity, and integration into the community of persons with developmental disabilities.

C. Any services provided using grant funds will be provided to individuals with developmental disabilities in an individualized manner consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities and capabilities of such individual.

D. The human rights of the individuals with developmental disabilities (especially individuals without familial protection) who are receiving services under programs assisted under this subtitle will be protected consistent with Section 109 of the Developmental Disabilities Act, relating to the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities.

E. Programs, projects, and activities funded and the buildings in which such programs, projects, and activities are operated, will meet standards prescribed in regulations and all applicable Federal and State accessibility standards, including accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Fair Housing Act.

F. All programs and facilities operated with grant funds meet minimum standards, regulations, and guidelines as prescribed by federal, state, and local authority for the maintenance and operation of such programs and facilities.

G. In order to avoid discrimination against persons with limited English proficiency on grounds of national origin, adequate steps will be taken to ensure that such persons receive the language assistance necessary to afford them meaningful access to the programs, free of charge.

H. Conduct a satisfaction survey using a format and process identified by the Developmental Disabilities Planning Office, Health and Human Services.

15.3 Budget Changes
The final Subaward may contain terms to allow a Subrecipient to modify a budget, with or without approval from DHHS. Applicants should not, however, rely on this when submitting budgets.

15.4 Direct Costs
Under this Subaward, DHHS shall only pay for actual and allowable costs (as defined in this section) incurred during the Period of Performance.

To be allowable, all costs must be:
• Necessary for the performance of the Subaward activities;
• Reasonable, as provided in 2 CFR § 200.404 or 45 CFR § 75.404;
• Allocable to the federal award, as provided in 2 CFR § 200.405 or 45 CFR § 75.405;
• Consistent with all other requirements of the Cost Principles in 2 CFR § 200 Subpart E or 45 CFR § 75 Subpart E; and
• Consistent with all other law, regulation, policy, or other requirements applicable to the state or federal funds involved.

To be actual, all costs must be finalized and spent by the appropriate dates set forth in the Subaward.

Particular Federal Funding Agencies may have additional requirements and stipulations regarding allowable costs under that particular funding.

Applicants should be aware that direct personnel costs must be consistent with 45 CFR § 75.430 or 2 CFR § 200.430, as applicable. These costs must be able to be backed by sufficient documentation, or must be shown to be allocable to the award via an alternative, allowable method, such as a random moment time study.

15.5 Indirect Costs
Federal law defines indirect costs as “costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefitted, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved.” 2 CFR § 200.56 and 45 CFR § 75.2. All indirect costs may only be paid if they are consistent with the UGG or HHSGG, as applicable. As provided in 2 CFR § 200.414 and 45 CFR § 75.414, indirect costs may only be paid from a federal grant if paid through a federally-approved rate or a rate negotiated between DHHS and the Applicant. If the Applicant has never had a federally-approved indirect rate, it may charge indirect costs as consistent with the federal rules for de minimis indirect costs.

Cost Allocation plans may set forth a direct allocation of all costs under a subaward, or may allocate only a portion of those costs along with an indirect rate. Subrecipients may not, however, charge items as direct costs and also as indirect costs.

If Applicants plan to charge indirect costs other than through a cost allocation plan, Applicants thus must provide one of the following along with their budget: 1) A current federally-approved indirect cost rate agreement; 2) A currently approved indirect cost rate agreement with DHHS; or 3) A calculation of de minimis indirect costs consistent with federal rules. DHHS may provide a calculator to aid programs in calculating de minimis indirect costs, upon request;

Indirect costs and cost allocation plans may also be negotiated after the Intent to Subaward. As consistent with law, Applicants may voluntarily opt to take a lower indirect rate than their approved agreement, or indirect cost calculation, allows.

15.6 Program Income
Any revenue generated by the Subaward is Program Income (see definition in 2 CFR § 200.80 or 45 CFR § 75.2). Program Income requires an accounting of its use and must be handled in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.307 or 45 CFR § 75.307. As per the Notice of Award for the federal funds involved in this RFA or from other regulation, all program income generated by the project as a result of this RFA must be reported as matching funds. Please see the regulations cited above for more detail.

15.7 Matching Requirements
Subawards resulting from this RFA require the successful Applicant to match the funds awarded at a rate of 25% of total program costs. See 2 CFR § 200.306 or 45 CFR § 75.306. Match must be based on the total costs, not the percentage of the federal funds alone. Federal funds from another source may not be used as match.

15.8 Additional Program Requirements
This RFA and any resulting Subaward will be subject to the HHS Grants Policy Statement. A copy of it is available here: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/grants/grants/policies-regulations/hhsgps107.pdf