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

Specifications

What objectives will be supported under this solicitation?

The Arkansas Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities (GDCCAR) will award up to $500,000 to a minimum of 3 projects to address the State Plan Goals, Objectives and Activities below. If you want to submit a project under more than 1 goal, please do separate applications.

This project will support the following GCDDAR State Plan Goals, Objectives, Activities:

GOAL 2 - People with developmental disabilities and their families will have improved community support and services.

Objective 2 - To address targeted disparity, the Council, together with partners in Northwest Arkansas, will work with Marshallese people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to reduce barriers when accessing information and services.

Activity - The Council will fund a regional community partner to reduce barriers to supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Marshallese population.

GOAL 2 - People with developmental disabilities and their families will have improved community support and services.

Objective 3 - The Council will collaborate with regional community partners to identify and prioritize strategies to reduce barriers to supports and services for Arkansas with intellectual and developmental disabilities who have limited English proficiency (non-English speaking, English as a Second Language, and those with other communication needs).

Activity - The Council will provide funding to a community partner to work with Arkansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities who do not speak English or have limited English proficiency (LEP) to reduce barriers to supports and services.

GOAL 3 - The Council will collaborate with state agencies and community programs to improve competitive, integrated employment of Arkansans with developmental disabilities.

Objective 2 - The Council will support the capacity of vocational service providers and employers to increase opportunities for competitive, integrated employment of people with developmental disabilities.

Activity - The Council will support an agency or a community partner to assist people with developmental disabilities with the shift from sheltered employment, or school, to competitive, integrated employment and increase access to employment services.

Eligibility

501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, public educational institutions based in Arkansas and local and Arkansas state agencies are eligible to apply for these 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. The GCDDAR 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.

The Arkansas Council

The Arkansas Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDDAR) consists of twenty-three members, appointed by the Governor. Members include individuals with developmental disabilities, family members of individuals with developmental disabilities, directors of state agencies that serve people with disabilities and representatives from nonprofit and private organizations that provide services and supports for people with disabilities. The Council’s purpose is to provide oversight and management of Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act in Arkansas. The purpose of the Act is to assure that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families participate in the design of community services and supports that allow increased opportunities to live and work within their communities.

The Council works to address identified needs by conducting outreach, fostering systems change, and supporting capacity building efforts that promote self-determination, integration, and inclusion. Key activities include: increasing and strengthening self-advocacy participation across the state; supporting programs which identify and remove barriers to information, services and supports; advocating for legislative and policy changes designed to increase competitive, integrated employment; developing and supporting coalitions; encouraging citizen participation; and keeping policymakers informed about disability issues.

What is a developmental disability?

The federal definition is: a severe, chronic disability of an individual that (i) is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments; (ii) is manifested before the person attains age twenty-two; (iii) is likely to continue indefinitely; (iv) results in substantial functional limitations in three or 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; (VII) economic self-sufficiency; and v) 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. (B) Infants and Young Children - 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 3 of more of the criteria described in clauses (i) - (v) of subparagraph (A) if the individual, without services and supports, has a high probability of meeting those criteria later in life.

Funding parameters

Each selected applicant will be awarded funding for project activities to begin on July 1, 2020. The commitment of the funds, by letter from the GCDDAR Executive Director will be done prior to June 30th, 2020. The term of the project will end on June 30, 2021.

A match of 25% is required for any projects that are completed in non-poverty rural or urban areas in the state. A lower match MAY be negotiated for projects that are completed entirely in designated poverty areas. The listing of designated poverty areas is an attachment to this solicitation.

Applicant and timelines

The application consists of a project narrative, work plan with targeted performance measures and budget. Applications must be submitted online via www.ddsuite.org (the GCDDAR’s grants management system) prior to the published deadline. No paper copies will be accepted. New applicants must create a DD Suite user account and an organization account as soon as possible. All applicants must have an organization account prior to completing and submitting an application. Go to www.ddsuite.org/TA for detailed instructions on creating DD Suite user and organization accounts (Systems Information/Accounts and Organizations), and for technical instructions on completing applications (Grantees/Applications).

Deadline to submit written questions – 4:30 pm CST on Thursday, April 9, 2020
Deadline to submit applications - 11:59 pm CST on Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Applicants notified of funding commitment – Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Appeals considered: June 11, 2020
Final funding must be Committed by: June 30, 2020
Projects commence: July 1, 2020
Projects end: On or before June 30, 2021

Applicants may be instructed to revise some or all of their application documents, and to resubmit application documents electronically, prior to receiving the official notification of grant award. The award will be effective on the approved project start date regardless of when all required documents are submitted and approved.

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

Assurances

The following terms and conditions apply to all organizations awarded GCDDAR 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 GCDDAR.

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

As a condition of grant award, Grantees will collect and provide data to the Council for post-project performance measures for 18 months after the grant period has ended.

Grantees shall administer and report survey results annually using the GCDDAR 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 #11) 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 forms and any other documents required by the federal agency and the state grantee.