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

Specifications

General Information

A Call for Investment (CFI) is the way the Council asks for proposals for projects that will help the Council achieve the goals outlined in its five–year state plan.

Staff Contact: Mariel Hamer-Sinclair, Associate Director of Program and Policy

Email:  Mariel.Hamer-Sinclair@illinois.gov 

Cell#: (312) 438 - 7625

CFI Applicant Information Meeting:

The Council will host an informational webinar on June 15, 2022, from 11A-12PM.  The webinar will be recorded. Visit the below link to register.  Registration is required. Visit:  https://illinois.webex.com/illinois/j.php?RGID=r96489e66871d13b792e5178852db461b 

Council Mission and Performance Objective

The Council’s mission is to help lead change in Illinois so all people with developmental disabilities exercise their right to equal opportunity and freedom.  The Council’s vision is that “every person in Illinois has the same rights, opportunities, and the ability to exercise choices so they can achieve self-worth and personal fulfillment in all aspects of life.”  The Council believes that to achieve its vision Illinois will benefit from the opportunity to implement creative, new approaches and practices. The Council believes that people with developmental disabilities are eager to live life more fully and will readily share their preferences and desires.  The Council welcomes proposals that tie into the following Objective from our current 2022-2026 Five Year State Plan. The Council expects the project to begin 8/15/2022 and end by 2/1/2025.

The State Plan Objective for this CFI is:

Systems Change Objective 2:  By September 30, 2026, through interagency collaboration, a minimum of one (1) systemic change will be achieved in the area of housing / community living resulting in increased access for people with developmental disabilities to housing of their choice.

The specific Performance Target for projects under this investment opportunity is:

By February 21, 2025, the Housing Navigation Pilot project will receive a thorough program evaluation which will result in a report that details the outcomes of the Housing Navigation Pilot for use in future planning with IDHS, ICDD, General Assembly, ISCs and general public education.

CFI Background

The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), seven Independent Service Coordination Agencies, and the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities are excited to announce a statewide pilot project titled “The ISC Housing Navigator Pilot”.  The pilot will cultivate and pursue community-based, independent housing options for people with IDD who are already in the waiver and those newly selected from the PUNS list. The key activities of the ISC Housing Navigator will be to cultivate landlord and affordable housing relationships across various communities to identify housing stock while also working with individuals with DD and their families to maintain a localized list of people interested in independent supportive housing as an option to ultimately make the match between independent housing options and people with DD.  DDD and ICDD are collaborating in the following ways:

ICDD will:

• Provide expert technical assistance (TA) in conjunction with High Ground Partners LLC.
• Establish the DD Transition Fund as a pilot to means test the necessary transitional items and services needed for people to move into their own housing. The transition fund could include:
  • Reimbursement of start-up of utilities as needed
  • Necessary furniture
  • One-time purchase of necessary household items required to live independently
    Program evaluation

DDD will:  

• Provide funding for dedicated Housing Navigation staff at ISCs
• DDD Funded ISCs will:
  • Hire and supervise staff to solely dedicate to this program development
  • Create housing match programming with side-by-side support of TA
  • Create local housing expert teams that meet regularly to ensure access to housing stock
  • Recruit and track interested individuals in their region

Program start for the Housing Navigator Pilot is July 1, 2022.

The purpose of this initiative is to secure the comprehensive program evaluation component of the Housing Navigator Pilot to document the successes, challenges, costs, and other data to analyze for future Housing Navigation services to be provided to the developmental disabilities community.

General Requirements for Proposals

The purpose of this initiative is to secure the comprehensive program evaluation component of the Housing Navigator Pilot to document the successes, challenges, costs, and other data to analyze for future Housing Navigation services to be provided to the developmental disabilities community.

The Council requests that you follow our policies. These may be viewed at https://www.illinois.gov/icdd/Pages/Council.aspx or you may request a hard copy by contacting Mariel Hamer-Sinclair at Mariel.Hamer-Sinclair@illinois.gov . All Council projects must promote integration and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities.

Givens

Givens define what you can and cannot do.  These are principles that the review team feels are non-negotiable. A successful proposal must demonstrate incorporation of all Givens. If all Givens are not clearly reflected in your proposal, it will be disqualified.  

Describe how and why your project will demonstrate a commitment to each Givens rather than include them verbatim.

1. Applicant will detail approach toward comprehensive program evaluation. The evaluation will include the outcomes of the participants who desired a housing change and overall Housing Navigator Program function, successes, barriers, and efficacy.
2. Individuals with disabilities who are served and impacted through this project will be surveyed with their consent to document their outcomes and satisfaction with the Housing Navigation services.
3. Proposer must have the capacity to coordinate planning and to oversee and ensure implementation of all aspects of the project.
4. Project will produce a final evaluation summarizing collected data and findings related to the Housing Navigator Program’s implementation and impact. In addition to the final evaluation, summary and educational products will highlight key findings for the public and policymakers which are sharable in electronic formats. The final evaluation and any products produced for public education will look professional and be in sharable digital formats.
5. The evaluator will work with the key partners to Identify information to be tracked and a mechanism to do so.

Assumptions

The following assumptions may serve as a guide for applicants and are offered to aid in the development of a quality proposal. Unlike the Givens, the Assumptions are somewhat negotiable. All Assumptions must be addressed in your proposal or an explanation given as to why you hold different assumptions about how to reach the desired outcome.

1. The seven participating Independent Service Coordination sites, the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the IL Council on Developmental Disabilities will provide necessary contact information for users of the housing navigation support and relevant data for the evaluation upon request
2. The evaluation component is assumed to be responsive and ongoing so that any changes to design or data collection are made quickly once a need is identified
3. Material created and shared will be provided: in multiple languages; accessible (plain language) formats; and developed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Portfolio

The Council has a total of $50,000 for one evaluation project.  This CFI is specifically targeted to Illinois universities with experience in program evaluation.  The Council may choose not to fund or may negotiate and adjust the funding amount of this CFI at the time of an award.

Budget

The Council wants to see budgets, which are cost effective and reasonable to meet the proposed project activities and reach the project’s stated performance target. The Council has a total of $50,000 for one evaluation project. A match amount must be included in the budget. Match may include in-kind contributions but cannot include other federal funds.

Project match required – 10%

Match funds are defined as any allowable expenses that do not come from other federal dollars. Match funds may include in-kind supports, volunteer time or other non-federal sources of funds. Any in-kind or volunteer time used as match must have a value attributed to it that is directly related to the Council project. Match funds used for Council projects cannot be used as federal match for any other project you may be involved in.

Note:  Show match in your proposed budget. Match is calculated as a percentage of the total project budget, not the total amount requested from the Council.

ICDD policy limits indirect costs to 10% of salary, benefits, and consultant (if that budget line includes project staff).

Unallowable use of Council funds include:

1. Entertainment expenses
2. Capital expenditures or acquisition (construction, remodeling, or purchase of buildings, vehicles)
3. The Council cannot supplant existing funds or funding sources. Other funds may be, and are encouraged to be, part of a sustainability plan and intentionally sought or used as a match or funds leveraged with a project. Council funds cannot be used to pay for a program or a portion of a program that is currently being funded through other non-federal dollars. You cannot use Council funds to cover something already funded to allow redirecting the original money to another use

Submission

Proposals must be submitted through DD Suite on or before 4:00 p.m. on July 6, 2022.  You must create an account on DD Suite if you do not already have one. For instructions, visit www.ddsuite.org and click the Help icon at upper right. Under the Contents list, choose “Accounts and Organizations”. Please contact Mariel Hamer-Sinclair at Mariel.Hamer-Sinclair@illinois.gov for technical assistance.

NOTE:  PROPOSALS THAT ARE FAXED, MAILED, HANDWRITTEN, AND/OR LATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Review and Selection

The Council will conduct a due diligence selection process for both and full proposals. Decisions are made by the review team at each step of the process. No applicant is guaranteed a telephone interview. If you have questions about this process, you may contact the assigned staff member.  

The selection process is as follows:

1. Full Proposal: A review for clarity, outcome, and cost is conducted by the review team
2. Telephone Interview: If the review team wishes to obtain more detail about your proposed project and hear more about why you think the project you designed is a good way to reach our target, they will conduct a telephone interview. If the review team does not fully understand a proposal, they will conduct a telephone interview. If the review team understands what you propose to do sufficiently to reach consensus about your proposal, you may not be asked for a telephone interview
3. After the review and, if necessary, a telephone interview, the review team will make their funding recommendation decision. Decisions are made using the outcome-based framework in looking at elements of the proposal. That is, will the investment of Council funds in a proposer’s project assist us in achieving the performance target and intent of this funding opportunity to benefit people with developmental disabilities and their families. The review team will also look for:

• A clear and measurable performance target(s);
• Milestones which give an implementation strategy and timeframes to reach your performance target(s);
• Applicant and staff capability and expertise to achieve the performance target(s); and
• A budget which supports achieving the performance target(s) in a reasonable and cost-effective manner.

       4.   Verification/References: After the completion of interviews, the review team may contact previous customers or other persons familiar with the applicant’s work.

After a review of proposals received for this project, the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities may choose not to fund or may reduce the amount of this Call for Investment at the time of an award.

Important Dates

Applicant’s Informational Webinar                 June 15, 2022 from 11AM - 12 PM
Full application                                               due July 6, 2022
Telephone interview (as required)                  TBD
Funding decision                                            August 4, 2022

NOTE: APPLICANTS MUST BE AVAILABLE FOR A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW SHOULD IT BE REQUIRED. THE KEY PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE.