To
support research on the benefits, effects, and costs of different
welfare reform interventions; to fund studies such as on the effects
of different programs on welfare dependency, illegitimacy, teen
pregnancy, employment rates, child well-being, and related areas;
to assist in the development and evaluation of innovative approaches
for reducing welfare dependency and increasing the well-being of
minor children in welfare families; and to study and analyze outcome
measures for evaluating the success of the States in moving individuals
out of the welfare system into employment.
TYPES
OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES
AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Grants,
cooperative agreements, and contracts are awarded for innovative
research, demonstrations, and evaluations that are responsive to
the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) program priorities.
All applications must meet standards of excellence in research,
demonstration, or evaluation design.
ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant
Eligibility: Grants and cooperative agreements
may be made to or with governmental entities, colleges, universities,
nonprofit and for-profit organizations (if fee is waived). Contracts
may be awarded to nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Grants
or cooperative agreements cannot be made directly to individuals.
Beneficiary
Eligibility: Needy individuals, children,
and families will benefit.
Credentials/Documentation:
Applicants must present written evidence of other agencies' willingness
to cooperate when the project involves the use of other agencies,
facilities, or services. Nonprofit organizations which have not
previously received ACF program support must submit proof of nonprofit
status. For State and local governments, costs will be determined
in accordance with 45 CFR 92 and OMB Circular No. A-87. For other
grantees, applicable costs and administrative procedures will
be determined in accordance with 45 CFR Parts 74 and 92.
Pre-application
Coordination: This program is eligible for coverage
under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."
An applicant should consult the office or official designated as
the single point of contact in his or her State for more information
on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for
assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.
Application
Procedure: All information and forms required
to prepare a grant or cooperative agreement application are published
in the Federal Register unless restricted to State Agencies, in
which case materials will be mailed directly. Copies of the program
announcements may be available on the Internet or from the Office
of Planning, Research and Evaluation, ACF, 7th Floor, 370 L'Enfant
Promenade, SW., Washington, D.C. 20447. All information needed
to submit a proposal for a contract is provided through a Request
for Proposal published in the Commerce Business Daily.
Award
Procedure: Official notice of approved grant
or cooperative agreement is made through issuance of a Financial
Assistance Award. Official notice of an accepted contract proposal
is made through award of a contract.
Deadlines:
Deadlines for grants and cooperative agreements are announced
in the Federal Register as part of the announcement or are mailed
to State Agencies where applicants are limited to those agencies.
Range
of Approval/Disapproval Time: From 60 to 365
days. Generally, solicited grants, cooperative agreements, and
contracts will be acted upon within 120 days.
Appeals:
Appeals are processed in accordance with HHS regulations in 45
CFR Part 16.
Renewals:
Extensions and continuations are available if formally applied
for and approved. If an application is recommended for approval
for 2 or more years, the grantee or contractor must submit each
year a formal request for continuation accompanied by a progress
report which will be evaluated prior to a recommendation of continuation.
ASSISTANCE
CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula
and Matching Requirements: Grantees are generally
required to share in the cost of projects. Cost sharing may range
anywhere between 5 and 25 percent of the total approved project
cost for grants or cooperative agreements. Contracts are not required
to share in the project cost.
Length
and Time Phasing of Assistance: Funds are
granted on a 1- to 5-year basis, with support beyond the first
year contingent upon acceptable evidence of satisfactory progress,
continuing program relevance, and availability of funds.
POST
ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Reports of progress and expenditures are required on all projects.
Comprehensive final reports are generally due within 90 days of
completion of the project.
Audits:
Audits are conducted in accordance with the requirements in 45
CFR 74 and 92.
Records:
Proper accounting records, identifiable by grant or contract number
and including all receipts and expenditures, must be maintained
until all questions are resolved.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION:
Account
Identification: 75-1553-0-1-609.
Obligations:
(Grants, Cooperative Agreements and Contracts) FY 01 $38,094,000;
FY 02 $61.158,000 ($30,000,000 is allocated to Compassion Capital
Fund); and FY 03 est $6,000,000. (Note: These dollar amounts represent
the total funding level jointly appropriated for two programs:
93.647, Social Services Research and Demonstration and 93.595,
Welfare Reform Research, Evaluations and National Studies.)
Range
and Average of Financial Assistance: (Grants, Cooperative Agreements and Contracts) From $10,000
to $2,000,000.
In fiscal year 2001, 57 grant and 31 contract awards were made in
child welfare, welfare reform, child impact studies, employment
evaluations, including job retention and advancement evaluations,
rural welfare reform initiatives, and evaluations of State waiver
demonstrations. In fiscal year 2002, 22 grant and 29 contract awards
and in FY 2003, 12 grant and 3 contract awards are expected to be
made in welfare reform; child impact studies, employment evaluations,
including job retention and advancement evaluations and initiatives
on the hard-to-employ; rural welfare reform initiatives, evaluations
on strengthening families, and other research on special populations.
REGULATIONS,
GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Guidelines and other information are published in the Federal Register
and Commerce Business Daily.
INFORMATION
CONTACTS:
Regional
or Local Office: Contact the appropriate ACF
Regional Administrator. (See Appendix IV of the Catalog for ACF
Regional Offices.)
Headquarters
Office: Karl Koerper, Office of Planning,
Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families,
Department of Health and Human Services, 7th Floor, Aerospace
Building, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. Telephone:
(202) 401-4535. Use the same number for FTS. Fax: (202)205-3598,
E-Mail: KKOERPER@ACF.DHHS.GOV.
Web
Site Address: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa
EXAMPLES
OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
See 93.647, Social Services Research and Demonstration, for examples
of planned projects.
CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
The criteria for selecting projects to be funded under this program
are published in the grant or contract announcement.
