HHS-2008-ACF-ACYF-CO-0058 Cooperative Agreements for Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers

Moderator: Hello and welcome to the pre-application webinar for Funding Opportunity Number FONHHAS2008ACFACYFCO0058 Cooperative Agreement for Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers. This webinar is being webcast at both 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.

This webinar is intended to provide prospective applicants with an overview of the program announcement that became public on May 12, 2008 and is currently available on both the Administration for Children and Families Grants Opportunities webpage at www.acf.hhs.gov/grants and on www.grants.gov. The webinar will attempt to clarify common applicant questions by highlighting information in the announcements. All perspective applicants are encouraged to refer back to the program announcement for more detailed information when preparing their applications. Page numbers in the PDF version of the program announcement available at the ACF Grant Opportunities website have been included on the webinar slides for your reference. To find both the announcement and its recently published modification, go to www.acf.hhs.gov/grants and click on open-funding opportunities, then find the link for cooperative agreements for Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers and its recent modifications. Be sure to read the modifications.

Federal staff will not be responding directly to the questions of listeners during this webinar. All participant lines will be muted. Listening participants will, however, have the opportunity to send written questions to the Children's Bureau by email during and after the webinar. Potential applicants may submit questions to response in the webinar until 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, May 29. Questions may be sent to cb@dixtongroup.com. Please include the words applicant question 0058 in the subject heading of the email and please include your name, the name of your organization and your telephone number in the text of the message. All questions received prior to 5:00 p.m. Eastern on May 29 will be reviewed by Children's Bureau staff. A transcript of the webinar and a summary of the questions submitted by the deadline and the Children's Bureau's responses will be posted on the ACYF Grant review webpage at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/grantreview/cb/cb.html as soon as they become available. Webinar slides will also be posted on this webpage for applicant's future reference.

Any questions that a potential applicant chooses to submit to the Children's Bureau prior to the first webinar or after the pre-application conference question period closes at 5:00 p.m. on May 29 should be directed to the applicable program or grant contact person in the program announcement. Again, this is a pre-application webinar regarding funding for cooperative agreements for Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers. These cooperative agreements will be referred to as Implementation Centers throughout the webinar.

Legislative authority for the Implementation Centers comes from two sources, Section105 B(5) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended, and Section 203 of Subchapter 2, Adoption Opportunities of the Child Abuse and Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act. Information about these and other pieces of legislation that authorize and support the Implementation Centers and other training and technical assistance supported by the Children's Bureau can be referenced in Section 1, Funding Opportunity description, subsections legislation and background of the program announcement. All of the awards under this funding opportunity will be cooperative agreements. A cooperative agreement is a specific method of awarding federal assistance where substantial federal involvement is anticipated as described under Section 2, Award Information, federal involvement and collaboration include the Children's Bureau review and approval of planning stages of the project activities before implementation begins, the Children's Bureau involvement, and the establishment of policies and procedures that maximize open competition, if applicable, joint collaboration between the Children's Bureau and the award recipient and the performance of key programmatic activities, close monitoring by the Children's Bureau of the requirements stated in this announcement, and close monitoring by the Children's Bureau during the project to insure compliance with the intent of this funding.

Expectations for collaboration with federal staff to successfully complete the goals and objectives of these projects are described throughout the program announcement. Eligible applicants for Implementation Centers include state governments, county governments, local government, public and state controlled institutions of higher education, non-profits with 501C3 IRS status, non-profits without 501 C3 IRS status, private institutions of higher education, for profit organizations, and small businesses. If an application proposes that two or more entities serve as an Implementation Center collaboratively, the application must identify a primary applicant responsible for administering the cooperative agreement. To insure that responsibilities of both parties are understood, a cooperative agreement document will be developed incorporating legislative authority, federal regulations and terms and conditions. The document will also identify the duration of the agreement, roles and responsibilities of the grantee and ACYSCB and reporting requirements. The cooperative agreement document must be signed by the authorized official of the recipient organization and the ACYFCB program official. Cooperative agreements will be awarded for a project period of five years or 60 months. The initial award will be for a 12 month budget period. Continuation of awards for subsequent 12 month budget periods will be subject to satisfactory progress on the part of the awardee and the determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government. Continuation of awards is also subject the availability of funds.

Eligible applicants may apply for a maximum of $1,410,000 in year one and a maximum of $1,850,000 per budget period in years two through five. Applications of request that exceed the ceiling on the amount of individual awards will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under this announcement. No less than 35% of the federal funds requested in year one must be devoted to implementation projects that will be discussed shortly. And 75% of the federal funds requested in years two through five must support implementation projects. Grantees are required to meet a non-federal share of the project cost. Each grantee must provide at least 10% of the total approved cost of the project during each budget period. The total approved cost of the project can be calculated by dividing the requested federal share, a maximum of $1,410,000 in year one, by the devisor, .90. The result will be the total project cost including the applicant's minimum 10% match. The non-federal share may be met by cash or in kind contributions, although applicants are encouraged to meet their match requirements through cash contributions.

The purpose of this program announcement is to establish by awarding cooperative agreements five regional Child Welfare Technical Assistance Implementation Centers. Implementation Centers will partner with states and tribes in their respective geographic service areas to execute projects that will focus on the implementation of strategies that Child Welfare systems have identified to improve the quality and effectiveness of their services for children, youth and family. Implementation Centers will fill a gap in the Children's Bureau's existing training and technical assistance network. They will pilot a new, complementary approach to technical assistance by expanding the existing TNTA network and enhancing its ability to provide in-depth and long-term consultation and support to states and tribes.

The Children's Bureau's Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance, or the TNTA network, is a group of Children's Bureau's supported training and technical assistance providers designed to provide state and tribes with the necessary information, training, and consultation to build capacity within their Child Welfare systems. TNTA network members have developed into a community of resources and centers of expertise that are flexible and able to respond to changing federal priorities and challenges in the field. Members hold expertise in multiple aspects of Child Welfare practice and they are expected to provide resources and assistance to Child Welfare systems that will support and facilitate positive change, and in some cases, comprehensive cross-system reforms that will result in more effective and promising practice. The Children's Bureau uses several monitoring tools, including the Child and Family Services Review, or CFSR, Title 4E Foster Care Eligibility review, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System assessment review, and the statewide automated Child Welfare Information System assessment review to insure conformity with federal Child Welfare requirements and to help states achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children. While a major function of several TNTA network members is to prepare states for federal Child Welfare monitoring and to help them apply the knowledge gained from these reviews, the ultimate purpose of the network is to improve Child Welfare systems and to support states and tribes in achieving sustainable systemic change that yields better outcomes for children, youth, and family.

Because Implementation Centers will become important collaborative members of the TNTA network, the Children's Bureau encourages applicants to learn more about the TNTA network and its members by investigating the information, resources, and links at www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm#technical. While the TNTA network provides critical services that help state and tribal child welfare systems, assess and improve their performance, a variety of barriers can prevent systemic change from occurring. Some Child Welfare systems require an enhanced level of TNTA to successfully implement complex and extensive system reform. Despite their efforts to adopt and institutionalize new principals and evidence-based practices, states and tribes are often without the resources necessary to implement comprehensive strategic plans. And the current TNTA network has been limited in its ability to provide intensive long-term technical assistance. Implementation Centers will fill a gap in the Children's Bureau's existing TNTA network. The Implementation Centers described in this announcement are intended to complement the existing TNTA network and to carry out a new approach that will address barriers to the utilization of training and technical assistance.

Implementation Centers will have a clearly defined role in the Children's Bureau's TNTA network while other members of the TNTA network develop knowledge, manage resources, transfer knowledge of effective and promising practices, and provide technical assistance to support systemic change, Implementation Centers will be primarily responsible for the coordination and maintenance of regional peer networks, forming partnerships, and executing projects that support the implementation of knowledge. Implementation Centers are not expected to function as entities that provide technical assistance nationwide. Instead, Implementation Centers will promote peer to peer consultation between Child Welfare systems and provide intensive and long-term technical assistance and support to those states and tribes with whom they have entered into formal, mutually binding partnerships. Rather than serve as national experts in a topical area of Child Welfare, Implementation Centers will possess expertise in strategic implementation, organizational change, and systemic intervention and be grounded in a thorough understanding of Child Welfare systems. The principal goal of each Implementation Centers is to facilitate the institutionalization of principals, policies, and proven or promising practices that a state or tribe has adopted. Implementation Centers are most concerned with how a system can move from vision and value to changes in organizational culture and practice that are likely to result in sustainable improvements and outcomes for children and family.

Implementation Centers are expected to drive necessary systemic change while subscribing to systems of care framework and the Child and Family Service's Review guiding principals. As members of a service delivery network, Implementation Centers will subscribe to Systems of Care and CSSR principals in their approach to delivering technical assistance to state and tribes. Implementation Centers are expected to partner with all TNTA network members and the Children's Bureau and to collectively offer proactive, integrative, culturally competent individualized, client-centered, strength based services. Systems of Care is characterized by shared cross-cutting principals and a continuum of integrated services from prevention to support of permanency that span programs, agencies, and institutions. A Systems of Care approach is community based, child centered, family focused, strength based, culturally competent and comprehensive. It addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, educational, and developmental needs of children, youth, and their families while taking into account the individual family community and broader systemic risks and protective factors that contribute to a child's safety and well being. More information about Systems of Care can be found at http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/service/soc/.

The guiding principals of the Child and Family Services Review are consistent with the Systems of Care framework as described under Section 1355.25 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Child safety, permanency and well being are closely tied to principals of service delivery for effective practice. The Child and Family Services Review guiding principals are commonly referred to as family centered practice, community based practice, individualizing services, and strengthening parental capacity. Applicants are encouraged to learn more about the guiding principals of the CSSR by going to and looking up 45CFR1355.25 and reading about changing the culture of the workplace to be consistent with the principals of the Child and Family Services Review at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/changing_culture.htm.

Each Implementation Centers technical assistance must be aligned with the Systems of Care framework, CSSR principals and current knowledge of sound practice in Child Welfare. Implementation Centers are expected to partner with all TNTA network members and the Children's Bureau and to collectively offer integrated culturally competent and strength based services. The Children's Bureau recognizes that states and tribes can differ significantly in their strengths and challenges, organizational cultures, guiding principals, visions for the future, and their strategies for change. Therefore, while Implementation Centers are expected to be guided by CSSR and Systems of Care principals, the state and tribes being served by the Implementation Centers are not expected to adopt the Systems of Care framework or to articulate their principals in the same way.

An Implementation Centers is primarily responsible for serving a geographic service area covering two ACF regions, closing collaborating with the Children's Bureau, including its regional offices, and other members of the TNTA network, promoting and strengthening formal peer to peer networking between states and tribes, and conducting projects for systemic change and partnerships with states and tribes. This slide shows the ACF regional pairings that the Implementation Centers will serve. Please note that these geographic service areas have been changed from the pairings in the original announcement. The correct regional pairings as revised in the announcement modification are on this slide. Regions one and two will be paired to cover the Northeast and Atlantic. Regions three and four will be paired generally covering the Mid Atlantic and the Southeast. Regions five and seven will cover the Great Lakes and Midwest regions. Regions six and eight will be paired in the South Central and Rocky Mountain regions. And Regions nine and http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html ten will cover the Southwest, Northwest and Pacific.

Each Implementation Center is expected to be knowledgeable about the Child Welfare systems in its geographic area, to be readily accessible to states and tribes in its ACF region, and be prepared for frequent onsite consultations. They are expected to be available to formal state or tribal partners for technical assistance related to implementation of strategies for organizational and systemic change. And lastly, they are expected to partner with each other across regional boundaries on critical inner state and tribal Child Welfare issues when necessary. An Implementation Centers is not required to be physically located in its geographic service area. Implementation Centers are expected to become important active members of the TNTA network. They will be immediately responsible for initiating strong collaborative partnerships with members of the TNTA network. Implementation Centers are expected to partner and collaborate with the Children's Bureau's central and regional offices, the TNTA network, other Implementation Centers and national, regional, and community stakeholders to share information, coordinate networking and technical assistance, complete evaluations activities, and provide mutual consultation. The Implementation Centers are expected to participate to the extent feasible in the development of products regarding best and promising practices for capacity building, implementation, and other topics related to systemic change and to assist with the strategic systemization of such products to the Child Welfare field. And they are expected to collaborate in the promotion, planning, organization, and facilitation of Children's Bureau sponsored national meetings.

Implementation Centers are expected to educate states and tribes in their geographic service areas about the function that they serve in the larger TNTA network, provide information about the specific services and resources available from the TNTA network, build relationships, successfully engage targeted systems and networking opportunities, and encourage the submission of proposals for implementation projects. Each Implementation Centers is expected to consult regularly with the Children's Bureau's regional offices in its geographic service area. Implementation Centers are strongly encouraged to utilize the regional offices knowledge of states and tribes when crafting an outreach approach. Implementation Centers will perform outreach activities to engage state and tribal Child Welfare systems and TNTA services and regional peer networking activities and to recruit formal partners with implementation projects. The Children's Bureau expects Implementation Centers to consider issues of accessibility and need when planning and performing their outreach to state and tribe. An Implementation Centers may decide to target its outreach to particular Child Welfare systems that are likely to benefit from technical assistance but have experienced internal or external barriers to engagement with the TNTA network in the past. Implementation Centers have the flexibility to tailor outreach activities to systems in their respective service areas. And the Children's Bureau expects each Implementation Centers to design deliberate and culturally competent plans for outreach to both tribal and state Child Welfare systems where applicable.

During the first year of the project period, each Implementation Center will plan, organize, facilitate and fund one regional forum for states and tribes in its geographic service area. The meeting's principal objective will be to increase knowledge about the process of systems change and to promote solution focuses dialog about the challenges that can prevent interventions from achieving intended reforms and sustainable improvements. Each Implementation Centers will work closely with the Children's Bureau's central office and regional staff to plan its forum. The forum will kick off the Implementation Centers' activities and will build support and momentum for strategic planning and systemic improvement efforts across the region. Attendance are regional forums should be accessible to representatives of both states and tribes in the Implementation Centers' geographic service area. The Children's Bureau expects that each forum will be held in a city where and ACF regional office is located. In some cases, Implementation Centers may chose to hold more than one forum if, for example, separate events are expected to be more effective for securing participation from tribal systems.

Each Implementation Center will provide regular opportunities for state and tribe Child Welfare systems to share information, experiences, and lessons with each other. Networking should promote cross system learning and communication between numerous state and tribe jurisdictions and involve as many Child Welfare systems as reasonable and feasible. Implementation Centers must collaborate with one another, the Children's Bureau, the TNTA network, and state and tribe systems to integrate networking approaches that are well coordinated, practical, appropriate, and likely to increase cross system consultation. Implementation Centers will be challenged to successfully engage both tribes and states on topics that are relevant, meaningful, and sensitive to their sometimes differing needs and capacitates. While some networking activities will be open to state and local tribal participants across the geographic service area, Implementation Centers may choose to target other peer to peer activities specifically to systems that share common models of practice, cultures, organizational characteristics, objectives, and/or challenges.

Implementation projects will be the primary means by which Implementation Centers facilitate sustainable system's change. Each Implementation Center will enter into a memorandum of understanding, contract, or other mutually binding agreement with multiple state and/or tribal Child Welfare agencies for intensive multiyear planning and implementation activities. Based on federal monitoring reviews, internal evaluations, external analysis, consumer and stakeholder reports, or other sources of information, each state or tribe will develop a project proposal and identify the specific problems, needs, and/or areas of performance that it intends to address systemically. Local Child Welfare agencies, governance bodies, court, health and education departments, social service systems, mental health and substance abuse agencies, law enforcement and justice systems, community based service providers, and a variety of other entities may be essential to the reform and improvement efforts that are proposed. Implementation Centers will collectively develop common proposal expectations and processes with one another and the Children's Bureau prior to soliciting proposals. And the Children's Bureau's regional offices will participate in the review of proposals or be consulted regarding the design of the review process.

After selecting proposals, the Implementation Center will facilitate and coordinate implementation project activities in collaboration with designated state or tribe staff and the Implementation Centers will allocate those funds necessary to secure resources, plan system interventions, implement the change process, and complete the project. Implementation projects may pursue systemic change within a Child Welfare system or across multiple systems that are integral to successful Child Welfare practice. Implementation projects will be individualize, strength based and highly responsive to the needs of state and tribal partners. Each partnership plan for implementation and systemic change will differ in its vision, objective, scope, and activities.

Implementation Projects are intended to be substantial and capable of supporting implementation activities that will drive sustainable, positive change in organizational culture and Child Welfare practice. Projects must be at least 24 months in duration and may involve a period of assessment and strategic planning prior to implementation activities. No fewer than two projects shall be operating by July 1, 2009. And each Implementation Center will dedicate funds directly to the execution of implementation projects. In fiscal year 2009, or year one of this cooperative agreement, an Implementation Centers will devote no less than 35% of its federal funds to multiple implementation projects. No fewer than two projects shall be operating by July 1, 2009. In years two through five, or fiscal year 2010 through fiscal year 2013, each Implementation Center is required to devote no less than 75% of its annual federal funds to implementation projects. The budget for each project shall not be less than $100,000 and shall not exceed $700,000 in any budget period. No fewer than two Implementation Projects shall be operating at any time throughout years two through five. An Implementation Center may choose to accept proposals and initiate projects once of multiple times during its five year award, but all Implementation Projects are expected to conclude by September 28, 2013. Implementation Centers will actively consult and collaborate regularly with the Children's Bureau, the National Resource Center, and other members of the TNTA network. Implementation Centers will rely on the knowledge of the TNTA network and the Children's Bureau central and regional offices for state and tribe specific information and topical expertise in Child Welfare. In addition to carefully coordinating implementation activities with the TNTA network of current services, Implementation Centers should not duplicate services or sub plant resources that would otherwise be utilized for the same purpose.

Within the first six months of the project period, Implementation Centers are required to develop common protocols for coordinating technical assistance, making referrals to other TNTA network members, and tracking activities. These protocols will be established in collaboration with the Children's Bureau and the TNTA network. An Implementation Centers' technical assistance must be tailored to its states and/or tribal partner. The Children's Bureau expects that an Implementation Center will be skilled in multiple implementation and management approaches and capable of recommending the most appropriate models for the state and tribe they serve. When a state and tribe identifies a particular need, barrier or issue that requires attention, an Implementation Center is expected to partner with its client to comprehensively access and mutually define the problem in the context of broader systemic conditions. Implementation Centers must employ a client centered and client directed approach to servicing states, tribes, and their respective stakeholders. In addition to being culturally competent and well informed, each Implementation Centers' processes and activities should be responsive to and guided by the state or tribe being served.

The Children's Bureau expects each Implementation Centers to regularly evaluate its own performance and to use this information to improve its processes and services. These evaluation activities should provide practical and immediate feedback to Implementation Centers. Implementation Centers will evaluate their ability to build capacity, execute a [spective] implementation strategy and drive systemic change. Upon award of the cooperative agreement, Implementation Centers may chose to develop common evaluation components. While evaluation plans may have some common components, they will also be site specific and reflect the diversity of the Implementation Centers' approaches. Evaluation measures should be aligned with Implementation Centers' guiding principals and should focus on formative evaluation for the purpose of improvement.

All applications in response to this program announcement are due by 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on July 11, 2008. Applications submitted by mail must be received by 4:30 p.m. and electronic submissions must be submitted via www.grants.gov no later than 4:30 p.m. Late applications will not be considered. Application submission information or Section 4 of the announcement and further details specific to submission due dates and times can be found on page 43 of the announcement. The application limit is 75 pages. Pages over this page limit will be removed from the application and will not be reviewed. This page limit does not include standard forms 424, 424a, 424b, certifications, assurances, third party agreements, letters of commitment, job descriptions, resumes, or curriculum detail.

Applicants are encouraged to review Section 4, application and submission information in the program announcement for specific submission requirements. Some helpful requirements related to electronic submission include, applicants may submit all documents electronically including all information typically included on the standard form 424 and all necessary insurances and certifications. Electronic submission is voluntary but encouraged. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications well before the closing date and in time so that if difficulties are encountered there will sufficient time to submit a hard copy via express mail. It is to an applicant's advantage to submit 24 hours ahead of the closing date in time in order to address any difficulties that may be encountered. Applicants must have a [done] number and register in the Central Contract Registry to obtain the authorized organization representative electronic signature credentials for electronic submission. Though applying electronically, the application must comply with any page limitation requirements described in the program announcement. If an applicant encounters problems while using www.grants.gov, please contact the grants.gov contact center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email at support@grants.gov to report the problem and obtain assistance. The Children's Bureau encourages all applicants to be creative within the guidelines of the program announcement. Good luck!