The Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) administers national programs for children and youth; works with States and local communities to develop services that support and strengthen family life; seeks joint ventures with the private sector to enhance the lives of children and their families; and provides information and other assistance to parents. Many of the programs administered by the agency focus on children from low-income families; abused and neglected children; children and youth in need of foster care, independent living, adoption or other child welfare services; preschool children; children with disabilities; runaway and homeless youth; and children from Native American and migrant families.

Within ACYF, the Children's Bureau (CB) plans, manages, coordinates, and supports child abuse and neglect prevention and child welfare services programs. CB programs are designed to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of all children, including those in foster care, available for adoption, recently adopted, abused, neglected, dependent, disabled, or homeless; and to prevent the neglect, abuse, and exploitation of children. 

CB programs also promote strengthening the family unit to help prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families and encourage reunifying families, when possible, if separation has occurred. State child welfare systems are designed to deliver direct services that protect children who have suffered maltreatment, who are at risk for maltreatment, or who are under the care and placement responsibility of the State because their families are unable to care for them. These systems also focus on securing permanent living arrangements through foster care and adoption for children who are unable to return home. CB is the agency within the Federal Government that is responsible for assisting State child welfare systems by promoting continuous improvement in the delivery of child welfare services.

Training and Technical Assistance Network

CB employs monitoring tools including the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) to ensure conformity with Federal child welfare requirements and to help States achieve safety, permanency, and well-being for children. By June of 2004, all States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had participated in the first round of CFSRs. After completing these reviews, participants began developing and implementing Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) to build on strengths and to address areas needing improvement that were noted during the review process. PIPs focus on implementing and sustaining systemic changes that will improve outcomes for children and families in child welfare systems. By March of 2008, all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are expected to have completed the implementation of their PIPs.  In March of 2007, CB began the second round of CFSRs. (For more information about CFSRs, see http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/index.htm.)

The Child Welfare Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Network is a CB initiative designed to provide States, Courts, Tribes, and public child welfare agencies with the information, training, and consultation necessary to improve their child welfare systems. The T/TA Network includes the Child Welfare Information Gateway, CB's National Quality Improvement Centers, the Collaboration to AdoptUSKids, the National Child Welfare Leadership Institute, and CB's National Child Welfare Resource Centers (NRCs). Network members hold expertise in topical areas essential to best practice in child welfare. (A description of the Network is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm#technical.)

A primary function of the NRCs is to help States prepare for and implement their respective CFSRs. Both the CFSR process and the technical assistance provided by the NRCs are intended to give child welfare systems and agencies the knowledge and tools to make necessary changes, and in some cases comprehensive cross-system reforms, that will result in effective, evidence-based practices and ultimately better outcomes for children and families.

Systems of Care Framework and CFSR Guiding Principles

The two Workforce Initiatives described in this announcement are expected to drive necessary systemic change while subscribing to a System of Care (SOC) framework and to the CFSR guiding principles. 

Adopted from its application in the mental health field, SOC refers to a conceptual framework and set of principles that direct child welfare agencies and systems to pursue individualized, coordinated, and holistic approaches to working with children and families. In child welfare, a system of care is characterized by shared, cross-cutting principles and a continuum of integrated services from prevention to permanency support that span programs, agencies, and institutions. A SOC approach is community-based, child-centered, family-focused, strengths-based, culturally competent, and comprehensive. It addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, educational, and developmental needs of children and their families while taking into account the individual, family, community, and broader systemic risk and protective factors that contribute to a child's safety and well-being. (More information regarding SOC can be found at http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/service/soc/.)

Like incidents of maltreatment, child welfare interventions do not take place in isolation. The services provided by a child welfare program not only have the potential to significantly affect dynamics and circumstances within and external to the child's family, but they also have implications for the decision-making and practices of other programs within the community, the larger service agency, and across the child welfare service system. Adopting a SOC approach in child welfare requires a commitment to collaboration and often demands the reform of conventional agency practice and organizational culture. 

The guiding principles of the CFSR are consistent with this SOC framework. As described under Section 1355.25 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), child safety, permanency, and well-being are closely tied to principles of service delivery for effective practice including: prevention services; family-focused and community-based services; flexible, accessible, and coordinated services; culturally appropriate services; and strengths-based and individualized services. Furthermore, the Section states that services should be organized along a continuum and linked to a wide service array to meet the multiple service needs of families. (The complete text of 45 CFR 1355.25 is located at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html, and more information about changing the culture of the workplace to be consistent with the principles of the CFSR can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/changing_culture.htm.)

Child Welfare Workforce

Applying these principles and achieving safety, permanency, and well-being for children requires that child welfare professionals be knowledgeable, skilled and have access to necessary resources.  Unfortunately, public, private, and Tribal agencies are often faced with challenges that can compromise the health, competence, and effectiveness of their respective workforces. In 2003, a General Accounting Office (GAO) study, citing interviews and CFSR findings, reported that high turnover and staffing shortages increased the workload burden on remaining caseworkers. Consequently, this greater burden resulted in delayed maltreatment investigations, fewer worker visits with children and their families, limited opportunities for relationship-building, and hastened decision-making that affected systems' abilities to ensure the safety and placement stability of children served. (The GAO report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03357.pdf.)

CB is engaged in ongoing efforts to respond to findings from the CFSRs and other monitoring reviews. Through its child welfare training initiatives and other discretionary programs, CB promotes the development and dissemination of promising and proven approaches to workforce problems. CB expects that this will result in the delivery of more appropriate, responsive, and effective services to children and their families. Building the capacity of child welfare systems to effectively recruit, train, supervise, manage, support, and retain the workforce of child welfare professionals has become one of CB's critical strategies for systemic change. 

Child Welfare Training Initiatives under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act

Legislative authority for the two initiatives described in this program announcement comes from Title IV-B, Subpart I - Child Welfare Services of the Social Security Act (the Act). Under Section 426 (a)(1)(C) of the Act, Federal grants are available to public or non-profit institutions of higher learning for special training projects and traineeships in the field of child welfare. 

In an effort to support the recruitment and retention of qualified staff in child welfare, CB has funded professional education traineeships for many years. Traineeships are awarded to institutions of higher education to administer stipends to individual students who commit to pursuing either a BSW or MSW degree in social work and to serving in a child welfare agency upon graduation. Twenty-three of these traineeship programs were operating in 2007.

In 2003 CB also funded eight, five-year projects to demonstrate successful recruitment and retention strategies. This group of projects has demonstrated promising strategies for the selection, hiring, and retention of qualified child welfare staff. (Current Recruitment and Retention grantees and links to their websites are listed in Appendix A. Additional information on Child Welfare Training projects is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/programs_fund/discretionary/cw_training.htm.)

Priority Area 1:

National Child Welfare Workforce Institute

Purpose

The purpose of the Workforce Institute is to build the capacity of the nation's child welfare workforce and improve outcomes for children, youth, and families through activities that support the development of competent and skilled child welfare leaders across the country.

To achieve these goals, the Workforce Institute will cultivate leadership at multiple levels within child welfare agencies and expand the skills and knowledge of child welfare professionals that serve in public and Tribal child welfare systems. A broad range of activities will be undertaken by the Workforce Institute to promote effective child welfare practice and support leadership development, skill-building, and growth. The Workforce Institute will be responsible for:

1. Convening a national workforce advisory body;
   
2. Identifying gaps in existing child welfare training resources;
   
3. Selecting, adapting, and delivering curricula to child welfare professionals;
   
4. Awarding and administering sub-grants for local, professional education traineeships;
   
5. Coordinating national peer mentoring networks;
   
6. Collaborating with numerous partners and stakeholders including CB and its T/TA Network;
   
7. Disseminating information about effective and promising workforce practices; and
   
8. Designing and implementing evaluation plans.

The Workforce Institute will subscribe to a SOC framework of service delivery. The Workforce Institute will be responsible for integrating its role into the larger array of initiatives aimed at strengthening the child welfare workforce and promoting sustainable systems change. Workforce Institute activities are expected to advance Federal priorities, to disseminate best and promising practices, and to complement existing training systems and workforce initiatives at the State and national levels, not to duplicate them. 

While different in its role and charge from CB's National Resource Centers (NRCs), the Workforce Institute is expected to become an integral part of CB's T/TA Network that will build the capacity of the child welfare workforce and ultimately improve States' child welfare outcomes.

Institutionalizing effective workforce practices and improving child welfare outcomes requires leadership. Leadership is needed to change vision, change culture, change beliefs, and move the organization to better practices. Facilitating and sustaining positive systems change requires that an agency's leadership possess content knowledge as well as a variety of core competencies and skills. CB recognizes that leadership does not reside exclusively in executive offices and that responsibility for change lies with professionals across the spectrum of child welfare roles. Well trained leaders at all levels are needed for child welfare agencies to successfully meet the challenges of providing timely, appropriate services and to achieve safety, permanency and well-being outcomes for children and families. 

Members of the child welfare workforce, from middle managers to prospective child welfare professionals who are pursuing social work degrees, are the target population of the Workforce Institute. CB requires that the Workforce Institute's leadership activities will, at a minimum, include training for middle managers and distance learning opportunities for supervisors (described in this priority area under "LEADERSHIP TRAINING"). However, applicants have considerable flexibility in their proposals to further specify particular groups to whom their training and services will be directed, to define the scope of activities that will be available to their target group, and to propose the number of professionals that will be served.

Expectations

The Workforce Institute will be expected to:

• Subscribe to SOC principles in the Workforce Institute's administration, collaboration, and service delivery.
  
  
• Build workforce capacity by developing strong leaders in public, private (if under contract with the State or County government), and Tribal child welfare agencies at a variety of professional levels.
  
  
• Enhance leadership skills that facilitate sustainable systems change and improved outcomes for children and families.
  
  
• Increase the practical, day-to-day applicability and use of State plans and safety, permanency, and well-being outcome indicators by agency leadership.
  
  
• Convene a national child welfare workforce advisory body and facilitate its activities.
  
  
• Assess existing child welfare workforce training curricula and identify gaps where critical competencies and content priorities are not sufficiently addressed.
  
  
• Collect and manage information about best and promising practices in leadership and workforce development from current and previous CB demonstration and quality improvement grants.
  
  
• Secure commitments and "buy-in" from targeted child welfare agencies to ensure training participation.
  
  
• Develop and implement a child welfare leadership training model that will complement existing workforce and professional development initiatives in the field.
  
  
• Design national leadership training for child welfare middle managers that builds on curricula and materials developed by the National Child Welfare Leadership Institute at the University of Utah.
  
  
• Design national leadership training for child welfare supervisors that utilizes existing curricula and materials from previous CB workforce projects and deliver it via distance learning approaches.
  
  
• Improve leadership attitudes, knowledge and skills in the target population.
  
  
• Support transfer of learning to the workplace through approaches that couple instruction with implementation and a "feedback loop" that reinforces learning and growth. 
  
  
• Award, oversee, and evaluate sub-grants for BSW and MSW professional education traineeships.
  
  
• Coordinate peer networking for the purpose of sharing information that will increase understanding of workforce and leadership issues, promote problem-solving, and encourage the exchange of lessons learned and promising practices in the field.
  
  
• Collaborate with numerous partners and stakeholders including CB and its T/TA Network.
  
  
• Complement regional and local systems of child welfare training rather than replace or supersede training that occurs at the State, County, or Tribal levels.
  
  
• Serve as a key point of dissemination, facilitating the development of a strategic and coordinated dissemination plan that will increase the utilization of effective and promising workforce practices.
  
  
• Increase knowledge of effective and promising practices in child welfare and disseminate this knowledge to trainees and the field.
  
  
• Focus on the use of technology as a means to increase the availability, accessibility, and dissemination of training curricula and other products/materials.
  
  
• Conduct a rigorous, objective evaluation, using multiple measures to determine the effectiveness of the Institute's processes and major areas of activity.
  
  
• Develop and implement a cross-site evaluation of the professional education traineeship programs.
  
  
• Produce detailed reports and disseminate evaluation findings to participating grantees, sub-grantees, and the field.
  
  
• Focus on capacity building and means of sustainable systems change when developing and delivering all project activities.
  
  
• Provide for travel, lodging and meals for participants traveling to attend regional Institute training and National Advisory Board meeting(s).
  
  
• Provide for travel, lodging and meals for middle managers traveling to attend in-person, regional leadership training.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Workforce Institute is expected to assume primary responsibility for activities outlined in the following eight areas.

1. NATIONAL CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE ADVISORY BOARD

In collaboration with CB, the Workforce Institute will establish a National Child Welfare Workforce Advisory Board (Advisory Board) that will review the Institute's approaches to leadership development, knowledge dissemination, and transfer of learning. The Advisory Board will offer recommendations to the Workforce Institute regarding strategies to address national workforce issues. The Advisory Board is expected to provide the Workforce Institute with expert consultation that will help to build the capacity of the national child welfare workforce and improve outcomes for children.

At a minimum, the Workforce Institute will convene the Advisory Board once annually, and the Workforce Institute will allocate funds to support this face-to-face meeting (including costs of travel, lodging, and meals for participants) in its proposed budget. Applicants must propose a detailed plan for establishing the Advisory Board and for the efficient and best utilization of its expertise over the course of the project. In its proposal an applicant must describe:

• The process for selecting the Advisory Board's membership;
• The level of commitment expected of Advisory Board participants;
• The size and structure of the Board; and
• The frequency and nature of Advisory Board activities. 

CB, the T/TA Network, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Workforce projects, and clients of the Workforce Institute must be represented on the Advisory Board. Candidates for Advisory Board membership will be identified in collaboration with CB.

2. KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT

In consultation with the Advisory Board, its partners in the T/TA Network, CB, and other stakeholders, the Workforce Institute will identify critical competencies and skills necessary for leadership at different levels within the child welfare workforce. The Workforce Institute will assess existing child welfare workforce training curricula and identify gaps where critical competencies and CB content priorities are not sufficiently addressed. The Workforce Institute will be responsible for collecting training curricula and tools, assessing their quality and appropriateness for national audiences, and managing the organization and accessibility of these materials through Child Welfare Information Gateway (Information Gateway) in coordination with Information Gateway staff and CB. (Some of the current workforce and training resources on Information Gateway are available at http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/workforce/.) The Workforce Institute will also distribute these resources via its leadership and training activities (described under "LEADERSHIP TRAINING"). 

In its proposed plan for activities related to knowledge assessment and management, applicants may propose to develop new curricula or other products and materials to address gaps in existing training.  Knowledge and product development, however, will not be a primary function of the Institute. The Workforce Institute is expected to collect and manage existing information about best and promising practices in leadership and workforce development from current and previous CB demonstration, capacity building, and quality improvement grants. These include, but are not limited to, findings and products generated by the Child Welfare Training Recruitment and Retention Grants awarded in 2003, the Southern Regional Quality Improvement Center for Child Protection awarded in 2001, the National Child Welfare Leadership Institute awarded in 2007, and the Workforce projects that will be awarded in 2008. Once identified, crucial gaps in existing training curricula and resources will be reported to CB, the Workforce Institute's partners, stakeholders, and the field.

3. LEADERSHIP TRAINING

Expanding on the work of the National Child Welfare Leadership Institute, a 17-month initiative awarded to the University of Utah in September 2007, the Workforce Institute will cultivate leadership at multiple levels within child welfare agencies and expand the skills and knowledge of child welfare professionals that serve in public child welfare systems. The Workforce Institute is expected to develop and implement leadership training and activities that will integrate with existing workforce and professional development resources in the field. Two components must be included in the Workforce Institute's activities at a minimum: 1) national leadership training for middle managers and 2) distance learning opportunities for supervisors. Credit for continuing education will be made available to training participants whenever reasonably practical. Applicants have considerable flexibility in their proposals to further specify particular groups to whom their training and services will be aimed, to define the scope of curricula and activities that will be provided, and to propose the number of professionals that will be served. 

The Workforce Institute's responsibility for national leadership training is intended to complement regional and local systems of child welfare training rather than replace or supersede training that occurs at the State, County, or Tribal levels. Curricula and other Workforce Institute products will build workforce capacity and increase competencies, but they will lack the specificity and context of training provided by regional and local agencies. The Workforce Institute's training and dissemination activities (described in this priority area under "DISSEMINATION") will target a national child welfare audience and primarily address: leadership development, best and promising workforce practices in child welfare, and CB's national priorities for systems change. 

Leadership Training for Middle Managers

The Workforce Institute will design and implement a model of national leadership training for child welfare middle managers.  In order to lead from the middle, a manager needs to know how to lead when one is neither the top person in the organization nor the direct supervisor of direct service workers. This national leadership training will be delivered regionally to mid-level managers in public, private (if under contract with the State or County child welfare agency), and/or Tribal child welfare agencies. The Workforce Institute will provide for travel, lodging and meals for participants traveling to attend regional training.

For the purposes of this program component, middle managers include: State or Tribal, central office, regional and district child welfare administrators, assistant directors and staff; managers employed at the State/central office or regional office that provide support to local child welfare offices; State and Tribal child welfare program managers; training managers; and program directors at private agencies under contract with the State or County to provide child welfare services.

The national training will be guided by a sound theory of leadership development and effective adult education and transfer of learning models. Regional training will be delivered in-person, and training content will be driven by critical workforce issues, current CB priorities, and practical application of CFSR findings. Trainings will promote the use of best and promising practices in the field of child welfare, and to the extent feasible and appropriate, trainings will utilize and/or adapt existing curricula and materials created or maintained by other CB workforce projects and initiatives, including the existing National Child Welfare Leadership Institute, Information Gateway, and other relevant sources.

Distance Learning for Supervisors

The Workforce Institute will design and implement a model of national leadership training for child welfare supervisors. This national leadership training will be delivered via distance learning strategies that may include webinars, teleconferences, web-accessible video and/or audio presentations, or other online training media. Supervisors of caseworkers in public, private (if under contract with the State or County child welfare agency), and/or Tribal child welfare agencies will be the target audience for these training opportunities.

The Workforce Institute's distance learning approach will be guided by a sound theory of leadership and an effective adult learning model. Trainings will promote the use of best and promising practices in the field of child welfare, and to the extent feasible and appropriate, trainings will utilize and/or adapt existing curricula and materials from previous and current CB workforce projects, including curricula developed by CB's Recruitment and Retention Grants, the Southern Regional Quality Improvement Center for Child Protection, and other relevant sources. 

4. SUB-GRANTS FOR MSW AND BSW TRAINEESHIPS

Section 426(a)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as amended, authorizes funds for child welfare training, including stipends for professional education traineeships. The Workforce Institute will allocate a minimum of $990,000 of its total annual award amount for traineeship sub-grants to other public and/or nonprofit institutions of higher education with accredited social work education programs. These five-year sub-grants will support professional education for current or prospective child welfare practitioners who are currently enrolled or who plan to enroll in BSW or MSW social work programs. A minimum of nine sub-grants shall be awarded to eligible institutions of higher education for direct stipends to students, administration of the awards, participation in a cross-site evaluation, and provision of additional support services for students that will increase the likelihood of traineeship completion and retention of graduates in the field of child welfare.  Each sub-grant must be at least $110,000 annually, or $550,000 over the entire five-year project period.

Each sub-grant and the stipends issued under them must satisfy the requirements of section 426(c) of the Act. Section 426(c) of the Act requires that sub-grantees provide assurances (and subsequent evidence of compliance after traineeship completion) that each individual stipend recipient will participate in regular training at a child welfare agency during the course of the traineeship and work at a child welfare agency for a number of years equivalent to the period of the traineeship after obtaining the degree for which the stipend was awarded.  (Full text of Section 426 of the Social Security Act is available at http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title04/0426.htm). 

With guidance from CB, the Workforce Institute will develop a program announcement and plan competitive application and review processes consistent with the authorizing legislation and Federal regulations. The Workforce Institute will award, oversee, and evaluate (described under "EVALUATION") the sub-grants and their respective traineeship programs. All sub-grants must be awarded as early as possible during the first fiscal year of the cooperative agreement. The Workforce Institute must provide sub-grantees with sufficient time to award individual traineeship stipends prior to the start of the academic year in the fall of 2009. Successful sub-grantees will be required to devote no less than 65% of their total awards directly to student stipends. CB may require sub-grant applicants to match a percentage of the Federal funds awarded.

CB intends for BSW and MSW professional education traineeships to increase the knowledge and skills of individual stipend recipients, to address the specific needs and workforce challenges of local child welfare systems, and to build the capacity of college and University social work programs to prepare students for careers in the child welfare workforce. The Workforce Institute's sub-grant application and oversight processes are expected to ensure the meaningful integration of each sub-grantee's stipend program into a partnering child welfare agency's broader, comprehensive plan for workforce capacity-building. For example, an applicant, in partnership with its County child welfare agency, may propose to offer BSW or MSW traineeships as a tool to recruit and prepare new child welfare professionals for work with children and families in underserved rural communities. By contrast, another applicant might propose to offer MSW traineeship stipends to current American Indian child welfare supervisors to support the development and retention of qualified and underrepresented native professionals in its partnering State and Tribal agencies. The Workforce Institute and CB may choose to target particular degree candidates, types of professionals, or minority populations to address critical workforce needs when developing the sub-grant program announcement.

In addition to serving as means to address specific agencies' workforce challenges, sub-grants are also intended to encourage applying institutions of higher education to develop and improve their child welfare training curricula and programs. The Workforce Institute will award sub-grants to applicants that are prepared to provide competency-based child welfare training that places emphasis on developing critical knowledge, values, and skills that are necessary to respond to complex problems confronting children and families in the child welfare system.

5. PEER NETWORKING

The Workforce Institute will capitalize on networking activities begun by the 17-month National Child Welfare Leadership Institute and will collaborate closely with Information Gateway to utilize the "Child Welfare Workforce Connection," an online community of practice funded by CB to facilitate mentoring and workforce dialogue. (The Child Welfare Workforce Connection's registration page is available at: http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/workforce/connection.cfm).

The Workforce Institute will coordinate peer networking for the purpose of sharing information that will increase understanding of the workforce and leadership issues, promote problem-solving, and encourage the exchange of lessons learned and promising practices in the field. Peer networking activities are intended to provide ongoing mentoring and support for Institute participants and to promote a national discourse on child welfare leadership and workforce issues. Applicants will propose an approach for the development and ongoing facilitation of one or more peer networks for Institute participants, collaborating partners, key stakeholders and the larger child welfare workforce to achieve these networking goals.

6. COLLABORATION

Because the Workforce Institute will be funded under a cooperative agreement, the successful applicant must partner closely with CB to meet program goals and accomplish the objectives of its work plan. In addition, the Workforce Institute is expected to be an integral member of CB's T/TA Network. (A description of the Network is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/tta/index.htm#technical.) As such, the Institute will be immediately responsible for initiating strong collaborative partnerships with all current members of the T/TA Network, including the Child Welfare NRCs, Information Gateway, and CB's National Quality Improvement Centers.  

The Workforce Institute must also immediately collaborate with those institutions awarded the four Comprehensive Workforce projects (Priority Area II under this program announcement). The Workforce Institute and the four Workforce projects will share information, plan and coordinate evaluation activities (described in this announcement under "EVALUATION"), and provide mutual consultation. As part of its cooperative agreement with CB, each Comprehensive Workforce project will administer its own BSW and/or MSW traineeship program. These separate traineeship programs will be similar in structure and design to those awarded by the Workforce Institute to its sub-grantees (as described in this priority area under "SUB-GRANTS FOR MSW AND BSW TRAINEESHIPS"). While the Institute will not be responsible for the oversight and management of the Workforce project traineeships, the Workforce Institute is expected to collaborate with the four Workforce projects and CB to develop common guidelines for administration and implementation of the professional education stipends.

ACF Regional Offices as well as State and Tribal child welfare agencies will be necessary partners for the successful implementation of the Workforce Institute's activities. Regional Offices and agencies will be consulted to secure support for the Institute's activities and to assess the value and validity of training content. The Workforce Institute will also pursue and establish partnerships with other key stakeholders, institutions, and national associations with whom it shares mutual goals. 

Applicants must describe a plan for securing and maintaining these collaborative partnerships. In addition to providing evidence of key partnerships that applicants have already established prior to announcement of the award, applicants will identify prospective partners, describe the nature of the collaboration desired, propose the role and/or function of the partners in this collaboration, and explain how collaborative activities will be facilitated and sustainable partnerships fostered. Applicants must also explain how they will secure commitments from public, private (if under contract with the State or County child welfare agency), and/or Tribal child welfare agencies that will ensure the participation of targeted professionals.

7. DISSEMINATION

The Workforce Institute is expected to play a critical role in the dissemination of evidence-based, effective, and promising workforce practices. As a center for leadership training across the entire national child welfare workforce, the Workforce Institute will occupy a unique niche in the T/TA Network and the portfolio of CB's capacity-building and knowledge development efforts. Unlike the Child Welfare NRCs that have been designed to provide technical assistance and other services to courts and public and Tribal child welfare systems and agencies, the Workforce Institute's primary clients are individual child welfare professionals and the child welfare workforce as a whole. The Workforce Institute, for example, will have direct access to middle managers to share new information, innovative practices, and evaluation findings from recent and ongoing CB grant projects, and the Workforce Institute will facilitate an ongoing dialogue with leaders across the national child welfare workforce via its peer networking strategies. The Workforce Institute will be well positioned to serve as a center of timely national dissemination.

In this unique role, the Workforce Institute will be responsible for facilitating discussion with CB, Information Gateway, the NRC for Organizational Improvement, the Advisory Board (described in this priority area under "NATIONAL CHILD WELFARE WORKFORCE ADVISORY BOARD"), and other partners, about the marketing and dissemination of workforce products. CB expects this dialogue to jointly assess the current availability and accessibility of workforce resources and tools and to yield a strategic and coordinated dissemination plan that will increase the utilization of effective and promising workforce practices. The Workforce Institute will consider the best use of online and other technologies and leverage its dissemination approach with existing systems and resources (i.e. the Child Welfare Workforce Connection) where appropriate.

Applicants will propose a preliminary dissemination plan based on their knowledge of the target populations, child welfare systems, and the field. Proposals may include a variety of methods for sharing information and spreading effective and promising practices. 

8. EVALUATION

The Workforce Institute will conduct a rigorous evaluation, using multiple measures to document and determine the effectiveness of the Workforce Institute's processes and major areas of activity. The Workforce Institute is expected to employ both qualitative and quantitative methods in its evaluation of process and outcome measures. If feasible, CB expects the Workforce Institute to include in its evaluation plan one or more appropriate comparison groups for evaluating the effect of its leadership training activities, including those for middle managers and supervisors. Applicants have considerable flexibility to propose an evaluation plan for the Workforce Institute that will contribute to and promote evidence-based strategies, practices, and programs.

In addition to the evaluation of its own activities, the Workforce Institute will also be responsible for facilitating and implementing cross-site evaluation activities.

Cross-site Evaluation of BSW and MSW Traineeships

In awarding sub-grants for professional education traineeships (as described in this priority area under "SUB-GRANTS FOR MSW AND BSW TRAINEESHIPS"), the Workforce Institute will develop and execute a cross-site evaluation plan to determine the effectiveness of CB's stipend programs. The cross-site evaluation plan will be developed in coordination with the traineeship programs and in consultation with CB. CB expects all traineeship programs funded by CB under Section 426 (a)(1)(C) of the Social Security Act to participate in the cross-site evaluation.  Therefore, each of the four traineeship programs implemented by the four Workforce projects will also be included in planning and implementation. To the extent feasible and appropriate, comparison groups will be used to evaluate the influence of traineeships on workforce outcomes. CB expects results from this cross-site evaluation to provide practical information to stakeholders including the institutions of higher education delivering the stipends and their partnering child welfare agencies.

Coordinated Evaluation of Comprehensive Workforce Grants

Concurrent with the award of the Workforce Institute (Priority Area I), CB will award four Workforce projects (Priority Area II) - all with project periods beginning in October 2008. Each of the four Workforce projects will address issues that are unique and specific to the workforce needs of their partnering child welfare agencies. The Workforce Institute in consultation with CB and the Workforce projects will assess the feasibility of developing common evaluation methods and measures across the four projects. The Workforce Institute is not expected to develop and implement a cross-site evaluation plan across the four sites. However, the Workforce Institute will help guide the four grantees to consensus on common evaluation components that can be incorporated, where appropriate, into each site's larger evaluation plan. CB expects the Workforce Institute's facilitation of this process to increase the likelihood that evaluation activities across all of the National Child Welfare Workforce Initiatives (Priority Areas I and II) will complement each other and ultimately provide meaningful information to grantees, their partnering child welfare agencies, and the field. Findings from the Workforce projects' project-specific evaluations and any cross-site methodology and analysis of common measures will be presented at a national conference at the end of the five-year project period.

CB expects that all of the Workforce Institute's evaluation plans will be as rigorous as possible while taking into consideration the limitations of the project budget, feasibility of implementation, and appropriateness of approach. Findings are intended to increase the knowledge of the field and to yield practical information that support program improvement.

In developing its evaluation plans, the Workforce Institute may be required to address Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements regarding data collection. Applicants should propose specific evaluation questions, appropriate methods (e.g., written surveys, questionnaires, conference calls, focus groups, and unstructured telephone or in-person interviews), and realistic timeframes.

Specific Tasks to Be Performed by the Workforce Institute During the Planning and Implementation Phases

Each applicant under Priority Area I is required to submit a design (with accompanying Gantt chart) that clearly and concisely describes a strategy for planning and implementing the Workforce Institute's activities. Due to the nature of its tasks, the Workforce Institute will not be required to organize all of its activities into a single planning phase and subsequent implementation phase. Applicants must propose appropriate timelines for planning and implementation specific to each of the major activity areas. For example, some of the Workforce Institute's planning phases for cross-site evaluation are contingent upon the preparedness of other grant recipients to participate in the process of evaluation design. Each applicant is encouraged to be familiar with the approximate dates in the table below when developing its schedule of proposed activities.

Thoughtful planning is a necessary prerequisite to successful implementation of the Workforce Institute's activities. While ongoing revision of implementation strategies may be appropriate later in the project period, CB requires that initial planning phases for the Institute's major activity areas will be completed within 6 to 12 months. The implementation phases for the Workforce Institute's major activities will be 48 to 54 months in duration. During the final six months of the project, the Workforce Institute will compile evaluation data, present findings at a national conference hosted by the four Workforce projects, and prepare final reports to CB. 

Applicants under Priority Area I are required in this application to present preliminary plans for both planning and implementation activities over the course of the project period. Proposals will include plans for each of the Workforce Institute's major activity areas. Immediately after the award, and prior to implementation, the applicant's planning work plan will be subject to review, revision, and final approval by CB.

Applicants are also expected to describe the processes that will be used during their planning activities to revise their implementation plans; and address anticipated implementation, logistical and administrative issues. A revised implementation plan for each of the Workforce Institute's major activity areas will be due to CB within ten months after the award of the cooperative agreement.  (See the "WORK PLAN" section of this priority area for further guidance about when each activity-specific implementation plan will be due to CB for final review and approval.)

WORK PLAN

The Workforce Institute will be afforded considerable flexibility in developing its strategies to enhance leadership skills and building capacity within the public child welfare field. However, CB expects the Workforce Institute to complete the tasks described in this announcement within the general timeframes indicated below, unless otherwise negotiated and approved. Applicants are encouraged to reference this framework when developing a more detailed design that includes action items specific to the particular processes and activities they propose. 

Applicants that propose alternative planning and implementation timelines must provide sufficient rationale to support the feasibility of these plans. All applicants must explain how their approaches will ensure that all of the program requirements are completed in the project period.

 Tasks to Be Completed Within First 6 Months of Award

ADVISORY BOARD

1. Finalize a plan for the structure, function, and schedule of the Advisory Board.
   
   
2. Identify candidates and recruit and select board membership.

KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT & MANAGEMENT

3. Identify critical competencies and skills necessary for leadership at different levels within the child welfare workforce.
   
   
4. Identify gaps in existing training curricula where critical competencies are not sufficiently addressed.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

5. Work with CB and stakeholders to identify content priorities for leadership training.
   
   
6. Finalize plan for participant recruitment and selection.

SUB-GRANTS FOR MSW AND BSW TRAINEESHIPS

7. Develop a program announcement for sub-grants.
   
   
8. Plan and implement the competitive application and review process.

COLLABORATION

9. Establish/strengthen relationships with key partners including members of the T/TA Network and each of the four Workforce projects.

EVALUATION

10. Draft a preliminary plan for cross-site evaluation of the BSW and MSW traineeships.
    
    
11. Finalize a timeline with the Workforce projects to design a coordinated evaluation of the four projects.
    
    
12. Finalize the evaluation design for the Workforce Institute's activities.

Tasks to Be Initiated By Month 7 of Award

ADVISORY BOARD

1. Facilitate regular meetings and activities of the Advisory Board.

KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT

2. Develop strategies to address the gaps identified in existing curricula and training materials.
   
   
3. Collect training curricula and tools and assess their quality and appropriateness for national audiences.
   
   
4. Manage the organization and accessibility of workforce resources in collaboration with the Information Gateway.

SUB-GRANTS FOR MSW AND BSW TRAINEESHIPS

5. Award sub-grants.
   
   
6. Provide technical assistance to sub-grantees.
   
   
7. Manage and oversee awards.

DISSEMINATION

8. Create new and/or improve existing systems of dissemination.

EVALUATION

9. Develop and test evaluation instruments, as necessary, prior to implementation.
   

Tasks to Be Completed Within First 12 Months of Award

ADVISORY BOARD

1. Establish and convene the Advisory Board.

KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT & MANAGEMENT

2. Identify gaps in existing curricula and training materials where critical competencies and CB content priorities are not sufficiently addressed.
   
3. Finalize a plan for managing the organization and accessibility of workforce resources on Information Gateway.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

4. Review curricula, products, resources, and findings from 17-month National Child Welfare Leadership Institute.
   
   
5. Design models of national leadership training that are targeted, at a minimum, to child welfare middle managers and supervisors.
   
   
6. Finalize regional and distance learning approach(es) and plans for implementation.

PEER NETWORKING

7. Finalize a plan for peer networking activities to provide mentoring and support for Workforce Institute participants.
   
   
8. Finalize a plan with Information Gateway for the utilization of the Child Welfare Workforce Connection and other resources to facilitate national workforce dialogue.

COLLABORATION

9. Establish relationships with ACF Regional Offices, targeted child welfare agencies, and other stakeholders.
   
   
10. Finalize plan to secure child welfare agency support for Institute's leadership training and other activities.

DISSEMINATION

11. Finalize a plan for engaging stakeholders in the development of a coordinated and strategic approach to dissemination of effective and promising workforce practices.
    
    
12. Convene dissemination end users/stakeholders.

EVALUATION

13. Design and finalize a cross-site evaluation plan with participating institutions (including sub-grantees and the four Workforce projects) for BSW and MSW traineeships.
    
    
14. Finalize a plan with the Workforce projects for the coordinated evaluation of their projects.

Tasks to Be Initiated By Month 13 of Award

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

1. Recruit and select participants. (Note: All participants must be approved by CB.)
   
   
2. Provide regional leadership training to child welfare middle managers.
   
   
3. Provide leadership training to child welfare supervisors through distance learning approaches.

PEER NETWORKING

4. Facilitate the activities of one or more peer mentor networks.
   
   
5. Facilitate national dialogue via the Child Welfare Workforce Connection.

COLLABORATION

6. Implement collaborative activities and foster ongoing partnerships.

DISSEMINATION

7. Disseminate information, best and promising practices, evaluation findings, and products.

EVALUATION

8. Implement evaluation plans and their respective activities.
   
   
9. Collect and analyze data, and periodically report to CB, participating programs, and the field on findings.

 Tasks to Be Completed in Final 6 Months of Award

SUB-GRANTS FOR MSW AND BSW TRAINEESHIPS

1. Closeout sub-grants.

DISSEMINATION

2. Provide CB and key stakeholders with the Workforce Institute's final products and evaluation reports.
   
   
3. Present evaluation findings in collaboration with the Workforce projects at a national dissemination conference.

EVALUATION

4. Write final evaluation reports for the Workforce Institute's activities and the cross-site evaluation activities.

Travel for Meetings, Conferences, and Presentations

Approximately six weeks after the award of the cooperative agreement, the project director of the Workforce Institute, the project evaluator, and representatives of other key partners, if applicable, will be required to attend a one-day meeting with the Federal project officer and other Federal staff in Washington, D.C. This meeting is to review and approve activities and planning timelines in year 1 of the award and to clarify expectations for the project.

Approximately 10 months after award of the cooperative agreements, the Workforce Institute project director, the project evaluator, and representatives from its key partners, if applicable, must make an oral presentation to CB staff in Washington, D.C., describing and supporting its implementation plans for each of the major areas of activity.

The applicant's budget for the first 12-month budget period should include anticipated costs for these two meetings, as well as costs for two key staff persons, to attend CB's annual grantee meeting, usually held in the winter or spring in Washington, D.C. The purposes of this meeting are for CB grantees to network, discuss lessons learned, and meet with their assigned Federal Project Officer for monitoring purposes. In years 2 through 5 of the cooperative agreement, the Workforce Institute is required to send the project director and the project evaluator to the annual grantee meeting.

In addition, as a member of the T/TA Network, the Workforce Institute's project director or another designated representative will attend T/TA Network meetings held twice annually in the Washington, D.C. metro area over the duration of the 5-year project period. All expenses related to attendance at these 2-day meetings should also be included in the applicant's proposed budget.

Project Requirements

The acceptance of funds for projects responsive to this announcement will signify the applicant's assurance that it will comply with the following requirements:

Regional Accessibility

So that leaders from all around the country can conveniently participate in Workforce Institute activities and build networks, the Institute will be a national project whose training activities will be conducted regionally and/or made nationally accessible via interactive technology. In-person, regional leadership training for middle managers (as described in this priority area under "LEADERSHIP TRAINING") must be delivered in each of the following five ACF regional pairings: Regions I and II; Regions III and IV; Regions V and VIII; Regions VI and VII; and Regions IX and X. For any additional regional training activities, applicants may propose a regional configuration consisting of contiguous States or counties. Applicants, however, are encouraged to consider the configuration of the ten regions established by ACF either individually or in the pairings described above. If a different configuration is proposed, then the rationale for that design must be justified in detail. Applicants should note that when proposing locations for regional Workforce Institute activities, CB expects that the activities will be held in the cities where the ACF Regional Offices are located (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle). CB does not require that all ACF Regional Office locations be used, but all regional activities must be held in these cities.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

Substantial Involvement with Cooperative Agreement:

A cooperative agreement is a specific method of awarding Federal assistance in which substantial Federal involvement is anticipated. A cooperative agreement clearly defines the respective responsibilities of the Children's Bureau and the grantee prior to the award. The Children's Bureau anticipates that agency involvement will produce programmatic benefits to the recipient otherwise unavailable to them for carrying out the project. The involvement and collaboration includes:

• Children's Bureau review and approval of planning stages of the activities before implementation phases may begin;
  
  
• Children's Bureau involvement in the establishment of policies and procedures that maximize open competition, and rigorous and impartial development, review and funding of cooperative agreement or sub-grant activities, if applicable;
  
  
• Children's Bureau and recipient joint collaboration in the performance of key programmatic activities (i.e., strategic planning, implementation, information technology enhancements, T/TA, publications or products, and evaluation);
  
  
• Close monitoring by the Children's Bureau of the requirements stated in this announcement that limit the grantee's discretion with respect to scope of services offered, organizational structure and management processes; and
  
  
• Close Children's Bureau monitoring during performance, which may, in order to ensure compliance with the intent of this funding, exceed those Federal stewardship responsibilities customary for grant activities.

Explanation of Other:

An applicant may apply in one or both priority areas described in this announcement. If an applicant chooses to apply for an award in each priority area, a separate and complete application must be submitted for each priority area.

In the first budget period, the maximum Federal share of a project under Priority I is not to exceed $3,300,000.

Under both priority areas, the project awarded will be for a project period of 60 months. The initial award will be for a 12-month budget period. The award of continuation beyond each 12-month budget period will be subject to the availability of funds, satisfactory progress on the part of the awardee, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the Federal Government.

Awards under this announcement are subject to the availability of funds.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants:

• Public and State-controlled institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
• Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)

Eligible applicants are expected to possess relevant expertise in child welfare workforce issues and professional leadership training.  In addition, eligible applicants must have the necessary knowledge and expertise to provide culturally informed and responsive training to child welfare professionals that work in State, County, and Tribal systems serving diverse and overrepresented groups of children and families. CB encourages partnerships between institutions to secure this expertise if necessary.

Consortia of the eligible institutions of higher education described above are encouraged to apply, and Collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts are encouraged, but applications must identify a primary applicant responsible for administering the grant. The primary applicant must be one of the entities listed under "Eligible Applicants", above.

Foreign entities are not eligible under this announcement.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Yes

Grantees are required to meet a non-Federal share of the project costs. Grantees must provide at least 10 percent of the total approved cost for the project, excluding $990,000 restricted for the award of sub-grants, as described in Priority Area I. The total approved cost of the project is the sum of the ACF share and the non-Federal share. 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.

For example, in order to meet its match requirements, an applicant requesting $3,300,000 in ACF funds must provide a non-Federal share of at least $256,667. The non-Federal share is 10 percent of the total project costs excluding sub-grant funds. This project total is calculated by dividing the requested Federal share excluding those funds restricted for sub-grants by the divisor .90 and then adding the Federal share dedicated to sub-grants.

Grantees will be held accountable for commitments of non-Federal resources even if they exceed the amount of the required match. Failure to provide the required amount will result in the disallowance of Federal funds. A lack of supporting documentation at the time of application will not exclude the application from competitive review.

Indirect Charges. If claiming indirect costs, provide documentation that the applicant currently has an indirect cost-rate approved by HHS or another cognizant Federal agency.

The applicant's Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate must be appropriate for the nature and location of the proposed activities. Based on the required activities described in this priority area, a "research" F&A rate will not be accepted.   

The applicant's F&A rate must also only be applied on the basis of its modified total direct costs as described under Section G.2. in OMB Circular A-21. Under this priority area, the applicant's calculation of F&A costs must take into account that a minimum of $990,000 is restricted for the award of sub-grants to other institutions for professional education traineeships

3. Other:

Disqualification Factors

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

1. Address to Request Application Package:

2. Content and Form of Application Submission:

An applicant may apply in one or both priority areas described in this announcement. If an applicant chooses to apply for an award in each priority area, a separate and complete application must be submitted for each priority area.

Each application must contain the following items in the order listed:

Application for Federal Assistance. (Standard Form (SF) 424). Follow the instructions that accompany the form.

Budget Information. Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) and Budget Justification. Follow the instructions that accompany the form and those in Section V, Application Review Information. Note that Federal funds provided to States and services or other resources purchased with Federal funds may not be used to match project awards.

Certifications/Assurances. See Forms, Assurances, and Certifications below.

Project Summary/Abstract (one page maximum, double spaced). Clearly mark this page with the applicant name as shown on SF-424, identify the program announcement and the title of the proposed project as shown on SF-424 and the service area as shown on SF-424. The summary description should not exceed 300 words.

Care should be taken to produce a summary/abstract that accurately and concisely reflects the proposed project. It should describe the objectives of the project, the approach to be used, and the results or benefits expected.

The Project Description. Applicants should organize their project description in this sequence: 1) Objectives and Need for Assistance; 2) Approach; 3) Evaluation; 4) Organizational Profiles; and 5) Budget and Budget Justification.  

Non-Federal Resources (if applicable). Provide a letter of commitment verifying the actual amount of the non-Federal share of project costs (see Sections III.2 and V).

Indirect Charges. If claiming indirect costs, provide documentation that the applicant currently has an indirect cost-rate approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or another cognizant Federal agency.

Third Party Agreements. If applicable, include a letter of commitment or Memorandum of Understanding from each partner and/or sub-contractor describing their role, detailing specific project tasks to be performed, and expressing commitment to participate if the proposed project is funded. Note: General letters of support are not required and are not considered under the evaluation criteria.

Staff and Position Data.  Include job descriptions, and curricula vitae and/or resumes for proposed project key staff.

Page Limit. 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 and curricula vitae.

General Content and Form Information. To be considered for funding, each application must be submitted with the Standard Federal Forms (provided at the end of this announcement or through the electronic links provided) and following the guidance provided. The application must be signed by an individual authorized to act for the applicant agency and to assume responsibility for the obligations imposed by the terms and conditions of the award.

The application must be typed, double spaced, printed on only one side, with at least 1-inch margins on each side and 1 inch at the top and bottom, using standard 12-Point fonts (such as Times New Roman or Courier). All pages must be numbered. When spacing, margins, and font instructions are not followed, excess pages will be removed and will not be reviewed.

All copies of an application must be submitted in a single package, and a separate package must be submitted for each funding opportunity. The package must be clearly labeled for the specific funding opportunity it is addressing.

Because each application will be duplicated, do not use or include separate covers, binders, clips, tabs, plastic inserts, maps, brochures, or any other items that cannot be processed easily on a photocopy machine with an automatic feed. Do not bind, clip, staple, or fasten in any way separate subsections of the application, including supporting documentation. Use a clip (not a staple) to securely bind the application together. Applicants are advised that the copies of the application submitted, not the original, will be reproduced by the Federal Government for review.

Tips for Preparing a Competitive Application. It is essential that applicants read the entire announcement package carefully before preparing an application and include all of the required application forms and attachments. The application must reflect a thorough understanding of and support the purpose and objectives of the applicable legislation.  Reviewers expect applicants to understand the goals of the legislation and CB's interest in each topic. A "responsive application" is one that addresses and follows all of the evaluation criteria in ways that demonstrate this understanding. Applications that are considered to be "unresponsive" or do not clearly address the evaluation criteria or program requirements generally receive very low scores and are rarely funded.

CB's website (http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb) provides a wide range of information and links to other relevant websites. Before preparing an application, applicants can learn more about CB's mission and programs by exploring the website.

Organizing the Application. Reviewers will use the specific evaluation criteria in Section V of this funding announcement to review and evaluate each application. The applicant should address each of these specific evaluation criteria in the project description. Applicants should organize their project description in this sequence: 1) Objectives and Need for Assistance; 2) Approach; 3) Evaluation; 4) Organizational Profiles; and 5) Budget and Budget Justification. The applicant must use the same headings as these criteria, so that reviewers can readily find information that directly addresses each of the specific review criteria.

Logic Model. A logic model is a tool that presents the conceptual framework for a proposed project and explains the linkages among program elements. While there are many versions of the logic model, they generally summarize the logical connections among the needs that are the focus of the project, project goals and objectives, the target population, project inputs (resources), the proposed activities/processes/outputs directed toward the target population, the expected short- and long-term outcomes the initiative is designed to achieve, and the evaluation plan for measuring the extent to which proposed processes and outcomes actually occur. Information on the development of logic models is available on the Internet at http://childwelfare.gov/preventing/developing/toolkit/.

Evaluation. Project evaluations are very important. If the applicant does not have the in-house capacity to conduct an objective, comprehensive evaluation of the project, then the Children's Bureau advises that the applicant contract with a third-party evaluator specializing in social science or evaluation, or a university or college, to conduct the evaluation.  In either case, it is important that the evaluator has the necessary independence from the project to assure objectivity. A skilled evaluator can help develop a logic model and assist in designing an evaluation strategy that is rigorous and appropriate given the goals and objectives of the proposed project. Additional assistance may be found in a document titled "Program Manager's Guide to Evaluation."  A copy of this document can be accessed at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/other_resrch/pm_guide_eval/reports/pmguide/pmguide_toc.html.

Protection of Human Subjects. Evaluation plans that include obtaining identifiable private information about clients may involve non-exempt human subjects research and require compliance with the HHS Protection of Human Subjects regulations (45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 46). Applicants proposing such research are asked to describe: (a) the procedures for protecting the privacy of clients and ensuring the confidentiality of data collected about clients; and (b) the process for obtaining institutional review board (IRB) review of the proposed evaluation plans. While IRB approval is not required at the time of award, applicants proposing non-exempt human subjects research will be required, as a condition of award, to hold a Federal-wide Assurance (FWA) approved by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and to provide certification to ACF that an IRB designated under the FWA has reviewed and approved the research prior to enrolling any subjects in the proposed evaluation. Certifications of IRB approval may be submitted to ACF using the form at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/assurance/OF310.rtf.

General information about the HHS Protection of Human Subjects regulations can be obtained at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp. Applicants may also contact OHRP by email (ohrp@csophs.dhhs.gov) or by phone (240-453-6900).

D-U-N-S Requirement

Forms, Assurances, and Certifications

3. Submission Dates and Times:

Due Date for Applications: 06/05/2008

Explanation of Due Dates

Receipt acknowledgement for application packages will not be provided to applicants who submit their package via mail, courier services, or by hand delivery.   Applicants will receive an electronic acknowledgement for applications that are submitted via http://www.Grants.gov.

Checklist

You may use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package.

4. Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs:

State Single Point of Contact (SPOC)

5. Funding Restrictions:

Costs of organized fund raising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, are unallowable.

Construction and purchase of real property are not allowable activities or expenditures under this grant award.

In reviewing the budget and budget justification, reviewers will consider the extent to which: 

1. The costs of the proposed project are clearly presented for each of the five years, and they are reasonable, thoroughly justified, and appropriate in view of the activities to be conducted and expected results and benefits.

2. The applicant budget includes the required match and designates sufficient funds to meet program requirements for professional education traineeship sub-grants (see Section III.2).
   
   
3. The applicant's fiscal controls and accounting procedures are likely to ensure prudent use, proper and timely disbursement, and accurate accounting of funds received under this program announcement.

In reviewing the objectives and need for assistance, reviewers will consider the extent to which:  

The applicant identifies one or more public, private, and/or Tribal child welfare agency partners. 

The applicant has selected appropriate child welfare agency partner(s) for the purpose and goals of this announcement. 

The applicant demonstrates a thorough understanding of its partnering child welfare agency's workforce challenges and needs.  

The applicant presents a concise preliminary assessment (as described in "COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT") of the partnering child welfare agency's demographic characteristics and workforce practices. 

Citing relevant data and/or previous workforce findings, analyses, and planning, the applicant identifies key strengths and challenges and examines its partner's current workforce practices in the areas of recruitment, training, supervision, management, and retention.

The applicant references the Training System Assessment Guide for Child Welfare Agencies in its preliminary assessment and describes its partnering child welfare agency's performance on some of the guide's specific indicators related to training systems for effective case/clinical practice, supervisory practice, internal managerial practice, and/or external managerial practice.

The applicant provides sufficient evidence to demonstrate the need for a comprehensive workforce grant for the purpose of building workforce capacity and facilitating systemic change. 

The proposal clearly links workforce data (i.e., workforce demographics, rates of turnover, average duration of employment, worker satisfaction, workload, frequency of training and supervision, percentage of workers with relevant academic credentials) to the objectives of the project.

The applicant demonstrates an understanding of the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Workforce Grants, and the applicant presents a clear, concise, and appropriate vision for the role of its Workforce project in larger efforts to improve outcomes for children and promoting sustainable systems change in the targeted child welfare system. 

The applicant clearly describes its activities, identifies its target population(s), and presents a clear and reasonable statement of goals (the intended end products of an effective project) and objectives (measurable steps for reaching these goals) for the proposed project.

The applicant's goals and objectives are based on a thorough understanding of the characteristics of its clients and the contexts in which services will be delivered.

The applicant clearly and persuasively explains how the proposed project will contribute to achieving the goals of the authorizing legislation and the intent of the initiative. 

The applicant's vision is well aligned with principles described in the background section of this program announcement.

Citing sufficient and appropriate research, literature, and/or other evidence to support its information, the applicant demonstrates a clear understanding of current best practices and promising approaches as it relates to recruiting, training, and retaining a competent workforce.

This knowledge sets a sound context and rationale for the proposed activities, and the application provides evidence that the proposed project, if successfully implemented and evaluated, is likely to yield findings or results that may be used by other agencies and organizations interested in improving the recruitment, training, and retention of a competent workforce. 

The lessons learned through the proposed project would benefit policy and practice.

The proposed project is likely to build an infrastructure of collaborative partnerships and information networks that would strengthen the child welfare workforce.

APPROACH - 40 points

In reviewing the approach, reviewers will consider the extent to which:  

1. The applicant presents a sound and feasible Phase I (Planning) plan consistent with the expectations described in Priority Area II of this announcement and which meets the following criteria.

1. The applicant identifies key collaborators and stakeholders and clearly explains how and why these partners would be critical to the success of the project. The applicant presents a convincing plan for engaging these partners and for effectively utilizing these collaborators in the further development of the project design.

2. The applicant proposes a thorough and convincing plan for conducting, completing, and/or expanding its comprehensive assessment with its partners. The proposal includes a clear and reasonable explanation for the methods and assessment tools selected to date, a sensible process for selecting any additional assessment instruments, and a sound approach for completing the comprehensive assessment following award of the cooperative agreement.

3. The applicant clearly describes how it intends to revise and finalize its comprehensive workforce plan, including its professional education traineeship program, after the date of award.

4. The applicant presents a sound explanation for how it will further revise its project-specific evaluation plan for the project.

5. The applicant demonstrates a strong commitment to participating in the identification and/or development of common evaluation components across the Workforce projects and the planning and implementation of a cross-site evaluation for the professional education traineeships.

2. The applicant presents a sound and feasible preliminary Comprehensive Workforce Plan consistent with the expectations described in this announcement that meets the following criteria.

1. The applicant provides a clear description and sound justification for each activity that it proposes to implement.  The proposed activities are reasonable based on findings from the applicant's initial comprehensive workforce assessment, and if successfully implemented, the activities are likely to successfully address the specific needs and challenges of the targeted child welfare system.

2. The applicant's plan for its professional education stipend program is well-integrated into its comprehensive workforce approach.

   The applicant describes in detail its initial plans for the stipend program, including to whom the program will be targeted, the type(s) of degree(s) to be awarded, and the objectives of the program. 

   The applicant's plans for its traineeships are designed to improve the academic institution's child welfare training curricula and programs to better serve the needs of its students and child welfare partners.

   The applicant's plan for the award and administration of the professional education traineeships is sound. 

3. The applicant's explanation of how each activity will be implemented is thorough, sound, and feasible.
   
4. The applicant describes reasonable administrative and management structures for ensuring that project activities are implemented over the course of the project period and changes are sustained beyond the period of Federal funding.
   

5. The applicant clearly describes the roles key stakeholders and partners would play in the execution of the comprehensive workforce plan.

6. The applicant sufficiently demonstrates that its approach is comprehensive, and why, if successfully implemented, the approach can reasonably be expected to result in systemic and sustainable change.

3. The applicant describes feasible and appropriate strategies for timely information sharing and the practical dissemination of project findings to its partners, stakeholders, and the field.
    

   The applicant's proposal includes plans throughout the 5-year project period that would strengthen communication and coordination activities with the Workforce Institute, Information Gateway, and the rest of CB's T/TA Network. 

   The proposal includes reasonable preliminary plans for convening a national dissemination conference. 

   The applicant's dissemination activities are likely to lead to the further improvement of workforce practice and policies of its partnering child welfare agency and other audiences to which its presentations, materials, and/or products are targeted.

4. The applicant has included in its application a well-organized, one-page logic model that clearly links (a) demographics/attributes of the agency's workforce, systemic problems, needs, or conditions, and current recruitment and retention practices; (b) inputs/resources; (c) effective, promising, and innovative practices or strategies to be implemented; (d) outputs; and (e) short- and long-term outcomes. 
   
   

   The logic model effectively illustrates the project's approach.

5. In its Gantt Chart and narrative, the applicant proposes a sound timeline for effectively implementing the proposed project, including major milestones and target dates. 
   
   

   The proposed project can reasonably be expected to complete all the proposed activities within the five-year project time frame.

EVALUATION - 20 points

In reviewing the evaluation plans, reviewers will consider the extent to which:  

1. The applicant presents a sound and feasible preliminary project-specific Evaluation Plan, consistent with the expectations described in this announcement, which meets the following criteria.

   1. The applicant clearly states appropriate evaluation questions to determine the effectiveness of its project's processes, activities, and practices.

      The applicant's approach includes plans to measure achievement of project objectives, customer and/or stakeholder satisfaction, and the effectiveness of program services and project strategies (including the effect of professional education traineeship stipends). 

   2. The applicant provides a convincing rationale for its choice of evaluation questions and clearly describes how findings from the evaluation will be practically useful for participating agencies, stakeholders, and the field.
      

   3. The applicant adequately describes its evaluation design and methodology, including a description of how appropriate qualitative and quantitative process and outcome data will be collected and analyzed.

   4. The applicant identifies appropriate roles that key stakeholders and partners will play in the execution of the project-specific evaluation plan.

2. The applicant demonstrates a commitment to fully participate in cross-site evaluation development and implementation activities with the Workforce Institute and other three Workforce projects. 

3. The applicant proposes methods of evaluation that will provide performance feedback, support periodic assessment of project progress and provide a sound basis for project adjustments.

4. The applicant's proposed evaluation plan is likely to yield useful findings or results about effective strategies and contribute to and promote evaluation research and evidence-based practices that could be used to guide replication or testing in other settings.

5. The applicant presents a sound plan for documenting project activities and results, including a plan for data collection that is sufficient to support a methodologically sound and rigorous evaluation. 
   
   

   Relevant data will be collected, and the applicant has a sound plan for securing informed consent and implementing an IRB review, if applicable.

6. The applicant's proposed evaluator(s) has sufficient experience with research and/or evaluation, understands the population(s) and systems of interest, and demonstrates the necessary independence from the projects to assure objectivity.

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILES - 15 points

In reviewing the evaluation plans, reviewers will consider the extent to which:  

1. The applicant demonstrates sufficient and relevant experience and expertise in administration, development, implementation, management, and evaluation of similar projects. 
   
   

   The applicant and its partners and contractors, if applicable, possess experience and expertise in child welfare, training, leadership, organizational culture and climate issues, and child welfare workforce challenges. 

   Each participating organization (including partners and/or contractors) possesses the organizational capability to fulfill its assigned role and function effectively.

2. The applicant's proposed project director and key project staff possess sufficient and relevant knowledge, experience and capabilities to implement and manage a project of this size, scope and complexity effectively. 
   
   

   Key personnel possess appropriate experience and expertise in child welfare, training, leadership, organizational culture and organizational climate issues, and child welfare workforce challenges that are applicable to their assigned roles and responsibilities. 

   The role, responsibilities and time commitments of each proposed project staff position, including consultants, contractors and/or partners, are clearly defined and appropriate to the successful implementation of the proposed project.

3. The applicant presents a sound management plan for achieving the objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined responsibilities for accomplishing project tasks and ensuring quality. 
   
   

   The plan clearly describes the effective management and coordination of activities carried out by any partners, contractors and consultants, if applicable.

4. The applicant's proposed project will be engaged in a mutually beneficial relationship with related child welfare capacity-building work planned, anticipated or underway with Federal assistance by the applicant.
   
   
5. The applicant has secured commitments from its key partners. 
   
   

   The application includes appropriate Memorandum(s) of Understanding (MOU) from required child welfare agency partner(s) as well as MOUs or letters of commitment from other key partnering organization(s) as appropriate.

BUDGET AND BUDGET JUSTIFICATION - 5 points

In reviewing the evaluation plans, reviewers will consider the extent to which:  

1. The costs of the proposed project are clearly presented for each of the five years, and are reasonable and appropriate, in view of the activities to be conducted and expected results and benefits.
   
   
2. The applicant's budget includes the required match and designates sufficient funds to meet program requirements for the professional education traineeship (see Section III.2).
   
   
3. The applicant's fiscal controls and accounting procedures are likely to ensure prudent use, proper and timely disbursement, and accurate accounting of funds received under this program announcement.
   

2. Review and Selection Process:

Initial ACF Screening: Each application will be screened to determine whether it was received by the closing date and time and whether the requested amount exceeds the stated ceiling. Late applications or those exceeding the funding limit will be returned to the applicants with a notation that they were unacceptable and will not be reviewed.

A panel of at least three reviewers (primarily experts from outside the Federal government) will use the evaluation criteria described in this announcement to evaluate each application. The reviewers will determine the strengths and weaknesses of each application, provide comments about the strengths and weaknesses and give each application a numerical score.

The results of the competitive review are a primary factor in making funding decisions. In addition, Federal staff conducts administrative reviews of the applications and, in light of the results of the competitive review, will recommend applications for funding to the ACYF Commissioner. ACYF reserves the option of discussing applications with other funding sources when this is in the best interest of the Federal government. ACYF may also solicit and consider comments from ACF Regional Office staff in making funding decisions. ACYF may take into consideration the involvement (financial and/or programmatic) of the private sector, national, or State or community foundations; a favorable balance between Federal and non-Federal funds for the proposed project; or the potential for high benefit from low Federal investment. ACYF may elect not to fund any applicants having known management, fiscal, reporting, programmatic, or other problems which make it unlikely that they would be able to provide effective services or effectively complete the proposed activity.

With the results of the peer review and the information from Federal staff, the Commissioner of ACYF makes the final funding decisions. The Commissioner may give special consideration to applications proposing services of special interest to the Government and to achieve geographic distributions of grant awards. Applications of special interest may include, but are not limited to, applications focusing on underserved or inadequately served clients or service areas and programs addressing diverse ethnic populations.

In selecting applicants for award under this announcement the ACYF Commissioner will give priority to applicants located in States that have developed and implemented procedures for expedited termination of parental rights and placement for adoption of infants determined to be abandoned under State law.

Since ACF will be using non-Federal reviewers in the process, applicants have the option of omitting from the application copies (not the original) specific salary rates or amounts for individuals specified in the application budget and Social Security Numbers, if otherwise required for individuals. The copies may include summary salary information.

3. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates:

VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

1. Award Notices:

The successful applicants will be notified through the issuance of a Notice of Award (NoA) document that sets forth the amount of funds granted, the terms and conditions of the grant, the effective date of the grant, the budget period for which initial support will be given, the non-Federal share to be provided (if applicable), and the total project period for which support is contemplated. The NoA will be signed by the Grants Officer and transmitted via postal mail.

Following the finalization of funding decisions, organizations whose applications will not be funded will be notified by letter, signed by the Program Office head.