UWSEM Social Innovation Fund 2016 Full Invitation RFQ FAQ (updated )

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1 UPDATES NOTE: THIS FAQ ADDRESSES ALL QUESTIONS RECEIVED BY THE 5PM, DECEMBER 9 TH, 2016 DEADLINE. IF YOU SUBMITTED NEW QUESTIONS AFTER THE 5PM DEADLINE, THOSE QUESTIONS WILL NOT BE ANSWERED. PLEASE FULLY REVIEW THIS FAQ DOCUMENT AND USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT IN RESPONDING TO THE RFQ. THIS WILL BE THE FINAL FAQ UPDATE. 1. There has been some confusion around the level of evidence that needs to be met to have a parenting program considered to be included in the SIF 2016 Parenting Continuum and that there may be contradictory information between the FAQ and the RFQ. Please see below for clarification. a. All SIF Intermediaries (UWSEM) must fund programming that minimally meets the Preliminary level of evidence. However, following the CNCS model, those programs that demonstrate higher levels of evidence (i.e. moderate) when scored against the CNCS evidence rubric may be given higher priority in selection rounds and future funding rounds. When determining if a parenting program will be included in the final parenting continuum, UWSEM will take into consideration the level of evidence, fit for the SIF 2016 Parenting Continuum, and the final make-up of the portfolio. If you are putting forth a parenting component please fully address the following from the RFQ: If you have an EXISTING evidence-based parenting program (serving parents of children 0-5) that you would like considered for the continuum please describe that program here. Please include why you think it would complement the continuum approach. What would the level of evidence be based off of the rubric? (See Appendix I for the CNCS definitions of evidence-based and how they will be evaluated against these definitions) 2. If we would like to factor in a pay increase for the staff, provided all of the years are the same budget total, is that allowed? a. Yes. 3. Is the nutrition education component mandatory? a. No. 4. If it is not mandatory do we need to be already providing the nutrition service to bid on it? a. No. We will be identifying the nutritional services once the portfolio has been selected. Question 3.7 is about demonstrating your organizational capacity to inform the overall nutrition component conversation an existing program may be used as an example of current expertise. 5. Do we identify a nutrition curriculum now or will it be determined by all the partners? 1

2 Updates a. The nutrition curriculum will be determined by all of the funded partners. Question 3.7 is about demonstrating your organizational capacity to inform the overall nutrition component conversation an existing program may be used as an example of current expertise. Note: In order to ensure a fair and transparent subgrantee selection process, United Way staff cannot respond to questions via any means other than the SIF2016@LiveUnitedSEM.org. Questions submitted after we will now be organizing questions chronologically to make finding your responses easier as we near the close of the RFQ process. 6. We feel we cannot devote the programmatic resources at this time to engaging in the parent training, case management and Family Check-up Model work required under the RFQ, we have decided not to apply to become a grantee. What we can do is leverage our access to a broad number of hard to reach eligible households and begin the process of distributing packs and linking them to program partners. Would we be eligible for participation in the program if another applicant chose to subcontract with our organization? a. All subgrantees may subcontract with other agencies to carry out specific programming pieces of the Continuum, as long as they follow the procurement guidelines laid out in the RFQ. The only mandatory aspects of the parenting continuum that subgrantees must respond to are the Outreach, Recruitment, and Retention component and the Evaluation and Data Collection component. 7. Can we collectively organize finger printing to reduce costs? a. Subgrantees should include these costs as individual agency costs at this time. 8. If fingerprinted for SIF 11, do we need to have staff re-fingerprinted? a. No. The NSCHC is required only once for any person who applies to work or serve in a covered position. If there is a break in service greater than 120 days, then the entire NSCHC must be performed again. 9. What are the criteria from the pre-screening that determines eligibility for SIF a. Eligibility criteria will ultimately need to be agreed to by all Subrecipients and the portfolio evaluator. Currently, we anticipate determining eligibility both based on a family s zip code of residence having a majority of its residents at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, or individual families whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. All participants must reside in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb Counties. 10. Do you want an annual number or a total for the life of the grant? a. Either is fine as long as you clearly indicate that the number is either an annual projection or for the life of the grant. 2

3 11. RFQ Question 1.6: When you ask how many parents we intend to serve, are you referring to individual parents, or families? Are you looking for unduplicated contacts or total number of contacts? a. We would like you to include unduplicated counts of families you will serve. The portfolio and evaluators will determine how these unduplicated counts will be tracked. 12. RFQ Question 3.5: Does the rubric only need to be completed if we're going to use our existing program? Do we still need to complete it if we're using Incredible Years or another evidence-based program? a. Yes, you only need to complete the rubric if the program is one that is outside of the current SIF 2016 programming named in the RFQ (i.e. Incredible Years). 13. If an organization envisioned preparing a proposal to be submitted by a lead agency that named 2-3 partners and had envisioned those partners contributing cash match to the project, is that still possible? CFR makes it sound like we won't be able to select our partners without waiting and issuing a competitive bid after a grant award is made. Please clarify. a. Correct. Unlike SIF 2011, you may not submit an application as a collaborative. You may, however, propose how you would subcontract with partners following the guidelines put forth in CFR to meet the needs of your project. 3 Collaboratives, or multi-agency partnerships formed under a single fiduciary agency, have enjoyed success in our current 2011 SIF work and we hope that agencies will consider these types of relationships for SIF HOWEVER, the SIF rules around the formation of collaboratives have been modified to ensure that the procurement requirements outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations (2 C.F.R ; are met. Failure to meet the procurement requirements outlined in the CFR may result in the recoupment of all funds tied to the contractual relationships that do not meet the requirements for open bids or sole-source justifications. This means that all collaboratives must have a lead agency that performs an open bid for partners, or makes the case for a sole-source justification as described in the CFR. Collaborative partners would be considered sub-contractors of the lead agency for the purposes of the federal requirements. Agencies wishing to form collaboratives would still need to meet all other requirements as laid out in the LOI and RFQ, including the minimum budget and match amount at the time of the award. PLEASE NOTE, sub-contracts may be structured in such a way as to require that sub-contracted partners bring a percentage of the match requirement based on the scope of work to the collaborative. The lead agency will always be responsible for maintaining the 1:1 cash match, even in the event of subcontractor leaving the project. 14. Should the numbers for baby boxes distribution be included in the number served? The number of more intense services are what we included in numbers served question...but there is no place to include broader baby box distribution a. The number of Baby Boxes to be distributed by each agency will be negotiated during the contracting phase, should an organization be selected to become part of the SIF 2016

4 collaborative. This number will be based, in part, on the number of parents you propose to serve. 15. If our organization is a recipient of the SIF 2011 grant (which ends August 2017) and we will be proposing program components for the SIF 2016 grant (which begins March 2017) that are the same (our evidence-based parenting education), how do you suggest we handle the overlap on our budgets? Is it preferred to include all costs of running the entire program on the SIF 2016 grant as it will look moving forward, and ask for a budget revision for SIF 2011 to reduce the budget, or do you prefer we include only the additions/expansions to our programming and the costs related to getting this started on the SIF 2016 budget, and then we can ask for the full amount in Year 2? a. The SIF 2016 budget should be treated as a standalone project and there should be no overlap on your budget. So your budget for the SIF 2016 application should only include expansions to your current programming. Also, please include an estimate of how much your budget would increase in year 2 once full programming has begun and SIF 2011 funding has expired. Also, given the amount of planning and design for both the continuum and evaluation, it is unlikely that actual programming periods would have much overlap with a program ending in August When completing the SIF Incoming Evidence Rubric, because this is specifically for the purpose of using our own evidence-based parenting program, should we be focusing on just the parenting component of a project that we studied and have evidence for? Or should we be considering the entire project? For example, if an agency has a program which includes a parenting component and case management, and we will be doing the exact same parenting intervention for SIF 2016, but we would propose to change our supportive case management services to be the Family Check-Up Model, would this be considered the same org. doing the an intervention similar but not identical because our case management will be different, or would it be the same org. doing exactly the same intervention because our parenting curriculum would be done exactly the same? a. In this example, you would need to demonstrate that the parenting component itself is evidence-based and that changing the case management aspect will not change the evidence level. In general, any programming that you put forth for consideration for inclusion in the SIF 2016 Continuum must meet the moderate level of evidence as defined in the rubric. Updated See Question number If we have a past SIF grant and are on track to achieve a moderate level of evidence for our program within a few months of this grant, does this still count as an evidence-based program to SIF? As of now, we have reached a preliminary level of evidence for the program. b. No. All programs must be at the federally defined moderate level of evidence at the time of your submission.

5 Updated See Question number 1 Population Targets & Intake 1. How many parents do you intend to serve as part of SIF 2016? a. We are proposing to recruit 1,200 families for the intervention from approximately 12,000 screened families. We will also recruit a control group of at least 800 families. These numbers are subject to change based on Year One s evaluation feasibility study. 2. If your organization is proposing to issue baby boxes and do a programming component, should this number include both efforts? Or are you looking for only those participants reached through programming? a. Please include your distribution targets for Baby Box, as well as you targets for program participants. 3. Can the enrollment form be integrated into the UWSEM Early Learning Communities enrollment form so that agencies doing both programs have only one enrollment form? a. This will be determined collectively by the SIF 2016 partners. 4. What is the current capacity of providers in the previous SIF cycle? a. The current SIF subrecipients participant capacity varies greatly depending on the level of their intervention, budget, and service area. Each applicant should determine their own capacity based on their proposed scope of work, service area, and budget. 5. Can eligible participants who live on the border of low income zip codes still participate in the program? What would the additional screening criteria be? a. Eligibility criteria will ultimately need to be agreed to by all Subrecipients and the portfolio evaluator. Currently, we anticipate determining eligibility both based on a family s zip code of residence having a majority of its residents at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, or individual families whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. All participants must reside in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb Counties. 6. Can expecting mothers be participants in SIF 2016? Can we market and recruit the baby box to expecting mothers/families before the baby is born? a. Yes. We anticipate that a variety of strategies and Baby Box will be employed to target expectant mothers What are the target zip codes for SIF 2016?

6 a. Eligibility criteria will ultimately need to be agreed to by all Subrecipients and the portfolio evaluator. Currently, we anticipate determining eligibility both based on zip code of residence having a majority of its residents at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, or individual families whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. All participants must reside in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb Counties. 8. Can the material provided in the baby box be translated into different languages? a. Currently, there are materials from the What to Expect Foundation that are tailored to our region that will be included in the boxes. Should there be a need for translation services (Spanish, Arabic), UWSEM will cover those costs to the extent possible. 9. Macomb County has a strong commitment to pack-n-plays instead of baby boxes. What steps, if any, are being taken to promote baby boxes to these families? a. Eligibility for baby boxes is not precluded by receipt of pack-n-plays or other county recommendations. Budget & Financials 10. Can fingerprinting & other SIF required background checks be done collectively by all funded programs or by individual agencies? Can UWSEM provide contacts, procedures and estimated costs for budgeting purposes? a. All background check requirements and costs will be the responsibility of the individual agencies. b. Yes. Using the FBI Channeler system (UWSEM recommended) checks are approximately $35.00/screen. Additional info can be found here: Will the grantees be required to pay for a specialized texting service or will it be covered through the United Way? a. No. UWSEM will cover the cost of the texting service. 12. What if agency has had an A-133 audit in the past but does not need one because of the new $750,000 threshold? Is that a barrier? b. No. 13. Can we use (bill) Federal Indirect Rate for SIF 2016? a. Yes. Programmatic Eligibility and Level of Evidence 14. We offer several nutrition focused evidence based programs. All of these programs have been found to have a high level of evidence individually. If we were to propose to offer the four 6

7 programs as individual program options (under the nutrition focus) and evaluate on the individual program level then would this be considered maintaining the strong level according to the rubric. For example: Organization X offers the program Y the same way it was offered in the evaluation study (offered also in multiple locations) and does this with 4 programs depending on participant need/qualification, would each of the programs be considered maintaining their current level of strong evidence? a. UWSEM will review EXISTING parenting programs (serving parents of children 0-5). If your program has a parenting component, then it may be considered for inclusion. However, the main nutrition component of the continuum will be co-developed and approved by the portfolio as a group. There may be opportunities in years 2-4 to explore how to integrate additional programming into the continuum once the final design and evaluation has been approved. 15. Are programs listed on SAMHSA s National Registry for Evidence Based Programming and Practices automatically considered meeting the highest level of evidence? a. Most likely. They will still be vetted against the CNCS rubric, however. 16. The Family Checkup Model is designed for ages What would we need to do to be sure we capture data from ages 0-2? a. The Family Check-up Model assessment may be supplemented with additional developmental screenings that will include assessment in the 0-2 range. This data will captured and recorded by the Motivational Interviewer. 17. What will be the set intervals for staff check-in? How do we make sure the low touch model is effective? a. The staff check-in intervals will be determined in conjunction with the evaluation team in order to meet the needs of the family, the evaluation, and provide for appropriate monitoring of the efficacy of the low-touch model we are testing. There may also be multiple check-in schedules that are tested to determine the best cadence. 18. Does the staff member conducting Motivational Interviews have to be a Master s level social worker? Could a bachelor s level counselor with additional training suffice? Does the person conducting Motivational Interviews have to be a social worker at all? Any alternatives? a. No, they most likely will not need a master s level social work or similar degree. The portfolio will work with the evaluators to determine the final qualifications and required training for the Motivational Interviewers. We anticipate there being a minimum of bachelor s degree being required. 7

8 The aim will be to ensure that the MI techniques are being uniformly applied and that we can supplement training as needed. UWSEM will provide the cost of initial and any subsequent trainings needed. 19. How much time should be sent pre-planning and training staff? When is actual programming slated to start? a. A full training schedule will be determined as part of the first year feasibility study, you do not need to do any sort of pre-planning/training. We do not anticipate programming beginning until the fall of Is the nutrition education component required for SIF 2016? a. It is a requirement for the portfolio as a whole, but not every partner is required to implement. However, part of the goal of the SIF is to scale what works and we will be working both within the portfolio and externally to scale the nutrition program as the evidence builds related to its efficacy. Matching Funds 21. At the conclusion of the overview letter of intent session, we discussed using existing United Way Basic Needs funds as the cash match. Both in the formal responses to questions and in that conversation, it sounded like we can proceed using those funds. After reviewing the RFQ, we want to verify that we can use those funds as part of the cash match requirement. a. Yes, United Way Basic Needs funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the funded programming is accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. This means that if the UWSEM Basic Needs monies fund a parenting program that meets the evidence requirements and is accepted into the SIF 2016 Continuum they can be used as match. In subsequent years, Basic Needs monies could, at the discretion of the subgrantee, also be directed to new SIF activities and be counted as match. 22. Can existing basic needs funding be used as the match for year if the SIF project is an expansion of the existing services? During the LOI process the response to this was yes, but the RFQ states that match funds cannot be currently committed. a. Yes, United Way Basic Needs funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the funded programming is accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. This means that if the UWSEM Basic Needs monies fund a parenting program that meets the evidence requirements and is accepted into the SIF 2016 Continuum they can be used as match. In subsequent years, Basic Needs monies could, at the discretion of the subgrantee, also be directed to new SIF activities and be counted as match. 8

9 23. Even though the Blended Funding cannot be used as the matched funding for the SIF, is it okay for the same external sources of matching funds to be used for both the SIF and blended funding, if applicable? a. Correct, Building Foundations funding is not an allowable match towards the Social Innovation Fund. External sources of matching funds must meet the requirements listed below. Match requirements are as follows: Annually, provide $1 Match for every $1 grant received. Accept CASH Matching funds only no in-kind may be used for Match. Match must NOT be in the form of federal funds, or from a pass-through federal grant. Required to meet 1:1 Match every 12 months beginning at the start of the first award period. Match funds verified by UWSEM twice annually, both commitments and cash on-hand. Matching funds must be unrestricted funds, unless they are designated for SIF 2016 by the donor/funder. Matching funds must be funds that have not previously been obligated to programming, unless that programming has been accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. 24. If we plan on using a parenting program that is paid, in part, by federal dollars can the service be included as part of the SIF project even though the dollars will not be included as part of the match? If yes, do those dollars need to be included anywhere else? a. Yes. No, those dollars do not need to be recorded for SIF purposes. 25. Can existing 32p dollars be used as part of the match if they are being used for parenting classes that will be included in the program? a. Yes, the 32p funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the 32p funding is used for programming that has been accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. 26. Is there a way to ensure we aren t all reaching out to the same funding sources to generate match funding? a. No. However, once the final selections have been made UWSEM will work with the portfolio to try and coordinate local asks as much as possible. 27. Can 32p funding be used as match dollars? a. Yes, 32p funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the funded programming is accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. This means that if 32p monies fund a parenting program that meets the evidence requirements and is accepted into the SIF 2016 Continuum they can be used as match. In subsequent years, 32p monies could, at the discretion of the subgrantee, also be directed to new SIF activities and be counted as match. 9

10 28. Can ELC dollars be used as matching funds? a. Yes, the UWSEM ELC funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the funded programming is accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. This means that if ELC monies fund a parenting program that meets the evidence requirements and is accepted into the SIF 2016 Continuum they can be used as match. In subsequent years, ELC monies could, at the discretion of the subgrantee, also be directed to new SIF activities and be counted as match. The ECIC portion of ELC funding cannot be used as match. RFQ Process 29. The RFQ document does not indicated if there are character limits for sections of the full application. Are there character limits? If so, what are they and in what sections? a. There are character limits for each RFQ section. We have indicated the maximum character limits in each text box where you will submit your answers. 30. Are Letters of Support recommended to be submitted with the grant application? a. We are not requesting that agencies submit Letters of Support with their RFQ applications. However, once final RFQs have been submitted, part of the clarification process may involve UWSEM requesting Letters of Support. 31. During the Letter of Intent meeting, it was said that if an organization was invited to apply there would be the opportunity to meet with UWSEM SIF staff about your organizations proposal, when will scheduling of these meeting occur? a. The first opportunity to discuss questions regarding proposals will be at the December 1, 2016 informational session. Agencies may also submit questions to SIF2016@LiveUnitedSEM.org until 5pm December 9, Once a RFQ has been submitted UWSEM reserves the right to request clarifying site-visits, interviews, and/or additional materials and information as needed. Text Messaging 32. Will the text message supports have the capacity to accept reply messages? a. The text-messaging supports will be designed with the needs of the family and the evaluation in mind and the final functionality will be approved by the portfolio and evaluation team. 33. Will the text based supports be encrypted and HIPPA/FERPA compliant? a. There will be a high level of data sharing on this project and UWSEM remains committed to protecting all evaluation information. We will be using IRBs to approve the evaluation design and components (i.e. Data Sharing Agreements) and will adhere to any 10

11 recommended security requirements put forth by the evaluation team and Institutional Review Board. 11

12 LOI FAQ Questions Terminology Confusion regarding agency awarding grants and subgrants. What are subgrants? UWSEM has been awarded a grant by the Social Innovation Fund. UWSEM seeks to award subgrants to qualified agency partners. Geography Does the lead applicant organization have to serve all THREE counties (Wayne, Oakland and Macomb) or any one of the 3? Does the agency need to serve all 3 counties or can most of the recipients be from one County? No, the applicant organization does not have to serve all three counties, but must have a service area that includes at least one of the three counties. All subgrant funds must be spent serving residents of Wayne, Oakland, and/or Macomb counties. Programmatic Eligibility and Level of Evidence If one is using an evidence-based parent curriculum currently with all staff trained and model certified, can that be used? Possibly. As a part of the full Request for Qualifications (RFQ), agencies will have an opportunity to share information on existing (or budgeted) evidence-based curricula that are already in use. Those curricula will be given consideration for inclusion in SIF 2016, based on levels of evidence outlined in the RFQ. While certain strategies were created to assist in the healthy development of children and adults of all ages, to date, (XXX) has only used them within the context of our mentoring program. I share this because, after reading the invitation to potentially participate in the new initiative- I am wondering if this program is actually eligible based on the requirements listed? Possibly. Any evidence-based curriculum that is a relevant portion of a continuum serving parents of young children will be assessed, based on the levels of evidence outlined in the RFQ. Can you clarify if the "elements" described are the numbered points? Yes, the numbered Elements are the core Elements of SIF Strategies to implement those Elements will likely vary among partner agencies. Will you consider proposals from partners who only bid for Elements #1 and #4, the mandatory numbered points, or would partners need to bid for at least one additional element? Partners must bid for at least Elements #1 and #4. Additional Elements may be bid for at the partner s discretion. If the mandatory Outreach, Recruitment and Retention point necessitates distributing Baby Boxes, and an agency does not usually interface with expectant parents, just with parents of young children, should the agency complete the LOI anyway? 12

13 Yes, we encourage all agencies that serve Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties, and that serve or can serve parents of young children, to submit an LOI. While not a guarantee of funding, submission of an LOI opens the possibility of further discussion and consideration of that agency s potential role in SIF Budget When you mention the lead applicant organization needing to have a budget of between $200,000-$600,000 annually are you speaking about PROJECT budget versus Agency budget? This refers to the program budget. The program budget must be a minimum of $200,000 annually. Matching Funds What are the policies for Matching funds? Does the Match need to be new money? Annually, provide $1 Match for every $1 grant received. Accept CASH Matching funds only no in-kind may be used for Match. Match must NOT be in the form of federal funds, or from a pass-through federal grant. Required to meet 1:1 Match every 12 months beginning at the start of the first award period. Match funds verified by UWSEM twice annually, both commitments and cash on-hand. Matching funds must be unrestricted funds, unless they are designated for SIF 2016 by the donor/funder. Matching funds must be funds that have not previously been obligated to programming, unless that programming has been accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. If we have funding from another source that pays for a program that we hope to expand, can we use the current funding as a match? Possibly, as long as the funding is used for programming that has been accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. Can we use the Building Foundations United Way blended funding towards the matched funding for the Social Innovation Fund? Building Foundations funding is not an allowable match towards the Social Innovation Fund. My agency receives $200K in UWSEM impact investment dollars. We use $50K of those dollars to implement a parent curriculum that meets the SIF evidence standard. Can we use the $50K for match? Yes, the investment dollars can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the parent curriculum is accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. My agency receives 32P funding for parent programming, can we use those funds as a Match source for our SIF parent work? Yes, the 32P funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the 32P funding is used for programming that has been accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. 13

14 If we have received 32P funding for several years, can we budget them for SIF before we know if we are going to be renewed? Yes, as long as you have a contingency plan in the event the funding is not renewed. If we are an existing funded partner that receives Basic Needs funding from the United Way to provide similar services, including an evidence based parenting practice, can those dollars be used as the match? The SIF dollars would be used to increase and scale services. Yes, United Way Basic Needs funding can be used as a Match source in your budget, as long as the funded programming is accepted into the SIF 2016 continuum. What happens if an agency only raises a portion of their match? For example, if an agency commits to $125,000 and only raises $100,000 will they need to return the full $125,000 or only the $25,000 that they were not able to match? If an agency only raises a portion of their Match, then that agency will only receive a portion of their SIF subgrant. In this example, an agency that raises only $100,000 in Match will only be able to receive $100,000 in subgrant funds. However, no subgrantee can fall below the federal subgrant minimum of $100,000. Falling below this threshold will result in an exit from the portfolio. Can the total request to the United Way increase or decrease during the grant cycle? For example, if an agency initially requests $125,000 but is able to get additional funds during the cycle could the total from United Way also increase? During each one-year grant cycle, the amount of the grant cannot be increased. If additional Match funds are raised, they can be used to trigger a larger grant during the next one-year grant cycle. Each subgrantee will be given the option to revise their annual budget down at the midpoint of each grant period, as well as shift dollars among line-items to stay within the 10% variance rule, as long as the core Scope of Work, data collection, and evaluation are not impacted. 14