Affordable Care Act (ACA) Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program

 

The Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (TMIECHV) is being administered by The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Early Childhood Development (ECD), Office of Child Care (OCC), in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Assistance is available to eligible Tribes (or consortia of Tribes), Tribal Organizations, and Urban Indian Organizations, to strengthen and improve maternal and child health programs, improve service coordination for at-risk communities, and identify and provide comprehensive evidence-based home visiting services to families who reside in at-risk communities.

The ACF, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), in collaboration with HRSA, is administering the Tribal Research Center for Early Childhood (TRCEC), which will provide leadership and support to promote excellence in community-based participatory research and evaluation of ACF early childhood initiatives that serve Tribal communities (i.e., Home Visiting, Head Start, Early Head Start). The TRCEC is expected to engage in a variety of activities that are designed to identify and develop effective practices and systems for home visiting, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs in Tribal communities; to establish the culturally meaningful processes and outcomes of those programs; to build research capacity within Tribal communities; and to build the capacity of researchers to conduct research and evaluation in partnership with Tribal communities. TRCEC will provide leadership and support to promote excellence in community-based research and evaluation of Tribal MIECHV, Head Start, and EHS initiatives that serve AI/AN children and families. TRCEC is expected to engage in activities that support the identification and development of effective practices and systems for integrated services for Tribal MIECHV, Head Start, and EHS in tribal communities.

Deleted 04/02/2020 (Archived.) 93.508 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Office: Administration for Children and Families Project Grants Fiscal Year 2014: 25 grants were awarded in FY 2014. Fiscal Year 2015: 25 grants were awarded in FY 2015.
The TRCEC was awarded 249,000. Fiscal Year 2016: It is estimated that 21 grants will be awarded in FY 2016. Approximately 15 under a new competition.
It is estimated that the TRCEC will be awarded 249,000. Section 511(e)(8)(A) of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 2951 of the Affordable Care Act and amended by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 Public Law No: 114-10., Title V, Section 511(h)(2)(A); Section 511(e)(8)(A) of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 2951 of the Affordable Care Act and amended by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 Public Law No: 114-10, Title V, Section 511(h)(3) & (j); Section 511(e)(8)(A) of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 2951 of the Affordable Care Act and amended by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 Public Law No: 114-10; Head Start Act as Amended by Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act, Section 648, 42 U.S.C 9843-9844; Section 511(e)(8)(A) of the Social Security Act, as added by Section 2951 of the Affordable Care Act and amended by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015; Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C 9858; Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law 113-76. , Section 648, 42 U.S.C 9843-9844. Only Tribes (or a consortium of Indian Tribes), Tribal Organizations, or Urban Indian Organizations, as defined by Section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, Public Law 94-437, are eligible applicants for the Tribal HV Grant Program.

For the TRCEC, only the following are eligible applicants: a) public and State controlled institutions of higher education; b) nonprofits having a 501(3)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; c) nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; (d) private institutions of higher education; e) for profit organizations other than small businesses; and f) small businesses. For the Tribal HV program:
• Eligible families residing in at-risk American Indian/Alaskan Native communities in need of such services, as identified in a needs assessment;
• Low-income eligible families;
• Eligible families who are pregnant women under age 21;
• Eligible families with a history of child abuse or neglect or have had interactions with child welfare services;
• Eligible families with a history of substance abuse or need substance abuse treatment;
• Eligible families that have users of tobacco products in the home;
• Eligible families that are or have children with low student achievement;
• Eligible families with children with developmental delays or disabilities; and
• Eligible families who, or that include individuals serving or formerly serving in the Armed Forces, including those with members who have had multiple deployments outside the US.

Eligible family:
• A woman who is pregnant, and the father of the child if available, or
• A parent or primary caregiver of the child, including grandparents or other relatives and foster parents serving as the child's primary caregiver from birth until kindergarten entry, including a noncustodial parent with an ongoing relationship with, and at times provides physical care for the child. Applicants should review each of the individual funding opportunity announcements issued under this CFDA program for any required proof or certifications, which must be submitted prior to or simultaneous with submission of an application package. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants should review each of the individual funding opportunity announcements issued under this CFDA program for any additional application procedures, which must be followed when submitting an application package. (a)For the Tribal HV program: each application will be screened to determine whether it was received by the closing date and time and whether the requested amount exceeds the award ceiling. Applications that are designated as late or those with requests that exceed the award ceiling will be returned to the applicant with a notation that they were deemed non-responsive and will not be reviewed.

Applications competing for financial assistance will be reviewed and evaluated by objective review panels using the criteria described in the funding opportunity announcement. Each panel is made up of experts with knowledge and experience in the area under review. Generally, review panels are composed of three reviewers and one chairperson.

Results of the competitive objective review are taken into consideration by ACF in the selection of projects for funding; however, objective review scores and rankings are not binding and are one element of the decision-making process.

ACF may elect to not fund applicants with management or financial problems that would indicate an inability to successfully complete the proposed project. Applications may be funded in whole or in part. Successful applicants may be funded at an amount lower than that requested. ACF reserves the right to consider a preference to fund organizations serving emerging, unserved, or under-served populations, including those located in pockets of poverty, and to consider the geographic distribution of Federal funds in its funding decisions.

ACF may refuse funding for projects with what it regards as unreasonably high start-up costs for facilities or equipment, or for projects with unreasonably high operating costs. In addition, federal staff will conduct an administrative review of the applications and the results of the competitive review and will make recommendations for funding to the Director, Office of Child Care (OCC) With the results of the competitive review and information from federal staff, the Director of OCC, in consultation with Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, will make the final funding decisions.

For the TRCEC, grant awards are subject to the availability of Federal funds. Note that funds for the Tribal MIECHV are not appropriated for the full length of the specified project period.

The Federal share of project costs for any of the 12-month budget periods, inclusive of indirect costs will be from the Tribal MIECHV Program, Office of Child Care or Head Start research funds). Consistent with statutory authority, Home Visiting funds will be used for: (a) activities to promote excellence in research and evaluation of Tribal MIECHV programs in tribal communities; and (b) measurement development activities that will expand the evidence base around home visiting programs for AI/AN populations. Consistent with the relevant statutory authority , Child Care funds will be used for research and evaluation activities to: (a) support research on child care policy and practice, (b) examine the implications for policies across child care and other early childhood service settings, and (c) encourage research projects that address efforts of states, territories, tribes, and localities to coordinate early childhood programs, examine the challenges and opportunities for doing this, and investigate how coordination affects the services received by eligible families and children. Consistent with the relevant statutory authority, Head Start funds will be used for research and evaluation activities to: (a) foster continuous improvement in the quality of the Head Start programs and in their effectiveness in enabling participating AI/AN children and their families to succeed in school and otherwise; and (b) develop, test, and disseminate new ideas based on existing scientifically valid research, for addressing the needs of AI/AN children and their families and communities.

No grant award will be made under this announcement on the basis of an incomplete application. No grant award will be made to an applicant or sub-recipient that does not have active CCR registration (www.ccr.gov or 1-866-606-8220).

Each application will be screened to determine whether it was received by the closing date and time and whether the requested amount exceeds the award ceiling. Applications that are designated as late, or those with requests that exceed the award ceiling, will receive a screen-out letter noting that the application was deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for competitive review or funding. For those applications that have been deemed disqualified under the initial ACF screening, notice will be given of such determination by postal mail.

Applications competing for financial assistance will be reviewed and evaluated by objective review panels using the criteria described in the funding opportunity announcement. Each panel is made up of experts with knowledge and experience in the area under review. Generally, review panels are composed of three reviewers and one chairperson.

Results of the competitive objective review are taken into consideration by ACF in the selection of projects for funding; however, objective review scores and rankings are not binding. They are one element in the decision-making process.

Applications recommended for approval that were not funded under the competition because of the lack of available funds, may be held over by ACF and re-considered in a subsequent review cycle if a future competition under the program area is planned. These applications will be held over for a period of up to one year and will be re-competed for funding with all other competing applications in the next available review cycle. For those applications that have been deemed as approved but unfunded, notice will be given of such determination by postal mail.

Announcement of awards and the disposition of applications will be provided to applicants at a later date. Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines. From 60 to 90 days. For the the TRCEC, successful applicants will be notified through the issuance of a Financial Assistance Award (FAA) 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 FAA 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.

Other correspondence announcing to a Principal Investigator or Project Director that an application was selected is not an authorization to begin performance. Costs incurred before receipt of a FAA are at the recipient's risk and may be reimbursed only to extent considered allowable as approved pre-award costs. Not Applicable. Not Applicable. Applications will be evaluated based upon the criteria published in each funding opportunity announcement. Assistance for the Tribal HV Program will be used to: conduct a needs assessment that considers community characteristics and the quality and capacity of existing home visiting programs and other supportive services; is coordinated with other relevant needs assessments; and involves community stakeholders as appropriate; collaborative planning efforts to address identified needs by developing capacity and infrastructure; providing high-quality, evidence-based home visiting services to pregnant women and families with young children aged birth to kindergarten entry; establishing, measuring, and reporting on progress toward meeting 36 performance measures in six legislatively-mandated benchmark areas; and conducting rigorous local evaluations that may include examining effectiveness of home visiting models in serving Tribal populations, adaptations of home visiting models for Tribal communities, or questions regarding implementation of infrastructure necessary to support evidence-based home visitation models in Tribal communities.

Consistent with statutory authority, Home Visiting funds for the TRCEC will be used for: (a) activities to promote excellence in research and evaluation of Tribal MIECHV programs in tribal communities; and (b) measurement development activities that will expand the evidence base around home visiting programs for AI/AN populations. Consistent with the relevant statutory authority, Head Start funds for the TRCEC will be used for research and evaluation activities to: (a) foster continuous improvement in the quality of the Head Start programs and in their effectiveness in enabling participating AI/AN children and their families to succeed in school and otherwise; and (b) develop, test, and disseminate new ideas based on existing scientifically valid research, for addressing the needs of AI/AN children and their families and communities. Costs of organized fundraising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, are unallowable. Costs of organized fundraising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, are unallowable.

Grant awards will not allow reimbursement of pre-award costs.

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

The statute requires that grantees supplement and not supplant funds from other HV initiatives.

Awards issued under this announcement are subject to the uniform administrative requirements and cost principles of 45 CFR Part 75.418 & 75.419 (Special Consideration for Institutions of Higher Education) and Appendix IX to Part 75 (Federal Awards to Hospitals) and 45 CFR Part 75.416 & 417 (Special Consideration for States, Local Governments and Indian Tribes).

An application funded with the release of Federal funds through a grant award, does not constitute, or imply, compliance with Federal regulations. Funded organizations are responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable Federal regulations.

Grantees are subject to the limitations set forth in 45 CFR Part 75.215 (b) (Prohibition against profit), which states that, “Except for awards under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs (15 U.S.C. 638), no HHS funds may be paid as profit to any recipient even if the recipient is a commercial organization. Profit is any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs."

Grantees are also subject to the requirements of 45 CFR Part 87, Equal Treatment for Faith-Based Organizations: "Direct Federal grants, sub-award funds, or contracts under this ACF program shall not be used to support inherently religious activities such as religious instruction, worship, or proselytization. Therefore, organizations must take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities from the services funded under this program. Regulations pertaining to the Equal Treatment for Faith-Based Organizations, which includes the prohibition against Federal funding of inherently religious activities, can be found at the HHS web site at: http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/waisgate21.pdf.

A faith-based organization receiving HHS funds retains its independence from Federal, State, and local governments, and may continue to carry out its mission, including the definition, practice, and expression of its religious beliefs. For example, a faith-based organization may use space in its facilities to provide secular programs or services funded with Federal funds without removing religious art, icons, scriptures, or other religious symbols. In addition, a faith-based organization that receives Federal funds retains its authority over its internal governance, and it may retain religious terms in its organization's name, select its board members on a religious basis, and include religious references in its organization's mission statements and other governing documents in accordance with all program requirements, statutes, and other applicable requirements governing the conduct of HHS funded activities." Additional information on "Understanding the Regulations Related to the Faith-Based and Community Initiative" can be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/regulations/index.html.

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/CFR/.

Awards issued under this announcement are subject to the requirements of Section 106 (g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104). For the full text of the award term, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/award_term.html.

TRCEC awards are subject to the availability of Federal funds. Please note that funds for MIECHV are not currently appropriated for the full length of the identified project period.

The Federal share of TRCEC project costs shall not exceed $600,000 for any of the 12-month budget periods, inclusive of indirect costs .

Funds and their associated activities/costs supported by funds from MIECHV Tribal Home Visiting, Office of Child Care and OHS for the TRCEC must be tracked separately; and must be accounted for on an ongoing basis and expenditures attributed to either Tribal HV, Child Care or Head Start portions of the project. All funds are discretionary under these programs. Costs of organized fundraising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions, are unallowable.

Grant awards will not allow reimbursement of pre-award costs.

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

The statute requires that grantees supplement and not supplant funds from other HV initiatives. All funds are discretionary under these programs. Grantees under this announcement will be required to submit performance progress and financial reports periodically throughout the project period.

The frequency of required reporting is described in each funding opportunity announcement. Final reports may be submitted in hard copy to the Grants Management Office Contact identifiable post-award. Instructions on submission of reports electronically will be provided with award documents.

ACF grantees are required to submit the SF-PPR Cover Page. ACF Programs that utilize reporting forms or formats in addition to, or instead of, the SF-PPR have listed the reporting requirements.

Grant award documents will inform grantees of the appropriate performance progress report form or format to use. Grantees should consult their award documents to determine the appropriate performance progress report format required under their award. Performance progress reports are due 30 days after the end of the reporting period.

Final program performance reports are due 90 days after the close of the project period. The SF-PPR may be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/grants_resources.html.

Further instructions will be provided, as necessary, with award terms and conditions that will address specific reporting periods and due dates on an award-by-award basis. Additional information on frequency of reporting is available on the ACF Funding Opportunities web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/msg_sf425.html. Federal Financial Report (FFR) - Federal Cash Transaction Report. Progress reports are not applicable. As of February 1, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began the transition from use of the SF-269, Financial Status Report (Short Form or Long Form) to the use of the SF-425 Federal Financial Report for expenditure reporting. SF-269s will no longer be accepted for expenditure reports due after that date. If an SF-269 is submitted, the ACF will return it and require the recipient to complete the SF-425.

The transition strategy is allowing individual HHS Operating Divisions to select--from a limited number of options--the approach that best fits their programs and business process. This transition does not affect completion or submission of the cash reporting to the HHS Division of Payment Management's Payment Management System (PMS). The primary features of this transition for recipients are that OPDIVs that previously required electronic submission of the SF-269 will receive the SF-425 expenditure reports electronically and, until further notice, OPDIVs that have been receiving expenditure reports in hard copy will continue to do so.

All expenditure reports will be due on one of the standard due dates by which cash reporting is required to be submitted to PMS OR at the end of a calendar quarter as determined by the Operating Division. As a result, a recipient that receives awards from more than one OPDIV may be subject to more than one approach, but will not be required to change its current means of submission or be subjected to more than eight standard due dates.

Beginning with budget periods which end from January 1 - March 31, 2011, and for all budget periods thereafter, all affected ACF grantees will be required to submit an SF-425 report as frequently as is required in the terms and conditions of their award using due dates for reports to PMS.

Fillable versions of the SF-425 form in Adobe PDF and MS-Excel formats, along with instructions, are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms, www.forms.gov, and on the ACF Funding Opportunity website Forms page.

Further instructions will be provided, as necessary, with award terms and conditions that will address specific reporting periods and due dates on an award-by-award basis. Additional information on frequency of reporting is available on the ACF Funding Opportunities web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/msg_sf425.html.

Awards issued as a result of this funding opportunity may be subject to the Transparency Act subaward and executive compensation reporting requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 170. See ACF's Award Term for Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting Requirement implementing this requirement and additional award applicability information. No performance monitoring is required. In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, non-Federal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503. None. Awards issued under this program are subject to the uniform administrative requirements of 45 CFR Part 75 (Awards And Sub-awards To Institutions Of Higher Education, Hospitals, Other Nonprofit Organizations, And Commercial Organizations) or (Grants And Cooperative Agreements To State, Local, And Tribal Governments). This program has no statutory formula.
Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.
This program does not have MOE requirements. For the Tribal HV, grants (cooperative agreements) are generally awarded for a 5-year project period. In the first year of the project, grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Pending successful completion of Year 1 activities, submission of a plan that meets requirements, and approval of this plan, applications will be considered on a noncompetitive continuation basis for Years 2-5 subject to availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the grantee, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the Federal Government. Grants will be awarded for 12-month budget periods with a 5-year project period.

Funds awarded to grantees under this program will be made available for expenditure through the end of the second succeeding fiscal year after award.

For the TRCEC, grants (cooperative agreements) are generally awarded with a project period of up to five years. The initial award will be for the first 12-month budget period. Budget requests for the second through fifth year of funding within the project period should be identified in the current application (on SF-424A), but such requests will be considered in subsequent years on a noncompetitive basis, subject to the applicant's eligibility status, the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the grantee, and a determination that continued funding would be in the best interest of the Federal Government. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum. None. Anne Bergan 901 D St SW, 2nd Floor West 2B002
Washington, DC 20447
, Washington, District of Columbia 20447 Email: anne.bergan@acf.hhs.gov Phone: 202-260-8515 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs 75-0321-0-1-506. (Project Grants) FY 14 $12,249,994; FY 15 est $12,249,000; and FY 16 est $12,249,000 - Three percent of annual appropriations shall be reserved for purposes of making grants to eligible entities that are Indian Tribes (or a consortium of Indian Tribes), Tribal organizations, or Urban Indian Organizations. For the Tribal HV, the range of funding is $265,000-$775,000 per budget period.
For the TRCEC, the range of funding is up to $600,000 per budget period and the average is $300,000. Not Applicable. Not Applicable.