Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2012 ACF ACYF CO 0279
Apply for HHS 2012 ACF ACYF CO 0279
- The Administration for Children and Families in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Initiative to Improve Access to Needs Driven, Evidence Based/Evidence informed Mental and Behavioral Health Services in Child Welfare" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.652 Adoption Opportunities.
- This funding opportunity was created on May 22, 2012 and posted on May 22, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 20, 2012 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $5,120,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $640,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education State governments Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) City or township governments Private institutions of higher education County governments Public and State controlled institutions of higher education Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).
- Eligible applicants include State, tribal or county public child welfare agencies and private child welfare agencies under contract with the public child welfare agency. If the primary applicant responsible for administering the cooperative agreement is not a public child welfare agency, the applicant must document a strong partnership with the public child welfare agency(ies) with responsibility for administering the child welfare program(s) in the targeted geographical area(s) and court(s) having jurisdiction over the targeted child welfare population. Applicants are required to partner with key agencies, e.g., a university, medical center, mental health agency, and/or community based provider with nationally demonstrated expertise in child traumatic stress interventions and experience with the population(s) that the applicant proposes to serve with their proposed project. Collaborative efforts are strongly encouraged, but applicants must identify a primary applicant responsible for administering the cooperative agreement. Faith based and community organizations that meet eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity announcement. Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Initiative to Improve Access to Needs Driven, Evidence Based/Evidence informed Mental and Behavioral Health Services in Child Welfare is a competitive federal grant opportunity from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), specifically ACYF's Children's Bureau, funded under the Adoption Opportunities Program (CFDA 93.652). This announcement replaces an earlier forecasted effort that focused on integrating trauma-informed and trauma-focused practice in CPS delivery, and broadens the focus to strengthening how child welfare systems identify and respond to children and youth with mental and behavioral health needs. The central aim is to improve social and emotional well-being for targeted children and youth involved with child welfare, while also improving safety, permanency, well-being, and adoption outcomes through better-aligned and more effective service systems.
The grants are structured as cooperative agreements, meaning awardees should expect active federal involvement and a strong emphasis on planning, implementation support, and rigorous evaluation. The program is designed to help public child welfare agencies, working through interagency collaboration, build a more flexible and responsive service array that gets children and families into effective mental and behavioral health supports earlier, and in ways that match assessed needs. A key part of the intent is not just adding services, but reworking how the system functions: improving screening and assessment practices, strengthening case planning, and reconfiguring services to ensure that what is offered is evidence based or evidence informed and actually fits the needs of the population being served. At the same time, applicants are expected to identify and deliberately reduce or scale back practices that are ineffective or that do not align with assessed needs, so the overall service mix becomes more targeted and higher impact.
To meet the program's expectations, applicants need to propose a clear combination of activities across the child welfare pathway, specifically around screening, assessment, case planning, and service array reconfiguration. The FOA emphasizes fit and feasibility: proposed interventions must make sense for the characteristics of the target population, and the approach must be realistic given the applicant's capacity, resources, and the collaborative conditions in the local system (including courts and partner agencies). Funding can support the full transformation process, including building and formalizing partnerships; conducting needs assessments and planning; developing workforce and provider capacity; training and implementation supports; installing and delivering new practices; carrying out evaluation; and sharing results through dissemination. Sustainability is not optional: applicants are expected to build a plan that keeps the service improvements in place after federal funding ends, which usually means embedding changes into routine policy, contracting, referral pathways, data systems, and cross-agency operating agreements.
Eligibility centers on child welfare system leadership. Eligible applicants include state, tribal, or county public child welfare agencies, as well as private child welfare agencies that operate under contract with a public child welfare agency. If the lead applicant is not itself a public child welfare agency, it must document a strong partnership with the public agency or agencies responsible for child welfare administration in the targeted area, along with engagement from the court system that has jurisdiction over the children and families being served. The FOA also requires partnership with key entities such as a university, medical center, mental health agency, and/or community-based provider that has nationally demonstrated expertise in child traumatic stress interventions and experience with the relevant populations. Collaboration is strongly encouraged, but the application must clearly identify one primary organization that will administer and be accountable for the cooperative agreement. Faith-based and community organizations can participate if they meet the eligibility requirements, while individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorships are not eligible.
In terms of size and timing, ACF anticipated making about 8 awards, with an estimated total funding pool of $5,120,000. Awards were expected to run for 60 months (five 12-month budget periods), with an award ceiling of $640,000 per budget period and a floor of $320,000 per budget period. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted May 22, 2012, with applications due July 20, 2012 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, and it was archived shortly afterward. The overall takeaway is that this FOA sought system-level change in child welfare mental and behavioral health access: better identification of needs, better alignment of services to those needs using evidence based or evidence informed approaches, intentional reduction of low-value practices, and careful evaluation to show whether these changes actually improve child and family outcomes, including adoption-related results.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is the name of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled: "The Initiative to Improve Access to Needs Driven, Evidence Based/Evidence informed Mental and Behavioral Health Services in Child Welfare."
2) Which federal agency is offering this funding?
This is a competitive federal grant opportunity from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), specifically ACYF's Children's Bureau.
3) What program funds this opportunity?
It is funded under the Adoption Opportunities Program and is associated with CFDA 93.652.
4) What is the central purpose of the initiative?
The main goal is to improve social and emotional well-being for targeted children and youth involved with child welfare, while also improving broader child welfare outcomes such as safety, permanency, well-being, and adoption outcomes through better-aligned and more effective service systems.
5) How does this announcement differ from the earlier forecasted effort it replaced?
This announcement replaces an earlier forecast focused on integrating trauma-informed and trauma-focused practice in CPS delivery. The revised and broader focus is on strengthening how child welfare systems identify and respond to children and youth with mental and behavioral health needs.
6) What type of award is this (grant vs. cooperative agreement)?
The awards are structured as cooperative agreements, which means awardees should expect active federal involvement, substantial implementation support, and a strong emphasis on rigorous evaluation.
7) What kinds of system changes is the FOA aiming to support?
The FOA is aimed at system-level change, including improving how child welfare systems:
- Conduct screening and assessment to identify mental and behavioral health needs
- Strengthen case planning so services match assessed needs
- Reconfigure the service array so it is more flexible, responsive, and effective
- Increase use of evidence-based or evidence-informed services
8) Is the focus mainly on adding new services?
No. A key intent is not simply to add services, but to rework how the system functions. That includes strengthening identification, planning, and service alignment so children and families are connected earlier to supports that fit their needs.
9) Does the initiative expect applicants to stop using ineffective practices?
Yes. Applicants are expected to identify and deliberately reduce or scale back practices that are ineffective or do not align with assessed needs, so the overall service mix becomes more targeted and higher impact.
10) What core activity areas must applicants address?
Applicants are expected to propose a clear combination of activities across the child welfare pathway, specifically focused on:
- Screening
- Assessment
- Case planning
- Service array reconfiguration
11) What does the FOA mean by "fit and feasibility"?
"Fit and feasibility" means the proposed interventions should:
- Make sense for the characteristics of the target population
- Be realistic given the applicant's capacity and resources
- Be workable within the local collaborative environment, including courts and partner agencies
12) What kinds of activities can the funding support?
Funding can support the full transformation process, including:
- Building and formalizing partnerships
- Conducting needs assessments and planning
- Developing workforce and provider capacity
- Training and implementation supports
- Installing and delivering new practices
- Carrying out evaluation
- Sharing results through dissemination
13) Is evaluation a required part of the project?
Yes. The cooperative agreement structure emphasizes rigorous evaluation, and the FOA highlights the importance of showing whether changes improve child and family outcomes.
14) What kinds of outcomes is the initiative trying to improve?
The initiative targets improvements in:
- Children's and youths' social and emotional well-being
- Safety
- Permanency
- Overall well-being
- Adoption outcomes
15) Who is eligible to apply as the lead applicant?
Eligible applicants include:
- State, tribal, or county public child welfare agencies
- Private child welfare agencies that operate under contract with a public child welfare agency
16) If the lead applicant is not a public child welfare agency, what partnerships are required?
If the lead applicant is not itself a public child welfare agency, it must document:
- A strong partnership with the public agency (or agencies) responsible for child welfare administration in the targeted area
- Engagement from the court system that has jurisdiction over the children and families being served
17) Are specific types of partner organizations expected by the FOA?
Yes. The FOA requires partnership with key entities such as a university, medical center, mental health agency, and/or community-based provider that has:
- Nationally demonstrated expertise in child traumatic stress interventions
- Experience with the relevant populations
18) Can multiple organizations collaborate, and who is accountable?
Collaboration is strongly encouraged, but the application must clearly identify one primary organization that will administer and be accountable for the cooperative agreement.
19) Are faith-based or community organizations allowed to participate?
Yes. Faith-based and community organizations can participate if they meet the eligibility requirements.
20) Who is not eligible to apply?
The FOA specifies that individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorships are not eligible.
21) How many awards were anticipated?
ACF anticipated making about 8 awards.
22) What was the estimated total funding available?
The estimated total funding pool was $5,120,000.
23) What was the project period length?
Awards were expected to run for 60 months, structured as five 12-month budget periods.
24) What were the award ceiling and floor per budget period?
The award ceiling was $640,000 per budget period, and the award floor was $320,000 per budget period.
25) Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement.
26) When was the opportunity posted and when were applications due?
The opportunity was posted on May 22, 2012. Applications were due on July 20, 2012 by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
27) Is this funding opportunity still open?
No. The opportunity was archived shortly after the due date, indicating it is not currently open under that announcement.
28) What does the FOA say about sustainability after federal funding ends?
Sustainability is explicitly required. Applicants are expected to build a plan to keep service improvements in place after funding ends, typically by embedding changes into routine:
- Policy
- Contracting
- Referral pathways
- Data systems
- Cross-agency operating agreements
29) What is the overall theme of the FOA in plain terms?
The FOA is about making child welfare systems better at finding mental and behavioral health needs early, matching children and families to evidence-based or evidence-informed supports, cutting back on low-value practices, and evaluating whether those system changes improve outcomes, including adoption-related results.
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