Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CT 1178
Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CT 1178
- The HHS-ACF in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.648.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 14, 2016 and posted on Apr 14, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 13, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
The Quality Improvement Center (QIC) for Workforce Development grant opportunity (HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CT 1178, CFDA 93.648) is a discretionary funding competition from HHS, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), designed to tackle one of the most persistent problems in public child welfare systems: staff turnover. The opportunity is built around a straightforward premise with major implications: when child welfare agencies cannot recruit, support, and retain a stable workforce, the consequences extend far beyond agency budgets. Turnover disrupts relationships and continuity, slows down casework, and can weaken the timeliness and quality of services. Over time, that instability can undermine the core child welfare outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families.
This funding would establish one national Quality Improvement Center through a cooperative agreement, meaning the awardee would work in close partnership with the federal government rather than operating entirely independently. The QIC would run a multi-site demonstration project focused on workforce challenges across child welfare settings, with particular attention to state and tribal child welfare systems. The central task is not simply to describe workforce problems, but to identify, adapt, or create innovative and promising workforce improvement strategies and then test them in real-world public agency environments. The emphasis is on strategies that can be implemented in partnership with public child welfare agencies and evaluated rigorously enough to determine what actually works, for whom, and under what conditions.
A key feature of the project is its commitment to replication and comparability. The QIC is expected to choose or develop interventions that can be used in multiple systems, implement them across several sites, and evaluate them using standardized measures and common outcomes. That design allows for cross-site comparisons rather than isolated case studies, strengthening the credibility and usefulness of the results. Findings are intended to be publicly disseminated, reflecting the broader goal of building the field’s evidence base so other jurisdictions can learn from the demonstration and adopt proven approaches.
The outcomes the project aims to produce are concrete and practice-oriented. On the workforce side, the QIC is expected to generate evidence-based strategies that improve recruitment and retention, increase worker satisfaction, and strengthen workers’ intention to stay. It also targets improvements in agency culture and climate, recognizing that retention is strongly influenced by supervisory support, workload management, organizational norms, and workplace conditions, not just hiring practices. On the service delivery side, the grant explicitly connects workforce stability to better child welfare practice and outcomes, with the expectation that stronger workforce systems will translate into improvements related to safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families. Another deliverable is a set of interventions that can be replicated in other child welfare systems, so the project produces tools and models that are transferable beyond the demonstration sites.
Structurally, this is a 60-month initiative divided into five 12-month budget periods. The award would start with $1,000,000 in year 1, followed by anticipated funding of $3,500,000 per year for years 2 through 5, assuming continued funding and satisfactory progress. The opportunity anticipated a single award (ExpectedAwards: 1) with an initial-year ceiling of $1,000,000. The original and current closing date listed for applications was June 13, 2016, and the opportunity was posted April 14, 2016.
Eligibility is broad and includes many entities that commonly partner in child welfare research, evaluation, and systems improvement. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (with certain exclusions for non-higher-ed categories as noted in the listing). This wide eligibility aligns with the QIC model, which often involves a lead organization with research and evaluation capacity working closely with public agencies that control child welfare policy and practice on the ground.
In practical terms, this grant is aimed at creating a national hub that can develop and test workforce solutions at scale, demonstrate measurable impacts on recruitment and retention, and clarify whether and how those workforce gains translate into better outcomes for children and families. The end goal is a stronger, evidence-driven approach to child welfare workforce development that agencies can use to reduce turnover, stabilize practice, and improve the consistency and quality of services.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): QIC for Workforce Development (HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CT 1178, CFDA 93.648)
What is the Quality Improvement Center (QIC) for Workforce Development grant?
It is a discretionary funding competition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), intended to establish one national Quality Improvement Center (QIC) focused on child welfare workforce development, especially addressing staff turnover in public child welfare systems.
What problem is this grant designed to address?
The grant focuses on persistent staff turnover in public child welfare agencies. Turnover is described as disrupting relationships and continuity, slowing casework, reducing the timeliness and quality of services, and potentially undermining child welfare outcomes related to safety, permanency, and well-being.
What is the main purpose of establishing a national QIC?
The purpose is to create a national hub that can identify, adapt, or develop innovative and promising workforce improvement strategies, implement them across multiple sites in real public agency environments, and evaluate them rigorously to determine what works, for whom, and under what conditions.
Is this grant intended for research only, or for real-world implementation too?
It is intended for real-world implementation and testing. The QIC is expected to implement strategies in partnership with public child welfare agencies and evaluate them with enough rigor to produce credible, usable evidence.
What makes this opportunity different from a single-site pilot project?
The project is structured as a multi-site demonstration with replication and comparability built in. Interventions are expected to be used across several sites and evaluated using standardized measures and common outcomes so results can be compared across sites rather than remaining isolated case studies.
Who is the federal sponsor of this opportunity?
The opportunity is offered by HHS, Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
What type of award is this?
This is a cooperative agreement, which means the awardee is expected to work in close partnership with the federal government rather than operating entirely independently.
How many awards were expected?
The opportunity anticipated a single award (ExpectedAwards: 1), meaning one organization (or lead applicant) would be selected to operate the national QIC.
How long is the project period?
The initiative is 60 months long, structured into five 12-month budget periods.
How much funding is available?
The award would start with $1,000,000 in year 1, followed by anticipated funding of $3,500,000 per year in years 2 through 5, contingent on continued funding and satisfactory progress.
What is the ceiling for the first year?
The initial-year ceiling listed for the opportunity is $1,000,000.
Are years 2 through 5 guaranteed?
No. Funding for years 2 through 5 is described as anticipated and is dependent on continued funding availability and satisfactory progress.
When was the opportunity posted, and when did it close?
The opportunity was posted on April 14, 2016. The original and current closing date listed for applications was June 13, 2016.
What is the focus of the multi-site demonstration project?
The demonstration focuses on workforce challenges in child welfare settings, with particular attention to state and tribal child welfare systems. The project is intended to develop and test strategies that improve workforce stability and performance.
What kinds of workforce strategies is the QIC expected to work on?
The QIC is expected to identify, adapt, or create innovative and promising workforce improvement strategies aimed at recruitment, retention, worker satisfaction, and intention to stay, along with strategies that influence agency culture and climate (such as supervisory support, workload management, organizational norms, and workplace conditions).
What outcomes is the QIC expected to improve on the workforce side?
The grant describes expected workforce-related outcomes including improved recruitment and retention, increased worker satisfaction, strengthened workers' intention to stay, and improvements in agency culture and climate.
How does the grant connect workforce stability to child and family outcomes?
The opportunity explicitly links workforce stability to better child welfare practice and outcomes. It anticipates that stronger workforce systems will translate into improvements connected to child welfare outcomes of safety, permanency, and well-being for children and families.
What does "replication and comparability" mean in this grant?
It means the QIC is expected to choose or develop interventions that can be implemented in multiple child welfare systems, deploy them across several demonstration sites, and evaluate them using standardized measures and common outcomes so results can be compared across sites.
Will the results be shared publicly?
Yes. Findings are intended to be publicly disseminated, reflecting the goal of strengthening the field's evidence base so other jurisdictions can learn from the demonstration and adopt proven approaches.
What kinds of deliverables are expected from the project?
Deliverables described include evidence-based workforce strategies, credible findings from multi-site evaluation, and a set of interventions and tools/models designed to be replicable and transferable to other child welfare systems beyond the demonstration sites.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility includes a wide range of entities: state, county, and local governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (with certain exclusions for non-higher-ed categories as noted in the listing).
Does the opportunity emphasize any particular child welfare jurisdictions?
Yes. While the project targets public child welfare systems broadly, it specifically highlights attention to state and tribal child welfare systems in the multi-site demonstration.
Why does the opportunity emphasize standardized measures and common outcomes?
Standardized measures and common outcomes support cross-site comparisons. This strengthens the credibility and usefulness of findings by enabling the field to see whether strategies perform consistently across different systems and conditions.
What are the identifying numbers for this funding opportunity?
The opportunity is referenced as HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CT 1178 and CFDA 93.648.
What is the overall goal of the grant?
The overall goal is to support a stronger, evidence-driven approach to child welfare workforce development that reduces turnover, stabilizes practice, and improves the consistency and quality of services, with the expectation of downstream improvements for children and families.
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| Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: National and Special Issue Resource Centers - National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1173 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1173 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $1,800,000 |
| Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: National and Special Issue Resource Centers - Special Issue Resource Center (SIRC) Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1164 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1164 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $1,300,000 |
| Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: National and Special Issue Resource Centers - National Indian Resource Center Addressing Domestic Violence and Safety for Indian Women (NIRC) Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1166 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1166 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
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| Refugee Individual Development Accounts (IDA) Program Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ORR ZI 1113 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ORR ZI 1113 Agency: HHS-ACF-ORR Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $250,000 |
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| FY2016 Lifespan Respite Care Program--Competing Program Expansion Supplements Apply for HHS 2016 ACL CIP LRLI 0174 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACL CIP LRLI 0174 Agency: HHS-ACL Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $150,000 |
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| Evaluation of the Procedural Justice Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Demonstration Apply for HHS 2016 ACF OCSE FD 1171 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF OCSE FD 1171 Agency: HHS-ACF-OCSE Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $900,000 |
| Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grants: Specialized Services for Abused Parents and Their Children (Demonstration Projects) Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1163 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1163 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $600,000 |
| Procedural Justice Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) Apply for HHS 2016 ACF OCSE FD 1172 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF OCSE FD 1172 Agency: HHS-ACF-OCSE Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $200,000 |
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| Family Violence Prevention and Services Discretionary Grant: National Capacity Building Center to Expand Services for Children, Youth, and Abused Parents Impacted by Domestic Violence Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1157 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF EV 1157 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Personal Responsibility Education Program Innovative Strategies Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF AP 1153 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF AP 1153 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $975,000 |
| Standing Announcement for Tribal Title IV-E Plan Development Grants Apply for HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CS 1176 Funding Number: HHS 2016 ACF ACYF CS 1176 Agency: HHS-ACF Category: Income Security and Social Services Funding Amount: $300,000 |
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