FY27 APS Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation Services Program

This grant award will have an initial period of performance starting in FY27 (07/01/2026 (or upon execution of the agreement) through 06/30/2029). A budget should be submitted for FY27 only. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation Services Program shall provide intensive, family-centered intervention to empower and strengthen families to become self-sufficient in their communities. The interventions provided shall include a broad assessment of the families' issues, needs and strengths, developing a plan of service, and providing therapy, parent coaching, groups, case management, support and advocacy services. Post adoption and guardianship services shall be pro-active and preventative, providing support as early as at the time of adoption finalization or guardianship transfer through subsidized guardianship. Services shall also be provided when families are experiencing more challenging issues as well as in times of crisis. Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation Services Program Providers shall help to prepare the members of the adoption or guardianship triad in obtaining information about each other (provided all parties involved agree to release such information) and navigating their connections to one another. The primary purpose of post adoption and guardianship services is to support the permanency of adoption or guardianship. Services are to promote permanency by maintaining, strengthening and safeguarding the functioning of families to (1) prevent substitute care placement, (2) promote family reunification, (3) stabilize foster care placements, (4) facilitate youth development, and (5) ensure the safety, permanency and wellbeing of children. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PROGRAM DETAILS The Provider shall ensure services are provided in the primary language or method of communication of each youth and, as applicable, to the youth’s parent(s), guardian(s) and/or other significant persons involved with the youth. Core components: 1) Comprehensive Assessment: When a referral which meets the eligibility requirements is received, adoption and guardianship support and preservation staff must respond by phone within 24 hours (excluding business days and holidays). When the request requires crisis/emergency service, a worker must contact the family and arrange an in-home meeting between the therapist and the family within 3 business days. 2) The Crisis intervention/assessment services may differ depending on the nature of the referral (e.g. Adoptive or guardianship family requesting intervention resulting from a crisis with their child’s behavior; adoptive or guardianship family requesting assistance with out-of-home placement; or assessment required as a result of the death or disability of the adoptive or guardianship family.) In all cases, families must be asked to sign consents for release of information to current and past treatment providers, to agencies with pertinent records, and, to other service providers. Family members will participate in assessing their own strengths and needs and in developing treatment goals. The therapist is expected to complete a written assessment form and family treatment plan within 30 days of the family’s referral into the program, but this time can be lengthened depending on participation, level of functioning and other ongoing needs of the participant as assessed by the clinician and the clinician’s supervisor. 3) Clinical Services: The therapist conducting the assessment of the family must provide clinical services (relating to the adoption or guardianship issue) to the family in the form of individual and family therapy if prescribed by the treatment plan that is developed. Treatment plans must be reviewed and evaluated quarterly (or sooner if the need arises) to accommodate treatment needs that were not initially evident. They must be knowledgeable about normal developmental stages and in issues that are specifically related to trauma, adoption and guardianship. 4) START: START services and designed to allow for quick assessment and more immediate services for families that are requesting less intensive and more preventative services. The initial assessment is done at the point of referral to ensure that the client is in need of prevention verses a more detailed assessment. Additionally, the treatment planning process is purposely brief but also very broad, in order to capture strengths and areas of development. The START philosophy revolves around the idea of providing support 24/7. Thus, there are 24 areas of foci within 7 Domains to examine during this assessment process. The broad assessment is meant to last just a few sessions to allow for services to begin more quickly. Services that fall within the START program are not the traditional therapy services, but rather short-term interventions such as biofeedback, Safe and Sound Protocol, Neuro-feedback, psycho-educational or affect regulation programming, trauma-informed parenting approaches such as Trust Based Relational Intervention and Mind-up. Case management is another important piece of START services, as connection to community-based resources assist in developing family resiliency. Families are encouraged to participate in local support groups and respite, as well as any services available within the community. Families who access these services are able to switch into the services as usual whenever a need for more intensive therapy is identified. START services must meet all of the same contractual requirements of ASAP and are considered an imbedded program. 5) Group Services/Support Groups: The Provider shall offer support groups for both parents and children/teenagers at times and locations that meet the needs of the participants. The group structure may be either an open-ended model (where sessions are ongoing, and individuals may enter or exit the group at any time); or a support group series (such as 8-week sessions.) The Provider must ensure that there are sufficient groups operating to allow for client participation during the client’s service period. In addition, the Provider may provide educational groups for the parents/children that may or may not be open to the general public. 6) Case Management/Advocacy Services: The Provider must provide case management/advocacy services to families who can benefit from such services. The need for case management and advocacy must be addressed in each family's treatment plan and reviewed quarterly (or sooner if the need arises). Examples of case management services include the Provider’s assistance to a family in accessing camp, after-school services, etc. Advocacy services may include assisting the family in coordinating with the child’s school to ensure that all applicable services are received, or referral of the family to the DCFS Educational Advocate serving their region for more complex educational issues; and linkage with other service providers to ensure that families are able to receive specific services, etc. Prior to termination of services, provisions will be made for families to continue to receive any necessary advocacy services within their local communities. 7) Children’s Mental Health Advocacy Services: The Provider must provide these services to families who can benefit from case management and advocacy service due to the significant and/or complex mental health needs of their child(ren). The Mental Health Advocate will primarily interact with the following individuals and assist with applications to access the following services: DCFS regional clinical manager; Family Support Program; application to the local LANs to access WRAP services; SASS (Screening Assessment and Support Services); Family Stabilization, SACY assessments and services; and other public or private agencies with applicable services. Provisions must be made for the continuation of any necessary advocacy services within local communities prior to termination of services under this Contract. NOTE: The Case Management/Advocacy Services and the Children’s Mental Health Advocacy Services noted above are supplemental to the other core services available through the preservation program and are not meant to be the intense case management services available through DCFS when the child is under the guardianship of the Department and has an assigned worker to perform all case management services required. 8) Cash Assistance: The Provider may provide cash assistance payments for a family who faces economic hardships that jeopardize the placement or may purchase specialized services for which no other resource is available. The family may request up to $500 per fiscal year as funding allows. The Provider shall maintain records of the cash assistance amounts expended and the reasons for each of the expenditures. 9) Other support services: The Provider may provide other types of support services (which cannot be provided utilizing the $500 Cash Assistance) at their discretion. Such services would include respite, homemaker service, camping experiences, weekend retreats, aftercare services, etc. Funding for such additional services would be covered by the Provider through existing funding sources available to the Provider. Funding for other support services as described here cannot be counted as an additional billable unit through the Adoption and Guardianship Preservation Contract. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REFERRAL AND ADMISSION PROCEDURES Referral Decision-Making Criteria: Referrals for this program can come from the Subsidy Support Unit, community or self-referrals. Referrals and admissions to the Adoption and Guardianship Support & Preservation Program require that an assessment has been done by an Adoption and Guardianship Preservation Program Intake Worker. The family must be contacted with 24 hours (considering business days) of receipt of referral. The assessment must result in a determination that Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation Services are appropriate services and can meet the needs of the family. The Adoption and Guardianship Preservation Program Intake Worker must gather preliminary information to determine the appropriateness of the referral for the program. Once the preliminary assessment is completed, if the referral is not appropriate for the services provided by the program, a referral must be made to other appropriate resources to meet the needs of families who are not accepted for this program where services are available. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ STAFFING QUALIFICATIONS DIRECT SERVICE: Professional Staff Delivering Clinical Services: Professional staff who deliver clinical services, including but not limited to counseling and therapy, shall possess a minimum of a Master’s degree in Counseling or Social Work from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited program or a Master’s Degree in a field related to social work or counseling from an accredited college or university plus three years of subsequent work as a therapist. If a staff member is not licensed at the time of employment, he/she shall be supervised by a licensed employee and be actively working toward licensure. Clinical service staff shall also possess knowledge of normal developmental stages and issues that are specifically related to adoption and guardianship. Examples include knowledge of child welfare adoptions where abuse, neglect or dependency may have a significant impact on the intervention; knowledge of separation and attachment; and knowledge of the resurfacing of issues that may have been resolved at an earlier time. Professional Staff Delivering Other Services: Professional staff who deliver services other than clinical services (i.e. case management, advocacy, and support group co-leader) shall possess a bachelor’s degree in social work from a CSWE accredited program plus two years of subsequent experience in social work; or bachelor’s degree in a field related to social work from an accredited college or university with three years of subsequent experience in social work. Staff shall possess knowledge of normal developmental stages and issues that are specifically related to adoption and guardianship. Staff that provide case management, advocacy and support group services shall be knowledge of services available in the community they serve; and shall demonstrate the ability to establish good relationships and networking capabilities with other agencies providing services to families in the communities they serve. Support group co-leaders may only co-lead when the supervising therapist is present. SUPERVISORY: All Supervisory staff must possess a Master’s Degree in social work, psychology, counseling or related field from an accredited school and at least three years experience in social work, or administration. A license such as LCSW, LCPC or other clinical license is required. MINIMUM STAFFING EXPECTATIONS Clients served: The estimated number of Clients to be served per year per full time employee (FTE) must be consistent with a ratio of 1 full time equivalent direct service staff to 8-12 client families per service period depending on the area covered by the Provider. The staffing will be based on the contract funding level. Client capacity: The number of staff determines the Client capacity at any one time. The ratio of staff to client is 1 FTE to 8-12 families depending on the intensity of service required by the families served. Provider must plan to have at least one Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) certified therapist. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TARGET POPULATION DCFS Client Capacity Under DCFS Agreement: TBD DCFS Client Capacity at Any Given Time: TBD Agency Client Capacity Under Program: TBD Agency Client Capacity at Any Given Time: TBD Average Length of Services: The average length of long-term services is between 12 to 15 months but may extend up to two years with a n approved Request for Extension. For Start early, Trauma- informed, Attachment-focused, Resiliency-building, Therapeutic (START) services, the average length of time is 3-6 months. If additional services are needed, they may be extended as noted above. The Provider must obtain prior authorization from DCFS to service clients outside of the program plan parameters. CLIENT: A family with youth who have an open Illinois DCFS subsidy case. An Illinois subsidy case may stay open up to age 21. The Provider must check with the DCFS Subsidy staff to determine if the case is still open after age 18. The Provider may service a family whose child was privately adopted or adopted through another state and is under the age of 18. The client for the case can either be identified as the child, as noted above, or as the family unit. Youth must also fit the following criteria: • resides in the home at the time of referral; lives in another home as part of an informal care giving arrangement; is planning to transition back into the home (e.g. a child in a psychiatric placement); • permanency was disrupted either because of the death or disability of the adoptive parent or guardian and who is residing in the home of an adult who expresses interest in becoming the adoptive parent or guardian at the time of the referral; or • the family is requesting a comprehensive assessment for the purpose of determining the need for out-of-home placement. A waiting list shall be maintained for those families who qualify for service but for whom an opening is not available at the time. A triage model shall be utilized with the families on the waiting list. This shall include providing families with information on other possible resources, offering group services to the family while they wait for an opening; and maintaining periodic contact to let them know of their status on the waiting list. Inclusions: Illinois Families meeting the definition of client and eligibility criteria must be accepted on a no decline basis unless services are deemed to be inappropriate based on Client needs and family participation. To be served, a family must have either a child who was adopted (either through DCFS or privately) or for whom they are named as the subsidized guardian through DCFS, and the family must either accept the service or express a willingness to begin receiving services. The following, although not exhaustive, provides examples of the types of problems that would be appropriate for adoption/guardianship support and preservation services: - Child or children experiencing significant emotional or behavioral issues such as: chronic lying and/or stealing, aggression, eating or sleeping disturbances, fire-setting, sexual acting-out, and ADHD that are symptomatic of the adoption/guardianship placement, or placement history; - Child experiencing loss/grief/separation issues: - Medical/organic/neurological disabilities, e.g. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/effects, Mood Disorders, Attachment Disorders, and other psychiatric diagnoses; and - Adjustment issues relating to adoption/guardianship. Exclusions: Any family may be excluded based on non-cooperation of the adoptive or guardianship parent(s) or children. The following are conditions within the family, which may cause exclusions from the program: - A child who is a chronic runaway, is on the run at the time of the referral for service, and whereabouts are unknown; - A child who is involved in criminal or gang activity and there are known or suspected safety issues (the Provider can make assessments at the time of the referral on possible safety issues or if services can be served in a different environment or virtually - Severe cognitive impairment of parent or child resulting in their inability to benefit from service; - Parent or guardian is no longer willing to parent and has ruled out any services to stabilize the placement; or - Substance abuse of parent/child, when referral to a substance abuse program has been refused and which results in their inability to benefit from service. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND METRICS - Provider shall increase accessibility of services for 100% adoptive and guardianship families served by the program. - Provider shall increase the use of community-based services to support families, where appropriate, and prevent the out-of-home placement of children, for at least 95% of families served by the program. - Provider shall prevent the entry/re-entry of a child into the child welfare system for at least 95% of the children served by the program. TREATMENT GOALS - Establish a range of services that address the needs of an adoptive or guardianship family, while responding to their immediate needs, for at least 95% of families served by the program. - Increase the family’s level of functioning in at least 80% of families served by the program. - Maintain the child in the adoptive home, or when placement outside the home is appropriate and necessary, maintain parent/child relationship in at least 85% of families. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GEOGRAPHIC/SERVICE PROVISION AREA(S) 1. $3.688,920: Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Edgar, Douglas, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Macoupin, McLean, Menard, Montgomery, Moultrie, Piatt, Sangamon, Shelby, & Vermilion 2. $2,566,140: Alexander, Bond, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Lawrence, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Southern Calhoun, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, & Williamson 3. $696,960: Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Winnebago & Whiteside 4. $320,868: Adams, Brown, Cass, Northern Calhoun, Greene, Hancock, Morgan, Pike, Scott, & Schuyler 5. $1,202,664: Bureau, Fulton, Henderson, Henry, Knox, LaSalle, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, Mercer, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, & Woodford 6. $4,882,368: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Kankakee, & Will ******* NOTE changes to funding amounts for Geo Areas #2 and #3. When applying, select the counties/geo area for which you want to serve on the Geo Area form, but request and submit a budget for the funding amount listed on the Opportunity Information. *******

Indirect Costs are allowed. To charge indirect costs to a grant, the applicant organization must have an annually negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA). There are three types of NICRAs: 1. Federally Negotiated Rate. Organizations that receive direct federal funding, may have an indirect cost rate that was negotiated with the Federal Cognizant Agency. Illinois will accept the federally negotiated rate. The organization must provide a copy of the federal NICRA. 2. State Negotiated Rate. The organization may negotiate an indirect cost rate with the State of Illinois if they do not have a Federally Negotiated Rate. If an organization has not previously established an indirect cost rate, an indirect cost rate proposal may be submitted to the State of Illinois through the indirect cost rate system no later than three months after the effective date of the award. If an organization previously established an indirect cost rate, the organization must continue to use that rate until its expiration. Upon expiration, the organization may re-submit a new indirect cost proposal through the system annually, within six months after the close of the grantee’s fiscal year, OR an organization may elect to use the de minimis rate instead of their State Negotiated Rate. 3. De Minimis Rate. An organization may elect a de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct cost (MTDC). Once established, the de minimis rate may be used indefinitely. The State of Illinois must verify the calculation of the MTDC annually in order to accept the de minimis rate. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE • All grantees must complete an indirect cost rate negotiation or elect the De Minimis Rate in the indirect cost rate system to claim indirect costs. Indirect costs claimed without an established negotiated rate or a De Minimis Rate election in the system may be subject to disallowance. • Grantees have discretion not to claim payment for indirect costs. Grantees that elect not to claim indirect costs cannot be reimbursed for indirect costs. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Department of Children and Family Services must receive a full application by the date and time listed. Applications received past the due date and time will not be reviewed or considered.

NOTE: This application is for Year 1 of a multi-year award. Successful applicants may be eligible to receive two subsequent one-year renewals (i.e., a multi-year grant of up to three fiscal years total). Renewals are at the discretion of the Department and are based on the meeting of performance expectations and compliance requirements. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1) UNIFORM APPLICATION FOR STATE GRANT ASSISTANCE 2) PROGRAM NARRATIVE AND BUDGET • Please answer all narrative questions in full—being as descriptive and specific as possible. While there is not a set min/max number of characters/words, adequate responses are typically between 250 and 1,000 words (between 1/2 page and 2 pages single-spaced) depending on the question. Applications will be evaluated on answers to questions related to: 1. Organizational Capacity and Experience (15%) 2. Program Design and Implementation Plan (25%) 3. Alignment with Funding Priorities (20%) 4. Outcomes and Performance Measurement (20%) 5. Budget and Cost Effectiveness (10%) 6. Risk and Compliance (10%) For grant award incumbents, satisfactory performance in meeting program plan objectives and requirements will be considered during scoring. As part of the section of the application related to Budget and Cost Effectiveness, an uploaded budget on the provided GATA Budget Template is required in addition to the narrative responses. For the attachment: • The budget is REQUIRED to include clear narrative descriptions. The narrative should explain how costs were estimated AND justify the need for the cost. The budget should be as concrete and specific as possible in its estimates. Make every effort to be realistic and to estimate costs accurately. Each section of the budget should be in outline form, listing line items under major headings and subheadings. If needed, each of the major components should be subtotaled with a grand total at the end. A well-prepared budget should be reasonable and demonstrate that the funds being asked for will be used wisely. • The grant award will be subject to state statutory requirements that limit the direct administrative costs to 20%. Fringe Benefits cannot exceed 25% of total salaries. • If applying for a multi-year award, listed award amounts are for the single fiscal year. For application submission, only one budget is reviewed for expenses incurred for that single fiscal year (i.e. year 1 of the multi-year award). • Please be sure to fill out the FFATA Data Collection Form (page 5) of the Uniform Grant Budget template. If you answer “no” to Q1, you do not need to proceed to Q2 on the form. 3) SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS • If assistance is needed to complete the supplemental questions (i.e., to clarify or confirm applicability of a specific question), please direct those questions to DCFS.GATA@Illinois.gov. 4) BOARD OF DIRECTORS LIST • Please either type the information requested for your Board of Directors or upload a file. Files should include contact information including address, email, and phone numbers (including fax). If not applicable, put N/A. Please note the address provided for each board member cannot be the same as the organization/applicant

Questions from applicants within the application date range can only be directed to and answered by DCFS.GATA@Illinois.gov.

REQUIREMENTS Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal or State awarding agency that is exempt from those requirements under 2 CFR §25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal or State awarding agency under 2 CFR § 25.110(d)) is required to: • Be registered in SAM before submitting its application. To establish a SAM registration, go to www.SAM.gov and/or utilize the instructional link from the https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/GATA/Pages/default.aspx Resource Links tab; • Provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in its application; and • Always maintain an active SAM registration with current information during which it has an active Federal, Federal pass-through or State award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal or State awarding agency. The State awarding agency may not make a Federal pass through or State award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the State awarding agency is ready to make a Federal pass-through or State award, the State awarding agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal pass-through or State award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal pass-through or State award to another applicant. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GATA PRE-QUALIFICATION An entity may not apply for a grant until the entity has registered and pre-qualified through the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) Grantee Portal, https://grants.illinois.gov/portal/. Registration and pre-qualification are required annually. During prequalification, verifications are performed including a check of Federal Debarred and Suspended and status on the Illinois Stop Payment List. An automated email notification to the entity alerts them of “qualified” status or informs how to remediate a negative verification (e.g., inactive UEI, not in good standing with the Secretary of State). A Federal Debarred and Suspended status cannot be remediated. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ELIGIBILITY All potential applicants are eligible that meet the qualifications above. The funding opportunity is not limited to nonprofit organizations subject to 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) of the tax code (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) but is preferred and will be first consideration of choice. You may be requested to submit proof of 501(c)(3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service. The applicant must comply with all applicable provisions of state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to nondiscrimination, sexual harassment and equal employment opportunity including, but not limited to: • The Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/1-101 et seq.), • The Public Works Employment Discrimination Act (775 ILCS 10/1 et seq.), • The United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended) (42 USC 2000a and 2000H-6), • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC 794), • The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 USC 12101 et seq.), and • The Age Discrimination Act (42 USC 6101 et seq.). ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Failure to meet an eligibility criterion by the application deadline will result in the Department of Children and Family Services returning the application without review or, even though an application may be reviewed, will preclude the Department of Children and Family Services from making a State award.

REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS All applications must be submitted by the posted deadline. IDCFS staff conducts an initial review of all applications received for eligibility and GATA compliance. Reviewers may consist of DCFS GATA staff, division leadership, and other internal DCFS staff. Each proposal will be reviewed by a minimum of three reviewers. The review and selection of grant award recipients is conducted in a fair and equitable manner that evaluates and selects grantees most likely to be successful in delivering results based on program objectives, and with limited disruption to the continuity of services. Proposals will be approved based on funding available. While recommendations from the review team will be a key factor in funding decisions, the Department maintains final authority over funding decisions and considers the scores of the review team to be non-binding recommendations. The Department reserves the right to evaluate applications in the larger context of the overall portfolio by considering geographic distribution of awards (e.g., ensuring coverage of certain counties or service areas), client needs, and overall programmatic/ financial risk assessments in its pre-award decisions. Any internal documentation used in scoring or awarding of grants shall not be considered public information. Final award decisions will be made by the Director (or their designee). The Department reserves the right to negotiate with successful applicants to adjust award amounts, locations, etc. Funds are disbursed based on the schedule agreed upon and included within the Uniform Grant Agreement. The release of this Notice of Funding Opportunity does not obligate the Department to make an award. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AWARD NOTIFICATIONS An award status notification (approval or denial) will be delivered via an automated email from Euna Grants. This email will serve as notification that an award has been made. However, this email is not an authorization to begin performance or incur costs. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ APPEALS Competitive grant (and in some cases non-competitive) appeals are limited to an appeal related to the evaluation process. Evaluation scores may not be protested. An appeal must be submitted in writing in accordance with the grant application document. An appeal must be received within 14 calendar days of Award denial. The written appeal shall include at a minimum the following: i. the name and address of the appealing party ii. identification of the grant for which you are appealing the evaluation/review process iii. a statement of reasons for the appeal Response to Appeal a. DCFS will acknowledge receipt of an appeal within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date the appeal was received. b. DCFS will respond to the appeal within 60 days or supply a written explanation to the appealing party as to why additional time is required. c. The appealing party must supply any additional information requested by DCFS within the time period set in the request.

Grantees will be expected to submit both (monthly or quarterly) periodic performance reports and monthly financial reports. The exact reporting requirements of this award will be defined in the program plan of the Uniform Grant Agreement.

Questions regarding this Notice of Funding Opportunity should be addressed to: ILDCFS Accountability Unit Email: DCFS.GATA@Illinois.gov