FY27 CAR Perinatal and Family Resource 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 Building Resilience in Caregivers and Kids (BRICK) Perinatal and Family Resource Program is designed to bridge the gaps in services and resources most needed by rural parents, caregivers, and families. Through this direct service and parent education program Provider will use a comprehensive approach that builds individual skill development while strengthening support systems, enhancing family relationships, and improving access to essential resources. Service delivery will include peer parent mentorship, parent education and concrete supports for parents, caregivers, and families experiencing challenging circumstances such as poverty, lack of resources, substance use and mental health challenges, and homelessness. Provider will operate the program Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Provider will discuss any demonstrated need for hours outside of this schedule with the Program Monitor prior to adjusting. Provider staff must be available during regular operational hours. Provider will offer parent education using the Nurturing Parenting education curriculum in a weekly group setting, with supporting materials from the Celebrating Families curriculum used in a one-on-one mentorship. Through these services, Provider will strengthen participant’s parenting skills, improve family functioning, and build resiliency and use of protective factors. All evidence-based curriculum will follow the minimum training, intensity and duration recommendations outlined in the California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare https://www.cebc4cw.org/, which is incorporated herein by reference. Each cycle must be designed to enhance positive family interactions, strengthen overall family functioning, and support successful family reunification efforts. Virtual group sessions are allowed; however, Provider must establish and enforce clear attendance and participation standards to ensure that each session meets program requirements and qualifies as a completed class session. One-on-one in person classes may be accommodated on a case-by-case basis. If a participant misses a class, they have the option to schedule a makeup class. They are discharged after two missed classes without successful contact Provider will also provide essential supports for expecting and new parents, including diapers, formula, gas and grocery cards, and infant safety equipment. Provider will base access to material supports on client engagement milestones. The Provider must maintain guide indicating what participation prerequisites must be met before accessing material supports. Rapid rehousing services will be provided to eligible families needing help with the initial rental costs. Provider will also partner with community-based organizations to help families meet basic needs including diapers and formula and other infant care items when possible. To promote a safe start for new and expectant parents, Provider will also provide convertible car seats to fit children age birth to five; as well as facilitate a safe sleep initiative, which will provide a pack and play and safe sleep education to families. Provider Perinatal services will include evidence-based perinatal health education, perinatal mood and anxiety disorder screening, perinatal substance use disorder screening, emotional support, and care coordination services at no charge. Provider will use materials from INJOY Health Education to provide perinatal health education to program participants. and materials from Postpartum Support International to provide education and resources to antenatal parents. Provider’s Perinatal substance use disorder education will be based on the Pregnancy and Substance Use Harm Reduction Toolkit developed by Illinois’ PCC Community Wellness Center in collaboration with the National Center for Harm Reduction and Provider will use the following evidence-based screening tools for PMADs and PSUDs: 5Ps Prenatal Substance Abuse Screen for Alcohol and Drugs (Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative) and the Combined EPDS,MDQ,GAD-7, PC-PTSD-5 Screening Tool (recommended by ACOG). The program will: • Use motivational interviewing skills to support parents experiencing substance abuse/mental health challenges • Provide evidence-based parenting education through one of the above noted curriculums • Provide 1:1 parent mentorship • Facilitate linkage to other resources/referrals with warm handoff for program clients • Use lived experience to provide peer support services & parent mentorship to program participants • Provide health education on relevant topics • Conduct non-clinical screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders/Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders • Provide a total of 6 community education/outreach/family activities/training events annually within the geographical service area _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CLIENTS Client Capacity Under DCFS Agreement: 30 Capacity at Any Given Time: 7 Client Capacity Under Program: 100 Capacity at Any Given Time: 30 Average Length of Services: 6 months The provider must obtain prior authorization from DCFS to serve clients outside of the program plan parameters. Clients: defined as caregivers and parents who are experiencing poverty, lack of resources, substance use, mental health challenges and homelessness with children ages birth to age 17. Both DCFS intact and non DCFS involved clients may be served. The primary client group focus is with at risk families not currently involved with DCFS, with children ages birth to five, with a secondary focus of families with children up to age 17. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TARGET POPULATION Inclusions: The Provider will serve all parents and caregivers who are in need of parenting support and education, especially those with risk factors for child abuse and neglect or experiencing DCFS involvement due to lack of resources and support. The program will serve DCFS intact and non-DCFS involved individuals within the scope of primary and secondary prevention activities. Exclusions: Individuals may be excluded if they are not able to function safely due to mental illness, alcohol, drug abuse/impairment, or past demonstration of verbal or physical threats of aggression towards staff. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REFERAL DECISION-MAKING CRITERIA Provider will accept all referrals via email or agency webpage submission, within the target population as noted in 2.1 on a no decline basis. The referrals may come from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Child Welfare Contributing Agencies (CWCA), juvenile/family courts or other community service providers. Clients may also self-refer. Referrals will be accepted during regular business hours via phone, fax or email/mail. The Provider will follow up with the referral source no later than 72 hours after receipt of referral. The Provider will maintain a website, publicly listed phone number and agency email where referral inquiries can be made. If the Provider is unable to accept the client at the time of referral, they will be informed of the waitlist. If the client cannot wait for services, the Provider will work to provide the client with other community resource referrals. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ STAFFING QUALIFICATIONS Direct Service - Peer Support Worker/ Community Health Worker: Minimum education requirement: High School Diploma or equivalent. Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS)/Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) preferred (or plan to complete requirements for certification within 2 years). Lived experience required. Additionally, experience working with families and children strongly preferred. Doula: Minimum education requirement: High School Diploma or equivalent. Current Doula certification required. Supervisory - Consulting Supervisor: Minimum education requirement: Master’s degree in healthcare or social services related field from an accredited school. Additionally, at least 5 years of professional experience in the health care or social services related field. Project Director: Minimum education requirement: Master’s degree required in Social Work, Human Services, Early Childhood, or a related field from an accredited school. A state approved, clinical license (LCSW or LCPC is required. Additionally, at least 5 years of professional experience in the health care or social services related field. MINIMUM STAFFING EXPECTATIONS Provider must maintain staffing levels to ensure that provider is able to maintain client caseloads with a client to ratio of a maximum of 15 clients to 1 FTE is maintained. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND METRICS Program level Outcomes will be measured through client file documentation: • 90% of parent/caregivers will be provided with referrals for resources (employment, legal, housing, education, financial assistance, healthcare, mental health, etc.) to meet identified needs • 90% of parents/caregivers participating in the curriculum-based programs will complete all educational sessions Client level outcomes will be measured using the Nurturing Skills Competency Scale: • 75% of parents/caregivers will demonstrate increased knowledge and understanding of how to use healthy coping strategies in stressful parenting situations. • 75% of parents/caregivers will demonstrate increased knowledge and understanding of child development and how to meet their child’s physical, emotional and developmental needs. • 75% of parents/caregivers will show improvement in the goals identified in their care plan Process outcomes will be measured through case tracking and training documentation: • The Provider will provide a total of 6 community education/outreach/family activities/training events per fiscal year within the service area • 100% of parent/caregivers will receive non-clinical screenings • 100% of parent/caregivers will receive a care plan according to their individual needs System Outcomes will be measured using the Protective Factors Survey (PFS-2): • 85% of families receiving services will remain intact, without child welfare case involvement _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GEOGRAPHIC/SERVICE PROVISION AREA(S) Southern Region

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