0627 Q&A - Outreach (710)

Q: Can you clarify if the Funding Opportunity # 22-444-22-0627-01 (Title: 0627 Outreach) is limited to mental health agencies within the city limits of Chicago? As an agency serving Cook County suburbs, we are assessing our eligibility to apply and have read the NOFO which states that: "This funding opportunity is limited to mental health agencies located in Chicago for Williams and Colbert Consent Decree Clients."
A. This funding opportunity is open to all areas in Illinois. The information in the NOFO is incorrect. This is being corrected in the NOFO.
Q: For program 710 do you have to submit applications to serve Williams and Colbert or can you just submit an application to serve Williams?
A: This grant will serve both Williams and Colbert clients. You can submit an application only for Williams or only for Colbert. You can also submit applications for both Williams and Colbert. The applications posted are specific to the consent decree so the correct one must be used.
Q: What happens in the case that one agency gets the Williams 710 contract and another gets the Colbert 710? How will those funds be split?
A: Applications for this NOFO will be reviewed by the review panel and decisions made on awarding the grants and funding will consider both Williams and Colbert Class Member needs and negotiations of funding will follow. It is the goal of DMH to have continuity and equity across the peer support service delivery for Williams and Colbert Class Members.
Q: Is the grant amount $180,598 for Williams and $180,598 for Colbert?
A: No, $180,598 is the total for both consent decrees.
Q: While our organization has strong relationships and working partnerships with Williams and Colbert Consent Decree-funded organizations across the region, we are inquiring on any provision of information related to Program Ambassador recruitment. Is Ambassador outreach and recruitment solely determined by applying agencies, or, if granted funding, is there any external support related to identifying benefitting Class Members who may be potential Program Ambassadors, (I.e.: access to a database or pool of Class Members to target)?
A: IDHS will work with grantee agencies to coordinate recruitment efforts for Peer Ambassadors between grantee agencies and other Colbert and Williams Consent Decree providers. IDHS will ensure that other Colbert and Williams providers are made aware of the Ambassador program and how interested Class Members can be referred to the program. IDHS will also provide opportunities for grantee agencies to present directly to and develop relationships with the network of Colbert and Williams providers. IDHS is open to discussing innovative strategies or opportunities for Peer Ambassador recruitment with grantees.
Q: How many class members or nursing homes are to be addressed to meet the requirements of this grant or are we to specify the number of class members or nursing homes that we propose to address?
A: DMH will make specific determinations about performance targets and funding during the negotiation process once grantees are identified. It is the goal of DMH to have continuity and equity across the peer support service delivery for Williams and Colbert Class Members.
Q: If we are applying to serve Williams and Colbert members, do we do a separate budget and narrative for each? Or is it 1 budget and 1 narrative in which we explain how we will serve both Class Member sets?
A: Per the NOFO Section D3a, it states "A Separate application and Program Proposal are required for each consent decree. Each application will have a suffix on line 6 CSFA Title", and D3bi, states "A Program Proposal for each consent decree is required". Regarding budgets, in Section D5a, of the NOFO, it states "A separate Budget must be submitted for each Consent Decree and the following suffix used".
Q: Under Deliverables, letter e, it says, Facilitate and speak at monthly community meetings or community forums in the SNFs or SMHRFs to share information on transition options to larger audiences. With this program expanding into Colbert facilities, how is it expected to hold a community meeting monthly at each facility? I see under Performance Measures it asks 'Number of SMHRF or SNF's who held a community meeting, facilitated by an Ambassador, convened during the quarter? Does it make more sense and is it more feasible to host these meetings on a quarterly basis? I'm not sure it's possible to hold a monthly meeting at every facility services are provided in.
A: While monthly meetings in each facility would be ideal, DMH is open to discussing the most appropriate meeting frequency for each facility based on grantee capacity. We would also want to coordinate this with the assigned Prime Agencies' outreach efforts in each facility.