IDHS-DEC Home Visiting Program Narrative

• IDHS-DEC Home Visiting Program Narrative

• Instructions

• Each section must have a heading that corresponds to the headings in bold type listed below, in the order listed below. If the applicant believes that the subject has been adequately addressed in another part of the program narrative, then provide the cross-reference to the appropriate part of the narrative. If a cross-reference is not included, the reviewer will only consider content contained within that specific section. The narrative portion must follow the page maximums were prescribed and must be organized in the format outlined below.
• The program narrative must be typed in black ink on 8 1/2 x 11-inch white paper using 12-point type, single-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides, and at 100% magnification (not reduced). The narrative must not exceed 12 pages, and additional pages will not be reviewed or scored. Items included as Attachments, including the doula narrative, are NOT included in the page limitation. The entire application must be sequentially numbered and submitted as a single PDF document.

• 1. Executive Summary - maximum 1 page (5 points)

For successful applicants, the executive summary will serve as a stand-alone document that will be shared with various state-level stakeholders and others requesting a brief overview of funded projects. Applicants should be concise and direct in addressing the topics below.

1. Applicant Information: Provide your agency name and agency mailing address, along with the name, phone number, and email address of the contact person for this application.
2. Number of families to be served: Provide the number of children to be served in SFY23.
   1. Provide the number of families to be served by home visiting in SFY23.
   2. Provide the number of children to be served by home visiting in SFY23, if this is different than the number of families served.
   3. If your program is proposing doula services, also provide the number of families to be served by doulas in SFY23.
3. Budget: Provide the total amount of your SFY23 budget request for this project.
4. Community and population served: Briefly describe the geographic area to be served, including county(ies) and zip codes. Briefly describe the local population to be served, including age, income, race, ethnicity, and primary language spoken.
5. Program services: State the home visiting model used by your program and whether your program is currently in good standing with the model. In 1-2 sentences, describe how this model fits the population to be served. List any model enhancements or protocols that you propose to use in SFY23 (such as doulas). In 1-2 sentences, summarize how your program assures that staff provide culturally responsive services. In 1-2 sentences, summarize how your program plans to utilize Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation during SFY23.
6. Bonus points: State whether you are applying for any of the following bonus points: Priority 1 "At-Risk" Service Area, Priority 2 "High Consideration" Service Area, Culturally Responsive Leadership, Family Empowerment. (Priority Areas are described in Section C1: Eligibility Information, Eligible Applicants. Bonus points for Culturally Responsive Leadership and Family Empowerment are described in Section E1: Application Review Information, Criteria and Weighting of Each Criterion.

2. Community Need - suggested limit 3 pages (total 20 points)

1. Geographic service area and community need. (5 points)
   1. Applicants must serve one or more of the geographic areas listed under Service Areas. For your proposed service area, list the county(ies) and/or subcounty area(s) to be served, complete with all related zip codes. If there are specific boundaries within a given geographic area(s), these must be explicitly spelled out in the application.
   2. Provide data on community needs. For county-level data, please see the Erikson Institute Risk and Reach Report and the IECAM Regional Reports. City of Chicago community-level data are available from sources including Chapin Hall and the Healthy Chicago 2025 Neighborhood Assets and Opportunities Report. For assistance with sub-county level data, please contact IECAM.
   3. Provide the estimated number of home visiting slots in the service area, along with the estimated number of eligible families. The IECAM Regional Reports include county-level data on the estimated number of home visiting slots (see the Home Visiting tab). For assistance with sub-county level data, please contact IECAM.
   4. Explain how the proposed services do not duplicate other home visiting efforts in the service area.
2. Families to be served. (5 points) Describe the demographic characteristics of families to be served in the selected geographic area. This includes: age, income, race, ethnicity, and primary language spoken. (For county-level data, please see the IECAM Regional Reports. For assistance with sub-county level data, please contact IECAM.) Describe the strengths of families in the community, as well as the barriers that they experience. Briefly describe how your program will prioritize the MIECHV priority populations (which are listed in Section A.1., Program Description, Program Summary). For example, populations may be prioritized by using a weighted eligibility form or by establishing partnerships with organizations that serve these populations.
3. Coordination. (5 points) The www.igrowillinois.org website contains a list of home visiting programs in Illinois currently known to IDHS. Use the "Find A Program" feature to locate the other home visiting programs within your proposed service area and list them in your program narrative. If there are other home visiting programs located within your service area, briefly describe how your program plans to coordinate with them to improve access for families and avoid competition, dual enrollment, and duplication of efforts.
4. Recruitment. (5 points) Briefly describe how you will recruit families, including at least one of the MIECHV priority populations. Describe how your recruitment plan will partner with community assets in your service area (such as community-based organizations, faith-based institutions, healthcare providers, health departments, schools, libraries, Family and Community Resource Centers (formerly known as IDHS local offices), community collaborations, and local businesses). Describe how your recruitment efforts will be coordinated with other home visiting programs in your service area (if any).

3. Capacity - suggested limit 3 pages (total 25 points)

The purpose of this section is for the applicant to present an accurate picture of the agency's capacity, qualifications and ability to successfully implement the proposed program described in this Funding Notice. Include the following:

1. Mission. (5 points) Describe the fit between the proposed program and the agency mission, as well as the agency's knowledge of and standing in the community to be served.
2. Experience. (5 points) Briefly describe the organization's experience in providing culturally responsive home visiting services to families in the service area. If your organization does not have experience providing home visiting services, describe your experience in providing culturally responsive prenatal to three programs to families in the service area.
3. Staffing. (5 points) List your agency's current Executive Director, Fiscal Officer, and Home Visiting Program Director, along with their highest appropriate credential. Outline the program's management and staffing structure, including any proposed consultants, such as Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants. Describe their areas of responsibility and lines of communication, and ensure the description aligns with the organizational chart submitted as Attachment A. Complete Table 1 below.
4. Enrollment and caseload capacity. (5 points) Please provide your current home visiting enrollment (number of children or families currently enrolled) and your program's caseload capacity. Most programs calculate caseload capacity as the percentage of program slots that are currently full. If this percentage is below 85%, please explain.
5. Governance (5 points). Briefly describe your agency's governance structure. Include a list of the agency's Board of Directors or other governing body, identifying the chairperson and/or other key positions, submitted as Attachment B. If applicable, include the role the governing body will play in the decision-making process and how they receive key program information to inform these responsibilities. If more than 50% of the Board and administrative leaders share the cultural background of the families served, please include this information here for up to 10 bonus points, as described in Section E.1, Application Review Information, Criteria and Weighting of Each Criterion.
6. Complete Table 1: Provide the name of each staff member to be funded by this application, the total Full Time Equivalent (FTE), and the % of time spent in each of the listed roles. Indicate open positions as "Vacant." In this table, a full-time staff member would be listed as 1.0 FTE. For your agency, please indicate here the number of hours per week that is considered 1.0 FTE: ______.

7. Home Visiting Staff Name	Total FTE	FTE Home Visitor	FTE Supervisor	FTE Other Role
   Example: Mary Jones	1.0 FTE	1.0 FTE
   Example: Jane Lee	1.0 FTE	0.5 FTE		0.5 FTE Outreach Worker
   Example: Anna Smith	0.5 FTE		0.5 FTE

4. Quality- suggested limit 5 pages (35 points)

1. Home visiting model. (5 points) In a few sentences, please summarize your home visiting model's approach, including the desired family outcomes, eligibility criteria, initial assessment tool used, intensity of services, and curriculum/content. Describe how you assure that the model is carried out with fidelity. State whether or not your program is currently in good standing with the model. Provide the date of the program's most recent accreditation or credentialing review by the model. Describe how this model meets the specific needs of the population. If any model enhancements or protocols will be used (such as doula, Mothers and Babies, and/or the HFA child welfare protocol), describe them here.
2. Culturally responsive staffing (5 points). Describe to what extent your program's home visiting workforce reflects the population served (in terms of race, ethnicity, primary language, and other characteristics). Describe the training, professional development, or technical assistance that your program uses to ensure that staff provide services in a culturally and linguistically responsive manner. Describe hiring plans (whenever vacancies occur) to ensure staff reflect the population served.
3. Staffing supports. (5 points). In 2-3 sentences, describe the home visiting model's requirements for reflective supervision, including the supervisor-staff ratio and the required supervision hours. Describe how home visitors and supervisors are encouraged to obtain professional development. Describe how your program currently utilizes Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) and how you plan to utilize IECMHC during the grant period. Describe how and when you will meet the minimum salary for home visitors, shown in Section A.5.A.3.d., Deliverables, Hiring and Compensation.
4. Family voice. (5 points). Describe how the program includes the voices of diverse families in designing or improving the program. If the applicant plans to hire, mentor, or otherwise support the engagement of former participants/parents as home visitors, please include this information here for up to 5 bonus points, as described in Section E.1, Application Review Information, Criteria and Weighting of Each Criterion.
5. Data and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). (5 points) Describe how the program will utilize data collected to support continuous quality improvement. Include a specific example of how data have been used to drive program improvements.
6. Intake and referral. (5 points) Describe how local cross-sector or cross-systems partners collaborate on intake and referrals to support families' timely access to services. Describe the process for closing the loop on referrals, to ensure that families receive the referred services and referral sources are informed of the status in a timely manner.
7. Maternal and child health partnerships. (5 points) Describe how the program collaborates with maternal and child health partners for referrals, information sharing or care coordination. Briefly describe one example of such a partnership.