23-444-80-0652-01 Questions & Answers

Questions and answers will be updated frequently as new questions are received. Applicants are responsible for checking frequently as the responses provided may have an impact on their ability to submit a responsive application.

If, after reading the questions and answers posted below, you have additional questions, please email your question to: DHS.DVSAHT@Illinois.gov. Please include the NOFO number 23-444-80-0652-01 in the subject line. The final deadline to submit any written questions regarding this Funding Notice will be Monday, 3/28/2022. The Final listing of Q&A will be posted by End of Day on Wednesday, 3/30/2022.

1. Please confirm what agency policies we need to submit along with our other application materials.
   1. All comprehensive domestic violence programs (on-site and off-site) must submit off-site policies. On-site shelter programs must also submit shelter policies.  Include policies as part of the attachments.  Pages do not count toward maximum limit.
2. Under the Capacity Section of the narrative it asks us to d. provide a description of the agency's current programs and activities relevant to the services described in the NOFO. And then in the Quality section, B. provide a description of each required service component in the selected grant type. Is it ok to repeat the same or similar service information in the Quality section with the addition on how survivors access the services?
   1. It is allowable to repeat the information or the applicant may elect to reference the information in the previous section.  In either scenario, the reviewer will consider the information when scoring the Quality Section.  If the information is not supplied in the Quality section or a reference to the Capacity section is not included, the quality section will be scored without consideration of this information. 
3. The capacity section of the application narrative addresses linkage/working agreements.  Should these agreements be submitted as a part of the application package?
   1. No.  Working/linkage agreements or Letters of Support should not be included in the application packet.  Describe your partnerships in the narrative section. 
4. Do we need to send in a pdf version of the budget which is entered into CSA?
   1. No pdf of the budget should be sent. Staff will access budgets through CSA.
5. Where can the FY 23 Internal Control Questionnaire (ICQ) be found?
   1. The FY 23 ICQ is not available at this time and does not have to be completed by the 3/31/22 application due date. Completion of the ICQ is a pre-award requirement not a pre-qualification requirement. Successful grantees will be notified when the new ICQ is available.
6. Historically my agency has been able to meet the 25% match requirement on the federal portion of the grant; however, the NOFO indicates that a budget should be prepared with a 25% match for the entire requested amount.  Due to other grants requiring match, there is concern about being able to come up with a 25% match for the entire award. Will a grant application be accepted if there is less than a 25% match for the entire request grant award amount?
   1. Applications will be accepted and reviewed as long as the pre-qualification requirements are met and the applicant is an eligible entity. If the applicant is successful, the final grant award and distribution of funding sources will be determined, and the required match amount will be finalized.  Prior to recipient of a FY 23 grant award, the organization must demonstrate in the budget a 25% match of the federal portion.  Grantees will be allowed to revise their budget prior to the final submission of the FY 23 proposed budget. 
7.  Our agency is not a direct housing provider,  clients and callers to our 24-hour Crisis Line in need of emergency shelter are first directly connected to our partner domestic violence organizations that do have shelter. If no domestic violence shelter beds are available, the agency will connect the caller with the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline, refer survivors to homeless and emergency services or provide hotel vouchers. Is this considered being responsive to emergency shelter needs (Comprehensive Services) or a Specialized Domestic Violence program?
   1. To meet the requirements of responding to 24 hour emergency shelter needs, applicants must maintain an active connection to emergency shelter. Agencies may refer victims to the DV Hotline; however, they must be available to respond to calls from Hotline staff and provide supportive services during emergency shelter placement incases where the victim is not placed in a domestic violence shelter that can provide the supportive services. 
8. Can the DHS Partner Abuse Intervention Program grant or the DHS-non-federal portion of the Domestic Violence Prevention & Intervention grant award be used to meet the match requirement?
   1. No.  These are not allowable sources of match.  In-kind and cash contributions that are not restricted for match may be used. 
9. Under Program Narrative: Capacity Instructions letter f, it states Identify service locations, hours of operation, service type and staffing. (Attachment B); however, in the link for Attachment B, staffing is not listed as a required item. Please clarify what is required in Attachment B regarding staffing.
   1. Attachment B must contain service locations, hours of operation, and type of services.  Staffing or staff names per location are not required.
10. For Attachment C (Service Provision Information), should the information be broken out by service categories? Are projected numbers included in Attachment C?
    1. The number of clients served and the services hours provided should reflect FY 21 total clients and services and does not need to be broken out by service categories.  Additionally, service projections are not included in Attachment C. 
11. Should pages be numbered in the application packet?
    1. Yes.  Begin numbering with the Executive Summary being page 1 and continue sequentially numbering through the last attachment. 
12. Is there a preferred font for the narrative?
    1. 12 point accessible font, such as, Arial, Calibri or Tahoma.
13. Where should the shelter policies and W-9 be placed in the application? 
    1. The shelter policies and W-9 should be placed after Attachment C.
14.  Applicants selecting to apply for a comprehensive grant must submit shelter policies (on-site and off-site).  Are the shelter policies considered a part of the page limits or are they attachments? 
    1. Shelter policies are considered an attachment and are not considered in the page limits.
15. In CSA, there is a FY rollover option.  If that is selected, does it move the information from FY 22 to FY 23?
    1. Selecting the FY rollover is an optional process.  Click on the "GATA Budgets" tab.  Select the previous year from the dropdown menu. Click search. Select FY Rollover and confirm choice. Make any necessary changes to your budget using the same steps as in the "Enter New GATA Budget" Section of this manual. When finished, follow the same instructions to Certify Budget Rounding, Submit to Executives and Budget Signoff by the Executive Director or Equivalent.
16.  I was unable to attend the technical assistance session on 3.8.22.  Was the session recorded?
    1. The recording of the technical assistance session can be accessed through the following link:  https://illinois.webex.com/webappng/sites/illinois/recording/6093e2ea8127103a97fe00505684fb81/playback
17. Please clarify what type of signature is accepted on the Uniform Application for State Grant Assistance.
    1. Applicants may submit the application with a wet signature, digital or electronic signature.  A typed name does not qualify as a signature.
18. The last competitive grant contained additional narrative questions with the service projections.  Are those not included this time?
    1. The Service Provision Information (Attachment C) replaces the previously used service projections document. 
19.  If the amount of funding for domestic violence services is increased by the Governor, how would additional funds be awarded?
    1. The NOFO reflects the amount of funding which was identified in the Governor's original proposed budget.  If the final FY 23 amount changes, IDHS will determine the process for allocating the additional funds.  At this time, no decisions have been made.
20. How should page 3 of the Uniform Application for State Grant Assistance be completed in terms of estimated funding and applicant contribution (match)?
    1. Applicants should enter the amount requested from the State to reflect the total amount of the grant award requested. Successful applicants will be notified of the grant award amount and the source of funding (Federal/State) once funding decisions are made.  At that time, budgets can be revised if necessary to reflect the final award amount and required match.  The initial request should be the amount that applicants would like to receive for FY 23 (within the award range) and include 25% match for the entire requested amount. 
21.  Should the W-9 be submitted with the application?
    1. Yes, the W-9 form is a part of the application packet.
22. Is it required to reserve hotel placement funds in the budget?
    1. It is required that all comprehensive applicants have the capacity to place victims in the community outside of their own facility; however, this does not have to indicated in the budget.  The narrative and attachment C should demonstrate the applicant's ability to comprehensively respond to emergency shelter needs with on-site (if applicable) and off-site locations.
23. Is it required to repeat information that was already covered in another section of the narrative?
    1. Applicants must cover all of the required information for each section and may do so by referencing another section if that information has already been provided.  If the information is not referenced, i.e. see Narrative Section on Need, page 4, then it will not be considered for scoring purposes in another section.  The exception to this is Attachments B and C.  These attachments are stand-alone documents and must contain all the requested information.
24. I can't find the forms to use for Attachments B and C.  Where can I find them?
    1. The only form associated with the Notice of Funding Opportunity is the Uniform Application for State Grant Assistance.  Attachment A: Organization Chart, B: Service Location Information and C: Service Provision Information are to be developed by the applicant.  Applicants may use forms provided by the Bureau in previous years or create their own.  Applicants may create their own pdf, Word or Excel documents which include the requested detail for the attachment.  
25. Should the Executive Summary and Narrative be single or double spaced?
    1. The Executive Summary and Narrative pages should be single spaced.
26. How should the narrative responses be identified in the narrative?

The narrative response should mirror the outline in the Notice of Funding Opportunity and use bold headings to separate subsections (need, capacity, quality).  For example:

  Program Narrative Need:

  Program Narrative Quality:

19. 1. Overview of service delivery model or standards
    2. Description of each requires service component. 
20. What year would you like used when completing Attachment C - Service Provision Information?
    1. The Number of Unduplicated Clients Served and the Number of Direct Service Hours should reflect FY 21 (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021). 
21. What year should be used to complete Attachment C - Service Provision Information?
    1. The number of unduplicated clients served and the number of direct service hours should reflect FY 21 (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021).
22. Where do I find the Program Plan, Contact Form, Service Projections documents?
    1. The links to the information to be included in NOFO attachments are located under the links box next to the NOFO at https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=141292 or can be accessed directly Attachment B (Service Location Information) and Attachment C (Service Provision Information).  The information must be included as attachments and can be displayed in a table or narrative. A Contact Form is not a part of the NOFO application.
23. Does the grant award CAP of $575,00 include the FVPSA ARP Supplemental funding?
    1. No,.  The CAP of $575,000 is the limit on DHS Core funding.  Do not include FVPSA ARP funding in your initial budget submission.
24. If the match is 25% of the federal portion of the grant award, what percentage should be used in the proposed budget?
    1. At this time it is unknown how federal funding will be distributed across grant awards, so the initial budget should reflect a 25% percent match against the total amount of funding requested.  The final required match amount will be communicated to successful applicants and budget proposals will be adjusted to reflect the grant award amount and the required match.