Notice of Funds Available (RFP) Print Apply for this Grant

Specifications

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice of Funds Available (NoFA) is to see an advocacy coalition develop that is meaningfully engaged in organizing at the grassroots and state levels to advocate for needed regulatory, legislative, and policy changes to ensure the phased ending of 14c in Georgia.

Schedule of Events

This Request for Proposals will be governed by the following schedule:

• NoFA Posted in DD Suite- October 15

• Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM via Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87807874832?pwd=Q3lVcXJ6K1FEZFVUS2drL3VGNnMzUT09
Meeting ID: 878 0787 4832, Passcode: 611589


• Deadline for written Questions – November 9
• Applications Due – November 15
• Staff Application Review - November 15- December 3
• Grants Selection Committee Review - December 6 – 31
• Board Approval – January 15
• Award Recipients Announced – January 17
• Contract Negotiations and Signed Contracts – January 17 – February 15
• Start Date/Work Begins – March 1, 2022

Restrictions on Communication

All questions about this NoFA must be submitted in the following format:
Organization/Individual Name
1. Question
Citation of relevant section of the NoFA
2. Question
Citation of relevant section of the NoFA
Questions must be directed in writing to the Operations & Contracts Director (OCD) Lisa Eaves at: lisa.eaves@gcdd.ga.gov
Questions must include the company name and the referenced NoFA section.
From the issue date of this NoFA until a contractor is selected and the selection is announced, Applicants are not allowed to communicate for any reason with any State staff except through the OCD, or during the Applicants' conference, or as provided by existing work agreement(s). The State reserves the right to reject the proposal of any Applicant violating this provision. All questions concerning this NoFA must be submitted in writing by email to lisa.eaves@gcdd.ga.gov. Only written questions will be accepted. No response other than written will be binding upon the State

The DD Council

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is one of 56 entities of its type in the United States and territories that report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Community Living. It is authorized under Public Law 106-402, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 2000.
The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) makes funds available to fulfill its mission in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its Five-Year Strategic Plan (pdf file). Through its funding, GCDD works to increase the capacities and resources of public and private nonprofit entities and others to develop a comprehensive community system that responds to the choices, capabilities and needs of persons with developmental disabilities and their families. The purpose of GCDD grants is to expand best practices and contribute to system-wide changes that support the rights of people with developmental disabilities and their full inclusion as community members. Recipients of GCDD grants are expected to be ongoing partners bringing about change.
Our activities are governed by a 27-member board, appointed by the Governor and comprised of at least 60 percent individuals with developmental disabilities and family members. Other members include policymakers that represent various agencies and organizations having a vested interested in persons with developmental disabilities.

GCDD serves as an advocate for all persons with developmental disabilities. We are charged with creating systems change for people with developmental disabilities and their families by increasing opportunities for independence, inclusion, integration, productivity and self-determination. Activities include public policy research and analysis, reform, project demonstrations, education and training.
The GCDD is a state agency, attached to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) for administrative purposes.

Scope of Work- Request For Proposals

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is the state's leader in advancing public policy on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities. The mission of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play and worship in Georgia communities. We aim to promote public policy that creates an integrated community life for persons with developmental disabilities, their families, friends, neighbors, and all who support them. We achieve this mission by sharing information, coordinating public outreach, and implementing strategic legislative advocacy. As the nation continues to debate how best to serve the needs of a diverse population, the GCDD would like to equip Georgians with disabilities to advocate for themselves, their families and their communities regarding their rights and needs.
GCDD believes that its role is to influence the direction of public policy at both state and federal levels, to support capacity building through technical assistance and grants, to bring people together to discuss how to create change, and to promote public awareness of those in need. GCDD embraces the notion that addressing complex problems requires a collective impact approach that involves many actors from different sectors committing to a common agenda. Collective impact describes a shared vision and values, a common understanding of the problem, and rules of engagement agreed upon by all. This coalition should have a focus is on adaptive problem solving where the answer is not known and no single entity has the resources/authority to bring about change. This work will require an inclusive leadership style that is able to take others along a process of selection.
Advocacy efforts should be built upon:
(1) development of consensus around a common definition of the problem and possible policy options by an ever-widening constituency of people;
(2) increased visibility of the issue in policy process, resulting in policy outcome;
(3) shifts in societal norms such as decreased discrimination; and
(4) shifting population level impact indicators such as an increase in the of people with developmental disabilities who are working.
State and federal laws and policies are shifting toward requiring and supporting increased opportunities for people with developmental disabilities to work in their communities and to have meaningful days in the community when not working. GCDD believes 14c and Subminimum Wage practices must be phased out in order to successfully have statewide implementation to support more people with developmental disabilities to be successfully employed in the community in jobs of their choice.

In proposing to tackle ending 14c in Georgia, it will be helpful to have in mind:
• The HCBS Settings Rule: The Home and Community Based Settings Rule requires all Medicaid – funded settings to provide people with developmental disabilities opportunities to engage in community life, have access to the community, control their personal resources, and seek jobs in competitive employment. The HCBS Settings Rule applies to all federally funded home and community-based services.

• WIOA: Requirements in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act will help further advance employment of people with disabilities by requiring coordination with all partners in workforce development systems to provide high quality services and supports. As a result, it is expected that people with disabilities will be better prepared for meaningful employment through robust system-level collaboration.
The vision for Georgia’s Coalition to End 14c Subminimum Wage practices in Georgia is to see an advocacy coalition develop that is meaningfully engaged in organizing at the grassroots and state levels to advocate for needed regulatory, legislative, and policy changes to ensure the phased ending of 14c in Georgia and the transition of all interested persons into competitive integrated employment.
A successful coalition will at minimum engage people with disabilities, their families, providers, and other stakeholder to draft and execute an advocacy strategy.
Expected Outcomes:
• Measurable engagement in the coalition by persons representative of the community.
• There will be a measurable increase in the number of organizations committed to adopting competitive integrated employment practices.
• There will be a measurable increase in the number of people with developmental disabilities and their families engaged in advocacy efforts related to employment supports.
• Increased awareness by elected officials of needed changes to enable Georgia to end 14c.

Minimum Qualifications:
• 3 years’ experience working in the area of employment policy for people with developmental disabilities.
• Capacity for traveling throughout the state with some frequency.
• 1 years’ experience in community-organizing and education of the public on issues critical to marginalized people.

Application Submission & Evaluation

The Applicant must submit a complete application in DD Suite which includes a Project Outline, a Project Work Plan and a Project Budget.

Applications must be submitted online via https://www.ddsuite.org, prior to the published deadline. No hard copies will be accepted. Applicants must have or create a DD Suite user account and an organization account in order to submit an application. Go to https://www.ddsuite.org and click on "HELP TAB" for detailed instructions on creating DD Suite user and organization accounts. (See complete application process and Guide to DD Suite attached)

Additional Submission Requirements:
1) Upload of copy of the Federal W-9 (attached to this NoFA)
2) Two written professional references who can speak to your qualifications and experience. (Upload references to your DD Suite application.)


Each proposal should be prepared simply and economically, avoiding the use of elaborate promotional materials (unless materials have been requested) beyond those sufficient to provide a complete presentation. If supplemental materials are a necessary part of the proposal, the Applicant should reference these materials in the technical proposal, identifying the document(s) and citing the appropriate section and page(s) to be reviewed.
Any proposal received after the due date and time will not be evaluated.

Evaluation Process

The evaluation of proposals received on or before the due date and time will be conducted in the following phases. Any proposal received after the due date and time will not be evaluated.

Administrative Review

The Operations & Contracts Director will screen each proposal. The screening will consist of:
(1) determining if the Applicant is eligible to receive Council funds including determining if the Applicant meets eligibility requirements and is registered to do business in Georgia;
(2) the budget is within the funding limits and includes the required match;
(3) the application is complete and all sections in DD Suite have responses; and,
(4) the required forms are attached.

DD Suite will issue an automatic reply acknowledging receipt of your proposal immediately after successful submission.

There will be no debriefing for applicants who are not selected. All applicants who respond to this NOFA will be notified of the outcome of their application (awarded, application modifications requested, or denied) by email through DD Suite.

Proposal Evaluation

The GCDD Chairperson will appoint a selection committee and may consider individuals other than Council member or advisory members. No one may evaluate proposals in which there is, or there is an appearance of, a conflict of interest. They will recuse themselves from all parts of the grant evaluation and award process.

The Selection Committee may meet twice within 30 days of proposal due date. Before the first meeting, staff will send proposals and the Solicitation Evaluation Form. The first meeting may be either in person or virtual and members will review, rank, and narrow down proposals to the top 2 or 3 for consideration as finalist. Staff will collect and file all completed Solicitation Evaluation Forms.

Using the Solicitation Evaluation Form, members will identify the most critical factors contributing to the value or success of the proposed solutions to the issues identified. Among the criteria used are the following:

1. Does the outline clearly state goals and major activities?
2. Is applicant qualified or experienced to complete the goals and activities?
3. Does the application satisfactorily describe the impact of activities of the project will have on people with developmental disabilities?
4. Is each required goal and outcome addressed? Are the goals and outcomes satisfactory?
5. Does the application adequately describe who will be responsible for each activity and a timeframe for completion?
6. Is the proposed budget consistent with the goals and activities identified in the project?
7. Does the budget justification for each item include how amounts were determined?
8. Does the evaluation plan satisfactorily describe both process and outcomes evaluation approaches?
The criteria are scored by each member of the selection team and a proposal is eligible to receive a maximum of 1000 points. Each criteria is rated either Exceptional (receives full points), Acceptable (receives half points), Not Acceptable (Receives no points). For example, if the criterion Organizational Ability has a maximum points value of 75. An Exceptional Rating gets 75 points, Acceptable gets 37.5 and Not Acceptable gets 0. If there is more than one proposal, only those that have a score of at least 700 (70% ) will have their applications forwarded to the Council’s Grants Selection Committee.

Oral Presentations

GCDD reserves the right to conduct site visits or to invite Applicants to present their proposals between December 6 – 31, 2021 at 2 Peachtree Street, 26th Floor, Suite 246, Atlanta GA 30303 or by video conference (Zoom) virtually during this time.

Financial (Cost) Proposal Evaluation
The Successful Applicant submit a proposed budget for this initiative. The Financial Proposal will provide a 25% match (in-kind or funds) to augment the federal grant. The 25% match may be in the form of matching dollars, and/or in-kind costs, on an annual basis. Match funds must be documented by submitting a Report of Certified or In-Kind costs at each reporting period. The match rate for poverty areas in 10%.
What kind of things can be considered in-kind match?
Your in-kind match may include expenses that are:
• allowable under federal guidelines and GCDD policies;
• necessary for your project;
• not paid by federal funds (ours or those of another agency); and
• not already being used as match for another federal grant.
Some examples include office space, utilities, volunteer time (including members of your Project Advisory Committee), printing costs, consultants (if not paid through the grant), or staff not paid for through the grant.
Applicant should provide a detailed annual plan explaining how it will generate the required match and how much, i.e., the percentage that will be provided. The plan must show in detail what will be done, how it will be done, and what specific commitment the Applicant is willing to make as a match.

NOFA Policies

Rejection of Proposals/Cancellation of NoFA

The State reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any irregularity or informality in a proposal, and to accept or reject any item or combination of items; when to do so would be to the advantage of the State. It is also within the right of the State to reject proposals that do not contain all the elements and information requested in this document. The State reserves the right to cancel this NoFA at any time. The State will not be liable for any cost/losses incurred by the Applicants throughout this process.

NoFA Amendments

The State reserves the right to amend this NoFA prior to the proposal due date. All amendments and additional information will be posted to http://ddsuite.org Applicants are encouraged to check this website frequently.

Proposal Withdrawal

A submitted proposal may be withdrawn prior to the due date by a written request to the Operations and Contracts Director. A request to withdraw a proposal must be signed by an authorized individual.

Cost for Preparing Proposals

The cost for developing the proposal is the sole responsibility of the Applicant. The State will not provide reimbursement for such costs.



Conflict of Interest

If an Applicant has any existing client relationship that involves the State of Georgia, the Applicant must disclose each relationship.


Reciprocal Preference Law OCGA 50-5-60(b)

For the purposes of evaluation only, Applicants resident in the State of Georgia will be granted the same preference over Applicants resident in another State in the same manner, on the same basis, and to the same extent that preference is granted in awarding bids for the same goods or services by such other State Applicants resident therein over Applicants resident in the State of Georgia. NOTE: For the purposes of this law, the definition of a resident Applicant is one who maintains a place of business with at least one employee inside the State of Georgia. A post office box address will not satisfy this requirement.

ADA Guidelines

The State of Georgia adheres to the guidelines set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Applicants should contact the Operations and Contracts Director at least 48 hours in advance if they require special arrangements when attending the Applicant's Conference. The Georgia Relay Center at 1-800-255-0056 (TDD Only) or 1-800-255-0135 (Voice) will relay messages, in strict confidence, for the speech and hearing impaired.