Insight Grants

Clarifications on the Project Prevent Grant

The RFP for the new US Department of Education Project Prevent grant can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/projectprevent/applicant.html. All Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) interested in applying should begin working on their applications using the RFP ASAP!

Additionally, we have heard back from the Program Manager, Earl Myers, Jr. From our emails with Mr. Myers, we’ve confirmed:

  • The award range of $250,000-$1,000,000 is per year.
  • The anticipated average award is $487,500 per year.
  • School safety personnel (like School Resource Officers) and school safety equipment (like new doors, locks, security cameras, etc.) are NOT allowable expenses under this program.
  • Awards are anticipated by the end of September.
  • Applicants should tentatively plan for a project start date of 10/1/2014.
  • LEAs may apply as consortia if they wish to with one LEA serving as the lead applicant and all participating LEAs complying with all program rules, requirements, and data collection. Mr. Myers reminds us of the following important requirements for consortia applicants, “Under EDGAR 75.127, eligible entities may apply as a group (consortium) with one LEA serving as the lead.  However, each member of the group must follow the legal provisions found in EDGAR 75.129 relevant to how to do so.  These provisions include:

‘75.129 Legal responsibilities of each member of the group.

(a) If the Secretary makes a grant to a group of eligible applicants, the applicant for the group is the grantee and is legally responsible for: (1) The use of all grant funds; (2) Ensuring that the project is carried out by the group in accordance with Federal requirements; and  (3) Ensuring that indirect cost funds are determined as required under §75.564(e).

(b) Each member of the group is legally responsible to: (1) Carry out the activities it agrees to perform; and (2) Use the funds that it receives under the agreement in accordance with Federal requirements that apply to the grant.'”

 

Good luck to all applying!

 

New School Safety Grant–Project Prevent–Opened Today!

One of the brand new ED School Safety Grants the Insight Team has been watching for, Project Prevent, opened today. Applications are due 6/30/14.

This program is focused on supporting schools in communities of high violence or schools with high violence in them through mental health professionals who provide students with counseling and referrals to partnering community agencies, training for staff, and proven-effective violence and risk behavior prevention and reduction programming. The Federal Register Notice seems to indicate that violence includes community violence like shootings, as well as domestic violence and other child abuse issues.

Local Educational Agencies (public school districts and charter schools that are designated Local Educational Agencies by their states) are eligible to apply.

Awards are for up to 5 years. The award size is $250,000-$1,000,000 (probably per year but the Federal Register Notice isn’t entirely clear about that; we’ve submitted a question). There is no matching requirement. About 20 awards are anticipated.

Applicants proposing to serve one or more high-poverty schools (schools with student populations with 50% or more of the students living in poverty based on free/reduced lunch numbers or other poverty indicators acceptable through the ESEA) can qualify for three bonus points via Competitive Preference Priority 1 provided they indicate they are responding to the Priority in their abstracts and list the high-poverty schools participating in their projects in their narratives. Also, Competitive Preference Priority 2 allows for three bonus points as well if the district is coordinating with a federally designated Promise Zone.

We’ve asked the contact if the grant will fund school safety staff such as School Resource Officers or school safety equipment such as new doors, locks, and cameras and are currently waiting to hear more on this.

Here’s the link to the Federal Register Notice, which actually provides tons of information on the program: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/04/29/2014-09604/applications-for-new-awards-project-prevent-grant-program

The full RFP should be available tomorrow via grants.gov.

School Climate Transformation and Full Service Community Schools Grants will probably also be released later this week or next week. We’ll keep you updated on those right here on the Insight blog.

If you’d like to apply for this grant with Insight’s assistance, please contact us ASAP and we’ll send information on the cost of services. Given the limited number of awards anticipated, we’ll support a limited number of applicants to be fair to all. Further, two months is actually not long at all to prepare an application of this magnitude, and the program will likely be very, very competitive. Anyone looking to apply will want to start ASAP to have the best possible chance! Good luck!

ED Funding Forecast Shows Many Opportunities on the Horizon

A review of the US Department of Education’s (ED) Forecast of Funding Opportunities shows funding priorities have shifted as the President and Congress attempt to respond to the increasing need to keep schools safe for students, teachers, and administrators alike. The first major change to the Forecast for FY 2014 shows Congress has supported several new mental health and safety grant programs for schools proposed by the President in addition to a key existing program.

Two School Climate Transformation Grant programs will be available for the first time in 2014: one for states (SEAs) and one for school districts (LEAs). The President requested at total of $50 million for the two programs. We await the RFPs to determine the final amounts available. Both programs will seek to prevent and reduce bullying and other problem behaviors through implementation of evidence-based programs according to information available at http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/school-safety-overview.pdf.

Eve Birge, Program Manager for the LEA grant, states, “The purpose of the School Climate Transformation grant program is to help States and school districts build local capacity to train teachers and other school staff to implement multi-tiered behavioral frameworks to improve school climate.”

More information about the School Climate Transformation grants will be released this Spring when their RFPs are available. Presently, applications/RFPs for both programs are forecasted for release on or around April 11th with deadlines on or around May 21st.

Another new grant surfacing in 2014 is Project Prevent. We anticipate $25 million will be available for awards for this program in 2014, if funds allocated align with the President’s recommendation. As proposed by the President, this grant would seek to enable school districts with high levels of violence to provide social and emotional supports and mental health services for trauma or anxiety, while also promoting conflict resolution and other school-based strategies to prevent further violence from occurring. The application is expected to be available on or around April 25th, and the deadline for applying is expected to be on or around June 9th.

A new grant for states entitled Grants to SEAs for Emergency Management will also be available in 2014 and is likely to be similar to the previous LEA grant known as Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools and its predecessor Emergency Response and Crisis Management.  The President recommended up to 30 million dollars for this program. With the application opening on or around April 3rd, the grant seeks to support States in helping schools develop, implement, and improve emergency management plans. This is in response to the need of schools to strengthen their capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and crisis events. The deadline for this grant is expected to be on or around May 19th.

Congress once again supported the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grant for 2014, despite the President’s proposal to cut this valuable program, which exists to help school districts establish or expand school-based counseling programs and mental health supports for students.  Schools that show significant need and develop comprehensive, innovative counseling programs with significant promise for dissemination and replication are given special consideration in applying for this grant. According to the program’s website (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/elseccounseling/index.html), “Projects should: (1) use a developmental, preventive approach, (2) expand the inventory of effective counseling programs, (3) include in-service training, and (4) involve parents and community groups.”

The Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grant application is forecasted for release on or around March 18th with the deadline on or around May 2nd. As this program funded down the slate in 2013, competition in 2014 is expected to be especially tough. Schools hoping to apply should begin preparing NOW.

In addition, ED will partner with the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) on the newly-created DOJ Comprehensive School Safety Programs in 2014. Based on the President’s proposed design, this program is expected to, “provide funds for hiring school personnel including mental health professionals and school resource officers, purchasing school safety equipment, and other school safety activities.” (http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/school-safety-overview.pdf) Congress has allocated $75 Million for this program in 2014. The application is expected to be posted at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/solicitations.htm when available.

Other key opportunities supporting school safety and/or students’ mental health may be available this year through DOJ, the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the US Department of Homeland Security, and/or the States.

If you are interested in applying for any of the above grants or would like more information on Insight’s services, please contact us by phone at 716-474-0981, email info@insightgrants.com, or fill out our online contact form.

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