A Federal Partnership between the United States Departments of Education, Health and Human Services,
Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Transportation, and Labor, the United States Social Security
Administration, and the Corporation for National & Community Service
SHARED YOUTH VISION PILOT STATE TEAM APPLICATION:
A DEMONSTRATION INITIATIVE TO FURTHER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
COLLABORATIVE INTERAGENCY APPROACHES SUPPORTING THE
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP’S SHARED YOUTH VISION: PHASE III
The U. S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration
(ETA), in conjunction with its Federal Partners:
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DOL, Office of Disability Employment Policy;
Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, Office
of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Office of
Elementary and Secondary Education;
Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children
and Families and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration;
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public Housing
Investment;
Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention;
Department of Transportation;
Social Security Administration, and
the Corporation for National and Community Service
extend an invitation to the sixteen state teams that attended the September 2006
Shared Youth Vision Forums in Atlanta, GA to apply to become a pilot state and
receive financial assistance to demonstrate the implementation of their
collaborative strategy in a specific geographic area at the service delivery level.
This funding opportunity is designed to support integrated systems development
and collaboration; it may not be used to provide direct service delivery. Teams
must describe a specific pilot initiative that is innovative, replicable, and
demonstrates to the rest of the country how partnerships and integration in
services and resources increase positive outcomes for the neediest youth.
Background:
The White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth (December 2003),
recommended that an interagency group be created to help facilitate interagency
collaboration at the state and local levels for federally funded youth programs.
The Federal Partnership, and the state teams implementing the “Shared Youth
Vision” represents a collaborative approach at the national, state, and local levels
to serving our neediest youth. Each phase of this effort fulfills the charge given by
the Task Force to develop innovative approaches, enhance the quality of
services delivered, improve cost-effectiveness and improve the outcomes for the
neediest youth.
In September 2006, the Federal Partnership sponsored Phase II of the Shared
Youth Vision, two “Advanced Level Technical Assistance Youth Vision Forums.”
The forums were designed for those teams who had moved forward in their
collaborative efforts around the Shared Youth Vision. Teams met specific criteria
demonstrating their advancements in order to attend these forums and received
facilitated assistance around higher-level strategic thinking to further advance
their efforts and to develop demand-driven workforce solutions for advancing the
neediest youth.
Funding Opportunity Description: SHARED YOUTH VISION, PHASE III
This application provides those teams who attended the September 2006 Shared
Youth Vision Forums the opportunity to become a pilot state and receive financial
assistance in the form of a grant geared specifically toward their state team’s
strategic plan for Phase III of the Shared Youth Vision strategic outreach. These
pilot teams will serve as models that demonstrate to the rest of the country the
partnerships and integration of services and resources that typify a successful
interagency collaboration resulting in increased positive outcomes for the
neediest youth which include but are not limited to: youth offenders; children of
incarcerated parents; youth in and aging out of foster care; migrant youth; youth
with disabilities; Indian and Native American youth; and out-of-school youth.
The partnership expects the pilots to potentially result in a number of tangible
outcomes that demonstrate system transformation at the state and/or service
delivery level including:
• state and local policies (including waivers) consistent with an integrated
approach to serving the neediest youth including changes that result in
breaking down of real or perceived administrative barriers and lead to
greater efficiency and effectiveness in serving the neediest youth;
• jointly funded projects/solicitations for grant applications/requests for
proposal, that demonstrate collaboration across agencies;
• collaborative tools such as data sharing agreements, shared management
information systems, and websites;
• increased collaboration and communication at the local/service delivery
level in order to maximize resources and ensure that all youth serving
agencies are meeting their own goals and objectives for serving the
neediest youth; and
• improved performance outcomes for the neediest youth at the
local/service delivery level.
Award Information:
The Federal Partnership through the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and
Training Administration will provide financial assistance to support integrated
systems development and collaboration to up to sixteen of the state teams in
grants ranging from $50,000 to $120,000 each over a period of one year. The
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amount of assistance will vary depending on the state team’s individual strategic
plan, specific needs, and strength of the application. The Partnership cannot
guarantee that grants will be funded at the level proposed in the application’s
budget section. These awards are viewed as “seed money” and not as
“program” money; they are meant to assist teams in establishing a framework
that will evolve into a sustainable model.
Eligibility Information:
Only those sixteen state teams that attended the September 2006 Shared Youth
Vision Forums are eligible to apply. One lead agency must be identified in each
application and all correspondence will be addressed to the lead agency partner
(contact information must be provided). The lead agency will serve as the fiscal
agent for the state team and represent each of the partner agencies on the state
team.
Application Submission and Evaluation Information:
The technical proposal is limited to 10 double-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 inch by
11 inch pages with 12 point font and 1 inch margins. Within this document, the
team must provide a detailed proposal for reaching a specific population(s) of
their neediest youth, as defined within the Shared Youth Vision and address the
following areas.
1. Mission and Vision Statement: Provide the mission statement for your
state vision team and the overall vision for how your team will accomplish
system transformation within your state. Include the overall goals of your
partnership for this pilot.
2. Population: Describe the specific group(s) of youth you will target and
how your team will build collaboration and integrated systems
development to support that population or populations. (Example: You will
be serving foster youth ages 18-21 that are transitioning out of care and
demonstrating how services will be coordinated across service delivery
systems to address the higher rates of homelessness, adjudication,
dropout rates, and disabilities this population experiences.). If you are
choosing to target a broader spectrum of youth, or design a process that
will advance the ability to serve the multiple neediest youth populations,
please explain. Demonstrate that you have conducted a needs
assessment for the population(s) you are targeting, such as an inventory
of need for alternative pathways to graduation.
3. Geographic Location: Describe the specific geographic location that you
will target for your pilot. The geographic location must be at the service
delivery level, which may include a specific city, county or counties, a
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specific region within the state, or even a cross-state region. Demonstrate
that the needs assessment conducted covers this geographic location.
4. Specific Strategy: Provide a detailed plan for how you will coordinate and
integrate services for the population(s) in the geographic location
identified. The plan must demonstrate how multiple partner agencies will
work together at the service delivery level to serve this youth population(s)
in a way that reflects your overall state youth vision. A time line must be
provided that outlines project activities and deliverables and details the
roles and responsibilities of each member of the state team. Indicate if
youth have been involved in your strategic planning and if they will play a
role or serve in an advisory capacity for this project. The plan must
involve either a new strategy for coordination at the service delivery level
or an expansion of an existing strategy. This strategy represents
implementation of your youth vision at the service delivery level.
5. Evidence of Readiness: Demonstrate that your state team is prepared to
implement their youth vision strategy at the service delivery level. Provide
evidence that your team has conducted a gap analysis that identifies
areas where new policies and practices are needed in support of system
and resource integration. The results of this analysis will drive the solution
the team will be looking to implement. Additional evidence of readiness
may include Memorandums of Understanding, Cooperative Agreements,
letters of support, website(s), data sharing agreements, asset mapping,
blended funding approaches, etc. Documents demonstrating evidence of
readiness will not count toward the ten page narrative limit.
6. Measurable Outcomes: Provide specific measurable outcomes (local,
state, etc.) and describe how data will be collected and validated.
Outcomes should include both traditional measures of success (such as
employment and retention) as well as measures of collaboration [such as
number of agencies coordinating at service delivery level to serve the
specific population(s)] (Example: Foster youth in Anytown, USA will
demonstrate a 20% increase in retention in educational or occupational
training programs when compared to foster youth in other locales. Data
will be collected and validated through the state-wide social services
database currently in place that tracks the educational outcomes of foster
youth transitioning out of care. In addition, the team has a goal of five
youth serving agencies representing human services, rehabilitation,
juvenile justice, workforce system, and housing authority to participate as
active members in collaboration to serve foster youth.)
7. Engaging Business and Industry: Explain how your partnership will
engage business and industry and describe their specific role(s) or tasks
within the outlined strategy. (Example: The Anytown’s local retail industry
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council has made a commitment to assist identified youth in obtaining
part-time employment while youth are continuing their education.)
8. Replication: Describe how your strategy in this specific geographic area
can be replicated within other localities and regions in your state. Clearly
describe how the effective approaches and outcomes resulting from this
project will be developed into solutions-based models so that they can be
shared with, and implemented by, other collaborative youth teams. Detail
any envisioned by-product(s) of this intervention and how these tools
might assist other collaborative youth teams in replicating your success.
(Example: A step by step strategy (blueprint) for collaborating to serve
youth transitioning out of foster care will be created with specific
differences outlined for urban vs. rural communities.)
9. Sustainability: It is anticipated that this initial investment will expand and
enhance your team’s collaborative efforts, allowing funds to be utilized to
implement effective and innovative strategic approaches to serving the
neediest youth. Describe how your team will sustain the proposed project
beyond the initial grant period; include the role of each team partner in
their commitment to sustain the project, and detail potential funding
sources.
The proposal should also include an Application for Federal Assistance SF-424
(which can be found at http://www.grants.gov/techlib/424_20090131.doc), a
Budget Information Form SF-424a (which can be found at
http://www.doleta.gov/sga/forms.cfm) a one page executive summary, a detailed
budget narrative, and a list of state youth vision team members. The executive
summary, Application for Federal Assistance, Budget Information Form, budget
narrative, and list of team members are excluded from the 10 page limit.
Budget Narrative and Leveraged Resources: Provide a detailed budget
narrative for how you would spend the funds requested. Funding requests
should be between $50,000 - $120,000. The state team must also provide a
minimum of 50% of the requested amount in leveraged resources. Examples of
potential leveraged resources include WIA statewide funds, foundation funds,
other Federal Partner funding sources, city or county funds, etc. These funds
must represent new funds and/or funds that are set aside and designated for this
specific project. Describe the source of such leveraged resources and attach
documentation (a letter of commitment, or award letter) verifying resources have
been designated for this project. The leveraged resources will be evaluated on
how it helps to achieve the project goals. Please do not include the proposed
leveraged resources on the SF-424 or SF-424a. Please only include the amount
of Federal funds requested on these forms.
The requested amount should include a request to fund at least one
representative (maximum 3) to attend the Shared Youth Vision Pre-Conference
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(July 16th -17th) at Workforce Innovations 2007, which will be held in Kansas City,
MO, July 16-19, 2007 (www.workforceinnovations.org) (funding for this activity
may not exceed $2,500 in total).
Examples of potential uses of funds for this grant include personnel or consultant
costs to coordinate efforts at the service delivery level, training, development of
written materials, and travel and meeting expenses. Funding cannot be used for
construction costs, administrative costs, indirect costs, or program service
delivery.
Additional related materials (up to 10 pages) may be submitted as attachments
and will not count against the allowable maximum page total.
Application Review Information:
Review panels will consist of cross-agency members of the Federal Partnership.
Applications will be reviewed and selected based on answers to the above
questions. If applications are not approved by the Federal Partner panels for
initial funding, state teams will have the opportunity to resubmit a revised
application based on Federal Partner feedback. Therefore, pilot grant award
timing may be staggered based on application approval.
Distribution Rights:
Selected applicants must agree to give the Shared Youth Vision Federal
Partnership the right to use and distribute all materials developed with grant
funds such as training models, curriculum, technical assistance products, etc.
Materials developed through this grant effort are in the public domain; therefore,
the Shared Youth Vision Federal Partnership has the right to use, reuse, modify,
and distribute all materials and products to any interested party, including broad
distribution to the public workforce investment system via the Internet or other
means.
Deliverables and Requirements:
The state team must submit a final report of “lessons learned” detailing how the
project can be replicated and expanded in your state within 90 days following the
end of the one year grant period. In addition the state team must submit
quarterly narrative reports on their progress and quarterly financial reports 30
days following the end of each quarter.
The state team must also agree to serve as a “consultant” to another Youth
Vision state/tribal team, a team that was not part of the September 2006 Shared
Youth Vision Forums, during the grant period. This “peer to peer” technical
assistance effort will assist a youth vision state team whose partnership efforts
are not as advanced. It is anticipated that the pilot state team would provide
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guidance and insight into their specific strategic planning and the subsequent
activities that has enabled their team to advance their vision. This relationship
may involve individual team partners developing relationships and maintaining
communications via phone and/or e-mail with their peer team to share their
experiences and assist in problem solving in order to advance their peer’s
strategy in serving the neediest youth. Based on geographical locations, the
peer-to-peer relationship may involve team or partner visits to provide onsite
assistance (such onsite visits would need to be funded by either this grant or
through existing resources). Teams will be paired based on the specific progress
demonstrated by the individual teams and the similarities in the communities of
youth they serve. It is expected that each state team involved in this relationship
will prepare a report detailing their experiences, including successes and
challenges, as a result of this peer-to-peer effort.
Due Date: Completed applications must be received by April 6, 2007.
Applications should be mailed to:
U.S. DOL/ETA
Division of Federal assistance
ATTN: Jeannette Flowers (SGA/DFA PY 06-06)
200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room N4716
Washington, DC 20210
You also may email your application by the due date to
flowers.jeannette@dol.gov
Agency Contacts: Any technical questions regarding this application should be
directed to:
Jeannette Flowers
(202) 693-3322
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