Shelter Staffing Ratio Evaluation Request for Proposals

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1 Shelter Staffing Ratio Evaluation Request for Proposals SUMMARY The intent of this Request for Proposal is to solicit evaluation services that will provide the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) with factual information regarding the ideal ratio of certified domestic violence advocate staff needed to provide optimal services to shelter participants. Due to limited resources, the domestic violence community nationally is unable to clearly articulate the staff/participant ratio needed to ensure the health, safety, and security for domestic violence survivors and their children. Unlike hospitals, nursing homes, and child care facilities, domestic violence centers are limited to providing best guess information to potential funders regarding appropriate staffing for shelter capacity. This effort is part of the ongoing work of the Coalition to ensure quality services to participants at Florida s 42 certified domestic violence centers. APPLICATION DEADLINE An application submission is complete if the application was submitted via by the deadline. The application deadline for funding under this announcement is August 15, :59 p.m. EDT. An electronic copy must be ed no later than the deadline to: Barnett_Sandy@fcadv.org. Hard copies of the application are not required. It is anticipated that all applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by September 15, INTENT TO APPLY Applicants are encouraged to submit an Intent to Apply to Barnett_Sandy@fcadv.org by no later than August 1, In the Subject line of the please include: Intent to Apply for: Shelter Staffing Ratio Evaluation. ELIGIBILTY The Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) will consider applications from universities and colleges, non-profit entities with verifiable experience conducting similar evaluations and for-profit entities with a documented history of working with non-profits on evaluation, particularly as in the realm of developing industry or program standards. Entities with experience in the area of domestic violence are encouraged to apply. 1

2 AWARD PERIOD The award period begins no later than October 1, 2015 and the project must be completed and the final product approved by FCADV by May 31, FUNDS AVAILABLE All awards are subject to the availability of legislatively appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, FCADV or Florida Statutes. FCADV is seeking applicants that can complete the project in a timely manner and require between $50,000 and $75,000 in funding to conduct the evaluation. BACKGROUND The Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence serves as the statewide membership association for Florida s 42 certified domestic violence centers. In addition, FCADV is responsible for conducting annual center certification per Florida statutes and the distribution and oversight of funding allocated by the Legislature for Florida's certified centers. The organization possesses a successful history of leadership beginning in the 1990s in the creation and implementation of standards for program operation that focus on consistency and quality of services statewide. The central theme of all activities provided by the centers must be survivor empowerment and safety. Standards may be accessed at Program Standards - The Program Standards for Certified Domestic Violence Centers was originally published in 2000 and is re-evaluated and updated annually by the FCADV Standards Committee. The standards reflect the following core beliefs: Women who are battered shall be empowered to make their own decisions even when we do not agree with them. Certified Domestic Violence Center Services shall reflect a philosophy of empowerment and self-determination. Quality of services shall be consistent from center to center so women who are battered can have a reasonable expectation that services provided at all centers are empowermentbased and woman-centered. GRANT PURPOSE As part of the ongoing process by FCADV to ensure services are accountable to survivors through a focus on empowerment and safety, the organization is requesting external evaluation services to help determine the ideal advocate (primary shelter staff) to shelter participant staffing ratio for the provision of emergency shelter services. Evaluators will need to examine the daily activities and services provided at emergency domestic violence shelters, and the time requirements on average to complete the activities and services. Consideration will need to be given to where, when, how, time of day, activities (purchasing 2

3 food for example) and services (counseling for example) take place. Although centers provide a wide range of services, the focus will be on statutorily mandated services. Ideal staffing may or may not be different during certain times of the day versus evening. REQUIRED ACTIVITIES During the evaluation process, the successful applicant will be required to meet with FCADV and representatives of a sampling of certified centers, small, medium and large, for the purpose of gathering information on when, where and how daily activities and services are conducted, the center's assumed success at meeting the survivor's needs (how much time does it take on average to conduct counseling for example) as well as, the challenges centers face in providing services. The successful applicant will identify and implement a method of obtaining input from service recipients that does not violate statutory confidentiality or privilege, and ensures anonymity. Information obtained from the participants (shelter residents) will help to inform the evaluation as to the extent of time needed to perform certain activities and services. The successful applicant will identify a methodology that does not interfere with the day to day operations of the shelter. RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES Travel expenditures, if required, will be funded according to the State of Florida guidelines for travel. University overhead, if applicable, will be limited to 10%. The following activities are not permitted under the grant: Lobbying Fundraising Purchase of equipment, real property or vehicles Construction Physical modifications to buildings, including minor renovations (such as painting or carpeting) REVIEW PROCESS The grant application process will be competitive and all applications will be reviewed by an external panel. Applications will be scored by the review panel according to the criteria set forth in this solicitation. If the application fails to meet the criteria listed below for the initial internal review, up to twenty points may be deducted from the application. Criteria for the initial internal review: Proposal was submitted via by the deadline Proposal is complete Proposal meets page limit and page layout requirements Proposal reflects the grant s purpose area 3

4 Proposal meets remaining requirements set forth in this Request for Proposals Each committee member will review the information provided in the application against the selection criteria for the program. The total points for an application are 100 (60 points for Narrative, 40 points for Budget) with an additional 20 bonus points possible. Ten bonus points may be awarded for demonstrated domestic violence expertise and 10 bonus points for demonstrated experience developing industry standards. The review panel will be responsible for rendering funding decisions as related to the grant proposal. The application with the highest composite scores will be considered for funding. The award recipient will be subject to monitoring and contract compliance by FCADV. REQUIRED CONTENTS/FORMAT Applicants must complete each of the following sections in their response to this solicitation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete. Points will be deducted for an incomplete application. The proposal should follow the order below for easy reading. Applications must use the following page format requirements and include the content listed: Double spaced One-inch margins Type no smaller than 12-point, Times New Roman font Proposal Abstract of no more than one page Program narrative of no more than 15 pages including attachments, if applicable Budget detail with narrative PROPOSAL ABSTRACT The Proposal Abstract is a summary statement of the proposed project and provides a succinct description of the project's goals and objectives. NARRATIVE Provide the following information in the order listed: Applicant organization, name, title and credentials of individual(s) that will conduct the project Organization's mission List a maximum of three, minimum of one, examples of working with non-profits. Provide the organization's name, address and basic mission. Briefly describe the project's goals and outcomes. If the project(s) described served vulnerable populations, please address how you managed the project around the needs of the service recipients, Description of projected evaluation activities and an explanation as to how the activities will help to determine the project outcome, that is, advocate staffing to shelter participant ratio. Where appropriate, activity description should include information on how it meets 4

5 the requirements of participant empowerment and safety. Include description as to how you anticipate maintaining confidentiality and anonymity. Timetable for the activities If available, documentation of domestic violence expertise and/or experience developing industry or program standards for advocate to participant staffing ratios or similar standards BUDGET DETAIL WITH NARRATIVE Provide budget detail by activity. The information should be presented in alignment with the activities detailed in the Narrative Section and include a narrative as to the connection between the activity and the intended outcome of the project. For example, detail the cost of the first project activity, then the second and so on. In summary, present a budget total in line item format for each budget item, such as personnel, supplies, travel and so on using the attached format. 5