2024 Request for Applications: Lead Agency Grant Program (Washington D.C.)

The Lead Agency grant program is a collaborative effort to mobilize both public and private sector resources to deliver effective community-based support and resources to customers in a coordinated service delivery system with person-centered choice and cultural competence.

Donor Name: Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL)

State: Washington D.C.

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 06/14/2023

Size of the Grant: $667,895 – $1,026,401

Grant Duration: 1 year

Details:

The mission of the Department of Aging and Community Living is to advocate, plan, implement, and monitor programs in health, education, and social services for the elderly; to promote longevity, independence, dignity, and choice for aged District residents, District residents with disabilities regardless of age, and caregivers; to ensure the rights of older adults and their families, and prevent their abuse, neglect, and exploitation; to uphold the core values of service excellence, respect, compassion, integrity, and accountability; and to lead efforts to strengthen service delivery and capacity by engaging community stakeholders and partners to leverage resources.

The Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL) looks to community partners in the Senior Service Network to innovate and deliver high-quality services for older adults across the District.

Also, the Lead Agency must:

• Have knowledge of the social and demographic characteristics of older adults in the ward.
• Operate community dining sites in each ward to provide meals, health promotion, recreation, counseling, and nutrition services to seniors.
• Successful applicants must demonstrate a clear plan to listen and engage with clients and community members and respond and modify programs accordingly. Applications should include staff members responsible for this work and a plan to report on findings and program modifications. This work should be integrated into programmatic logic models.
• Applicants will have all executive leadership and key personnel participate in trainings covering cultural competency, person-centered care, language access, cyber security, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), diversity and inclusion, sexual harassment, expectations of community dining sites, and other training as mandated by DACL policy. Applications should include a plan for staff training.
• Network with other community organizations, public and private agencies, and associations to carry out an effective and efficient service delivery system.
• Develop and implement a structured community outreach program with an emphasis on reaching isolated seniors. For citywide programs for special populations, older adults in the LGBTQ+ and SGL communities, and older adults living with HIV the outreach program must include detailed outreach plans to reach these populations and enroll them in programming.
• Hold quarterly community planning meetings with the purpose of developing and maintaining relationships with community stakeholders who can provide feedback and support on services to older adults in the wards. These organizations could include, but are not limited to, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, Commissioners on Aging, Mini-Commissions on Aging, civic associations, hospitals, recreation centers, public schools, and churches. The applicant should include who is responsible for collecting feedback and implementing the changes and advancements from community feedback.
• Establish a Senior Neighborhood Advisory Council to serve as an advisory group in planning and developing a coordinated service delivery system. The Advisory Council should include a representative from each senior center or community dining site.
• Develop a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the agency and satellite nutrition sites and programs. The COOP outlines DACL grantee responsibilities in the event of a localized, District-wide, or catastrophic disaster (“emergency”) affecting DACL and its constituents, the Senior Service Network, or DACL services and programs. “Emergency” includes all man made and natural emergencies and threats, hurricanes, flash flooding and other weather emergencies, and nuclear blasts. The plan must include a mechanism for identifying those high-risk seniors with limited mobility and have a shelter-in-place and evacuation component. The Continuity of Operations Plan should detail the agency’s continued operations during and after an incident.
• Develop a list of older adults in the ward who are frail, live alone, and who may not have caregivers to ensure services reach them during inclement weather, disaster, and other emergencies. Updates must be provided to DACL on a quarterly basis.
• Provide a strong web presence for all Lead Agency programs that allows seniors to access services under the Lead Agency.
• Provide a main Information and Referral Assistance phone line that is regularly monitored.

Funding Information

Maximum funding by ward is as follows:

• Ward 1 – $723,036
• Ward 2 – $1,026,401
• Ward 3 – $751,199
• Ward 4 – $667,895
• Ward 5 – $972,748
• Ward 6 – $681,986
• Ward 7 – $1,109,403
• Ward 8 – $784,909

Funds subject to availability.

Award Period

The grant award will be for Fiscal Year 2024 – October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024 – with the possibility for the grant to be extended one year at a time based on DACL’s determination of satisfactory progress during the initial grant performance period.

Uses of funds

Applicants can only use grant funds to support the District of Columbia FY 2024 Lead Agency Grant and the target population of adults ages 60 and older. Applicants should use other funds to supplement the grant funds, but the grant funds cannot be used for any other activities. Throughout the life cycle of the grant award, DACL will monitor the use of funds and check in with grantees on spending frequently.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any public or private, community-based non-profit agency, organization, or institution located in the District of Columbia is eligible to apply.
• For-profit organizations are eligible but may not include profit-making activities in their grant application. For-profit organizations may also participate as subcontractors to eligible public or private non-profit agencies.
• All successful applicants shall provide a certification indicating that the applicant is a corporation in good standing in the District of Columbia and has complied with the filing requirements of the District of Columbia tax laws. Also, the applicant must demonstrate that it has paid taxes due to the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service or is in compliance with payment agreements with the Office of Tax and Revenue and/or the Internal Revenue Service by providing a Certificate of Clean Hands from the Office of Tax and Revenue

For more information, visit DACL.