The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service is requesting applications to facilitate data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participation and retention.
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/28/2023
Size of the Grant: $20,000,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
While more than 6 million women, infants, and children participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in the United States, roughly 43 percent of eligible individuals do not. Recent studies suggest that increasing WIC enrollment through state-level referral data matching and outreach efforts may be one avenue for increasing WIC participation. The goal of this request for applications (RFA) is to facilitate data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participation and retention. Therefore, this RFA will provide up to $20,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding, through a one-time cooperative agreement, to an external entity that will provide financial, technical, and evaluation support to WIC State agencies to implement referral data matching, with participant consent when required, and outreach efforts. To meet this goal, the successful applicant will complete the following activities:
- Conduct a minimum of two competitive subgrant award programs (in phases), making funds available to multiple WIC State agencies to implement referral data matching and outreach efforts;
- Provide pre-application technical assistance for WIC State agencies wishing to apply for subgrants and post-award technical assistance and guidance to subgrantees for the duration of all subgrant projects, and collaborate with the FNS team working on WIC modernization and innovation efforts for additional support; and
- Develop and apply an implementation and evaluation framework to assess to process, short-term, and intermediate-term outcomes of the overall project, including quantifying changes in WIC enrollment and participation rates among individuals enrolled in Medicaid and SNAP.
The following paragraphs expand upon the three aforementioned activities and link these three activities to the Key Objectives (or Program Objectives) outlined in the section below.
- Activity 1: Conduct subgrant program(s) for WIC State agencies
- During the five-year cooperative agreement, the Grantee shall administer a minimum of two competitive rounds of subgrant award programs for multiple WIC State agencies. By May 15, 2024, the Grantee shall award the first subgrant funding to successful State agency applicants. If applicants for this RFA would like to propose two rounds of subgrant award programs, they shall clearly state the timeline for these subgrant award programs in their application, along with the rationale for conducting two programs including an estimate of how many WIC State agencies could be funded under each round of subgrant awards. All subgrant activities and programs shall not exceed five years; however, all innovations, practices, and processes resulting from program activities (e.g., referral systems, data matching) are expected to be practically and financially sustainable and continue after the subgrant award period.
- Activity 2: Provide technical assistance and guidance to subgrantees
- The second major activity directly relates to Program Objectives 2 (i.e., administer a minimum of two competitive subgrant programs for WIC State agencies), 3 (i.e., provide robust technical assistance to WIC State agencies wishing to apply for subgrants and technical assistance and guidance to subgrantees for the duration of the project) and 4 (i.e., coordinate with the FNS’s WIC modernization and innovation effort as seen in the Key Objectives section below). To accomplish this activity and achieve the associated Program Objectives, the applicant must demonstrate it possesses the ability to draft and establish comprehensive data sharing agreements between WIC State agencies and SNAP and Medicaid programs. These data sharing agreements must ensure Medicaid participants provide appropriate consent prior to their data being shared with WIC. Applicants must be able to assist State agencies in resolving legal, compliance, and technical barriers that may arise when developing agreements between agencies. Applicants must be capable of assisting with establishment of data sharing agreements between State agencies and other programs. Applicants must also possess a deep expertise in data matching algorithms and data matching techniques, including addressing algorithmic bias and complex matching challenges among diverse populations. Applicants must also possess experience conducting program outreach using innovative communication and community engagement and involvement from underserved communities. As such, applicants for this RFA shall include detailed examples of previous work demonstrating these skills in this application, including references to reports, manuscripts, and other related artifacts available in the public domain.
- Activity 3: Evaluate overall project outcomes
- To successfully accomplish project-related activities and achieve the Key Objectives outlined in the section below, applicants must possess a wide variety of skills and expertise in data exchange and interoperability, and referral data matching and outreach. Specifically, to achieve Program Objectives 1 (i.e., finalizing an implementation and evaluation framework) and 6 (i.e., submitting software deliverables and implementation practices or tools), an applicant must demonstrate it possesses the ability to conduct a robust evaluation of the overall project.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $20,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $20,000,000
- Award Floor: $1
- Anticipated start dates and period of performance: August 2023; not to exceed 5 years.
Eligibility Criteria
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
