Best Start for Kids Public Health Seattle-King County (PHSKC) is pleased to release this Request for Application (RFA) for Home-Based Services strategy with funding from Best Starts for Kids.
Donor Name: Best Starts for Kids
State: Washington
County: King County (WA)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/16/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
This RFA seeks an organization or partnership of organizations to continue the work started in the first levy of Best Starts for Kids where they developed the home-based services collaborative advisory group comprising of families, community-based organizations, and King County systems partners in order to build the capacity of the home-based services system.
The Home-Based Services (HBS) strategy provides voluntary, relationship-based support to pregnant people and caregivers of children aged birth to five in the places they live. Home visitors deliver information, resources, and social connections to support healthy births, positive parenting, health education, child development, safe home environments, and school readiness.
There are many different home visiting programs or models nationwide and here in King County, each with different focus populations, program components, and intended outcomes. The field of home visiting was initially shaped by the evidence-based practice movement, resulting in the rigorous testing of different home visiting models to determine whether they improve the lives of participating children and families—often in comparison to a control group or matched sample. For the last several years, there has been a growing national movement — including the BSK Community-Designed Models approach—that has expanded the understanding of what constitutes evidence to include community led expertise. This movement notes that most evidence-based programs have not been tested in diverse communities and thus are not designed to reach and serve specific community needs. At the same time, advocates in the behavioral health field have identified “community-defined evidence” (CDE) and “practice-based evidence” (PBE) as important types of evidence.
- Community-defined evidence refers to a set of practices that communities have used and determined to yield positive results as determined by community consensus over time.
- Practice-based evidence refers to local aggregate evidence collected from individual client histories to learn what is happening in community practice.
Funding Priorities
In alignment with the BSK Equity and Social Justice framework and values, this RFA will prioritize organizations that:
- Demonstrate Experience Providing the Type of Services Proposed: Applicant must value and utilize co-creation and partnership methods in developing and improving programs and strategies. This includes a demonstrated history of building intentional partnership with community, honoring community-led approaches and recognizing community expertise. Skills include expertise in group facilitation and using regular processes for soliciting family, programmatic, and community input on needs and services.
- Demonstrate Readiness: Applicant must have expertise in the following elements:
- Working with organizations that have a range of different capacities and cultural and linguistic assets.
- Implementation science or other methods and best practices in organization development, capacity building, and/or technical assistance.
- Culturally responsive data collection, analysis, and communication
- Demonstrate a History of Embeddedness in Communities in King County. This includes applicants that are connected to, reflective of, and/or demonstrate a history of collaborative engagement with communities facing significant disparities by race and place.
Funding Information
- PHSKC has the budgeted amount not to exceed one-hundred eighty-four thousand, one-hundred fifty-two dollars and zero cents ($184,152.00) for this project. To be included in consideration, applicants should not budget for or request more than $184,152.00 from this Best Starts RFA.
- Applicant selected will receive $184,152.00. This includes $25,000.00 for start-up costs and $159,152.00 in base funds to coordinate and operate the project.
- Start-Up Funds: Provide dollars for the organization or partnership of organizations selected to acquire resources and build infrastructure necessary to operate the project. This may include activities related to outreach, recruitment, data collection set-up, needs assessment and/or other justified costs associated with the group’s initial development and formation. These funds will be issued only during the first three months of the award and are not renewable.
- Base Funds: Provide dollars for the organization or partnership of organizations selected to commit staff time and capacity, as well as implement a core set of goals and activities. These funds will be awarded through this RFA and will be renewable annually based on performance and continued availability of funds.
Grant Period
July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organization Types: This announcement is open to not-for-profit organizations, community-based organizations, tribes and tribal organizations, schools and school districts, and public or governmental agencies serving communities in King County. Small non-profits and community-based organizations are encouraged to submit applications.
- Partnerships: Partnerships are eligible to apply. One organization must agree to serve as the lead and contract administrator.
- Applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications:
- 3 years of experience working within King County
- Demonstrated experience coordinating and facilitating workgroups, coalitions and/or other community-led projects.
For more information, visit Best Starts for Kids.
