Office of Community Services Grant: CSBG State Exemplary Practices for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation

Eligible applicants under this announcement are organizations that applied for and received funding under funding opportunity HHS-2009-ACF-OCS-EQ-0037. However, applicants that received funding under HHS-2009-ACF-OCS-EQ-0037 must describe new proposed projects that do not duplicate those supported under the previous application. For example, new projects may focus on populations not included in the previous application or on new types of technical assistance not addressed through the previous application. Applications with requests that exceed the ceiling on the amount of individual awards referenced in Section II, Award Information, will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under this announcement.

Any application that fails to satisfy the deadline requirements referenced in Section IV.3., Submission Dates and Times, will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under this announcement.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity announcement.

Individuals and foreign entities are not eligible for awards made under this announcement

Under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) applicants will submit proposals for one, or any combination of, the three exemplary practice model focus areas mentioned above, which comprise elements of a strong network of activities to identify evidence-based and innovative community services programs.

The purpose of this funding announcement is to identify and document exemplary practice models that focus on implementation, dissemination, and sustainability projects for employment-related services, coordination of benefits enrollment activities, and community economic development activities and services. The State EPPs would compliment the strategic planning and coordination efforts supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). A secondary purpose of the State EPPs is to assist States in providing guidance to eligible entities that need or have the desire to enhance current community service programs.

State EPPs should include consistently applied activities or service delivery mechanisms, which make meaningful and measurable progress toward alleviating the causes and conditions of poverty and increasing self-sufficiency among low-income individuals, families and communities. State EPPs should also document and disseminate practice models addressing, directly or indirectly, one or more of the areas of evidence-based and innovative programming.

Applicants must clearly state which of the three practice models, or combination thereof they are applying for, and must justify their selection in terms of documented experience and areas of expertise in specified project goals and objectives. Grantees will develop these projects and tangible resources with the goal that CSBG Network members seeking to implement evidence-based and innovative programs can look to them for guidance, insight, and possible replication.