Technical Assistance and Evaluation of the Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration | HHS 2024 ACF OCSS FD 0016

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACF OCSS FD 0016

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), through the Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), is offering a single cooperative agreement to support the Technical Assistance and Evaluation of the Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration (NextGen TA/Eval). The purpose of this award is to create a centralized, coordinated technical assistance and evaluation function for a set of related demonstration projects that will be funded under a separate, companion opportunity (HHS-2024-ACF-OCSE-FD-0015) and, in some cases, through Section 1115 waivers supporting tribal child support agencies. In practical terms, OCSS wants one state child support agency to serve as the hub that organizes learning across the demonstration sites, ensures consistent data collection, and oversees an independent evaluation so the field can understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions when child support programs provide or partner to provide employment services.

This opportunity has been revised to reflect recent policy guidance in ACF-OCSS-AT-24-02 regarding the Final Rule eliminating the tribal non-federal share requirement, and it also adds a formal definition of "tribal organization." Those edits appear across multiple parts of the notice, including the executive summary, program description and design, federal award information, eligibility, and the review criteria. The changes are meant to align the grant with updated federal policy affecting tribal participation and related program implementation.

OCSS expects to make one award, and the eligible applicant pool is limited to state governments, specifically State Title IV-D child support agencies (or their umbrella agencies). The selected state agency will not be conducting the evaluation directly. Instead, it must procure and manage an independent third-party organization or organizations to deliver the technical assistance and to carry out the evaluation of the demonstration projects. Even if the awardee also happens to be a participant under the companion demonstration NOFO, the evaluation function must remain impartial across all project sites, which is why the evaluation work is assigned to an external, independent entity managed through this cooperative agreement.

The project period is 60 months, structured into five 12-month budget periods. Over those five years, the awardee is responsible for several core deliverables. First, it must conduct implementation tracking and evaluation, focusing on how the demonstration projects are put into practice, what models are used, what partnerships are formed, what services are delivered, and what operational challenges and facilitators emerge. Second, it must conduct outcome tracking and evaluation, meaning it will track participant and program outcomes to assess performance and impacts, using a consistent approach across multiple sites so results can be compared and synthesized. Third, it must provide ongoing programmatic and evaluation technical assistance to the demonstration grantees, including organizing regularly scheduled virtual learning community webinars and convening annual in-person meetings throughout the five-year period. The intent is to create a structured learning network so sites can share strategies, troubleshoot implementation issues, and apply evidence as the demonstrations develop.

A major required component is the design and operation of a Management Information System (MIS), or an equivalent data-collection method, for the demonstration projects funded under the companion NOFO. This system is expected to systematically capture information on the services participants receive and the short-term outcomes they experience, creating a standardized dataset that supports both continuous quality improvement and formal evaluation. The awardee must implement and oversee this MIS function, ensuring the system is usable for sites, produces reliable and comparable data, and supports reporting and evaluation needs over time. The scope also includes dissemination: the awardee must produce and share technical assistance materials, evaluation reports, and lessons learned with a national audience, including presenting at national or state conferences. OCSS also anticipates that dissemination could extend beyond the funded demonstration sites by offering support to child support programs that are not part of the grants but want to launch or strengthen child support-led employment services, and by providing assistance to tribal child support agencies operating NextGen-like services through Section 1115 waivers, particularly in light of the updated tribal cost-share policy.

Funding is projected at up to $8,057,059 over the full five-year period. The award structure is front-loaded: the annual award ceiling for years 1 and 2 is $3,587,353 per year, while the ceiling for years 3 through 5 drops to $294,118 per year. The notice states the award floor is the same as the ceiling and average cost, indicating OCSS expects to fund the project at the specified amounts rather than across a range. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means OCSS anticipates substantial federal involvement during the project, such as collaboration on evaluation direction, technical assistance priorities, convenings, data strategy, and dissemination planning.

Key eligibility and disqualification notes are straightforward. Individuals, including sole proprietorships, and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from merit review. While the applicant itself must be a state Title IV-D agency or umbrella agency, the notice also clarifies that faith-based and community organizations that otherwise meet eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards, and that ACF will not discriminate based on religious character or affiliation, consistent with applicable federal regulations. The application deadline listed for this opportunity was June 3, 2024, and the opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding under the Income Security and Social Services activity area (CFDA 93.564), with one expected award under Funding Opportunity Number HHS-2024-ACF-OCSS-FD-0016.

• The Administration for Children and Families - OCSS in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Technical Assistance and Evaluation of the Next Generation Child Support Employment Services Demonstration" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.564.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,587,353.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

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