Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2009

Through this state grant program, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) seeks to provide students in grades K-12 with high quality after-school and out-of-school time (ASOST) programs and services. The purpose of this program is to increase comprehensive ASOST programming that supports children's and youth's academic, social, and emotional development outside of the regular school day, for public and non-public school age students during the school year and over the summer months. Activities provided include but are not limited to:

1. academic tutoring and homework centers where content is linked to and based on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Curriculum Frameworks;

2. programs that improve the health of students, including physical activities, athletics, nutrition and health education, and exercise;

3. art, theater, and music programs developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Cultural Council, local cultural councils, or cultural organizations in the Commonwealth funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council;

4. enrichment activities not otherwise provided during the school day;

5. advanced study for the gifted and talented;

6. community service programs; and

7. other activities, such as student and family outreach and involvement.

Priorities for 2008-2009 competitive funding are to provide services in high-need communities as evidenced by low income level and need for academic improvement by:

1. Supporting programs that demonstrate strong and innovative implementation of the Quality Enhancements described in Attachment A. Proposed services and activities (See the list in the Purpose section above.) under this priority can focus on enhancing one or more of the quality criteria listed in Attachment A: Guidelines for Quality Enhancements in After-School and Out-of-School Time Programs. The goal of these criteria is to support high quality ASOST programs that provide a balanced focus on and link to supporting children's and youth's academic success as well as their overall development, including healthy social emotional development. Applicants may propose a planning process whereby community and school partners would work together to develop strategies for how to better address and sustain the after-school and out-of-school time needs of children, youth, and families within a community.

2. Addressing barriers to student participation. Applicants may apply for funding to address programmatic issues related to facilitating student participation, including but not limited to: providing transportation; promoting effective student outreach activities; and/or providing program services for particular age groups, K-12, that are not being served currently.

3. Increasing comprehensive after-school and out-of-school time programming to children and youth during the school year and summer, including through 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Programs. Activities under this priority may include but not be limited to extending a program's before- and/or after-school hours/days; extending a summer program's weeks of duration or hours per day; or adding a summer program to a school year design.

Preference will be given to proposals developed collaboratively by public schools (school district), non-public schools, and private community-based programs.

Massachusetts public school districts, non-public schools, and public and private community-based programs are eligible to apply for funding. In order to provide children and youth with the chance to experience and aspire to post-secondary opportunities, applicants are encouraged to partner with institutions of higher education where possible. FY2008 Fund Code: 530 grant recipients are eligible to apply.

Applications from agencies and organizations other than a school district must demonstrate the capacity to administer the program based on the applicant's:

1. proven fiscal responsibility as demonstrated, for example, through an annual audit; and

2. previous experience with similar amounts of funding at the state or federal level through government, foundation, or private grants.

Where appropriate applicants and partnering programs and organizations applying for funds must demonstrate:

1. adherence to applicable Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) regulations or Department Program Standards for Public School Operated After-School Programs;

2. willingness to serve low-income students through EEC vouchers if the program meets EEC's requirements for subsidized school-age services; and

3. willingness to participate in Department- or Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership-sponsored networking meetings.

In addition, applicants requesting $50,000 - $150,000 in funds must address the following criteria:

1. expanding capacity through program development by serving additional children in need of said services. Applicants with unfilled capacity that wish to serve children on the EEC wait list are to use the state rate for subsidized care when determining their budgets;

2. developing strong partnerships; and

3. leveraging of additional funds to supplement the work of this grant in the amount of at least 15% of the total budget request.

$5,400,000 is available in the FY2009 state budget. Of this amount, approximately $3,900,000 will be available to fund programs for up to three years, pending state appropriation and achievement of yearly programmatic benchmarks. Approximately $1,500,000 will be available for one year grants where renewed funding may be possible.

In addition, at least $100,000 statewide must be expended for services that include students with disabilities in after-school programs that serve non-disabled students and for services that include students for whom English is a second language.

Grant requests for school year programming must be a minimum of $25,000 up to a maximum of $75,000. Please note that the minimum and maximum amounts refer to costs of services/programs through June 30, 2009. Applicants must expend these funds for school year services only.

Grant requests for summer programming must be a minimum of $25,000 up to a maximum of $50,000. The minimum and maximum amounts refer to costs of services/programs from July 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009. Applicants must expend these funds for summer services only.

Grant requests supporting both school year and summer programming must be a minimum of $50,000 up to a maximum of $150,000. Two budgets must be submitted, one reflecting expenditures tied to school year programming (up through June 30, 2009) and one reflecting expenditures tied to summer programming (July 1, 2009 - August 31, 2009).

Funds may be used to provide more comprehensive services, as outlined in the Purpose and Priorities sections and in Attachment A. Budget expenditures may include but are not limited to the following costs:

1. staff and coordinator salaries;

2. contracts/subsidy payments with provider agencies;

3. professional development activities;

4. stipends for professionals and students involved actively in the delivery of services;

5. family involvement;

6. additional costs related to serving students with disabilities and/or students who are English language learners *;

   * Expenditures for serving students with disabilities or students whose first language is not English may include increased per-child reimbursement rates, additional staff, specialized training, and technical assistance.

7. program materials and supplies; and

8. transportation. (Vehicles may not be purchased with these funds.)

No more than 10% of the total budget may be used for program coordination and administration. Staff positions related to implementation of specific elements of the proposal's plan are considered direct services and, therefore, should not be included as part of the 10% cap.

In addition, within the 10% cap, costs for directors, site coordinators, staff, utilities, audit costs, and general overhead can only be included in the budget to the extent that administering this grant's plan requires additional responsibilities, supervision, or expenses to the agency that might not otherwise have been incurred. These funds should supplement existing budgets and program structures and not supplant current efforts and expenses. If these expenditures are included, the budget narrative must clearly describe what new responsibilities will be assumed as a result of administration of this grant.

Indirect costs (Line 9) are not an allowable expenditure under this grant.

Example of Direct Services

An applicant proposes a quality enhancement to its after-school and out-of-school time program that will be implemented by the site coordinator. Currently, the site coordinator works 18 hours per week but in receiving the award, the site coordinator would need to work an additional 2 hours per week. The budget will cover 10% of the site coordinator's position in order to implement the plan. The site coordinator is not considered a program coordination or administration expense but instead is considered a direct service since new responsibilities have been added to her job description as a result of this grant award.

Example of Program Coordination/Administration Costs

An applicant proposes a quality enhancement that will be implemented by a consultant. The budget includes expenses related to the consultant's time but also includes 5% of the site coordinator's time as she will be responsible for an additional hour of supervision per week to oversee the work of the consultant. The cost of the consultant's time would be considered direct services while the supervision of the site coordinator would be calculated as part of the 10% program coordination and administration cap.

Applicants applying for one year of funding:

Renewed funding for FY2010 and/or FY2011 may be possible.

Applicants applying for multi-year funding are eligible to apply for funding for up to three (3) years, pending state appropriation, achievement of yearly programmatic benchmarks, and meeting a possible funding match. For the purposes of this competitive RFP, only the following budgets need to be submitted:

Budgets for FY2010 and FY2011 will be submitted through a continuation grant application in the spring of 2009 and spring of 2010, respectively.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Competitive proposals must be received at the Department by 4:30 p.m. on the date due.

1.     Attachment A: Guidelines for Quality Enhancements in After-School and Out-of- School Time Programs

Please Note:

1. Applicants intending to apply for funds are encouraged strongly to submit a Letter of Intent to Apply no later than Wednesday, August 6, 2008, indicating the name of the agency applying for the grant along with any partnering agencies and a 1-2 paragraph description of the proposal plan, including an estimated total budget request. Letters of Intent should be emailed to asostrfp@doe.mass.edu or mailed to Donna Traynham at the address listed in Submission Instructions.

2. Part III - Required Program Information: Sections A-D, including the Program Summary Cover Page, should be no longer than 8 pages with 1" margins. Responses should be single-spaced and should be no smaller than 10-point Arial font.

3. Several considerations will be made when recommending applications to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Funding recommendations will strive to have this grant program:

   1. represent a geographic distribution in order to reach children and youth in need of services throughout the Commonwealth, especially those from school districts with demonstrated need for academic improvement as measured by performance on the MCAS;

   2. fund a cross-section of program organizations and program sizes to ensure that the grant recipients are reflective of the state's mixed delivery system; and

   3. fund programs that are cost-effective in terms of the number of children and youth to be served, services to be provided, and money requested.

4. During Fiscal Year 2009, the Department will work with the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership (MAP), the Department of Early Education and Care, and other partners to consider incorporating grant goals, including but not limited to program match, public/private partnerships, and/or community planning to identify and maximize resources in an effort to strengthen sustainability efforts and to support local ownership of systems of after-school and out-of-school time programs and services.

5. Applicants may choose to apply for funds to cover services during the school year only, summer only, or both school year and summer. Applicants wishing to include school year and summer services must submit two Standard Contract Forms and two Budget Detail Pages. The first set will be for services to be rendered between the award of the funds and June 30, 2009. The second set should reflect dates and costs associated with services to be provided between July 1, 2009 and August 31, 2009.

6. Applicants submitting proposals for more than one site must submit the individual proposals together in one package with a cover letter indicating how they would prioritize the proposals.

7. Due to the competitive nature of this grant, the Department is not able to respond to email or telephone call questions. Instead, a Q & A document will be posted at www.doe.mass.edu/ess/ by Thursday, July 31, 2008. Questions emailed to asostrfp@doe.mass.edu no later than 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2008 will be incorporated into the Q & A document.

Submit three (3) sets, each with an original signature of the Superintendent/Executive Director. Mail to:

Donna Traynham
Office of Elementary School Services
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-5023