Child Welfare Research Training or Demonstration

This program supports research and demonstration projects which are of national or regional significance and special projects for the demonstration of new methods which show promise of substantial contribution to the advancement of child welfare. Projects are intended to demonstrate the utilization of research in the field of child welfare to encourage experimental and special types of child welfare services, and provide professional education opportunities to prospective and current child welfare agency staff and to develop competency-based training curricula and special projects for training child welfare personnel in specific areas.

Eligible applicants include public or other nonprofit institutions of higher learning, public or other nonprofit agencies or organizations engaged in research on child welfare activities; state or local public agencies responsible for administering, or supervising the administration of the title IV-B plan; and public or other nonprofit institutions of higher learning for special projects for training personnel for work in the field of child welfare. Please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for further information.

Beneficiaries are people who work in, or who are considering working in child welfare related fields, as well as children and families who have been removed, or are at risk of removal from their homes.

Each application is reviewed against four factors: eligibility, the application deadline, required electronic submission or waiver requested and approved, and the Award Ceiling. If the application does not meet all of these factors, then it is disqualified from the merit review process.
After the initial review, applications are reviewed and evaluated by merit review panels using only the criteria described in the Application Review section of the NOFO. Each panel is composed of experts with knowledge and experience in the area under review. Generally, review panels include three reviewers and one chairperson. While merit review scores and their ranking are not binding, ACF does consider them when selecting projects for funding. Scores and rankings are only one element used in the award decision-making process. Other criteria are explained in the Program Description section and in the Application Review section of the NOFO. For example, ACF may reserve the right to consider preferences to fund organizations serving emerging, unserved, or under-served populations, including those populations located in pockets of poverty. In addition, ACF reserves the right to evaluate applications in the larger context of the overall portfolio by considering the geographic distribution of federal funds (e.g., ensuring coverage of states, counties, or service areas) in its pre-award decisions. ACF may elect not to fund applicants with management or financial problems that would indicate an inability to successfully complete the proposed project. In addition, ACF may elect to not allow a prime recipient to subaward if there is any indication that they are unable to properly monitor and manage subrecipients.
Applications may be funded in whole or in part. Successful applicants may be funded at an amount lower than requested

90 to 180 days