2007 Evidence-Based Practice Request for Proposals

The 2007 Evidence-Based Request for Proposals cycle is now closed.

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Please note that beginning in 2008, the geographic areas served by the Foundation in Massachusetts will expand to include all of Essex County, and Barnstable and Nantucket Counties.

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation seeks to alleviate or prevent psychological disorders and substance abuse among children and adolescents afflicted by or at risk for developing such conditions.

The 2007 Request for Proposals (RFP) seeks to accomplish this by providing funds for the implementation of evidence-based practices that have been designed to provide prevention and early-intervention services to youth at risk for psychological disorders and substance abuse. For this initiative, evidenced-based practices are defined as those that have been empirically validated as being successful in achieving the predicted outcomes.

The ultimate goal of this RFP is to increase access to optimally-effective interventions that have demonstrated success in preventing or treating psychological disorders and substance abuse in children and adolescents through improved family interactions, enhanced parenting skills, decreased child behavior problems, and improved social functioning. Eligible organizations that wish to incorporate select evidence-based practices into their service delivery systems will be considered for grant awards.

I. Project Description

The 2000 Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health identified the gap that exists between empirically-validated treatments and what many individuals receive in actual practice settings as a significant hindrance to the effective treatment of mental illness. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2001 "From Research to Practice" conference survey results, barriers to the implementation and incorporation of evidence-based practices into existing service delivery systems include, among others: access to training and technical assistance; the cost of program implementation; staffing issues; and compromised program fidelity when programmatic changes are made because of high start-up and implementation costs.

The Tower Foundation seeks, through the use of this RFP, to eliminate or reduce the barriers to evidence-based program implementation.

II. Eligible Programs

1. This RFP provides an opportunity for eligible organizations to seek support for the start-up and implementation of any one of the following evidence-based practices:

   Treatment/Clinical Programs:

   Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Child Sexual Abuse

   Functional Family Therapy

   The Incredible Years - Small Group Treatment Program

   Multidimensional Family Therapy

   Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care

   Multisystemic Therapy

   Parenting with Love and Limits

   Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy

   Prevention/Non-Clinical Programs:

   Across Ages

   Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices

   Creating Lasting Family Connections

   The Incredible Years - Dina Dinosaur Classroom Program

   The Incredible Years - Parent Training Program

   Reconnecting Youth

   Strengthening Families Program (SFP6-11)

   Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14

   Each of the programs listed above has received the highest rating from one or more of the following entities*:

   U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

   Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

   U.S. Department of Justice

   Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

   Blueprints for Violence Prevention

   *as of January 1, 2007

2. The Foundation uses the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) prevention program classification system to differentiate interventions according to the level of risk associated with the respective population served. The IOM's prevention categories are as follows:

   • Indicated interventions - target individuals who may already display signs of psychological disorders or substance abuse
   • Selective interventions - target those who are at greater-than-average risk for psychological disorders or substance abuse
   • Universal programs - are applied to general population groups without reference to or identification of those at particular risk

   Consideration will be given only to projects designed to use evidence-based programs with indicated or selective target audiences. Universal applications of programs will not be considered for funding.

III. Eligibility Requirements

1. Eligible organizations:

   • Tax-exempt organizations with 501(c)(3) classifications from the Internal Revenue Service that are neither private foundations nor described as 509(a)(3) organizations
   • public and diocesan school districts
   • private schools with 501(c)(3) classifications
   • nonprofit public benefit corporations
2. Organizations must be located within or primarily serve residents of Erie and Niagara Counties in New York State; the area of Essex County, Massachusetts, east of I-95; or Martha's Vineyard.
3. Funds are not available through this initiative for the expansion of an existing evidence-based practice within an organization.
4. Organizations that were awarded grants to implement a particular evidence-based practice through the Foundation's 2004, 2005, or 2006 Evidence-Based Practice RFP may submit a letter of inquiry for a different, eligible evidence-based practice.

IV. Grant Awards

A total of $1.5 million is available for this initiative. Multiple awards may be made in each of the geographic areas served by the Foundation. Each grant will be for a three-year time period, with grant payments made on an annual basis. The amount of each award will depend on the evidence-based practice selected and the unique costs associated with its implementation. For certain evidence-based practices, it is possible that the majority of funds will be expended during the first year of the grant to offset the costs associated with initial training and technical assistance.

Due to the wide range of eligible evidence-based practices and their associated implementation costs, grant awards may differ considerably. Factors used to determine the amount of an individual grant award include, but are not limited to: the evidence-based practice selected; the specific application of the practice within an organization; the makeup of an organization and its service delivery; the number of staff to be trained; and the number of clients to be served.

V. Funding Levels

Grant awards will be for a three-year period beginning in 2008. Funding levels represent the maximum dollar amount that can be requested for the entire three-year grant period. Funding levels are as follows:

VI. Use of Grant Funds

1. A. In general, the Foundation will provide funds for the incremental costs that are associated with the implementation of the identified evidence-based practice. Incremental costs are defined as costs that are new to the organization as a result of this project. For the most part, grant funds are intended to be used for:
   • the cost of training and technical assistance from program developers or their affiliates, including travel expense
   • direct program expense including but not limited to materials, client transportation, childcare, and required equipment
   • community outreach to publicize the program and to identify and recruit program participants
   • lost revenue or substitute teacher expense, if applicable, incurred while staff are in engaged in authorized training activities
2. In recognition of the critical importance of maintaining program fidelity, the Foundation requires organizations to commit to the highest level of staff training available. However, only those costs associated with the specific training and technical assistance recommended and provided by program developers or their affiliates will be permitted.
3. Since the ultimate goal of the RFP is to increase access to empirically-validated treatments, sustainability of funded projects after the grant period terminates is of paramount importance to the Foundation. In order to help ensure program sustainability, the Foundation requires that a sufficient number of people be trained in the evidence-based practice for which funding is requested.
4. Please note that grants through this RFP do not provide funds for existing personnel expense or the hiring of new staff.
5. Grant money may not be used:
   • for the private benefit of any grant recipient or affiliated person
   • to subsidize individuals for the cost of care
   • for research
   • to attempt to influence legislation
   • to attempt to influence or intervene in any political campaign
   • for endowment or capital campaigns

VII. Application Procedure

This RFP has a two-step application process:

1. Submission of a brief letter of inquiry.
2. Submission of a full proposal, if requested.

The Foundation accepts only one letter of inquiry from each eligible organization. Organizations are limited to one request for one evidence-based practice. While there is no minimum or maximum length for the letter of inquiry, most are three to five pages. The letter of inquiry must be signed by the organization's Executive Director/CEO (Note: Letters from public and diocesan school districts require the Superintendent's signature). To be considered for a grant for this RFP, your letter must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 4, 2007. E-mailed or faxed copies are not accepted.

Letters of inquiry should include the following:

• a brief statement of the history, mission, and services of your organization
• the geographic area and population served
• a brief description of the evidence-based practice for which you are requesting grant funds, including the intervention to be provided, the specific target audience, the approximate length of the intervention, and how and where the program will be used within your organization
• the reasons why you wish to implement the evidence-based practice at this time and how the proposed project will enhance or improve your service delivery
• the anticipated number of staff to be trained to deliver the evidence-based practice
• the approximate number of individuals or families to be served annually by the proposed project
• a description of other evidence-based practices already in use in your organization

All letters of inquiry are reviewed to determine if the Foundation wishes to pursue a full proposal. Applicants will be notified by June 15, 2007 of the result of this review. A request for a full proposal should not be interpreted as an indication of likely support. The deadline for a full proposal, if requested, is August 24, 2007. Requests for full proposals are made at the sole discretion of the Foundation.

The Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals.

VIII. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate proposals:

• degree of connection between the proposed use of the evidence-based practice and the Foundation's goals and objectives for this initiative
• clarity of project goals and anticipated impact
• strength of project design, especially outreach and recruitment strategies
• organizational capacity and readiness to implement and oversee the project
• evidence of commitment by the organization's leadership and management
• likelihood that the project will be sustained after grant funding terminates

Final decisions on grant awards are made by the Foundation's Board of Trustees. You will be informed of the Board's decision by December 14, 2007. Funding decisions are made at the sole discretion of the Foundation.

IX. Project Monitoring

1. Grantees are expected to meet the Foundation's requirements for the submission of narrative and financial reports and will be required to submit periodic information regarding overall project performance, monitoring and management.
2. Since program fidelity is of critical importance to achieving treatment outcomes, applicants are expected to be able to monitor their adherence to the implementation protocol.

X. Resources

1. The following links provide helpful information about evidence-based practices, risk and protective factors, and substance-abuse prevention:

   http://www.samhsa.gov/index.aspx
   http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/programs/mpg.html
   http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/matrix/overview.html
   http://casat.unr.edu/bestpractices/
   http://www.jointogether.org/sa/resources/database/reader/0,1884,566528,00.html

2. Organizations are strongly encouraged to contact program developers or their affiliates prior to submission of a letter of inquiry to become informed of the particulars associated with the implementation of a given evidence-based practice. The following contact information is provided for your convenience:

   Evidence-Based Practice	Website	Contact(s)	Phone Number
   Across Ages	www.templecil.org/Acrossageshome.htm	Dr. Andrea Taylor Temple University Center for Intergenerational Learning 1601 North Broad Street, Room 206 Philadelphia, PA 19122 ataylor@temple.edu	215-204-6708
   Al's Pals	www.wingspanworks.com	Ms. Susan Geller Wingspan, LLC 4196-A Innslake Drive Glen Allen, VA 23060 sgeller@wingspanworks.com	804-967-9002
   Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Child Sexual Abuse	(No dedicated website available.)	Dr. Esther Deblinger Center for Children's Support University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine 42 East Laurel Road, Suite 1100B Stratford, NJ 08084 deblines@umdnj.edu	856-566-7036
   Creating Lasting Family Connections	www.copes.org	Mr. Ted Strader COPES, Inc. 845 Barret Avenue Louisville, KY 40204 tstrader@sprynet.com	502-583-6820
   Functional Family Therapy	www.fftinc.com	Ms. Holly DeMaranville FFT, LLC 1161 McGilvra Boulevard East Seattle, WA 98112 hollyfft@comcast.net	206-369-5894
   Multidimensional Family Therapy	http://www6.miami.edu/ctrada	Dr. Gayle Dakof Center for Treatment Research on Adolescent Drug Abuse University of Miami School of Medicine 1400 Northwest 10th Ave. Suite 1108, Dominion Tower Miami, FL 33156 gdakof@med.miami.edu	305-243-3656
   Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care	www.mtfc.com	Mr. Gerard Bouwman TFC Consultants, Inc. 1163 Olive Street Eugene, OR 97401 gerryb@mtfc.com	541-343-2388
   Multisystemic Therapy	www.mstservices.com	Mr. Marshall Swenson MST Services 710 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, Ste. 200 Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 Marshall.Swenson@mstservices.com	843-856-8226
   Parenting with Love and Limits	www.gopll.com	Ms. Diana Bala Savannah Family Institute PO Box 30381 Savannah, GA 31410-0381 Diana@gopll.com	800-735-9525
   Reconnecting Youth	www.son.washington.edu/departments/pch/ry	Ms. Beth McNamara Reconnecting Youth, Inc. PO Box 20343 Seattle, WA 98102 Beth.McNamara@comcast.net	425-861-1177
   Strengthening Families Program (SFP6-11)	www.strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org	Dr. Karol Kumpfer (program info.) Dept. of Health Promotion & Education 21901 East South Campus Drive, Rm. 2142 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 84112 karol.kumpfer@health.utah.edu	801-581-7718
   		Dr. Henry Whiteside (training info.) LutraGroup 5215 Pioneer Fork Road Salt Lake City, UT 84108-1678 lutragroup@att.net	801-583-4601
   Strengthening Families Program 10-14	http://www.extension.iastate.edu/sfp	Ms. Virginia Molgaard (program info.) 2625 North Loop, Ste. 5 Iowa State University Extension Ames, Iowa 50011 vmolgaar@iastate.edu	515-294-8762
   		Ms. Catherine Webb (training info.) 2625 North Loop, Ste. 5 Iowa State University Extension Ames, Iowa 50011 cwebb@iastate.edu	515-294-1426
   The Incredible Years	www.incredibleyears.com	Ms. Lisa St. George The Incredible Years 1411 8th Avenue West Seattle, WA 98119 LisaStGeorge@comcast.net	888-506-3562
   Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy	(No dedicated website available)	Dr. Judith Cohen Department of Psychiatry Allegheny General Hospital 4 Allegheny Center, 8th Fl. Pittsburgh, PA 15212 jcohen1@wpahs.org	412-330-4312
   		Dr. Anthony Mannarino Department of Psychiatry Allegheny General Hospital 4 Allegheny Center, 8th Fl. Pittsburgh, PA 15212 amannari@wpahs.org	412-330-4318

XI. Application Workshops

The Foundation will host two informational sessions about the RFP application process. These workshops are highly recommended for organizations that anticipate requesting a grant. Space is limited to two persons per organization. Prior registration is required.

March 15, 2007

9:00 a.m. - Noon (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.)
Marriott Boston Peabody
8A Centennial Drive
Peabody, MA 01960
RSVP by March 8, 2007 (716) 689-0370 Ext. 10

March 22, 2007

9:00 a.m. - Noon (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.)
Ramada Hotel & Conference Center
2402 North Forest Road
Amherst, NY 14226
RSVP by March 13, 2007
(716) 689-0370 Ext. 10

XI. RFP Contact Information

For more information about this RFP, please contact:

Michael Kustreba
Senior Program Officer
(716) 689-0370 Ext. 12
mpk@thetowerfoundation.org

Donald Matteson
Program Officer
(716) 689-0370 Ext. 13
dwm@thetowerfoundation.org

Please note: The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation is not affiliated in any way with the developers or sponsors of any of the evidence-based practices referred to in this RFP, and the Foundation makes no representation or warranty of any kind concerning their effectiveness.