Can an agency use part of the money for treatment of HIV?
No. CDC is providing funds strictly for prevention and education initiatives within the community. Funds cannot be used for providing medical care/treatment for persons with HIV/AIDS. Funds can, however, be used to target persons living with HIV/AIDS for education and prevention purposes, as is addressed in the Community Action Plan.
What kind of assistance could CCHER provide to other agencies?
CCHER Prevention and Education staff (Dr. Guy Apollon and Dr. Joel Piton) will be available until January 4, 2001 to serve in an advisory role to answer any questions related to the RFP. Drs. Apollon and Piton are available to answer general programmatic questions related to ideas you may have for your proposal. Janine Walker and Elta Petit Frere (fiscal) are also available until January 4 to answer any general questions you may have. CCHER staff will be unable to provide any assistance after January 4, 2001. Dr. Apollon can be reached at ext. 223 and Dr. Piton is ext. 229.
Do we have to submit a 501(c)(3) for all organizations working together?
No. Only the lead agency (which would be the fiscal conduit) needs to meet the financial eligibility criteria of being a 501(c)(3) organization. Collaborating agencies ("secondary and third" agencies) do not need to be a 501(c)(3) organization. Because the spirit of this grant is community and agency capacity building, CCHER recognizes that collaborating agencies may be newer, fledgling grass-roots organizations who can do good work in the community yet may not meet the financial eligibility criteria for this RFP. We encourage these agencies to collaborate with an organization that does meet the criteria which CCHER must strictly follow when disbursing CDC funds.
Will CCHER support a program that targets Haitian youth in school-based programs?
No. Youth programs should not be proposed to be integrated into the schools due to the difficulty it may take to work with the school systems and the "red tape" that could be required. Youth programs should target youth in after school programs, existing youth initiatives within the community, or other innovative venues which can reach school-age youth.
In general, what are the age groups that are being targeted?
Refer to the Community Action Plan in the ‘Attachments' section of the RFP for a breakdown of target groups. They are also listed in the ‘Scope of Services' section of the RFP. The Community Action Plan seeks to target a range of ages within the target groups of Haitian men, Haitian women, Haitian youth, Haitians living with HIV/AIDS, new Haitian immigrants, Haitian couples.
Will the budget for the first year be pro-rated for the funded period which will be less than 12 months?
The first budget period for awardees will be from February 1, 2001 through September 30, 2001. A new fiscal year would begin on October 1, 2001 and the following budget periods would be for 12 full months. The first budget period of February 1, 2001 through September 30, 2001 will not be pro-rated; awardees would not receive a full year's funding for this 8 month period.
Please briefly describe CCHER's expectations regarding the letters of intent that are due next week (e.g. length, what should be included). What are the procedures following the submission of letters? Will agencies be contacted by CCHER? Will they receive feedback from CCHER?
Letters of intent need not be fancy or technical. Simply tell us who you are and if you plan to collaborate with any other agencies. Also indicate what objectives/target groups you are planning to submit a proposal for. Once letters of intent are submitted, we will get a good sense of who will be applying. Agencies that submit letters will receive communication from CCHER regarding the oral presentations in January and any other information that may be relevant to them during this RFP process.
Should the agency in charge complete the RFP application, and what about if any other organizations have a fiscal office?
Collaborators should be creative in building partnerships and deciding the roles in that partnership. The lead agency should serve as the fiscal agency for the proposal, but certainly does not have to be the agency delivering the interventions proposed. Capitalize on the expertise of all collaborators when writing the proposal too.
Will required forms in the RFP be available to download?
CCHER will do its best to make these forms available via its website or via email so that applicants can complete the forms on their word processor and submit them with their proposal. Applicants will be notified of this availability once they submit a letter of intent.
When and how are you going to make the money available for the agency to start?
Funding for awardees will be made on February 1, 2001. Because this grant is based on cost-reimbursement, monies will be initially distributed after receipt of an invoice for the month of February from awardees, due by March 15, 2001.
When we know the better way to educate and prevent is the media, can an agency use the media as a tool to reach out to the community?
Based on the work of the coalition in Phase I, it became clear that media is an important strategy for reaching the Haitian community for HIV information dissemination and messages. Therefore, using the media as a communication medium is encouraged in this grant. Media should complement additional strategies that are proposed; simply proposing the use of PSAs (public service announcements) in and of themselves will not be adequate for this project.
Phase I : Community Planning Process Funded by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)
