Frequently Asked Questions about the Title V Funding Proposal Request for Applications
What is Title V?
Title V of the Social Security Act of 1935 established the MCH Services Block Grant. It is designed to assist states in their efforts to improve the health of mothers, children, and families. In Wyoming, the Title V MCH Block Grant is administered through the MCH Unit, within the Wyoming Department of Health. It supports programs that help mothers give birth to healthy babies and promotes access to medical care for children and youth, including those with special health care needs, as they grow and develop.
Every awarded application will be considered a sub-recipient of Title V funds.
Part of the support MCH will offer to sub-recipients will be education and technical assistance on Title V.
Do you need help with applying for Grants? Check out the Wyoming Grant Assistance Program (WYGAP)!
WYGAP is a technical assistance program to help help organizations that may need extra help in applying for grants! This program provides assistance through or with training, webinars, and office hours; general/exploratory assistance; needs identification and planning; project scoping and review; funding opportunity identification; stakeholder coordination; grant application development, post-award support; federal fund match information; and resources. To learn more and to access WYGAP, please click here.
What can't Title V funds be used for?
(b) Amounts described in subsection (a) may not be used for—
(1) inpatient services, other than inpatient services provided to children with special health care needs or to high-risk pregnant women and infants and such other inpatient services as the Secretary may approve;
(2) cash payments to intended recipients of health services;
(3) the purchase or improvement of land, the purchase, construction, or permanent improvement (other than minor remodeling) of any building or other facility, or the purchase of major medical equipment;
(4) satisfying any requirement for the expenditure of non-Federal funds as a condition for the receipt of Federal funds;
(5) providing funds for research or training to any entity other than a public or nonprofit private entity; or
(6) payment for any item or service (other than an emergency item or service) furnished—
(A) by an individual or entity during the period when such individual or entity is excluded under this title or title XVIII, XIX, or XX pursuant to section 1128, 1128A, 1156, or 1842(j)(2), or
(B) at the medical direction or on the prescription of a physician during the period when the physician is excluded under this title or title XVIII, XIX, or XX pursuant to section 1128, 1128A, 1156, or 1842(j)(2) and when the person furnishing such item or service knew or had reason to know of the exclusion (after a reasonable time period after reasonable notice has been furnished to the person).
Who is eligible to apply?
Any Wyoming-based community non-profit and for-profit businesses/organizations are eligible to apply! You just need to be registered in the SAM system and have a UEI number (if you are unsure as to what the SAM system is and what a UEI number is, please go to the “What is a UEI?” question below).
What is a UEI?
UEI stands for Unique Entity Identifier. To do any sort of business with a government entity, you have to register your business or organization in the System for Award Management (SAM) and renew every year. When you register with SAM you get an UEI, and it is free to get one. You must have a UEI and be fully registered in Sam.gov before submitting your application (you cannot just have a UEI assigned, it needs to be an “active registration”). If you do not have one, your application will not be considered.
If your organization does not already have an UEI, apply with SAM so one can be assigned to you.
What is the budget limit?
The Women and Infant Health Program anticipates awarding a total of $50,000.00 through this RFA. Ideally, we want to fund multiple organizations addressing the stated priorities. Budgets between $10,000 and $20,000 are recommended as that allows for opportunities to fund more than one program/initiative. Application budgets exceeding $50,000.00 will still be considered; however, awarding a grant for the full amount may mean we will not be able to fund other organizations’ projects.
Can I request indirect costs in my budget?
As we understand there are costs associated with administration of funding along with project implementation, we allow for a 10% rate of the direct costs for “Grant Implementation, Reporting, and Invoicing”.
What's a National Performance Measure?
Every five years, the MCH Unit is required to perform a statewide needs assessment to determine health priorities for women, infants, and children in Wyoming. These priorities then determine which National Performance Measures, or NPMs, each program in the MCH Unit will work towards. NPMs are decided by the Title V MCH Services Block Grant program as a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). All Title V NPMs can be found on HRSA’s website.
On the application, I only see some, but not all National Performance Measures. Why can't organizations apply for Wyoming's other NPMs?
Currently, only the NPMs under the Women and Infant Health Program are part of this funding opportunity. In the future, other MCH Unit programs may issue similar requests for applications to address their selected NPMs.
I'm not sure if my project idea fits an NPM, but I do know my project idea will benefit Wyoming families. Can I still apply?
When working on projects that address many factors affecting families, it can be somewhat difficult to directly connect it to an NPM. To see how to best connect to one of our NPMs, first ask yourself “What am I going to measure as the outcome of my project, and how does what I’m measuring connect to either one of the three NPMs?” Once you know what you are measuring, it should become clear as to how your project may connect. An example of this is below:
1. The problem in your community is lack of housing.
2. You want to connect people to accessible housing in the community as your project.
3. You are going to do a pre and post survey of clients on positive decision making as research shows an increased intent to make positive choices lowers tobacco use .
4. This connects to tobacco cessation during pregnancy.
If you are still unsure, we are happy to discuss your idea with you to determine if it is a good fit for this funding opportunity. Please contact natalie.hudanick1@wyo.gov to request a discussion on your project idea.
In the overview of the proposal section, it says my responses for questions 1 through 4 cannot be more than 2 pages in length, how can I interpret that on a Google Form?
Generally speaking, 500 words makes a page. Please try to keep responses to 1,000 words. Going slightly over 1,000 words will not hurt your application.
In the application, I want to use a personal, first-hand account of the need I see in the community. Do I also need to find other sources that prove need?
Personal, first-hand accounts from people in the community are some of the best sources to illustrate need. However, pairing first-hand accounts with community- or state-level data is also an important way to strengthen the description of need. If you are having trouble finding data, please visit the MCH epidemiology page for access to data, reports, and dashboards. You can also contact natalie.hudanick1@wyo.gov if you need help locating other possible sources of data.
If I use a statistic, data, or quote, do I need to list the source?
Yes! Please list the source of the statistic or data used at the end of your question box. You are welcome to use any formatting you are most comfortable using (APA, MLA, etc.) or you can list the link of the source at the end. If using a direct quote from someone with lived experience or who is detailing their first-hand account of need, please seek their permission to include it as appropriate.
I'm having trouble understanding how to fit health equity into my project. Can I get some more examples of what that looks like?
In general, when you eliminate a barrier that is keeping any population or identified people from accessing any health resource or service, you are improving health equity. A clear example of this: Wyoming is a frontier state and distance to services and transportation would each be considered a barrier to accessing services. Explaining to us how your project eliminates or reduces these barriers is you explaining how your project improves health equity.
Health Equity can be a complicated topic dealing with many factors including economical, social, and historical and contemporary injustices. We are simplifying it for the sake of the above example. For a more detailed guide to understanding health equity, visit CDC’s health equity explainer.
I submitted my application. When will I be notified that I moved to the next round of review?
If your application is selected for the next round of reviews, you will be notified by the end of the first week of April. If selected, this will give you enough time to prepare a presentation for the next round of review. A template will be provided when you are notified that application is moving to the next round. If your application is not selected to move on to the next round, you will also be notified by the end of the first week of April.
Are there any tips you have to make sure my application does not get thrown out?
All applications submitted will be reviewed and scored. If an application is incomplete or inaccurate, our team will contact you and provide an opportunity to address the issue(s).