FY27 480-40-3710 IDEC Home Visiting

Eligibility Type: Public

Applicant Eligibility Information

Continuation Applications Only

A. Eligible Applicants include private, not-for-profit community-based organizations that are incorporated and have been granted 501(c) (3) status; public community-based organizations, including units of local government, and private, for-profit community-based organizations. Applicants may apply independently or jointly. Joint applications for funds may be submitted by any combination of eligible applicants. For joint applications, the lead applicant would need to submit an application on behalf of all partners.

1. Program models. Applicants must use one of the following evidence-based home visiting models:
a. Early Head Start Home-Based (EHS)
b. Healthy Families America (HFA) Note: Successful applicants must request the HFA
child welfare protocol from the HFA National Office within 6 months of the contract
start date.
c. Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)
d. Parents as Teachers (PAT)

2. Doula enhancement. Only those applicants that currently have IDEC-funded doulas as part of their home visiting program are eligible to apply for the doula enhancement in FY26. This includes applicants with current IDEC state funding, and current IDEC Maternal Child Home Visiting as a subcontractor of Start Early.

3. Service areas: This Notice of Funding Opportunity is for the provision of home visiting services to families who reside in Illinois. Funding is only available for services in the counties listed below. Applicants are not required to serve an entire county and may serve a smaller geographic area within a county.

While this NOFO covers increased salaries to support the Smart Start Illinois goals of higher program quality, total available funding has not increased. Therefore, IDEC does not anticipate an increase in total services funded, and we are limiting eligibility to the counties currently served by IDEC home visiting.

In alignment with IDEC’s goal of better targeting funding to at-risk communities, applicants will receive priority points for serving Priority 1 or Priority 2 counties below, which were identified in the 2020 MIECHV Needs Assessment. The Needs Assessment is available on the CPRD MIECHV webpage.

Priority Description Counties

Priority 1 “At-risk communities” currently receiving IDEC HV funding.
Champaign, Clay, Coles, Cook, Douglas, DuPage, Fayette, Franklin, Jackson, Kane, Lake, Livingston, Moultrie, Peoria, Rock Island, St. Clair, Stephenson, Vermilion, Winnebago.
Applicants will receive 10 bonus points if they propose to serve at least one of these communities.

Priority 2 "High Consideration" communities currently receiving IDEC HV funding. Adams, DeKalb, Lee, Macoupin, Ogle, Whiteside, Williamson. Applicants who do not serve any Priority 1 communities will receive 5 bonus points if they serve at least one of these communities.

Priority 3 Communities currently receiving IDEC HV funding which do not appear in the above two priority categories Bond, Carroll, Clinton, DeWitt, Logan, Madison, McLean, Piatt, Tazewell, Woodford. No points.

B. The applicant must meet the Registration, Pre-qualification and any other Mandatory Requirements listed in this funding opportunity.

1. Applicants must provide the following information via the Grantee Portal annually to be registered with the State of Illinois as an awardee:
a. Organization name and contact information
b. Federal Employee Identification Number (FEIN)
c. Unique Identity Number (UEI)
d. Organization type

2. Applicants must be prequalified; therefore, applications from entities that have not prequalified prior to the due date of this application will NOT be reviewed and will NOT be considered for funding. Items a) through e) below are the prequalification requirements.
a. Unique Entity Identifiers and SAM Registration: Each applicant (unless the applicant is
an individual or State awarding agency that is exempt from those requirements under 2
CFR § 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal or State awarding
agency under 2 CFR § 25.110(d)) is required to:
i. Be registered in SAM.gov before the application due date.
ii. Provide a valid unique entity identifier (UEI) in its application.
iii. Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all
times during which it has an active award or an application or plan under
consideration by the awarding agency.
iv. The State Agency may not make an award until applicant has fully complied to
all UEI and SAM requirements.
v. The State Agency may determine that an applicant is not qualified if they have
not complied to requirements and use that determination as a basis to award
another applicant or applicants.
b. Must be in "good standing" with the Illinois Secretary of State if the Illinois Secretary
of State requires the entity's organization type to be registered.
c. Must not be on the Illinois Stop Payment List
d. Must not be on the Sam.gov Exclusion List
e. Must not be on the Medicaid Sanctions List

Beneficiary Eligibility Information

The IDEC Home Visiting program has the following priority populations identified by the federal Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. Enrollment is not limited to the MIECHV priority populations, but programs are expected to prioritize the following populations, as well as the Early Learning Council Priority Populations, for enrollment.

a. Low-income household (below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level or FPL)
b. Household contains an enrollee who is pregnant and under age 21
c. Household has a history of child abuse or neglect or had interactions with child welfare
d. Household has a history of substance abuse or needs substance abuse treatment
e. Someone in the household uses tobacco products in the home
f. Someone in the household has attained low student achievement or has a child with low student achievement
g. Household has a child with developmental delays or disabilities
h. Household includes individuals who are serving or formerly served in the United States armed forces