FY27 TLS Educational & Training Voucher (ETV) Payments Program

FY27 TLS Educational & Training Voucher (ETV) Payments Program

This grant award will have an initial period of performance starting in FY27 (07/01/2026 (or upon execution of the agreement) through 06/30/2029). A budget should be submitted for FY27 only.
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program provides financial support services to eligible youth that are enrolled in an accredited college, university, or vocational program. The Provider will collaborate with the Office of Education and Transition Services (OETS) on the ETV Program. The Provider will issue ETV payments to Payees as approved by the OETS ETV Coordinator and submitted in the weekly payment request.

The ETV payments will include payments directly to ETV eligible students for reimbursement of eligible post-secondary expenses, including books, supplies, technology, and room/board expenses. Payments will also go directly to post-secondary education colleges, universities, and programs for eligible expenses included within the student’s cost of attendance.

The Provider will collaborate with the OETS to issue the start-up payments to the DCFS Scholarship recipients. The amount of the start-up payment is determined by the DCFS Budget and Finance Office and is a benefit of the DCFS Scholarship.

The Youth in College / Vocational Training (YIC) Program is a placement available to youth in care. A start-up payment is benefit of the program. The Provider will issue YIC start-up payments to Payees as directed on the weekly payment request.

Upon request and approval by the Provider and the Deputy Director, additional payments will also be allowed.
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PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIES

The Provider shall issue payments as approved by the DCFS/OETS. The Provider must have these procedures in writing and available to all staff.

All payments approved by the DCFS/OETS shall be accepted and issued on a no decline basis unless the funds provided by DCFS have been exhausted.

The Provider shall issue the payments electronically when possible and shall only mail the payments to the payee as a last option. If the payment is being made to a payee on behalf of an eligible youth, the payment shall include the youth’s name, DCFS ID number, and if applicable, youth’s student ID number. All payments shall be processed and issued within 5 business days of receipt of the request. If the Department requests an emergency response, the payment shall be processed and issued within 1 business day.

If the Provider learns the check was not received by the payee within a reasonable amount of time, the Provider shall void the check. The Provider shall document such action as part of this Program’s record keeping. The Provider will be reimbursed for any bank fees incurred to stop payment on an issued check.
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CLIENT CONTACTS

The Provider will have direct contact with the Client to establish direct deposit for electronic payments.
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MINIMUM STAFFING EXPECTATIONS

Provider must maintain staffing levels sufficient to process checks in a timely manner Monday through Friday excepting state holidays.
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TARGET POPULATION

A Client is defined as:
• a youth that is referred by the ETV Coordinator and meets the criteria. The ETV Coordinator or designee must confirm that the client is appropriate for ETV funding.
• a youth in care approved for the YIC placement.
• a recipient of the DCFS Scholarship.

Inclusions:
Youth eligible for ETV funding include the following:
• Youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal responsibility for; or
• Youth who have aged out of DCFS care at age 18 or older; or Youth who have achieved permanency through guardianship or adoption at age 16 or older.

In addition, the youth must meet the following requirements:
The youth must be enrolled, attending and making satisfactory academic progress as a student in an accredited college, university or vocational program prior to age 21;The youth must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) within the required deadlines set by the school and state each year; and the youth must successfully complete all paperwork requested by the school for the admission and financial aid process.

Youth eligible for YIC start-up payments include the following:
• Youth in care approved for the YIC placement.

Youth eligible for DCFS Scholarship start-up payments include the following:
• Recipients of the DCFS Scholarship.

Exclusions:
Youth are ineligible if they do not meet the above inclusion criteria.

Client Capacity Under DCFS Agreement: N/A
Capacity at Any Given Time: N/A

Client Capacity Under Program: N/A
Capacity at Any Given Time: N/A

Average Length of Services: 5 business days

The length of service under this Agreement shall be based from the time the Provider receives the request to issue payments to the time the check is issued to the approved recipient.

The provider must obtain prior authorization from DCFS to serve clients outside of the program plan parameters.
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BILLING SUBMITTAL

The Provider must submit monthly invoices. All invoices except the first must be accompanied by a written summary of the status of each project reporting the activities conducted and deliverables accomplished during the time period for the prior invoice. The Provider must submit financial/cost reports on a monthly basis reflecting the actual reimbursable costs to document an invoice already paid. All invoices except the first will be accompanied by monthly financial reports and quarterly program reports as outlined in the Program Plan.

Estimated Payments: Payment will be made at the beginning of each month in an amount equal to 1/12 of the annual budgeted Agreement amount provided this is supported by monthly reconciliation reports submitted by the Provider.

Monthly Reconciliation: The Provider will submit reconciliation reports each month. A separate Payment Spreadsheet is necessary for each service month. The Provider must submit the Payment Spreadsheet within 30 days after the month the Payments were made. The Provider may issue one Payment for more than one purpose for the same Payee. However, when billing, the payment must be split to match the Payment requests approved and submitted to the Provider by the DCFS/OETS. If the Payee is a school and the payment is on behalf of multiple youth, documentation must be submitted to the Payee documenting how the payment is to be applied to youth’s student accounts, including the youth’s student ID numbers. The Provider will submit a DCFS Scholarship start-up payments spreadsheet documenting payments.
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PAYMENT

The terms and conditions of this award comply with the requirements of a Fixed Amount Award. A Fixed Amount Award is defined as a type of grant or cooperative agreement pursuant to which the Federal agency or pass-through entity provides a specific amount of funding without regard to actual costs incurred under the Federal award consistent with the terms of this addendum.

The recipient or subrecipient must not earn or keep any profit resulting from Federal financial assistance unless explicitly authorized by the terms and conditions of the Federal award. See also § 200.307. When the required activities of a fixed amount award were completed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award, the unexpended funds retained by the recipient or subrecipient are not considered profit.

The Provider will receive the funds they will disburse and a direct administrative fee of 10% based on the actual amount of Payments disbursed to provide support and stability for youth in care. As a Fixed Amount Award, administrative costs are restricted to the direct administrative fee of 10% and no indirect administrative costs are allowed on these Direct Client Assistance payments.

The Department will make payments to the Provider based on the projected amount needed up to Agreement capacity. The Department will review program utilization based on authorizations made by the DCFS/OETS designee and on monthly reconciliation process described above, when determining appropriate payment amounts.
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PROGRAM OUTCOMES AND METRICS

• The Provider will process 100% of the Payment requests when they have available funds.
• The Provider will process 100% of the Payment requests within 5 business days. If the Department requests an emergency response, the payment will be processed within 1 business day.
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GEOGRAPHIC/SERVICE PROVISION AREA(S)

Services must be provided throughout the State of Illinois.

Details

• Awarding Agency: Department Of Children And Family Services
• CSFA Number: 418-00-3604
• CSFA Popular Name: ETV Payments
• Funding Opportunity Number: 418 - Educational & Training Voucher (ETV) Payments Program
• Assistance Listings Number: State
• Announcement Type: Initial Announcement
• Award Type: Competitive
• Total Funding Available: $1,180,105.00
• Expected Number of Awards: 1
• Funding Sources: State
• Indirect Costs Allowed: Yes
• Posted Date: 2026-04-30
• Award Period: 2026-07-01 – 2027-06-30

Funding Restrictions

Grant awards will be subject to state statutory requirements that limit the administrative costs to 20%. Fringe benefits cannot exceed 25% of total salaries.

Indirect Cost Description

Indirect Costs are allowed. To charge indirect costs to a grant, the applicant organization must have an annually negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA).

There are three types of NICRAs:

1. Federally Negotiated Rate. Organizations that receive direct federal funding, may have an indirect cost rate that was negotiated with the Federal Cognizant Agency. Illinois will accept the federally negotiated rate. The organization must provide a copy of the federal NICRA.

2. State Negotiated Rate. The organization may negotiate an indirect cost rate with the State of Illinois if they do not have a Federally Negotiated Rate. If an organization has not previously established an indirect cost rate, an indirect cost rate proposal may be submitted to the State of Illinois through the indirect cost rate system no later than three months after the effective date of the award. If an organization previously established an indirect cost rate, the organization must continue to use that rate until its expiration. Upon expiration, the organization may re-submit a new indirect cost proposal through the system annually, within six months after the close of the grantee’s fiscal year, OR an organization may elect to use the de minimis rate instead of their State Negotiated Rate.

3. De Minimis Rate. An organization may elect a de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct cost (MTDC). Once established, the de minimis rate may be used indefinitely. The State of Illinois must verify the calculation of the MTDC annually in order to accept the de minimis rate.
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NOTE
• All grantees must complete an indirect cost rate negotiation or elect the De Minimis Rate in the indirect cost rate system to claim indirect costs. Indirect costs claimed without an established negotiated rate or a De Minimis Rate election in the system may be subject to disallowance.
• Grantees have discretion not to claim payment for indirect costs. Grantees that elect not to claim indirect costs cannot be reimbursed for indirect costs.
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Restrictions on Indirect Costs

Yes

Citation Governing Indirect Cost Restriction

2 CFR 200.414(c)

State Award Notices

REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS
All applications must be submitted by the posted deadline. IDCFS staff conducts an initial review of all applications received for eligibility and GATA compliance. Reviewers may consist of DCFS GATA staff, division leadership, and other internal DCFS staff. Each proposal will be reviewed by a minimum of three reviewers. The review and selection of grant award recipients is conducted in a fair and equitable manner that evaluates and selects grantees most likely to be successful in delivering results based on program objectives, and with limited disruption to the continuity of services. Proposals will be approved based on funding available.

While recommendations from the review team will be a key factor in funding decisions, the Department maintains final authority over funding decisions and considers the scores of the review team to be non-binding recommendations. The Department reserves the right to evaluate applications in the larger context of the overall portfolio by considering geographic distribution of awards (e.g., ensuring coverage of certain counties or service areas), client needs, and overall programmatic/ financial risk assessments in its pre-award decisions. Any internal documentation used in scoring or awarding of grants shall not be considered public information.

Final award decisions will be made by the Director (or their designee). The Department reserves the right to negotiate with successful applicants to adjust award amounts, locations, etc. Funds are disbursed based on the schedule agreed upon and included within the Uniform Grant Agreement. The release of this Notice of Funding Opportunity does not obligate the Department to make an award.
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AWARD NOTIFICATIONS
An award status notification (approval or denial) will be delivered via an automated email from Euna Grants. This email will serve as notification that an award has been made. However, this email is not an authorization to begin performance or incur costs.
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APPEALS
Competitive grant (and in some cases non-competitive) appeals are limited to an appeal related to the evaluation process. Evaluation scores may not be protested.

An appeal must be submitted in writing in accordance with the grant application document. An appeal must be received within 14 calendar days of Award denial.
The written appeal shall include at a minimum the following:
i. the name and address of the appealing party
ii. identification of the grant for which you are appealing the evaluation/review process
iii. a statement of reasons for the appeal

Response to Appeal
a. DCFS will acknowledge receipt of an appeal within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date the appeal was received.
b. DCFS will respond to the appeal within 60 days or supply a written explanation to the appealing party as to why additional time is required.
c. The appealing party must supply any additional information requested by DCFS within the time period set in the request.

Reporting

Grantees will be expected to submit both (monthly or quarterly) periodic performance reports and monthly financial reports. The exact reporting requirements of this award will be defined in the program plan of the Uniform Grant Agreement.