Direct Cash Transfers as Prevention
Request for Proposals (RFP):
Frequently Asked Questions
Applications close July 31, 2023
Community-Based Organization Eligibility
-
US territories are able to apply for this RFP.
-
State governments may apply on the condition that they are able to provide direct services to young people enrolled in the intervention OR that they apply in partnership with a community based organization who is able to administer direct services.
-
For this particular RFP, applicants should either be able to directly provide services to young people or apply in partnership with a specific community organization to administer the services.
-
Absolutely!
-
We encourage community organizations to partner in the way that makes sense for your particular organizations and community. Please clearly explain your partnership in your application and how you intend to work together.
-
When we refer to ‘community’, we are referring to the community your organization serves. It could be a city, county, zip code, region, or another size based on what makes the most sense in your particular context.
-
Yes!
Budget
-
We do not have any parameters around organizational budgets.
-
This RFP is asking for a $30,000 match. Agencies are encouraged to be creative with their matching funds, and as long as organizations are able to fully support the Prevention Specialist position and administer the pilot, that is the most important factor. Federal funding as a match is acceptable.
-
CBOs will be paid in two payments, one after the signed contract is executed, and one before DCT-P payments launch.
-
While indirect and other administrative costs are allowable costs in the project budget, this RFP does not include those costs in the budget offered to communities. Therefore, if your project budget does include those costs, we would recommend including them as part of the match in your budget.
-
For the Raikes/Schultz RFP:
If a CBO elects to process payments for young people in house, their award will be as follows:
$125,000 for Direct Cash Payments to Young People
$10,000 to be used as an admin fee for processing payments
$30,000 for staffing the Prevention Specialist role
If a CBO elects to use a 3rd party payment processor, their award will be as follows:
-$30,000 for staffing the Prevention Specialist role
For the New York City RFP:
If a CBO elects to process payments for young people in house, their award will be as follows:
$185,000 for Direct Cash Payments to Young People
$18,500 to be used as an admin fee for processing payments
$37,500 for staffing the Prevention Specialist role
If a CBO elects to use a 3rd party payment processor, their award will be as follows:
-$37,500 for staffing the Prevention Specialist role
**If a CBO elects to use a 3rd party payment processor, the payment processing admin fee and direct cash payments will go to that payment process or directly.
Staffing
-
As long as the staffing plan is clear, we encourage communities to propose a structure that makes sense for the population/s and organization to best implement the project successfully.
-
Absolutely!
-
Yes, you can add this responsibility into an existing role. We would just need to see in your application that this role would have the capacity needed for the pilot.
-
Yes, and if selected, we will talk through the details of how to make this effective.
Writing the Proposal
-
We have decided that the following components will be exempted from the 15 page limit:
Personnel Bios and Resumes
Proof of nonprofit status
Letters of support
-
High scoring letters will demonstrate that young people in your community are enthusiastic about your organization in particular to be the ones to implement this project. We want to see letters from young people that make a strong case that your organization centers the needs of young people, trusts young people, and is well respected among young people locally.
-
The review panel will consist of PSY Staff and young people from PSY’s various youth leadership bodies. Every proposal that meets all of the eligibility criteria will be assigned to at least one young person with lived experience and one PSY staff member for review. We will request interviews from organizations as needed for the week of Aug 21.
-
Yes
-
Yes, there will be a scoring rubric to help with scoring RFPs
Intervention & Technical Assistance
-
As part of our work to operationalize our value of youth leadership, PSY will hire at least one youth consultant from each selected local community for 7-10 hours per month. Youth Consultants participate in local planning and decision making conversations for their community, support trainings, and build resources for DCT-P implementation.
-
As a true prevention program, DCT-P is not intended to be used for young people currently in homeless housing programs (Rapid Rehousing, Host Homes, Permanent Supportive Housing, etc). However, It could be used for young people who are receiving a housing subsidy or other public housing benefits.
-
Yes.
-
PSY will support CBOs in advocacy around mainstream benefits and create benefits matrixes for each community partner.
-
This is a 1-year pilot, from September 2023-September 2024. The timeline will be reviewed with the CBO once selected.
-
Being able to serve all youth regardless of access to a bank account is a requirement for any payment provider for DCT and DCT-P. We have not had CBOs directly hand cash over from provider to youth, but we ensure there are ways for any youth to pull cash out of their DCT account whenever they like on their own. If a CBO is selected, we will work together to set up a process that will work best for target young people in your community. Our minimum criteria for payment processing can be found here.
-
Our eligibility criteria is:
Aged 16-24 at enrollment
Is not currently experiencing homelessness
Is at risk of becoming an unaccompanied homeless young person or is unaccompanied and living in an unstable living situation
Has an opportunity to be housed outside of the homelessness system
We would be excited for organizations to identify where the cracks are in your system - those in your community who are the most marginalized or who fall through the cracks of other programs - and target those populations specifically.
Reporting & Data Collection
-
PSY will be working with a 3rd party evaluation team, who will be supporting CBOs in data collection and analysis. Our plan is to collect data in 3 primary ways: through intakes, qualitative interviews/surveys, and periodic returns checks. If a CBO is selected, we will review and tailor the specific data collection plan together. Our goal with evaluation is to ensure the most critical information is collected, while not creating burdens for clients or organizational staff.
We will want to be able to see whether a young person returns to the homelessness system, and are devising simple strategies to collect this. HMIS access will not be required for this project, but it would be extremely helpful. We will ask all selected CBOs to sign a data sharing agreement that includes PSY and our 3rd party evaluators.
-
We are still working out the details of the specific qualitative data collection plan, and will co-create much of that strategy together. Ideally, we will be able to collect some qualitative data through surveys/interviews from clients that have received the DCT-P intervention, but we do not expect every client to want to participate in that aspect of the project.
-
DCT as Prevention is a brand new intervention, but is based on Washington State’s Homeless Prevention and Diversion Fund. Their most recent report is filled with outcomes data, and shows 93% of young people remaining housed after the intervention a year after exit, with an average of $1,926 per young person housed.
Beyond this RFP
-
PSY is always open to discussing TA partnerships around our interventions. If you would like to reach out, please contact our Vice President of Partnerships, Lauren Knott at lauren@pointsourceyouth.org.
-
We are not currently funded for a round 2, but we are hoping for this intervention to show success and continue to be supported beyond this cohort of communities.
Apply Today
Download the Request for Proposals (RFP) below to learn about the scope of the initiative, eligibility criteria, important timelines, and all relevant and timely information for applicants. This resource acts as a detailed and thorough guide to submitting a complete application, please review it before submitting an application.
Please submit your RFP response by July 31st, 2023 to dct@pointsourceyouth.org. Technical Proposals should not exceed 15 pages, 1” margins, 11pt, single space, and must provide all required information.
This initiative presented by Point Source Youth is supported by Raikes Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, Trinity Church Wall Street, and the NYC Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness.