Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Program (WIPA) Funding Opportunity Number: WIPA-WIP WIPA RE COMPETE

Application Submission Reminders Application due date – March 30, 2015 Application questions due- March 23, 2015 Risk Assessment must accompany application submission Double check award amounts on Appendix A

Application Submission Reminders (continued) Check maps for service areas Applications must be submitted online through Grants.gov Applicants must register DUNS at SAM.gov. Individual submitting application in Grants.gov completing application must be registered the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Refer to the new 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Guidance Cost Principles when completing Budget Narrative. The regulations can be found at the following link: idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tplhttp:// idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl

Application Submission Reminders (continued) Include Indirect Cost Rate Agreement if indirect charges are applicable Technical assistance-contact Grants.gov at 1–800–518–4726

Target Population WIPA projects serve beneficiaries 14 years old and older, receive Social Security benefits based on their own disabilities and want to enter or return to the workforce. – services will focus on beneficiaries who are working, including self-employed, about to begin employment or self-employment (job offer pending or business about to start up), or who, based on informed analysis, are very serious about working and ready to work.

Some of the Requirements Have Changed Service Model Minimum Time Commitments for CWIC Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) – Continuing Education Help Line Benchmarks Summary – Writing Software Firewall Requirements Outreach Funding Distribution

Service Model (pp. 9, 11) We expect projects to provide more targeted, comprehensive, and intensive services with a larger percentage of those services offered to beneficiaries via distance-based and remote delivery. – We encourage organizations to build consortiums to provide services.

Service Model (continued) WIPAs may direct up to fifteen percent of their total efforts to I&R for beneficiaries in the process of considering employment and who may need additional guidance.

Minimum Time Commitments In order to provide services under the WIPA cooperative agreement, CWICs must commit at least forty percent of their total work effort to direct services to beneficiaries, whether Social Security or another source funds the services A WIPA project director must commit at least 25 percent of their total work effort to the WIPA program.

CWIC - Continuing Education (p. 17) After earning full certification, CWICs must earn at least eighteen (18) continuing education credits annually in order to retain their certification and authority to work with beneficiaries.

Help Line (p. 21) The Help Line is a national, toll-free call center for beneficiaries seeking return-to-work related information, support, and services. We strongly encourage WIPAs to direct or “push” beneficiaries that appear to be earlier in the employment decision process to certified Help Line representatives for I&R services, so that WIPA staff can focus on intensive benefits planning for targeted beneficiaries.

Benchmarks (p.14 and Appendix D) Each WIPA awardee must make every effort to meet or exceed the performance Benchmarks that we will provide. We may modify the Benchmarks and will provide information, guidance and training on Benchmarks throughout the life of the award.

Summary – Writing Software (p.14) WIPA projects are required to use a Social Security- furnished benefit summary and analysis (BS&A) preparation software, in addition to the Social Security furnished laptops.

Firewall Requirements (pp ) Organizations may continue to operate a WIPA and an employment network (EN). Protection and Advocacy agencies (P&A) may continue to operate a P&A and a WIPA. We continue to require a firewall between the EN and the WIPA and the WIPA and the P&A.

Firewall Requirements (pp of the RFA) (continued) Unlike prior iterations of the WIPA program, we will not consider any exceptions to the firewall requirement between a WIPA and an EN. The WIPA must qualify as a stand-alone and autonomous program. They may not share direct service staff.

Outreach WIPA projects must engage in outreach. – During year one of the project, WIPA projects will expend no more than fifteen (15) percent of their total funding or work effort on outreach – Outreach will be limited to ten (10) percent of their total funding or work effort in subsequent years.

Funding Distribution We are required by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act to distribute funding based on population. The law also limits the maximum amount each awardee may receive to $300,000.00, and restricts the overall budget we may spend on WIPA nationwide. The last competition for WIPA funding occurred in The population of individuals with disabilities shifted in the intervening years, requiring a recalculation of funding.

Funding Distribution (continued) We used current disability population figures to establish a funding level for each state. Where that level exceeded the maximum, we divided service areas as evenly as possible by population, metropolitan areas, and funding amount. Applicants may find the results in Appendix A of the application package.