1.01Introduction and Program Description
The Department of Health, Division of Public Health, is requesting proposals from eligible applicants to provide evidence-based home visiting services through the Parents as Teachers program for the State of Alaska in FY2027. Program Services are authorized under 7 AAC 78 Grant Programs. Additional governing statutes are AS 14.03.420 Alaska Reads Act. State of Alaska statutes and regulations are accessible at the Department of Law Document Library or through the contact person identified on the cover page of this Request for Proposals (RFP).
1.02Program Goals and Anticipated Outcomes
The Parents as Teachers Evidence-based Home Visiting Model is the comprehensive parent education model used by Parents as Teachers affiliates. The model provides a wide array of services to families with children from prenatal through kindergarten and offers deep insights into early childhood development. Since 1984, the model has been rigorously tested by peer-reviewed studies and shown to produce outstanding results for families.
The evidence-based model is delivered by a global network of affiliates and Parent Educators. Affiliates follow the essential requirements of the model, which provide minimum expectations for program design, infrastructure, and service delivery. There are four dynamic components to the Parents as Teachers model:
- Personal visits
- Group Connections
- Resource Network
- Child and Caregiver Screening
Together, they form a comprehensive set of services with these goals/outcomes:
- Improve child health and development
- Reduce rates of child abuse and neglect
- Increase school readiness
- Increase parent involvement in children's care and education
Grantees must provide the Parents as Teachers Evidence-based Model to fidelity by gaining or maintaining affiliate status with Parents and Teachers National, as well as actively pursue or maintain Parents as Teachers Blue Ribbon status. The PAT National Annual Performance Report (APR) and the outcome of the APR must be shared with the State of Alaska to demonstrate proof of affiliate status annually. For more information, please visit the Parents as Teachers Affiliates site.
The proposed project must demonstrate a thorough understanding and support of the grant program goals and outcomes anticipated by the Department.
Projects must meet or exceed anticipated minimum outcomes described in this RFP.
1.03Program Services/Activities
Applicants must upload a timeline for the initiation of services and project activities in the first state fiscal year, starting July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The timeline must address the following prompts:
- How will grantees determine the number of personal visits per family for the grant year?
- How will a resource network be developed and how will families be linked to needed support services?
- What kinds of group connection events will be hosted and how will the program ensure that they are relevant to the participant's needs?
- Which screenings/assessments will be utilized? When and how will often will they be administered?
Applicant proposals must describe the ways in which the project aligns with program intent. The submitted project proposal will identify agency resources available to the project; describe project activities; and clearly state the project’s anticipated goals, outputs, and outcomes and how they will be achieved.
Applicants agree to comply with all listed program requirements, service standards, and PAT affiliate requirements listed in this RFP by submitting a response to the solicitation.
The program uses an evidence-based model to deliver parent education services to eligible children, and to their parents and caregivers. Trained parent educators visit homes to support and build on parent and caregiver strengths, while teaching about optimal early childhood developmental learning. For further information, visit the Parents as Teachers National Office Essential Requirements site.
Successful project proposals must offer all components of the PAT model, which includes:
Personal visits - Individualized, strength-based visits where parent educators focus on child development and parent-child interaction. The training and curriculum, together with the parent educator's interpersonal and communication skills, bring a valuable service to families and result in measurable impacts. Grantees must provide the required number of personal visits to families based on the reported amount of family stressors and the PAT National requirements to maintain affiliate status.
Resource network - A network of community resources that parents can access as needed. It is essential that projects build comprehensive, collaborative, and community-based partnerships that build on family strengths, support long-term self-sufficiency, and impact real and long-lasting change. Because families often are not aware of services available in their community, the parent educator helps bridge the gap between available resources and families’ needs.
Group connection events - An opportunity for parents to share experiences, discuss problems, learn from other parents, support each other, observe their child with other children, and practice parenting skills. In addition, child development information is shared and social connection between parents is fostered.
Screening - Developmental screenings to help parents understand their child’s development, recognize strengths, and identify areas of concern that might suggest the need for follow-up services. Health screenings should include overall health, vision, and hearing screenings performed by healthcare professionals. All programs are required to utilize the following screening tools, in addition to any other PAT National screening requirements:
- Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3 or most recent version provided by the publisher)
- Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional 2 (ASQ:SE-2)
- Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO™)
- Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9)
- An assessment to measure parent involvement in children’s care and education (TBD)
Note: The requirement to use the PHQ-9 indicates that all participating PAT programs must choose depression as one of the two Essential Requirement Indicators.
In response to the RFP, applicant proposals must address or provide the following:
- A copy of the most recent PAT affiliation certificate, or a complete plan to become an affiliate within 6 months of the award. If the applicant is working to complete the plan to become an Affiliate, they must provide a letter or copy of an email from PAT National that acknowledges they are working on the plan with them.
- If a program already maintains a Blue Ribbon status, a copy of that certificate should also be provided.
- The proposed parent, family, and community gathering activities that link groups of families to local supports and resources, and the ways in which Strengthening Families™ will be incorporated into the project. Strengthening Families is a research-informed, strength-based approach to helping families reduce stress, address risk factors, and promote healthy development by embedding protective factors in programs and communities. For more information visit the Office of Children's Services Strengthening Families website.
- The ways in which the project proposes to link individual families to needed support services. Support services include, but are not limited to, special education; Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs; housing authorities; health, dental and mental health programs; other needed social services provided Tribally, by the State, or by the local community.
Note: If an applicant receives other federal funding for evidence-based home visiting services, the organization affirms that requested Parents as Teachers grant funds will not be used to substitute for or replace existing financial commitments. All State PAT grant expenditures can be used to expand PAT home visiting services separately from the federal funded program.
1.04Program Evaluation Requirements and Reporting
Results Based Budgeting Framework Results based budgeting provides a framework in which allocated resources support, and are justified by, a set of outputs and expected results. Within this framework, actual performance and achieved outcomes are measured by objective performance measures.
Projects are required to align with program objectives expressing Department priorities and core services. Projects must use performance measures to evaluate progress toward meaningful outcomes, and to initiate data collection and reporting consistent with Department priorities.
The Department Priorities, Core Services, Objectives, and Performance Measures of Effectiveness and Efficiency for this program are:
Department Priorities
- 3.0 Safe & Responsible Individuals, Families & Communities
Department Core Services
- 3.2 Protect Vulnerable Alaskans
Department Objectives
- Decrease the rate of maltreatment in children
- Decrease the rate of maltreatment in vulnerable populations
Performance Measures
Effectiveness
- Quarterly number of children served
- Quarterly number of families served
- Quarterly number of hosted community events
- Quarterly number of unique organizations linked to families
- Quarterly number of screens completed for each required screening tool (refer to 1.03 Program Services/Activities)
- Meet the threshold of essential requirements met to uphold Affiliate status
Efficiency
- Grantees must meet a minimum caseload capacity of 85% based on the funding and FTEs allowed.
- A program that is not able to make progress on corrective action goals may have their funding adjusted.
The applicant's proposed evaluation plan must incorporate the performance measures of effectiveness and efficiency identified above. Applicants can propose additional performance measures for evaluating the project’s progress in achieving results supportive of program goals and outcomes. The applicant's evaluation plan must include indicators and data gathering strategies that will be used.
Grant Reporting
The program is designed to meet all PAT National requirements. Required reporting will include:
- Cumulative Fiscal Reports - recording overall grant and match expenditures by budget line in GEMS, due quarterly (within 30 days of the end of each reporting period); and
- Program Reports- recording of overall program performance in the format prescribed by the program in GEMS, due quarterly (within 30 days of the end of each reporting period) and annually (within 30 days of the end of quarter 4).
- Cumulative Detailed Expenditure Report verifying amounts reported in Cumulative Fiscal Reports due at Q2 and Q4.
- PAT National Annual Performance Report (APR) and the outcome of the APR as evaluated by PAT National, due as a project deliverable within five days upon receiving the results.
- PAT National Blue Ribbon status - due as a project deliverable within 5 days of receiving certification, if applicable.
- Visit Tracker Data Export Reports – data report extracts downloaded from Visit Tracker including child data, family data, guardian data, and screening data are due annually within 30 days of the end of quarter 4.
1.05Target Population and Service Area
Applicants must clearly describe the population targeted by the project, including the area or communities that will be served. Proposals will be evaluated for compatibility with the program’s intended target population identified in this solicitation.
Target Population: The target population for the solicited services is any family with children ages 0- 5 years of age.
Service Areas and Communities: The service areas and communities requested for the services solicited are statewide.
Applicants must clearly describe the population targeted by the project, including the area or communities to be served. The target population narrative must identify sub-populations most in need of services, must cite community factors that place the targeted population at risk, and identify other factors considered in the selection of the targeted population. Proposals will be evaluated for compatibility with the program’s intended target population identified in this solicitation.
Each proposal must include a needs assessment supporting the need for PAT services in the proposed service area.
1.06Program Funding
Funds available for this program are anticipated to total $931,053.14 in inter-agency receipts for a one-year procurement in FY2027. Past funding cycles have operated on a multi-year award basis. The current program offering is for one year of funding in FY2027. If additional program funding is available, it will be distributed through a competitive process again.
Proposed Budget: The applicant must submit a budget proposal for the fiscal year of the project. The proposed budget detail and narrative will support the program's results-based service delivery and staffing requirements stated in this RFP. It must reflect project and program intent and should be reasonable and substantiated. Clearly describe any necessary allocation of resources among target populations of service areas.
The guideline for proposed budgets:
- Projects proposing to serve 10 children or fewer will be funded in the range of $3,000 – $5,000 per family served
- Projects proposing to serve 11 to 20 families: $35,000 – $100,000
- Projects proposing to serve 21 to 40 families: $70,000 - $185,000
The proposed budget will be fully compliant with the limitations described in this RFP, and those detailed in 7 AAC 78.160 (Costs). Regulations are provided under the GEMS Documents tab.
Resources specific to budgeting are also available under the GEMS Documents tab. The Department's Grant Budget Preparation Guidelines provide information and guidance about budget lines, cost detail groupings, and narrative requirements. Grantee User Manual Part I provides detailed instructions for entering a budget proposal in the chapter "Responding to a Solicitation."
Other Agency Funding: Prior to submitting a proposal, applicants are required to list all other agency funding received and applied for. This task must be completed by an Agency Power User in the Other Funding section of the Agency Administration tab. This is part of the pre-award risk assessment required under Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200.
Indirect Costs: If the proposed budget includes indirect costs, 7 AAC 78.160(p) requires a copy of the agency's current federally approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement. The agreement is to be uploaded in the Agency Administration tab. Lapsed agreements can be used if uploaded with the negotiating federal agency's written approval to continue using the rate until a new agreement is negotiated. If an agency has never entered into a federally approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement or no longer has a federally approved agreement in place, the recently updated Federal Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200 now allows that agency to budget the 15% De Minimis.
Payment for Services/Grant Income: If applicable to the services proposed in response to this solicitation, awarded grantees will have a Medicaid Provider Number or apply to obtain one, and will make reasonable effort to bill all eligible services to Medicaid and any other available sources of payment before seeking grant support for delivery of the proposed services. Department funds are the payer of last resort.
In the applicant’s proposed budget, anticipated receipts and expenditures for all grant income must be evident in the detail and narrative. Fiscal reports for awarded income generating projects will include the receipts and expenditure of all grant income.