Presolicitation Notice of Funding Opportunity: Institutionalization during and after Disasters | NCD18 03

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The National Council on Disability (NCD) announced a presolicitation notice for an upcoming discretionary funding opportunity focused on a specific and recurring problem in disaster response: the institutionalization of people with disabilities during and after natural disasters. The project NCD plans to fund is designed to produce a substantive report that explains how, when, and why people with different types of disabilities end up being placed in institutions (such as nursing facilities or other congregate settings) instead of being sheltered in integrated community settings during an emergency or being supported to return to their homes and communities after the disaster has passed. The central purpose is not only to document what happens, but to analyze the underlying drivers and then develop clear, practical recommendations for federal agencies, states, local governments, municipalities, and other relevant stakeholders to reduce and prevent unnecessary institutionalization in future disasters.

A key expectation of the future project is that the report will map out multiple real-world scenarios that can lead to institutionalization. This includes situations where people are diverted away from community shelters because shelters are physically inaccessible, lack appropriate accommodations, or do not have staff with the training or expertise to support people with various disability-related needs. The report is also expected to address systemic and procedural issues, like biased or inappropriate intake practices, as well as persistent misperceptions about disability that cause decision-makers to assume a person needs a higher level of care than they actually do. In other words, the work is meant to show how institutionalization can result not just from a single failure, but from a chain of barriers across planning, shelter operations, transportation, communications, and post-disaster housing and services.

NCD also signaled that the report should be grounded in data, not just anecdotes. Applicants would be expected to seek and present information that helps illuminate and quantify how frequently institutionalization occurs in disaster contexts, recognizing that the problem may be undercounted or poorly tracked across jurisdictions. Beyond documenting the occurrence, the report is expected to explain the short- and long-term harms that institutional placement can create for a person with a disability, including physical, mental, and financial impacts. NCD specifically wants the report to address the broader cost implications as well, emphasizing the financial burden that institutionalization can impose on communities compared with the cost and benefits of supporting people with disabilities in community-based settings.

From an administrative standpoint, the notice describes a project period estimated at seven months and indicates that NCD anticipated releasing the actual Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on May 8, 2018, with responses expected by close of business on June 5, 2018. The opportunity is listed under a cooperative agreement funding instrument, with the funding activity category identified as Disaster Prevention and Relief and a CFDA number of 92.002. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that would appear in the full NOFO. The listing notes an expectation of one award, and it shows an award ceiling of 0 in the source data, which typically signals that the final funding amount was not stated in the presolicitation record or would be clarified in the formal NOFO.

It is also important to understand what this announcement is and is not. NCD repeatedly emphasizes that this is a presolicitation notice issued for informational and planning purposes only. It is not the NOFO itself, it does not obligate the government to fund anything, and it does not mean proposals are being accepted at the time of the notice. NCD states it would not accept unsolicited proposals and that the U.S. Government will not pay for any costs incurred by parties responding to the presolicitation. Any responses to the notice would not be treated as offers and could not form a binding contract. Interested parties were instructed to monitor grants.gov and ncd.gov for the official NOFO and updates, and the notice provides a point of contact for further information: Amy Nicholas (anicholas@ncd.gov), at NCD headquarters, 1331 F Street NW, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20004, phone 202-272-2008.

• The National Council on Disability in the disaster prevention and relief sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Presolicitation Notice of Funding Opportunity: Institutionalization during and after Disasters" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 92.002.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 24, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 08, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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