New Jersey Department of Health. Office of Tobacco Control, Nutrition and Fitness. Request for Applications (RFA)#2

Transcription

1 New Jersey Department of Health Office of Tobacco Control, Nutrition and Fitness Request for Applications (RFA)#2 Smoke-Free Housing / Worksite Wellness Smoke Free Housing/Worksite Wellness Grant The funding for this project is $200,000. The funding period is for 12 months (July 1, 2015 March 28, 2016). Background: In New Jersey, tobacco kills almost 12,000 residents every year, more than any other cause. According to 2014 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs, unless current trends are changed, approximately 143,000 children under 18 and now living in New Jersey will eventually die 1

2 prematurely and avoidably from diseases caused by tobacco including cancer, long term chronic respiratory diseases and heart disease. The CDC report showed that New Jersey residents spend an estimated $4.066 billion annually (FY 2014) on medical care to treat smoking related illnesses. These costs are concentrated at the two ends of the lifespan: low birth weight babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy, and nursing home expenses incurred by patients with tobacco related lung and cardiovascular diseases. The New Jersey state Medicaid program spends $967 million almost one billion-on health care costs attributable to tobacco use, according to a Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids report. This funding opportunity is supported through a grant to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) from the CDC (DP ). Through this federal grant, NJDOH will support implementation of the National Tobacco Control and Prevention Program, which promotes evidence-based environmental, policy, and systems interventions, strategies, and activities to reduce tobacco use, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, tobacco-related disparities and associated disease, disability, and death. The Office of Tobacco Control mirrors the four main goals of the National Tobacco Control and Prevention Program which are: 1. Prevent initiation of tobacco use among youth and young adults 2. Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) 3. Promote quitting among adults and youth 4. Identify and eliminate tobacco related disparities among population groups Objectives: The grantee will align programs and work towards the NJDOH Healthy New Jersey 2020 and New Jersey tobacco prevention and control program objectives. They are as follows: Healthy New Jersey 2020 Reduce the proportion of the population who are current smokers 2

3 Adults aged 18+ years to 13.6% by 2020 High School Students (grades 9 to 12) to 12.8% by 2020 Middle School Students (grades 7 to 8) to 3.9% by 2020 Reduce current tobacco use (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, bidis) by high school students (grades 9-12) to 20% by 2020 Reduce the proportion of high school student (grades 9-12) nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke to 43.4% New Jersey Tobacco Prevention and Control Program Objective 1. Decrease the number of New Jersey high school youth that report ever having smoked a cigarette from 30.0 % per the Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) to 25.3 percent. Objective 2. Decrease the number of New Jersey adults who were exposed to other peoples tobacco smoke in an outdoor public place during the past 30 days from 51.3 % per the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFS) to 49.4 %. Objective 3. Decrease the number of adults who are current smokers from 15.7 % to 14.6 %. Decrease the number of high school students reporting the use of cigarettes in the past 30 days from 9.3 % per YTS to 6.8 %. Objective 4. Decrease the number of adults who are current smokers in the 11 out of 21 NJ counties where smoking prevalence exceeds the state average. Purpose: The purpose of this Request for Applications is to select an organization to engage local public housing authorities and employers in industries where there is a concentration of workers at higher risk of tobacco use to implement evidence-based interventions in public housing and worksites to achieve the goals of reducing tobacco use, secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco- 3

4 related disparities and associated disease, disability and death by implementing tobacco-free and worksite wellness policies. The geographic target of this proposal is the New Jersey counties where tobacco use prevalence is highest and/or populations suffer disparately severe tobacco-related health outcomes. Objective Areas: Promoting Smoke-Free Housing The grantee organization will: Research, develop, and package a model smoke-free housing toolkit that will be used as informational materials, including a step-by-step policy change process. This information will be made available on a website and/or a mailed hard copy to groups interested in addressing this issue. Materials will be made available in Spanish. Develop and implement a strategic plan with key stakeholders (local tobacco and other public health coalitions, housing and consumer advocacy agencies and housing authority decision-makers) to facilitate the adoption of smoke-free housing ordinances. Using the model toolkit, provide outreach and technical assistance to a minimum of ten (10) housing authorities to facilitate a 100% smoke free housing policy. Facilitation will include: Delivery of presentation/webinars Conduct surveys/assessments Website development Signage availability 4

5 Promoting Tobacco-Free Worksites The grantee organization will outreach to a minimum of ten (10) companies and employers and other stakeholders including local Chambers of Commerce, and employee groups to educate key stakeholders to facilitate a 100% smoke-free policy using the NJDOH Worksite Wellness Toolkit, Working Well in New Jersey as a model resource as well as CDC Worksite Health 101 training manual that will include the following: Environmental and health aspects of tobacco and secondhand smoke, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke Strategies to reduce or eliminate secondhand tobacco smoke in their worksites Strategies for creating incentives for employees to quit tobacco use Treatment options for employees and their families including NJ Quitline, as well as other NJDOH-approved tobacco use cessation resources for worksites The grantee organization will develop an initiative to help individual employers implement five (5) of the following activities: Have a written policy banning tobacco use at the worksite Actively enforce a written policy banning tobacco use Display signs (including no smoking signs) with information about the tobacco-use policy Compliance with State clean indoor air law Smoking restrictions that go beyond State law Analysis of health insurance benefits for coverage of effective tobacco dependence treatment 5

6 Provide health insurance coverage with no or low out-of-pocket costs for prescription tobacco cessation medications including nicotine replacement Inform employees about health insurance coverage or programs that include tobacco cessation medication and counseling Development of a systematic referral system to New Jersey cessation resources such as NJ Quitline and Mom s Quit Connection Provide or promote free or subsidized tobacco cessation counseling Provide incentives for being a current non-user of tobacco and for current tobacco users who are involved in a cessation class or actively quitting Resource The grantee organization will also ensure that 75% of all activities to educate decision-makers, stakeholders, health providers and public about the dangers of tobacco and interventions to address it are targeted toward audiences in the 11 high-prevalence counties and in low-ses communities in the other 10 counties regarding SHS reduction in worksites and public housing. Cumberland County 25.0% to 21.4% Salem County 24.6% to 20.2% Cape May 23.4% to 19.9% Gloucester County 22.8% to 19.5% Atlantic County 21.1% to 18.7% Sussex County 20.7% to 17.4% Camden County 20.3% to 17.9% Ocean County 18.2%; to 15.9% Warren County 18.1% to 15.1% Monmouth County 17.8% to 15.5% Burlington County 17.7% to 15.2% 6

7 Evaluation Plan: The grantee organization will work with NJDOH (as part of the Evaluation Planning Team) to develop an evaluation plan and a system to track and assess project results and outcomes such as monitoring the effectiveness of the NJDOH Worksite Wellness Toolkit, Working Well in New Jersey by implementing strategies to promote and decrease number of adults who are current smokers from 15.7 to 14.6%. The tracking system will include: Extent program activities contributed to smoke-free policies in public housing facilities Major barriers and facilitators to implementing policy change in public housing facilities Number of monthly speaking opportunities by trained tobacco spokespersons to educate decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public about smoke-free policies that target public housing units Number of public housing units and number of residents affected by smoke-free policies Number of monthly speaking opportunities by trained tobacco spokespersons to educate decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public about smoke-free campus policies in worksites Number of worksites and employees affected by smoke-free campus policies Number of worksites in high-prevalence counties that implement evidence-based policies or practices targeting cessation Eligible Applicants: To be eligible to apply, applicants must have 501(c) 3 status. Applicants must also demonstrate the following organizational capacity: Statewide scope Experience working at the local municipal level where most community policies and health systems decisions are made 7

8 Experience working in low-income municipalities where the targeted specific high-risk populations are in all 21 New Jersey Counties Experience in delivering training and technical assistance to municipal stakeholders Ability to deliver community outreach and engagement through a variety of mechanisms Ability to encourage and promote the adoption of policy and environmental change at the municipal level Establish relationships with key state, county and local stakeholders on implementing tobacco policy changes, promoting smoke-free public places, encourage key decision makers to adopt passing ordinances to prevent smoking in schools environments, public residential places, and other actions necessary to advance changes to support the objectives to reduce tobacco smoking Funds and Funding Period: This is an open and competitive grant. The project period is on or about July 1, 2015 through March 28, One (1) grant award will be issued for up to a maximum of 200,000. All grant funding is based upon availability of State and/or Federal appropriations and is subject to change at any time without notice. Funding for the project period also depends on the grantee s documented progress in achieving project objectives. Subsequently, for the following five grant periods (through June 30, 2020), grants will be renewed subject to the availability of funds and the grantee s documented progress toward projects goals. Application Timeline and Online Submission via SAGE An Notice of intent to Apply must be sent to Janis Mayer by 5pm on April 30, Contact information is provided below: Janis Mayer, Manager Office of Tobacco Control, Nutrition and Fitness 8

9 Community Health and Wellness Unit Division of Family Health Services New Jersey Department of Health A Bidder s Conference/Technical Assistance Meeting will be held for all eligible applicants on May 4, A notice of location and time will follow after April 30, Applications must be submitted no later than 3:00 p.m. on June 1, Applicants will be notified of funding decisions on or about June 15, Applicants must submit the proposal online, via the System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE): If your organization is already registered in SAGE, you will be able to logon and begin the application process once the application is available (date will be provided at the Bidder s Conference/Technical Assistance Meeting). If your organization has never registered in SAGE, you will be sent guidance for gaining access after you re Notice of intent to Apply has been received. Applications must include: A project description covering: o The project implementation plan for the activities under Objective Areas and associated deliverables o Evaluation plan: What will be measured and how o Organizational Capacity. (Please refer to bullets under Eligible Applicants). This project description shall be no more than 10 pages long, in Calibri font, size 12. A work plan with timetable 9

10 A detailed budget with justification. Cost must be specific and tied to project objectives and activities. A letter of support from the agency/organization on official letterhead. Attach in Miscellaneous attachments in SAGE. Paper submission will not be considered. Incomplete grant applications will not be considered and will be disqualified. Reporting Requirements after Grant Awarded: Grantee organizations will be required to submit progress and expenditure reports addressing work plan activities as follows: Brief progress updates are to be submitted to NJDOH on a monthly basis. Due dates will be determined once grants are awarded. Expenditure Reports are to be submitted to NJDOH via the SAGE system 10 days after the end of each quarter. A final Grant Progress Report on the agency s activities under the grant and a final Expenditure Report are due 60 days after the end of the budget period. Other reports pertaining to specific activities may be required and shall be submitted as requested. Proposal Review and Rating: NJDOH will convene a review committee that will judge the applications and assigns points as follows: Implementation Plan for Objective Area/ Deliverables: 30 points Extent to which actions are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART). Extent to which deliverables match the project goals and purpose. 10

11 Extent to which planned activities will address the needs of disparate communities as described in RFA. Evaluation Plan: 15 Points The extent to which the applicant has described what the project will measure and how. (Plan can measure processes and outcomes as appropriate) Organizational Capacity: 30 Points The extent to which the applicant meets the criteria listed under organizational capacity. Work Plan: 15 Points Extent to which work plan clearly describes the project actions, sequence and relationship to the budget Budget and Budget justification: 10 points Extent to which budget costs are specific and tied to work plan. For technical assistance related to NJDOH SAGE, please contact the following staff: 11

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