Q1: Do you have other grants available?

A1: No, the Trauma Recovery Center grant is currently the only grant administered by CalVCB.

Q2: Is the hiring of a clinician an eligible grant expense?

A2: Yes, the hiring of a clinician is an eligible grant expense.

Q3: Would you consider a psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in lieu of a licensed psychiatrist?

A3: No, the staff must include a licensed psychiatrist. A TRC may, however, have a psychiatric Nurse Practitioner on staff as long as the requirement for the staffing or contracting of a licensed psychiatrist has been met.

Q4: What is the rationale for requiring a licensed psychologist on the team?

A4: Statute requires that a licensed psychologist be a part of a TRC’s multidisciplinary staff. Please refer to Government Code Sections § 13963.1 and § 13963.2. You may also refer to The UC San Francisco Trauma Recovery Center Manual: A Model for Removing Barriers to Care and Transforming Services for Survivors of Violent Crime. (University of California, San Francisco Trauma Recovery Center, 2017). A link to the manual is available within the Notice of Funds Available posted on CalVCB’s website.

Q5: I am not seeing the usual list of required forms that would typically be included in out other state funded grants. Am I missing it?

A5: The Notice of Funds Available accurately details the required forms and documents to submit with the grant application. If an applicant is selected for a grant award, CalVCB will provide additional forms that must be completed before entering into contract.

Q6: Are grant funds to be used to physically establish a new TRC?

A6: No, it is not required that grant funds be used to physically establish a new TRC location.

Q7: Can grant funds be used to expand services of an agency that currently exists?

A7: Yes, grant funds be used to expand services of an agency that currently exists. Grant funds must be used to increase the total amount of funds used to provide services to victims of crime and may not be used to supplant current sources of funding that would, in the absence of these grant funds, be available or forthcoming.

Q8: Is the $2,000,000 to be split between grantees? Or is the funding $2,000,000 per grant award?

A8: There are two funding sources for this grant; CalVCB’s Restitution Fund and the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Fund. Two million dollars ($2,000,000) from the Restitution Fund and an estimated $7,808,000 from the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Fund may be allocated to the grantees approved by the Board.

Q9: Due to the time it takes to get NOFA questions answered and posted, can the due date be extended for a few more weeks?

A9: No, we are unable to extend the application submission due date.

Q10: There is a discrepancy in the points allocated for the Program Narrative, Client Flowchart, Performance Measures Estimate Chart, and Time Task Plan between the NOFA and the Application Scoring Guide. Which document contains the correct allocation of points?

A10: We apologize for the discrepancy. The Application Scoring Guide contains the correct point distribution. The correct point distribution is as follows:

• Cover Letter: Up to 3 points
• Program Narrative: Up to 66 points
• Performance Measures Estimate Chart, Flow Chart, and Time Task Plan: Up to 6 points
• Budget: Up to 10 points
• Budget Narrative: Up to 10 points
• Letters of Support: Up to 5 points

The Notice of Funds Available posted on CalVCB’s website has been updated with this correction.

Q11: Would you consider a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist or Licensed Professional Counselor in lieu of a licensed Social Worker?

A11: The law requires that a licensed clinical social worker be on staff. Staff with other licensures may be employed so long as the base requirement has been met for a multidisciplinary staff of clinicians.

Q12: Is there a maximum grant amount we can request?

A12: No, there is not a maximum grant amount you may request.

Q13: If we currently have CalVCB TRC funding and are up for renewal, may we increase the amount we request for this funding cycle?

A13: Yes, an organization that currently has CalVCB funding and is up for renewal may increase the amount of their request for funding.

Q14: If located inside an Family Justice Center, can we use a licensed clinician that is already an on-site partner to contract with?

A14: Yes, an organization located within a Family Justice Center may contract with a licensed clinician that is already with an on-site partner as long as the multidisciplinary staff of clinicians requirement detailed in Section 4 (Eligibility Criteria and Minimum Qualifications) of the Notice of Funds Available will be satisfied.

Q15: For the allowable charges for office space, we see that there is 125 square feet allowed per full-time employee. If we are not requesting 100% FTE of a full-time employee’s salary under this grant, are we still allowed to charge 125 square feet for that employee, or do we need to pro-rate the amount? Does this formula apply to every full-time employee, or just those covered under the grant?

A15: The formula only applies to employees covered by this grant, so you would need to pro-rate the amount of the allowable square footage accordingly. Charges for office space beyond the prorated amount per employee paid by the grant must be fully documented and justified, then approved by CalVCB.

Q16: Should the budget narrative be single or double spaced?

A16: Per Section 10 (Application Instructions) of the Notice of Funds Available, the budget narrative must be double-spaced.

Q17: We are interested in adding a significant outreach component to our budget request. This would entail meeting with community gatekeepers, and hosting psychoeducation or other workshops to raise awareness about our services and to combat stigma. Ultimately, this would help us provide services to more victims of violent crimes. Are these allowable activities under this grant?

A17: Yes, outreach work is an eligible grant expense.

Q18: Can we use a social worker with only a bachelor’s degree?

A18: No, social workers must be licensed clinicians or master’s-level supervised clinicians engaged in completion of the applicable licensure process.

Q19: Our agency provides counseling, crisis intervention, case management, advocacy, safety planning, and other needed services and support to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and child abuse. All our staff our MSW, or LMFT, and MSW interns. To be eligible, do you have to have a clinician and a team?

A19: Per Section 4 (Eligibility Criteria and Minimum Qualifications) of the Notice of Funds Available, to be eligible for this grant, an organization must provide a complete multidisciplinary staff of clinicians, including a clinical director, a minimum of one social worker on staff, a minimum of one licensed psychologist on staff, and a minimum of one licensed psychiatrist on staff, contracted, or by way of telepsychiatry.

Q20: Our non-public agency consists of a team of licensed MFTs that provide mental health services to several school districts in a rural community. We primarily work with students that are underserved and have experienced severe trauma/loss/abuse. Could we qualify for this grant?

A20: If your activities fall within the scope of grant activities detailed in the Notice of Funds Available and your organization and application satisfy the minimum qualifications listed in Section 4 (Eligibility Criteria and Minimum Qualifications) of the Notice of Funds Available, your organization may qualify for this grant.