Program Description and Purpose
Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often need life-long supports and services to ensure health and safety while also accessing and participating in their local communities. These supports and services are often provided on a day-to-day basis by Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).
There is a significant need and in turn value to investing in DSP workforce stabilization and promoting stronger capacity across the continuum to support people with IDD. Specifically, this initiative calls for piloting a DSP credentialing structure to test best practice approaches to DSP stabilization through career ladders. The DSP Workforce Capacity Grants provide one-time grants to five (1 per DDP region) service providers for, on average, 25 DSPs to become credentialed through the National Alliance for Direct Support Professional platform eBadge Academy, a web-based credentialing platform. The Developmental Disabilities Program (DDP) will pre-purchase access to the credentialing platform on behalf of selected agencies, as well as some technical assistance support from NADSP. Grant funds will cover staff time for DSPs participating in the credentialing program as well as “backfilled” staff to cover the shift time of staff enrolled in the credentialing program; payroll processing, grant reporting and tracking and other administrative costs incurred by selected provider agencies; and one-time incentive bonuses to DSPs once they reach credentialing tiers, as modeled below:
DSP – I (Tier 1) –$1,000
DSP – II (Tier 2) – $1,500
DSP – III (Tier 3) – $2,000
DSPs enrolled in the NADSP eBadge Academy must complete the following under each tier to be eligible for the one-time bonuses; a DSP may achieve all three Tiers.
DSP-I
To earn a DSP – I certification, the DSP must earn 15 total E-Badges, including:
- The Code of Ethics Commitment E-Badge
- The 50 hours of Accredited Education E-Badge
- At least one E-Badge in Crisis Prevention and Intervention
- At least one E-Badge in Person-Centered Practices
- At least one E-Badge in Health and Wellness and
- At least one E-Badge in Safety
DSP-II
To earn DSP – II certification, the DSP must earn 30 total E-Badges, including:
- The DSP-I E-Badge
- The 100 hours of Accredited Education E-Badge
- At least one E-Badge in Evaluation and Observation
- At least E-Badge in Communication
- At least one E-Badge in Professionalism and Ethics and
- At least one E-Badge in Community Inclusion and Networking
DSP-III
To earn DSP – III certification, the DSP must earn 50 total E-Badges, including:
- The DSP-II E-Badge
- At least one E-Badge in Empowerment and Advocacy
- At least one E-Badge in Community Living Skills and Supports
- At least one E-Badge in Education, Training, and Self-Development
- At least one E-Badge in Cultural Competence
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Apprenticeship Training Grant Program provides funding to eligible Apprenticeship Training Providers (ATP) that provide construction related apprenticeship training.
The goal of the program is to increase the capacity of the participating ATP’s in order to increase the supply of trained construction workforce. By offsetting the cost of training for apprenticeship programs, the training programs will have the ability to expand capacity and place more apprentices into the workforce at an accelerated rate.
The Apprenticeship Training Providers may apply for up to $3,000 for net new enrolled apprentice within the next 12 months. Funding for this program is part of the $10 million allocated by the Montana Economic Transformation, Stabilization & Workforce Development Advisory Commission to The Montana Department of Commerce (Department) as part of the Workforce Training Grant Program.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Eligible applicants are ATP’s that provide construction related apprenticeship training through a registered apprenticeship program. A list of eligible applicants can be found HERE.
Applications are only accepted on https://www.submittable.com/ (need actual link)
Only apprentices enrolled after the application is approved and above the current training capacity will be eligible.
GRANT AWARD CEILING AND THRESHOLDS
The maximum grant award is $3,000 for each net new capacity of apprentices’ (enrollment) that the ATP is proposing to create up to 70 for a maximum award of $210,000. The apprenticeship program must demonstrate increased enrollment capacity and the ability to manage the increased capacity.
Grant contracts will not exceed 12 months from the date of approval by the Governor’s office.
An ATP may only have one open ARPA Apprenticeship Training Grant.
ELIGIBLE COSTS
Grant funds will be paid upfront, on a quarterly basis, to enable hiring of instructors, purchase of materials and other essential necessities to operate the training program.
An employer may not receive reimbursement for an employee enrolled in the apprenticeship program if the apprenticeship program has already applied for reimbursement of that same employee.
An employer may not receive reimbursement for an employee enrolled in the program if the employer has already applied for reimbursement of that same employee via another program.
If the ATP is unable to create the net new enrollment of apprentice, the provider must return the funds for the capacity that was not created.
GRANT APPLICATION SUBMITTAL PROCESS
The Department is the primary point of contact for initiating a grant application and working through the process leading to a grant award.
The ATP would submit the application to the Department with the following minimum information:
· Application form
· Proof of an approved registered apprenticeship Program.
· A statement of current staffing/capacity and how the grant will be used to increase headcount or training capacity.
· A statement of current headcount or capacity and how the grant will increase capacity to deliver increased activity to construction industry within the State of Montana.
The Department of may request additional information as needed and applicants are encouraged to include any additional information supporting the proposed project.
The Department will make recommendations to the Montana Economic Transformation, Stabilization & Workforce Development Advisory Commission based on determination of eligibility and the proposal scoring and ranking process described below. The Commission will make a recommendation to the Governor’s office for the final decision on awards.
PROJECT SCORING, AND RANKING CRITERIA
A maximum of 50 points are available during the scoring process. An eligible ATP will be scored based on the information contained in the application. All applications will be placed in order of highest score to lowest score when presented to the commission.
- 0 – 5 New Apprentices 10 points
- 6 – 10 New Apprentices 20 points
- 11 – 15 New Apprentices 30 points
- 16 – 25 New Apprentices 40 points
- 26 or More New Apprentices 50 points
DEFINITIONS:
Apprentice: Apprentice needs to be a Montana resident and employed by a Montana construction trade business.
Apprenticeship Training Providers (ATP): The provider must provide a construction related apprenticeship training program and approved by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s Apprenticeship Program.
Click HERE for the list of current ATP's that have been approved by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
If your agency is not on the list, you can contact the Montana Department of Labor and Industry to become an eligible provider.
Match: ATP are required to provide $1 for $1 match. Match would typically be costs associated with the expanded capacity. Expenses that are being reimbursed by another state agency is not considered match.
Net New Capacity: Net new capacity is the different between current maximum enrollment capacity and new enrollment capacity resulting from this funding.
Performance Metrics: Providing funding directly to the construction related apprenticeship training programs would lead to an increase in capacity and overall enrollment. By placing additional employees/apprentices into the workforce, it should help provide a pipeline for skilled workers in high demand construction trade industries. Jobs created and skills training would also be mapped.
Registered Apprenticeship Program: The program needs to be approved by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION SUBMITTAL
Completed applications must be submitted at least 5 weeks prior to the next scheduled Economic Transformation, Stabilization and Workforce Development Advisory Commission. Dates of meetings and deadlines will be posted HERE. Completed applications will be scored based on eligibility and ranked for presentation to the Economic Transformation, Stabilization & Workforce development Commission and approval of the Governor. If there are funds remaining after the first round of applications, additional rounds of applications will be accepted with deadlines to be set at a later date.
MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS
Grantees will be required to provide quarterly reports of the trainee, type of training provided and number of hours.
For standard trades training, course completion and evidence of hire will need to be provided for funds reimbursement
REQUEST FOR FUNDS
25% of the funds will be disbursed once the ARPA contract is fully executed. On a quarterly basis, the ATP can request an additional 25% with their required quarterly report. With each draw request, the ATP must provide documentation that match is being met.
NOTE: If the Grantee has outstanding debt with the State of Montana, disbursements through the training program could potentially be impacted.