Department of Human Services

Request for Proposal

The Department is seeking proposals to provide services appropriated for through Act 158, Section 200.1, SLH 2008 that will support and enhance the Department s goal of addressing the four (4) TANF purposes, which are:

1. To provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;

2. To end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;

3. To prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and

4. To encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Any of the four (4) TANF purposes listed above are federally mandated requirements that must be addressed when expending TANF block grant funding.

The following resource is available to facilitate the development of information solicited in this request:

Helping Families Achieve Self-Sufficiency: A Guide on Funding Services on Children and Families through the TANF Funds (TANF Guide) at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/funds2.htm

Applicants should carefully study the TANF purposes and the aforementioned material above to evaluate what services can be provided under the four (4) TANF purposes. The appropriated services are:

• Collaborative transitional living programs offered through agencies accredited by the council on accreditation on services for families and children throughout the state to assist TANF eligible youth head of households with dependent children who are runaway, homeless and street youth, and youth at risk of homelessness in all counties to enable these youth to learn skills essential for successful independent living.
• Program to expand computer literacy, training, life skills, and tutoring programs after school hours for disadvantaged youth and in the evenings for TANF eligible adults serving native Hawaiian, Pacific Island, and other ethnic groups living in Palolo Valley housing projects.
• Program to assist at least 40 native Hawaiian TANF eligible families on the Leeward coast to succeed at homeownership by providing classes in home repair, financial literacy and essentials of homeownership, and by providing access to reusable homebuilding materials.
• Program to provide for training stipends, equipment, food supplies and tuition for TANF eligible adults enrolled in culinary training and food service preparation program training sites in Hilo and Captain Cook on the island of Hawaii.
• A training program for 38 TANF eligible adults to gain employment and economic self-sufficiency by participating in bio-tech tissue culturing projects for bio-diesel, bio-mass, and other agricultural products in the Hilo and lower and upper Puna districts on the island of Hawaii.
• Assist 300 TANF eligible families on Kauai to rise above the poverty line toward self-sufficiency with outreach and other tax preparation assistance to claim the earned income tax credit.
• Program that offers one-to-one mentoring after school and on weekends by matching caring volunteers to children and youth, largely from single parent households in Honolulu, who are considered at risk and need positive adult role models.
• Program that offers positive youth development services in the County of Hawaii to third and fourth graders especially under-achievers and their families with structured extracurricular civic learning activities in an after-school setting. Program must have the provision to provide transportation for youths.
• Positive youth development programs including life skills training, mediation skills, and tutoring assistance in the after-school hours from 1:40 to 6:00 pm for students in grades 6 through 8 in Kapaa Middle, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle, and Waimea Canyon schools on Kauai.

The contract period will be from November 1, 2008 to October 31, 2009.

All proposals must conform to the format and instructions provided in the Request for Proposals (RFP) #HMS-903-09-01-S information packet. Beginning Tuesday, September 9, 2008 from 7:45 AM-4:30 PM, packets will be available at the following location:

• DHS/BESSD Office, 820 Mililani St., Suite 606, Honolulu, HI 96813

Please hold all questions relative to the proposal for the information session scheduled for 9:00am 12:00pm at the address above on Tuesday, September 16, 2008. Proposal submittal deadline is Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 820 Mililani Street, Haseko Center, Suite 606, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.

For more information, please call Ginet Hayes, Program Specialist, at 586-7088.

Lillian B. Koller, Director