FAQ: Advanced Nursing Education - Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (ANE-SANE) Program

Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-21-016

• Staffing
• Budget
• Technical Assistance Consultancy
• Partnerships/Collaboration
• Eligibility
• 2018 Awardees
• Program Requirements
• Funding Preference
• Review Process

Staffing

1. Can applicants use funding to staff a full-time coordinator /community liaison for the program, especially with offering 24/7 support for patients?

   Yes. You should design roles according to the needs of the project, ensuring to align the design to the purpose and requirements outlined in the NOFO.

   The required positions are project director, program evaluator, and project coordinator. The project coordinator has the only FTE requirement.

2. Can the project coordinator be made up of two people at .50 FTE each for a total of a 1.0 FTE?

   Yes. As long as the position is giving 100% effort in pursuit of program purpose. It is advisable to limit the split of the Project Coordinator position to no more than two individuals fulfilling that role, and it must be clear in the application that the role is being fulfilled by multiple individuals.

   You should be clear about this plan in the budget justification to ensure that the budget meets the requirements and review criteria listed in the NOFO.

3. Is the project coordinator position in addition to the project director and evaluator positions/roles?

   Yes. There are three (3) different required roles:

   • The project director is responsible for strategic leadership and ensuring the project performs and reports effectively, based on HRSA requirements.
   • The project coordinator is responsible for overseeing, managing, coordinating and tracking the ANE-SANE project participants and activities, and serves as a liaison between project partners. The project coordinator is a FTE who should not assume additional roles, particularly, for objectivity, that of the project evaluator.
   • The project evaluator is responsible for conducting evaluation activities of the project.

   You may designate individuals to fill those roles according the needs of your project, ensuring to align your design to the purpose and requirements outlined in the NOFO.

   Note: The project director and the project coordinator cannot be the same person.

4. Can the Project Director have another job?

   Yes. The project director is not required to be a FTE.

5. Is it possible to use the technical assistance provider as the evaluator also?

   There is no restriction on using the same individual and/or organization for technical assistance and evaluation, as long as the project activities and goals are distinct and clearly described. Please refer to page 19 of the NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) for more information.

Budget

6. How secure is this funding?

   The FY 2021 President’s Budget does not request funding for this program. This notice is a contingency action taken to ensure that, should funds become available for this purpose, HRSA can process applications and award funds appropriately. Please refer to page 7 of the NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) for more information.

   Note: This program may be cancelled prior to award.

7. Will this funding cover any capital expenses, such as creating a room with a bathroom, specifically for patients?

   No. Funds for this program may not be used for construction (See p. 27). To meet the goals, objectives and requirements of the program, and subject to approval, funds may be used for minor alteration and renovation (A & R).    

8. Is there a required (or recommended) percentage of the requested amount to be allocated to students' financial support?

   No. There is no requirement or recommendation for ratio of student support to program infrastructure. The purpose of this NOFO is to fund the training of nurses to practice as SANEs. The limit on how much can be spent per student is $10,000 (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p.21).

9. When it says that accreditation costs and fees are not allowed, is that referring to the program itself being accredited or that we cannot cover those costs for trainees?

   ANE-SANE funds may not be used to support accreditation costs for the applying institution. However, funds can be used to pay for certification for participants/trainees.

   One of the program requirements is to provide financial support for participants/trainees to complete SANE didactic training, clinical training, and experiential learning and certification exams (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 11).

10. Can this funding be used for education/training for the project key personnel (e.g. Program Director or Project Coordinator) to obtain degrees such as Masters in Forensic Nursing?

    Program staff may participate in training as trainees within parameters of program requirements. Projects should align with the purpose of this NOFO, which is to fund the training of nurses to practice as SANEs.

11. Does the $10,000 limit per trainee include their salary/stipend? Or is that just for the actual cost of training? Is the $10K/trainee direct costs or total?

    The $10,000 participant/trainee support costs include the actual cost of training. The amount includes total costs, such as stipends and travel support. Salary is not paid for trainees, and fringe benefits are not permitted (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 21).

12. Is food not permitted even if they are learning as they eat?

    No. Food is not an allowable cost.

Technical Assistance (TA) Consultancy

13. Explain how technical assistance consultancy works.

    Technical assistance consultation should target reduction of system-level and structural barriers to:

    • SANE training and practice
    • Promotion of partnerships
    • Enhancement of stakeholder support

    You would seek expert services to resolve system-level or structural barriers to SANE training and practice. The consultant should develop stakeholder collaboration protocol(s) after consideration of local laws, policies, practices, and needs (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 4, 40).

14. Could this funding be used to set up a consulting service where our hospital provides virtual support to help other smaller hospitals and health centers with patients presenting to their facilities? Tele-SANE exams?

    No. That plan would not meet the purpose of the NOFO. Applicants should ensure their project designs align with the purpose and requirements outlined in the NOFO.

15. Is the Technical Assistance Strategy something that an Advisory or Steering Committee of some kind would typically develop?

    Yes. Technical assistance strategies address the overarching and system-level barriers that an advisory or steering committee may be able to develop and/or implement.

Partnership/Collaboration

16. It seems that the program requires a workforce development public-private partnership - for example a hospital, an educational partner, and perhaps non-profits to recruit and source recruits. Is this correct?

    The NOFO requires that programs develop an academic-practice partnership to recruit and train SANEs. There is no stipulation on whether the entities are private or public.   Refer to page 11 of the NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) for more information.

17. Does HRSA have a group of TA providers from which grantees work? Or do grantees secure TA on their own?

    You should secure TA on your own. Refer to NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 40 for a (non-comprehensive) sample list of resources and strategies for technical assistance. TA providers should have the capacity and expertise to address local system-level barriers that limit SANE training and practice.

18. If an existing SANE Program works with multiple jurisdictions, can a single applicant on behalf of that program seeks funds for nurses who would be trained and practice in multiple jurisdictions?

    Yes. There would be one lead applicant applying for funds on behalf of partners in multiple jurisdictions. Applicants should clearly state the use of this multiple jurisdiction model in your application to ensure reviewers understand the different organization structure.

19. If you partner with various agencies who contribute to the operation and success of the project, can you reimburse them with monies from HRSA?

    Yes. Partner agencies and staff may be compensated as sub-contractors/awardees for their efforts toward ANE-SANE project activities.

Eligibility

20. For Eligibility, please define "Nursing Centers."

    Refer to HRSA glossary definition for Nurse Managed Health Clinic/Center – (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 4).

21. Can multiple hospital campuses that are geographically separate be eligible for funding, or must it be confined to only one of our campus locations?

    Geographically separate campuses may choose to apply together or separately, but may apply separately only if the two locations have a different DUNS number and different staff. Organizations may apply to provide services for a multistate region.

    Multiple applications from an organization are not allowable. An organization is defined by having a valid Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number or Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 9).

22. Are new projects allowed to include Physician Assistants as trainees as well as the main focus on APRNs?

    No. The purpose of the ANE-SANE funding is to increase the number of Registered Nurses (RNs), Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Forensic Nurses trained and certified as sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs). Thus, the participants (or beneficiaries) of this funding opportunity includes the following nurses:

    • Currently practicing Registered Nurses
    • Students in Advanced Nursing Education Programs including Forensic Nursing Programs
    • Currently practicing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and Forensic Nurses (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 9).

2018 Awardees

23. Are 2018 grantees eligible to apply?

    Yes

24. If we are a current awardee, how do we handle the overlap in project periods as they relate to the Budget?

    Current awardees should document the program activities planned for funding starting 7/1/2021. You should be mindful of overlapping staff costs.

25. When selecting application type, should existing grantees select "competing" or "new"? Will you elaborate on considerations in making this selection?

    Current ANE-SANE award recipients whose grants are scheduled to end on September 30, 2021 are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity and should apply as "Competing Continuations".

    Current awardees should maintain the core objectives to increase the number of SANEs in the nation and to increase access to training and certification.You must modify program objectives to meet the FY21 NOFO goals, objectives, and requirements.

    Ensure you respond specifically to the FY21 NOFO, as the independent review panel will not have access to your original FY18 application or any of your project reports.

26. Can we see the names of current awardees from the Inaugural ANE-SANE program, not just the mapped locations, please?

    Yes. The list is located in Data Warehouse under Awarded Grants FY 2018.

27. Is there a breakdown of how many new vs competing continuation proposals will be funded?

    No. There is no preference for new vs competing continuation projects or a specific ratio. All applications will be reviewed based on the same criteria.

Program Requirements

28. Do participants need to obtain both state and national SANE certification? Or can it be one or the other?

    The goal is for trainees to practice as SANEs based on what their jurisdiction allows, including state certification. The ANE-SANE program recognizes both state and national certification.

29. Does the application need the entire curriculum including weekly lectures and lessons in detail?

    No. The entire curriculum including weekly lectures and lessons in detail, is not a requirement of this NOFO.

30. Would we be able to utilize the online educational programs already available rather than developing your own new curriculum?

    Yes. You can use curricula already developed, and may use funding to secure and/or access such curricula.

31. Is there a number of nurses that you would hope to see a program train each year?

    There is not a specific number of trainees expected, but programs should consider their impact, as impact is a significant portion of the review criteria. (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 32 for more information).

Funding Preference

32. Do you get more priority points for all 3 funding preferences? Or it is limited to any one of the priorities?

    You only need one funding preference to receive the award. HRSA staff will determine the funding factor and will grant it to any qualified applicant that demonstrates they meet any one of the criteria for the preference(s) (See NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 28)

    Note: Regarding the HHS and HRSA Priorities described on NOFO page 2, you are expected to address at least one of priorities in their projects. However, the priorities are not used to determine the funding preference.

Review Process

33. Are the reviewers blinded (will not know our organization’s name), and are we permitted to discuss our previous accomplishments?

    This is not a blind review – the independent objective reviewers will know each applicant organization’s name and all information included in the application. Reviewers are not permitted to consider any information not included in the application, so applicants are permitted to include previous accomplishments in their application.

    The objective review process provides an objective evaluation to the individuals responsible for making award decisions (NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 33). The entire proposal will be considered during objective review (NOFO (PDF - 490 KB) p. 28).