Under Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Vermont received funding to enhance, expand, and strengthen Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). The Vermont Agency of Human Services (AHS) is using a portion of this funding to offer grant opportunities to HCBS providers, community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve Medicaid members with HCBS needs, and other entities that support the HCBS landscape in Vermont.
The Vermont HCBS Grant Opportunity is a pivotal initiative aimed at bolstering the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of Vermont’s system of care for individuals and their families who rely on HCBS to lead independent and fulfilling lives. With an allocation of up to $20.9 million, this grant program serves as a catalyst for transformative improvements within the HCBS sector. The program is designed to address critical investments across four tracks of funding:
- Infrastructure Improvement: This grant track will provide funding to HCBS providers to upgrade existing facilities through capital improvements, including environmental health and safety upgrades.
- Workforce Development: Through this track, Vermont aims to support the professional development and advancement of individuals already working in the HCBS field while also attracting new talent. The focus is on providing training opportunities, fostering employee retention and growth, developing pipelines for future professionals, and alleviating administrative burdens.
- Care Model Innovation Pilots: This grant track will fund innovative approaches to delivering HCBS across four (4) key areas: Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN), Health Equity, Health and Wellness, and Care Integration.
- Organizational Performance Improvement and Compliance: This track aims to strengthen the HCBS system in Vermont by providing grants to providers to develop or enhance internal processes and practices, ensure compliance with state and federal regulations and requirements, and improve the quality of care for participants.
The application will be open from September 7, 2023 to October 12, 2023 at 5:00 pm EDT. All grant activities must be completed by December 31, 2024.
Program Guidance and Application Materials
- HCBS Grant Opportunity User Guide: Provides detailed information about the Grant Opportunity, including an overview of each track’s goals and expected outcomes, eligibility criteria, funding amounts, program requirements, reporting requirements, and scoring criteria. Updated 9/20/23
- Grant Application: To submit an application, organizations must complete the application via the application portal and submit a Form W-9 via email. The application period is September 7, 2023, to October 12, 2023 at 5:00 pm EDT.
- Application Portal: Eligible organizations can apply for one or more tracks of funding using a single application platform on Qualtrics. Once an application has been started, you will be able to enter and exit the webpage before submission.
- You may preview the application questions here; however, please note that not all items on the preview may be applicable to your organization or intended grant track. When you use the application portal, skip logic will direct you to the relevant questions for your organization and grant track. All submissions must occur via the Portal; the AHS will not accept the preview PDF as an application.
- Form W-9: In addition to submitting the application via the Portal, applicants must also email a copy of their current Form W-9 to AHS.HCBSGrants@vermont.gov. Please use the subject line: “HCBS Grant Application Form W-9: [Applicant Organization Name].”
- Application Portal: Eligible organizations can apply for one or more tracks of funding using a single application platform on Qualtrics. Once an application has been started, you will be able to enter and exit the webpage before submission.
- Frequently Asked Questions Updated 9/29/23
- Application Materials Checklist
- Eligibility Quick Reference Guide
Support and Technical Assistance
The AHS will be hosting webinars and opportunities to provide technical assistance to interested applicants (called “office hours”) during the application period.
Webinars: We will be hosting two webinars to review the HCBS Grant Opportunity design and application process. The two sessions will cover the same content, and the meetings will be recorded and posted to this website following the meetings. Please register below:
Recording from September 15th from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm ET Passcode: t8HM$sw$
Recording from September 19th from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm ET Passcode: t8HM$sw$
If you have questions that you would like to submit in advance of the webinars, please do so via this survey.
Office hours: AHS will be hosting weekly drop-in office hours during the application period to answer questions. You do not need to register in advance.
Thursday, September 21st from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
Completed
Friday, September 29th from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET
Presentation slides and Recording for presentation on the application budget:
- Zoom link
- Passcode: 2013v@&V
Wednesday, October 4th from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET
- Zoom link
- Meeting ID: 874 0378 5488
- Passcode: 381655
Tuesday, October 10th from 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET
- Zoom link
- Meeting ID: 862 4862 7036
- Passcode: 543088
Please let us know if you need accommodations to participate such as an ASL interpreter or CART captioner to participate in any of the meetings by emailing AHS.HCBSGrants@vermont.gov.
Stakeholder Input Sessions
To inform the design and implementation of the HCBS Grant Opportunities, the Agency hosted two stakeholder engagement meetings to collect community feedback. Meeting materials are posted below.
Recording from June 29, 2023 at 2 pm ET Password: 8o79.W@.
Recording from July 10, 2023 at 9:30 am ET Password: 6?X*uQdE
Presentation*
*Please note that the content of this presentation is now outdated. Please refer to the User Guide above for the latest information regarding the HCBS Grant Opportunity.
If you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list regarding the HCBS Grant Opportunity, please email our AHS Grants Management team at AHS.HCBSGrants@vermont.gov.
Page last updated: 9/29/23.