April 19, 2024: Request for Letters of Intent

Background

SeniorsPlus is an Area Agency on Aging that was established in 1972 and is funded through the Federal Older Americans Act. It is mandated to provide a comprehensive and coordinated system of services for individuals aged 60 and above in its planning and service area, which includes Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin Counties. The primary goal of the Older Americans Act is to help older adults remain in their homes and communities and avoid being institutionalized prematurely or unnecessarily by providing high-quality, cost-effective services.

Objective

SeniorsPlus is seeking Letters of Intent from qualified, established service providers to act as subcontractors to deliver the following Older Americans Act services:

• Evidence-Based Health Promotion Programs – Funded through Title IIIE Federal funds
• Senior Center Activities
• Nutrition Counseling and Education
• Congregate Meals – Funded through Title IIIC Federal funds
• Home Delivered Meals – Funded through Title IIIC Federal funds
• Caregiver Support Groups
• Caregiver Counseling
• Caregiver Training
• Friendly Caller
• In-home Supportive Services (Chore, Homemaker, Personal Care)

For more details about these services, please reference the Older Americans Act service definitions and the reporting requirements linked below.

Award Information 

Award Period

Single-year grant agreements will cover a period of one fiscal year (FY 2025), beginning October 1, 2024, and ending September 30, 2025.

Budget Period

Agreements will have one 12-month budget period (FY 2025) beginning October 1, 2024, and ending September 30, 2025.

Guidelines

Any subcontractor providing services must operate within the planning and service area of SeniorsPlus, as listed above. However, it is not necessary for them to cover the entire area. Subcontractors are expected to have a thorough understanding of the applicable rules and policies listed below, and to be fully compliant with them.

• The Office of Aging and Disability Services (formerly Bureau of Elder and Adult Services)
• Maine Nutrition Standards
• The Administration on Community Living (See Sec. 1321.65 in the Older Americans Act: Title III Regulations)
• The Older Americans Act service definitions and reporting requirements (Health Promotion, Nutrition Services, Supportive Services)
• Standard terms and conditions required by Maine DHHS contracting guidelines.
• EMPLOYMENT AND PERSONNEL. The Provider shall not engage on a full-time, part-time, or other basis during the period of this Contract, with any (a) state employee or (b) any former state employee who participated in any way in the solicitation, award or administration of this Agreement. This restriction shall not apply to regularly retired employees or any employee who has out of state employment for a period of twelve (12) months.

Please be sure to thoroughly review the links included above to ensure eligibility.

Examples of ineligibility:

• Not offering services in any of the three counties, Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin.
• Not offering services to older adults, adults with disabilities, or caregivers.
• Not offering services directly, i.e., using a subcontractor to provide any of the services listed in this posting.
• Fee-for-service programs, unless applicant can switch to donation-only for services delivered under this contract.
• Means-tested programs.
• Not able to meet reporting requirements and data standards as required by the Office of Aging and Disability Services.

Providers must also demonstrate the capacity to continue quality services in the case of delayed state payments or state contractual amendments. For example, Federal Funds through the Older Americans Act are often not received until January for contracts starting in October.

Letter of Intent Submission

Interested organizations are required to submit a Letter of Intent by May 3rd, 2024, and be no longer than two pages. Ensure that the following data is included your Letter of Intent:

• Agency name, address, and contact person.
• Within Project Activity, include the Geographic service area(s) of interest and service(s) you will provide.
• Within Credentials, include:

• • Information on the type(s) of experience your organization has in provision of service(s) to older adults, as well as the length of time (in years) it has worked to meet the needs of older adults in Maine.
  • Quality Assurance Statement.
  • Your organization’s technical and resource capacity for meeting reporting requirements.

Letters of Intent will be accepted starting the date of this posting (April 19, 2024) and will close on May 3rd, 2024. Submissions will not be accepted after the close date.

Submissions should be emailed to Laure Johnson at ljohnson@seniorsplus.org no later than May 3rd, 2024.

If you or someone at your organization should need assistance in accessing any of the above information, please contact Laure Johnson.