Grant application requirements; review criteria; awards process.

Grant applications must be submitted to the Office of Public and Professional Guardians for review and approval.

(1) A grant application must contain:

(a) The specific amount of funds being requested.

(b) The proposed annual budget for the office of public guardian for which the applicant is applying on behalf of, including all sources of funding, and a detailed report of proposed expenditures, including administrative costs.

(c) The total number of wards the applicant intends to serve during the grant period.

(d) Evidence that the applicant has:

1. Attempted to procure funds and has exhausted all possible other sources of funding; or

2. Procured funds from local sources, but the total amount of the funds collected or pledged is not sufficient to meet the need for public guardianship in the geographic area that the applicant intends to serve.

(e) An agreement or confirmation from a local funding source, such as a county, municipality, or any other public or private organization, that the local funding source will contribute matching funds to the public guardianship program totaling not less than $1 for every $1 of grant funds awarded. For purposes of this section, an applicant may provide evidence of agreements or confirmations from multiple local funding sources showing that the local funding sources will pool their contributed matching funds to the public guardianship program for a combined total of not less than $1 for every $1 of grant funds awarded. In-kind contributions, such as materials, commodities, office space, or other types of facilities, personnel services, or other items as determined by rule shall be considered by the office and may be counted as part or all of the local matching funds.

(f) A detailed plan describing how the office of public guardian for which the applicant is applying on behalf of will be funded in future years.

(g) Any other information determined by rule as necessary to assist in evaluating grant applicants.

(2) If the Office of Public and Professional Guardians determines that an applicant meets the requirements for an award of grant funds, the office may award the applicant any amount of grant funds the executive director deems appropriate, if the amount awarded meets the requirements of this act. The office may adopt a rule allocating the maximum allowable amount of grant funds which may be expended on any ward.

(3) A grant awardee must submit a new grant application for each year of additional funding.

(4)(a) In the first year of the Joining Forces for Public Guardianship program’s existence, the Office of Public and Professional Guardians shall give priority in awarding grant funds to those entities that:

1. Are operating as appointed offices of public guardians in this state;

2. Meet all of the requirements for being awarded a grant under this act; and

3. Demonstrate a need for grant funds during the current fiscal year due to a loss of local funding formerly raised through court filing fees.

(b) In each fiscal year after the first year that grant funds are distributed, the Office of Public and Professional Guardians may give priority to awarding grant funds to those entities that:

1. Meet all of the requirements of this section and ss. 744.2106, 744.2107, and 744.2108 for being awarded grant funds; and

2. Submit with their application an agreement or confirmation from a local funding source, such as a county, municipality, or any other public or private organization, that the local funding source will contribute matching funds totaling an amount equal to or exceeding $2 for every $1 of grant funds awarded by the office. An entity may submit with its application agreements or confirmations from multiple local funding sources showing that the local funding sources will pool their contributed matching funds to the public guardianship program for a combined total of not less than $2 for every $1 of grant funds awarded. In-kind contributions allowable under this section shall be evaluated by the Office of Public and Professional Guardians and may be counted as part or all of the local matching funds.