Bilingual Housing Navigation

The application period for this opportunity has closed.

The NYS Council on Developmental Disabilities (CDD) is offering funds for non-profit organizations in New York State to support their staff to become Certified Housing Navigators and support people with developmental disabilities and their families from communities who speak English as a second language in identifying housing options and creating a housing plan.

The aims of this grant are:

• To increase the number of Certified Housing Navigators in New York State who can serve people who speak English as a second language.
• To increase access to information about non-certified housing options for people with developmental disabilities (DD) for communities who speak English as a second language.

Important Dates:

Grant Period: 

The grant period will be for one year with an anticipated start date of August 15, 2025.

Award Amount:

Non-profit organizations in New York State can apply for a maximum of $10,000 and a minimum of $5,000.

Application Information Session:

The CDD will be hosting an information session to provide additional details and answer questions about this opportunity. The information session will be held on June 24, 2025, from 9:30 -10:30AM. A recording of the information session will be posted to this page after the session is held.

Watch the Recording Here

Overall Grant Expectations:
If selected for award, grantees will be expected to complete the following activities:

• Enroll and successfully complete the Fall 2025 Housing Navigation Training Course held between September and December 2025.
• Complete all necessary coursework to become a Certified Housing Navigator.
• After completion of the Housing Navigation Training Course, facilitate activities to share housing information and resources with the communities you serve. Activities can include informational workshops, events, webinars, 1-on-1 housing navigation support, and the translation of housing informational materials into other languages.
• Collect satisfaction surveys from participants in post-course activities.
• Complete the NYS CDD Final Report and share data and feedback from the satisfaction survey within the report.

What this grant can fund:

• Staff time to participate in the Housing Navigation Training Course.
• Staff time and expenses related to post-course activities. Post course activities can include:
  • Community trainings, events, workshops, and webinars.
  • 1:1 Housing Navigation support to people with developmental disabilities and their families.
  • Translation of housing informational materials into other languages.
  • Distribution of translated housing informational materials to communities who speak English as a second language.

Please note: Selected grantees will also be expected to carry out post-course activities before the end of the grant and submit a Final Report to the NYS CDD. Following successful completion of this training course, students receive a certificate of completion.
 

Eligible organizations:

• Nonprofit organizations (note: the lead applicant cannot be a for-profit organization; however, for-profit organizations may serve as subcontractors)
• Public or private institutions, such as universities, colleges, or hospitals
• Disability-service organizations
• Community-based organizations
• Tribal organizations
• Local or county governments
• Consortia, groups, or partnerships among organizations 

Eligibility requirements:
All applicants must be a registered Vendor in the NYS Statewide Financial System (SFS). Proposals received from eligible applicants who have not been registered will be disqualified from further consideration. 

Please note: We do not accept applications directly from individuals, only nonprofit organizations can apply for this opportunity.

The New York Alliance for Inclusion & Innovation (NY Alliance) Housing Navigator Course was developed in 2015. The 30+ hour course has transformed over the last several years to include the most up-to-date and innovative information, education and resources to train certified Housing Navigators to support a person with developmental disabilities in identifying housing options and creating a housing plan.

Throughout this training, students will:

• Learn how housing is funded, developed and sustained;
• Understand how to base the housing process on the needs of the individual, their social capital, their assets and income and their choices and options;
• Learn how to design an individual's housing plan;
• Obtain cutting edge, available resources and become part of a larger 'housing' community of practice;
• Be qualified to create housing opportunities for individuals and to develop agency capacity for more housing options. 

This training includes group work, interactive sessions, recorded presentations and several reading resources. Students are required to participate in all live sessions which will take place virtually and will be recorded. Beyond the course certified Housing Navigators remain connected and receive updated housing related information in addition to participation in a quarterly network call.

Anticipated time commitment for Housing Navigation Course:

• Housing Navigation Training Course Timeline: September – December 2025
• Total Hours: 30-36 hours of in-class time over the 3-month period. Please note this does not include out of class course work and readings which may require 4-6 hours per week on average.

Learn about the Role of the Housing Navigator:

All applications must be submitted electronically in Qualtrics by July 17, 2025. Documents referenced in the application can also be found in the 'Opportunity Documents' section below.
 

Designated Agency Contact:

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact the CDD’s Designated Agency Contact for this funding announcement. 

Jacqueline Hayes, 
Program Planner
Phone: 518-486-7505
Email: [email protected] 

Apply for the opportunity Here

Terms and Conditions: Please review all Standard NYS and CDD Terms and Conditions found in the Grant Award Letter of Agreement.

Underserved Communities: According to the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, the term un-and underserved communities “includes populations such as individuals from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, disadvantaged individuals, individuals with limited English proficiency, individuals from underserved geographic areas (rural or urban), and specific groups of individuals within the population of individuals with developmental disabilities, including individuals who require assistive technology in order to participate in and contribute to community life." Per the DD Act, priority will be given to proposals that reach underserved members of the developmental disabilities community. Reference: https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/about-acl/2016-12/dd_act_2000.pdf

Timeline & Award: The grantee must spend the grant funds within one (1) calendar year of award.

Application Review Process: CDD will review all eligible applications. See eligibility requirements for more information. Upon completion of the review, applicants will receive notification of either award or declination via email. If awarded, grantees must complete a Grant Award Letter of Agreement and agree to the Standard NYS and CDD Terms and Conditions.

Reimbursement: Grant funds will be disbursed primarily via reimbursement and grantees can request a 25% advance of grant funding at the start of the grant period. Grantees must provide documentation of all expenses, including both grant and match expenses. Documentation of expenses include, but are not limited to payroll, timesheets, invoices, receipts, subcontractor agreements, etc.

Reporting: To receive grant reimbursement funds, grantees must submit a Final Report which outlines the activities, number of people who benefited from CDD grant funds, how people benefited from CDD grant funds, and includes final expenditure information and backup fiscal documentation.

Budget & Matching Funds: In the application form, you must provide a detailed budget that reflects how you intend to utilize CDD funds. Your budget must include an outline of your organization’s match funds to the project. Match funds must be at least 34% of the total award. For example, if you request $10,000 from the CDD, you will need to have $3,400 in Match funds. Match funds can be in-kind dollars that will be provided from sources beyond CDD funding and other federal funds. For more information on the CDD’s Match requirements, please see Match (Cost Sharing). Applicants cannot include nonallowable expenses in their budget in either grant or match expenses. Please see Allowable and Unallowable Expenses posted with this solicitation for additional guidance.

CDD Acknowledgement: Any materials created by a contractor, under a contract with the CDD, must acknowledge the funding support of the CDD. For example, “This document was produced in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Administration for Community Living through the New York State Council on Developmental Disabilities. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy or the opinions, interpretation or policy of the NYS CDD.”

CDD Reserved Rights: The NYS CDD reserves the right to:

• Reject any or all applications received in response to this opportunity.
• Withdraw or reissue this opportunity at any time, at the sole discretion of CDD.
• Reject any application if, in the sole discretion of CDD, it determines the applicant is not a responsible vendor.
• Change any of the scheduled dates stated in this opportunity.
• Fund only one portion or selected activities of the selected applicant’s proposal and/or adopt all or part of the selected applicant’s proposal based on federal and state requirements.
• Rescind awards for failure of awardees to meet grant expectations as outlined in the overall grant expectations section.