988 Minnesota Lifeline Youth Peer Leader Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) Q&A

Questions and answers regarding the 988 Minnesota Lifeline Youth Peer Leader Grant Request for Proposals are posted below.

Q: Are the two project co-leads referenced in the RFP the adult coordinator and adult leader mentioned in the application’s sample work plan?  

A: It is a mandatory requirement that the agency will identify two team co-leads to implement the project. The sample workplan uses the term Adult Coordinator and Adult Leader. Terms coordinator, leader, project lead, project co-leads, team leads can be interpreted as interchangeable.  

Q: In Section 2 of the application, item 4 references a recommended work plan in Attachment A, Form C. I did not see a Form C – is the sample workplan Form B the recommended work plan?  

A: Section 2, Item 4 of the application should reference recommended workplan in Attachment A, Form B. The correction has been made. If you previously downloaded the application, please reference and download the corrected application.  

Q: In the sample workplan, under the determine project leadership strategy, the second bullet point says to identify supportive adults to provide emotional support to the students – are those in addition to the adult coordinator and second adult leader that will be co-leading the project?  

A: The designated adult leaders coordinating the project are responsible for ensuring that participating youth receive appropriate emotional support. However, depending on the needs of your organization and community, it may also be beneficial to identify additional supportive adults who are aware of the project and prepared to provide encouragement and guidance to participating youth as needed.

Q: In the sample workplan under the increase capacity goal, there is an action step to have youth apply to be peer leaders to ensure they are emotionally prepared to facilitate the 988 Minnesota Lifeline Sessions. Are there any guidelines for the youth application or a template we should use?

A: An application template for recruiting youth participation in the project will be provided during the onboarding for the adult co-leaders.  

Q: Can one of the five required youth presentations be open to the public with a recruitment priority on 9th-12th yet most likely attended by providers and/or parents?

A: The goal of the project is to intentionally engage youth to increase help seeking behaviors though peer-to-peer initiatives. The minimum of youth-to-youth presentations is five, however, applicants could propose to conduct additional presentations that if they choose.  

Q: Could some of the funds be used to create 988 videos?

A: The primary goal of this project is to intentionally engage youth in order to increase help-seeking behaviors through peer-to-peer initiatives. Given the limited funding available, the budget does not support the development of videos.

Q: What is the estimated amount of time for each community peer presentation?

A: The estimated amount of time for the youth peer-to-peer facilitated conversations are between 20-30 minutes.  

Q: What is the required prioritized population?

A: The prioritized population must be youth in high school (grades 9-12) during the duration of the grant.

Q: What will the Youth Peer Leaders be doing?

A: Youth Peer Leaders will attend trainings, become trained facilitators in the 988 Minnesota Lifeline – Someone To Talk To program, and provide a minimum of five peer-to-peer conversations utilizing the curriculum with a minimum of five participants for each conversation.

Q: What is the Youth Peer Leader program?

A: The 988 Minnesota Lifeline – Someone To Talk To program is a youth developed pilot program that focuses on peer-to-peer education about the 988 Minnesota Lifeline.

Q: What are Youth Peer Leaders responsible for?

A: Youth Peer Leaders will attend three mandatory trainings (Changing the Narrative on Mental Health and Suicide, Being a Community Helper, and a 988 Minnesota Lifeline Role Play), become trained facilitators in the 988 Minnesota Lifeline – Someone To Talk To curriculum by attending a facilitator training session, and provide a minimum of five peer-to-peer conversations with a minimum of five participants for each conversation.

Q: Just to clarify – youth leaders will be educating peers, not working for the 988 Minnesota Lifeline?

A: Correct – youth leaders will engage in peer-to-peer education, not work for the 988 Minnesota Lifeline.

Q: What statistics were used to determine the top priority counties?

A: The priority counties were determined at the time when MDH applied for the Garret Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention grant. Counties that were prioritized for the GLS grant experienced more than 20 youth suicides during the time frame of 2011-2020. Counties that are not listed as the priority counties are still eligible for this funding.

Q: What framework does the 988 Minnesota Lifeline – Someone To Talk To program utilize?

A: The 988 Minnesota Lifeline – Someone To Talk To program was developed by youth contractors. Prior to its creation, the youth contractors engaged in surveys and focus groups that found a lack of awareness of 988. It focuses on youth sharing knowledge with other youth about the 988 Minnesota Lifeline.

Q: I am with the 4-H program. Is this something if we applied one of our youth could do as their 4-H project?

A: Yes – the minimum requirement of youth participating in the project is five per grantee.

Q: Are organizations currently participating in the MDH Youth Suicide Prevention Collaboration eligible for this grant?

A: Grantees that are currently funded by MDH to implement comprehensive suicide prevention, substance misuse and suicide prevention coalition grants, or regional suicide prevention are ineligible to apply. Current MDH Youth Suicide Prevention Learning Collaboration grantees are eligible to apply.  

Q: Is there an opportunity planned for youth to provide feedback on their findings?

A: This project is part of MDH’s federal funding for youth suicide prevention and evaluation is an important part of this project. There will be an opportunity for youth to provide feedback on their findings.  

Q: Do you anticipate this grant will be offered next year as well?

A: While we anticipate another round of piloting this project, we are unsure at this time what funding will be available. All grantees will be encouraged to continue utilizing the 988 Minnesota Lifeline – Someone to Talk to curriculum as a sustainable youth suicide prevention strategy.

Q: Are invoices due monthly or quarterly?

A: Grantees may submit monthly invoices if they choose but must submit invoices quarterly at a minimum.

Q: Are youth leaders allowed to co-present? How would co-presenting count towards their requirement of five presentations each? Do they need to present independently to meet their requirements?

A: Each peer-to-peer presentation has a minimum requirement of five participants. Youth leaders can co-facilitate if there is a minimum of five peers per presenter. So, if two youth leaders choose to present together, they will need a minimum of ten peers for the presentation to count for both youth leaders.  

Q: Are public school districts eligible applicants for the 988 Minnesota Lifeline Youth Peer Leader Grant or is eligibility limited to nonprofit and community-based organizations?  

A: Applicants must have state or federal recognition as a formal organization or entity, such as a Federal Identification Number. Organizations or groups that do not have state or federal recognition must apply with a fiscal agent. Applicants could include, but are not limited to, youth-serving organizations, peer-driven initiatives, youth collectives, youth advocacy teams, and out-of-school time programs. Applicants should have demonstrated capacity to engage with youth and support youth leaders. MDH recognizes the sovereignty of Tribal nations and will only fund non-Tribal projects led in Tribal communities if the applicant has full support of the Tribal government. Applicants within the Minnesota GLS grant prioritized counties will be given priority including Beltrami, Sherburne, St. Louis, Anoka, Scott, Dakota, Stearns, Washington, Wright, Olmsted, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties, and Minnesota Tribal nations and communities.

Q: Can you explain the requirement to “establish a system for payment/reimbursement of youth leaders as consultants/speakers after attending meetings and trainings conducted?" Are the youth that participate in this getting paid for their work and does that amount come from the grant money?  

A: It is a requirement of the grant that participating youth are reimbursed/compensated for their participation in trainings and for presentations they conduct. The funds to compensate youth would come from the grant. Please see an example in Attachment A Form A. 

Q: When will the following trainings (Changing the Narrative on Mental Health and Suicide, Being a Community Helper and a 988 MN Lifeline Role Play) take place for youth presenters? Will they be facilitated by MDH or the adult coordinators from each applying organization?  

A: Applicant agency project co-leads will attend a two-day in-person onboarding meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 11 in St. Cloud, MN. Training information will be presented at this time, and the project co-leads will be responsible for sharing the training information with their youth leaders. 

Q: Should we include the following documents with our application: Application Form, Budget Detail and Justification, Work Plan, Due Diligence Form, and COI Disclosure Form in addition to supporting documents within those forms like the 990?  

A: Yes, the following documents should be included with your application as referenced on page 14, section 3.3 of the RFP: application form, budget detail and justification, work plan, due diligence, conflict of interest disclosure and any supporting documentation that your organization may need to send.  

Q: Regarding the application instructions on the RFP, what information should be included on the signed coversheet?  

A: The coversheet should be on agency letterhead signed by the agency’s leadership. It should describe the agency’s leadership and support for the project.   

Q: In the budget form under travel there is a note to “Please add $200 for annual grantee conference.” Is this for something different than the training for the co-leads?

A: The travel line item within Attachment A Form A Budget detail and justification on page 5 of the RFP application directs applicant to add $200 for an annual grantee conference. There will not be a grantee conference required for applicants. Applicants are expected to provide a detailed description of any travel costs for the required two-day onboarding for adult leaders.  

Q: In the recommended work plan, the youth trainings are scheduled over the summer with peer presentations not being scheduled until August. Are the dates flexible or do we need to provide detailed justification if we decide to move the dates up?  

A: Attachment A: Form B is a recommended sample work plan. If changes to the work plan are made, please provide an explanation for the changes. Activities for the grant should be completed by the end of the grant period which is August 30, 2026.  

Q: Do the peer presentations need to be done during out-of-school time?  

A: Grantees will collaborate with youth, supporting them to provide five 988 Minnesota Lifeline-Someone to Talk to Youth Peer Leader program presentations to peers in their community. Presentations are preferred to be conducted during out-of-school time but not required.