Public Services Program

The County of Maui Office of Recovery is offering funding through the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery Public Services Program to address public service needs resulting from the August 2023 Wildfires. The program is part of the County's disaster recovery effort funded through federal CDBG-DR resources administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Public Services Program is intended to expand access to critical services that support the long-term recovery, stability, and well-being of Maui County residents and that are consistent with the County of Maui HUD Approved Action Plan and its amendments. The County is seeking qualified and experienced public service providers that can launch programs in a timely manner, respond to documented recovery needs, and contribute meaningfully to recovery across impacted communities. A total of $21,000,000 is designated for this Notice of Funding Availability. Individual awards must be at least $500,000 and may not exceed $2,000,000. Awards will be made as grants to eligible subrecipient organizations or implementing partners, including eligible County departments, and will operate on a cost-reimbursement basis. Awarded projects may be funded for up to 24 months, subject to agreement terms, performance requirements, and funding availability. Applicants must submit a program budget identifying eligible costs, leveraged or non-CDBG-DR funding sources when applicable, and the anticipated number of participants to be served. Proposed costs must be necessary, reasonable, allocable, allowable, and consistent with the nature and scale of the proposed public service. No mandatory cost share or matching contribution is stated in the NOFA. Eligible activities must constitute either a new public service or a quantifiable increase in the level of an existing service beyond the level provided during the 12 months preceding submission of the County's Action Plan on April 22, 2025. Eligible activities may include medical care, behavioral health services, mental health counseling, crisis intervention, trauma-informed therapy, disaster recovery navigation, benefits coordination, intake and referrals, childcare capacity, homelessness outreach and stabilization, expanded or temporary transportation services, program staffing, outreach and marketing, and other public services that directly address disaster-related unmet needs and are permitted under applicable CDBG-DR requirements. Funds may not be used for political or lobbying activities, religious worship or faith-based instruction, unauthorized direct assistance to for-profit businesses or individuals, mandatory or punitive services, unchanged pre-existing services, activities without a disaster tie-back, unauthorized pre-award costs, entertainment, fundraising, fines or penalties, supplanting existing funding, or costs constituting a duplication of benefits. Eligible applicants include County of Maui Departments, nonprofit organizations including 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities, and public agencies or authorities. For-profit entities are generally ineligible unless explicitly authorized under an approved eligible activity. Entities that are suspended, debarred, otherwise excluded from federal assistance, or that have unresolved audit findings, material compliance deficiencies, or significant prior nonperformance are ineligible. Applicants must demonstrate organizational experience, financial and administrative capacity to manage reimbursement-based federal funding, compliance capability, and readiness to proceed. Award recipients must maintain active SAM.gov registration and good standing in Hawaii Compliance Express. Funded services must meet an applicable HUD national objective, with the program designed primarily around the Low- and Moderate-Income Limited Clientele objective and with Urgent Need activities potentially eligible subject to County approval. All activities must also demonstrate a disaster tie-back to the August 2023 Wildfires and serve eligible residents in Maui County, which HUD has designated in its entirety as a Most Impacted and Distressed area. Applications must be submitted through the County Office of Recovery's Canopy online application portal. Applications submitted by email, mail, hand delivery, or other methods will not be accepted. The application requests entity and contact information, a description of the proposed public service, projected participants, disaster tie-back, Action Plan alignment, culturally grounded implementation, LMI or Urgent Need strategy, target populations and service areas, wildfire prioritization, outreach and accessibility plans, barrier reduction supports, service delivery details, health or trauma-related service information, partnerships, sources and uses of funds, budget assumptions, reimbursement and cash-flow capacity, financial controls and risks, cost per participant, leveraged resources, organizational experience, federal grant and compliance experience, procurement practices, accounting and audit information, policies and procedures, launch timing, milestones, staffing, partners, and certifications. Required attachments include organizational and registration records, program operations and eligibility documents, outreach and accessibility plans, partnership documentation when applicable, the County budget workbook, duplication-of-benefits documentation, fiscal and personnel policies, audit and compliance records when applicable, staff resumes, implementation schedules, and conflict of interest disclosures. Applications first undergo a threshold review for completeness, internal consistency, applicant and activity eligibility, and compliance with program and federal requirements. County OOR may issue a Request for Information when clarification is appropriate, but non-correctable deficiencies or failure to meet threshold requirements may be treated as fatal flaws and prevent competitive scoring. Applications that pass threshold review are scored on Alignment with Identified Disaster Recovery Needs at 25 percent, Population Served at 25 percent, Services Targeting Medical or Mental Health Support at 20 percent, Financial Considerations at 15 percent, and Applicant Attributes and Readiness to Launch at 15 percent. An average score of at least 70 out of 100 is required for award consideration. Eligible applications are ranked by score, and funding recommendations are made in rank order subject to available funds and County priorities. The County may fund all, part, or none of an application. The NOFA was released on August 10, 2026, and applications are due by 5:00 PM HST on September 24, 2026. The deadline for applicant questions is August 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM HST, with publication of questions and answers scheduled for September 9, 2026 at 9:00 AM HST. A pre-application workshop was held on August 6, 2026. Selected applicants will receive a conditional award letter and then execute a written agreement or, for applicable County departments, a Project Implementation Agreement. Program activities and eligible costs may begin only after agreement execution, satisfaction of award requirements, and issuance of a Notice to Proceed with an official start date. General NOFA questions may be directed to cdbg-dr@mauicounty.gov or (808) 270-6267. The NOFA does not state that this opportunity recurs on an annual or other regular schedule.

Address each published scoring criterion directly and substantiate disaster tie-back, LMI or other qualifying national-objective compliance, service expansion, expected outputs and outcomes, and implementation readiness. Ensure budgets are reasonable and internally consistent, demonstrate capacity to manage reimbursement-based federal funds, upload every applicable attachment, maintain required registrations, and submit only through Canopy. Applications must pass threshold review and achieve an average score of at least 70 out of 100 for award consideration.