1. (a) Processing.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Processing applications in response to an RFP:

2. (i) Applications must be received by the office of the Arkansas Drug Director by the deadline designated in the specifications, and must include sufficient copies of the application as designated in the specifications in order to receive consideration for funding; and

   1. (ii) Applications will be reviewed by the Arkansas Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coordinating Council or by the appropriate council committee in its next regularly scheduled meeting.

      1. (B) The council may elect to interview applicants prior to, or in the course of, its meeting.

   2. (2) Funding recommendations from council members:

      1. (A) Including all supporting documentation, will be submitted to the office of the director at least one (1) week prior to the council’s regularly scheduled meeting; and
      2. (B) Will be reviewed by the council or by the appropriate council committee in its next regularly scheduled meeting.

   3. (3) Petitions for funding:

      1. (A) Petitions for funding, including all supporting documentation, will be submitted to the office of the director;
      2. (B) The director will place the petition on the agenda to be reviewed by the council or by the appropriate council committee;
      3. (C) Petitioners will receive notice of the date, time, and place of the council or committee meeting in which the petition will be considered; and
      4. (D) The council may elect to interview petitioners prior to, or in the course of, its meeting.

3. (b) Evaluation for funding.

   1. (1) Evaluation of applications in response to an RFP:

      1. (A) The director and the council will use a grant award instrument to determine recipients;
      2. (B) Applicants will be provided specific information concerning the methodology of scoring of applications in all requests for proposals;
      3. (C) The director and the council will make evaluations of program proposals in accordance with the criteria set forth in the specifications of the request for proposals;
      4. (D) Each application will have a maximum total possible point score of one hundred (100), with specific point value maximums set for each criterion by the office of the director and the council;
      5. (E) Applicant proposals will be ranked by score, and those receiving the highest scores will be considered for funding, contingent on the amount available for award; and
      6. (F) The council reserves the right to reduce, in part or whole, any budget proposal it deems to be excessive and/or inconsistent with program proposal criteria.

   2. (2) Evaluation of funding recommendations from council members:

      1. (A) The director and the council, or its appropriate committee, will make evaluations of program recommendations based on the documentation provided and may be evidence-based or impact-based; and
      2. (B) The council will determine through majority vote whether the recommendation will receive funding and will also determine the level of funding.

   3. (3) Evaluation of petitions for funding:

      1. (A) The director and the council, or its appropriate committee, will make evaluations of program funding requests based on the documentation provided and may be evidence-based or impact-based; and

      2. (B) The council will determine through majority vote whether the recommendation will receive funding and will also determine the level of funding.

         1. (c) Notice of award.
   4. (1) Upon approval by the council, minutes of the council meeting and other appropriate documentation will be prepared and sent to the Office of Intergovernmental Services by the office of the director for processing.

   5. (2) The notice of grant award will be prepared and sent to recipients by the office of the director within ten (10) business days of Department of Finance and Administration notification that the funds are being processed.

      1. (d) Acceptance or denial of grant award.
   6. (1) Applicants which are offered awards may elect to accept or decline them.
   7. (2) For those applicants that accept awards, a grant award agreement will be signed and returned by the applicant by an authorized agency representative within ten (10) business days.
4. (e) Equal opportunity. All programs must furnish assurance of compliance with applicable civil rights laws and regulations.
5. (f) Freedom of Information Act of 1967. Proposals submitted in response to any RFP are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, Arkansas Code § 25-19-101 et seq.

Codification Notes: “RFP” means request for proposals.