Opportunity Overview
Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS), Office of Homeless Services, issued Justice Integrated Case Management, RFGA 27-DWS-S012, to fund a pilot replication of the Project RIO defense-based social-work model outside Salt Lake County. The pilot integrates licensed social workers with indigent legal-defense teams to provide homelessness-related case management, housing navigation, treatment referrals, transportation, substance-use coordination and reintegration support. It is expressly a competitive grant application, not a procurement bid for a commercial product.
Funding
The controlling 55-page RFGA identifies $165,000 in total available state General Fund support for the pilot, with performance from November 16, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Any individual award cannot exceed the overall available funding, but the RFGA does not expressly guarantee a $165,000 award to a particular applicant. Awards are cost-reimbursement based. Combined direct administrative and indirect expenses cannot exceed 15% of the direct program total, and funds may not supplant existing funds. The RFGA does not establish a project-specific mandatory matching percentage.
Eligible Applicants and Geography
Applicants must be dedicated legal-defense providers principally representing indigent individuals under court appointment or contract, authorized to do business in Utah, without disqualifying DWS findings/defaults or grant termination for cause in the preceding three years. The project must serve a Balance of State or Mountainland Continuum of Care jurisdiction, coordinate with the relevant local homeless coalition and ensure access to supportive services. New or existing qualifying projects may apply.
Deadlines and Restriction for New Applicants
Final application: October 30, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time (MDT). A mandatory Letter of Intent was due October 27, 2026, so applicants who did not complete that prerequisite should not assume they remain eligible to apply. Material official-source discrepancy: the controlling RFGA states the mandatory LOI cutoff was 12:00 p.m. MDT, while the agency’s public opportunity page states 5:00 p.m. MST. Both have passed; confirm any exception, amendment, or status directly with DWS before reliance.
Allowable Uses and Submission
Potential eligible costs include social-worker and support staff, training, essential supplies, client clothing/hygiene expenses, transportation and contractor services. Required application materials include the electronic cover submission, narrative, itemized budget, state-funding disclosures and applicable legal/insurance/indirect-cost documentation. A local homeless coalition letter of support is optional and may earn a bonus point. The controlling RFGA includes detailed budget instructions, selection criteria, grant terms, the scope of work and case-management standards; review the current Q&A and addenda before submission.
Official Source
Use the Utah DWS Office of Homeless Services grant page and its 55-page RFGA, not this summary, to make an application decision. Verification review dated October 29, 2026. This record is held for final discrepancy resolution before public catalog approval.