Hello, SOR Subgrantees!
Recently, some of you received emails from Patrick or me asking which job positions in your SOR II, Year 2 funding proposals are filled and which ones are new (or existing, but vacant).
There’s a good reason for this question. Close to two million dollars in allocated SOR II, Year 1 funding is expected to be returned to DBHDS due to treatment and recovery positions that were budgeted for but never filled. That’s nearly two million SOR grant dollars to be returned to SAMHSA. And, as you know, any money we must return to SAMHSA can negatively impact Virginia’s future SUD funding awards.
We understand that there are lots of good reasons that positions may go unfilled and we can imagine how frustrating that must be on your end. However, we’re receiving more SOR requests than we ever have before. So, it’s more imperative than ever that we make every effort to be good stewards of the grant money entrusted to us.
That said, going forward, any funds that we approve for already existing salaries will be paid out as usual. However, funds approved for new or vacant positions will be held back until we are notified that the position has been filled. If a position is filled within 30 days of the grant year’s start, the full amount will be allocated. Beyond 30 days, the budgeted amount will be pro-rated on a monthly basis. If needed, we will gladly submit documentation to your human resources departments verifying that money has been set aside for these positions.
Those of you who have approval to utilize SOR funds to support both existing and new positions will receive an email notifying you of your approved TOTAL budget amount. However, the initial SOR II Year 2 Exhibit D you receive will show your budgeted amount minus the salaries of any unfilled positions. When we get notification that you have filled a vacant SOR-funded position, we will send out an additional Exhibit D listing that amount with payment details to follow.
If you have any questions or need further clarification on this change, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mike, Patrick or me.
