Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs (RCEP)--Institute on Rehabilitation Issues (IRI); Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004, CFDA No.: 84.264A-3 [OSERS]

FR Doc 03-26702
[Federal Register: October 23, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 205)]
[Notices]
[Page 60829-60830]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23oc03-106]
Download:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.264A-3]

Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs (RCEP)--Institute on
Rehabilitation Issues (IRI); Notice Inviting Applications for New
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004

Purpose of Program: The Rehabilitation Continuing Education
Programs--
(a) Train newly employed State agency staff at the administrative,
supervisory, professional, paraprofessional, or clerical levels in
order to develop needed skills for effective agency performance;
(b) Provide training opportunities for experienced State agency
personnel at all levels of State agency practice to upgrade their
skills and to develop mastery of new program developments dealing with
significant issues, priorities, and legislative thrusts of the State
and Federal vocational rehabilitation program; and
(c) Develop and conduct training programs for staff of--
(1) Private rehabilitation agencies and facilities that cooperate
with State vocational rehabilitation units in providing vocational
rehabilitation and other rehabilitation services;
(2) Centers for independent living; and
(3) Client assistance programs.
For FY 2004, the competition for new awards focuses on projects
designed to meet the priorities we reference in the PRIORITIES section
of this application notice.
Eligible Applicants: States and public or nonprofit agencies and
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher
education.
Applications Available: October 31, 2003.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 8, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: March 8, 2004.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$42,629,000 for the Rehabilitation Training Programs for FY 2004, of
which an estimated $190,000 would be allocated for this competition.
The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional
action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to
complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this
program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $75,000-$125,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $80,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 3. We expect to fund two awards under
Priority 1 and one award under Priority 2.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application)
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that
reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit Part III to
the equivalent of no more than 45 pages, using the following standards:
(1) A page is 8.5'' by 11'', on one side only, with 1'' margins at
the top, bottom, and both sides.
(2) Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all
text in the application narrative, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
(3) Use a font that is either 12-point or larger or no smaller than
10 pitch (characters per inch).
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II,
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the
resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, you must
include all of the application narrative in Part III.
We will reject your application if--
[sbull] You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
[sbull] You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 85, and 86. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR
parts 385 and 389.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.

Selection Criteria: In evaluating an application for a new grant
under this competition, we use the selection criteria in 34 CFR 385.31
and 389.30. The selection criteria to be used for this competition will
be provided in the application package for this competition.

Priorities

This competition focuses on projects designed to meet the
priorities in the notice of final priorities for this program,
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
For FY 2004, these priorities are absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR

[[Page 60830]]

75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet one or more of
the priorities.

Application Procedures

Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for
transmitting applications differ from those in the Education
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR
75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to
comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make
procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy.
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined
that proposed rulemaking is not required.

Governmentwide Grants.gov Project for Electronic Submission of
Applications

We have been accepting applications electronically through the
Department's e-Application system since FY 2000. In order to expand on
those efforts and comply with the President's Management Agenda, we are
participating as a partner in the new governmentwide Grants.gov Apply
site in FY 2004. The Rehabilitation Continuing Education Programs
(RCEP)--Institute on Rehabilitation Issues (IRI), CFDA number 84.264A-
3, is one of the programs included in this project. If you are an
applicant under RCEP--IRI, you may submit your application to us in
either electronic or paper format.
The project involves the use of the Grants.gov Apply site
(Grants.gov). If you use Grants.gov, you will be able to download a
copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload
and submit the application via the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail
an electronic copy of a grant application to us. We request your
participation in Grants.gov.
If you participate in Grants.gov, please note the following:
[sbull] Your participation is voluntary.
[sbull] When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation. We strongly recommend that you
do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the
application process through Grants.gov.
[sbull] To use Grants.gov, you, as the applicant, must have a D-U-
N-S Number and register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). You
should allow a minimum of five days to complete the CCR registration.
[sbull] You will not receive additional point value because you
submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize
you if you submit an application in paper format.
[sbull] You may submit all documents electronically, including all
information typically included on the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED
524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
[sbull] Your application must comply with any page limit
requirements described in this notice.
[sbull] After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement from Grants.gov that contains a
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation, which
will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number)
unique to your application.
[sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
[sbull] If you experience technical difficulties on the application
deadline date and are unable to meet the 4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC
time) deadline, print out your application and follow the instructions
included in the application package for the transmittal of paper
applications.
You may access the electronic grant application for RCEP--IRI at:
http://www.grants.gov.

Note: Please note that you must search for the downloadable
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not
include the CFDA number's alpha letter in your search.

For Applications Contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs),
P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-
7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site:http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
.
Or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.264A-3.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format by contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 3317, Switzer Building, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone:
(202) 205-8207. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an
alternative format the standard forms included in the application
package.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Marschall, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 3325, Switzer Building,
Washington, DC 20202-2649. Telephone: (202) 205-8926 or via Internet: Christine.Marschall@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 772.

Dated: October 17, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-26702 Filed 10-22-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P