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[Federal Register: July 11, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 133)]
[Notices]
[Page 36302-36312]
From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11jy01-126]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
[SGA 01-09]
High School/High
Tech Realignment Grants
AGENCY: Office of Disability Employment
Policy, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds
and solicitation for grant
applications.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office on
Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP) announces the availability of
$300,000 to
award twenty competitive grants in the amount of $15,000
each. The
purpose of this Solicitation for Grant Application (SGA) is
to invite
proposals from eligible candidates. Grants will be awarded
for a one-
year period.
The purpose of these grants is to fund the
realignment of currently
operating High School/High Tech (HS/HT)
programs with the local areas'
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998
youth programs (WIA Local
Workforce Investment Boards and their Youth
Councils, Job Corps
Centers, Youth Opportunity Grant programs, WIA
Formula-Funded Youth
Programs, WIA Native American Programs or WIA
Migrant Worker programs).
The goal of these realignment grants is to
develop strategies,
relationships, joint funding and/or support
through which HS/HT
programs for youths with disabilities enter into
a new or stronger
partnerships with at least one of the WIA
youth-focused programs
mentioned above.
The HS/HT program is
designed to provide young people with
disabilities an opportunity to
explore educational opportunities
leading to technology-related
careers. It serves either in-school or
out-of-school youth with
disabilities in a one-year long program of
corporate site visits,
mentoring, job shadowing, guest speakers, after
school activities and
paid summer internships. In addition, the HS/HT
program responds to
all four of WIA's youth programming themes:
employment preparation;
educational achievement; support; and
leadership.
The purpose of
this SGA is to help the existing HS/HT programs
associated with ODEP
to entered into a new or stronger partnership with
local WIA
operations or programs. This SGA is designed to demonstrate
both the
merits and techniques of bringing the High School/High Tech
program
into alignment and full partnership with WIA's youth-related
programs.
DATES: One (1) ink-signed original, complete grant
application plus
three (3) copies of the Technical Proposal and three
(2) copies of the
Cost Proposal shall be submitted to the U.S.
Department of Labor,
Procurement Services Center, Attention Grant
Officer, Reference SGA 01-
09, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210,
not later than 4:45 p.m. EST, August 10, 2001.
Hand-delivered
applications must be received by the Procurement
Services Center by
that time.
ADDRESSES: Grant applications
must be hand delivered or mailed to U.S.
Department of Labor,
Procurement Services Center, Attention: Grant
Officer, Reference SGA
01-09, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue,
N.W., Washington, D.C.
20210. Applicants must verify delivery to this
office directly
through their delivery service and as soon as possible.
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT: Applications will not be mailed. The
Federal
Register may be obtained from your nearest government office or
library. Questions concerning this solicitation may be sent to
Cassandra Willis, at the following Internet address: <A
HREF="mailto:willis.cassandra@dol.gov">willis.cassandra@dol.gov</A>.
Late Proposals
The grant application package must be received at
the designated
place by the date and time specified or it will not be
considered. Any
application received at the Procurement Services
Center after 4:45 p.m.
ET, August 10, 2001, will not be considered
unless it is received
before the award is made and:
1. It was
sent by registered or certified mail not later than the
fifth
calendar August 10, 2001;
2. It is determined by the Government that the
late receipt was due
solely to mishandling by the Government after
receipt at the U.S.
Department of Labor at the address indicated;
or
3. It was sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day
Service-Post Office to Addressee, not later than 5:00 p.m. at the
place
of mailing two (2) working days, excluding weekends and
Federal
holidays, prior to August 10, 2001.
The only acceptable
evidence to establish the date of mailing of a
late application sent
by registered or certified mail is the U.S.
Postal Service postmark
on the envelope or wrapper and on the original
receipt from the U.S.
Postal Service. If the postmark is not legible,
an application
received after the above closing time and date shall be
processed as
if mailed late. ``Postmark'' means a printed, stamped or
otherwise
place impression (not a postage meter machine impression)
that is
readily identifiable without further action as having been
applied
and affixed by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service on the
date of
mailing. Therefore applicants should request the postal clerk
place a
legible hand cancellation ``bull's-eye'' postmark on both the
receipt
and the envelope or wrapper.
The only acceptable evidence to establish the
date of mailing of a
late application sent by U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail Next Day
Service-Post Office to Addressee is the date
entered by the Post Office
receiving clerk on the ``Express Mail Next
Day Service-Post Office to
Addressee'' label and the postmark on the
envelope or wrapper and on
the original receipt from the U.S. Postal
Service. ``Postmark'' has the
same meaning as defined above.
Therefore, applicants should request
that the postal clerk place a
legible hand cancellation ``bull's-eye''
postmark on both the receipt
and the envelope or wrapper.
The only acceptable evidence to establish the
time of receipt at
the U.S. Department of Labor is the date/time
stamp of the Procurement
Services Center on the application wrapper
or other documentary
evidence or receipt maintained by that office.
Applications sent by
telegram or facsimile (FAX) will not be
accepted.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Authority
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, Public Law 106-554,114 STAT
2763A-10, 29 U.S.C. 557(b).
[[Page 36303]]
II. Background
Often the challenges that young people with disabilities face
when
obtaining jobs and careers in technology-related occupations
is
overlooked. As a result, youths with disabilities are seldom
afforded
post-secondary preparation and educational opportunities
leading to
internships and placements in technology-related careers.
This is a
significant loss of potential when we realize that: (1)
People with
disabilities have already demonstrated that they can be
successful in
these occupations; (2) technology jobs represent an
ever increasing
segment of the workforce; and (3) many current
school-to-careers
initiatives do not always include students with
disabilities.
WIA youth focused entities and programs (WIA Local Boards and
their
Youth Councils, Job Corps Centers, Youth Opportunity Grant
programs,
WIA Formula-Funded Youth Programs, WIA Native American
Programs or WIA
Migrant Worker programs), hold tremendous potential
to support career
development activities for young people with
disabilities.
HS/HT programs are now in operation in 60 communities across
the
nation. HS/HT graduates are twice as likely as other youth
with
disabilities to pursue post-secondary education. In some
HS/HT
programs, as many as 70 percent of their HS/HT graduates move
on to
post-secondary education. HS/HT clearly enhances
expectations,
education achievement and eventual employment outcomes
for a population
who, without this intervention, is far more likely
to move onto the
Social Security rolls than to find competitive
employment in
technology-related occupations. As a community-based
program, the HS/HT
Program works within community systems to help
coordinate the delivery
of education and transition services to
students with disabilities.
Locally-based High School/High Tech
programs represent community-based
partnerships of local stakeholders
that include employers, educators,
consumers, family members, and
workforce system agencies, especially
rehabilitation professionals.
The HS/HT program offers local WIA
programs a proven technique for
developing improved systems and
employment outcomes for young people
with disabilities.
The goals of HS/HT match WIA's youth programming themes
of
employment preparation, educational achievement, support,
and
leadership. The HS/HT model includes eight of the 10 WIA required
youth
programming elements:
1. Summer employment
opportunities;
2. Work experience;
3. Occupational skills training;
4. Tutoring;
5. Support services;
6. Adult mentoring;
7.
Comprehensive guidance; and
8. Leadership development (WIA, sec. 129(c)(2),
29 U.S.C. 2854(c)(2)).
Nonetheless, WIA and HS/HT programs have
different areas of expertise.
By linking these two programs, youth
who are often under served and
misunderstood will receive effective
and appropriate services.
Thus, the purpose of this SGA is to begin to
bring these two
resources together in a demonstration on how they can
be mutually
supportive. Under a separate Solicitation for Grant
Application, a
proposed WIA Disability Technical Assistance
Consortium for Youth is to
be funded. Among its responsibilities will
be to provide technical
assistance to both new and existing HS/HT
sites, as well as to support
bringing them into alignment with WIA
youth programs. Ultimately, it is
envisioned that the HS/HT Program
will become one more model program
helping WIA youth initiatives
better serve youth with disabilities.
III. Purpose
The U.S.
Department of Labor's Office on Disability Employment
Policy (ODEP),
the sponsoring agency of this SGA, was formed under the
authority of
the DOL's FY '01 appropriations, and by a supporting
Executive Order
13187 of January 10, 2001, transferring the assets of
the former U.S.
President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities
(PCEPD) to the DOL. ODEP operates a number of programs
that are
designed to assist with the employment and training of persons
with
disabilities, including youth with disabilities.
One of ODEP's key youth
programs is the High School/High Tech (HS/
HT) program. The High
School/High Tech programs work with community
systems to coordinate
the delivery of educational and transitional
services to youths with
disabilities. Local High School/High Tech
programs represent
partnerships of local, state and national
stakeholders that include
employers, educators, rehabilitation
professionals, consumers, and
parents.
As a community-based, work-based, and school-based program,
High
School/High Tech is designed to provide opportunities for
students with
disabilities to explore careers in technology-related
occupations. HS/
HT students across the nation learn first-hand what it's
like to work
in high tech environments. Site visits, mentoring,
job/career
shadowing, and paid summer internships all provide
students with the
opportunities to learn more about careers in
science, engineering and
technology-related fields. HS/HT students
also work on developing
career goals. In localities where a High
School/High Tech program is in
place, 20 percent to 70 percent of the
program participants go on to
post-secondary education. The national
average for the population,
without this intervention, is six percent
to nine percent (9%)
(American Council on Education, 1999).
To
learn about the structure and operations of the High School/High
Tech
Program, consult the HS/HT Program Web site: <A
HREF="http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.dol.gov/odep/public/programs/high.htm">http://www.dol.gov/
odep/public/programs/high.htm</A> and the High School/High Tech
Program
Guide at: <A
HREF="http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.dol.gov/odep/public/programs/high.htm">http://www.dol.gov/odep/public/programs/high.htm</A>.
IV. Statement of Work
These grants are to assist operating
existing High School/High Tech
programs to re-align and enhance their
program to achieve the following
objectives:
1. Develop model
strategies, relationships, joint funding or
support, and joint
programming through which the HS/HT program for
youths with
disabilities enters into new or stronger partnerships with
at least
one WIA entity or program component (WIA Local Boards and
their Youth
Councils, Job Corps Centers, Youth Opportunity Grant
programs, WIA
Formula-Funded Youth Programs, WIA Native American
Programs or WIA
Migrant Worker programs);
2. Demonstrate how the HS/HT model can provide
the WIA program with
a program model to improve the continuing
(post-secondary) education
and employment of young people with
disabilities;
3. Demonstrate how the HS/HT model can deliver WIA's youth
program
themes and meet the required elements for young people
with
disabilities;
4. Serve at least 10 young people with
disabilities for one year
with the core elements of a HS/HT program
(corporate site visits,
mentioning, job shadowing, relevant guest
speakers, after school
activities and paid summer internships) in
alignment with a WIA
program;
5. Cooperate with ODEP and its
technical assistance consortium to
provide information and advice to
other WIA youth programs on how
either the HS/HT model can be
replicated in their communities or how
existing HS/HT
[[Page
36304]]
programs can be brought into alignment with local WIA
programs; and
6. Describe plans to report demographic characteristics of
program
participants, types of programming activities and program
outcomes
(post-secondary education and employment) of youth with
disabilities
served through HS/HT.
V. Funding
Availability
The period of performance will be 12 months from the date
of
execution by the Government.
VI. Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants are limited to the operators of existing
High
School/High Tech programs working in cooperation with the Office
on
Disability Employment Policy of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Please note that eligible grant/cooperative agreement applicants
must
not be classified under the Internal Revenue Code as a Section
501(c)(4) entity. See 26 U.S.C. 506(c)(4). According to Section 18 of
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization, as described in
Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that engages
in
lobbying activities will not be eligible for the receipt of
federal
funds constituting an award, grant, or loan.
VII.
Application Contents
General Requirements--Two copies and an original
of the proposal
must be submitted, one of which must contain an
original signature.
Proposals may be submitted by the applicant
only.
The proposal shall consist of a Project Narrative which must be
no
more than 10 double-spaced, single sided, numbered pages. The
Project
Narrative must meet the statement of work outlined in Section
II above.
Applications must include a detailed financial plan
which
identifies by line item the budget plan designed to achieve the
goals
of this grant. The Financial Proposal must contain the
SF-424,
Application for Federal Assistance, (Appendix A) and Budget
Information
Sheet SF-424A (Appendix B).
In addition, the budget
must include on a separate page a detailed
cost analysis of each line
item. Justification for administrative costs
must be provided.
Approval of a budget by DOL is not the same as the
approval of actual
costs. The individual signing the SF-424 on behalf
of the applicant
must represent the responsible financial and
administrative entity
for a grant should that application result in an
award. The applicant
must also include the Assurances and
Certifications Signature Page
(Appendix C).
VIII. Evaluation Criteria/Selection
A.
Evaluation Criteria
The application should include appropriate
information of the type
described below:
1. Significance of the
Proposed Project (15 Points)
In evaluation the significance of the proposed
project, the
Department will consider the following factors.
1.
The current relationship, if any with your area's WIA program.
2. The
numbers of young persons with disabilities served in your
HS/HT
program, their outcomes (post-secondary education and
employment),
and the program's potential for serving more students.
3. Related issues
that affect the realignment of your HS/HT program
with your local WIA
program.
2. Quality of the Project Design (30 Points)
In evaluation the
quality of the proposed project, the Department
will consider the
following factors.
a. The technical plan for creating a new or greater
alignment
between your HS/HT program and your area's WIA program
through
partnership formation, joint funding arrangements, and/or
joint
programming opportunities. This should include a plan for
providing
your WIA program with a presentation on how your HS/HT
program can help
them meet your shared objective of improving the
continuing (post-
secondary) education and employment of young people with
disabilities
in technology-related occupations. This discussion
should also cover a
review on how the HS/HT model can deliver WIA's
youth program themes
and elements to young people with disabilities;
and how it will
increase your program's capacity to serve more
students with
disabilities.
b. The plan for tracking the
demographic characteristics of program
participants, types of
programming activities conducted as well as HS/
HT participant outcomes.
These include:
1. numbers of youths with disabilities placed in
competitive
employment, including paid internships;
2. numbers of
youths with disabilities who continue with post
secondary education;
and,
3. comparative data on local youths with disabilities not served
in
the HS/HT program.
3. Collaboration and Coordination (20
Points)
In evaluating the collaboration and coordination of the
proposed
project, the Department will consider the following
factors.
a. Statement(s) of support and leadership from one or more of
your
area's WIA system elements (WIA Local Board, including its
Youth
Council, a Job Corps Center, a Youth Opportunity Grant program,
a WIA
Formula Funded Youth Program, a WIA Native American or a WIA
Migrant
Worker program).
b. Support from key community
organizations, especially special
education and vocational
rehabilitation.
c. Support from area employers, people with disabilities
and family
members.
4. Innovations and Model Services (20
Points)
In evaluation the innovations and model services of the
proposed
project, the Department will consider the following
factors:
a. Recommendations for strategies to cooperate in a
technical
assistance effort providing information and advice to other
HS/HT and
WIA program operators.
d. Strategy for meeting the
needs of youth with disabilities from
diverse cultures and/or ethic
groups. (Note: the NAACP, National Urban
League, La Raza, and ASPIRA
all operate at least one model HS/HT
program dedicated to serving
minority youths with disabilities).
5. Demonstrated Capability of the
Organization(s) (15 Points)
In evaluation the capability of the
organization(s) involved in the
proposed project, the Department will
consider the following factors:
a. The names and qualifications of staff
and related technical
experts to support the objectives of this
SGA.
b. Examples of prior successes in serving youths with
disabilities
and already existing relationships with local WIA
programs.
B. Selection Criteria
Except as specifically
provided, acceptance of a proposal and an
award of federal funds to
sponsor any program(s) is not a waiver of any
grant requirement
and/or procedures. Grantees must comply with all
applicable Federal
statutes, regulations, administrative requirements
and OMB Circulars.
For example, the OMB circulars require, and an
entity's procurement
procedures must require that all procurement
transaction shall be
conducted, as practical, to provide open
[[Page 36305]]
and
free competition. If a proposal identifies a specific entity to
provide the services, the award does not provide the justification or
basis to sole-source the procurement, i.e., avoid competition.
A panel will
objectively rate each complete application against the
criteria
described in this SGA. The panel recommendations to the Grant
Officer
are advisory in nature. The Grant Officer may elect to award
grants
either with or without discussion with the applicant. In
situations
where no discussion occurs, an award will be based on the
signed SF
424 form (see Appendix A), which constitutes a binding offer.
The
Grant Officer may consider the availability of funds and any
information that is available and will make final award decisions
based
on what is most advantageous to the government, considering
factors
such as:
A. Findings of the grant technical evaluation
panel; and,
B. Geographic distribution of the competitive applications.
IX. Reporting
Grantees are required to provide typed reports to
DOL/ODEP or its
designee on the status of their program alignment on
a quarterly basis
by March 30, June 30, September 30, and December
31, for a one year
period. It is estimated that the quarterly report
will take two hours
to complete.
X. Administration
Provisions
A. Administrative Standards and Provisions
Grantees are strongly encouraged to read these regulations before
submitting a proposal. The grant awarded under this SGA shall be
subject to the following:
29 CFR Part 95--Uniform Administrative
Requirements for Grants and
Cooperative Agreements with Institutions
of Higher Education, etc.
29 CFR Part 96--Federal Standards for Audit of
Federally Funded Grants,
Contracts, and Agreements.
29 CFR Part
97--Uniform Administrative Requirement for Grants and
Cooperative
Agreements to State and Local Governments.
B. Allowable Cost
Determinations of allowable costs shall be made in accordance with
the following applicable Federal cost principles:
State and Local
Government--OMB Circular A-87
Nonprofit Organizations--OMB Circular
A-122
Profit-making Commercial Firms--48 CFR Part 31
C. Grant
Assurances
The applicant must include the attached assurances
and
certifications.
Profit will not be considered an allowable
cost in any case.
Signed at Washington, D.C. this 6th day of July,
2001.
Lawrence J. Kuss,
Grant Officer.
BILLING CODE 4510-23-P
[[Page 36306]]
Appendix A. Application for Federal Assistance, Form SF
424
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN11JY01.008
[[Page 36307]]
[GRAPHIC]
[TIFF OMITTED] TN11JY01.009
[[Page 36308]]
Appendix B. Budget
Information Sheet, Form SF 424A
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN11JY01.010
[[Page 36309]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN11JY01.011
[[Page 36310]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN11JY01.012
[[Page 36311]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF
OMITTED] TN11JY01.013
[[Page 36312]]
Appendix C. Assurances and
Certifications Signature Page
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN11JY01.014
[FR
Doc. 01-17411 Filed 7-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-C
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