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[Federal Register: June 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 123)]
[Notices]
[Page 43169-43182]
From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jn02-104]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of Disability Employment Policy
Innovative Demonstration Grants for Youth With Disabilities
AGENCY:
Office of Disability Employment Policy, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of
Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant
Applications of
Innovative Demonstration Grants for Youth with
Disabilities (SGA
02-12).
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL" or "Department"),
Office
of Disability Employment Policy ("ODEP") announces the
availability
of $2.5 million to award competitive grants to fund model
demonstration programs designed to enhance the capacity of youth
programs working in coordination with the Workforce Investment Act
(WIA) (Pub. L. 105-220, 29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) to serve youth with
disabilities. Up to five competitive grants will be awarded in the
range of $350,000 to $500,000. These awards are for a two-year period
of performance. To be eligible, applicants must be local WIA grant
recipients, fiscal agents for such grant recipients, Local Workforce
Investment Boards (Local Boards), and/or competitively selected
eligible youth service providers with formal agreements with such
organizations.
Each grant must involve members of two specific groups in
strategic
planning and implementation activities: Youth with
disabilities
(including those with hidden disabilities such as
psychiatric
disabilities, substance addiction, mental retardation and
learning
disabilities), relevant experts in the field of young people
with
disabilities (such as disability organizations, researchers,
policy
makers, employers, family members and/or family
organizations,
independent living centers, or service providers).
Each grant must also
include a management and evaluation component.
All forms necessary to
prepare an application are included in this
Solicitation for Grant
Application (SGA.) If another copy of a
Standard Form is needed, go
online to
http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/grants/forms.html.
DATES: One (1)
ink-signed original, complete grant application plus two
(2) copies
of the Technical Proposal and two (2) copies of the Cost
Proposal
must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor, Procurement
Services Center, Attention Grant Officer, Reference SGA 02-12, Room N-
5416, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, not later
than 4:45 p.m., Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDST), August 12,
2002.
Hand-delivered applications must be received by the
Procurement
Services Center by that time.
ADDRESSES:
Applications must be directed to the U.S. Department of
Labor,
Procurement Services Center, Attention: Grant Officer, Reference
SGA
02-12, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC
20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All applicants are advised
that U.S.
mail delivery in the Washington, DC area has been erratic
due to
concerns involving anthrax contamination. All applicants must
take this
into consideration when preparing to meet the application
deadline. It
is recommended that you confirm receipt of your
application by
contacting Cassandra Willis, U.S. Department of Labor,
Procurement
Services Center, telephone (202) 693-4570 (this is not a
toll-free
number), prior to the closing deadline.
Acceptable
Methods of Submission:
The 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 Office of Procurement
Services Center after
4:45 p.m., EDST, August 12, 2002, 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 day before August 12, 2002; or
2. 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 12, 2002;
or
3. 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.
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 placed 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 ``bulls-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 other
delivery services, such as Federal
Express, UPS, etc., will also be
accepted; however, the applicant bears
the responsibility of timely
submission.
All applicants are advised that U.S. mail delivery in
the
Washington, DC area has been erratic due to concerns involving
anthrax
contamination. All applicants must take this into
consideration when
preparing to meet the application deadline.
Therefore, it is
recommended that you confirm receipt of your
application by contacting
Cassandra Willis, U.S. Department of Labor,
Procurement Services
Center, telephone (202) 693-4570, (this is not a
toll-free number),
prior to the closing deadline. Persons who are
deaf or hard of hearing
may contact the Department via the Federal
Relay Service, (800) 877-
8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Authority
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, Pub. L.
106-554, 114 Stat.
2763, A-10, 29 U.S.C. 557(b); DOL, HHS, Education
& Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2002, Pub L. 107-116, 115
Stat. 2177.
II. Background
The President's ``New Freedom
Initiative'' is designed to increase
the number of people with
disabilities who enter, re-enter, and remain
in the workforce. This
initiative is dedicated to increasing investment
in, and access to,
assistive technologies and expanding educational
opportunities in
order to increase the ability of individuals with
disabilities to
integrate into the workforce; and to promote increased
access into
the community.\1\
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\1\ For more information about the New Freedom Initiative, go to
the White House web page at www.whitehouse.gov/news/
freedominitiative.
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A key to increasing the employment of people with disabilities
is
to ensure that young people with disabilities are provided
resources
and assistance to move from school to work, as opposed to
becoming
dependent on welfare or other benefits programs. One way
of
accomplishing this is to increase the
[[Page 43170]]
participation of youth with disabilities in mainstream workforce
development activities under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(WIA).
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the national
high
school graduation rates (e.g. diplomas, GED, alternative
certificates)
for students with disabilities are below that of youth
without
disabilities. Nearly nine-tenths (88%) of students without
disabilities
graduate, compared to only 62% of youth with
disabilities.\2\ Moreover,
students with disabilities experience a
school drop out rate that is 3
times greater than that for youth
without disabilities--31% vs. 11%.
Youth with emotional disabilities
experience an even higher drop out
rate of 54%. It is estimated that
only one-third of young people with
disabilities who need job
training receive it. Young people with
disabilities also have
significantly lower rates of participation in
post-secondary
education. Finally, the Social Security Administration
has found that
many young people with disabilities who enter the
Supplementary
Security Income (SSI)/Social Security Disability
Insurance (SSDI)
rolls are likely to remain on the program rolls for
their entire
lives.
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\2\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center on Education
Statistics, The Condition of Education 2000 in Brief, Jeanne H.
Nathanson NCES 2001-045, Washington, DC; U.S. Government Printing
Office, 2001 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special
Education and Rehabilitation Services, Twenty-second Annual Report
to
Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with
Disabilities
Act, Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office,
2000.
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The federal/state vocational rehabilitation system is neither
large
enough to serve, nor solely responsible for serving, all youth
with
disabilities that depart the school system. According to the
U.S.
Department of Education, each year approximately 500,000 young
people
with disabilities leave our nation's schools. Vocational
rehabilitation
programs are able to serve less than 40,000 of these
young people with
disabilities. Many of the remaining 460,000 youth
with disabilities are
potentially eligible for youth programs
supported under WIA. One of the
most significant reforms under WIA
section 129(c) [29 U.S.C. 2854(c)],
is the consolidation of the
year-round youth program and the summer
youth program into a single
formula-based funding stream. Under WIA,
each local workforce
investment area must have a year-round youth
services strategy that
incorporates summer youth employment
opportunities as one of ten
required program elements (WIA section
129(c)(2), 20 CFR 644.410).
The ten program elements reflect successful
youth development
approaches and focus on the following four key
themes:
1.
Improving educational achievement (including such elements as
tutoring, study skills training, and instruction leading to secondary
school completion, drop-out prevention strategies, and alternative
secondary school offerings);
2. Preparing for and succeeding in employment
(including summer
employment opportunities, paid and unpaid work
experience, and
occupational skills training);
3. Supporting
youth (including supportive services needs, providing
adult
mentoring, follow-up services, and comprehensive guidance and
counseling); and
4. Offering services intended to develop the potential of
young
people as citizens and leaders (including leadership
development
opportunities.)
WIA provides a variety of work
preparation programs that can assist
youth with disabilities in
achieving their career ambitions. The
potential is great for these
programs to prepare eligible youth
participants with disabilities for
employment. These services need to
be made available to young people
with disabilities. Traditionally,
however, they are not recruited to
participate in these programs. WIA
youth service providers may not be
aware of the need to serve youth
with disabilities in their
communities and may lack the resources to
develop strong partnerships
and an equitable referral/assessment
system.
Moreover, vocational
rehabilitation agencies, special education
agencies, and other
agencies serving youth with disabilities may not be
aware of the
potential for coordinating resources with WIA-based
programs. They
may also be unaware of opportunities for creating
mechanisms for such
programs to cooperate and support young people with
disabilities.
Currently, WIA-assisted youth programs report that difficulties in
identifying the number of youth with non-visible disabilities who
already participate in WIA-assisted youth programs hinders the long-
term
success of these young people. Because the disabilities of many
youth
go unidentified in WIA-assisted youth programs, the rate of their
failure may be higher than for those whose disabilities are evident.
The
U.S. Department of Labor has determined that youth programs
must be
strengthened to better serve young people with disabilities.
ODEP's
vision incorporates providing technical assistance and support
designed to assist WIA-assisted youth programs to increase the
capacity
of those programs to serve people with disabilities.
In
order to accomplish this goal, a two-pronged approach will be
used.
This approach includes:
1. Awarding grants designed to demonstrate and
further develop the
capacity of WIA-assisted youth programs to serve
youth with
disabilities; and,
2. Maintaining a technical
assistance program to support capacity
building for various youth
programs.
In combination, these activities contribute to achieving the
goals
of the President's ``New Freedom Initiative''.
This SGA is
designed to further the first of these activities. The
supporting
national technical assistance program (the WIA Disability
Technical
Assistance Consortia for Adults and Youth) was established in
October
2001 to help with the implementation of these demonstration
grants.
III. Purpose
This SGA supports model demonstration
projects that develop,
implement, evaluate, and disseminate new or
improved approaches that
generate knowledge, and promote best
practices to WIA-assisted youth
programs. Its purpose is to increase
participation and improve results
in those programs for young people
with disabilities including those
with hidden disabilities such as
psychiatric disabilities, substance
addiction, mental retardation,
and learning disabilities.
For the purposes of this SGA, a youth with a
disability is defined
as a youth aged 14 to 21 years old who (1) has
a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more
of his or her major
life activities or; (2) has a record of such an
impairment; or; (3) is
regarded as having such an impairment.
The
purpose of these demonstration projects is to help WIA-assisted
youth
programs develop their capacity to serve youth with disabilities.
This capacity building will allow these programs to develop and
further
demonstrate strategies and techniques to increase the
participation of
youth with disabilities. These strategies and
techniques can, in turn,
serve as models for similar WIA-assisted
youth programs. These projects
will target youth both in- and
out-of-school. As a result of these
demonstrations, and associated
technical assistance efforts, ODEP
anticipates that all WIA-assisted
youth programs will learn from and
follow these examples. This should
result in a system-wide increase in
the successful participation of
youth with disabilities in all WIA-
assisted youth programs.
[[Page 43171]]
Included in the objectives of these model demonstration
projects is
a goal of building upon and enhancing the integrated
youth development
approach envisioned under WIA, by incorporating
knowledge of best
practices developed through 15 years of research
from the fields of
rehabilitation, special education, maternal and
child health, school-
to-work, and youth development as discussed in
Section IV of this SGA.
Projects are required to collaborate with the WIA
Disability
Technical Assistance Consortia for Adults and Youth
(described above in
the Background Section) designed to provide
assistance to other WIA-
assisted youth programs, in order to catalyze the
systems changes
outlined in the SGA.
IV. Statement of
Work
This SGA seeks proposals from organizations that will
implement
demonstration projects designed to develop their
WIA-assisted youth
program's capacity to increase its services to
youth with disabilities
including those with non-visible disabilities
such as psychiatric
disabilities, substance addiction, mental
retardation, and learning
disabilities. The ultimate goal is to allow
these programs to become
leaders in developing and further
demonstrating strategies and
techniques to increase both the
participation of and results for youth
with disabilities.
These
grants are designed to enable WIA-assisted youth programs to
support
those needed efforts to achieve improved service to youth with
disabilities in their existing programs. Grant funds may not be used
to
provide direct service payments for youth with disabilities;
existing
funding is to be used for this purpose. Rather, these funds
are
intended to be used in ways which create system change or
overall
program improvements to enable youth programs to more
successfully
serve youth with disabilities.
Under this grant,
grantees must serve at least 40 youth with
disabilities each year or,
if the program has fewer than 200
participants, at least 20% of them
must be participants with
disabilities.
Proposals must
demonstrate how the grantee would develop,
implement, evaluate, and
disseminate new or improved approaches to the
youth programs that
generate knowledge and promote best practices, to
increase
participation, and improve results in those programs for young
people
with disabilities. In addition, grantees must participate in
technical assistance efforts designed to disseminate to other
programs
their successful strategies and techniques for serving
greater numbers
of youth with disabilities including those with
non-visible
disabilities.
All grantees must operate demonstration
projects that integrate the
four key themes and ten program elements
of WIA-assisted youth
programs, listed at WIA section 129(c)(2) (20
CFR 644.410) discussed
above with one or more of the following best
practice features:
1. Demonstrations focused on promoting effective
structures,
policies, and practices to improve results for youth with
disabilities
in WIA-assisted programs, including those with
non-visible
disabilities, in areas such as admission, enrollment,
assessment, staff
development, interagency coordination, etc.;
2.
Demonstrations of effective service interventions and approaches
that
help young people with disabilities to overcome barriers to
positive
education and employment outcomes including such things as
illicit
drug use;
3. Demonstrations that focus on the link between academic
and
occupational skill standards; and on the integration of academic
and
applied learning in real work settings;
4. Demonstrations
that focus on supporting and accommodating young
people with
disabilities in integrated, inclusive work, and work-
preparation
environments at all times, especially if their educational
program
has been delivered even partially in a segregated setting;
5.
Demonstrations that focus on youth-centered planning and
development
(e.g., assessment, choice, rights and responsibilities,
life skills,
drop out prevention strategies, paid and unpaid work
experiences,
leadership development, adult mentoring);
6. Demonstrations that focus on
promoting physical and mental
health, substance abuse prevention, and
the link between health and
positive educational and employment
outcomes;
7. Demonstrations that focus on increasing the type of
involvement
by business, family, and community, that create effective
connections
to intermediaries with strong links to the job market and
to local and
regional employers;
8. Demonstrations which develop
and leverage linkages with other
state and local initiatives that
provide services and supports for
young people with significant
disabilities. Such initiatives may
include, but are not limited to,
systems change efforts promoting
enduring systems improvement and
comprehensive coordination; health
care; substance abuse prevention;
housing; transportation; education;
supported employment; small
business development; technology related
assistance; private
foundations; faith-based initiatives; and
9. Demonstrations that research
alternative methods of measuring
WIA performance outcomes that
consider the various characteristics of
people with disabilities,
including those with non-visible
disabilities.
Some examples of
resources for information about WIA-assisted youth
program components
and these best practice features can be located on
the following Web
sites:
1. Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Office of
Youth
Services Web site: www.doleta.gov/youth--services.
2.
National Transition Alliance for Youth with Disabilities:
www.dssc.org/.
3. The Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal
and Child
Health, ``Healthy and Ready to Work'' Web site:
www.mchbhrtw.org.
4. National Youth Employment Coalition, Program and
Effective
Practices Network (PEPNET) Web site: www.nyec.org.
5.
National Center on Secondary Education and Transition Web site:
www.ici.edu.
6. The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability Web
site:
www.ncwd-youth.info/ig.html.
In addition, a model
demonstration project must:
1. Provide a detailed management plan for
project goals,
objectives, and activities;
2. Describe how they
plan to comply with the employment
nondiscrimination and equal
opportunity requirements of the various
laws listed in the assurances
section, and how they plan to meet the
needs of individuals with
disabilities from diverse cultures and/or
racial and ethnic
groups;
3. Use rigorous quantitative or qualitative evaluation methods
and
data;
4. Evaluate the model by using multiple measures of
results to
determine the effectiveness of the model and its
components or
strategies for continuous program improvements;
5.
Produce detailed procedures and materials that would enable
others to
replicate the model;
6. Communicate with appropriate audiences through
means such as
technical assistance providers and disseminators,
publications,
conference presentations, and/or a web site. (If the
project maintains
a web site, it must include relevant information
and documents in an
accessible form); and
7. Collaborate with
appropriate Federal and state agencies and
[[Page 43172]]
programs, such as the Department of Health and Human Services
Maternal
and Child Health Bureau, Children with Special Health Care
Needs
Program, Health Care Financing Administration, Substance Abuse
and
Mental Health Services Administration, Administration on
Developmental
Disabilities, Social Security Administration, and the
Department of
Education Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitation Services.
Grantees must support the travel cost associated
with sending at
least one representative to the annual ODEP Grantees'
training
conference, to be held in Washington, DC.
The Department
will arrange for an independent evaluation of
outcomes, impacts, and
benefits of the demonstration projects. Grantees
must make records
available to evaluation personnel, as specified by
the evaluator(s)
under the direction of the Department.
V. Funding Availability
The period of performance will be 24 months from the date of
execution by the Government. Up to five (5) competitive grants will
be
awarded in the range of $350,000 to $500,000. It is expected that
the
funds used for this SGA will support the costs associated with
the
development, implementation, and evaluation of a model
demonstration
project for a youth program to significantly increase
the numbers of
young people with disabilities participating and
benefiting from
program activities. Projects can use the available
funds to conduct a
variety of activities to support these models,
such as outreach,
recruitment, staff training, strategic planning,
assessment,
curriculum/materials development, career development,
student-focused
planning, program alignment, partnership building,
reasonable
accommodations, etc. Youth programs are required to use
existing
funding to provide direct services to young people with
disabilities.
VI. Eligible Applicants
To be eligible,
applicants must be WIA grant recipients for a local
area, fiscal
agents for such grant recipients, Local Boards, and/or
competitively
selected eligible youth service providers. Each grantee
must involve
members of two specific groups in strategic planning and
implementation activities: youth with disabilities, and relevant
experts in the field of young people with disabilities (such as
disability organizations, researchers, policy makers, employers,
family
members and/or family organizations, independent living
centers, or
service providers.)
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.
See 2 U.S.C.
1611; 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4).
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
must be submitted by the applicant only. There are three
required
sections of the application. Requirements for each section are
provided in this application package.
Part I--Executive Summary
The Executive Summary must be no more than 2 single-spaced pages
in
length giving a clear summary of the project narrative.
Part II--Project Narrative--(Appendices: Letters of
Commitment/Support,
Resumes, etc.)
Applicants must include a
project narrative that addresses the
Statement of Work in Part IV of
this notice and the selection criteria
that are used by reviewers in
evaluating the application.
You must limit the project narrative to the
equivalent of no more
than fifty (50) pages using the following
standard. This page limit
does not apply to Part I, the Executive
Summary; Part III, the Project
Financial Plan (Budget); and, the
Appendices (the assurances and
certifications, resumes, a
bibliography or references, and the letters
of support). A page is
8.5" x 11" (on one side only) with one-inch
margins (top, bottom, and
sides). All text in the application
narrative, including titles,
headings, footnotes, quotations, and
captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs
must be double-spaced (no more
than three lines per vertical inch);
and, if using a proportional
computer font, use no smaller than a 12-
point font, and an average
character density no greater than 18
characters per inch (if using a
non-proportional font or a typewriter,
do not use more than 12
characters per inch.)
Applicants must also include in Part II of the
proposal a narrative
that addresses all of the Evaluation Criteria
(section VIII below) that
will be used by reviewers in evaluating
individual proposals.
Applicants shall collaborate with other research
institutes,
centers, and studies and evaluations that are supported
by DOL and
other relevant Federal agencies.
Part III Project
Financial Plan (Budget)
Applications must include a detailed financial
plan that identifies
by line item the budget plan designed to achieve
the goals of this
grant. The Financial Plan must contain the SF-424,
Application for
Federal Assistance, (Appendix A) and a 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 and be able to legally bind 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
must include appropriate information of the type
described below.
1. Significance of the Proposed Project (20 Points)
In determining the
significance of the proposed project, the
Department considers the
following factors:
a. The potential contribution of the proposed project to
increase
knowledge or understanding of problems, issues, or effective
strategies
for youth programs in serving young people with
disabilities;
b. The extent to which the proposed project is likely to
yield
findings that may be used by other appropriate agencies
and
organizations;
c. The extent to which the proposed project
involves the
development or demonstration of promising new strategies
that build on,
or are alternatives to, existing strategies;
d.
The likely utility of the products (such as information,
materials,
processes, or techniques) that will result from the proposed
project,
including the potential for the products' being used
effectively in a
variety of other settings;
e. The extent to which the promising practices
of the proposed
project are to be disseminated in ways that will
enable others to use
the information or strategies;
f. The
potential replicability (national significance) of the
proposed
project or
[[Page 43173]]
strategies, including, as
appropriate, the potential for implementation
in a variety of
settings; and,
g. The importance or magnitude of the results which are
likely to
be attained by the proposed project.
2. Quality of the
Project Design (20 Points)
In evaluating the quality of the proposed
project design, the
Department considers the following factors:
a. The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable;
b.
The extent to which the design of the proposed project is
appropriate
to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target
population
and other identified needs;
c. The extent to which the design of the
proposed project can
measure methods for recruiting and serving youth
with disabilities each
year;
d. The extent to which the proposal
demonstration incorporates the
four key themes identified in Part IV,
Statement of Work;
e. The extent to which the proposed project is designed
to build
capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the
period of this
grant;
f. The extent to which the design of the
proposed project reflects
a review of disability related literature,
up-to-date knowledge from
research and effective practice of
youth-centered planning and youth
development principles and
approaches, and the use of appropriate
methodological tools to ensure
successful achievement of project
objectives;
g. The extent to
which the proposed project will be coordinated
with similar or
related efforts, and with other appropriate community,
state, and
Federal resources;
h. The extent to which the applicant encourages
involvement of
young people with disabilities, relevant experts, and
organizations in
project activities; and,
i. The extent to which
performance feedback and continuous
improvement are integral to the
design of the proposed project.
3. Quality of Project Personnel (15
Points)
The Project Narrative must describe the proposed staffing of
the
project and must identify and summarize the qualifications of
the
personnel who will carry it out. The projects funded under this
notice
must make positive efforts to employ and advance in
employment
qualified individuals with disabilities in project
activities. In
addition, the Department considers the qualifications,
including
relevant education, training and experience of key project
personnel as
well as the qualifications, including relevant training
and experience
of project consultants or subcontractors. Resumes must
be included in
the Appendices.
4. Adequacy of Resources (10
Points)
In evaluating the adequacy of resources for the proposed
project,
the Department considers the following factors:
a. The
adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment,
supplies, and
other resources, from the applicant organization or the
lead
applicant organization;
b. The relevance and demonstrated commitment of
each partner in the
proposed project to the implementation and
success of the project;
c. The extent to which the budget is adequate to
support the
proposed project;
d. The extent to which the costs
are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential
significance of the proposed project;
and
e. The extent to which
the applicant proposes to leverage other
resources and funds, or to
use these funds to leverage other funds.
The applicant may include letters
of commitment from proposed
partners in the Appendix.
5. Quality
of the Management Plan (20 points)
In evaluating the quality of the
management plan for the proposed
project, the Department considers
the following factors:
a. The extent to which the management plan for
project
implementation achieves the objectives of the proposed
project on time
and within budget, including clearly defined staff
responsibilities,
and time allocated to project activities, time
lines, milestones for
accomplishing project tasks and project
deliverables;
b. The adequacy of mechanisms for ensuring high-quality
products
and services from the proposed project; and,
c. The
extent to which the time commitments of the project director
and/or
principal investigator and other key project personnel are
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed
project.
6. Quality of the Project Evaluation (15 points)
In evaluating
the quality of the project's evaluation design, the
Department
considers the following factors:
a. The extent to which the methods of
evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals,
objectives, context, and
outcomes of the proposed project;
b. The
extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for
examining the
effectiveness of project implementation strategies;
c. The extent to which
the methods of evaluation include the use of
objective performance
measures that are clearly related to the intended
outcomes of the
project and will produce quantitative and qualitative
data;
d.
The extent to which the evaluation will provide information to
other
youth programs about effective strategies suitable for
replication or
testing in other settings; and,
e. The extent to which the methods of
evaluation measure in both
quantitative and qualitative terms,
program results and satisfaction of
youth with disabilities.
B. Selection Criteria
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
transactions shall be
conducted, as practical, to provide open 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., to avoid competition.
Applications will be reviewed by a panel using the criteria
described
in this SGA. Applications will be ranked based on the score
assigned
by the panel after careful evaluation by each panel member.
The
ranking will be the primary basis to identify applicants as
potential
grantees. Although the Government reserves the right to award
on the
basis of the initial proposal submissions, the Government may
establish a competitive range, based upon the proposal evaluation,
for
the purpose of selecting qualified applicants. The panel's
conclusions
are advisory in nature and not binding on the Grant
Officer. The
Government reserves the right to ask for clarification
or hold
discussions, but is not obligated to do so. The Government
further
reserves the right to select applicants out of rank order if
such a
selection would, in its opinion, result in the most effective
and
appropriate combination considering factors such as:
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1. Findings of the grant technical evaluation panel
2. Geographic distribution of the competitive applications;
3. Assuring a
variety of program designs; and,
4. The availability of funds.
IX.
Reporting
Grantees must submit financial and participation reports
under this
program as prescribed by OMB Circulars A-102 and A-110 as
applicable.
See also 29 CFR parts 95 & 97. It is estimated that
the quarterly
program report will take five (5) hours to complete.
These include:
1. Financial Reports;
2. Quarterly and Final Program
Results and Reports on the
Satisfaction of Youth with
Disabilities;
3. Other Reporting (to Technical Assistance Service
Providers,
etc.), as prescribed by DOL.
X. Administrative
Provisions
A. Administrative Standards and Provisions
Grants
awarded under this SGA are subject to the following:
29 CFR Part
95--Uniform Administrative Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative
Agreements with Institutions of Higher
Education.
29 CFR Part
96--Federal Standards for Audit of Federally
Funded Grants,
Contracts, and Agreements
29 CFR Part 97--Uniform Administrative
Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local
Governments
The grant awarded under this SGA shall be subject to the
following:
B. Allowable Costs
Determinations of allowable
costs are 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
Profit will not be considered an allowable cost in
any case.
C. Grant Non-Discrimination Assurances
Each
applicant must include an assurance that, as a condition of
the
award, the applicant will comply fully with the nondiscrimination
and
equal opportunity provisions of the following laws:
29 CFR part
31--Nondiscrimination in Federally-assisted
programs of the
Department of Labor, effectuation of Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act
of 1964. (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)
29 CFR part
32--Nondiscrimination on the Basis of
Disability in Programs and
Activities Receiving or Benefiting from
Federal Assistance. (Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act)
29 CFR part 36--Nondiscrimination on the
Basis of Sex in
Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal
Financial
Assistance. (Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972)
29 CFR part 37 Implementation of the Nondiscrimination and
Equal Opportunity Provisions of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
(WIA)
The applicant must include the attached assurances and
certifications.
D. Limitation on Administrative and Indirect Costs
1. Direct Costs for administration, plus any indirect charges
claimed.
2. Indirect costs claimed by the applicant must be based on
a
federally approved rate. A copy of the negotiated, approved, and
signed
indirect cost negotiation agreement must be submitted with
the
application.
3. If the applicant does not presently have an
approved indirect
cost rate, a proposed rate with justification may
be submitted.
Successful applicants will be required to negotiate an
acceptable and
allowable rate with the appropriate DOL Regional
Office of Cost
Determination within 90 days of grant award.
4.
Rates traceable and trackable through the State Workforce
Agency's
Cost Accounting System represent an acceptable means of
allocating
costs to DOL and, therefore, can be approved for use in
grants to
State Workforce Agencies.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 18th day of
June, 2002.
Lawrence J. Kuss,
Grant Officer.
APPENDIX A.
Application for Federal Assistance, Form SF 424
APPENDIX B. Budget
Information Sheet, Form SF 424A
APPENDIX C. Assurances and Certifications
Signature Page
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[FR Doc. 02-16099 Filed
6-25-02; 8:45 am]
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