Attachment A: Guidance for Submitting Plan Amendments Required to Apply for FY 2001 CCDF Funds

These instructions only apply to Tribal Lead Agencies that received FY 2000 CCDF funds. Tribes that did not receive FY 2000 funds must submit an entire CCDF Plan.

To receive FY 2001 CCDF funds, a Tribal Lead Agency that received FY 2000 funds must submit Plan amendments to items 1.1, 1.8, and 1.9 (including Appendix 3) of its approved biennial CCDF Plan. Plan preprint pages containing these items are in Attachment B. On these pages, Tribal Lead Agencies must:

The Tribal Lead Agency must also submit a photocopy of the Amendments Log page (contained in the Lead Agency's approved CCDF Plan) completed in accordance with the instructions contained on the Log page.

In addition to submitting amendments to the items specified above, the Tribal Lead Agency may use this opportunity to submit any other necessary Plan amendments to reflect substantive CCDF program changes in accordance with 45 CFR 98.16(b) and the instructions on the Amendments Log page. These additional Plan amendments may be submitted at any time.

On the first page of the Plan preprint (labeled "Part I - Administration"), the applicant should enter the name of the Tribe on the line designated "Plan For" (at the top of the page) and should enter the name of the Tribal Lead Agency on the line labeled "Name of Lead Agency." Please update, as necessary, any contact information (i.e., address, name and title of administrator, phone, fax, e-mail).

Tribal grantees must name a Lead Agency to administer the CCDF. If a tribal grantee applies for both Tribal Mandatory Funds and Discretionary funds, the programs must be integrated and administered by the same Lead Agency.

Tribal Consortia. If a Tribe participating in a consortium arrangement elects to receive only part of the CCDF (e.g., Discretionary Funds), it may not join a different consortium to receive the other part of the CCDF (Tribal Mandatory Funds), or apply as a direct grantee to receive the other part of the fund. Individual tribal consortium members must remain with the consortium they have selected for the fiscal year in which they are receiving any part of CCDF funds. (However, an Alaska Native village that must receive Tribal Mandatory Funds indirectly through an Alaska Native Regional Nonprofit Corporation may still apply directly for Discretionary Funds).

In item 1.1 the Lead Agency requests CCDF funds to be awarded in FY 2001 (on October 1, 2000). This amount includes funds that will be available for CCDF child care services and related activities from the Federal CCDF, i.e., the Discretionary Fund and Tribal Mandatory Fund (including the base amount and any CCDF funds used for administration, quality and construction and renovation activities). This estimate should not include any funds awarded in previous fiscal years.

Important: Estimated allotments are provided for planning purposes and may increase or decrease when updated data become available before the final grant awards are issued.

A tribal consortium must provide a list of its participating Tribes as an attachment to item 1.8. Alternatively, if the consortium's membership has not changed since the list provided in the current approved CCDF Plan, the Lead Agency may simply write "No Change" next to item 1.8.

In addition, a tribal consortium must include as an attachment to item 1.8 demonstrations from any new members that were not provided in the preceding fiscal year as part of an approved CCDF Plan. The consortium need not provide a demonstration for any Tribe where a demonstration was provided in the preceding year as part of the CCDF Plan. (In a year in which a tribal consortium's biennial CCDF Plan is due, however, the consortium must provide a demonstration for every member.)

It is the responsibility of a tribal consortium to notify ACF, in writing, of any changes in its consortium membership for purposes of CCDF funding during the approved Plan period. For Alaska Native Regional Nonprofit Corporations, the list and demonstrations are required for Discretionary Funds only.

For funds that become available on October 1, 2000, ACF will calculate grant awards based on the number of children under age 13. The Tribal Lead Agency uses item 1.9 and Appendix 3 of the Plan preprint to submit a declaration which certifies the number of Indian children (as defined in Appendix 2, #2 in the Tribal Lead Agency's approved CCDF Plan), under age 13, who reside on or near the reservation or other tribal service area (as defined in Appendix 2, #3 in the Tribal Lead Agency's approved CCDF Plan).

The Tribal Lead Agency should use the "Child Count Declaration" format at Appendix 3 of the Plan preprint. This declaration must be signed by the governing body of the Tribe or an individual authorized to act for the applicant Tribe or organization.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: The Tribal Lead Agency may not count any children who are included in the child count of another CCDF Tribal Lead Agency. To ensure unduplicated child counts, a Tribal Lead Agency is required to confer with all other Tribal Lead Agencies that have overlapping or neighboring service areas. See Attachment C for a list of FY 2000 Tribal Lead Agencies.

Tribal Lead Agencies are reminded that CCDF funds are allocated based on child counts of children from Federally recognized Indian Tribes, consistent with the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act's definition of Indian Tribe.

Tribal Lead Agencies are also advised that ACF will not accept declarations based on child counts that were conducted prior to July 1 of the previous year. For FY 2001 funding, the child count of children under age 13 must be completed no later than June 30, 2000 and no earlier than July 1, 1999.

If a Tribal Lead Agency chooses not to provide a self-certified child count, ACF will calculate the Tribe's grant award for funds that become available in FY 2001 using the same number of children used to determine the FY 2000 grant award. New Tribal Lead Agencies (that did not receive funds in FY 2000) must provide a self-certified child count. All Tribes will be required to provide a self-certified child count for funding that becomes available in FY 2002.

Special Note for Tribal Consortia: A tribal consortium must submit (as an attachment using the format in Appendix 3 of the Plan preprint) individual self-certified child count declarations signed by the governing body of the Tribe, or an individual authorized to act for the Tribe, for each of its members participating in the consortium. A tribal consortium should also attach a summary page that lists each member's name and child count and lists the total child count for all members.

Because of the statutory "Special Rule for Indian Tribes in Alaska" under Tribal Mandatory Funding, some Alaska Native Regional Nonprofit Corporations will have to provide a separate child count certification for Discretionary Funding purposes. This count will consist of its self-certified Tribal Mandatory Funding count, minus the child count number for any Alaska Tribal grantee in its Region which applies directly to ACF for Discretionary Funding. In instances where a Regional Corporation has separate child counts for Discretionary and Tribal Mandatory Funds, both counts should be reported on the declaration, which can be included as an attachment.