State and Tribal LIHEAP Application Requirements for FY 2007 and Deadline for All Applications of September 1, 2006
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LIHEAP ACTION TRANSMITTAL NO. LIHEAP-
AT-2006-7, DATED 6/30/06
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES
SUBJECT: State and Tribal LIHEAP Application Requirements
for FY 2007 and Deadline for All Applications of
September 1, 2006
RELATED Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
REFERENCES: (Title XXVI of Public Law 97-35, the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981), as amended;
LIHEAP Action Transmittal 2000-2, dated November
18, 1999, which transmitted the Final Rule
amending the Block Grant Regulations, as published
in the Federal Register on October 15, 1999 (64 FR
55843-55858); LIHEAP model plan, as transmitted to
grantees by LIHEAP Information Memorandum 2001-19,
dated 3/28/01; (OMB approval number 0970-0075).
PURPOSE: The purpose of this memorandum is to remind
grantees of the application requirements for the
funding period beginning October 1, 2006 for the
FY 2007 LIHEAP program, and also to remind all
grantees that their LIHEAP applications for the
FY 2007 funding period are due September 1, 2006.
CONTENT: The LIHEAP application requirements for the
FY 2007 funding period were described in
LIHEAP-IM-2006-7, dated April 21, 2006.
That Information Memorandum also included copies of
both the Detailed and Abbreviated model plans,
along with a chart showing which grantees must
submit Detailed applications this year.
Grantees must submit a "Detailed application"
every 3 years, or sooner if they are making major
changes to their LIHEAP programs. Since most
grantees do not substantially change their
programs in a typical two- to three-year period,
this frequency will assure that we have a full
description of basic plan elements. As part of
the Detailed application, a full description of
how grantees will carry out all of the assurances
specified in the statute and the other
program-specific information required in Section
2605(c) of the statute must be submitted.
One-third of current grantees must submit Detailed
applications for FY 2007 while the remaining two-
thirds will have the option of filing an
Abbreviated application for FY 2007. Grantees
that submit an Abbreviated application for FY 2007
will be required to submit a Detailed application
for FY 2008 or FY 2009. Attached is a schedule
specifying which grantees are required to file
Detailed applications in FY 2007 and FY 2008 (See
Attachment 2).
Tribes and Territories that were not grantees in
the fiscal year immediately prior to the fiscal
year for which application is being made must file
a Detailed application. Otherwise, filing an
Abbreviated application is optional; a grantee
that wishes to do so may file a Detailed
application in any year. In some cases, Tribes
and States are not on the same three-year cycle if
a Tribe applied with a Detailed plan during a year
in which the State submitted an Abbreviated plan.
We wish to remind grantees that they must submit
an application each fiscal year in order to
receive LIHEAP funds. Indian Tribes and tribal
organizations must submit their applications by
September 1, unless the State(s) in which the
Tribe or organization is located agrees to a later
submission date. A Final Rule published on
October 15, 1999 in the Federal Register (64 FR
55843) states in 45 CFR 96.10(c)(2) that
applications from States and Territories must also
be submitted by September 1 unless the Department
agrees to a later date.
States and Territories that will not be able to
meet the deadline for submitting FY 2007
applications should write to this office as soon
as possible at the address at the end of this
transmittal. The letter should state the
reason(s) that the deadline cannot be met and a
projected date for submission.
The final rule also establishes a deadline for the
submission of all information required to complete
the LIHEAP application by Tribes, States and
Territories. All information requested by this
office in order to make a grantee's application
complete must be submitted by December 15 of the
fiscal year for which funds are being requested,
unless the State(s) in which a Tribe is located
(in the case of tribal grantees) or the Department
(in the case of States and Territories) agrees to
a later date.
Early receipt and processing of your application
also will facilitate your ability to meet the
statutory requirement to obligate at least 90
percent of your funds in the fiscal year in which
they are appropriated.
The Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990
(Public Law 101-453, as amended by Public Law
102-589), is in effect. This statute, which
covers States and Territories but not Tribes,
imposes a requirement for timely transfers of
funds between Federal agencies and States. The
Department of the Treasury has issued a Final Rule
(57 FR 60676-60684, published December 21, 1992)
implementing the statute, which affects the LIHEAP
program. The receipt of your application several
weeks before you intend to draw funds from the
Payment Management System will allow us to comply
with the intent of this Act and its implementing
regulations.
All necessary information must be included in the
application before it can be accepted as complete
and we can issue a grant. When we have to ask for
additional information, it means that you may not
receive the grant award on the schedule you had
planned.
Another reason the approval process often takes
longer than necessary is the submission of
delegations of the governor's authority that do
not specify authority to sign the LIHEAP
assurances. LIHEAP regulations at 45 CFR 96.10(b)
require that the 16 assurances (15 for Tribes and
some Territories) in the LIHEAP statute must be
signed by the grantee's Chief Executive Officer or
"by an individual authorized to make such
certifications on behalf of the Chief Executive
Officer." A delegation of authority to administer
the LIHEAP program, or one that delegates
authority to sign assurances but does not specify
the LIHEAP program is not sufficient. The
delegation must specifically authorize the
delegatee to sign the LIHEAP assurances.
Please note that the signature requirements and
requirements for public participation in developing
the application (plus a public hearing requirement
for States) apply to Abbreviated as well as Detailed
applications. In providing the opportunity for
public participation, grantees that will file an
Abbreviated plan should also make the most recent
Detailed application available for public review.
Use of the model plan format continues to be optional.
To assist grantees that choose not to use the model
plan format, we have attached reminders of the
elements necessary for a complete application.
This model plan may be downloaded from the Forms
Section of the Federal LIHEAP website at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap.
Required Household Report
As part of their annual LIHEAP grant applications,
grantees are required to report data on households
that applied for and those that received LIHEAP
assistance during the previous fiscal year.
Therefore, your FY 2007 LIHEAP application must
include a report on FY 2006 applicant and
recipient households.
Section 2605 (c)(1)(G) requires grantees to
report the number and income levels of those
households applying for and those households
receiving assistance, and the number of assisted
households with at least one or more individuals
who are in either of 3 categories: (1) 60 years or
older, (2) disabled, and (3) under six-years old.
(Territories with block grant allocations of
$200,000 or less and tribal grantees are required
to submit a report only on the number of
households served under each LIHEAP component).
FY 2007 grant awards will not be made until the
report for FY 2006 is received. If final figures
are not yet available when you submit your
application, we will accept estimates. Updated
figures should be provided by December 15 as
described in LIHEAP-AT-2006-6, dated 6/22/06.
Carryover and Reallotment Report
The required report on the amount of funds
each grantee will carry over from FY 2006 to
FY 2007 — or will have available for reallotment
— is due August 1, 2006. Please remember that the
statute states that no grantee will receive its FY
2007 grant until it has submitted its carryover
and reallotment report for its FY 2006 funds.
(See LIHEAP-AT-2006-4, dated 6/15/06 for more
details.)
Leveraging Incentive Program
We remind LIHEAP grantees applying for
leveraging incentive funds that the regulations
at 45 CFR 96.87, which govern the leveraging
incentive program, require you to include in your
FY 2006 LIHEAP plan a description of any
leveraging activities that took place during FY
2006 that are integrated and coordinated with your
LIHEAP program, but that are not administered as a
part of LIHEAP. You must submit any necessary
amendments to your plan to provide those
descriptions to the Division of Energy Assistance
by the end of the FY 2006 fiscal year, September
30, 2006, in order to qualify for FY 2007
leveraging grant awards. Leveraging activities
that you expect to carry out during FY 2007 should
be described in your FY 2007 plan and application.
Please refer to LIHEAP-AT-2005-7, dated 9/21/05),
that describes the requirements to qualify for
leveraging incentive funds for these resources.
Additional Certifications
Please remember that all States, whether or
not they use the model plan, must file the
lobbying certification and, if applicable, Form
LLL, which discloses lobbying payments. Tribes
and tribal organizations are not required to file
the lobbying certification. The debarment and
suspension certification must be filed by all
grantees, as must the drug-free workplace
certification, unless a State has submitted a
Statewide assurance to the Department of Health
and Human Services. Grantees that do not use the
model plan should remove these certification forms
from the back of the model plan and include them
with their applications. (See LIHEAP-IM-2006-7,
dated 4/21/06.)
Certification by the Chief Executive Officer
The Chief Executive Officer of the grantee must
"certify" to the assurances in section 2605(b) of
the statute (16 assurances for States, 15 for Tribes
and some Territories). This can be accomplished in
two different ways. The Chief Executive Officer
may sign either: (1) the assurances contained in
the law listed exactly as they appear in the amended
statute (copy incorporated in the model plan); or (2)
a "blanket assurance" which is a Statement that
certifies to the assurances in the law. An example
of an acceptable blanket assurance is:
I certify that the (Name of Grantee) will
comply with the 16 assurances contained in
Title XXVI, section 2605(b) of the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 as amended,
in the administration and operation of its
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
The Chief Executive Officer means, in most
Tribes, the tribal chairperson or President
of the Tribal Council. For States, the Chief
Executive Officer is the Governor. The assurances
may not be signed by any other person, such as the
LIHEAP Coordinator, the Business Manager, or the
Director of Social Services. There is only one
exception to this policy. The Chief Executive
Officer may, in writing, specifically authorize
another person to sign on his or her behalf. Such
an authorization will be accepted only if it
states that the designated person is authorized to
sign the LIHEAP assurances. Authorization simply
to administer the LIHEAP program is not
acceptable. The authorization must mention the
LIHEAP program by name.
Tribe-State Agreements
Under the LIHEAP statute and implementing
regulations, we determine grant amounts to be
awarded to Tribes and tribal organizations based
on the number of eligible households in the Tribe
compared to the number of eligible households for
the State, unless the Tribe and the State agree to
a larger amount. We encourage Tribes and States to
develop an agreement on funding levels.
As in previous years, grants will be issued to tribal
grantees based on eligible household numbers unless
an agreement between the State and tribal grantee has
been made. Therefore, if a State and Tribe are planning
to negotiate an agreement, it is important to start
that process now.
Inter-Tribal or Consortium Agreements
If a tribal organization or consortium is applying
on behalf of several Tribes, the application must
list all Tribes to be served. Any Tribes added to the
list after the September 1 application due date must
receive the State's approval before HHS can issue
funds to the organization or consortium on behalf of
the additional Tribes.
A consortium must also have a resolution for each
Tribe, for which it is applying, authorizing the
consortium to apply for and administer LIHEAP funds
on the Tribe's behalf. The authorization must be in
the form of a resolution duly passed by the tribal
council. A letter signed by a program administrator
or by a tribal chairperson will not suffice.
Note: Postal Delays
Due to current situations affecting the receipt of
mail in the Washington, DC metropolitan area,
Federal government agencies are unable to accept
mail through the U.S. Postal service that has not
been processed through special equipment. Regular
deliveries have resumed, but delays continue due
to an irradiation process. Therefore, to ensure
the timely receipt of your application for LIHEAP,
we recommend that you use a commercial courier
service that can guarantee that the application is
postmarked on or before September 1, 2006. You
may fax Abbreviated Model Plans only to (202) 401-
5661.
Application Submission
Applications should be delivered to:
Nick St. Angelo, Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services/ACF/HHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
ATTACHMENTS: (1) LIHEAP Funding Application Reminders (Word/34 KB)
(2) Schedule for Detailed LIHEAP Plans (Word/37 KB)
INQUIRIES TO: Trudy Hairston, Program Specialist
Division of Energy Assistance
Telephone: (202) 401-4853
Fax: (202) 401-5661
E-mail: thairston@acf.hhs.gov
________________/s_______________
Josephine B. Robinson
Director
Office of Community Services