Submission of leveraging reports on FY 2008 leveraging activities, in order to qualify for FY 2009 leveraging incentive fund grant awards, and amendment of FY 2008 LIHEAP plans as necessary to add information on leveraging carried out in FY 2008
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LIHEAP ACTION TRANSMITTAL NO. LIHEAP-
AT-2008-8, DATED 7/28/08
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT: Submission of leveraging reports on FY 2008
leveraging activities, in order to qualify for FY
2009 leveraging incentive fund grant awards, and
amendment of FY 2008 LIHEAP plans as necessary to
add information on leveraging carried out in FY
2008.
RELATED Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, title XXVI
REFERENCIES: of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981,
Public Law 97-35, as amended; Final rule published
in the Federal Register on May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21322
et seq.) 45 CFR 96.87 in the Department of Health
and Human Services block grant regulations.
DUE DATES: (1) September 30, 2008, for amendments to FY 2008
LIHEAP plans to add information on leveraging
activities carried out during FY 2008; and
(2) December 1, 2008, for applications for FY 2009
leveraging incentive fund grant awards based on FY
2008 leveraging activities.
PURPOSE: (1) To remind LIHEAP grantees that they must submit
LIHEAP plan amendments adding and/or revising
descriptions of certain leveraging activities that
took place in fiscal year (FY) 2008 to the Office
of Community Services (OCS) by September 30, 2008,
in order to have them qualify for FY 2009
leveraging incentive funds.
(2) To remind LIHEAP grantees that they must
submit reports covering leveraging activities that
took place in FY 2008 to OCS by December 1, 2008,
in order to qualify for FY 2009 leveraging
incentive fund awards. The usual deadline of
November 30 has been extended because November 30,
2008 falls on a weekend. The required Leveraging
Report forms and the instructions for their
completion are attached.
BACKGROUND: The LIHEAP leveraging incentive program rewards
LIHEAP state, tribal, and territorial grantees that
have acquired nonfederal home energy resources for
low-income households, expanding the effect of
their federal LIHEAP funding.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
issued final implementing regulations for the
LIHEAP leveraging incentive program on May 1, 1995
(60 FR 21322 et seq.). These leveraging
regulations are included in the HHS block grant
regulations at 45 CFR 96.87. They are based
closely on the leveraging requirements in section
2607A of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Act.
Under the leveraging incentive program, leveraging
incentive awards in a fiscal year (the award
period) are based on countable leveraged
resources/ benefits that were provided to low
income households during the previous fiscal year
(the base period). For example, FY 2009
leveraging incentive awards will be allocated to
grantees based on countable leveraged resources
that were provided to low income households in FY
2008.
Grantees desiring leveraging incentive funds must
submit an application-the LIHEAP Leveraging
Report-that describes and quantifies the
leveraging activities they carried out during the
base period. HHS then determines whether the
reported activities meet the requirements of the
LIHEAP statute and regulations, and therefore are
countable under the program. Leveraging incentive
funds are allocated using a formula that takes
into account the value of each applicant's
countable leveraged resources compared to its
regular LIHEAP allotment and to the total amount
leveraged by all applicants.
CONTENT: Applications for FY 2009 Leveraging Incentive Awards
Grantees that wish to apply for LIHEAP leveraging
incentive funds to be awarded in FY 2009 must
submit a LIHEAP Leveraging Report on their FY 2008
leveraging activities to OCS by December 1, 2008.
The reports must be postmarked or hand-delivered
to OCS by this date, or they will not be accepted.
The reports should cover only countable leveraged
resources/benefits that were provided to low
income households in FY 2008. FY 2008 leveraging
activities must be carried out under 45 CFR 96.87,
consistent with the final rule published May 1,
1995.
The amount of LIHEAP funds that will be available
for leveraging awards in FY 2009 is uncertain.
The amount that will be available will be
indicated in the FY 2009 LIHEAP appropriation. We
may set aside funds for the Residential Energy
Assistance Challenge Program (REACH) out of the
funds earmarked for leveraging.
Leveraging Report Forms
The LIHEAP Leveraging Report consists of two
parts. Part 1, the Resource/Benefit Description
Pages, is a two-page form that is to be completed
for each separate leveraged resource that a
grantee proposes to count for this base period.
It requests information that will enable HHS to
determine whether each resource meets the
requirements of the LIHEAP statute and the May
1995 final rule and is therefore countable. Part
2 of the Leveraging Report, the Summary Page, is
to show the grand totals for all of the grantee's
proposed leveraged resources; it also is to
include a certifying signature by the grantee's
Chief Executive Officer or designee. (If a
designee signs, the grantee should be sure that
OCS has a copy of the delegation of authority.)
Grantees may use their own versions of Part 1 if
they use the same format and wording as the pre-
printed form. They must use HHS's version of Part
2. The forms are available on our LIHEAP web site
at "Grantees, Forms, Funding Applications" located
at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/grantees
/forms.html#funding_applications
Grantees also may wish to use the Sample
Leveraging Summary Worksheet, to record the
financial information from item 1 of the
Resource/Benefit Description Pages for each
resource and to calculate the grand totals to be
entered on the Summary Page. Completing this
worksheet would help ensure that no amounts are
omitted or double-counted and that the
calculations are correct.
Applicants for leveraging incentive funds should
carefully read and follow the Instructions for
Completing LIHEAP Leveraging Report Forms. They
also should consult section 96.87 of the May 1995
final rule (45 CFR 96.87 in the HHS block grant
regulations) and the part of the final rule's
preamble that deals with the leveraging incentive
program.
Grantees should ensure that their Leveraging
Reports are complete and accurate before they
submit them, in order to speed up the review and
award process for everyone. Grantees should be
sure that all submitted resources/benefits meet
the requirements of the LIHEAP statute and
regulations and were provided to low income
households between October 1, 2007 and September
30, 2008. Grantees should re-check their
mathematical calculations, and enter the numbers
in items 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E of the Resource/
Benefit Description Pages, and the numbers on the
Summary Page, as whole numbers rounded to the
nearest whole dollar, or rounded to the nearest
multiple of 10 or 100.
In some of the Leveraging Reports for prior fiscal
years, states' local administering agencies
completed the Resource/Benefit Description Pages
for activities taking place in their areas. The
quality of the reporting varied significantly
among the local agencies. If a state uses this
process, it should review the forms before
submitting them to OCS and ensure that all items
are complete and accurate, that the activities
took place during the proper base period and meet
the requirements of the statute and regulations,
and that the state (not the local agency) is shown
as the LIHEAP grantee. The resources should be
numbered sequentially for the state as a whole,
rather than starting over with #1 for each local
agency.
Leveraging Requirements
In order to count under the leveraging incentive
program, a resource/ benefit must meet all of the
requirements of 45 CFR 96.87(d)(1) and at least
one of the three criteria/requirements of 45 CFR
96.87(d)(2), consistent with the May 1995 final
rule.
To meet criterion (i) of section 96.87(d)(2), the
grantee's LIHEAP program, at the central and/or
local agency level, must have a substantive role
in developing and/or acquiring theresource/
benefits from energy vendor(s) through negotiation,
regulation, and/or competitive bid. Only resources
obtained from energy vendors (for example, utility
companies and delivered fuel vendors) may be
counted under criterion (i). Resources counted
under criterion (i) do not need to be described/
covered in grantees' LIHEAP plans.
To meet criterion (ii) of section 96.87(d)(2), the
grantee must appropriate or mandate the
resources/benefits for distribution to low income
households through (within or as a part of) its
LIHEAP program, in accordance with the LIHEAP
statute and regulations and the grantee's LIHEAP
plan and program policies that were in effect
during this base period. The benefit from the
resource is a part of a household's LIHEAP
benefit, not an additional benefit that is not
part of the LIHEAP program. The plan must include
the type of assistance/benefits that are provided
by the resource, although the leveraged
resources/benefits do not necessarily have to be
mentioned by name in the plan. Under this
criterion, for example, a grantee could not count
assistance with cooling costs or purchase of fans
if the plan did not include these activities for
the regular LIHEAP program. (Leveraged benefits
that supplement LIHEAP benefits that were
inadequate, but that are distributed outside the
LIHEAP program, would not count under criterion
(ii). Grantees should look to criterion (iii) for
such resources.)
To meet criterion (iii) of section 96.87(d)(2),
the grantee must appropriate or mandate the
resource/benefits for distribution to low income
households as described in its LIHEAP plan, as a
supplement and/or alternative to its LIHEAP
program, integrated and coordinated with its
LIHEAP program, but outside (not through, within,
or as a part of) its LIHEAP program. Under this
criterion, the resource must meet at least 1 of 8
listed conditions (conditions (A) - (H)) to
demonstrate that it is integrated and coordinated
with the grantee's LIHEAP program. (A single
leveraged resource/benefit cannot be counted under
both criterion (ii) and criterion (iii), because a
single resource/benefit cannot be provided both
through (criterion (ii)) and outside (criterion
(iii)) the grantee's LIHEAP program.) For
resources/benefits to be countable under criterion
(iii), the grantee's FY 2008 LIHEAP plan must
identify and describe the resources/benefits,
their sources(s), and their integration/
coordination with the LIHEAP program.
Submission of Leveraging Reports
Grantees that wish to apply for FY 2009 leveraging
incentive fund awards must submit Leveraging
Reports on their FY 2008 leveraging activities by
December 1, 2008. These Leveraging Reports must
be postmarked or hand-delivered to OCS by this
date.
Grantees should submit the original of the
completed LIHEAP Leveraging Report to OCS. We do
not need additional copies. Grantees should be
sure to keep copies for their own files. The
completed forms should be sent 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
HHS may require additional documentation and/or
clarification if it determines necessary to verify
information in a grantee's Leveraging Report, to
determine whether a leveraged resource is
countable, and/or to determine the net valuation
of a resource. If this is the case, an OCS staff
member will contact the grantee during the review
of the leveraging reports to request the necessary
information.
Amendments to FY 2008 Plans
Grantees must submit any FY 2008 LIHEAP plan
amendments adding or revising descriptions of FY
2008 leveraging activities by September 30, 2008.
These amendments must be postmarked or hand-
delivered to OCS by this date.
For leveraged resources/benefits that are provided
to low income households as part of the grantee's
LIHEAP program and that are to be counted under
criterion (ii) of 45 CFR 96.87(d)(2): the
grantee's LIHEAP plan must include the type of
assistance/benefits that are provided by the
resource.
For leveraged resources/benefits that are provided
to low income households as a supplement and/or
alternative to the grantee's LIHEAP program,
outside the LIHEAP program but integrated and
coordinated with it, and that are to be counted
under criterion (iii) of 45 CFR 96.87(d)(2): the
grantee's LIHEAP plan must identify and describe
each resource, its source, and how it is
integrated and coordinated with the grantee's
LIHEAP program. Grantees should be sure that each
resource meets the integration/coordination
requirements of at least one of conditions (A) -
(H) in section 96.87(d)(2)(iii).
INQUIRIES TO: Nick St. Angelo, Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Telephone: (202) 401-5306
Fax: (202) 401-5661
E-mail: nick.stangelo@acf.hhs.gov
(See address above.)
ATTACHMENTS: LIHEAP Leveraging Report Form, Parts 1 and 2 and
Sample Leveraging Summary Worksheet (Form No. ACF-
119, OMB Clearance No. 0970-0121, expiration date
12/31/2009); and
Instructions for Completing LIHEAP Leveraging
Report Forms.
______________/s______________
Nick St. Angelo
Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services
