U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Family Assistance
Division of Tribal TANF Management
Washington, D.C. 20447

INDIAN TRIBES, ALASKA NATIVE ORGANIZATIONS, AND TRIBAL CONSORTIA ADMINISTERING THE NATIVE EMPLOYMENT WORKS (NEW) PROGRAM - NEW program grantees that DO NOT include their NEW programs in projects under Public Law 102-477

Program, financial, and audit reporting requirements for Native Employment Works (NEW) grantees

Sections 404(e) and 412(a)(2) of the Social Security Act, as amended; 45 CFR Part 287 (the NEW program regulations); 45 CFR Part 92 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State, Local, and Tribal Governments); NEW-ACF-PI-04-02; Single Audit Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-502, as amended); OMB Circular A-133 (Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations)

To provide guidance on submission of program, financial, and audit reports covering the NEW program, and to transmit NEW program report forms and instructions and financial status report forms and instructions.

Native Employment Works (NEW) grantees are required to submit annual program reports and annual financial status reports to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Submission of these reports is required by 45 CFR Part 287 (the NEW program regulations) and by 45 CFR Part 92 (HHS's Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State, Local, and Tribal Governments).

Each NEW funding period (program year) begins on July 1 and ends the following June 30. Each NEW program report covers a full July 1 - June 30 program year, and each NEW financial status report covers a full July 1 - June 30 program year.

NEW grantees also are subject to the audit requirements of the Single Audit Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-502) and OMB Circular A-133 (Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations).

Required program, financial, and audit reports provide important information on grantees' use of federal funds, on program performance and accountability.

This program instruction (PI) provides guidance to NEW program grantees on preparing and submitting required annual NEW program reports and required annual NEW financial status reports, and it includes copies of the program and financial report forms and instructions. This PI also provides guidance on audit requirements that apply to the NEW program.

This PI does not apply to grantees whose NEW programs are included in demonstration projects under Public Law 102-477. Those grantees submit similar annual program reports and financial reports to the Department of the Interior, which shares the reports with ACF. Those grantees also are subject to the Single Audit Act and OMB Circular A-133.

Program Reporting Requirements

Native Employment Works grantees must submit a NEW program report (narrative and statistical) annually, using the OMB-approved NEW program report form. Previous versions of the NEW program report form may no longer be used; their OMB approval has expired.

Each report covers a separate July 1 - June 30 funding period/program year. The program report for each program year covers activities, services, and benefits provided during that program year, using NEW funds awarded during that program year as well as NEW funds carried forward from previous program years (if any).

NEW program reports for each program year are due to HHS/ACF 90 days after the end of the program year covered by the report - by September 30 following the June 30 close of the covered program year.

NEW program reports consist of two parts.

Part 1 is a narrative report in which grantees summarize:

•  their achievements during the report period for each of the performance standards/measures/outcomes in their NEW plans;

•  their other noteworthy activities and achievements during the report period; and

•  significant barriers to NEW program implementation and coordination during the report period, reasons for slippage if the program's established outcomes were not achieved, actions taken to address these problems and barriers, and the level of success in resolving them.

Part 2 is a statistical report in which grantees report on:

•  the number of NEW clients they served during the report period;

•  the number of NEW clients with selected characteristics at intake/eligibility determination/enrollment;

•  the number of clients participating in NEW activities and receiving NEW services; and

•  the number of NEW clients with selected outcomes.

Grantees should submit one copy of each NEW program report to the appropriate ACF regional office, and one copy to the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Division of Tribal TANF Management (DTTM), in the ACF central office. NEW program reports may be mailed, faxed, and/or e-mailed to ACF. Upon request, we will e-mail the file for the program report to grantees, and provide fax numbers and e-mail addresses to which completed reports may be sent.

Information on ACF regional offices, including mailing addresses, is attached to this program instruction.

The mailing address for OFA/DTTM is:
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Family Assistance
Division of Tribal TANF Management, Attention: NEW Team
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW
Washington , DC 20447 .

Financial Reporting Requirements

Native Employment Works grantees must submit financial status reports annually, using the standard OMB-approved Financial Status Report form (SF 269A - short form). These financial reports provide information on the status of grantees' NEW funds, including outlays, unliquidated obligations, unobligated balances, and indirect expenses/costs.

Grantees must submit a separate financial report annually on the status of the funds awarded for each program year/funding period/fiscal year, until all of the funds awarded for that program year are obligated and expended/liquidated. Each report covers a separate July 1 - June 30 program year.

An initial financial status report is due to HHS/ACF 90 days after the end of the program year/funding period during which the funds were awarded to the grantee - by September 30 following the June 30 close of the program year during which the funds were awarded.

Grantees must continue to submit a separate, annual financial report on the status of the funds awarded for each program year until all of the funds awarded for that program year have been obligated and expended. These reports are due 90 days after the end of each succeeding program year until the funds are fully expended/liquidated - by September 30 following the June 30 end of each succeeding program year. The final financial report for each year's funding is due 90 days after the end of the program year in which these funds are fully expended/liquidated.

For example, grantees must submit an SF 269A to ACF covering NEW funds awarded to them during program year (PY) 2004-2005 ( July 1, 2004 - June 30, 2005 ) by September 30, 2005 . Grantees must continue reporting by each succeeding September 30, in a separate SF 269A covering only funds awarded for PY 2004-2005, until all of the funds awarded for PY 2004-2005 are expended/liquidated.

Carryover authority for unobligated NEW funds is effective for funds awarded on or after July 1, 1999 ; grantees may reserve and carry forward unobligated NEW fund balances for use in subsequent program/fiscal years, without fiscal year limitation, beginning with NEW funds awarded for the period July 1, 1999 - June 30, 2000 . Because grantees must continue to report on the status of funds awarded for each program year in a separate annual financial report, until all of the funds awarded for that program year are liquidated, grantees generally will be submitting two or more separate financial reports each year, with each report covering funds awarded for a different program year.

For good fiscal management, and to simplify accounting and reporting, grantees should not carry unobligated funds forward indefinitely and should follow "first in, first out" guidelines as appropriate. They should obligate funds and liquidate obligations in a timely manner. (The terms and conditions of NEW grant awards also include these financial reporting requirements. NEW-ACF-PI-04-02 contains more detailed information on NEW carryover authority.)

Grantees should submit one copy of each NEW financial status report to the appropriate ACF regional office, and one copy to the Office of Administration (OA), Office of Grants Management (OGM), Division of Mandatory Grants (DMG), in the ACF central office. NEW financial status reports may be mailed or faxed to ACF. Upon request, we will provide fax numbers to which completed reports may be sent. ACF regional offices and ACF/OA/OGM/DMG receive financial status reports for many different programs; to prevent confusion, grantees should be sure that their NEW financial status reports indicate that these reports are for the NEW program.

Information on ACF regional offices, including mailing addresses, is attached to this program instruction.

The mailing address for OA/OGM/DMG is:
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Administration, Office of Grants Management
Division of Mandatory Grants
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW
Washington , DC 20447 .

Audit Reporting Requirements

Native Employment Works grantees are subject to the Single Audit Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-502) and the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996 (Public Law 104-156). They also are subject to OMB Circular A-133 (Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations), which was issued pursuant to the Single Audit Act and sets forth standards for obtaining consistency and uniformity for the audit of states, local governments, and non-profit organizations expending federal funds. Currently, nonfederal entities that expend $500,000 or more in a year in federal awards must have a single or program-specific audit conducted for that year in accordance with OMB Circular A-133. (This annual threshold amount was increased from $300,000 to $500,000 for fiscal years ending after December 31, 2003 .) There is not a program-specific audit supplement/guide for the Native Employment Works program.

Auditors' reports should be submitted consistent with the Single Audit Act and OMB Circular A-133. Grantees' A-133 audit reports should be submitted to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC), which is operated on behalf of OMB by the Department of Commerce. Audit reports are reviewed and processed at the FAC before being sent to the appropriate federal agencies for resolution. HHS's National External Audit Review Center (NEAR) serves as liaison for audits that cover HHS programs, including ACF programs.

The mailing address of the Federal Audit Clearinghouse is:

National Clearinghouse for Single Audit Reports
Bureau of the Census
1201 East 10 th Street
Jeffersonville , Indiana 47132 .

The website for the National Clearinghouse for Single Audit Reports/Federal Audit Clearinghouse is http://harvester.census.gov/sac/ .