Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview Information; Rehabilitation Short-Term Training Program--National Rehabilitation Leadership Institute; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, CFDA Number 84.246D [OSERS]

FR Doc E7-4437
[Federal Register: March 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 47)]
[Notices]
[Page 10996-10999]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr07-49]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; Rehabilitation Short-Term Training Program--National
Rehabilitation Leadership Institute; Notice Inviting Applications for
New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.246D.
Dates: Applications Available: March 12, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2007.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 11, 2007.
Eligible Applicants: States and public and nonprofit agencies and
organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher
education.
Estimated Available Funds: $250,000.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $250,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal
Register.
Estimated Range of Awards: $225,000-$250,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The Short-Term Training program supports
special seminars, institutes, workshops, and other short-term courses
in technical matters relating to the vocational, medical, social, and
psychological rehabilitation programs, independent living services
programs, and client assistance programs.
Priority: This priority is from the notice of final priority for
this program, published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2001 (66
FR 56422). This priority is designed to improve the leadership among
top-level managers and administrators of the State Vocational
Rehabilitation Services Program. This priority supports a National
Rehabilitation Leadership Institute that will address the leadership
needs in all VR agencies funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
as amended (Act), and programs funded under section 121 of the Act.
Absolute Priority: For FY 2007, this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
This priority is:

National Rehabilitation Leadership Institute

We will fund one project to establish a National Rehabilitation
Leadership Institute that will focus on developing the leadership
skills of top-level managers and administrators in State VR agencies.
The project must have plans for addressing the leadership needs in all
VR agencies funded under the Act and programs funded under section 121
of the Act.
The project must employ a curriculum that focuses on the
development of leadership skills and on the application of those skills
to current challenges and issues in the VR program. The project must be
capable of structuring leadership curricula around current VR issues of
national significance, such as using VR evaluation standards and
performance indicators to assess and improve agency performance,
coordinating effectively with generic employment and training programs,
and increasing client choice. The advisory committee (described later
in this notice) and the Assistant Secretary will determine actual
issues.
The project must employ a curriculum that includes several levels
of training to meet the needs of audiences ranging from new State
administrators and directors to seasoned administrators and directors.
The project's curriculum must include sequential courses that allow for
repeated practice of newly learned skills over time, with performance
feedback. The project must provide training in a peer setting.
The project must coordinate its training activities with activities
conducted under the State Vocational Rehabilitation Unit In-Service
Training program, the Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program, and
the National Technical Assistance Centers funded by the Rehabilitation
Services Administration (RSA). These programs are also charged with
improving the leadership skills of State agency personnel. Therefore,
collaboration and coordination are necessary.
The project must establish an advisory committee that includes RSA
central and regional office representatives, representatives of State
VR agency administrators and trainers, rehabilitation counselors, VR
clients, Regional Continuing Education Centers, other educators and
trainers of VR personnel, tribes and tribal agencies, and others as
determined to be appropriate by the grantee and RSA. This committee
must provide substantial input on and direction to the training
curriculum, including the specific VR issues to be incorporated.
The project must include an evaluation component based upon clear,
specific performance and outcome measures. The results must be reported
in its annual progress report.
The project must be designed to ensure that State agencies will
contribute to the costs of the participant's training.

Note: Examples of current challenges and issues in the VR
program include the new approach to monitoring, and how State agency
leaders should plan to use the system and the information it yields
for program improvement.

Note: There are no longer RSA regional offices. References to
regional offices in the program priority should be interpreted to
apply to the RSA central office.

Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 709(a)(2) and 772.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, and 86. (b) The regulations in 34 CFR parts 385 and
390. (c) The notice of final priority for this program published in the
Federal Register on November 7, 2001 (66 FR 56422).

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Cooperative agreement.
Estimated Available Funds: $250,000.

[[Page 10997]]

Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $250,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal
Register.
Estimated Range of Awards: $225,000-$250,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 1.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: States and public and nonprofit agencies
and organizations, including Indian tribes and institutions of higher
education.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: The Secretary has determined that a
grantee must provide a match of at least 10 percent of the total cost
of the project (34 CFR 390.40).

Note: Under 34 CFR 75.562(c), an indirect cost reimbursement on
a training grant is limited to the recipient's actual indirect
costs, as determined by its negotiated indirect cost rate agreement,
or eight percent of a modified total direct cost base, whichever
amount is less. Indirect costs in excess of the eight percent limit
may not be charged directly, used to satisfy matching or cost-
sharing requirements, or charged to another Federal award.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address To Request Application Package: Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll
free): 1-877-433-7827. Fax: (301) 470-1244. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free):
1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site:http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.

If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.246D.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 5075, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone:
(202) 245-7363. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 12, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2007.
Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically, or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 11, 2007.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about
Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order
12372 is in the application package for this competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the
instructions in this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Rehabilitation Short-Term
Training--National Rehabilitation Leadership Institute, CFDA Number
84.246D must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide
Grants.gov Apply site at http://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you

will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it
offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-
mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant application for the
Rehabilitation Short-Term Training Program--National Rehabilitation
Leadership Institute at http://www.Grants.gov. You must search for the

downloadable application package for this program by the CFDA number.
Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g.,
search for 84.246, not 84.246D).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures

[[Page 10998]]

pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
.

To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
). These steps include (1)

Registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf
). You also must provide on your

application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
You must attach any narrative sections of your application
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file,
we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed
elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Christine Marschall,
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5053,
Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2800. Fax: (202) 245-6824.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier), your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.246D), 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.246D), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.

Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

[[Page 10999]]

(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service.
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.

c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application, by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.246D), 550 12th Street, SW., room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--

(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are
submitting your application; and
(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not
receive this notification within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

Selection Criteria: In reviewing applications under this
competition, the Secretary will use selection criteria selected from 34
CFR 75.210 of EDGAR. These are listed in the application package for
this competition. The Secretary also will use the selection criterion
in 34 CFR 390.30 to evaluate applications under this competition.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: The Government Performance and Results Act
of 1993 (GPRA) directs Federal departments and agencies to improve the
effectiveness of their programs by engaging in strategic planning,
setting outcome-related goals for programs, and measuring program
results against those goals. The absolute priority for this competition
requires the applicant to include in its application an evaluation
component based upon clear, specific performance and outcome measures.
The results of its evaluation must be reported in its required annual
progress report. The cooperative agreement for this project will
further describe the reporting requirements. In addition, the annual
report must include information on the percentage of training
participants who report an increase in their knowledge, skills, and
abilities and the percentage of training participants who report the
training is relevant to their employment. The data on these measures
will be collected by the grantee via survey, assessed, and reported in
the aggregate to RSA. The grantee will negotiate targets with RSA after
the first year, which will be used to establish a baseline.

VII. Agency Contact

For Further Information Contact: Christine Marschall, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5053, Potomac
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2800. Telephone: (202) 245-7429 or
by e-mail: Christine.Marschall@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.

VIII. Other Information

Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.

Dated: March 7, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E7-4437 Filed 3-9-07; 8:45 am]

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