FR Doc E8-3143
[Federal Register: February 20, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 34)]
[Notices]
[Page 9304-9308]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20fe08-48]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.128G.
DATES: Applications Available: February 20, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 20, 2008.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 21, 2008.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Migrant and Seasonal
Farmworkers program is to provide grants for vocational rehabilitation
services to individuals with disabilities who are migrant and seasonal
farmworkers, as determined in accordance with rules prescribed by the
Secretary of Labor, and to the family members who are residing with
such individuals (whether or not such family members are individuals
with disabilities).
Priorities: This competition uses a competitive preference priority
and an invitational priority. In accordance with 34 CFR
75.105(b)(2)(ii), the competitive preference priority is from the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (34 CFR
75.225(c)(2)).
Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2008 and any subsequent
year in which we make awards based on the list of unfunded applicants
from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we will award five additional
points to an application that meets this priority.
This priority is:
Novice Applicant.
The applicant must be a novice applicant. Novice applicant means
any applicant for a grant from the Department that:
a. Has never received a grant or subgrant under the Migrant and
Seasonal Farmworkers program;
b. Has never been a member of a group application, submitted in
[[Page 9305]]
accordance with 34 CFR 75.127 through 75.129, that received a grant
under the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers program; and
c. Has not had an active discretionary grant from the Federal
Government in the five years before the deadline date for applications
under the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers program.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2008 and any subsequent year in which
we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this
competition, this priority is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR
75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets this invitational
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
This priority is:
The Secretary is especially interested in applications that propose
to engage faith-based and community organizations in the delivery of
services under the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers program.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 774.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99. (b) The regulations in 34 CFR part
369.
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: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $337,700.
Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of
applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2009 from the list of
unfunded applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $145,000-$195,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $168,850.
Estimated Number of Awards: 2.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: State designated agencies (interpreted to
mean designated State agencies as defined in section 7(8) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended); nonprofit agencies working in
collaboration with a State designated agency; and local agencies
working in collaboration with a State designated agency.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing of at least 10 percent of
the total cost of the project is required of grantees under the Migrant
and Seasonal Farmworkers Program. See 29 U.S.C. 774(a)(1).
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), call, toll free: 1-877-
576-7734.
You can contact ED Pubs at its Web site, also:
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application package from ED Pubs, be sure to
identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.128G.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the person or team
listed under Alternative Format in section VIII of this notice.
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: February 20, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 20, 2008.
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 in paper format 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 in section VII
in this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the
application process, the individual's application remains subject to
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 21, 2008.
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 in 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 Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
Program, CFDA Number 84.128G, 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 Migrant and
Seasonal Farmworkers Program at http://www.Grants.gov You must search
for the downloadable application package for this competition by the
CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your
search (e.g., search for 84.128, not 84.128G).
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.
[[Page 9306]]
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
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, toll free, 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
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in this notice 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.
[[Page 9307]]
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Sonja T. Turner, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5089, Potomac
Center Plaza (PCP), Washington, DC 20202-2740. FAX: (202) 245-7593.
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 84.128G), 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
84.128G), 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.
(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 84.128G), 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: The selection criteria for this competition are
from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
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 notify you informally, also.
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 in this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in 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 directed by the Secretary
under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent
performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements
on reporting, please go to
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
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. Program officials must develop performance
measures for all their grant programs to assess their performance and
effectiveness. The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) has
established the following performance measures for the Migrant and
Seasonal Farmworkers Program and will use these measures to assess the
effectiveness of the program:
Total number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities who receive vocational rehabilitation (VR) services from
the project each reporting period.
Total number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities in the project who also receive VR services from the
designated State unit (the State VR agency) each reporting period.
Total number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities in the project who achieved employment outcomes each
reporting period (an employment outcome refers to maintaining
employment for at least 90 consecutive days).
Total number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities served by the project who exited the project each
reporting period without achieving an employment outcome.
Total number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities served by the project who exited the project each
reporting period without achieving an employment outcome but who
transfer to another State.
Percentage of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities served by the project who achieved employment outcomes
each reporting period (number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities served by the project who achieved employment outcomes
each reporting period divided by the number of migrant and seasonal
farmworkers with disabilities who
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received services through the project that reporting period).
Total number of migrant and seasonal farmworkers with
disabilities served by the project who remain employed three months
after achieving an employment outcome.
Annual cost per participant who achieved an employment
outcome (annual cost refers to the annual Federal funds awarded to the
project divided by the actual number of migrant and seasonal
farmworkers in the project who achieved employment outcomes that
reporting period).
Each grantee must annually report on these measures in its annual
performance report. In addition, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
Program is part of the Administration's job training and employment
common measures initiative. The common measures for job training and
employment programs targeting adults are as follows: Entered employment
(percentage employed in the first quarter after program exit);
retention in employment (percentage of those employed in the first
quarter after exit that were still employed in the second and third
quarter after program exit); earnings increase (percentage change in
earnings pre-registration to post-program and first quarter after exit
to third quarter after exit); and efficiency (annual cost per
participant). The Department is currently working toward the
implementation of these common measures. Each grantee will be required
to collect and report data for the common measures when they are
approved for implementation.
We require reporting of annual performance measures at the time of
the continuation award processing to ensure that grantees separately
report information for individuals served exclusively by their project.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sonja T. Turner, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5089, PCP, Washington, DC
20202-2649. Telephone: (202) 245-7557 or e-mail: Sonja.Turner@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document and 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, PCP, Washington, DC
20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7363. If you use a TDD, call the FRS,
toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can 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: February 14, 2008.
Tracy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E8-3143 Filed 2-19-08; 8:45 am]
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