[Federal Register: July 30, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 146)]
[Notices] [Page 39337-39350] From the Federal Register Online via
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30jy01-71]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Innovative Demonstration Grants for
Youth With Disabilities AGENCY: Office of Disability Employment
Policy, Labor. [[Page 39338]] ACTION: Notice of
availability of funds and solicitation for grant applications (SGA
01-07).
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL or Department), Office
of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) announces the availability of
$3.5 million to award competitive grants to fund model
demonstration programs designed to enhance the capacity of youth
programs to serve youth with disabilities. Up to nine competitive
grants will be awarded in the range of $350,000 to $500,000. These
awards are for a two-year period of performance. All youth service
applicants, other than 501(c)(4) entities, will be eligible. Each
grant must involve members of two specific groups in strategic
planning and implementation activities: youth with disabilities and
relevant experts in the field of young people with disabilities (such
as disability organizations, researchers, policy makers, employers,
family members and/or family organizations, independent living
centers, or service providers). Each grant must also include a
management and evaluation component. All forms necessary to prepare
an application are included in this Solicitation for Grant
Application (SGA.) DATES: One (1) ink-signed original, complete grant
application plus three (3) copies of the Technical Proposal and three
(3) copies of the Cost Proposal must be submitted to the U.S.
Department of Labor, Procurement Services Center, Attention Grant
Officer, Reference SGA 01- 07, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20210, not later than 4:45 p.m. EST, August 29, 2001.
Hand-delivered applications must be received by the Procurement
Services Center by that time. ADDRESSES: Grant applications must be
hand delivered or mailed to U.S. Department of Labor, Procurement
Services Center, Attention: Grant Officer, Reference SGA 01-07, Room
N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210. Applicants
must verify delivery to this office directly through their delivery
service and as soon as possible. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Applications will not be mailed. The Federal Register may be obtained
from your nearest government office or library. Questions concerning
this solicitation may be sent to Cassandra Willis, at the following
Internet address: willis.cassandra@dol.gov.
Late Proposals The grant application package must be received at the
designated place by the date and time specified or it will not be
considered. Any application received at the Procurement Services
Center after 4:45 p.m. EST, August 29, 2001, will not be considered
unless it is received before the award is made and: 1. It was
sent by registered or certified mail not later than the fifth
calendar day before August 29, 2001; 2. It is determined by the Government
that the late receipt was due solely to mishandling by the Government
after receipt at the U.S. Department of Labor at the address
indicated; or 3. It was sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next
Day Service-Post Office to Addressee, not later than 5 p.m. at the
place of mailing two (2) working days, excluding weekends and Federal
holidays, prior to August 29, 2001. The only acceptable evidence
to establish the date of mailing of a late application sent by
registered or certified mail is the U.S. Postal Service postmark on
the envelope or wrapper and on the original receipt from the U.S.
Postal Service. If the postmark is not legible, an application
received after the above closing time and date shall be processed as
if mailed late. ``Postmark'' means a printed, stamped or otherwise
place impression (not a postage meter machine impression) that is
readily identifiable without further action as having been applied
and affixed by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service on the date of
mailing. Therefore applicants should request the postal clerk place a
legible hand cancellation ``bull's-eye'' postmark on both the receipt
and the envelope or wrapper. The only acceptable evidence to establish the
date of mailing of a late application sent by U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail Next Day Service-Post Office to Addressee is the date
entered by the Post Office receiving clerk on the ``Express Mail Next
Day Service-Post Office to Addressee'' label and the postmark on the
envelope or wrapper and on the original receipt from the U.S. Postal
Service. ``Postmark'' has the same meaning as defined above.
Therefore, applicants should request that the postal clerk place a
legible hand cancellation ``bull's-eye'' postmark on both the receipt
and the envelope or wrapper. The only acceptable evidence to establish the
time of receipt at the U.S. Department of Labor is the date/time
stamp of the Procurement Services Center on the application wrapper
or other documentary evidence or receipt maintained by that office.
Applications sent by telegram or facsimile (FAX) will not be
accepted. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Authority
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001, Public Law 106-554,114
STAT 2763A-10, 29 USC 557(b). II. Background The
President's ``New Freedom Initiative'' is designed to increase the
number of people with disabilities who enter, re-enter, and remain in
the workforce. This initiative is dedicated to increasing investment
in, and access to, assistive technologies; expanding educational
opportunities; in order to increase the ability of individuals with
disabilities to integrate into the workforce; and promoting increased
access into the community.\1\
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\1\ For more information about the New Freedom Initiative, go to
the White House web page at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/freedominitiative
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A key to increasing the employment of people with disabilities
is to ensure that young people with disabilities are provided
resources and assistance to move from school to work, as opposed to
becoming dependent on welfare or other benefits programs. One way
of accomplishing this is to increase the participation of youth
with disabilities into mainstream workforce development activities
under Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). According to the
U.S. Department of Education, the national high school graduation
rates (e.g. diplomas, GED, alternative certificates) for students
with disabilities are below that of youth without disabilities.
According to the National Center on Education Statistics (2001) 88%
of students without disabilities graduate; according to the Office of
Special Education Programs (2000) 62% of youth with disabilities
graduate.\2\ Students with disabilities experience a school drop out
rate of 31%, compared to 11% of non-disabled youth. Youth with
emotional disabilities experience an even higher drop out rate of
54%. It is estimated that only one-third of young people with
disabilities who need job training receive it. Young people with
disabilities also have significantly lower rates of participation in
post-secondary education. Finally, [[Page 39339]] the Social
Security Administration has found that many young people with
disabilities who enter the Supplementary Security Income (SSI)/ Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) rolls are likely to remain on
the program rolls for their entire life.
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\2\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center on Education
Statistics, The Condition of Education 2000 in Brief, Jeanne H.
Nathanson NCES 2001-045, Washington, DC; U.S. Government Printing
Office, 2001. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education
and Rehabilitation Services, Twenty-second Annual Report to Congress
on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities
Act, Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 2000.
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The federal/state vocational rehabilitation system is neither
large enough to, nor solely responsible for, serving all youth
with disabilities who depart the school system. According to the
U.S. Department of Education, each year approximately 500,000 young
people with disabilities leave our nation's schools. Vocational
rehabilitation programs are able to serve less than 40,000 of these
young people with disabilities. A large portion of the remaining
460,000 youth with disabilities are potentially eligible for youth
programs financially assisted under WIA. One of the most significant
reforms under WIA section 129(c) (29 U.S.C. 2854(c)), is the
consolidation of the year- round youth program and the summer youth program
into a single formula- based funding stream. Under WIA, each local
workforce investment area must have a year-round youth services
strategy that incorporates summer youth employment opportunities as
one of ten required program elements (WIA section 129(c)(2)(C.), 29
U.S.C. 2854(c)(2)). The ten program elements reflect successful youth
development approaches and focus on the following four key
themes: 1. Improving educational achievement (including such elements
as tutoring, study skills training, and instruction leading to
secondary school completion, drop-out prevention strategies, and
alternative secondary school offerings); 2. Preparing for and
succeeding in employment (including summer employment opportunities,
paid and unpaid work experience, and occupational skills
training); 3. Supporting youth (including supportive services needs,
providing adult mentoring, follow-up services, and comprehensive
guidance and counseling); and 4. Offering services intended to
develop the potential of young people as citizens and leaders
(including leadership development opportunities.) WIA provides a
variety of work preparation programs that can assist youth with
disabilities with their career ambitions. The potential is great for
these programs to prepare eligible youth participants with
disabilities for employment. Moreover, WIA-assisted youth programs
must take up their responsibilities as vital partners in the broad
spectrum of programs which prepare individuals for the workforce.
These services need to be made available to young people with
disabilities. Traditionally, however, they are not recruited to
participate in these programs. WIA youth service providers may not be
aware of the need to serve youth with disabilities in their
communities and may lack the resources to develop strong partnerships
and an equitable referral and assessment system. In addition,
Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, Special Education agencies, and
other agencies serving youth with disabilities may not be informed
about the potential for coordinating resources with WIA-based
programs, or for creating mechanisms for such programs to cooperate
and support young people with disabilities. The U.S. Department
of Labor has determined that youth programs need to be strengthened
to better serve young people with disabilities. This need has been
highlighted as a critical priority in the FY 2001 budget
appropriation for the Department through the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2001, Public Law 106-554, 114 STAT 2763A-10, 29
USCA 557(b). Recently, the Office on Disability Employment Policy
(ODEP) was established within DOL (Pub. L. 106-554) to provide policy
direction for serving all individuals with disabilities. Key among
ODEP's responsibilities is to provide technical assistance and
support designed to assist various youth programs, including
WIA-assisted youth programs, and thereby increase the capacity of
those programs to serve people with disabilities. In order to
accomplish this goal, a two-pronged approach will be used. This
approach includes: 1. Awarding these grants which are designed to
demonstrate and further develop the capacity of various youth
programs to serve youth with disabilities; and, 2. Establishment
of a technical assistance program to support capacity building for
various youth programs. In combination, these activities will substantially
contribute to achieving the goals of the President's New Freedom
Initiative. This SGA is designed to initiate the first of these
activities. Establishment of the supporting national technical
assistance program is being implemented simultaneously, under a
separate SGA. The technical assistance program is expected to be in
operation in time to help with the implementation of these
demonstration grants. III. Purpose This SGA supports model
demonstration projects that develop, implement, evaluate, and
disseminate new or improved approaches that generate knowledge, and
promote best practices to the various youth programs, in order to
increase participation and improve results in those programs for
young people with disabilities. For the purposes of this SGA, a ``youth
with disabilities'' is defined as a youth aged 14 to 21 years old to
whom one or more of the following applies: a. Has a physical or
mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his or her
major life activities; b. Has a record of such an impairment; or, c. Is
regarded as having such an impairment.\3\
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\3\ This definition is consistent with the definition of
``disability'' that applies under four Federal laws barring
discrimination on the basis of disability, including section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 705(9) and
705(20)); title I and II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 12102(2)); and section 101(17) of
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801(17)), as well as
the regulations implementing these laws.
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The purpose of these demonstration projects is to help various
youth programs develop their staff's capacity to serve youth with
disabilities. This capacity building will allow these programs to
develop and further demonstrate strategies and techniques to increase
the participation of youth with disabilities; these strategies and
techniques can, in turn, serve as models for similar various youth
programs. These projects will target youth both in-and out-of-school.
As a result of these demonstrations, and associated technical
assistance efforts, ODEP anticipates that all various youth programs
will learn from and follow these examples, resulting in a system wide
increase in the successful participation of youth with disabilities
in all various youth programs. Included in the objectives of
these model demonstration projects is a goal of building upon and
enhancing the integrated youth development approach envisioned under
WIA, by incorporating knowledge of best practices developed through
15 years of research from the fields of rehabilitation, special
education, maternal and child health, school- to-work, and youth
development as discussed in Section IV of this SGA. Projects are required
to collaborate with the technical assistance program (described above
in the Background section. [[Page 39340]] IV. Statement of
Work Grantees must implement demonstration projects designed to
develop their youth program's capacity to increase its services to
youth with disabilities. This capacity building will allow these
programs to develop and further demonstrate strategies and techniques
to increase both the participation of and results for youth with
disabilities. These grant funds are designed to enable various youth
programs to support those needed efforts to achieve a greater level
and quality of service to youth with disabilities in their existing
programs. These grant funds are not intended as direct service
payments for youth with disabilities. Rather, these funds are
intended to be used in ways which create systems change or overall
program improvements to enable various youth programs to be better
able to successfully serve youth with disabilities. Under this
grant, grantees must serve at least 40 youth with disabilities each
year or, if the program has fewer than 200 participants, at least 20%
of them must be participants with disabilities. Grantees must
develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate new or improved
approaches to the youth programs that generate knowledge, and promote
best practices, in order to increase participation and improve
results in those programs for young people with disabilities. In
addition, grantees must participate in technical assistance efforts
designed to disseminate to other programs their successful strategies
and techniques for serving greater numbers of youth with disabilities. All
grantees must operate demonstration projects that integrate the four
key themes discussed above with one or more of the following best
practice features: 1. Demonstrations focused on promoting effective
structures, policies, and practices to improve results for youth with
disabilities in WIA programs, in areas such as admission, enrollment,
assessment, staff development, interagency coordination, etc.; 2.
Demonstrations of effective service interventions and approaches that
help young people with disabilities to overcome barriers to positive
education and employment outcomes; 3. Demonstrations that focus on the link
between academic and occupational skill standards; and on the
integration of academic and applied learning in real work
settings; 4. Demonstrations that focus on supporting and accommodating
young people with disabilities in integrated, inclusive work, and
work- preparation environments at all times, especially if their
educational program has been delivered even partially in a segregated
setting; 5. Demonstrations that focus on youth-centered planning
and development (e.g., assessment, choice, rights and
responsibilities, life skills, drop out prevention strategies, paid
and unpaid work experiences, leadership development, adult
mentoring); 6. Demonstrations that focus on promoting physical and
mental health, and the link between health and positive educational
and employment outcomes; 7. Demonstrations that focus on
increasing the type of involvement by business, labor, family, and
community, that creates effective connections to intermediaries with
strong links to the job market and to local and regional
employers; 8. Demonstrations which develop and leverage linkages with
other state and local initiatives that provide services and supports
for young people with significant disabilities (such initiatives
may include, but are not limited to, systems change efforts
promoting enduring systems improvement and comprehensive
coordination; health care; housing; transportation; education;
supported employment; small business development; technology related
assistance; private foundations; faith-based initiatives); and 9.
Demonstrations that research alternative methods of measuring WIA
performance outcomes that consider the various characteristics of
people with disabilities. Some examples of suggested resources for
information about various youth program components and these best
practice features can be located on the following web sites: 1.
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Office of Youth Services
web site: www.doleta.gov/youth_services>
2. National Transition Alliance for Youth with Disabilities:
www.dssc.org>
3. The Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child
Health, ``Healthy and Ready to Work'' website:
www.mchbhrtw.org>
4. National Youth Employment Coalition, Program and Effective
Practices Network (PEPNET) website:
www.nyec.org>
5. National Center on Secondary Education and Transition website:
www.ici.edu>
In addition, a model demonstration project must: 1. Provide a detailed
management plan for project goals, objectives, and activities; 2.
Use rigorous quantitative or qualitative evaluation methods and
data; 3. Evaluate the model by using multiple measures of results
to determine the effectiveness of the model and its components
or strategies for continuos program improvements; 4. Produce
detailed procedures and materials that would enable others to
replicate the model; 5. Communicate with appropriate audiences through
means such as technical assistance providers and disseminators,
publications, conference presentations, and/or a web site. (If the
project maintains a web site, it must include relevant information
and documents in an accessible form); and 6. Collaborate with
appropriate Federal and state agencies and programs, such as Maternal
and Child Health/Children with Special Health Care Needs Program,
Social Security Administration, Health Care Financing Administration,
Department of Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, Developmental
Disabilities. The Department will arrange for an independent evaluation
of outcomes, impacts, and benefits of the demonstration projects.
Grantees must make records available to evaluation personnel, as
specified by the evaluator(s) under the direction of the
Department. V. Funding Availability The period of performance
will be 24 months from the date of execution by the Government. Up to
nine (9) competitive grants will be awarded in the range of $350,000
to $500,000. It is expected that the funds used for this SGA will
support the costs associated with the development, implementation,
and evaluation of a model demonstration project for a youth program
to significantly increase the numbers of young people with
disabilities participating and benefitting from program activities.
Projects can use the available funds to conduct a variety of
activities to support these models, such as outreach, recruitment,
staff training, strategic planning, assessment, curriculum/materials
development, career development, student-focused planning, program
alignment, partnership building, reasonable accommodations, etc.,
youth programs are required to use existing funding to provide direct
services to young people with disabilities. [[Page 39341]]
VI. Eligible Applicants All youth service applicants, other than
Section 501 (c)(4) entities, are eligible. Each grantee must involve
members of two specific groups in strategic planning and
implementation activities: Youth with disabilities, and relevant
experts in the field of young people with disabilities (such as
disability organizations, researchers, policy makers, employers,
family members and/or family organizations, independent living
centers, or service providers.) Please note that Eligible Grant
Applicants must not be Classified Under the Internal Revenue Code as
a 501(c)(4) entity. See 26 U.S.C. 506(c)(4). According to Section 18
of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization, as described
in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that
engages in lobbying activities will not be eligible for the receipt
of federal funds constituting an award, grant, or loan. VII.
Application Contents General Requirements--Three copies and an
original of the proposal must be submitted, one of which must contain
an original signature. Proposals must be submitted by the applicant
only. There are three required sections of the application.
Requirements for each section are provided in this application
package. Part I--Executive Summary The Executive Summary
should be no more than 2 single-spaced pages in length giving a clear
summary of the project narrative. Part II--Project
Narrative--(Appendices--Letters of Commitment/Support, Resumes,
etc.) Applicants must include a narrative that addresses the Statement
of Work in Part IV of the notice and the selection criteria that are
used by reviewers in evaluating the application. You must limit Part
II to the equivalent of no more than fifty (50) pages using the
following standard. This page limit does not apply to Part I the
Executive Summary; Part III the Project Financial Plan (Budget); and,
the Appendices (the assurances and certifications, resumes, a
bibliography or references, and the letters of support.) A page is
8.5" x 11" (on one side only) with one-inch margins (top, bottom, and
sides). All text in the application narrative, including titles,
headings, footnotes, quotations, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs double-spaced (no more than three
lines per vertical inch); and, if using a proportional computer font,
use no smaller than a 12-point font, and an average character density
no greater than 18 characters per inch (if using a non-proportional
font or a typewriter, do not use more than 12 characters per
inch.) Applicants must include in Part II of the proposal a narrative
that addresses all of the Evaluation Criteria (section VIII below)
that will be used by reviewers in evaluating individual
proposals. Grantees must collaborate with other research institutes,
centers, and studies and evaluations, that are supported by DOL and
other relevant Federal agencies. Part III--Project Financial
Plan (Budget) Applications must include a detailed financial plan
which identifies by line item the budget plan designed to achieve the
goals of this grant. The Financial Plan must contain the SF 424,
Application for Federal Assistance, (Appendix A) and a Budget
Information Sheet SF 424A (Appendix B). In addition, the budget
must include on a separate page a detailed cost analysis of each line
item. Justification for administrative costs must be provided.
Approval of a budget by DOL is not the same as the approval of actual
costs. The individual signing the SF 424 on behalf of the applicant
must represent and be able to legally bind the responsible financial
and administrative entity for a grant should that application result
in an award. The applicant must also include the Assurances and
Certifications Signature Page (Appendix C). VIII. Evaluation
Criteria/Selection A. Evaluation Criteria The application
must include appropriate information of the type described below.
1. Significance of the Proposed Project (15 points) In determining the
significance of the proposed project, the Department considers the
following factors: a. The potential contribution of the proposed project to
increase knowledge or understanding of problems, issues, or effective
strategies for youth programs in serving young people with
disabilities; b. The extent to which the proposed project is likely to
yield findings that may be used by other appropriate agencies
and organizations; c. The extent to which the proposed project
involves the development or demonstration of promising new strategies
that build on, or are alternatives to, existing strategies; d.
The likely utility of the products (such as information, materials,
processes, or techniques) that will result from the proposed project,
including the potential for the products' being used effectively in a
variety of other settings; e. The extent to which the promising practices
of the proposed project are to be disseminated in ways that will
enable others to use the information or strategies; f. The
potential replicability (national significance) of the proposed
project or strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for
implementation in a variety of settings; and g. The importance or magnitude
of the results which are likely to be attained by the proposed
project. 2. Quality of the Project Design (25 Points) In evaluating the
quality of the proposed project design, the Department considers the
following factors: a. The extent to which the goals, objectives, and
outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified
and measurable; b. The extent to which the design of the proposed project
is appropriate to, and will successfully address the needs of the
target population and other identified needs; c. The extent to
which the design of the proposed project can measure methods for
recruiting and serving youth with disabilities each year; d. The
extent to which the proposal demonstration incorporates the four key
themes identified in Part IV, Statement of Work; e. The extent to which the
proposed project is designed to build capacity and yield results that
will extend beyond the period of this grant; f. The extent to
which the design of the proposed project reflects a review of
disability related literature, up-to-date knowledge from research and
effective practice of youth-centered planning and youth development
principles and approaches, and the use of appropriate methodological
tools to ensure successful achievement of project objectives; g.
The extent to which the proposed project will be coordinated with
similar or related efforts, and with other appropriate community,
State, and Federal resources; h. The extent to which the applicant
encourages involvement of young people with disabilities, relevant
experts, and organizations in project activities; and,
[[Page 39342]] g. The extent to which performance feedback and
continuous improvement are integral to the design of the proposed
project. 3. Quality of Project Personnel (15 Points) The Project
Narrative must describe the proposed staffing of the project and must
identify and summarize the qualifications of the personnel who will
carry it out. In evaluating the quality of project personnel, the
Department considers the extent to which the applicant encourages
applications for employment from persons who are members of groups
that have traditionally been under represented based on race, color,
national origin, gender, age, and disability. The projects funded under
this notice must make positive efforts to employ and advance in
employment qualified individuals with disabilities in project
activities. In addition, the Department considers the qualifications,
including relevant education, training and experience of key project
personnel as well as the qualifications, including relevant training
and experience of project consultants or subcontractors. Resumes must
be included in the Appendices. 4. Adequacy of Resources (15 Points) In
evaluating the adequacy of resources for the proposed project, the
Department considers the following factors: a. The adequacy of support,
including facilities, equipment, supplies, and other resources, from
the applicant organization or the lead applicant organization; b.
The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in the
proposed project to the implementation and success of the project; and,
c.The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the proposed
project; d. The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to
the objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed
project; and e. The extent to which the applicant proposes to
leverage other resources and funds, or to use these funds to leverage
other funds. The applicant may include letters of commitment from
proposed partners in the Appendix. 5. Quality of the Management
Plan (15 Points) In evaluating the quality of the management plan for the
proposed project, the Department considers the following factors:
a. The extent to which a high-quality management plan for project
implementation is provided to achieve the objectives of the proposed
project on time and within budget, including clearly defined staff
responsibilities, and time allocated to project activities, time
lines, milestones for accomplishing project tasks and project
deliverables; b. The adequacy of mechanisms for ensuring high-quality
products and services from the proposed project; and c. The
extent to which the time commitments of the project director and
principal investigator and other key project personnel are
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed
project. 6. Quality of the Project Evaluation (15 Points) In evaluating
the quality of the project's evaluation design, the Department
considers the following factors: a. The extent to which the methods of
evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the goals,
objectives, context and outcomes of the proposed project the extent
to which the methods of evaluation provide for examining the
effectiveness of project implementation strategies; b. The extent
to which the methods of evaluation include the use of objective
performance measures that are clearly related to the intended
outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative
data; c. The extent to which the evaluation will provide information
to other youth programs about effective strategies suitable
for replication or testing in other settings; and d. The extent
to which the methods of evaluation measure in both quantitative and
qualitative terms, program results and satisfaction of youth with
disabilities. B. Selection Criteria Acceptance of a proposal
and an award of federal funds to sponsor any program(s) is not a
waiver of any grant requirement and/or procedures. Grantees must
comply with all applicable Federal statutes, regulations,
administrative requirements and OMB Circulars. For example, the OMB
circulars require, and an entity's procurement procedures must
require that all procurement transaction shall be conducted, as
practical, to provide open and free competition. If a proposal
identifies a specific entity to provide the services, the award does
not provide the justification or basis to sole-source the
procurement, i.e., avoid competition. A panel will objectively rate each
complete application against the criteria described in this SGA. The
panel recommendations to the Grant Officer are advisory in nature.
The Grant Officer may elect to award grants either with or without
discussion with the applicant. In situations where no discussion
occurs, an award will be based on the signed SF 424 form (see
Appendix A), which constitutes a binding offer. The Grant Officer may
consider the availability of funds and any information that is
available and will make final award decisions based on what is most
advantageous to the government, considering factors such as: 1.
Findings of the grant technical evaluation panel; 2. Geographic
distribution of the competitive applications; 3. Assuring a variety of
different program designs; and, 4. The availability of funds. IX.
Reporting Grantees must submit on a quarterly basis by March 30, June
30, September 30, and December 31 financial and participation reports
under this program as prescribe by OMB Circulars A-102 and A-110. It
is estimated that the quarterly program report will take five (5)
hours to complete. 1. Financial Reports 2. Quarterly and
Final Program Results and Reports on the Satisfaction of Youth with
Disabilities 3. Other Reporting (to Technical Assistance Service Providers,
etc.), as prescribed by DOL X. Administration Provisions
A. Administrative Standards and Provisions Grantees are strongly
encouraged to read these regulations before submitting a proposal.
The grant awarded under this SGA shall be subject to the following as
applicable: 29 CFR Part 95--Uniform Administrative Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements with Institutions of Higher
Education, etc. 29 CFR Part 96--Federal Standards for Audit of Federally
Funded Grants, Contracts, and Agreements 29 CFR Part 97--Uniform
Administrative Requirement for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to
State and Local Governments B. Allowable Cost Determinations
of allowable costs shall be made in accordance with the following
applicable Federal cost principles: [[Page 39343]]
State and Local Government--OMB Circular A-87 Nonprofit Organizations--OMB
Circular A-122 Profit-making Commercial Firms--48 CFR Part 31 C.
Grant Assurances The applicant must include the attached assurances
and certifications. Profit will not be considered an allowable
cost in any case. BILLING CODE 4510-23-P [[Page 39344]] [GRAPHIC]
[TIFF OMITTED] TN30JY01.001 [[Page 39345]] [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED]
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TN30JY01.007 Signed at Washington, D.C. this 25th day of July, 2001
Lawrence J. Kuss, Grant Officer. [FR Doc. 01-18940 Filed 7-27-01; 8:45
am] BILLING CODE 4510-23-C
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