III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants
To be eligible for a Planning Cooperative Agreement under this announcement, an applicant must meet all of the following criteria:
A. Be a Federally-recognized Tribe as defined in Title V, Pub. L. 106-260, Tribal Self-Governance Amendments of 2000, of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (the Act), Pub. L. 93-638, as amended. However, Alaska Native Villages or Alaska Native Village Corporations, who are located within the area served by an Alaska Native regional health entity already participating in compact status, are not eligible (Pub. L. 106-260, Title V, Section 12(a)(2)).
2. Cost Sharing or Matching Funds
The Self-Governance Planning Cooperative Agreement Announcement does not require matching funds or cost sharing to participate in the competitive grant process.
3. Other Requirements
The following documentation is required (if applicable):
A. This program is described at 93.210 in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. There is limited competition under this announcement because the authorizing legislation restricts eligibility to Tribes that meet specific criteria. (Refer to Section III, ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS in this announcement.)
B. Request participation in self-governance by resolution by the governing body of the Indian Tribe. An Indian Tribe that is proposing a cooperative agreement affecting another Indian Tribe must include resolutions from all affected Tribes to be served.
C. Demonstrate, for three fiscal years, financial stability and financial management capability, which is defined as no uncorrected significant and material audit exceptions in the required annual audit of the Indian Tribe’s self-determination contracts or self-governance funding agreements with any Federal agency.
D. Grantees are required to submit a current version of the organization’s audit report. Audit reports can be lengthy, therefore, the applicants may submit them separately via regular mail by the due date (May 19, 2006). If the grantee determines that audit reports are not lengthy, the applicants may scan the documents and attach them to the electronic application. Applicants must submit two copies of the audits that reflect three previous fiscal years under separate cover directly to the Division of Grants Operations, 801 Thompson Avenue, TMP 360, Rockville, MD 20852, referencing the Funding Opportunity Number, HHS-2006-IHS-TSGP-0001, as prescribed by Pub. L. 98-502, the Single Audit Act, as amended (see OMB Circular A-133, revised June 24, 1997, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations), for the three previous fiscal years. If this documentation is not submitted by the due date, the application will be considered as unresponsive and will not be considered. Applicants must include the grant tracking number assigned to their electronic submission by Grants.gov and the date submitted via Grants.gov in their cover letter transmitting the required audits for the previous three fiscal years.
E. Tribal Resolution - A resolution of the Indian Tribe served by the project should accompany the application submission. An Indian Tribe that is proposing a project affecting another Indian Tribe must include resolutions from all affected Tribes to be served. Tribal Consortia applying for a Planning Cooperative Agreement, a minimum of two individual Tribal Council Resolutions must be submitted. Draft resolutions are acceptable in lieu of an official resolution. However, an official signed Tribal resolution must be received by the Division of Grants Operations (DGO) by the end of the Objective Review (June 22, 2006). If an official signed resolution is not submitted by June 22, 2006, the application will be considered incomplete and will not be considered.
*It is highly recommended that the Tribal resolution be sent by Federal Express for proof of receipt.

IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Application package may be found on Grants.gov.
Information regarding the electronic application process may be obtained from either of the following persons:

Ms. Mary E. Trujillo Denise Clark
Office of Tribal Self-Governance Division of Grants Operations
Indian Health Service Indian Health Service
801 Thompson Avenue, Suite 240 801 Thompson Avenue, TMP 360
Rockville, Maryland 20852 Rockville, Maryland 20852
(301) 443-7821 (301) 443-5204

2. Content and Form of Application Submission:
A. All applications should:

Please note the following:

Applicants may register by calling 1-888-227-2423. Please review and complete the CCR “Registration Worksheet” located in the appendix of the TSGP Planning Cooperative Agreement application kit or on http://www.Grants.gov/CCRRegister.

More detailed information regarding these registration processes can be found at http://www.Grants.gov.

V. Application Review Information
The instructions for preparing the application narrative also constitute the evaluation criteria for reviewing and scoring the application. Weights assigned to each section are noted in parentheses.
1. Criteria
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT (30 points)
Are the goals and objectives measurable; are they consistent with the purpose of the program and terms of this announcement; and, are they achievable as demonstrated by an implementation schedule?

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS (25 points)
Describe the organizational structure of the Tribe/Tribal organization and the ability of the organization to manage the proposed project. Include resumes or position descriptions of key staff showing requisite experience and expertise and, where applicable, include resumes of consultants that demonstrate experience and expertise relevant to the project.

METHODOLOGY (20 points)
Describe fully and clearly the methodology used to reflect the needs of Tribal members and if the project can be accomplished with expected available resources.

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION (15 points)
Submit a line-item budget with a brief narrative justification for all expenditures. Are costs identified reasonable and allowable in accordance with OMB Circulars A-87, “Cost Principles for State and Local Governments” and A-122, “Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations?”

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH PROGRAM(S) (10 points)
Does the applicant propose an improved approach to managing the health program(s) and state/demonstrate how the delivery of quality health services will be maintained under self-governance?
APPENDIX ITEMS

3. Anticipated Award Date
Earliest Anticipated Award Date: August 7, 2006

VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices
Division of Grants Operations (DGO) will not award a grant without an approved application in conformance with regulatory and policy requirements which describes the purpose and scope of the project to be funded. When the application is approved for funding, the DGO will prepare a Notice of Award (NoA) signed by the Grants Officer, which is the authorizing document, with special terms and conditions binding upon the award and refer to all general terms applicable to the award. The NoA will serve as the official notification of a grant award which will be sent to the applicant via postal mail, and will state the amount of Federal funds awarded, the purpose of the grant, the terms and conditions of the grant award, the effective date of the award, the project period, and the budget period. Any other correspondence announcing to the Project Director that an application was selected is not an authorization to begin performance.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
Grants are administered in accordance with the following documents:

Failure to submit required reports within the time allowed may result in suspension or termination of an active grant, withholding of additional awards for the project, or other enforcement actions such as withholding of payments or converting to the reimbursement method of payment. Continued failure to submit required reports may result in one or both of the following: (1) the imposition of special award provisions; and (2) the non-funding or non-award of other eligible projects or activities. This applies whether the delinquency is attributable to the failure of the grantee organization or the individual responsible for preparation of the reports.

VII. Agency Contact(s)
1. Questions on the programmatic and technical issues may be directed to:
Mary E. Trujillo, Program Specialist
Telephone No.: 301-443-7821
Fax No.: 301-443-1050
E-mail: metrujil@hqe.ihs.gov

2. Questions on grants management and fiscal matters may be directed to:
Denise Clark
Telephone No.: 301-443-5204
Fax No.: 301-443-9602
E-mail: denise.clark@ihs.gov

VIII. Other Information
The Public Health Service (PHS) strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Pub. L. 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of the facility) in which regular or routine education, library, day care, health care or
early childhood development services are provided to children. This is consistent
with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the
American people.

___________________________ ___________________________________
Date Robert G. McSwain
Deputy Director
Indian Health Service

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