FOA-ETA-20-12_Amendment One.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Funding Opportunity Announcement

FOA-ETA-20-12

Amendment One

H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor

ACTION: Amendment to FOA-ETA-20-12

SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration announced on September 14, 2020, the availability of funds and the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Program to be awarded through a competitive process. This amendment revises language in the FOA.

The document is hereby amended as follows:

The following language has been removed:

ADDRESSES: Address mailed applications to:

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management Attention: Brinda Ruggles, Grant Officer Reference FOA-ETA-20-12 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716 Washington, D.C. 20210

SECTION I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

Section I.D. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE

Amended Text (new language in bold)

Applicants must identify the geographic scope of the proposed project. Applicants must propose to serve rural areas at the local/regional or statewide level with healthcare training (including behavioral and mental healthcare occupations).

• For the purposes of this grant program, rural populations are those that: (1) meet the criteria defined by the HRSA’s FORHP at https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-hea lth/about- us/definition/index. html; or (2) any federally recognized Indian tribe.

o Local/regional means serving a rural part of one state or a contiguous area that includes multiple rural sites in an economic region that do not cross state boundaries.

o Statewide means serving an entire state or multiple non-contiguous sites http://www.hrsa.gov/rural-hea http://www.hrsa.gov/rural-hea within one state. A statewide approach must encompass and emphasize services to rural areas.

SECTION III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

Section III.A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Amended Text (new language in bold)

H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Partnership

Grants under this program will be awarded to partnerships of public and private sector entities.

The applicant must identify and include the required partners listed below, which represents both public and private partner institutions. Those organizations collectively form the “H-1B rural healthcare grant partnership,” and demonstrate strong engagement of the required partners necessary to meet grant goals. Additionally, applicants should consider including additional optional partners that support the goals of the Rural Healthcare Partnership.

a) Required Partners

To demonstrate the active involvement of the required Rural Healthcare Partnership entities, applicants must provide signed documentation of commitments—such as signed memoranda of understanding, a partnership agreement, or other types of signed agreements (an email or other form of written commitment is also acceptable) —that demonstrates the commitment of each type of entity listed below.

Applicants will be scored based on the inclusion of this documentation, as well as the level and quality of involvement in the project as described in Section IV.B.3.c.1. H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Partnership. Required partners in the Rural Healthcare Partnership include:

1. Employer Partne rs A minimum of two (2) employer partners who are committed to hiring individuals trained through the grant; or an industry/trade association or other business association, such as a Chamber of Commerce, that represents at least two (2) employers who are committed to hiring individuals trained through the grant.

2. Education and Training Providers

One or more public or nonprofit education and training providers, including institutions of higher education as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), community and technical colleges and systems; joint labor-management training partnerships; nonprofit and community-based organizations that offer job training, including those organizations that have been approved as WIOA Eligible Training Providers.

3. For applicants proposing to provide Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) or Industry- Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) in service areas whose states are federally recognized State Apprenticeship Agencies (SAAs),17 the SAA must be included as a partner; and

4. Entities involved in administering the workforce development system established under WIOA, including State and Local WDBs and Native American Program entities eligible for funding under WIOA.

SECTION IV.B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Section IV.B.4.b) Requested Attachments

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We request the following attachments, but their omission will not cause us to disqualify the application. Furthermore, the omission of the attachment will impact scoring unless otherwise noted.

1) Documentation of Partnership Commitment

You will be scored on the documentation showing representation from at least one senior-level representative from each of the required entities, as described in Section III.A. H-1B Rural Healthcare Grant Partnership. This may include signed and dated Letters of Commitment or Memoranda of Understanding between the applicant and all required and optional partner organizations and/or sub-grantees that propose to provide services to support the program model and lead to the identified outcomes. An email or other form of written commitment is also acceptable.

When submitting in grants.gov, these letters must be uploaded as an attachment to the application package and specifically labeled “Letters of Commitment.”

SECTION IV.C. SUBMISSION DATE, TIME, PROCESS, AND ADDRESS

Section IV.C. is deleted and replaced with the following:

We must receive your application by November 13, 2020. You must submit your application electronically on https://www.grants.gov no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their application before the closing date to minimize the risk of late receipt. We will not review applications received after 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. We will not accept applications sent by hard copy, e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX).

Section IV.C.1. is deleted and replaced with the following:

1. Hardcopy Submission No applications submitted in hardcopy by mail or hand delivery (including overnight delivery) will be accepted for this funding opportunity.

The following paragraph has been removed form Section IV.C.2.b):

http://www.grants.gov/

We will not consider any hard copy application received after the exact date and time specified for receipt at the office designated in this notice, unless we receive it before awards are made, it was properly addressed, and it was (a) sent by U.S. Postal Service mail, postmarked not later than the fifth calendar day before the date specified for receipt of applications (e.g., an application required to be received by the 20th of the month must be postmarked by the 15th of that month); or (b) sent by professional overnight delivery service to the addressee not later than one working day before the date specified for receipt of applications. ‘‘Postmarked’’ means a printed, stamped or otherwise placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) that is readily identifiable, without further action, as having been supplied or affixed on the date of mailing by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Therefore, you should request the postal clerk to place a legible hand cancellation ‘‘bull’s eye’’ postmark on both the receipt and the package. Failure to adhere to these instructions will be a basis for a determination that the application was not filed timely and will not be considered. Evidence of timely submission by a professional overnight delivery service must be demonstrated by equally reliable evidence created by the delivery service provider indicating the time and place of receipt.

SECTION V. APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

Section V.B.1. Merit Review and Selection Process

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A technical merit review panel will carefully evaluate applications against the selection criteria to determine the merit of applications. These criteria are based on the policy goals, priorities, and emphases set forth in this FOA. Up to 100 points may be awarded to an applicant, depending on the quality of the responses provided. The final scores (which may include the mathematical normalization of review panels) will serve as the primary basis for selection of applications for funding. The panel results are advisory in nature and not binding on the Grant Officer. The Grant Officer reserves the right to make selections based solely on the final scores or to take into consideration other relevant factors when applicable. Such factors may include the geographic distribution of funds, confirmation that the application has a rural geographic scope and other relevant factors. The Grant Officer may consider any information that comes to their attention.

The government may elect to award the grant(s) with or without discussion with the applicant. Should a grant be awarded without discussion, the award will be based on the applicant’s signature on the SF-424, including electronic signature via E-Authentication on https://www.grants.gov, which constitutes a binding offer by the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Linda K. Forman, Grants Management Specialist, Office of Grants Management, at forman.linda@dol.gov.

Signed October 20, 2020, in Washington, D.C. by:

Brinda Ruggles Grant Officer, Employment and Training Administration http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:forman.linda@dol.gov