ETA-TEGL-25-20.pdf

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION

ADVISORY SYSTEM

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Washington, D.C. 20210

CLASSIFICATION

DWG

CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

OWI-DASG

DATE

June 28, 2021

RESCISSIONS

None

EXPIRATION DATE

Continuing

ADVISORY: TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 25-20

TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS

STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS

STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARDS AND CHAIRS

STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS

INDIAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAM GRANTEES

FROM: SUZAN G. LEVINE

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT: CAREER (Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable

Employment Recovery) National Dislocated Worker Grants

1. Purpose. To announce the availability of up to $43 million for the CAREER

(Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable Employment Recovery)

National Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs), with award amounts of up to $3 million. These funds will support the public workforce system in connecting job seekers to employment as the economy recovers from the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

2. Action Requested. Any eligible applicants should submit applications before August 31 and according to the instructions below. Please share with all staff who administer DWGs, Unemployment Insurance, and Employment Services in order to plan quality applications.

Please disseminate this guidance to all interested entities and potential partners.

3. Summary and Background.

a. Summary – The CAREER DWG initiative will enable successful applicants to address and recover from the unprecedented unemployment and economic impacts of the

COVID-19 pandemic. Funds for these DWGs will support and enhance comprehensive employment services, and for supporting digitalization of services to unemployed jobseekers as well as the data systems necessary to connect the unemployed to reemployment.

Available funds for this grant may be depleted by other, unforeseen DWG funding needs, such as natural disasters and national emergencies.

b. Background – On March 11, 2021 the President signed the American Rescue Plan Act of

2021 (ARPA) into law. Among other priorities, the ARPA provides emergency funding intended to help stabilize the economy and increase hiring, which will increase demands on the public workforce system to support reemployment efforts.

The COVID-19 pandemic required stay-at-home orders, limited travel and business operations, and other restrictions to ensure public health and safety. While such actions were critical in saving lives and navigating the country through the pandemic, significant economic impacts resulted, including a national unemployment rate that peaked at 14.8 percent, the highest rate observed since data collection began in 1948.1 Currently, there are more than 15 million unemployment insurance (UI) claimants in the US, and despite increasing labor force participation, the unemployment rate remains above pre-pandemic levels and millions of Americans are in need of new, safe employment opportunities offering family-sustaining wages.

However, while the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt, America’s economic recovery has already begun. Businesses are ready to hire and workers are actively searching for work, bolstered by the success of nationwide vaccination efforts and lowered infection and hospitalization rates. During the pandemic, states waived or modified work search requirements for individuals receiving unemployment benefits.

With the reinstatement of work-search requirements, combined with a recovering economy, the public workforce system plays a critical role in ensuring an equitable recovery by helping an increasing number of workers transition to suitable, safe, good-paying work, and helping revitalized businesses find workers. Many state and local workforce development boards have increased their capacity to deliver robust career services through a virtual medium, which can allow workforce services to reach a wider range of jobseekers. Online career services have included virtual meetings to deliver staff-assisted career services, virtual job search assistance modules, and delivery of tailored job postings to jobseekers via email, text, or web portal.

Just as the UI program provided a critical safety net during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also supports reemployment. For instance, Short-Term Compensation, also known as work sharing or shared work, Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments, Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services that identifies UI claimants most likely to exhaust their benefits in order to provide reemployment assistance, and Self-Employment

Assistance all support reemployment.

The Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is now furthering these reemployment efforts with up to $43 million in CAREER DWGs. The

CAREER DWGs are offered under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

(WIOA) National Dislocated Worker Grant program. The funding is authorized under section 170 of WIOA and administered according to 20 CFR part 687.

Employment Recovery DWGs such as the CAREER DWG provide employment and training resources to states and other eligible applicants to respond to major economic

1 https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46554/10 https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46554/10 dislocations, such as plant closures and mass layoffs, as well as other dislocations that have significantly increased the number of unemployed individuals in a state, regional or local workforce area.

In awarding CAREER DWGs, ETA will use its discretion under WIOA to recognize that a qualifying event has occurred in all states and territories.

4. CAREER DWG Funding Opportunity.

a. Goal of the CAREER DWG. The goal of the CAREER DWG is to help reemploy dislocated workers most affected by the economic and employment fallout from the

COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those from historically-marginalized communities or groups, and those who have been unemployed for an extended period of time or who have exhausted UI or other Pandemic Unemployment Insurance programs. Grantees will achieve this goal through:

i. Staff-assisted career services to comprehensively support reemployment, and appropriate supportive services. The grant can support participant training, as needed, to move into a higher paying career path, and other allowable supportive services necessary to complete training such as child care or transportation;

ii. Developing or upgrading accessible online systems, platforms, and data structures for access to services, job search, and career guidance; or

iii. Both of the above.

In carrying out the required activities, grantees will design and implement a strategy in line with this guidance and Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 12-19, National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance, including carrying out extensive outreach to ensure that eligible participants are aware of the employment and training opportunities provided by the grant.

b. Eligibility.

i. Qualifying Event. ETA issues this guidance under 20 C.F.R. 687.110(a)(5), which authorizes the Secretary of Labor to determine events that qualify for

Employment Recovery DWG funds. Unlike typical Employment Recovery

DWG applications, CAREER DWG applicants do not need to document a qualifying event in their application, as the qualifying event for the CAREER

DWG is the deep and sustained unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on access to training/employment services for historically marginalized communities. These employment challenges cover the entire United States, including all Outlying Areas. Applicants, however, must identify the population they intend to serve to receive CAREER DWG funds; see section 4.d. below for information on required application elements.

ii. Applicant Eligibility. Under 20 C.F.R. 687.120(a), the following entities are eligible for CAREER DWGs:

A. States or outlying areas, or a consortium of States or outlying areas;

B. Local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), or a consortium of

WDBs;

C. An entity eligible for funding through the Indian and Native American program in WIOA Section 166(c);

D. Other entities determined to be appropriate by the Governor of the

State or outlying area involved.

To demonstrate that a Governor has determined the entity appropriate to be a grantee under this TEGL, such an applicant must attach a signed letter from the Governor, on official letterhead, identifying the organization and indicating why the Governor has determined it appropriate to carry out a CAREER DWG. The entity must consent in its completed Project Synopsis (Attachment A) that it will arrange a method for reporting performance data prior to the receipt of any grant funds.

E. Other entities, such as nonprofit organizations or unions, that demonstrate to the Secretary the capability to respond effectively to circumstances relating to particular dislocations.

To demonstrate its capability to the Secretary, such an applicant must submit documentation that the applicant has:

expertise with addressing persistent unemployment, issues of equity, and understanding the challenges facing marginalized communities and individuals;

expertise with workforce development or training;

the geographic or administrative reach to handle large-scale workforce issues like unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic;

the financial and administrative capability to administer a federal grant;

included a letter of support for its CAREER DWG application from each State workforce agency and all WDBs for the geographic area(s) which the proposed grant will serve; and consented in its completed Project Synopsis (Attachment A) that, prior to receiving any grant funds, it will arrange a method for reporting performance data.

Multiple entities from within the same state are eligible to submit applications for CAREER DWGs. The Department strongly encourages coordination among states, local workforce development boards, and other entities that may seek or obtain eligibility for DWG funds under 20 CFR 687.120(a), in order to avoid duplication. To maximize the use of these grant funds, ETA will not fund multiple applications from different applicants within the state if those applications are duplicative. Where there are duplicative applications, ETA will only fund the first application it receives that meets all the requirements of a fundable application set out in this TEGL. For the purposes of this TEGL, applications are “duplicative” if they (i) cover the same geographic territory and (ii) propose to serve the same populations.

iii. Participant Eligibility. Eligible participants are dislocated workers as defined in WIOA sec. 3(15).

The CAREER DWGs aim to serve in particular those from historically-marginalized communities or groups, and those who have been unemployed for an extended period of time or who have exhausted UI or other Pandemic

Unemployment Insurance programs. Grantees are encouraged to review their policies and procedures for determining whether such individuals meet eligibility requirements to ensure maximum flexibility and to enable the widest participation in grant-funded services.

Note: direct services such as career, training, and supportive services must be limited to the eligible participants above. However, some activities of these grants may also provide benefits to other populations. For example, the implementation of online or virtual job search, career guidance, and training platforms may also benefit other populations, so long as the primary purpose of the expenditure is to ensure that DWG-eligible participants are able to receive the planned services.

c. Grant Activities. In order to meet the goal of the CAREER DWG program (see Section

4.a above), responsive applications must address the ongoing employment challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. All activities must be permissible under 20

CFR 687.180(a).

i. Required Grant Activities. Applicants for CAREER DWG funds must commit to providing at least one of the following types of activities:

A. Career and Training Services – Applicants may propose to provide staff-assisted career services for participants, particularly focused on reemployment. Where training or work-based learning is needed in order to become reemployed in a higher wage job than before the pandemic, and where appropriate based on assessments and individual needs, ETA encourages supportive services to allow participants to enter and complete their training programs and become reemployed in family-sustaining employment. Those supportive services can include child care or elder care, transportation, needs-related payments, and other critical services.

Under the CAREER DWG, grantees will not be held to average participant costs limits when they can demonstrate that providing increased services are more likely to achieve positive outcomes. See

TEGL No. 19-16 for definitions of allowable career, training, and supportive services that may be provided to participants under DWGs.

B. Expanding Accessibility and Capacity through Virtual Platforms and

Other Technology – Applicants may propose to utilize grant funds to research, purchase, build, or expand virtual technology applications or platforms for job search, career guidance, training, or other activities to expand the capacity of the workforce system to serve larger numbers of dislocated workers and job seekers, to ensure accessibility to services beyond the physical American Job Centers, and to ensure that service delivery will not be interrupted due to emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This can include data structures, applications, and analysis to better connect unemployment and reemployment systems.

Please note: grantees must receive prior approval from the Grant

Officer to purchase any equipment such as information technology systems and software as defined at 2 CFR 200.1. Applicants should provide estimated costs for planned expenditures in the budget documents submitted with a CAREER DWG application, but will be expected to provide more specific details on costs and implementation schedules prior to expending grant funds on the purchase. However, grant funds may be expended to research various systems or strategies, to identify appropriate vendors, and to ensure any systems will meet state or local requirements.

ii. Allowable Grant Activities. Applicants may carry out other activities to support the chosen required activity(ies) in order to achieve the goal of the

CAREER DWG program, including:

A. Outreach to Priority Populations – Grant funds may be used to create and execute focused outreach campaigns designed to reach historically marginalized communities and those who have been unemployed for an extended period of time or who have exhausted UI or other

Pandemic Unemployment Insurance program, so potentially-eligible participants are able to enroll in grant-funded activities.

B. Organizing and Maintaining Strategic Partnerships – Grantees may organize and maintain strategic partnerships, as well as contractual arrangements where appropriate, with community organizations or other entities to develop targeted efforts aimed at identifying and enrolling eligible participants from priority communities. Such partnerships may be supported with grant funding to coordinate activities, for meetings, and for other events to ensure the success of the planned activities of the grant.

Applicants may propose additional activities that align with activities allowable per TEGL 12-19 as appropriate. The Department may place condition of award on a grant to address allowable or potentially proposed unallowable activities with applicants; approval of a grant award does not automatically mean all proposed activities in the application are allowed.

d. Required Application Components. As with other DWGs, DOL will only fund applications that are responsive to the requirements of WIOA and this TEGL. The applicant must submit a completed Project Synopsis (see Attachment A) in order for an application to be considered responsive. The Project Synopsis is designed to collect the information required to describe how the implementation of proposed grant activities will accomplish the goals of the project. The informational requirements of the Project

Synopsis include the following:

i. Project Summary. As described in Section 4a above, the goal of the CAREER

DWG is to serve dislocated workers most affected by the economic and employment fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those from historically-marginalized communities and those who have been unemployed for an extended period of time or who have exhausted UI or other Pandemic

Unemployment Insurance programs. The CAREER DWG enhances the ability of the public workforce system to provide effective, accessible, and equitable solutions focused on providing high-quality employment opportunities for unemployed Americans.

Applicants must briefly describe their vision for how their proposed project will achieve the goal of the CAREER DWG, including which of the required and allowable activities they intend to carry out.

ii. Priority Participant Population(s). Applicants must describe how they plan to reach the priority populations: members of historically-marginalized communities, and individuals who have been unemployed for extended periods or who have exhausted unemployment benefits). For career and training services activities, this must include outreach to priority populations.

For activities related to expanding accessibility and capacity through virtual platforms and other technology, this can include plans for how technology changes better serve priority populations.

iii. Service Area(s). As described above, applicants for the CAREER DWG are not required to demonstrate the existence of a qualifying event. However, a responsive application requires a description of the proposed service area, including why particular areas were chosen, if some or all of the elements of the project are not proposed to be carried out statewide. Examples of why areas may be chosen could include, but are not limited to, the applicant’s interest in providing additional resources to historically marginalized communities or populations, or areas particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic or other economic transitions.

Some or all of the activities of the CAREER grants may be carried out statewide; but for any that are targeting particular areas or particular populations, the applicant must include information as to why those areas or populations are to be prioritized under the grant.

Applicants may propose some activities to be carried out statewide, and others may be targeted to particular areas as appropriate. Such information must be provided as part of the application.

iv. Partnership with Public Workforce System Entities. To ensure proper participant eligibility determinations as well as delivery of appropriate career, training, and supportive services, at least one local WDB or American Job

Center (AJC), located in the area(s) proposed to be covered by the grant, must be a partner in the grant, if they are not the applicant. Applications that do not demonstrate commitment from at least one WDB or AJC will not be awarded grant funds. Applicants may demonstrate such commitment by including at least one letter of support with their application2; see the table in section 4.g below for more information.

v. Grant Activities. The applicant must demonstrate that its project will help move its workforce toward high-quality family sustaining-wage employment opportunities and address the economic and workforce challenges caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these challenges, applicants must identify and describe the strategies or approaches they intend to carry out to, and how these activities will help to achieve the goal of the

CAREER DWG as described in section 4.a above.

Applicants must identify and describe which of the required activities described in section 4.c.i that they intend to provide under the grant to achieve the goal of the program; an application must propose to provide at least one of these elements to be considered responsive.

Applicants will also be expected to identify and describe the allowable activities they plan to carry out to support the success of the required option(s) chosen, as described in section 4.c.ii above.

Applicants must briefly (in approximately 250 words or fewer for each activity) describe how they will use these activities to achieve the goals of the project.

2 Note that entities applying under the criteria described in section 4.b.ii.E are required to include letters of support from all states and local workforce areas where the project will be carried out.

e. Availability of Funds and Application Review and Award. The Department is making up to $43 million available under this TEGL. Applicants may apply for grants of up to

$3 million each. To receive funding for a CAREER DWG, applicants must meet all eligibility requirements described in this TEGL, as well as submit a responsive application that addresses the mandatory programmatic components outlined in this document.

ETA will award funds to responsive, high quality applications on a first come, first served basis while funding remains available. If there are more responsive applications than available funds, ETA will fund applications based on quality of applications and relative need of applicant until available funds are depleted. Available funds for this grant could be depleted by other, unforeseen DWG funding needs, such as natural disasters and national emergencies. ETA encourages applicants to submit quality final applications before the deadline. Applicants may submit subsequent versions of their application if they realize they need to revise it. However, doing so may cause an application to not be funded, as revisions impact ETA’s ability to timely consider the application. ETA will consider the latest submitted application to be the official submission. The deadline for all application packages is August 31, 2021 at 4:00 EDT.

ETA may stop accepting applications earlier than this date if available funds are depleted prior to the official closing date.

Final award amounts will be determined subject to the availability of funds. If the total requests are less than the available funding, or if additional funds become available, grant awards may be increased proportionately. The Department will negotiate the final funding amount. ETA may require grant recipients to revise budget documents prior to award execution to account for discrepancies between funding requests and actual award amounts.

The period of performance for CAREER DWGs is two years, and grant funds will be available for expenditure through September 30, 2023. However, the Department reserves the right to provide period of performance extensions beyond this date, as it deems appropriate and necessary, to achieve the purposes of these awards.

f. Use of Funds.

i. Administrative costs under this award follow the definition in the Workforce

Innovation and Opportunity Act at 20 CFR 683.215.

ii. DWGs are subject to the Uniform Guidance: Uniform Administrative

Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2

CFR Part 200 and OMB’s approved exceptions for the Department at 2 CFR Part

2900.

g. Application Requirements. In an effort to achieve greater efficiency and as part of

ETA’s ongoing effort to streamline the grant award process, grantees must submit the following items through Grants.gov at www.grants.gov:

http://www.grants.gov/

An electronically signed copy of a SF-424 - Application for Federal Assistance

(OMB Control No. 4040-0004);

An SF-424A - Budget Information – Non-Construction Programs (OMB Control

No. 4040-0006);

A Budget Narrative to explain the projected costs reflected in each line item of the

SF-424A, demonstrating how grant funds will be used. See Attachment B for instructions on completing the budget narrative;

A completed Project Synopsis (Attachment A);

Letter(s) demonstrating required partnerships or eligibility, per the table below:

Applicant Type

Required Letters

Confirming

Partnerships in the

CAREER DWG

Required Letters

Regarding

Eligibility for the

CAREER DWG

State or Outlying

Area Workforce

Agency

Local Workforce

Development Board or

American Job Center

(at least one) n/a

Local Workforce

Development Board n/a n/a

Section 166 Entity

(Native American

Tribe)

Local Workforce

Development Board or

American Job Center

(at least one) n/a

Entity determined eligible by the

Governor of the state involved

Local Workforce

Development Board or

American Job Center

(at least one)

Letter from the

Governor in support of eligibility;

additional requirements included below this table

Other entities demonstrating to the

Secretary the capability to effectively implement this grant

Local Workforce

Development Board or

American Job Center

(at least one)

See below

Applicants applying under the category of an entity determined eligible by the

Governor must additionally include all documentation as required in section

4.b.ii.D of this TEGL.

Applicants applying under the category of “other entities demonstrating to the

Secretary the capability to effectively implement this grant” must additionally include all documentation as required in section 4.b.ii.E of this TEGL.

If an applicant fails to provide any of the documents described above their application will be deemed non-responsive and not funded.

All applicants must commit to submitting performance data through the Workforce

Integrated Performance System (WIPS) as a condition of award, and must affirm this in the submission of the Project Synopsis form.3

An electronically submitted SF-424 through Grants.gov constitutes the official signed document and must reflect the total amount requested in item #18, Estimated Funding.

Item #11 must include the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number, 17.277.

ETA encourages application submission as soon as possible; however, applications must be received by 4:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. ETA plans to award all

CAREER DWGs by September 30, 2021.

h. Grants.gov Submission Process. Applicants must submit the application package through Grants.gov. Applicants needing to register with Grants.gov may do so here:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-registration.html. Registration is a one-time process, and applicants that already have a Grants.gov account do not need to register again.

To submit the required application package, applicants must:

i. Select the SEARCH GRANTS tab on the Grants.gov homepage.

ii. Under the section, BASIC SEARCH CRITERIA, enter the Funding Opportunity Number: ETA-TEGL-25-20

iii. Select the link to the applicable Opportunity Number provided in the search results.

iv. Select the PACKAGE tab.

v. Under the ACTIONS column, select APPLY.

Submitting the SF-424 through www.grants.gov constitutes an electronically signed SF-

424, Application for Federal Assistance. This submission process may at times be complicated and time-consuming. As such, the Department strongly encourages applicants to initiate the process as soon as possible, in order to allow time to resolve unanticipated technical problems.

3 For WIOA Section 166-eligible applicants and any other applicants who do not have the capability to submit performance data through WIPS, ETA will negotiate alternative methods of reporting program performance data after grant award. For these entities, an inability to submit performance data will not be disqualifying for this grant.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/grantors/grantor-registration.html http://www.grants.gov/

Submission requirements stipulate that all applicants for Federal grant and funding opportunities must have a Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S®) number, and must supply their D-U-N-S® number on the SF-424.

Before submitting, applicants must also ensure its registration with the System for Award

Management (SAM) is current. Applicants may find instructions for registering with

SAM at https://www.sam.gov. An awardee must maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application under consideration. To remain registered in the SAM database after the initial registration, entities must review and update the registration at least every 12 months from the date of initial registration. Failure to register with SAM and maintain an active account will result in Grants.gov rejecting the application submission.

For technical issues encountered during application submission, applicants may call 800-

518-4726 or 606-545-5035 to speak to a Customer Support Representative, or email support@grants.gov. The Contact Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but closes on federal holidays.

i. Other Award Considerations. At its discretion, ETA intends to fund applicants who adequately demonstrate eligibility according to the application requirements set out in

Section 4g above. ETA may elect to award a grant with or without discussions with the applicant. Should a grant be awarded without discussions, the award will be based on the applicant’s signature on the SF-424, including electronic signature, which constitutes a binding offer by the applicant.

NOTE: The Department will determine if the applicant had any restriction on spending for any ETA grant due to adverse monitoring findings within the past three years.

Depending on the severity of the findings, the Grant Officer may elect to not provide the applicant a grant award or to impose conditions on the award.

All applications deemed to be complete and responsive by the Grant Officer will go through a risk review process. Before making an award, ETA will review information available through any OMB-designated repository of government-wide eligibility qualification or federal integrity information, such as the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Dun and Bradstreet, and “Do Not Pay.”

Additionally, ETA will comply with the requirements of 2 CFR Part 180 (Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-Procurement)). This risk evaluation may incorporate results of the evaluation of the applicant’s eligibility (application screening), or the quality of its application (technical review). If ETA determines that an entity is responsible and an award will be made, special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk assessed may be applied to the award. Risk-related criteria evaluated include:

Financial stability;

Quality of management systems and ability to meet the management standards prescribed in the Uniform Grant Guidance;

History of performance. The Applicant’s record in managing awards, cooperative https://www.sam.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov agreements, or procurement awards, if it is a prior recipient of such Federal awards, including timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements, and if available, the extent to which any previously awarded amounts will be expended prior to future awards;

Reports and findings from audits performed under Sub-part F – Audit

Requirements of the Uniform Grant Guidance (2 CFR sections 200.500 –

200.520) or the reports and findings of any other available audits and monitoring reports containing finds, issues of non-compliance, or questioned costs; and

The applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on recipients.

Selection of an organization as a recipient does not constitute approval of the grant application as submitted. Before the actual grant is awarded, the Department may enter into negotiations about such items as program components, staffing and funding levels, and administrative systems in place to support grant implementation. If the negotiations do not result in a mutually acceptable submission, the Grant Officer reserves the right to terminate the negotiations and decline to fund the application. The Department reserves the right to not fund any application related to this TEGL.

j. Grantee Performance Reporting Requirements. Performance accountability requirements for all DWGs, including CAREER DWGs, is in TEGL14-18, “Performance

Accountability Guidance Relating to Reporting Performance and Aligning Performance

Definitions and Policies Across Workforce Employment and Training Programs

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.” Information on DWG performance is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/dislocated-workers/performance.

The DWG program applies performance measures as described in WIOA Section 116.

These include the following:

Planned Employment Rate (2nd Quarter after Exit) (e.g. 75%)

Planned Employment Rate (4th Quarter after Exit) (e.g. 75%)

Planned Median Earnings (per quarter earnings rate, after 2nd quarter after employment)

Planned Credential Rate

Planned Measurable Skill Gains Rate

For grantees that are states or outlying areas, state performance goals for the WIOA title I

Dislocated Worker Program serve as a basis for each DWG. Grantees that are a local WDB use goals that the local WDB negotiated with the state for the title I Dislocated Worker program as a basis for each DWG. Entities in the WIOA section 166(c) Native American

Program use goals established for that program as a basis for DWG performance targets.

For these and other eligible entities, goals approved in the DWG application serve as final performance targets. Applicants who do not intend to use the state or local negotiated goals for the above measures must explain what goals they will use and why those goals will be used in lieu of the negotiated goals.

Unless otherwise specified in footnote 3 above, DWG grantees must submit performance https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/dislocated-workers/performance data using the WIPS. Information on this system is available on the WIPS Resource

Page: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/performance/wips/.

DWG grantees must submit financial reports using the ETA-9130 (G) Financial

Report. Guidance and instructions are available at the following link:

https://www.doleta.gov/grants/financial_reporting.cfm. ETA expects an applicant to have the appropriate systems or partnerships in place to submit required performance data as described in this section. An applicant must commit to submitting the required performance data to receive a grant award under this funding announcement.

k. Evaluation. As a condition of grant award, grantees are required to participate in an evaluation, if undertaken by DOL. The evaluation may include an implementation assessment across grantees, an impact and/or outcomes analysis of all or selected sites within or across grantees, and a benefit/cost analysis or assessment of return on investment. Conducting an impact analysis could involve random assignment (which involves random assignment of eligible participants into a treatment group that would receive program services or enhanced program services, or into control group(s) that would receive no program services or program services that are not enhanced). We may require applicants to collect data elements to aid the evaluation. As a part of the evaluation, as a condition of award, grantees must agree to: (1) make records available to the evaluation contractor on participants, employers, and funding; (2) provide access to program operating personnel, participants, and operational and financial records, and any other relevant documents to calculate program costs and benefits; and (3) in the case of an impact analysis, facilitate the assignment by lottery of participants to program services, including the possible increased recruitment of potential participants; and (4) follow evaluation procedures as specified by the evaluation contractor under the direction of DOL.

l. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Statement. The OMB Information Collection No

1225-0086, Expires July 31, 2022.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

This information is being collected for the purpose of awarding a grant. DOL will use the information collected through this solicitation to ensure that grants are awarded to the applicants best suited to perform the functions of the grant. This information is required to be considered for this grant.

5. Inquiries. Questions regarding this guidance should be directed to Grant Specialist Mary

Walek at DOL-ETA-DWG@dol.gov with CAREER DWG in the subject line.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/performance/wips/ https://www.doleta.gov/grants/financial_reporting.cfm mailto:DOL-ETA-DWG@dol.gov

6. References.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), sec. 170, Pub. L. No. 113-128, 128 STAT. 1425, 1573-1576 (July 22, 2014);

20 CFR pt. 687;

Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 12-19, National Dislocated

Worker Grant Program Guidance (March 18, 2020);

TEGL No. 14-18 – Aligning Performance Accountability Reporting, Definitions, and

Policies Across Workforce Employment and Training Programs Administered by the

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) (March 25, 2019); and

TEGL No. 19-16 – Guidance on Services Provided through the Adult and Dislocated

Worker Programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES), as amended by title III of WIOA, and for the implementation of the WIOA Final Rules (March 1, 2017).

7. Attachment(s).

A. Project Synopsis

B. Instruction Sheet for Budget Narrative

A-1

ATTACHMENT A

Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable Recovery

(CAREER) National Dislocated Worker Grant

Project Synopsis

This synopsis must be completed and submitted along with other required application materials as described in Section 4.g of the CAREER DWG TEGL. If more space is required than the synopsis provides, please attach additional pages with that information clearly identified. ETA will not review any information in excess of five additional pages.

Applications that do not include all the required information in this synopsis will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Instructions: Please complete all of the following elements in this table.

Applicant Organization

Name

Applicant Organization Type Select the appropriate type of eligible applicant.

☐ State or Outlying Area Workforce Agency (or consortium of states or outlying areas)

☐ Local Workforce Development Board (WDB) or consortium of WDBs

☐ An entity eligible for funding through the Indian and Native American program in WIOA Section 166(c)

☐ Entities determined eligible by the Governor of the state involved

(These entities must provide a letter from the Governor with application submission, as well as a letter from at least one WDB, as required in section 4.b.iii of the TEGL)

☐ Entities demonstrating to the Secretary the capability to implement this grant (These entities must submit additional documentation supporting their eligibility, as well as additional letters of support/partnership, as required in section 4.b.ii of the TEGL.)

Number of Participants

Projected to be Served

Participant Eligibility

Applicant acknowledges that the only eligible participants are dislocated workers as described in Section 4.b.iii of the TEGL.

☐ Yes

☐ No

Priority Participant

Population(s)

Describe those populations

☐ Individuals from historically-marginalized communities or groups

Why chosen:

A-2 of eligible dislocated workers you intend to serve, and why such groups were chosen. ☐ Individuals have been unemployed for an extended period of time or who have exhausted UI or other Pandemic Unemployment Insurance programs

Why chosen:

☐ Other eligible dislocated workers

Why chosen:

Project Service Area

Describe the geographic areas to be served by the proposed grant. If all activities will be carried out statewide, indicate here. If some activities will be statewide and others in geographic regions, please include both options and list communities included.

☐ Statewide

☐ Counties/Communities (list):

Rationale for Project

Service Area Provide a brief (approximately

250 words) description of why the service area(s) for this proposed project were chosen, including how providing services in these areas will help address the goal of the

CAREER DWG.

Consent to Submitting

Performance Data

Commitment to ensuring ability to submit performance data through WIPS as required in Section 4.g of the

TEGL.

☐ Yes

☐ No

A-3

Performance Reporting

As described in section 4.j. of the TEGL, applicants must indicate the performance outcomes they intend to achieve in their proposed project.

Planned Employment Rate (2nd Quarter after Exit) (e.g. 75%):

Planned Employment Rate (4th Quarter after Exit) (e.g. 75%):

Planned Median Earnings (per quarter earnings rate, after 2nd quarter after employment):

Planned Credential Rate:

Planned Measurable Skill Gains Rate:

Performance Outcomes

Are the planned performance outcomes for the activities in this project the same as the applicable negotiated goals established for state or local formula Dislocated Worker

Programs?

Applicants who do not intend to use the state or local negotiated goals for the above measures must explain what goals they will use and why those goals will be used in lieu of the negotiated goals.

☐ Yes

☐ No, please explain why

Partnership with Public Workforce System Entities Instructions: To ensure proper participant eligibility determinations as well as delivery of appropriate career, training, and supportive services, at least one local Workforce Development Board (WDB) or American Job

Center (AJC), located in the area(s) proposed to be covered by the grant, must be a partner in the grant.

Applicants must complete the table below and include at least one required partner, as described in Section

4.d.iv of the TEGL.

Required Partner

Name

Entity Type (Local

Workforce Development

Board; AJC)

Geographic Area

Covered by Partner

Partnership Letter

Included? (Y/N)

Ex. Coastal Workforce

Board

Local Board 6-county area including

A, B, C, D, E and F counties

Y

A-4

Strategic Partners (Optional) Instructions: Per section 4.c.ii.B of the TEGL, applicants may propose to organize and maintain strategic partnerships, as well as contractual arrangements where appropriate, with community organizations or other entities to develop targeted efforts aimed at identifying and enrolling eligible participants from priority communities. These partnerships may help ensure grant success but are not required to be included in the application.

Partner Name Partner Type

(Employer/industry, education, economic development, community organization, etc)

Partner Role(s) In

Proposed Project

Geographic Area

Covered by Partner

Ex. Community Health

Association

Community organization Outreach to potential participants

City of Alexandria;

Fairfax County

Project Summary Instructions: Per section 4.d.i, applicants must briefly describe their vision for how their proposed project will achieve the goal of the CAREER DWG, including which of the required and allowable activities they intend to carry out.

Grant Activities

Instructions: Applicants must Brief Description of Activities (Approximately 250 words or fewer for

A-5 identify which of the required and allowable activities they intend to employ under the grant to achieve the goal of the program.

each element)

The goal of the CAREER DWG is to help reemploy dislocated workers most affected by the economic and employment fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those from historically-marginalized communities or groups, and those who have been unemployed for an extended period of time or who have exhausted UI or other Pandemic Unemployment Insurance programs.

A. Required Grant Activities

Applicants for CAREER DWG funds must commit to providing at least one of the following activities.

☐ Provide career and training activities for participants, including staff-assisted career services and appropriate supportive services, focused on reemployment. See section

4.c.i.A for more information.

☐ Research, purchase, build, or expand virtual technology applications or platforms for job search, career guidance, training, or other activities to expand the capacity of the workforce system to serve larger numbers of dislocated workers and job seekers, to ensure accessibility to services beyond the physical American

Job Centers, and to ensure that service delivery will not be interrupted due to emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. See section 4.c.i.B for examples and additional information.

A-6

B. Allowable Grant Activities

Applicants may carry out other activities to support the project design and in order to achieve the goal of the

CAREER DWG program. Please select any of the options below that will be included in the proposed project, and provide a brief description of how these activities enable the success of the project. For additional information on these allowable activities see section 4.c.ii of the TEGL.

☐ Creating and executing focused outreach campaigns designed to reach priority populations and other potentially-eligible participants to ensure they are able to enroll in grant-funded activities.

☐ Organizing and maintaining strategic partnerships, including contractual arrangements, with community organizations or other entities to identify and enroll eligible participants from target communities

☐ Carrying out other allowable activities that are intended to achieve the goal of the CAREER DWG

C. Achieving the CAREER DWG Goal

The applicant must demonstrate that its project will help move its workforce toward high-quality family sustaining-wage employment opportunities and address the economic and workforce challenges caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these challenges, applicants must briefly (in approximately 250 words or less) identify and describe how the strategies or approaches described above will help to achieve the goal of the CAREER DWG as described in section 4.a of the TEGL.

A-7

B-1

ATTACHMENT B

Budget Form and Narrative Instructions

Budget Information Form

You must complete the SF-424A Budget Information Form (available at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1). In preparing the Budget

Information Form, you must provide a concise narrative explanation to support the budget request, explained in detail below.

Budget Narrative

The Budget Narrative must provide a description of costs associated with each line item on the

SF-424A. It must separate the primary cost components of each line item, which when added together provide the line item total. It must also provide the basis for the costs, and the function or use of particular items. The Budget Narrative should also include a section describing any leveraged resources provided (as applicable) to support grant activities. Leveraged resources are all resources, both cash and in-kind, in excess of this award. Valuation of leveraged resources follows the same requirements as match. Applicants are encouraged to leverage resources to increase stakeholder investment in the project and broaden the impact of the project itself.

Each category should include the total cost for the period of performance. Use the following guidance for preparing the Budget Narrative.

Personnel: List all staff positions by title (both current and proposed) including the roles and responsibilities. For each position give the annual salary, the percentage of time devoted to the project, and the amount of each position’s salary funded by the grant.

Fringe Benefits: Provide a breakdown of the amounts and percentages that comprise fringe benefit costs such as health insurance, FICA, retirement, etc.

Travel: For grantee staff only, specify the purpose, number of staff traveling, mileage, per diem, estimated number of in-state and out-of-state trips, and other costs for each type of travel.

Applicants who would like to attend any post-award technical assistance events will need to request funding for travel costs under the Travel line item; ARC and DRA may host no more than three, two-day technical assistance events through the life of these grants. Applicants are encouraged to follow federal per diem rates when calculating costs for travel (e.g. meals, lodging, transportation, mileage). More information on federal per diem rates can be found at https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates).

Equipment: Identify each item of equipment you expect to purchase that has an estimated acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit (or if your capitalization level is less than $5,000, use your capitalization level) and a useful lifetime of more than one year (see 2 CFR 200.1 for the definition of Equipment). List the item, quantity, and the unit cost per item.

Items with a unit cost of less than $5,000 are supplies, not “equipment.” In general, we do not permit the purchase of equipment during the last funded year of the grant. Supplies: Identify categories of supplies (e.g., office supplies) in the detailed budget and list the item, quantity, and

B-2 the unit cost per item. Supplies include all tangible personal property other than “equipment”

(see 2 CFR 200.1 for the definition of Supplies).

Contractual: Under the Contractual line item, delineate contracts and subawards separately.

Contracts are defined according to 2 CFR 200.1 as a legal instrument by which a non-federal entity purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a federal award. A subaward, defined by 2 CFR 200.1, means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a federal award received by the pass-through entity.