FOA-ETA-17-02.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR:

REENTRY PROJECTS (RP)

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: FOA-ETA-17-02

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 17.270

KEY DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications under this Announcement is April 27, 2017. We must receive applications no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: Address mailed applications to:

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management Attention: Melissa Abdullah, Grant Officer Reference FOA-ETA-17-02 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716 Washington, DC 20210

For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to Section IV.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department, or we), announces the availability of approximately $66 million in grant funds authorized by section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which authorizes research and evaluations to improve the management and effectiveness of workforce programs and activities such as these Reentry Projects (RP). Projects funded under this FOA are authorized under Section 212 of the Second Chance Act of 2007. These projects are required partners in the American Job Centers (AJCs) under WIOA sec.

121(b)(1)(B) and must share in the funding of the One-Stop Delivery System. The sharing and allocation of infrastructure cost among one-stop partners are governed by WIOA sec.

121(h) Applicants should refer to Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA 17-16 at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=4968. The Department intends to award these grants to a combination of rural- and urban-serving organizations.

https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=4968

WIOA, which was passed in 2014, promotes a job-driven integrated system of workforce solutions that connect every type of job seeker with the employers in need of skilled workers. Through this announcement, ETA seeks to enhance both adult and young adult reentry strategies through collaboration with the field to identify, define, and respond to emerging or chronic reentry challenges and issues by improving employment outcomes for these populations. ETA is seeking proposed strategies to address these issues, including trying new approaches, addressing gaps in services, building or translating research knowledge, or building capacity. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) provides an opportunity to propose projects that bring fresh perspectives and ideas to improve the employment outcomes for adults and young adults involved in the justice system.

This FOA provides the opportunity for organizations to build customized projects from evidence-based and informed interventions or from promising practices. These projects will serve either young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system or adults ages 25 or older who have been incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released from prison or jail within 180 days. All projects must be located in high-poverty, high-crime communities.

We have learned from previous REO programs that individuals who exit the correctional system are faced with a myriad of challenges that include a lack of education and employment skills, antisocial attitudes and values, mental health and substance abuse problems, medical issues, lack of housing, and family issues.

The focus of this initiative is to assist communities in planning and implementing comprehensive "reentry" programs to address the full range of challenges involved in helping formerly incarcerated adults and young adults who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system make successful transitions back to the community. The intent of this initiative is to protect community safety by ensuring that these individuals:

• become productive, responsible, and law-abiding members of society;

• are provided with positive opportunities to engage in pro-social activities such as employment and/or education;

• maintain long-term employment;

• sustain a stable residence; and

• successfully address their substance abuse issues and mental health needs, as applicable, through partnerships with local programs.

Applicants will propose the design and methods for these projects based on current evidence and research of “what works,” as well as promising practices. These projects designed by organizations in the field have the flexibility of setting their own goals but must result in employment for their participants. Field-initiated project designs have been used to develop methods that maximize inclusion and integration into society, employment, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency for disadvantaged populations in a range of disciplines. These types of projects have limited parameters set by the funding organizations and allows for new ideas and practices to be developed, while still having an evidence informed foundation. These reentry projects will support the improvement and effectiveness of services, and the Department supports the testing of promising practices and services as well as established services in new combinations.

Applicants must propose evidence-based and informed interventions or new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising (or a combination of both) that lead to increased employment outcomes for their target populations and must frame their goals and objectives to address this issue; applicants are able to select and implement different program services and/or features of program models. (Examples of previous studies and evaluations that DOL has conducted on reentry programs, as well as other evidence-based and promising practices can be found in Section VIII.E. of this Announcement; applicants are encouraged to review these resources but are not limited to the examples provided.)

The Department is interested in understanding what works or is promising from the field and empowering applicants to assemble the model that will deliver the best results for the participants in their projects. In addition, the Department will conduct an independent evaluation of the projects to evaluate those services and determine what works best for these populations; the Department’s evaluation will include but is not limited to the required elements cited in WIOA, Sec. 169(a)(2)(A)-(G). Please note that all proposed projects must include employment-focused services as well as case management and legal services (as outlined in Section IV.B.3.(c) of this Announcement); case management is defined in WIOA under career services, Section 134(c)(2).

Eligible applicants must choose to apply as either an intermediary organization (for the purpose of this Announcement, intermediary organizations are defined as organizations that have an affiliate network or offices in at least three communities and across at least two states) or as a community-based organization (CBO) (for the purpose of the Announcement, CBOs are organizations with single sites or multiple sites within one state) for each application.

Applicants may submit up to two applications, one to serve young adults and one to serve adults but may not propose to serve both populations (adults and young adults) through one combined application.

Through this announcement, ETA plans to award approximately $66,000,000 total through approximately twenty-eight (28) grant awards. ETA plans to award up to $4,500,000 each to approximately eight (8) intermediary organizations, approximately three (3) proposing to serve adults and approximately five (5) proposing to serve young adults; ETA will award at least $20 million to intermediaries serving young adults. ETA also plans to award up to $1,500,000 each to approximately twenty (20) CBOs, approximately thirteen (13) proposing to serve adults and approximately seven (7) proposing to serve young adults.

DOL intends to award grants that serve adults to urban-serving organizations and grants that serve young adults to a combination of rural- and urban-serving organizations.

These grants have a performance period of 36 months, which includes a planning period, period of operation, and follow-up period; the period of operation must be at least 24 months of the total period of performance.

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Department will competitively select applicants that have proposed service delivery approaches that are comprised of evidence-based and informed interventions previously shown to achieve successful employment outcomes for justice-involved individuals or new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising (or a combination of both).

Models must provide solutions to improving workforce outcomes for justice-involved individuals located in high-poverty, high-crime communities. Applicants must have a clear framework for delivering services and must identify their goals and objectives that lead to better employment outcomes for this population.

Applicants must provide a detailed description of the need for services in their target communities; their expected outcomes; their project design; their organizational, administrative, and fiscal capacity; and their past performance and programmatic capability. The Department is particularly interested in organizations that have demonstrated programmatic capability serving justice-involved individuals. Applicants identified as intermediary organizations must identify their proposed sub-grantees, including their locations in areas of high poverty and high crime, and describe how the sub-grantees will implement the Applicant’s program design.

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

This Announcement solicits applications for Reentry Projects. The purpose of these grants is to use evidence-based and informed interventions, or new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising, (or a combination of both) to improve employment outcomes of adults ages 25 and older that were formerly incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released within 180 days or young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system. Grants for adults and young adults must be located in high-poverty, high-crime communities.

B. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Section 169, Public Law 113-128, codified at 29 U.S.C. 3224, and Section 212 of the Second Chance Act (SCA), Public Law 110-199, codified at 42 U.S.C. 17532, authorize this program.

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT

Funding will be provided in the form of a grant.

We expect availability of approximately $66,000,000 to fund approximately twenty-eight

(28) grants. We expect to award approximately eight (8) grants to intermediary organizations, approximately three (3) proposing to serve adults and approximately five

(5) proposing to serve young adults, and approximately twenty (20) grants to CBOs, approximately thirteen (13) proposing to serve adults and approximately seven (7) proposing to serve young adults; ETA will award at least $20 million to intermediaries serving young adults. Applicants applying as intermediary organizations may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $4,500,000; applicants applying as CBOs may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $1,500,000. Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of Federal funds. In the event that additional funds become available, we reserve the right to use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this Announcement.

DOL intends to award grants serving young adults to a combination of rural- and urban-serving organizations and grants serving adults to urban-serving organizations. According to the U.S. Census 2010 definition, “rural” encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area (see http://www.census.gov for more information). For the purposes of this FOA, any Census tract that is either an Urbanized Area or an Urban Cluster is considered “urban;” any Census tract that is neither an Urbanized Area nor an Urban Cluster is considered “rural.”

Applicants must not exceed an $8,000 cost-per-participant (CPP) for the duration of this grant, which includes administrative, planning, and follow-up costs. The CPP calculation divides the total DOL grant award by the number of proposed enrolled participants.

Grantees must serve at least the number of participants identified in their application.

Intermediary organizations submitting applications requesting the maximum $4,500,000 must ensure that their sub-grantees cumulatively serve at least 563 participants over 36 months; CBOs submitting applications requesting the maximum $1,500,000 must serve at least at 188 participants over 36 months. Grantee’s specific enrollment goals will be confirmed upon grant award and will ensure that the maximum $8,000 CPP is not exceeded.

B. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

These grants have a performance period of 36 months, which includes a planning period, period of operation, and follow-up period; the period of operation must be at least 24 months of the total period of performance. The anticipated start date is July 1, 2017.

To ensure that grantees are prepared to begin program implementation, the Federal Project Officer (FPO) will review the completion of specific preliminary steps within the identified planning period of the grant. Grantees must complete these key preliminary steps during the planning period: hiring key staff (Director, Fiscal Manager, and Case Manager), securing locations to house the training, finalizing sub-grant agreements, http://www.census.gov/ meeting with any additional partners identified in the application to solidify partnerships, and ensuring readiness for inputting data into the DOL Management Information System (MIS). The Department may subject grantees that do not meet these preliminary steps to corrective action. The application to the FOA serves as the Statement of Work for the grant.

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Eligible applicants must indicate if they are applying as either an intermediary organization (for the purpose of this Announcement, intermediary organizations are defined as organizations that have an affiliate network or offices in at least three communities and across at least two states) or as a community-based organization (CBO) (for the purpose of the Announcement, CBOs are organizations with single sites or multiple sites within one state) for each application.

Applicants must then select their target population. Applicants may propose to serve either adults (ages 25 or older) or young adults (ages 18-24) in each application but may not serve both adults and young adults in the same application. Applicants may submit up to one application to serve adults and up to one application to serve young adults for a total of two applications. Applicants may include current or former DOL grantees; new applicants that have not received previous DOL grants are also encouraged to apply.

All applicants must comply with the eligibility requirements below:

• Eligible applicants targeting Adults are limited to nonprofit community-or faith-based organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, including women’s and minority organizations. Applicants must provide services in an urbanized area or urban cluster, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Eligible applicants targeting Young Adults are limited to either community- or faith-based organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, including women’s and minority organizations; state or local governments; or any Indian and Native American entity eligible for grants under Section 166 of WIOA. Applicants targeting young adults may be rural or urban-serving organizations.

Applicants must use the latest available American Community Survey 5-Year data to find the cumulative poverty rate of the various Census Tracts or counties included in their target community or communities. Applicants must also compare the most recently available violent crime rate of the police precinct, sheriff’s office, county police department, or other relevant jurisdiction that most closely overlaps with their target community or communities to the violent crime rate of the overall city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas) where each target community is located.

Applicants must justify the number of participants that they will serve and demonstrate that the project location is in a high-poverty, high-crime community. Applicants must provide a table that shows: the overall population and population below the poverty level of each Census Tract in the target community and all Census Tracts combined as well as the violent crime rate for each target community, calculated as described above. Instructions for accessing American Community Survey data for applicants to include in their applications are in Section VIII, Part F of this FOA.

For the purpose of this FOA, high-poverty and high-crime rates are defined as:

• High-poverty rate: communities with poverty rates of at least 30 percent, as exhibited through the use of American Community Survey (ACS) data, as outlined below.

• High-crime rate: communities with violent crime rates within the targeted area that are higher than the violent crime rate of the overall city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas), as outlined below. (For more information on metropolitan counties, see: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx.)

Furthermore, applicants will receive priority consideration of two (2) bonus points if the applicant (if applying as a CBO) or at least one sub-grantee (if applying as an intermediary organization) has designation as a member of a Promise Zone collaboration; applicants will not receive additional bonus points for more than one Promise Zone sub-grantee. (For more information about Promise Zones, go to: www.HUD.gov/promisezones.

Selection of Sub-Grantees by Intermediary Organizations Applicants applying as intermediary organizations must select and identify in their application their intended sub-grantees. Applicants do not need to competitively select local sub-grantees. Applicants must select intended sub-grantees before submitting their applications and must identify all local sub-grantees and sites in their applications.

Applicants may, but are not required to, select their local offices, affiliates, or members to serve as one or more sub-grantees. Applicants must include all poverty and crime rate data identified above for each sub-grantee and target community.

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

This program does not require cost sharing or matching funds. Including such funds is not one of the application screening criteria and applications that include any form of cost sharing or match will not receive additional consideration during the review process.

Instead, the agency considers any resources contributed to the project beyond the funds provided by the agency as leveraged resources. Section IV.B.2 provides more information on leveraged resources.

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria You should use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package to ensure that the application has met all of the screening criteria. Note that this checklist is only an aid for applicants and should not be included in the application package. We urge you to use this checklist to ensure that your application contains all required items. If your http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx file://ETA-940-01/shared/OWI/Youth%20Services/2%20-%20REO/01%20-%20SGAs/PY2015/Field%20Initated%20Demo%20Projects/www.HUD.gov/promisezones application does not meet all of the screening criteria, it will not move forward through the merit review process.

Application Requirement Instructions Complete?

The deadline submission requirements are met Section IV.C

Eligibility Section III.A

If submitted through Grants.gov, the components of the application are saved in any of the specified formats and are not corrupt.

(We will attempt to open the document, but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening.)

Section IV.C.

Application Federal funds request does not exceed the ceiling amount of $4,500,000 for intermediary organizations or $1,500,000 for CBOs

Section II.A

SAM Registration Section IV.B.1

SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance Section IV.B.1

SF-424 includes an Unique Entity Identifier Section IV.B.1

SF-424A, Budget Information Form Section IV.B.2

Budget Narrative Section IV.B.2

Project Narrative Section IV.B.3

2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit We will consider up to two applications from each organization, one for each target population. In each application, applicants must select to be identified as either an intermediary organization or a CBO. If we receive multiple applications from the same organization for the same target population, we will only consider the most recently received application that met the deadline. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, we will not replace it with an earlier application. We will deem applications proposing to serve both target populations in the same application as unresponsive and disqualified.

3. Eligible Participants

a) Participants Eligible to Receive Training

(1) Young Adults

An individual is eligible to participate in a program funded through this FOA if that individual, on the date of enrollment:

• is at least 18 years and not older than 24 years of age;

• is currently involved or has been involved with the juvenile or adult justice system, which includes:

o previously incarcerated;

o under the supervision of the justice system, either in out-of-home placements, on probation, or on parole;

o under an alternative sentence by the justice system; or under a diversion program as an alternative to prosecution; and

• has never been convicted of a sex crime other than prostitution.

(2) Adults

An individual is eligible to participate in a program funded through this FOA if that individual, on the date of enrollment:

• is 25 years of age or older;

• has never been convicted of a sex crime other than prostitution;

• was previously incarcerated and released within 180 days; or

• is currently under supervision (i.e., confined in a correctional facility with release date within 6-months, residing in a residential reentry center, on electronic monitoring or home-based monitoring, or enrolled in a jail-based work release center)

Grantees have the discretion to enroll individuals convicted of violent offenses or assessed as high-risk. Grantees that serve this population must conduct a rigorous risk assessment of criminogenic need.

Applicants proposing to serve this population may adjust their outcomes accordingly; enrollment goals based on cost-per-participant may not be reduced. In all cases, the grantee must have a clear and consistent written enrollment policy that addresses program enrollment. More information on risk assessments can be found at http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/the-reentry-and-employment-project/ as well as in Section VIII, Part G of this FOA.

NOTE: Male participants are required to register for selective service before participating in services. Grantees should determine eligibility of male participants by accessing the Selective Service System at https://www.sss.gov/. For additional guidance, including how this requirement applies to male participants incarcerated at the time of their 18th birthdays, please see Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 11-11. Change 2 clarifies the implementation of the Selective Service registration requirements of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 § 189(h) for grantees funded or authorized by Title I of WIA, located at http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_11-http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/the-reentry-and-employment-project/ http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/the-reentry-and-employment-project/ https://www.sss.gov/ http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_11-11_change2.pdf

11_change2.pdf. This guidance applies to grants funded or authorized by

WIOA.

b) Veterans’ Priority for Participants 38 U.S.C. 4215 requires grantees to provide priority of service to veterans and spouses of certain veterans for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services in any job training program directly funded, in whole or in part, by DOL. The regulations implementing this priority of service are at 20 CFR Part 1010. In circumstances where a grant recipient must choose between two qualified candidates for a service, one of whom is a veteran or eligible spouse, the veterans’ priority of service provisions require that the grant recipient give the veteran or eligible spouse priority of service by first providing him or her that service. To obtain priority of service, a veteran or spouse must meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Grantees must comply with DOL guidance on veterans’ priority. ETA’s Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 10-09 (issued November 10, 2009) provides guidance on implementing priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses in all qualified job training programs funded in whole or in part by DOL. TEGL No. 10-09 is available at http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816 .

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

This FOA, found at www.Grants.gov and http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm , contains all of the information and links to forms needed to apply for grant funding.

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Applications submitted in response to this FOA must consist of four separate and distinct parts:

1. the SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance;”

2. Project Budget;

3. Project Narrative; and

4. attachments to the Project Narrative.

You must ensure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts and sub-parts of the application.

1. SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance”

• You must complete the SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance” (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1- V2.1.pdf.

http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_11-11_change2.pdf http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816 http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf

• In the address field, fill out the nine-digit (plus hyphen) zip code. Nine-digit zip codes can be looked up on the USPS website at https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action .

• The SF-424 must clearly identify the applicant and must be signed by an individual with authority to enter into a grant agreement. Upon confirmation of an award, the individual signing the SF-424 on behalf of the applicant is considered the Authorized Representative of the applicant. As stated in block 21 of the SF-424 form, the signature of the Authorized Representative on the SF-424 certifies that the organization is in compliance with the Assurances and Certifications form SF-424B (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424B-V1.1.pdf ).

You do not need to submit the SF-424B with the application.

In addition, the applicant’s Authorized Representative’s signature in block 21 of the SF-424 form constitutes assurance by the applicant of compliance with the following requirements in accordance with 29 CFR 37.20.

As a condition to the award of financial assistance from the Department of Labor under Title I WIOA1 , the grant applicant assures that it will comply fully with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws: Section 188 of the WIOA, which prohibits discrimination against all individuals in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or belief, and against beneficiaries on the basis of either citizenship/status as a lawfully admitted immigrant authorized to work in the United States or participation in any WIOA Title I— financially assisted program or activity; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color and national origin; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities; The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs. The grant applicant also assures that it will comply with 29 CFR part 38 and all other regulations implementing the laws listed above. This assurance applies to the grant applicant's operation of the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, and to all agreements the grant applicant makes to carry out the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. The grant applicant understands that the United States has the right to seek judicial enforcement of this assurance.

1 The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (“WIOA”, Public Law 113-128) was signed into law on July 22, 2014. Most provisions of WIOA became effective July 1, 2015. Grants awarded under this FOA are authorized by the WIOA, and the terms of the WIOA will apply to these grants for the life of the grants. Please note that in addition to the provisions of WIOA, grantees will also be subject to WIOA’s implementing regulations, which became effective on October 18, 2016.

https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424B-V1.1.pdf

- Requirement for Unique Entity Identifier All applicants for Federal grant and funding opportunities must have a unique entity identifier, and must supply their unique entity identifier on the SF-424.

Unique entity identifier means the identifier required for SAM registration to uniquely identify business entities. If you do not have a unique entity identifier, you can get one for free through the D&B website:

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do .

Grant recipients authorized to make subawards must meet these requirements related to unique entity identifiers

• Grant recipients must notify potential subawardees that no entity may receive a subaward from you unless the entity has provided its unique entity identifier to you.

• Grant recipients may not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its unique entity identifier to you.

(See, Appendix A to 2 CFR section 25.)

- Requirement for Registration with SAM

Applicants must register with the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application. Find instructions for registering with SAM can at https://www.sam.gov .

A recipient 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, the applicant is required to review and update the registration at least every 12 months from the date of initial registration or subsequently update its information in the SAM database to ensure it is current, accurate, and complete. For purposes of this paragraph, the applicant is the entity that meets the eligibility criteria and has the legal authority to apply and to receive the award. If an applicant has not fully complied with these requirements by the time the Grant Officer is ready to make a Federal award, the Grant Officer may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

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

http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424A-V1.0.pdf). 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 should also include a http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do https://www.sam.gov/ http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424A-V1.0.pdf description of leveraged resources provided (as applicable) to support grant activities.

Use the following guidance for preparing the budget narrative:

Personnel: List all staff positions by title (both current and proposed) that will work directly on this grant. Give the annual salary of each position, the percentage of each position’s time devoted to the project, the amount of each position’s salary funded by the grant, and the total personnel cost for the period of performance.

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

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

Equipment: Identify each item of equipment you expect to purchase which 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 200.33 for the definition of Equipment). List the quantity and 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 quantity and unit cost per item. Supplies include all tangible personal property other than “equipment” (see 2 CFR 200.94 for the definition of Supplies).

Contractual: Under the Contractual line item, delineate contracts and subawards separately. Contracts are defined according to 2 CFR 200.22 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 200.92, 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. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program.

For each proposed contract and subaward, specify the purpose and estimated cost.

Construction: Construction costs are not allowed and this line must be left as zero. Minor alterations to adjust an existing space for grant activities (such as a classroom alteration) may be allowable. We do not consider this as construction and you must show the costs on other appropriate lines such as Contractual.

Other: Provide clear and specific detail, including costs, for each item so that we are able to determine whether the costs are necessary, reasonable and allocable. List any item, such as stipends or incentives, not covered elsewhere here.

Indirect Costs: If you include indirect costs in the budget, then include one of the following:

a) If you have a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), provide an explanation of how the indirect costs are calculated. This explanation should include which portion of each line item, along with the associated costs, are included in your cost allocation base. Also provide a current version of the NICRA.

or

b) If you intend to claim indirect costs using the 10 percent de minimis rate, please confirm that your organization meets the requirements as described in 2 CFR 200.414(f). Clearly state that your organization has never received a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), and your organization is not one described in Appendix VII of 2 CFR 200, paragraph (D)(1)(b).

Applicants choosing to claim indirect costs using the de minimis rate must use Modified Total Direct Costs (see 2 CFR 200.68 below for definition) as their cost allocation base. Provide an explanation of which portion of each line item, along with the associated costs, are included in your cost allocation base. Note that there are various items not included in the calculation of Modified Total Direct Costs. See below the definitions to assist you in your calculation.

2 CFR 200.68 Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) means all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs, and with the approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs.

You will note that participant support costs are not included in modified total direct cost. Participant support costs are defined below.

2 CFR 200.75 Participant Support Cost means direct costs for items such as stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances, and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with conferences, or training projects.

See Section IV.B.4. and Section IV.E.1 for more information.

Additionally, the following link contains information regarding the negotiation of Indirect Cost Rates at DOL:

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/dcd/index.htm.

As mentioned in Section II.B., the proposed budget must ensure that adequate funding (a minimum of five percent) is set aside to support the required twelve-month follow-up period. The budget should adequately reflect this allotment.

Note that the SF-424, SF-424A, and budget narrative must include the entire Federal grant amount requested (not just one year). Applicants must also show cost sharing or match on the SF-424 (line 18b), SF-424A, and budget narrative.

Do not show leveraged resources on the SF-424 and SF-424A. You should describe leveraged resources in the budget narrative.

Applicants should list the same requested Federal grant amount on the SF-424, SF-424A, and budget narrative. If minor inconsistencies are found between the budget amounts specified on the SF-424, SF-424A, and the budget narrative, ETA will consider the SF-424 the official funding amount requested. However, if the amount specified on the SF-424 would render the application nonresponsive, the Grant Officer will use his or her discretion to determine whether the intended funding request and match are within the responsive range.

3. Project Narrative Preparing the Project Narrative

The Project Narrative must demonstrate your capability to implement the grant project in accordance with the provisions of this Announcement. It provides a comprehensive framework and description of all aspects of the proposed project. It must be succinct, self-explanatory, and well organized so that reviewers can understand the proposed project.

http://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/dcd/index.htm

The Project Narrative is limited to 25 double-spaced single-sided 8.5 x 11 inch pages for Intermediaries and 20 pages for CBO’s. All narratives must use Times New Roman 12 point text font and 1 inch margins. You must number the Project Narrative beginning with page number 1.

We will not read or consider any materials beyond the specified page limit in the application review process.

The following instructions provide all of the information needed to complete the Project Narrative. Carefully read and consider each section, and include all required information in your Project Narrative. The agency will evaluate the Project Narrative using the evaluation criteria identified in Section V.A. You must use the same section headers identified below for each section of the Project Narrative:

Applicants applying as intermediary organizations should describe throughout the Project Narrative the role of the sub-grantees in implementing the project, as appropriate. Applicants applying as CBOs should describe how they will directly implement the project.

(a) Statement of Need Applicants must identify:

• Geographic Areas Served: Identify the target geographic area(s) in which the project(s) will be located and demonstrate the need for services. Each geographic area may be described as city or local area boundaries, zip codes, or other means of identifying the specific area where services will be provided and should be supported by Census Tract data. Within each target community, Census Tracts that make up the community to be served must be contiguous. Applicants applying as intermediary organizations must identify each target area to be served by their sub-grantees; you must identify at least three sub-grantee target areas located in at least two states. Applicants applying to serve Adults must demonstrate that their target area(s) is located within an urbanized area or urban cluster, as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau in the most recently available census.

• High-Poverty, High-Crime: Demonstrate through data that the project geographic area(s) are high-poverty, high-crime communities, as defined above in Section III.A. Applicants should provide a poverty and crime rate table, as an attachment to the Project Narrative, that shows the overall population and the population below the poverty level of each Census Tract in each target area and all Census Tracts combined for each community; if a target area is an entire county, applicants only need to show the overall population and the population below the poverty level of the county. Applicants must also include in the table the most recently available violent crime rate of the police precinct, sheriff’s office, county police department, or other relevant jurisdiction that most closely overlaps with the target community to the violent crime rate of the overall city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas) for each sub-grantee target community. State the source of the violent crime data, the reason for the choice of that data source, and the jurisdiction measured. Applicants applying as intermediary organizations must provide the poverty and crime rate data identified above for each sub-grantee target area.

• Participants-Served: Identify the number of participants the applicant will serve. If applying as an Intermediary organization, indicate the number of participants that each sub-grantee will serve. Demonstrate that there is a sufficient pool of eligible potential participants in the target area(s) to recruit into the program. Applicants must provide evidence to support the number of proposed participants in each of the areas to be served.

• Selected Training Programs: Describe the need for the selected training programs in the area(s) to be served and identify the source of this information, such as Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), business/industry groups, or labor market projections.

(b) Expected Outcomes

Definition of outcomes is the measurable results of the project. They are the positive benefits, negative changes, or measurable characteristics that occur resulting from the project activities or outputs. Goals are the rate of attainment of those outcomes.

Example: A community organization receives a grant to address a need for more workers in all health-related fields. An outcome of the project is an increase in placements in health-related fields of 5 percent.

The applicant’s projected outcomes and goals will be used as the basis for negotiating some of the performance targets for the grant. Many of the performance targets will be set based on national goals identified by the Department and may include additional performance measures not included in the applicant’s project narrative.

Applicants must identify:

• Outcomes: Clearly identify the proposed outcomes that will result from the project and describe how they are consistent with increasing employment outcomes for your target population.

• Project Objectives: Identify the project objectives and explain how and why the proposed project design will lead to these objectives and accomplish its goal of increasing employment outcomes for this population. Objectives are to be specific, quantifiable statements of the project’s proposed results and clearly linked to increasing the employment outcomes.

• Support Strategies: Describe how the applicant will assist staff or sub-grantees, if applying as an intermediary organization, to meet the identified outcomes. Grantees will be required to report to ETA quarterly throughout the period of performance on their progression of outcomes.

• NOTE: Each grantee must also report to DOL on the six primary indicators of performance identified in WIOA (employment rate after 2nd Quarter exit, employment rate after 4th quarter exit, median earnings after 2nd quarter after exit, credential attainment, measurable skills gains and effectiveness in serving employers. Goals for these measures will be identified by the Department after grant award. In addition, all Adult grantees will be required to report recidivism rates.

(c) Project Design Applicants must identify and describe:

• Evidence-Based and Informed Interventions and Promising Practices:

Identify and describe the 1) evidence-based and informed interventions or 2) new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising used in this project or 3) a combination of these two types of practices).

Applicants must propose models infused with combinations of service delivery components that are evidence-based or informed or are promising practices. Applicants must provide a clear theory and empirical evidence to support the choice of model/components. For additional information, including definitions of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions, a list of resources, and sample model components, see Section VIII. E.

• Strategies, Approaches, and Methods: Outline the strategies and approaches that will be used to implement the program and explain their integration into the program model, as well as the milestones within the 36-month grant period associated with achieving major tasks and achieving the outcomes. Justify the proposed approaches and state the reason for their selection rather than other approaches. Propose methods to provide the proposed services and describe how such methods will lead to the stated outcomes.

• Project Timelines: Identify reasonable timelines for completion of work and describe how the applicant will achieve, or, if applying as an intermediary organization, support and assist its sub-grantees to achieve the overarching work plan to implement this grant.

• Planning Phase: Describe a plan to meet the preliminary steps (identified in Section II.B. of this Announcement) during the planning phase and, if applying as an intermediary organization, assist sub-grantees to meet these preliminary steps.

• Work Plan: Provide a detailed narrative description of the proposed plan for accomplishing the work (the work plan) describing how the project will operate throughout the funding period and include a graphic illustration as an attachment to the Project Narrative showing how the applicant will successfully achieve outcomes. Include in the work plan: 1) all functions or activities identified in the application; 2) factors that might accelerate or delay the work and how the applicant will address such factors amid program operations; and 3) any potential barriers with a description of how the project will overcome these barriers. If applying as an intermediary organization, clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of both the applicant and all sub-grantees.

• Employment-Focused Services: Employment-focused services must be included in the program design and should span throughout the participant’s participation in the program. Identify the employment-focused service(s) that will be incorporated in your program model.

Include at least one of the following approaches: Registered Apprenticeship, work-based learning, or Career Pathways. Identify and explain how this approach will be combined with the Evidence-Based and Informed Interventions and/or Promising Practices identified above to lead to improved employment outcomes for program participants.

• Case Management and Legal Services: Case management and legal services are fundamental services that are essential in all reentry programs. Services must begin at the time of enrollment and continue throughout the participant’s participation in the program, including the follow-up period, and must be consistent with the regulations and guidance under WIOA. Applicants must provide the case management and legal services component and must identify and justify in their application how the services will be provided – direct, contracted, or through other organization collaborations; if applying as an intermediary organization, this must be identified for each sub-grantee. Specifically, applicants must, at a minimum:

o Identify and provide justification for the ratio of case managers to participants and how the case managers will act as advocates for program participants, including the frequency of their interactions;

o…