Full Guidance for Application_of_HHS-2022-ACF-OPRE-PE-0080.pdf

Signature Date

Administration for Children and Families

Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants

HHS-2022-ACF-OPRE-PE-0080

Application Due Date: 06/27/2022

Table of Contents Executive Summary

I. Program Description

II. Federal Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching

III.3. Other

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV.1. Address to Request Application Package

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications

The Project Description

The Project Budget and Budget Justification

Application Submission Options

IV.3. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM)

IV.4. Submission Dates and Times

Explanation of Due Dates

Acknowledgement of Received Application

IV.5. Intergovernmental Review

IV.6. Funding Restrictions

IV.7. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

V.1. Criteria

V.2. Review and Selection Process

V.3. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

VI. Federal Award Administration Information

VI.1. Federal Award Notices

VI.2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

VI.3. Reporting

VII. HHS Award Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

Reference Websites

Application Checklist

Funding Opportunity Title:

Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants Announcement Type:

Initial Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2022-ACF-OPRE-PE-0080

Primary CFDA Number:

93.595 Due Date for Applications:

06/27/2022 Executive Summary Notice:

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) carefully and observe the application formatting requirements listed in Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission. For more information on applying for grants, please visit "How to Apply for a Grant" on the ACF Grants & Funding Page at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), intends to award up to four cooperative agreements under the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants NOFO. The purpose of these grants is to better understand, and further research the effectiveness of services funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs that aim to address the employment and self-sufficiency needs of TANF recipients and those eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Career pathways programs are one such service. TANF agencies may use TANF, and maintenance-of-effort funds to support a range of benefits, and services for low-income parents as part of a career pathways approach. These grants are intended to support rigorous, policy-relevant research of such approaches through secondary analysis of data sets from OPRE evaluations of career pathways programs—the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project and Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Evaluation.

The proposed research should further the understanding of the effect of state TANF programs by understanding the role of career pathways programs in improving the educational attainment, employment, and economic stability of TANF recipients and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, key program implementation characteristics; mediators and moderators of career pathways programs; and measurement of key constructs related to career pathways programs, such as innovative approaches to basic skills education and/or occupational training for TANF recipients, provision of supportive services, career progress, and job quality. OPRE is additionally interested in projects that seek to understand how TANF-supported career pathways programs can improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the labor market as they work to advance TANF's goals of promoting job preparation and work.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

It is expected that results from the research funded through this grant program will contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of career pathways programs and related services offered by TANF programs to promote job preparation and employment among TANF recipients and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Thus, each recipient is expected to participate in a consortium of recipients, meeting and communicating regularly to share lessons learned, identify opportunities for collaboration, and develop resources to disseminate widely. In the course of working with the consortium, recipients' originally proposed plans in areas of dissemination and analysis may be adjusted if appropriate.

I. Program Description Statutory Authority Awards offered under this program will be funded under the authority of section 413 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 613.

Description A. Background The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) established the TANF program to replace the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program.

The four statutory purposes of TANF are as follows:

Assist needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes;

End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;

Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

States, tribes, and U.S. territories receive federal TANF funding in the form of a block grant, which provides broad flexibility in the design and implementation of TANF programs. Federal TANF funds and the required state match (known as "maintenance of effort" funds) can be spent on any activity reasonably calculated to achieve one or more of the above-referenced purposes of TANF. TANF eligibility varies by state/tribe/territory and is determined based on income and other household characteristics. More information about the TANF program can be found at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/temporary-assistance-needy-families-tanf.

The ACF Office of Family Assistance (OFA) administers the TANF program. In 2016, OFA released Information Memorandum No. TANF-ACF-IM-2016-05, which encouraged TANF agencies to adopt policies and practices that will connect families to career pathways to help parents receive training and credentials in support of obtaining jobs with family sustaining wages. OFA noted, in part, the following:

“All federal TANF and state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures must meet one or more of the four statutory purposes of the TANF program. Career pathways programs fall under the second purpose, to end the dependence of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage. TANF agencies may use TANF and MOE funds to support a range of benefits and services for low-income parents as part of a career pathways approach, such as adult basic education, job training, job placement, postsecondary education (including career and technical training), apprenticeships and subsidized employment, and support services such as child care and transportation.”

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/temporary-assistance-needy-families-tanf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ofa/tanf_im_2016_05_supporting_career_pathways.pdf

Education and training are critical to succeeding in today’s labor market. Unfortunately, many TANF recipients and TANF-eligible adults lack the necessary training, credentials, and skills to find regular employment in jobs that pay family-supporting wages. For example, only about 9 percent of adult TANF recipients have completed more than a high school degree (U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, 2021). Job opportunities in specific sectors, such as healthcare and information technology (IT), are rising, and local economies are experiencing labor shortages in these sectors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that most employment gains in the U.S. from 2020 to 2030 will occur in service-providing sectors such as healthcare, driven by increasing demand in the healthcare industry as a result of the aging U.S. population (Dubina, Ice, Kim, & Rieley 2021). In addition, the economic recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and structural changes induced by the pandemic will spur higher demand for IT services. Many of these growing occupations do not require a 4-year degree, but do require some postsecondary education or training.

To better understand the effectiveness of career pathways programs in meeting the second statutory purpose of TANF—to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation and work—OPRE within ACF has invested in a large portfolio of research to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of career pathways programs that serve TANF recipients and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Programs that use the career pathways framework of postsecondary education are designed to address the dual goals of preparing adults with low incomes, including TANF recipients and adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt, for employment and meeting local labor market demand. Career pathways programs provide postsecondary education and training as a series of manageable steps leading to successively higher credentials and employment opportunities in growing occupations (Fein, 2012; Werner et al., 2013). Each step is designed to prepare students for the next level of employment and education and to provide a credential with labor market value. To effectively engage, retain, and facilitate learning for a diverse population, programs integrate comprehensive screening and assessment, promising instructional strategies targeted at adult learners, academic and non-academic supports, and employment experiences and opportunities. The programs included in OPRE’s PACE and HPOG evaluations vary in their design and implementation of these core principles. Each program creates a constellation of services and supports that are appropriate for the given program or recipient organization, its context, its objectives, and its target population.

PACE

In 2007, OPRE launched PACE, a random assignment evaluation of nine career pathways interventions that aim to increase employment and self-sufficiency among individuals with low incomes and low academic skills. The project is designed to assess the impact of the interventions on educational attainment, employment and earnings, and other relevant outcomes.

The programs in the PACE project are as follows:

Bridge to Employment in the Health Care Industry at the San Diego Workforce Partnership

Carreras en Salud at Instituto del Progreso Latino Health Careers for All at Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County Pathways to Healthcare at Pima Community College

Patient Care Pathway Program at Madison Area Technical College Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement Washington State Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program at three sites (Bellingham Technical College, Whatcom Community College, and Everett Community College)

Workforce Training Academy Connect at Des Moines Area Community College Year Up (eight sites nationwide)

The following three of the programs evaluated in PACE were funded by the HPOG Program (discussed in more detail below): Bridge to Employment in the Health Care Industry at the San Diego Workforce Partnership, the Health Careers for All program at the Workforce Development for Seattle-King County, and the Pathways to Healthcare program at Pima Community College. In addition, Instituto del Progreso Latino received some funds for the Carreras en Salud program through a subcontract with a HPOG recipient.

The programs in the PACE project embody key elements of the career pathways framework.

However, they vary in design, and combine and prioritize different program elements and career pathways steps. Areas of diversity include the following:

Lead Organization: The programs in PACE were operated by community or technical colleges, non-profit organizations, and Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs).

Target Population: By design, all the programs in PACE targeted adults with low incomes and low academic skills; however, some focused on specific populations, such as Latinos or young adults. Additionally, programs varied on the skill level of the participants targeted.

Occupational Focus: Several programs in PACE focused exclusively on health-related occupations. The other programs focus on areas such as welding, electrical, administrative support, manufacturing, technology/IT, and financial services.

Steps on a Career Pathway: The programs vary in the number and level of steps within a career pathway they encompass.

Service Strategies: All of the programs include some type of assessment, instructional approaches targeted to adult learners, support services, and connections to employment.

The programs combine these strategies in different ways depending on the goals of their program and the target population.

Nearly 12 percent of all study participants in PACE reported receiving TANF or public assistance in the 12 months before enrollment (Gardiner and Juras, 2019). The percentage of TANF recipients varied by program, ranging from about 5 percent to over 40 percent.

The PACE project includes three follow-up periods at 15, 36, and 72 months after random assignment. Using an experimental design, the study measured differences between the treatment and control group members on educational outcomes (e.g., persistence in education, receipt of certificates and degrees), labor market outcomes (e.g., earnings, employment), and family well-being outcomes (e.g., debt, financial hardship, child development). The cross-cutting key research questions addressed in PACE include the following:

What is the basic design and underlying logic of each PACE program? What are its elements?

What was the actual implementation of the intervention? Did it deviate from plans or expectations?

What were the students’ participation patterns and experiences with program services?

What are the short, intermediate, and long-term effects of the PACE programs on earnings, educational outcomes, household income, adult well-being, and other life outcomes?

How do the effects of PACE programs vary over time, across outcomes or domains and by participant characteristics?

Data sources vary by program but generally include the following:

Program records on program offerings and participant service receipt;

College records (when available);

Study participant information collected at baseline;

Study participant follow-up information collected through a series of surveys administered approximately at 15, 36, and 72 months after random assignment; and Administrative data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and the National

Directory of New Hires (NDNH).

The study analyzed and reported findings for each program separately. Programs began random assignment in November of 2011, and random assignment ended in all sites in the Fall of 2014.

The total sample per site ranges from approximately 650 to over 2,500 individuals; the total sample across all PACE programs is 9,259 individuals.

Additionally, the PACE evaluation of each program included an implementation study that provided a detailed description of the program, documented the experiences of participants (the treatment group), and examined how their program experiences compared to individuals who did not receive the program services (the control group).

OPRE has released reports for each wave of data collection with the programs in the PACE project. All products from the PACE project are available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/research/project/pathways-for-advancing-careers-and-education.

The HPOG Program The HPOG Program awarded grants to organizations that provide education and training to TANF recipients and other individuals with low incomes for healthcare occupations that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand. In 2010, ACF within HHS awarded the first round of 5-year HPOG grants (HPOG 1.0) to 32 recipients. In 2015, ACF awarded the second round of 5-year grants (HPOG 2.0) to 32 recipients, 17 of which received funding under HPOG 1.0. HPOG 2.0 grants were later extended an additional year, ending in September 2021. HPOG recipients were postsecondary educational institutions, workforce development boards, state or local government agencies, and community-based organizations (CBOs). Five of the 32 recipients in each round of HPOG were tribal organizations. HPOG 1.0 recipients enrolled over 38,000 individuals, and HPOG 2.0 recipients enrolled over 40,000.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/research/project/pathways-for-advancing-careers-and-education

The HPOG Program was designed with dual goals: to provide TANF recipients and other individuals with low incomes with opportunities for education and training that lead to employment and advancement in the healthcare workforce, and to address the increasing shortfall in the supply of healthcare professionals in the face of expanding demand. HPOG recipients were required to partner with their state TANF agency, relevant local and state WIBs, and the state apprenticeship agency. Further, the recipients were expected to manage the following:

Target skills and competencies demanded by the healthcare industry;

Support career pathways, such as an articulated career ladder;

Result in an employer or industry-recognized certificate or degree (which can include a license, as well as a Registered Apprenticeship certificate or degree);

Combine supportive services with education and training services to help participants overcome barriers to employment, as necessary; and Provide training services at times and locations that are easily accessible to targeted populations.

More information about the HPOG Program is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/hpog.

HPOG was authorized as a demonstration program with a mandated evaluation. OPRE is using a multipronged research and evaluation strategy to assess the success of each round of the HPOG Program. The research and evaluation activities aim to provide information on program implementation, systems change, outcomes, and impact. The HPOG 1.0 Impact Study, HPOG

1.0 National Implementation Evaluation (HPOG 1.0 NIE), and HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation sections provide more information about these studies.

HPOG 1.0 Impact Study The HPOG 1.0 Impact Study used an experimental design to examine the effect of the HPOG 1.0 Program on participants’ educational and economic outcomes at 15, 36, and 72 months after random assignment. The evaluation aimed to identify which components of HPOG programs (e.g., types of support services, program structure, and training areas) contributed to participant success. The HPOG 1.0 Impact Study included 20 recipients that were not part of another study collecting individual-level data (“HPOG-only” recipients) as well as the three HPOG recipients being evaluated as part of the PACE project (“HPOG-PACE” recipients). As part of the HPOG

1.0 Impact Study, some recipients implemented a multi-arm experimental design that created two treatment arms— an “HPOG services as usual” treatment group and an “enhanced HPOG” treatment group that had access to an “enhanced” program component—as well as a control group that did not have access to HPOG. The following three program enhancements were implemented as part of the multi-arm experimental test: facilitated peer support groups, emergency assistance, and non-cash incentives. Approximately half of the recipients participated in an enhancement test.

The study was designed to address the following research questions:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/hpog

What impacts do the HPOG programs, as a group, have on the outcomes of participants and their families?

To what extent do those impacts vary across selected subpopulations?

Which locally adopted program components influence average impacts?

To what extent does participation in a particular HPOG component (or components) change the impact on trainees?

The 20 HPOG-only recipients conducted random assignment from approximately March 2013 to November 2014. Over that period, 10,693 individuals were enrolled in the study, with two people assigned to the treatment group for every one person assigned to the control group. The HPOG-PACE recipients enrolled 3,100 individuals in the study, with one person assigned to the treatment group for every person assigned to the control group. The total sample size for the HPOG 1.0 Impact Study is 13,717. Approximately 13 percent of Impact Study participants reported receiving TANF at baseline (Peck et al., 2018).

The HPOG 1.0 Impact Study relied on the following key data sources:

HPOG Performance Reporting System (PRS), a management information system used by all HPOG recipients to track recipient progress for program management and accountability and to record participant data for use in the evaluation;

Recipient, and staff/management surveys, designed and collected by the HPOG 1.0 NIE;

Study participant information collected at baseline;

Study participant follow-up surveys administered approximately at 15, 36, and 72 months after random assignment; and Employment and earnings administrative data from NDNH.

OPRE has published short, intermediate, and long-term impact findings. More information about the HPOG 1.0 Impact Study is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/health-profession-opportunity-grants-hpog-impact-study-2011-2018.

HPOG 1.0 NIE

HPOG 1.0 NIE assessed program implementation, systems change, and participant outcomes of the 27 non-tribal HPOG 1.0 programs.

The evaluation included three major components—a Descriptive Implementation Study, a Systems Change Analysis, and an Outcome Study—that addressed the following three major research questions, respectively:

How are health professions training programs being implemented across the HPOG 1.0 recipient sites?

What changes to the service delivery system are associated with program implementation?

What individual-level outputs and outcomes occur?

To support the analyses, HPOG 1.0 NIE used surveys to collect data from recipient management and staff, stakeholders, employers, and participants. Additionally, the project used administrative data from HPOG PRS, NDNH, HPOG program management materials (e.g., grant applications), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/health-profession-opportunity-grants-hpog-impact-study-2011-2018 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/health-profession-opportunity-grants-hpog-impact-study-2011-2018 and national and local sources on local area labor markets.

More information on HPOG 1.0 NIE, including the design, interim, and final reports from the three major components of the study, is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-implementation-evaluation-health-profession-opportunity-grants-2012-2018.

HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation The HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation is rigorously assessing the HPOG programs administered by the non-tribal recipients awarded grants in 2015. The 27 non-tribal recipients operated 38 HPOG programs across 17 states. Across HPOG 2.0 programs, about 19 percent of participants reported receiving TANF at enrollment (Sick and Loprest, 2021).

The HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation includes the following key components:

The impact evaluation randomly assigned eligible participants to either a treatment group that has access to HPOG services or a control group that does not have access to HPOG but can receive other services available in the community (i.e., “business as usual”) to assess the impacts of the HPOG programs.

The descriptive evaluation includes implementation, outcomes, and systems studies that will help interpret findings from the impact study. The descriptive study also includes in-depth qualitative interviews with a small sample of HPOG study participants.

The cost-benefit analyses will assess the costs and benefits of a standard HPOG program.

Data sources for all three components of the National Evaluation include program data collected in the management information system used by all HPOG programs, administrative data from NDNH and the NSC, and participant follow-up surveys at approximately 15, 36, and 66 months after random assignment. In 2021, OPRE funded a 15-month follow-up survey of participants who enrolled in HPOG after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This effort will support assessments of the effectiveness of the HPOG 2.0 Program before and after the pandemic.

More information about the HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation, including evaluation design and analysis plans, is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-evaluation-2nd-generation-health-profession-opportunity-grants-hpog-20.

OPRE’s Career Pathways Research Portfolio OPRE within ACF oversees the Career Pathways Research Portfolio, which is a key component of OPRE’s broader portfolio of research and evaluation on TANF and family self-sufficiency.

This NOFO will support secondary analysis of the PACE, HPOG 1.0 Impact, HPOG 1.0 NIE, and HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation data. The current OPRE career pathways research portfolio comprises additional related HPOG and PACE research and evaluation projects. The various components are being closely coordinated to avoid duplicative efforts, maximize the re-use of data and information that is collected, reduce the burden on participants and programs, and promote cross-project learning. The work supported through the current NOFO will complement and augment OPRE’s current research portfolio.

More information about OPRE’s complete career pathways research portfolio is available https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-implementation-evaluation-health-profession-opportunity-grants-2012-2018 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-implementation-evaluation-health-profession-opportunity-grants-2012-2018 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-evaluation-2nd-generation-health-profession-opportunity-grants-hpog-20 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-evaluation-2nd-generation-health-profession-opportunity-grants-hpog-20 at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/career-pathways. More information about OPRE’s broader portfolio of research and evaluation on TANF and family self-sufficiency is available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/topic/self-sufficiency-welfare-employment.

B. Grant Program Goals and Expectations The purpose of the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants is to better understand the effectiveness of services funded by state TANF programs that aim to address the employment and self-sufficiency needs of adults receiving TANF or those eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Career pathways programs are one such service. TANF agencies may use TANF, and MOE funds to support a range of benefits, and services for low-income parents as part of a career pathways approach. These grants are intended to support rigorous, policy-relevant research of such approaches through secondary analysis of data sets from OPRE evaluations of career pathways programs—PACE, HPOG 1.0 Impact Study, HPOG 1.0 NIE, and HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation. The grants are an integral component of OPRE's multi-pronged career pathways portfolio, which is a key component of OPRE’s broader portfolio of research, and evaluation on TANF, and family self-sufficiency.

Data from the PACE project, HPOG 1.0 Impact, and HPOG 1.0 NIE are available for secondary analysis through the Child and Family Data Archive (CFData, https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org). CFData is maintained by the Interuniversity Consortium on Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. The archived data includes information collected through participant baseline, and follow-up surveys, staff surveys, and program administrative records (where available); the archived data will not include administrative records from the NDNH or NSC.

De-identified data from the studies is available to researchers as restricted access files.

Information about the process and requirements for accessing restricted access data through ICPSR is available at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/ICPSR/access/restricted/. Please note that providing a link to a non-Federal website in this NOFO does not constitute an endorsement by ACF or any of its employees of the sponsors of the website or the information or products presented on the site. ACF cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided by this link or any other linked sites on the website.

Information about the PACE data available for analysis, including codebooks and data dictionaries, is available at https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/37289.

Information about the HPOG 1.0 data available for analysis, including codebooks and data dictionaries, is available at https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/37290.

Additional data from the longer-term follow-up of PACE and HPOG 1.0, as well as from OPRE’s HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation will be made available for secondary analysis on a rolling basis beginning in early 2022.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/career-pathways https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/topic/self-sufficiency-welfare-employment https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/ICPSR/access/restricted/ https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/37289 https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/37290

The specific goals of the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants are to support the following:

Better understand the effectiveness of career pathways programs in meeting TANF’s second statutory purpose—to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation and employment;

Examine research questions relevant to career pathways programs’ goals and objectives related to TANF’s aim to promote job preparation and employment;

Augment OPRE's multi-pronged evaluation of career pathways programs by focusing on particular questions relevant to TANF agencies; TANF-funded services including career pathways; key program implementation characteristics; mediators and moderators of career pathways programs; and measurement of key constructs related to career pathways programs, such as innovative approaches to basic skills education and/or occupational training for TANF recipients, provision of supportive services, career progress, and job quality;

Support research to inform and improve career pathways program design, implementation, and performance, and the delivery of related TANF-funded services;

Address issues of current relevance to decision-makers at the local, state, and national levels to inform policy decisions and solutions, particularly those related to career pathways for TANF recipients and adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt.

Proposed studies may be substantive or methodological and may seek to answer specific questions or address broader research topics of interest relevant to the goals delineated above.

Proposed studies may focus on particular PACE programs or across multiple PACE or HPOG programs. Proposed studies may focus on particular subgroups of study participants, including TANF recipients and non-TANF recipients, to further understand specific implementation strategies that are more effective for serving TANF recipients. Proposals should reflect careful consideration and selection of a research topic that is suitable for the data available for secondary analysis. Recipients will be expected to work closely and coordinate with the various components of OPRE's career pathways, TANF and family self-sufficiency research and evaluation portfolios, and the Federal Project Officer (FPO) to promote cross-project learning and avoid duplicative efforts.

The proposed approach, methods, and analytic techniques should be appropriate and sufficient for addressing the proposed research question(s). Proposed studies should use the most rigorous research methodology for the selected research question(s). The approach should demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the methodological options and trade-offs that must be considered and addressed to conduct analyses and complete the project on schedule resulting in high-quality, useful products. OPRE is interested in supporting the use of cutting-edge strategies and state-of-the-art analytic techniques that can be expected to substantially enhance the quality of analyses, specific tasks or the overall study, or save time or other resources.

The expected findings should benefit the TANF and family self-sufficiency, postsecondary education and training, and employment research fields more broadly in terms of the potential to advance knowledge of career pathways and postsecondary education and training programs for TANF recipients and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. Further, the expected results should address issues of current relevance to TANF agencies and decision-makers at the local, state, and national levels to inform policy decisions, and solutions. OPRE will also consider other topics of interest pertaining to TANF agencies, workforce development, and education and training programs that may partner with TANF agencies, sector-based employment strategies, career pathways programs, and other related program strategies for TANF and other adults eligible for or at risk of TANF receipt. OPRE is additionally interested in projects that seek to understand how career programs can improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the labor market.

Subawards. Subawards recipients under this grant program may opt to transfer a portion of substantive programmatic work to other organizations through subaward(s). The prime recipient must maintain a substantive role in the project. ACF defines a substantive role as conducting activities and/or providing services funded under the award that are necessary and integral to the completion of the project. Subrecipient monitoring activities alone as specified in 45 CFR §

75.352 do not constitute a substantive role. Furthermore, ACF does not fund awards where the role of the applicant is primarily to serve as a conduit for passing funds to other organizations unless that arrangement is authorized by statute.

Subrecipient(s) must meet the eligibility requirements identified in the NOFO, Section III.1.

Eligible Applicants. Additionally, all subrecipient(s) must obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, or after government-wide implementation, a Unique Entity Identifier assigned by the System for Award Management (SAM), if they do not already have one. Prime recipients are required to check SAM to verify that the subrecipient(s) is/are not debarred, suspended, or ineligible.

Please reference the Award Term and Condition on Subawards on the ACF Administrative and National Policy Requirements website for further requirements involving subawards.

C. Additional Project Requirements Under the cooperative agreement, substantial involvement is anticipated between OPRE and the recipients during the project period. Recipients will participate in a consortium composed of key staff from the recipients, key federal staff with interest in this project, contractors leading other components of OPRE's career pathways research portfolio and broader TANF and family self-sufficiency research portfolio, and any other parties identified as relevant by the recipients and the FPO. As part of the cooperative agreement, recipients are expected to collaborate with the FPO in finalizing their research questions and plans. Recipients are also expected to coordinate with OPRE’s broader career pathways and TANF and family self-sufficiency research portfolios.

The organizations selected to receive the awards will be responsible for developing the study plan in consultation with federal staff; sharing it with the FPO; revising the plan as necessary based on conversations with, and guidance from, the FPO; implementing the research plan; and developing the required reports and final products for the grant. Priorities, schedules, goals, and objectives will be further defined during post-award discussions between OPRE and the recipients.

More specifically, the roles and responsibilities of the recipients include the following:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements

Participating in in-person recipient meetings with the FPO, other federal partners, and interested parties (up to one annually);

Participating in quarterly phone calls with the FPO;

Working with the FPO to jointly identify final research questions and analytic plans that will be most beneficial to TANF and other workforce development practitioners; TANF and family self-sufficiency, education and training, and employment research fields; and that will be complementary of OPRE's broader career pathways and TANF and family self-sufficiency research portfolios;

Finalizing the primary research question(s) and analytic plan for conducting the study with the concurrence of the FPO;

Coordinating with OPRE's broader career pathways and TANF and family self-sufficiency research portfolios;

Implementing the study, including data analysis; interpretation; and writing all papers, briefs, or reports; and

Discussing with the FPO plans for publishing or presenting research findings.

When issuing statements, press releases, publications, requests for proposal, bid solicitations, and other documents—such as toolkits, resource guides, websites, and presentations (hereafter, “statements”)—describing the projects or programs funded in whole or in part with HHS federal funds, the recipient must clearly state the following:

the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the program or project funded with federal money; and, the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program funded by non-governmental sources.

When issuing statements resulting from activities supported by HHS financial assistance, the recipient entity must include an acknowledgement of federal assistance using one of the following or a similar statement.

If the HHS Grant or Cooperative Agreement is NOT funded with other non-governmental sources:

"This [project/publication/program/website, etc.] [is/was] supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $XX with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website at Administrative and National Policy Requirements."

Meeting Attendance. The principal investigator(s) must plan to attend in-person meetings of the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grant recipients. Only principal investigators are required to attend, but applicants may budget for additional key project staff to attend if desired.

The first in-person meeting is expected to occur within the first quarter of the grant award, and applicants must budget for up to one annual meeting. The meetings will be held in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and will last approximately 1 1/2 days each. The purpose of these meetings will be to support the planning, implementation, and coordination of the research projects undertaken by the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants recipients. The meetings will include presentations on the progress of the research and discussions of any issues arising within the research efforts. In addition, the principal investigators will participate in quarterly conference calls with the FPO to communicate the progress of their work, identify issues that are arising related to the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants, and share information to facilitate coordination with OPRE's broader career pathways, TANF, and family self-sufficiency research portfolios.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

If, during the pandemic, OPRE and/or recipients are required to adjust program and/or grant requirements due to COVID-19, OPRE will exercise flexibilities as appropriate and in accordance with applicable laws. For example, requirements may be conducted virtually, or timelines may be modified in consultation with OPRE.

See Section II. Award Information for information regarding ACF's roles and responsibilities under the cooperative agreement.

D. References

Dubina, K. S., Ice, L., Kim, J., and Rieley, M. J., "Projections overview and highlights, 2020–30," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 2021, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2021.20.

Fein, D. (2012). Career Pathways as a Framework for Program Design and Evaluation:

A Working Paper from the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) Project, OPRE Report 2012-30, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Gardiner, K. and R. Juras. (2019). PACE Cross-Program Implementation and Impact Study Findings, OPRE Report 2019-32, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Peck, Laura R., Alan Werner, Eleanor Harvill, Daniel Litwok, Shawn Moulton, Alyssa Rulf Fountain, and Gretchen Locke. (2018). Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG 1.0) Impact Study Interim Report: Program Implementation and Short-Term Impacts, OPRE Report 2018-16a. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Nathan Sick and Pamela Loprest (2021). Health Profession Opportunity Grants 2.0: Year Five Annual Report (2019–20), OPRE Report 2021-100. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services.

Werner, A., Dun Rappaport, C., Bagnell Stuart, J., & Lewis, J. (2013). Literature Review:

Career Pathways Programs, OPRE Report #2013-24, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (2016). Information Memorandum No. TANF- ACF-IM-2016-05, Supporting Career Pathways for TANF Recipients.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Characteristics and Financial Circumstances of TANF Recipients, Fiscal Year 2020.” Available at:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ofa/fy2020_characteristics_data_fi nal.pdf.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type:

CA (Cooperative Agreement) Estimated Total Funding:

$300,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$75,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$50,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$75,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

09/30/2022 Length of Project Periods:

24-month project period with two 12-month budget periods

Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' Additional Information on Awards:

Awards made under this funding opportunity are subject to the availability of federal funds.

Applications requesting an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period, or per project period, as stated in this section, will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. This disqualification applies only to the Award Ceiling listed for the first 12-month budget period for projects with multiple budget periods. If the project and budget period are the same, the disqualification applies to the Award Ceiling listed for the project period. Please see Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ofa/fy2020_characteristics_data_final.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ofa/fy2020_characteristics_data_final.pdf

Note: For those programs that require matching or cost sharing, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period or by project period for fully funded awards, even if the projected commitment exceeds the required amount of match or cost share. A recipient's failure to provide the required matching amount may result in the disallowance of federal funds.

For more information on these requirements, see Section III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching.

Recipients’ activities will be funded through section 413 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.

613. Allowable activities under this statutory authority are, “...conduct research on the effect of State programs funded under this part and any other State program funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 609(a)(7)(B)(i) of this title) on employment, self-sufficiency, child well-being, unmarried births, marriage, poverty, economic mobility, and other factors...”.

The qualified state expenditures noted in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) include cash assistance, child care assistance, educational activities designed to increase self-sufficiency, job training, and work, among other expenditures. Funds must be spent in a manner consistent with eligible activities within this authorized funding source.

The project period will be up to two years. The initial award will be for the first 1-year budget period. Awards in subsequent years are dependent on the satisfactory performance of the recipient and the availability of funds. See Section IV.2. Budget and Budget Justification for further information about budget information required in the proposal.

Description of ACF's Anticipated Substantial Involvement Under the Cooperative Agreement Award

ACF expects to collaborate closely with the organizations that receive funding to ensure that the activities included in the approved applications address the proposed research questions in an efficient, effective, and timely manner. In order to ensure that these cooperative agreements provide the public with the greatest benefit, it is critical that they support secondary analyses addressing primary issues of interest to TANF practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and the career pathways research field. OPRE staff will collaborate with the recipients in refining and finalizing the final research questions and analytic plans for this award. The FPO and other ACF staff will participate in up to one meeting per year and the quarterly conference calls to provide any necessary technical assistance and feedback, and to remain informed about project activities and progress. ACF expects to provide logistical support for these conference calls and the recipient meetings.

ACF/OPRE staff will review, and provide feedback regarding recipients' research plans, semi-annual progress reports, cumulative final reports, and other products. OPRE will provide opportunities for and will facilitate coordination and collaboration with recipients and, to the extent necessary, contractors leading other components of OPRE’s career pathways research portfolio. The FPO will also discuss with recipients the dissemination of research findings through publications and/or presentations at research conferences and assist with the development of dissemination products as appropriate.

III. Eligibility Information

III.1. Eligible Applicants Eligibility under the Career Pathways Secondary Data Analysis Grants NOFO is defined under section 413 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 613. The statutory authorities for this funding opportunity do not limit eligible entities to receive this funding.

Additional Information on Eligibility:

ACF encourages tribally controlled land grant colleges and universities, historically Black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-serving institutions to apply. Additionally, any other institutions with the research capacity and interest in the focus of the grant are welcome to apply.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and funding under this funding opportunity. See Section III.3. Other, Application Disqualification Factors.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity. Faith-based organizations may apply for this award on the same basis as any other organization, as set forth at and, subject to the protections and requirements of 45 CFR Part 87 and 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., ACF will not, in the selection of recipients, discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization's religious character, affiliation, or exercise.

Reference to Legal Status See Section IV.2. Legal Status of Applicant Entity for documentation required to support eligibility.

III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost Sharing / Matching Requirement:

No For all federal awards, any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third-party in-kind contributions, must be accepted as part of the recipient’s cost sharing or matching when such contributions meet all criteria listed in 45 CFR § 75.306.

For awards that require matching by statute, recipients will be held accountable for projected commitments of non-federal resources in their application budgets and budget justifications by budget period, or by project period for fully funded awards, even if the projected commitment exceeds the amount required by the statutory match.