FY 2023 CMVOST Funding Conference Q&As .pdf

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Commercial Driver’s License Division

Fiscal Year 2023 Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMVOST ) Funding Conference Q&As

On February 16, 2023, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Division held the annual funding conference for potential applicants.

The purpose of the funding conference was to:

Provide an overview of the CMVOST grant program;

Update participants on the Title VI Compliance Program requirements;

Outline important information from the fiscal year (FY) 2023 CMVOST Notice of Funding

Opportunity (NOFO);

Review the project template on (Appendix B);

Supply participants with available resources and contact information; and Answer any outstanding questions.

During the funding conference, FMCSA answered several questions. Below are the answers that were provided during the funding conference.

Question 1: Are there specific requirements on the structure and education of the training process?

Answer 1: There’s no specific structure, but the institution must follow the Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirement.

Question 2: What is the start of period of performance?

Answer 2: The period of performance begins upon the award date. If you are selected to receive an award, the start date will be in the Notice of Grant Award (NGA).

Question 3: Could you please elaborate on the eligibility of small businesses?

Answer 3 : Refer to Section C of NOFO, eligible applicants are either an educational institution accredited by an accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education will be considered for funding or non-accredited institutions that are approved by the DOL as eligible training providers and who accept WIOA grants; and approved by the SAAs, and the VA to accept VA benefits will also be considered for funding. All applicants must meet the requirements for ELDT and be listed on the Training Provider Registry.

Question 4: During the intake process, is it checking that the application is not duplicated, or does it imply that we must submit in duplicate?

Answer 4: Refer to section E of the NOFO, only one application is required for submission.

Question 5: If the person does not obtain employment will the provider still be eligible for reimbursement for the training funds?

Answer 5: If a student drops out prior to completing the course curriculum, FMCSA will reimburse the recipient based on its written refund policy for students minus any expenses that the recipient did not incur (e.g., cost of commercial learner’s permit, cost of commercial driver’s license, cost of medical certification).

Question 6: Are there any special considerations given to innovative ideas that align with the grant’s objectives, even if the small business is not registered with the state for the training requirements?

Answer 6: Refer to Section D, 6. Funding Restriction of the NOFO, eligible CMV operator grant program costs are limited to the applicant’s published tuition rate and Indirect Costs (IDC) based upon the approved IDC rate from a cognizant agency.

Question 7: In reference to the Table provided in the NOFO to provide evaluation and monitoring for Qualified students and/or students of underserved communities and/or refugees: Is it correct that the anticipated numbers would be a combination of the above and do you need a breakdown of for example 10/15 are qualified students, 2/15 refugees, etc.? If yes, in the table, or in the performance objectives section.

Answer 7: Refer to Section A 2. I, applicants must breakdown and provide the number of qualified students/students of underserved communities/refugees expected to be recruited; the number of qualified students/students of underserved communities/refugees expected to complete the training/course curriculum; the number of qualified students/students of underserved communities/refugees expected to obtain a CDL; the number of qualified students/students of underserved communities/refugees expected to be placed in CDL driver positions; the duration and curriculum of the training for the students; and the job placement and retention services/resources for the students following graduation.

Question 8: On grants.gov, it states that "Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education" are eligible. Are veterans’ non-profits eligible?

Answer 8: Refer to Section C of NOFO, eligible applicants are either an educational institution accredited by an accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education will be considered for funding or non-accredited institutions that are approved by the DOL as eligible training providers and who accept WIOA grants; and approved by the SAAs, and the VA to accept VA benefits will also be considered for funding. All applicants must meet the requirements for ELDT and be listed on the Training Provider Registry.

Question 9: For eligible institutions of higher education that have more than one location for CDL training, do we need to submit a separate application for each location?

Answer 8: This will depend on the entity registration with System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique entity identifier . If it is the same number, then the applicant should submit one application for all locations.

Question 10: Will only applications that are highly responsive be considered?

Answer 10: FMCSA follows the review and selection process outline in section E. 2. Review and Selection Process.

Question 11: How long must a placement be in the same position to be considered retained?

Answer 11: FMCSA did not define period of retention in the NOFO.

Question 12: Is it allowable to outperform your quarterly goals?

Answer 12: Yes.

Question 13: Do we need to include our approved Title VI Compliance Plan with our application?

Answer 13: Yes. An approved Title VI Program Compliance Plan and Title VI Program Assurance must be uploaded with the grant application. Refer to Section D, 7. Other Submission requirements of the NOFO.

Question 14: Per the other Cost Budget Narrative Table example, when we complete the objectives and evaluation tables, are we breaking down anticipated student numbers in 2 categories: Underserved/Refugees AND Qualified students or 3 categories: Underserved and Refugees and Qualified Students.

Answer 14: Refer to Section D. 2. vi. Budget Narrative, the level of detail should be sufficient to justify the funding requested.

Question 15 Who does an applicant email if they have not submitted the Title VI compliance plan yet?

Answer 15: To begin your Title VI program requirement, please contact Mr. Lester Finkle, FMCSA National Title VI Program Manager, at lester.finkle@dot.gov .

mailto:lester.finkle@dot.gov