FY 2024 Direct Certification Improvement Grant RFA.pdf

Information Collection: 0584-0512 Expiration date: September 30, 2024

Direct Certification Improvement Grants-Child Nutrition Programs

Fiscal Year 2024 Request for Applications (RFA) Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.579

Release Date: June 10, 2024

Application Due Date: July 29, 2024; 11:59 pm EST

Anticipated Award Date: September 2024

OMB BURDEN STATEMENT:

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the acceptance of applications for grant assistance for the purpose of improving and advancing NSLP State agency direct certification activities and performance. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to monitor program funding and assess NSLP State agency technical assistance needs. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average [16] hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Application Checklist

This Application Checklist provides applicants with a list of the required actions and documents that must be completed. However, FNS expects that applicants will read the entire RFA prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation.

The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and should not be submitted as part of the Application Package.

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:

Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and, Register in grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure:

Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 –

Application and Submission Information. This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 – Application Review Information, and all necessary attachments.

When preparing your budget, ensure the following information is included:

All key staff proposed to be paid by this grant.

The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTEs).

Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.

Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justification, and basis for lodging estimate.

Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.

Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts Justification, description, and an itemized list of all consultant services.

Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

(NICRA) or if no agreement exists and the applicant has never been approved for a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis). If an applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not required, please state this in the budget narrative.

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:

SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire (on the related documents tab) Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF – Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15) Resumes of key staff Letters of support/commitment from key staff and partners Additional attachments as required http://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424B-V1.1.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SFLLL_2_0-V2.0.pdf

Contents

1. Program Description and Objectives

Executive Summary

Key Objectives

2. Federal Award Information

Allowable Costs

Unallowable Costs

3. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants

Pre-Award Screening Requirements

Acknowledgement of USDA Support

4. Application and Submission Information

Content and Form of Application Submission

Special Instructions:

Cover Sheet

Table of Contents

Application Project Summary

Project Narrative

Activities/Indicators Tracker

Activities/Indicators Tracker

Risk Management

Staffing Plan & Key Personnel

Transferability

Application Budget Narrative

Sustainability

Indirect Cost Rate

Required Grant Application Forms

Submission Date

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

Intergovernmental Review

Funding Restrictions

5. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

Project Purpose, Goals and Impact on Direct Certification (40 points)

Project Planning, Design and Management (25 points)

Budget Plan (20 points)

Sustainability and Transferability (10 points)

Risk Management (5 points)

Review and Selection Process

Federal Award Notice

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Confidentiality of an Application

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process

Administrative Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements

Reporting Requirements

Financial Reports

Performance Progress Reports (PPR)

7. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

8. Other Information

Debriefing Requests

Data Collection and Ownership

Appendix

RFA Budget Narrative Checklist

FNS-906 Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire

FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR)

1. Program Description and Objectives

Executive Summary

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service invites State agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) to apply for Direct Certification Improvement Grants to fund the costs of improving their direct certification rates with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other assistance programs, as allowed under Federal statute and regulations. Under this request for applications (RFA), approximately $2.3 million is available for competitive grants to NSLP State agencies with the lowest direct certification rates for children who are members of households receiving SNAP benefits to fund direct certification improvement projects. . However, as discussed in more detail in Section 3, Eligibility Information, applicants who have direct certification rates at 95 percent or higher, as reported in the latest Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program Report to Congress, must present a compelling case in their application proposals as to why additional funds are necessary for improvements in their direct certification system or processes for them to maintain rates at or above the mandated 95 percent benchmark. The legislative authority for this grant agreement announcement is Section 749(h)(1)(A) and (C)(i) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–80 Click Here for Congress.gov Link).

Background and Authority Direct Certification is the process through which States and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) may establish National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) benefits based upon information provided by agencies administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Children determined eligible via direct certification for these Programs are certified to receive free meal benefits without the household having to submit an application. Certain children who are foster, migrant, runaway, or homeless may also qualify in this way and become certified for free meals without submitting an application, based upon documentation submitted to the State or LEA by an appropriate State or local agency. Certain children who receive Medicaid benefits may also qualify through direct certification and become certified for free meals or reduced-price meals without submitting an application, based upon documentation provided to the State Child Nutrition agency by the State Medicaid agency.1

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-265), amended Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA), 42 USC 1758(b) to require all LEAs to establish a system to directly certify children as eligible for free school meals when they are members of households that receive SNAP benefits. Additionally, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296) (HHFKA) amended the NSLA and established State performance benchmarks for directly certifying children for free school meals under the NSLP when those children are living in households receiving benefits under SNAP. States are mandated to achieve a

1 Under the pilot project authority in Section 18(c) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA), 42 USC 1769(c), approved States the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Direct Certification with Medicaid (DC-M) Demonstration Project may certify eligible students for both free and reduced price meal eligibility in the NSLP and SBP without need of application via the use of Medicaid data files. Click Here for Participating Demonstration Project States https://www.congress.gov/111/plaws/publ80/PLAW-111publ80.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2019-title42/html/USCODE-2019-title42-chap13-sec1769.htm https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/direct-certification-medicaid-demonstration-project https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/direct-certification-medicaid-demonstration-project direct certification rate of 95 percent or above. States which do not meet the benchmark for a particular school year are required to develop and implement a Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) to improve direct certification procedures and fully meet the benchmarks in subsequent school years.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.110-246) amended the NSLA to require FNS to assess the effectiveness of State and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals when they are members of households receiving SNAP, and report to Congress State progress in this area. Each year since 20082, FNS has computed direct certification rates for each State using estimates of the number of school-age SNAP participants (between ages 5 and 17) and the number of children from SNAP households directly certified as eligible for free school meals. These rates have been published in Report to Congress: Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress. The most recently published Report (SY 2018-2019) is available at: Click Here For Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program: State Implementation Progress - Report to Congress | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov)

To assist States in implementing, maintaining, and improving high performing direct certification systems, Section 749(h) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-80) [123 STAT. 2133] provided $22 million that the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) must issue as grants to State agencies that administer the NSLP, and have the lowest rates of children directly certified for free meals. FNS is now issuing a new competitive Direct Certification Improvement Grant opportunity to make available to States approximately $2.3 million in remaining funds to be used for direct certification improvements.

The number of grants awarded is dependent upon the number and types of applicants. State agencies may use grant funds, in accordance with FNS requirements, to pay costs associated with improving their direct certification rates, and fund projects which meet the scope and requirements detailed within this RFA.

Key Objectives Below is a list of the Program Objectives. As noted in Section 4, within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker,” proposed activities should be clearly aligned to these objectives and their associated activities and indicators.

Application proposals must include at least 1 of the 9 objectives identified below. Proposals can (and should in many instances) contain more than one objective. Note that if awarded, grantees will be required to report on progress towards activities aligned with the required objective(s) and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report. Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

2FNS did not calculate State SNAP-DC performance rates for SY 20-21 due to Covid-related reporting waivers.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/direct-certification-state-implementation-progress-report-congress https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/direct-certification-state-implementation-progress-report-congress https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/direct-certification-state-implementation-progress-report-congress

# Objective 1 Improve Access and Accuracy of Direct Certification-Associated Student Data

• e.g. Automate student data transfer and increase to nightly exchange.

2 Increase Access and Accuracy of Direct Certification Program Data (e.g. SNAP, TANF;

Foster Care, FDPIR, Medicaid)

• e.g. Revise SNAP data exchange protocols to provide for nightly transfer of new and revised SNAP participant records.

3 Conduct Analysis of State Agency Direct Certification Linkage Method

• e.g. Adjust exact match thresholds to determine the level of decrease in precision that will result in unacceptable return of false positives.

4 Improve State Agency Direct Certification Linkage Method

• e.g. Incorporate edit distance algorithm tools.

5 Improve LEA-level Adjudication of Partial Match and Non-Match Opportunities

• e.g. Develop LEA on-screen partial match functionality.

6 Improve Direct Certification System Student Search Functionality

• e.g. Incorporate multi-field search tools.

7 Improve Match Result LEA Transfer and Notification Process

• e.g. Implement LEA email notification system.

8 Improve State Agency Direct Certification Monitoring

• e.g. Develop reports to monitor LEA access of State direct certification system.

9 Improve or Expand Direct Certification Training

• e.g. Develop direct certification LEA user manual.

2. Federal Award Information The following information is intended to provide applicants with information to help make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $2,300,000.

• Anticipated number of awards: Approximately 5.

• Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $1,000,000.

• Application due date: July 29, 2024.

• Anticipated award announcement date: September 2024.

• Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): September 2024 to

September 2027.

• Please note: Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

Allowable Costs

All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to the following link 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

Child Nutrition Access and Accountability through Technology (CNAAT): Award recipients will be expected to budget for travel attendance of one (1) State agency representative familiar with the grant project for each CNAAT training event occurring during the grant award period of performance. For reference, applicants should assume one training event per Federal fiscal year.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E

Contracted Services: To achieve grant project objectives award recipients may budget for and procure contracted services and solutions. These project activities include (but are not limited to) consulting, computer programming and development, data analysis, project management, and vendor-provided software. All contracted services must adhere to USDA Child Nutrition Programs Procurement Regulations located at 2 CFR 200.317, Procurements by States. Subrecipients of the State must comply with 2 CFR 200.318-.327. Please refer to the following link USDA Child Nutrition Programs Procurement Regulations. Contracted services which do not comply with USDA Child Nutrition Programs Procurement Regulations will result in unallowable costs to the grant.

Equipment: Expenditures for equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $5,000 or more) for use by State agencies are allowable expenses with prior approval by FNS. While these expenditures may be allowable, FNS reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based upon the needs of the Agency and the proposed project.

Funds may not be used for the purchase of equipment or supplies for use at LEA or school-site level. This restriction does not include Statewide software solutions accessed and utilized by LEA or school-site direct certification staff.

All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to the following link 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

Unallowable Costs Entertainment Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any associated costs (e.g., mascot costumes, promotional items) unless there is a programmatic purpose and prior approval is granted by FNS.

3. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants

Per Section 749(h) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-80), grants are available to State agencies that administer the NSLP, with priority award to those with the lowest direct certification rates for children who are members of households receiving SNAP benefits. The statutory benchmark requires States to reach and maintain direct certification rates with SNAP of at least 95 percent.

This grant opportunity is extended to all States agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). However, applicant State agencies which have direct certification rates at 95 percent or higher, as reported in the latest Direct Certification in the National School Lunch Program Report to Congress, must present a compelling case in their application proposals as to why additional funds are necessary for improvements in their direct certification system or processes for them to maintain rates at or above the mandated 95 percent benchmark.

FNS will accept only one grant application from any State agency under this RFA.

Entities not meeting the eligibility definitions will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/f2s/usda-procurement-regulations https://www.fns.usda.gov/f2s/usda-procurement-regulations

Note: In cases where an eligible applicant is deemed nonresponsive for failing to submit required elements or documents associated with this RFA, they will be considered ineligible and removed from consideration.

Pre-Award Screening Requirements

In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.205, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information. Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following:

• SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS.

• FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance.

• FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire o Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial

Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports, and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgement of USDA Support As outlined in 2 CFR 415.2, grant recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any publications written or published with grant support and, if feasible, on any publication reporting the results of, or describing, a grant-supported activity.

Recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any audiovisual which is produced with grant support, and which has a direct production cost of over $5,000.

• When acknowledging USDA support, use the following language: "This material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.” Grantees should follow the USDA Visual Standards Guide when using the USDA logo.

• Grant recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/visual-standards-guide-january-2013.pdf

4. Application and Submission Information

Content and Form of Application Submission

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced in a readable 12-point font such as Times New Roman. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 10 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of content, resumes, letter(s) of commitment, endorsement letter(s), activities and indicators tracker budget narrative(s), appendices, and required forms. All pages, excluding form pages must be numbered sequentially.

Special Instructions:

• Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline, as established in each round above see first page; 11:59 pm EST; or the allocation of all available grant funds.

• Letters of support must be submitted with the application through grants.gov. Letters submitted via email will not be considered.

• Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, certification will not be considered.

• Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and deemed nonresponsive and removed from further consideration.

• FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

• Applications not submitted via Grants.gov will not be considered.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

Cover Sheet The cover page should include, at a minimum:

• Applicant’s name and mailing address

• Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address

• Grant program title and subprogram title (if applicable)

Table of Contents (no page limit)

The Table of Contents must include relevant sections, subsections, and associated page numbers. Include all pages, appendices, and attachments. All pages of the application should be sequentially numbered, including the attachments.

Application Project Summary The application should clearly describe the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded.

Project Narrative The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address a solution, the expected results and/or benefits once the solution is achieved, and how it will meet the RFA program scope and objectives. The proposed project methodology should describe the project design, address program specific methodology needs, procedures, timetables, monitoring/oversight and the organization’s project staffing.

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include Number of People Attended, Number of People Impacted, Number of Conferences Delivered, Number of Materials Created, Number of Trainings, Number of People Trained.

The maximum amount of any single full-scope implementation grant is $1,000,000. However, the size of grants will likely vary, based on differences in project scope, the responsiveness of application packages. Regardless of the activities proposed, applicants must provide sufficient documentation to explain and justify all grant project cost estimates to establish that they are reasonable, necessary, allowable and allocable to the purpose of these grants. Additionally, FNS retains authority to award less than the amount requested by an applicant.

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to Program Objectives (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include Number of People Attended, Number of People Impacted, Number of Conferences Delivered, Number of Materials Created, Number of Trainings, Number of People Trained.

Example

Objective #6 Improve Direct Certification System Student Search Functionality Activity 1 Analyze current search data attribute fields use Indicator Use of data attribute fields Activity 2 LEA Focus Group for Expanded Fields Indicator New data attribute fields added yes or no Activity 3 Analysis and adjustment of search functionality algorithm Indicator Algorithm adjusted yes or no.

Activity 4 LEA User Training of new System Student Search Functionality Indicator Training completed yes or no

Project Timeline (include as part of Project Narrative) The project timeline should include dates for important project milestones. The timeline should include, but is not limited to:

• Hiring of Project Director and other staff as needed.

• Project planning and information gathering.

• Implementation of key cooperative agreement activities

• Data collection and evaluation activities.

• Other key milestones.

Risk Management Identify existing and/or probable project risks. Note: Indicating there are no risks, is not a reasonable approach to the project. All projects involve some risks, (i.e. unexpected change in staff, unforeseen costs, etc.). To provide information on your project’s risks, your agency and partners should consider the realities of the work involved that are exposed to potential breakdown. Causes of risks may include any of the following, as well as others: a complex timeline, inability to procure an acceptable vendor in time to meet the project timeline, unexpected project costs, use of flawed data, or involvement of a high number of partners that have not traditionally worked together, inadequate requirements for system development, system testing failures, etc. Some risks may be known or assumed in advance, while other risks are seen as potential or probable.

Additionally, briefly describe how the project will be managed to minimize overall risks. In reference to the risks identified in #5a above, explain what actions the project team and partners will take to reduce the potential negative impacts from those risks.

Staffing Plan & Key Personnel Briefly describe the plan for staffing the grant project with the needed personnel, including the process for identifying and hiring or contracting for needed staff. Response should include key personnel, identifying roles, responsibilities, Response should also indicate whether each identified staff person is a State employee or a contractor (sample template below). Resumes must be included detailing level of relevant experience for all project personnel supporting the project at least 20% of the time or managing key project areas if less than 20% on the project.

Staff Name Is person Employee or Contractor?

Position and Responsibilities Time dedicated to Project

(% FTE)

Source of

Funding

Transferability Describe how the proposed implementation project is likely to produce outcomes and information that not only will aid the applicant State agency in accomplishing program improvements, but also will produce knowledge that is transferable to other State agencies for similar improvement projects.

Application Budget Narrative The budget narrative, formatted as a table, should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. The narrative must justify and support the bona fide needs of the budget’s direct cost. The budget and budget narrative must be in line with the proposed project description. If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. Budget categories in this table must match those listed on the SF-424A form. If the budget table is created in a spreadsheet, it must be formatted to fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page, with a font no smaller than 11-point Times New Roman. All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

Provide an itemized budget, formatted in a table, describing the appropriate use of grant funds, including calculations for how all line-item expenses were derived. All budget line-item expenses must be allowable costs as defined in this RFA and 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principals and must align with the activities described in the Project Narrative for this grant. Proposed costs must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable to carry out the project’s goals and objectives. All funding requests must be in whole dollars only.

Budget categories in this table must match those listed on the SF-424A.

The budget should describe the use of t h e grant agreement funds and justify costs.

Applicants should refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principals and Section 2.1 - Allowable Costs when developing the budget. The budget must also be submitted using the “Budget Information Form” (SF-424A). Proposed costs must be allowable, necessary, reasonable, and allocable to carry out the project’s goals and objectives.

If the budget includes indirect costs, the applicant must provide a copy of its most recently approved Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) as an appendix.

More information about indirect cost rates is noted in Section 4.1 – Content and Form of Application Submission.

Sustainability Describe the plans to maintain the overall project, system and/or software. Indicate the cost of ongoing maintenance and how the State will fund these costs to keep the system in operation beyond the grant period.

Indirect Cost Rate A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have, and has never been approved for, a NICRA, they may charge up to 10% de minimis. In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase “none requested” should be stated in the https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Grant Officer as noted in Section 7 of this RFA.

Note: Each organization is assigned to a single federal agency (by the Office of Management and Budget) that acts on behalf of all federal agencies in indirect cost rate negotiations and is referred to as the “cognizant agency.”

Required Grant Application Forms The required grants.gov forms may be previewed at grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html. These forms are part of the grants.gov Workspace application.

• Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family o Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424) o Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A) o Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

• SF LLL (Disclosure of Lobbying Activities) o Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities. If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed.

• Additional Required Forms and Information:

o Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information o SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

Submission Date

Complete grant applications must be uploaded to grants.gov by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page .

• Applications must be submitted via grants.gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, see the “Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov” below. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

• FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

• Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE, and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration.

FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues should they arise. Please note that upon submission, grants.gov may send multiple confirmation notices. Applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html http://www.grants.gov/

FNS will not accept applications outside of grants.gov. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications through grants.gov should contact applicant support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. This service is available 24/7.

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov

Applicants must register with grants.gov and SAM.gov in order to submit an application to FNS via grants.gov as required.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a UEI number

What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

A UEI is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. For more information, visit the U.S. General Services Administration website.

Where do I go to learn more about the UEI?

The U.S. General Services Administration Unique Entity Identifier Update page contains the most up-to-date information about the UEI.

Note: After April 4, 2022, entities can register in SAM.gov and will be assigned their “SAM UEI.”

They will no longer obtain or use a “DUNS UEI” for entity registration or reporting. For additional information on the UEI process, please visit SAM.gov.

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)

• On April 4, 2022, the UEI used across the federal government changed from the DUNS number to the UEI (generated by SAM.gov).

• SAM combines federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. Visit SAM.gov for additional information.

• To register, you must have your organization’s UEI, the organization’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on the last tax return). It may take up to 5 to 7 business days or more to register and/or complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of an entity record.

• All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25.

• FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin this process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account

The next step in the registration process is to create an account with grants.gov. Applicants must know their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to complete this process. For more detailed instruction about creating a profile on grants.gov, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html.

mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/ https://sam.gov/content/home https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update?gsaredirect=entityid https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services/office-of-systems-management/integrated-award-environment-iae/iae-systems-information-kit/unique-entity-identifier-update?gsaredirect=entityid https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov

Applicants must apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html.

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support (except Federal holidays) via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to contact grants.gov support and get a ticket number.

The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue.

For programmatic and financial-related questions regarding this specific grant opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in Section 7 – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts of this

RFA.

NOTICE: Special Characters and Naming Conventions

All applicants must follow grants.gov guidance on file naming conventions. To avoid submission issues, please follow the guidance provided by grants.gov (per the grants.gov Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ).

Are there restrictions on file names for any attachment I include with my application package?

e.g., ! @ # $ % ^ & * - ‘). (_). For example, Attached_File.pdf.

If these guidelines for file names are not followed, your application will be rejected. FNS will not accept any application rejected from the grants.gov portal due to incorrect naming conventions.

Additional information can be found at grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#attachments.

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page, as detailed in Section 4 – Submission Date. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by grants.gov. The applicant Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (e.g., GRANTXXXXXXXX) from grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application. Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and a grants.gov tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-training mailto:support@grants.gov https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-faqs#attachments https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-faqs#attachments

When FNS successfully retrieves the application from grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgement of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that grants.gov receives your application.

Applications received by grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNS funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before grants.gov receives your application. Again, grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role. The grants.gov Support Center reports that some applicants end the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to process the application.

1. Authorize Grants.gov Roles:

After creating an account on Grants.gov, the E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) will receive an email notifying them of the registration and requesting that roles be assigned. The EBiz POC will need to go to Grants.gov and authorize the appropriate roles. An approved Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must complete and submit the application online at Grants.gov. To learn more about the EBiz POC role and other profile roles, please visit Manage Roles for Applicant.

2. Track Role Status:

To track your role request, please visit Manage Roles for Applicant.

Electronic Signature: When applications are submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the organization's AOR that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as the electronic signature. The EBiz POC must authorize individuals who are able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of the organization as an AOR; this step is often missed, and it is crucial for valid and timely submissions.

Additional information can be found at grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#attachments.

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EST on the due date listed on the cover page, as detailed in Section 4 – Submission Date. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by grants.gov. The applicant Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (e.g., GRANTXXXXXXXX) from grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application. Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and a grants.gov tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

http://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom%23callingApp%3Dcustom&t=Applicants%2FManagement%2FManageRolesForApplicant.htm https://apply07.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm?callingApp=custom%23callingApp%3Dcustom&t=Applicants%2FManagement%2FManageRolesForApplicant.htm http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#attachments http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#attachments

When FNS successfully retrieves the application from grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgement of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that grants.gov receives your application.

Applications received by grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNS funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before grants.gov receives your application. Again, grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role. The grants.gov Support Center reports that some applicants end the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to process the application.

File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages. Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters (This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file. To separate words in naming a file, use underscore.

Intergovernmental Review

This funding opportunity is subject to the requirements of EO 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” This Executive Order was issues with the desire to foster the intergovernmental partnership and strengthen federalism by relying on State and local processes for the coordination and review of proposed federal financial assistance and direct federal development. The Order allows each State to designate an entity to perform this function.

If you are located within a State that does not have a Single Point of Contact (SPOC), you may send application materials directly to a federal awarding agency.

For a list of State agency contacts, please visit whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf.

Funding Restrictions

In addition to the administrative requirements contained in this RFA, the provisions below will also be a part of the agreement between FNS and the State agency:

1. Funds authorized cannot be used to replace existing funding (e.g. State Administrative Expense (SAE) funds) earmarked by the State agency for administrative review, oversight and training.

2. Current expenditures of State and local funds for the operation of school nutrition programs shall not be diminished as a result of receipt of funds to implement direct certification improvements.

3. Funds cannot be used to shift existing staff from their normal duties paid with SAE funds to support the grant activities unless the staff that are reassigned are replaced with additional staff in the positions that are vacant.

4. Funds must be used for FNS approved Direct Certification Improvement grant project activities for the purpose of improving direct certification processes and rates.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4-13-20.pdf

5. No pre-award or pre-agreement costs incurred prior to the effective start date are allowed unless approved and stated on FNS’ signed award document.

6. Grant funds may not be used for the purpose of construction.

5. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations. FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation. Ineligible or nonresponsive applications will be removed from further consideration for grant funds. Thereafter, FNS will review and consider eligible applications in accordance with the evaluation process described in the following paragraphs.

The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate applications for this RFA.

Project Purpose, Goals and Impact on Direct Certification (40 points)

• The significance of the problem(s) to be…