HHS-2021-ACF-ANA-NR-1907.pdf

Administration for Children and Families

Administration for Native Americans

Environmental Regulatory Enhancement

HHS-2021-ACF-ANA-NR-1907

Application Due Date: 03/31/2022

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 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

Appendix

Funding Opportunity Title:

Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Announcement Type:

Modification Funding Opportunity Number:

HHS-2021-ACF-ANA-NR-1907

Primary CFDA Number:

93.581 Due Date for Applications:

03/31/2022 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 Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2022 funds for community-based projects for the Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (ERE) program.

The ERE program provides funding for the costs of planning, developing, and implementing programs designed to improve the capability of tribal governing bodies to regulate environmental quality pursuant to federal and tribal environmental laws.

ANA will also permit entities to apply for ERE grants even if they do not own land. There is no requirement within the provisions for ERE under the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (NAPA) that require the eligible entity to own land. Applications will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria in the NOFO, including ensuring the purpose of the ERE program will be met.

I. Program Description Statutory Authority Grants for the Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (ERE) program are authorized by 42 U.S.C.§ 2991b(d) (Section 803(d) of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (NAPA)), as amended.

Description The Administration for Native Americans

Within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ANA serves all Native Americans, including federally recognized tribes, American Indian and Alaska Native organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, and Native populations throughout the Pacific https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/how-apply-grant

Basin (including American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). ANA promotes social and economic self-sufficiency for Native American communities in two ways. First, ANA provides discretionary grant funding, training, and technical assistance in support of community-based projects that address the current social and economic conditions in Native American communities. Second, ANA promotes social and economic self-sufficiency through advocacy and policy development on behalf of Native Americans. ANA’s programmatic goals include: (1) fostering the development of stable, diversified local economies to encourage community partnerships and reduce dependency on public funds and social services; (2) supporting local access to, control of and coordination of services and programs that safeguard the health and well-being of Native children and families; (3) increasing the number of projects involving youth and intergenerational activities in Native American communities.

ANA supports community-based projects in four major program areas: Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS), Native Languages, Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (ERE), and Community Research, Demonstration, and Pilot Projects. ANA funding is meant for projects that identify direct, measurable outcomes which will be achieved within the proposed project period.

No project shall be approved for assistance under this title unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the activities to be carried out under such project will be in addition to, and not in substitution for, comparable activities previously carried out without federal assistance.

ANA provides project-specific funding and not ongoing program funding. ANA may choose not to fund a project that is essentially identical or similar in whole or in part to previously funded projects proposed by the same applicant or activities or projects proposed by a consortium that duplicates activities for which any consortium member also receives or has received funding from ANA. If the applicant is proposing a project that is similar to a previously funded ANA grant, applicants should be explicit and provide a very detailed description of how the new project is different and is not duplicative of the past project.

Potential recipients are encouraged to educate themselves on intellectual property rights and the protection of ownership to language materials, history, music and dance, ceremonies, and other forms of knowledge and cultural practices that originate from Native communities. See 45 CFR 75.322 andAppendix II to Part 75, Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts under Federal Awards. Moreover, potential recipients are encouraged to learn how such rights may be transferred via contracting with third parties that produce resources, data, and materials developed as a result of ANA funding. ANA is unable to provide legal advice or guidance on this matter; however, grant funds may be used for legal expenses relative to this matter.

Applicant Training and Technical Assistance

ANA provides regional Training and Technical Assistance Centers as authorized by NAPA, to support recipients as well as potential applicants. Such support includes Pre-Application Workshops as well as a preliminary review of applications that are at least 75 percent completed. Applicants are encouraged to contact their regional TTA center or view the ANA website about the TTA services at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/assistance/applicant-training-technical-assistance.

ERE PROGRAM PURPOSE

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=501752740986e7a2e59e46b724c0a2a7&ty=HTML&h=L&r=PART&n=pt45.1.75#se45.1.75_1322 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=501752740986e7a2e59e46b724c0a2a7&ty=HTML&h=L&r=PART&n=pt45.1.75#se45.1.75_1322 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=a2d55dc62e7122b7be37d933c7cf409a&mc=true&node=ap45.1.75_1521.ii&rgn=div9 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=a2d55dc62e7122b7be37d933c7cf409a&mc=true&node=ap45.1.75_1521.ii&rgn=div9 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/assistance/applicant-training-technical-assistance

The ERE program is designed to support projects that plan, develop, and implement initiatives designed to improve the capability of the governing body of an Indian tribe to regulate environmental quality pursuant to federal and tribal environmental laws. The ERE program enhances the ability of tribal governments to provide effective stewardship over the lands, water, and air that encompass their Native communities.

The ERE program supports the principle that projects must follow tribal cultural preservation and natural resource management priorities in order to achieve environmentally healthy and sustainable American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Therefore, ANA is interested in supporting locally designed projects that strengthen environmental regulatory programs in a manner consistent with the goals of tribal and Alaska Native communities.

Program Areas of Interest

Pursuant to 42 U.S. Code § 2991b(d), the program areas of interest for this NOFO include, but are not limited to, the following:

Providing training and education to employees responsible for enforcing and monitoring compliance with environmental quality laws;

Developing tribal laws, regulations, and ordinances on environmental quality;

Enforcing and monitoring environmental quality laws, regulations, and ordinances;

Establishing baseline conditions for regulatory purposes;

Informing the community about regulations and environmental stewardship in order to assist enforcement;

Building the technical and program capability of the tribe or organization to inform governance, develop tribal laws, and enhance monitoring and enforcement of environmental laws;

Mitigating environmental impacts to American Indian/Alaska Native lands due to Department of Defense activities

KEY APPLICATION FEATURES

The ANA Project Framework is intended to outline the project in a way that focuses on achievable and measurable project outcomes that lead to a long-term community goal. The ANA Project Framework includes a long-term community goal, current community condition, project goal, objectives, outcomes, indicators, and outputs. Together, these components relate a specific project goal back to the long-term community goal, define targets for project achievement, and provide structure to measure project outcomes. The ANA Project Framework should demonstrate a logical relationship that connects all concepts.

Additional information about the components of the ANA Project Framework can be found in Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission, The Project Description.

ANA ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES:

Prioritized Funding for Community-Based Native American Organizations

ANA reserves the right to prioritize funding to community-based Native American organizations serving their local communities and populations. Applications from non-local, national, and regional organizations that propose projects to serve multiple communities, or to be performed in a different geographic location, must clearly demonstrate that the need for the project was originated by each community being served, and that the community and/or tribal government supports the proposed project. They must also describe how each community was selected, identify and describe the intended beneficiaries, demonstrate community involvement in the development of the project, and discuss a community-based delivery strategy for the project. The proposed project goals, objectives, and outcomes must address goals of the community being served. National and regional organizations must describe their membership, and define how the organization operates. The type of community to be served will determine the type of documentation necessary to support the project.

Required Recipient Travel and Attendance at Post-Award Meetings

Recipients will be required to have two individuals working directly on the project attend Post- Award Training during the first year of their award and attend an annual ANA Recipient Meeting during each year of their ANA award. Please refer to Section IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission, The Project Description, and The Project Budget and Budget Justification, for more information on how to include this in the budget.

Limitation on the Number of Awards Under a Single CFDA Number

Recipients can have only one active grant per Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number. (See CFDA definition located in Appendix A. Definitions and Section III.3. Other, ANA Disqualification Factors.)

Limitation on the Number of Awards Based on Two Consecutive Funded Projects

ANA will maximize the reach of its limited funding. Therefore, applicants that have implemented at least two consecutive projects within one CFDA number may not be funded for a third consecutive project within the same CFDA number if other applicants who have not received ANA funding in the past 3 years are within the scoring range to be funded. Project implementation periods include newly awarded first year project periods, Non-Competing Continuations (NCC) periods, and No Cost Extension (NCE) periods.

See Section V.2. Review and Selection Process, ANA Internal Review of Proposed Projects for additional information.

Compliance with Background Checks and Applicable Child Safety Laws

All recipients must comply with applicable federal, tribal, and state laws with respect to criminal history record checks and clearance through child abuse and neglect and sex offender registries.

Conflict of Interest Standards

The non-federal entity must disclose in writing any potential conflict of interest to the respective HHS awarding agency or pass-through entity in accordance with 45 CFR §75.112 (a)(1)-(a)(3) and other subsequent applicable HHS awarding agency's policy.

It is longstanding ANA policy to preclude members of the governing body of recipient organization from receiving paid employment under an ANA-funded project in order to preserve the independence and impartiality of governing body members and avoid conflicts of interest. The regulations provide for an exception under 45 CFR §1336.50(f), which permits the Chief Executive of the recipient to serve as project staff with the salary and expenses of the

Office of Chief Executive allowable costs under the ANA grant, provided such costs are directly related to the project and do not include the costs of general government. A recipient must request prior approval from ANA for such an exemption.

Federal Evaluation

Under Section 811 of NAPA, ANA is required to provide an evaluation of funded projects, including evaluations that describe and measure the success of such projects, their effectiveness in achieving stated goals, and their structure and mechanism for delivery of services. ANA currently undertakes a federally sponsored evaluation strategy to assess the effectiveness and success of approved projects. The federal evaluation strategy will include review of recipient level documentation including, but not limited to, the On-going Progress Reports (OPR), which is approved under Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 0970-0452 (expiration date 9/30/2023). In accepting a grant award, all recipients agree to participate fully in the federal evaluation, if selected, and to follow all evaluation protocols established by ANA or its designee contractor(s).

Currently, federal project evaluations culminate in end-of-project site visits from ANA during which evaluators utilize a structured information collection approved under OMB control number 0970-0379 (expiration date 6/30/2022). The information covered during such site visits follows up on and utilizes information provided through the recipient’s initial grant application and OPRs that evaluates the tracked outcomes performed by project staff throughout the project period.

NOTE: Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, (44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3521), under this NOFO, ANA will not conduct or sponsor – and a person is not required to respond to

- a collection of information covered by such Act, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. ANA has obtained OMB approval for the referenced information collections under OMB #0970-0452 (expiration date 9/30/2023). ACF will obtain OMB approval under the PRA prior to collecting or requesting the collection of any additional information from more than nine individuals or entities.

Pre-Application Teleconferences or Webinars

ANA may conduct a pre-application teleconference or webinar about the annual NOFOs. If scheduled, the date, time, registration, and call-in information will be available on ACF's ANA website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/events. Pre-application teleconference or webinar materials may be accessed on the same website.

Joining and participating in the teleconference or webinar is voluntary. Only the information provided in this NOFO will be presented. No question and answer period will be offered during the session. Participants will remain anonymous. Opting not to participate in the webinar will not affect eligibility, application scoring, or the selection process. Applicants unable to attend can access the recording and transcript on the ANA website after the teleconference or webinar has concluded.

COVID-19 Response

If, during the project period, ANA and/or recipients are required to adjust program and/or recipient requirements due to COVID-19 or other nationally declared emergency, ANA https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/events will exercise maximum flexibilities as needed. Requirements may be conducted virtually and/or timelines modified in consultation with ANA.

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 the 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.

Definitions

Program-specific terms and concepts described in this NOFO are found in Appendix A.

Definitions.

II. Federal Award Information Funding Instrument Type:

G (Grant) Estimated Total Funding:

$1,200,000 Expected Number of Awards:

Award Ceiling:

$300,000 Per Budget Period

Award Floor:

$100,000 Per Budget Period

Average Projected Award Amount:

$182,000 Per Budget Period

Anticipated Project Start Date:

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements#book_content_14 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policy-requirements

09/30/2022 Length of Project Periods:

12-month project period and budget period

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

36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods

Additional Information on Project Periods and Explanation of 'Other' Applicants may propose projects with project periods consisting of either 12, 24 or 36 months.

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 from 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.

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.

Non-competing Continuation Awards

An initial grant award will be for a 12-month budget period. The NCC award for projects approved for more than one budget period will be awarded on the basis of submission and approval of annual NCC applications, availability of funds, satisfactory progress, on-time completion of grant reporting requirements, and a determination that the continued funding would be in the best interest of the federal government.

III. Eligibility Information III.1. Eligible Applicants Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §2991b and 45 CFR §1336.33, eligible applicants under this funding opportunity are:

Federally-recognized Indian tribes, as recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA);

Incorporated non-federally recognized tribes;

Incorporated state-recognized Indian tribes;

Non-profit Alaska Native community entities or tribal governing bodies (Indian

Reorganization Act (IRA) or traditional councils) as recognized by the BIA;

Non-profit Alaska Native Regional Associations and/or Corporations with village specific projects;

Other tribal or village organizations or consortia of Indian tribes; or Tribal governing bodies (IRA or traditional councils) as recognized by the BIA.

Please refer to Section III.3., Other, ANA Disqualification Factors, for additional eligibility requirements.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from 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.

Funding Restrictions Reference Please see Section IV.6. Funding Restrictions for any limitations on the use of federal funds that could affect the eligibility of an applicant or project.

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

Yes Recipients are required to meet a non-federal share of the project cost, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 2991b(d).

Recipients must provide at least 20 percent of the total approved cost of the project. The total approved cost of the project is the sum of the ACF (federal) share and the non-federal share. The non-federal share may be met by cash or in-kind contributions, although applicants are encouraged to meet their match requirements through cash contributions. For example, in order to meet the match requirements, a project requesting $300,000 in ACF (federal) funds must provide a non-federal share of the approved total project cost of at least $ 75,000 , which is 20 percent of total approved project cost of $ 375,000 .

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 of the 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. A recipient’s failure to provide the statutorily required matching amount may result in the disallowance of federal funds.

Recipients will be required to report these funds in the Federal Financial Reports.

For awards that do not require matching or cost sharing by statute, where “cost sharing” refers to any situation in which the recipient voluntarily shares in the costs of a project other than as statutorily required matching, 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. These include situations in which contributions are voluntarily proposed by a recipient or subrecipient and are accepted by ACF. Non-federal cost sharing will be included in the approved project budget so that the recipient will be held accountable for proposed non-federal cost sharing funds as shown in the Notice of Award (NoA). A recipient’s failure to provide voluntary cost sharing of non-federal resources that have been accepted by ACF as part of the approved project costs and that have been shown as part of the approved project budget in the NoA, may result in the disallowance of federal funds. Recipients will be required to report these funds in the Federal Financial Reports.

ANA COMMITMENT OF CASH OR IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION

Applicants must establish proof of the firm commitment of cash or in-kind contributions by submitting documentation, such as a letter or other proof, from the source of such resources. See Section IV.2. Content and Forms of Application Submission, The Project Budget and Budget Justification.

USE OF OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING AS MATCH FOR ERE PROJECTS

Under Section 803 (d) 3 of NAPA, projects funded through ERE are allowed to utilize other federal funding to meet the required 20 percent match. The authorizing statute for the matching federal funds must not expressly prohibit such use. If the other statute is silent on matching, then the applicant can use the other federal grant to meet the ERE match requirement.

ANA MATCH WAIVER

Applicants may request a waiver of the requirement for a 20 percent match. To receive a waiver or a reduction in the required match, the applicant must provide ANA with written documentation of their need. This request must establish whether the applicant satisfies each waiver criteria in 45 CFR §1336.50(b)(3). The waiver request should be submitted with the application as an attachment. Approval of the waiver request cannot be assumed by the applicant without written notification from ANA. Waiver requests will not result in a deduction of points in the evaluation of the application.

45 CFR §1336.50(b)(3):

"(3) Criteria. Both of the following criteria[1] must be met for an applicant to be eligible for a waiver of the non-Federal matching requirement:

(i) Applicant lacks the available resources to meet part or all of the non-Federal matching requirement. This must be documented by an institutional audit if available, or a full disclosure of applicant's total assets and liabilities.

(ii) Applicant can document that reasonable efforts to obtain cash or in-kind contributions for the purposes of the project from third parties have been unsuccessful. Evidence of such efforts can include letters from possible sources of funding indicating that the requested resources are not available for that project. The requests must be appropriate to the source in terms of project purpose, applicant eligibility, and reasonableness of the request."

For inquiries about the waiver process, contact your regional technical assistance provider. Refer to Section VIII. Other Information, Reference Websites for the contact information.

Matching Waiver Pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 1469a(d) Matching requirements (including in-kind contributions) of less than $200,000 (up to $199,999) are waived under grants made to the governments of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (other than those consolidated under other provisions of 48 U.S.C. § 1469) pursuant to 48 U.S.C. § 1469a(d). This waiver applies whether the matching required under the grant equals or exceeds $200,000.

III.3. Other

PROJECTS INELIGIBLE FOR FUNDING

45 CFR §1336.33(b) has the effect of making the following projects ineligible for funding under this NOFO:

Projects for which a recipient will provide third-party training and technical assistance to other tribes or Native American organizations or to non-members of the recipient organization.

Projects that require funding for feasibility studies, business plans, marketing plans, or written materials such as manuals that are not an essential part of the applicant's long-range development plan.

Projects with core administration functions that essentially support only the applicant's ongoing administrative functions and are not related to the proposed project.

Projects that support ongoing social service delivery programs, or the expansion, or continuation of existing social service delivery programs.

Projects that do not further the three interrelated ANA goals of economic development, social development, and cultural preservation.

Projects from consortia of tribes that do not include documentation from each participating consortium member specifying their role and support. Projects from consortia must have goals and objectives that will encompass the participating communities. ANA will not fund projects by a consortium of tribes that duplicate activities for which participating member tribes also receive funding from ANA.

The purchase of real estate.

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

Award Ceiling Disqualification

Applications that request an award amount that exceeds the Award Ceiling per budget period or per project period ("per project period" refers only to fully funded awards), as stated in Section II. Federal Award Information, will be disqualified from competitive review and from 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.

Required Electronic Application Submission

ACF requires electronic submission of applications at www.Grants.gov. Paper applications received from applicants that have not been approved for an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

Applicants that do not have an internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents to the internet may contact ACF for an exemption that will allow the applicant to submit applications in paper format. Information and the requirements for requesting an exemption from required electronic application submission are found in "ACF Policy for Requesting an Exemption from Electronic Application Submission."

Missing the Application Deadline (Late Applications)

The deadline for electronic application submission is 11:59 pm ET on the due date listed in the Overview and in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times. Electronic applications submitted to www.Grants.gov after 11:59 pm ET on the due date, as indicated by a dated and time-stamped email from www.Grants.gov, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. That is, applications submitted to www.Grants.gov, on or after 12:00 am ET on the day after the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

Applications submitted to www.Grants.gov at any time during the open application period, and prior to the due date and time, which fail the www.Grants.gov validation check, will not be received at, or acknowledged by ACF.

Each time an application is submitted via www.Grants.gov, the submission will generate a new date and time-stamp email notification. Only those applications with on-time date and time stamps that result in a validated application, which is transmitted to ACF will be acknowledged.

The deadline for receipt of paper applications is 4:30 pm ET on the due date listed in the Overview and in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times. Paper applications received after 4:30 pm ET on the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity. Paper applications received from applicants that have not received approval of an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this funding opportunity.

ANA DISQUALIFICATION FACTORS

Assurance of Community Representation on Board of Directors https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACF_Policy_for_Requesting_an_Exemption_from_Required_Electronic_FINAL_0.pdf https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ACF_Policy_for_Requesting_an_Exemption_from_Required_Electronic_FINAL_0.pdf https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/

Applicants other than tribes or Alaska Native villages applying for funding must show that a majority of board members are representative of a Native American community to be served.

Applicants must submit documentation that identifies each board member by name and indicates each board member's personal affiliation or relationship to at least one of ANA's three categories of community representation: (1) members of federally or state-recognized tribes; (2) persons who are recognized by members of the eligible Native American community to be served as having a cultural relationship with that community; or (3) persons considered to be Native American as defined in 45 CFR § 1336.10 and Native American Pacific Islanders as defined in Section 815 of the NAPA. The second category of community representation requires a "cultural" relationship defined as lineage, familial, marriage, or the other traditional or social connection to the community and not a business or work relationship (e.g., person that owns a business or is employed by an organization that serves the Native community).

Applicants that do not include Assurance of Community Representation documentation will be considered non-responsive, and the application will not be considered for competition. See Appendix C for an example.

See Section IV.2. Content and Forms of Application Submission, The Project Description, Additional Eligibility Documentation.

Public agencies serving Native peoples from Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands must include Assurance of Community Representation from the governing body of the applicant agency, and Tribal Colleges governed by a board that is separate from the governing body of a tribe, must include Assurance of Community Representation from the governing body of the Tribal College, and not from the governing body of the Tribe.

If an American Indian tribe or Alaska Native village applies for a grant as a non-profit, the Assurance of Community Representation on Board of Directors must be provided.

Applicants that do not include this documentation will be considered non-responsive, and the application will not be considered for competition. See Section IV.2. The Project Description, Additional Eligibility Documentation.

Only One Active Award Per CFDA

This disqualification factor applies to all types of eligible applicants:

Organizations can have no more than one active award per CFDA number for an ANA program at any given time. Therefore, organizations with a current ANA grant that is eligible for an NCC award that: (1) will go beyond the start date of the possible new award; and (2) was awarded under the same CFDA number as this NOFO, will not have their applications considered for the competition. This disqualification factor is based on the administrative policy that prohibits recipients from having more than one active grant per CFDA number. This disqualification factor does not apply to organizations eligible for an NCC award for the continuation of an ANA grant made under a different CFDA number.

Notification of Application Disqualification Applicants will be notified of a disqualification determination by email or by USPS postal mail within 30 federal business days from the closing date of this NOFO.

IV. Application and Submission Information IV.1. Address to Request Application Package Operations, Administrative and Technical Support

(OATS)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HHS-2021-ACF-ANA-NR-1907

Administration for Native Americans Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building 330 C Street, SW, 4th Floor Washington

DC

20201

(877) 922-9262

(202) 690-7441 anacomments@acf.hhs.gov https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/programs Application Packages

Electronic Application Submission:

The electronic application submission package is available in the NOFO's listing at www.Grants.gov.

Applications in Paper Format:

For applicants that have received an exemption to submit applications in paper format, Standard Forms, assurances, and certifications are available in the "Select Grant Opportunity Package" available in the NOFO's Grants.gov Synopsis under the Package tab at www.Grants.gov. See Section IV.2. Request an Exemption from Required Electronic Application Submission if applicants do not have an Internet connection or sufficient computing capacity to upload large documents (files) to www.Grants.gov.

Federal Relay Service:

Hearing-impaired and speech-impaired callers may contact the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) for assistance at www.gsa.gov/fedrelay.

IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission

FORMATTING APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) AOR is the designated representative of the applicant/recipient organization with authority to act on the organization's behalf in matters related to the award and administration of grants. In signing a grant application, this individual agrees that the organization will assume the obligations imposed by applicable Federal statutes and regulations and other terms and conditions of the award, including any assurances, if a grant is awarded.

Point of Contact In addition to the AOR, a point of contact on matters involving the application must also be https://www.Grants.gov/ https://www.Grants.gov/ http://www.gsa.gov/fedrelay identified on the SF-424. The point of contact, known as the Project Director or Principal Investigator, should not be identical to the person identified as the AOR. The point of contact should also be an employee of the applicant organization and not a contractor, such as a grant writer. The point of contact must be available to answer any questions pertaining to the application.

Application Checklist Applicants may refer to Section VIII. Other Information for a checklist of application requirements that may be used in developing and organizing application materials. Details concerning acknowledgment of received applications are available in Section IV.4. Submission Dates and Times of this funding opportunity.

Accepted Font Style Applications must be in Times New Roman (TNR), 12-point font, except for footnotes, which may be TNR 10-point font.

English Language Applications must be submitted in the English language and must be in the terms of United States (U.S.) dollars. If applications are submitted using another currency, ACF will convert the foreign currency to U.S. currency using the date of receipt of the application to determine the rate of exchange.

Page Limitations Applicants must observe the page limitation(s) listed under “Page Limitations and Content for All Application Submission Formats:" Page limitation(s) do not include Standard Forms (SFs), OMB-approved forms, including the ANA Objective Workplan (OWP), required assurances and certifications.

All applications must be double-spaced and in Times New Roman, 12-point font. An application that exceeds the cited page limitation for double-spaced pages will have the extra pages removed and those pages will not be reviewed.

Application Elements Exempted from Double-Spacing Requirements The following elements of the application submission are exempt from the double-spacing requirements and may be single-spaced: the one-page Project Summary, required Assurances and Certifications, required SFs, required OMB-approved forms, resumes, logic models, proof of legal status/non-profit status, third-party agreements, letters of support, footnotes, tables, the line-item budget and/or the budget justification.

Adherence to NOFO Formatting, Font, and Page Limitation Requirements Applications that fail to adhere to formatting, font, and page limitation requirements will be adjusted by the removal of page(s) from the application. Pages will be removed before the objective review. The removed page(s) will not be made available to reviewers.

In instances where formatting and font requirements are not adhered to, ACF uses a formula to determine the actual number of pages to be removed. The formula counts the number of characters an applicant uses when following the instructions and using 12-point TNR and compares the resulting number with that of the submitted application. For example, an applicant using TNR, 11-point font, with 1-inch margins all around, and single-spacing, would have an additional 26 lines, or 1500 characters, which is equal to 4/5 of an additional page. Extra pages resulting from this formula will be removed and will not be reviewed.

Applications that have more than one scanned page of a document on a single page will have the page(s) removed from the review. For applicants that submit paper applications, double-sided pages will be counted as two pages. When the maximum allowed number of pages is reached, excess pages will be removed and will not be made available to reviewers.

Page limitations are identical for electronically submitted and paper format application submissions.

NOTE: Applicants failing to adhere to formatting, font, and page limitation requirements will receive a letter from ACF notifying them that their application was amended. The letter will be sent after awards have been issued and will specify the reason(s) for removal of page(s).

Corrections/Updates to Submitted Applications When applicants make revisions to a previously submitted application, ACF will accept only the last on-time application for pre-review under the Application Disqualification Factors. The Application Disqualification Factors determine the application's acceptance for competitive review. See Section III.3.Other, Application Disqualification Factors and Section IV.2.

Application Submission Options.

Copies Required Applicants must submit one complete copy of the application package electronically. Applicants submitting electronic applications need not provide additional copies of their application package. Applicants submitting applications in paper format must submit one original and two copies of the complete application, including all Standard Forms and OMB-approved forms. The original copy must have original signatures.

Signatures Applicants submitting electronic applications must follow the registration and application submission instructions provided at www.Grants.gov. The original of a paper format application must include original signatures.

Accepted Application Format With the exception of the required Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved forms, all application materials must be formatted so that they are 8 ½" x 11" white paper with 1-inch margins all around. If possible, applicants are encouraged to include page numbers for each page within the application.

ACF generally does not encourage submission of scanned documents as they tend to have reduced clarity and readability. If documents must be scanned, the font size on any scanned documents must be large enough so that it is readable. Documents must be scanned page-for-page, meaning that applicants may not scan more than one page of a document onto a single page.

PAGE LIMITATIONS AND CONTENT FOR ALL SUBMISSION FORMATS:

ANA has implemented a page limit of 150 total pages for applications submitted in response to this NOFO. The page limitation excludes the required forms, the Objective Work Plan (OWP), assurances, and certifications listed in this section. The one-page Project Summary is excluded from the page limitation. The business plan is no longer exempt from the page limit.

The following are the required application components to include in a complete application for consideration:

Table of Contents Project Summary (limited to one single-spaced page) Project Description o Approach Long-Term Community Goal Current Community Condition Project Goal Objective(s) Outcome(s) Indicator(s) Outputs Outcome Tracker and Outcome Tracking Strategy Community-Based Strategy Readiness and Implementation Strategy o Geographic Location o Objective Work Plan o Organizational Capacity

Resume Job Descriptions List of Board of Directors Organizational Chart o Plan for Oversight of Federal Funds

Project Budget and Budget Justification o Line-Item Budget o Narrative Budget Justification

Application Appendices:

Additional Eligibility Documentation o Governing Body Documentation o Assurance of Community Representation on Board of Directors (see Disqualification Factor in Section III.3 Other and Appendix C)

Protection of Sensitive and Confidential Information Maintenance of Effort Certification (MOE) Legal Status of Applicant Entity, if applicable Commitment of Non-Federal Resources Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable Letters of Support Third Party Agreements, if applicable Business Plan, if applicable Other attachments, if necessary

The following must be included in the application package: Standard Forms (SFs); other forms approved by OMB, including the ANA OWP (OMB No. 0970-0452, expiration date 9/30/2023);

and required certifications and assurances.

The OWP is a required application form. The OWP form can be found at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/resource/objective-work-plan or on Grants.gov. Applicants may submit either version of the OWP form with their application.

For paper format application submissions, the following must be included with the application package: the SFs, other forms approved by the OMB, including ANA OWP; and required certifications and assurances.

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

Applicants are required to submit their applications electronically unless they have requested and received an exemption that will allow submission in paper format. See Section IV.2. Application Submission Options for information about requesting an exemption. Electronic applications will only be accepted via www.Grants.gov. ACF will not accept applications submitted via email or via facsimile.

There are no restrictions on the number of files that applicants may submit.

Application Upload Requirements ACF strongly recommends that electronic applications be uploaded as Portable Document Files (PDFs).

Applicants using Adobe Acrobat Reader software will be able to merge documents together, as needed. ACF recommends merging documents electronically rather than scanning multiple documents into one document manually, as scanned documents may have reduced clarity and readability.

Applicants must ensure that the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader they are using is compatible with Grants.gov. To verify Adobe software compatibility please go to Grants.gov and click on "Applicants" at the top bar menu and select "Adobe Software Compatibility", which is listed under "Applicant Resources." The Adobe verification process allows applicants to test their version of the software by opening a test Workspace PDF form. Grants.gov also includes https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/training-technical-assistance/objective-work-plan https://www.grants.gov/web/grants guidance on how to download a supported version of Adobe, as well as troubleshooting instructions if an applicant is unable to open the test form.

The Adobe Software Compatibility page located on Grants.gov also provides guidance for applicants on filling out a Workspace PDF form. In addition, it addresses local network and/or computer security settings and the impact this has on use of Adobe software.

Required Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved Forms Standard Forms (SFs) and OMB-approved forms, such as the SF-424 application and budget forms and the SF-P/PSL (Project/Performance Site Location), and the OMB-approved ANA Objective Workplan (OWP) form, are uploaded separately at Grants.gov. These forms are submitted separately from the other application files at Grants.gov and are not subject to the page limitations. See Section IV.2. Required Forms, Assurances, and Certifications for the listing of required Standard Forms, OMB-approved forms, and required assurances and certifications.

Naming Application Submission Files Carefully observe the file naming conventions required by www.Grants.gov. Limit file names to 50 characters (characters and spaces). Special fonts and characters of Native American languages should not be used to name files or other uploaded documents of the application.