oppFOA-ETA-18-02-cfda17.270-cidFOA-ETA-18-02-instructions.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR:

REENTRY PROJECTS (RP)

ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: FOA-ETA-18-02

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE (CFDA) NUMBER: 17.270

KEY DATES: We must receive applications no later than May 4, 2018 at 4:00:00 p.m.

Eastern Time.

A Prospective Applicant Webinar will be held on April 10, 2018 at 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) at https://www.workforcegps.org/events/2018/03/15/16/46/Reentry-Employment-Opportunities- REO-Reentry-Projects-2018-Potential-Applicant, and available for viewing after that date. While a review of this Webinar is strongly encouraged to support successful grant applications, it is not mandatory.

ADDRESSES: Address mailed applications to:

The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management Attention: Melissa Abdullah, Grant Officer Reference FOA-ETA-18-02 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716 Washington, DC 20210

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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, the Department, or we), announces the availability of approximately $82.5 million in grant funds authorized by Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which authorizes research and evaluations to improve the management and effectiveness of workforce programs and activities. Projects funded under this FOA are also authorized under Section 212 of the Second Chance Act of 2007. The Department intends to award these grants to a combination of rural- and urban-serving areas. Eligible applicants include community- or faith-based organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status, state or local https://www.workforcegps.org/events/2018/03/15/16/46/Reentry-Employment-Opportunities-REO-Reentry-Projects-2018-Potential-Applicant https://www.workforcegps.org/events/2018/03/15/16/46/Reentry-Employment-Opportunities-REO-Reentry-Projects-2018-Potential-Applicant governments or any Indian and Native American entity eligible for grants under section 166 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

WIOA, which was passed in 2014, promotes a job-driven integrated system of workforce solutions that connect every type of job-seeker with the employers in need of skilled workers. Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), ETA seeks to enhance both adult and young adult reentry strategies through collaboration with the field to identify and respond to emerging or chronic reentry challenges. This FOA provides the opportunity for organizations to build customized projects. Applicants must propose evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions, new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising, or a combination of both that lead to increased employment outcomes for their target populations. Further, the Department supports the testing of promising practices and services, as well as established services in new combinations. More information about promising practices can be found in Section VIII.E.

of this FOA.

The Department is especially interested in program models that offer apprenticeship opportunities, including in registered apprenticeship programs, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs, as well as pre-apprenticeship opportunities. Under the June 15, 2017 Presidential Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeships in America, it is the policy of the Federal Government to provide more affordable pathways to secure high-paying jobs by promoting apprenticeships and effective workforce development programs.

These projects will serve either young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system, including high school dropouts, or adults ages 25 or older who were formerly incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released from prison or jail within 180 days of enrollment. Applicants may submit up to two (2) applications in response to this FOA, a maximum of one (1) to serve adults and a maximum of one (1) to serve young adults. Each application may only propose to serve one target population, and applicants may not serve young adults and adults in the same program. Applicants may be selected to receive up to two (2) grant awards. In addition, eligible applicants must choose to apply as either an intermediary organization (IO)(for the purpose of this Announcement, intermediary organizations are defined as organizations that have an affiliate network or offices in at least three communities and across at least two states) or as a non-intermediary organization (NIO) (for the purpose of the Announcement, non-intermediary organizations are those with single sites or multiple sites within one state).

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

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

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

• Maintain long-term employment;

• Sustain a stable residence; and

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

Finally, all projects must serve high-crime, high-poverty communities. Applicants that do not provide verification of their target area being located in high-crime, high-poverty, communities will be disqualified and not move forward through the merit review process.

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

• High-poverty: communities with poverty rates of at least 25 percent as exhibited through the use of American Community Survey (ACS) data. Instructions on using ACS data are outlined in Section VIII.F.

• High-crime: communities with crime rates within the targeted area that are higher than the rate for the overall city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas), as outlined below. (For more information on metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, see:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx.)

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Department will competitively select applicants that have proposed service delivery approaches that are comprised of evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions previously shown to achieve successful employment outcomes for justice-involved individuals, new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising, or a combination of both. Models must provide solutions to improving workforce outcomes for justice-involved individuals located in high-crime, high-poverty communities. Applicants must have a clear framework for delivering services and accomplishing performance goals and measures identified by DOL.

Applicants must provide a detailed description of the need for services in their target communities; how they plan to accomplish outcomes; their project design; their organizational, administrative, and fiscal capacity; and their past performance and programmatic capability. The Department is particularly interested in organizations that have demonstrated programmatic capability serving justice-involved individuals.

Applicants identified as intermediary organizations must show that their proposed sub-grantees’ target areas are in areas of high-crime, high-poverty and describe how the sub-grantees will implement the applicant’s program design.

A. PROGRAM PURPOSE

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx

This Announcement solicits applications for Reentry Projects. The purpose of this program is to use evidence-based and evidence-informed interventions, new interventions that theory or research suggests are promising, or a combination of both to improve employment outcomes of adults ages 25 and older who were formerly incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released within 180 days of enrollment (the date of enrollment is when the individual has gone through the application process, been accepted, and confirmed the individual will participate in the program, but must be within 180 days of release from incarceration), or young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system, including high school dropouts. Grants for adults and young adults must provide services in high-crime, high-poverty communities.

B. PROGRAM AUTHORITY

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

II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. AWARD TYPE AND AMOUNT

Funding will be provided in the form of a grant.

We expect availability of approximately $82.5 million to fund approximately thirty-five

(35) organizations. ETA will award approximately ten (10) grants of up to $4,500,000 each to intermediary organizations; of these, approximately three (3) will serve adults and approximately seven (7) will serve young adults. ETA will award at least $25 million to intermediaries serving young adults, including high school dropouts. In addition, we will award approximately twenty-five (25) grants of up to $1,500,000 each to non-intermediary organizations; of these, approximately twelve (12) will serve adults and approximately thirteen (13) will serve young adults.

Applicants applying as intermediary organizations may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $4,500,000; applicants applying as non-intermediary organizations may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $1,500,000. Intermediary applicants proposing a ceiling amount of over $4,500,000 or non-intermediary applicants proposing a ceiling amount of over $1,500,000 will be disqualified and not reviewed or move forward in the merit review process.

Applicants may submit up to two (2) applications in response to this FOA. A maximum of one (1) to serve adults and a maximum of one (1) to serve young adults. Each application may only propose to serve one target population, and applicants may not serve young adults and adults in the same program. Applications that propose serving both young adults and adults in the same program will be disqualified and not move forward in the merit review process. Applicants may be selected to receive up to two (2) grant awards.

Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of Federal funds. In the event that additional funds become available, we reserve the right to use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this Announcement.

DOL intends to award grants to a combination of rural- and urban-serving organizations.

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

Applicants must not exceed an $8,000 cost-per-participant (CPP) for the duration of this grant, which includes administrative, planning, and follow-up costs. Applications that exceed $8,000 CPP will be disqualified and not be reviewed or move forward in the merit review process. The CPP calculation divides the total DOL grant award by the number of proposed participants. Grantees must serve at least the number of participants proposed in their application. Intermediary organizations submitting applications requesting the maximum $4,500,000 must ensure that their sub-grantees cumulatively serve at least 563 participants over 39 months; non-intermediary organizations submitting applications requesting the maximum $1,500,000 must serve at least 188 participants over 39 months.

B. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

These grants have a thirty-nine (39) month period of performance, which includes up to three months of planning, a required 24-month period of operation, and a required 12-month period for follow-up services. Grantees must meet their enrollment goal and ensure that each participant receives the full menu of services within the period of operation and be able to ensure that each participant receives the 12 months of follow-up services during the performance period of the grant. The anticipated start date for these projects is July 1, 2018.

To ensure that grantees are prepared to begin program implementation, the Federal Project Officer (FPO) will review the completion of specific preliminary steps within the identified planning period of the grant. Grantees must complete these key preliminary steps during the planning period: hiring key staff (Director, Fiscal Manager, and Case Manager), securing locations to house the training, finalizing sub-grant agreements, meeting with any additional partners identified in the application to solidify partnerships, and ensuring readiness for inputting data into the DOL Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS) and any DOL provided Case-Management or Access Database system (if deemed applicable by DOL). The Department may subject grantees that do not meet these preliminary steps to corrective action. The application to the FOA serves as the Statement of Work for the grant. A minimum of five percent of total funds must be reserved for the 12-month follow-up period.

http://www.census.gov/

III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Applicants may submit up to two (2) applications in response to this FOA, a maximum of one (1) to serve adults and one (1) to serve young adults. Applicants may not propose to serve young adults and adults in the same application, and applicants selected to receive a grant award under this FOA may not serve adults and young adults in the same program.

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

Applicants must then select their target population. Applicants may propose to serve either adults (ages 25 or older who have been incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released from prison or jail within 180 days of enrollment) or young adults (ages 18-24 who have been involved in the juvenile or adult justice system, including high school dropouts) but may not serve both in the same program.

All applicants must comply with the eligibility requirements below:

• All eligible applicants must be community-or faith-based organizations with IRS

501(c)(3) non-profit status, including women’s and minority organizations; state or local governments; or any Indian and Native American entity eligible for grants under section 166 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

• Eligible applicants may be rural or urban-serving organizations. For purposes of this FOA, a rural area is any U.S. Census Bureau tract that is neither an urbanized area nor an urban cluster, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau defines urban areas as places of 2,500 or more persons incorporated in cities, villages, boroughs (except in Alaska and New York), and towns (except in the six New England States, New York, and Wisconsin), but excluding the rural portion of “extended cities.”

Applicants applying with IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status must submit verification of the non-profit staus. If you have submitted this documentation previously in another application submission, you must submit it again for this application. For applicants applying with IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit status that do not submit documentation of this status, the Department will check IRS data to ensure the applicant has this status.

Applicants may include current or former DOL grantees; new applicants that have not received previous DOL grants are also encouraged to apply.

All projects’ target areas must be located in high-crime, high-poverty communities;

applicants must submit documentation demonstrating this in a table format. Sample tables are found in Section IV below. Applicants that do not submit verification that their projects will serve high-crime, high-poverty communities will be disqualified and not move forward through the merit review process.

Applicants must use the latest available American Community Survey Five-Year data to find the cumulative poverty rate of the various Census Tracts or counties included in their target community or communities.

Applicants must also compare the most recently available crime rates of the police precinct, sheriff’s office, county police department, or other relevant jurisdiction that most closely overlaps with their target community or communities to the crime rate of the overall city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas) where each target community is located.

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

• High-crime communities: communities with crime rates within the targeted area that are higher than the crime rate of the overall city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas), as outlined below. (For more information on metropolitan counties and rural and urban areas, see:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/rural-economy-population/rural-classifications.aspx.)

• High-poverty communities: communities with poverty rates of at least 25 percent, as exhibited through the use of American Community Survey (ACS) data, as outlined in Section VIII, Part F.

Applicants must justify the number of participants that they will serve. Applicants must provide a table, as described in Section IV.B.(4)(b), that shows: 1) the overall population; 2) the population below the poverty level in each of the Census Tracts in the target community; and 3) all Census Tracts combined. The table must also show the high-crime rate for each target community, calculated as described above. Instructions for accessing American Community Survey data for applicants to include in their applications are in Section VIII, Part F of this FOA.

Selection of Sub-Grantees by Intermediary Organizations

Applicants applying as intermediary organizations must select and identify in their application their intended sub-grantees. DOL does not require applicants to competitively select local sub-grantees. Applicants may, but are not required to, select their local offices, affiliates, or members to serve as one or more sub-grantees. Applicants must include all poverty and crime rate data identified above for each sub-grantee and target community. Applications that do not include this information will be disqualified and will not move through the merit review process.

B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING

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

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

C. OTHER INFORMATION

1. Application Screening Criteria You should use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package to ensure that the application has met all of the screening criteria. Note that this checklist is only an aid for applicants and should not be included in the application package. We urge you to use this checklist to ensure that your application contains all required items. If your application does not meet all of the screening criteria, it will not move forward through the merit review process.

Application Requirement Instructions Complete?

The deadline submission requirements are met Section IV.C

Eligibility Section III.A

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

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

Section IV.C.

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

Section II.A

Application must not exceed the $8,000 cost-per-participant (CPP) rate. Section II.A

Application must not include serving both young adults and adults. Applications that propose serving both will be disqualified and not move forward in the merit review process.

Section III.A

SAM Registration Section IV.B.1

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

SF-424 includes a DUNS Number Section IV.B.1

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

Budget Narrative Section IV.B.2

Project Narrative Section IV.B.3

Poverty Table Attachment

• Poverty level by Census Tracts or

County(s),(applicants using zipcodes instead of census tracks or counties will be disqualified) and

• Overall poverty rate of at least 25%

Section IV.B.4(b)

2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit

We will consider up to two (2) applications from each organization, one (1) for each target population. In each application, applicants must select to be identified as either an intermediary organization or a non-intermediary organization. If we receive multiple applications from the same organization for the same target population, we will only consider the most recently received application that met the deadline. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, we will not replace it with an earlier application. Any application proposing to serve both target populations in the same application will be disqualified and will not move forward in the merit review process.

3. Eligible Participants

a) Participants Eligible to Receive Training

(1) Young Adults

An individual is eligible to participate in a program funded through this FOA if that individual, on the date of enrollment (the date of enrollment is when the individual has gone through the application process, been accepted, and confirmed the individual will participate in the program.):

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

• is a high school dropout * or currently involved or has been involved with the juvenile or adult justice system, which includes:

o previously incarcerated;

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

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

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

• is low-income (participants residing in the target area are considered to be low-income).

*Only 10 percent of participants may be enrolled as high school dropouts without having involvement in the juvenile or adult justice system.

(2) Adults

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

• is 25 years of age or older;

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

• was previously incarcerated and released from prison or jail within 180 days of enrollment;

• or is currently under supervision (which includes individuals:

confined in a correctional facility with a release date within six months, residing in a residential reentry center, on electronic monitoring or home-based monitoring, or enrolled in a jail-based work release center); and

• is low-income (participants residing in the target area are considered to be low-income).

Grantees have the discretion to enroll individuals convicted of violent offenses or assessed as high-risk. Grantees that serve this population must conduct a rigorous risk assessment of criminogenic need, which means causing or likely to cause criminal behavior. Applicants proposing to serve this population may adjust their outcomes accordingly;

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

FOA.

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

WIOA.

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

https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816 . This guidance applies to programs funded under WIOA. For additional information on veteran’s priority of service and WIOA, please see TEGL 19-16. TEGL 19-16 is available at:

https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3851 Application and Submission Information.

IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

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

B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION

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

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

(2) Project Budget (SF-424A and Budget Narrative);

(3) Project Narrative; and

(4) attachments to the Project Narrative.

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

http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_11-11_change2.pdf http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL_11-11_change2.pdf http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816 https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3851 http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm

(1) SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance”

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

• In the address field, fill out the nine-digit (plus hyphen) zip code. Nine-digit zip codes can be looked up on the USPS website at:

https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action.

• The SF-424 must clearly identify the applicant and must be signed by an individual with authority to enter into a grant agreement. Upon confirmation of an award, the individual signing the SF-424 on behalf of the applicant is considered the Authorized Representative of the applicant. As stated in block 21 of the SF-424 form, the signature of the Authorized Representative on the SF-424 certifies that the organization is in compliance with the Assurances and Certifications form SF-424B (available at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424B-V1.1.pdf). You do not need to submit the SF-424B with the application.

In addition, the applicant’s Authorized Representative’s signature in block 21 of the SF-424 form constitutes assurance by the applicant of compliance with the following requirements in accordance with 29 CFR 38.25.

As a condition to the award of financial assistance from the Department of Labor under Title I WIOA, the grant applicant assures that it will comply fully with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws: Section 188 of the WIOA, which prohibits discrimination against all individuals in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, political affiliation or belief, and against beneficiaries on the basis of either citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I—financially assisted program or activity; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color and national origin; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities; The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs. The grant applicant also assures that as a recipient of WIOA Title I financial assistance (as defined at 29 CFR 38.4(zz)), it will comply with 29 CFR part 38 and all other regulations implementing the laws listed above. This assurance applies to the grant applicant's operation of the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity, and to all agreements the grant applicant makes to carry out the WIOA Title I-financially assisted program or activity. The grant applicant understands that the United States has the right to seek judicial enforcement of this assurance.

http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-V2.1.pdf https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424B-V1.1.pdf

- Requirement for DUNS Number All applicants for Federal grant and funding opportunities must have a DUNS number, and must supply their DUNS Number on the SF-424. The DUNS Number is a nine-digit identification number that uniquely identifies business entities. If you do not have a DUNS Number, you can get one for free through the D&B website: https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do .

Grant recipients authorized to make subawards must meet these requirements related to DUNS Numbers

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=). In preparing the Budget Information Form, you must provide a concise narrative explanation to support the budget request, explained in detail below.

Budget Narrative: The budget narrative must provide a description of costs associated with each line item on the SF-424A. It should also include a description of leveraged resources provided (as applicable) to support grant activities.

https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do https://www.sam.gov/ https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby

Use the following guidance for preparing the budget narrative:

Personnel: – List all staff positions by title (both current and proposed).

Give the annual salary of each position, the percentage of each position’s time devoted to the project, the amount of each position’s salary funded by the grant, and the total personnel cost for the period of performance.

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

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

Equipment: Identify each item of equipment you expect to purchase which has an estimated acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit (or if your capitalization level is less than $5,000, use your capitalization level) and a useful lifetime of more than one year (see 2 CFR 200.33 for the definition of Equipment). List the quantity and unit cost per item. Items with a unit cost of less than $5,000 are supplies, not “equipment”. In general, we do not permit the purchase of equipment during the last funded year of the grant.

Supplies: Identify categories of supplies (e.g. office supplies) in the detailed budget and list the quantity and unit cost per item. Supplies include all tangible personal property other than “equipment” (see 2 CFR 200.94 for the definition of Supplies).

Contractual: Under the Contractual line item, delineate contracts and subawards separately. Contracts are defined according to 2 CFR 200.22 as a legal instrument by which a non-Federal entity purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award.

A subaward, defined by 2 CFR 200.92, means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program.

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

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

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

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

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

or

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

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

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

The definition of MTDC in 2 CFR 200.68 no longer allows for any sub-contracts to be included in the calculation. You will also note that participant support costs are not included in modified total direct cost. Participant support costs are defined below.

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

See Section IV.B.4. and Section IV.E.1 for more information. Additionally, the following link contains information regarding the negotiation of Indirect Cost Rates at DOL: https://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/dcd/index.htm.

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

These projects are required partners in the American Job Centers (AJCs) under WIOA sec. 121(b)(1)(B) and must share in the infrastructure funding of the One-Stop Delivery System. The sharing and allocation of infrastructure costs among one-stop partners are governed by WIOA sec. 121(h) and WIOA’s implementing regulations at 20 CFR Part 678. Applicants should refer to Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA 17-16 at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=4968.

Note that the SF-424, SF-424A, and budget narrative must include the entire Federal grant amount requested (not just one year).

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

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

(3) Project Narrative A. Preparing the Project Narrative

The Project Narrative must demonstrate your capability to implement the grant project in accordance with the provisions of this Announcement. It http://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/dcd/index.htm https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=4968 provides a comprehensive framework and description of all aspects of the proposed project. It must be succinct, self-explanatory, and well organized so that reviewers can understand the proposed project.

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

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

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

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

(1) Statement of Need Describe in both quantitative and qualitative terms the need for assistance, including the nature and scope of the problem and the consequences of not addressing the need. Incorporate demographic data and participant/beneficiary information whenever possible.

Applicants must identify:

Geographic Areas Served: Applicants applying as non-intermediary organizations must identify the target geographic area(s) that the project(s) will serve by providing a map as an attachment showing a contiguous target service area. This map must include a list of all targeted zip codes.

Applicants applying as intermediary organizations must identify each target area to be served by their sub-grantees by providing maps as an attachment. For each target area, the map must show a contiguous service area and include zip codes. The maps must also demonstrate that the target areas of their sub-grantees are in at least three distinct target areas located in at least two states.

Applicants must indicate the following:

Participants-Served: Identify the category of participant (young adult or adult).

If applying as a non-intermediary organization, identify the number of participants the applicant will serve. If applying as an intermediary organization, indicate the number of participants that each sub-grantee will serve as well as the total cumulative number of partcipants to be served by all sub-grantees combined.

All applicants must demonstrate that there is a sufficient pool of eligible potential participants in the target area(s) to recruit into the program.

All applicants must provide evidence to support the number of proposed participants in each of the areas to be served.

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

(2) Expected Outcomes The Department expects Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) grantees to track, report, and meet the primary indicators of performance as listed in WIOA section 116(b)(2)(A)(i-ii) as well as REO-specific measures. As part of their data collection, all REO grantees are directed to request participants’ social security numbers (SSNs). However, while REO grantees are required to request participants’ SSNs, participants cannot be denied services if they choose to not disclose.

REO grantees will report on the six WIOA primary indicators of performance.

These indicators are:

1) Employment Rate – Second Quarter After Exit (projects serving adults) 1a) Education and Employment Rate – Second Quarter After Exit (projects serving young adults)

2) Education and Employment Rate – Fourth Quarter After Exit (projects serving adults) 2a) Education and Employment Rate – Fourth Quarter After Exit (projects serving young adults)

3) Median Earnings – Second Quarter After Exit

4) Credential Attainment – Credential attainment is both a WIOA primary indicator and a targeted REO goal. REO is currently setting the target goal for this measure at 60 percent. The description of the target goal is stated below in the REO goals.

5) Measurable Skill Gains

6) Effectiveness in Serving Employers

Additional information on these performance indicators can be found in Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 10-16, Change 1:

“Performance Accountability Guidance for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I, Title II, Title III and Title IV Core Programs,” found at: https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=8226.

Additionally, the Department plans on releasing guidance specific to the REO program shortly.

Targets for the WIOA measures will be determined post-award.

REO grantees are also expected to track, report, and meet the following REO-specific goals, which are:

1) Enrollment Rate: the number of participants enrolled in the program divided by the enrollment goal. Each grantee has an individual enrollment goal derived from the grantee’s grant application. Grantees must ensure that each participant has the opportunity to receive the full menu of services prior to the end of the 24-month period of operation and receive the full 12 months of follow-up. Grantees should reach their enrollment goals by the midpoint of the program operations period, as described in Section II B. We define enrollment as the date the individual has gone through the application process, been accepted, and confirmed the individual will participate in the program; for the adult population, this must occur within 180 days of release from incarceration. The enrollment rate goal for all grantees is 100 percent.

2) Recidivism Rate: the percentage of participants who were in or returning from a juvenile or adult correctional facility or on probation prior to enrolling in the program and have been convicted of a new criminal offense within 12 months of their release from a juvenile or adult correctional facility or placement on probation. The goal for this measure is 20 percent or below.

3) Occupational Skills Training Rate: the percentage of participants who enter occupational skills training. The goal for this measure is 60 percent.

4) Placement Rate: the percentage of participants who are placed into one or more of the following: Apprenticeship, Unsubsidized Employment, or Post- Secondary Education. Grantees have until the end of the grant period of performance to achieve this measure. The goal for this measure is 70 percent.

NOTE: Credential Attainment Rate is both a WIOA primary indicator and a targeted REO goal, as indicated above. The credential attainment rate is the percentage of participants who entered occupational skills training and received an industry-recognized credential. The goal is 60 percent.

https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=8226

Applicants must describe:

• Outcomes Strategies: Grant applicants must describe their strategies for achieving the REO-specific measures and WIOA primary indicators of performance outlined above and how the strength of their proposed strategies will ensure that the stated goals are met. Strategies are to be specific, quantifiable statements and clearly linked to each REO-specific measure and WIOA primary indicator of performance.

• Support Strategies: Describe how the applicant will assist staff or sub-grantees, if applying as an intermediary organization, to meet the REO-specifc measures and the WIOA primary indicators of performance.

Grantees will be required to report to ETA quarterly throughout the period of performance on their progress towards achieving the identified outcomes.

(3) Project Design

Propose methods and outline a plan of action that describes the scope and detail of how the project will accomplish the proposed work and include timelines for completion of work. Account for all functions or activities identified in the application.