sga-dfa-py-10-09.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for Serving Juvenile Offenders in High-Poverty, High-Crime Communities

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration

Announcement Type: Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) Funding Opportunity Number: SGA/DFA PY 10-09 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 17.261

KEY DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is April 12, 2011. Applications must be received no later than 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Division of Federal Assistance, Attention: Donna Kelly, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY 10-09, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210. For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to section IV.

Summary: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), announces the availability of approximately $17 million in grant funds authorized by the Workforce Investment Act for two grants to serve juvenile offenders, ages 16 to 24, in high-poverty, high-crime communities. The purpose of these grants is to improve the long-term labor market prospects of these youth. These grants will be awarded through a competitive process open to organizations with the capacity to implement multi-site, multi-state projects. The Department expects to award two grants of $8.5 million each to cover a planning period and up to 26 months of operation.

Grantees will be required to competitively select local sub-grantees to operate the program in a minimum of five high-poverty, high-crime communities in at least two states. This solicitation provides background information and describes the application submission requirements, outlines the process that eligible entities must use to apply for funds covered by this solicitation, and outlines the evaluation criteria used as a basis for selecting the grantees.

I. Funding Opportunity Description Each year, juvenile courts in the United States handle roughly 1.6 million delinquency cases and an estimated 144,000 youth are placed in juvenile correctional facilities. Youth placed in juvenile correctional facilities face severe educational and labor market barriers. A 2001 report stated that “A conservative, preliminary estimate of the prevalence of youth with learning and emotional disabilities in juvenile corrections is 32 percent, which is notably higher than the prevalence of disability among school-age children in the United States, which is about nine percent.”1 A 1997 report from the National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice noted that the percentage of youth in juvenile correctional facilities who were identified as being in special education programs before their incarceration is at least three to five times higher

1 Mary Quinn, Robert Rutherford, Jr., and Peter Leone, “Students with Disabilities in Correctional Facilities,” December 2001, Journal for Exceptional Children Web site.

than the percentage of the general public school population identified as learning disabled.2 A study of Philadelphia public schools found that only 10 percent of students in the class of 2000 who had been placed in a juvenile correctional facility eventually graduated from the Philadelphia School District.3

Youth placed in juvenile correctional facilities also are characterized by family disruptions, mental health disorders, and substance abuse problems. Based on the 2003 Survey of Youth in Residential Placement, only 19 percent of committed youth were living with two parents when they entered custody, while 56 percent lived with one parent, and 26 percent were not living with any parent.4 Mental illness is also especially high among youth offenders. A 2006 study conducted by the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice estimated that 70 percent of youth in juvenile correctional facilities, detention centers, and community-based care have a diagnosable mental health disorder, including 80 percent of girls and 67 percent of boys in these facilities; that 27 percent of youth in these facilities have a mental disorder severe enough to require significant and immediate treatment; and that 60 percent of juveniles in residential confinement with a mental health disorder also suffer from co-occurring substance abuse disorders.5

Youth in the juvenile justice system have a high probability of returning to crime. As an example, the Commonwealth of Virginia reports that 75 percent of youth released from state correctional facilities and 61 percent of youth placed on probation in the Commonwealth are arrested for a new crime within three years.6

To help address these problems, DOL will award grants under this announcement to serve juvenile offenders, ages 16 to 24, who currently reside in, or resided in before confinement, high-poverty, high-crime communities. DOL believes these grants will improve the long-term labor market prospects of these youth. DOL will award these grants through a competitive process open to organizations with the capacity to implement multi-site, multi-state projects.

DOL expects to award two grants of $8.5 million each to cover a planning period and up to 26 months of operation.

2 Peter Leone and Sheri Meisel, “Improving Education Services for Students in Detention and Confinement Facilities,” 1997, available on the National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice Website.

3 Ruth Curran Neild and Robert Balfanz, “Unfulfilled Promise: The Dimensions and Characteristics of Philadelphia’s Dropout Crisis, 2000-2005,” Philadelphia Youth Transitions Collaborative, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, undated.

4 Howard Snyder and Melissa Sickmund, “Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report,” National Center for Juvenile Justice, published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, March 2006.

5 Jennie Shufelt and Joseph Cocozza, “Youth with Mental Health Disorders in the Juvenile Justice System: Results from a Multi-State Prevalence Study,” National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, June 2006.

6 See the State of Virginia’s Department of Juvenile Justice’s Data Resource Guide for FY 2009. For links to juvenile justice systems in other states see the State Juvenile Justice Profiles web site at http://70.89.227.250:8080/stateprofiles/, but data on recidivism is not typically available through these links.

http://70.89.227.250:8080/stateprofiles/

These grants will include a combination of workforce development, education and training, case management, mentoring, restorative justice, and community-wide violence reduction components. While the overarching principle that DOL wants grantees to follow is to provide services that best meet the needs of each individual youth, DOL expects that for the most part services for youth ages 17 and under will focus on helping youth succeed in high school, internships, and summer jobs, and that services for youth ages 18 and above will focus on helping these youth receive high school diplomas or GEDs, obtain jobs, and enter apprenticeships, post-secondary education, or vocational training.

The Department will set both in-program and post-program performance goals for these grants.

In-program performance goals will be set for placement rate of younger youth (who, for the purposes of this project, are youth ages 17 and below) in internships and summer jobs; the reading and math gains of both younger and older youth (who, for purposes of this project, are youth ages 18 to 24); and the placement of both younger and older youth in restorative justice projects and mentoring programs. Post-program performance goals will be set relating to the placement rate of out-of-school youth, ages 18 to 24, in employment, apprenticeships, post-secondary education, the military, or occupational skills training leading to industry-recognized credentials; the rate at which both younger and older youth obtain high school diplomas or GEDs; the retention rate of younger youth in high school and of older youth in employment and education placements; the recidivism rate of both younger and older youth; and the rate at which older youth obtain industry-recognized credentials.

A. Selection of Sub-Grantees Grantees must competitively select local sub-grantees to operate the program in a minimum of five high-poverty, high-crime communities in at least two states. A grantee must hold this competition after it is awarded a grant. Grantees should not hold competitions or select local sub-grantees and sites before submitting their proposals. The Department will not award any additional points to applicants that identify local sub-grantees and sites in their proposals.

Grantees must follow their own procurement requirements in conducting this competition and meet the Federal standards at 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 95 and 97. These Federal standards require that grantees conduct procurement transactions in a manner that provides open and free competition to the maximum extent possible. The manner of selection of sub-grantees for this project will depend, to some extent, on whether or not the grantee has local offices, affiliates or members. Grantees with no local offices, affiliates, or members or less than 20 local offices, affiliates, or members must conduct an open and free competition to select sub-grantees and sites. Grantees with 20 or more local offices, affiliates, or member organizations have the option of having a free and open competition among all of their affiliates.

DOL recognizes that whatever inefficiencies there may be from limiting the competition in this way may be outweighed by the efficiencies that come with the greater familiarity the organizations has with its affiliates. Within 30 days of award, grantees must provide a plan for DOL approval for conducting this competition. If a proposal identifies a specific entity to provide services, DOL/ETA award does not provide the justification or basis for a sole source procurement to that entity, i.e., this award does not justify avoiding competition, unless the activity is regarded as the primary work of an official partner to the application.

B. Communities to Be Served Grants funded under this SGA must focus on serving juvenile offenders currently residing in, or who resided in before confinement, high-poverty, high-crime communities. In their solicitations to select sub-grantees, grantees must require that sub-grantee applicants identify a community to be served that has a poverty rate of at least 30 percent for urban areas and 25 percent for rural areas. For the purpose of this SGA, a rural area is defined as a non-metropolitan area.

The U.S. Bureau of Census now has American Community Survey data available at the Census Tract level. Grantees must require sub-grantee applicants to use American Community Survey data to show in their proposals the cumulative poverty rate of the various Census Tracts (for urban areas) or counties or county sub-divisions (for rural areas) included in their target community. Individual Census Tracts within proposed urban target communities may have poverty rates of less than 30 percent, but the cumulative poverty rate for the community to be served must be at least 30 percent. Similarly, individual counties or county sub-divisions within proposed rural target communities may have poverty rates of less than 25 percent, but the cumulative poverty rate for the community to be served must be at least 25 percent. Census Tracts, counties, and county sub-divisions that make up the community to be served must be contiguous, and grantees must require in their solicitations that sub-grantee applicants provide an accurate map showing a contiguous target community.

In their solicitations to select sub-grantees, grantees also must require that sub-grantee applicants demonstrate that their community is a high-crime area by showing that the felony crime rate in the police precinct that most closely overlaps with the community to be served is higher than the overall felony crime rate of the city (for urban areas) or of non-metropolitan counties in the state (for rural areas). Additionally, as part of their solicitation and in order to demonstrate local need and determine if the target population is large enough to make such awards within the stated locality, grantees must require sub-grantee applicants to provide data from the local juvenile justice agency on the number of youth from the community who in the past year returned from juvenile correctional facilities, were placed on probation, were placed in alternative sentences, and the number of youth who are expected to return to the target community over the next two years. The Department imposes no requirements on the size of the population of the community to be served. Grantees must require that at least 90 percent of the sub-grantees’ participants must currently reside in (or resided in before confinement) the community to be served by the sub-grantee, with the remaining participants currently residing in (or resided in before confinement) a geographic area close to the target community.

C. Required Project Components

Each local project funded under these grants must include each of the project components described below. In their solicitations to select sub-grantees, grantees must require that sub-grantees include each of these components in their projects. Each individual enrolled in these projects does not necessarily have to participate in each of these project components. The Department expects that services under many of these components will start for youth in out-of-home placements while these youth are still in confinement, and the rating criteria for these project components reflect, in part, the extent to which applicants will require that services start while youth are still in confinement.

After the sub-grantees are selected, the grantee must report back to the Grant Officer on who the sub-grantees are, the communities that will be served, how the communities meet the poverty rate and crime rate requirements of the SGA, the numbers of participants of each type the sub-grantees propose to serve, the key components that will be provided, and any changes to the plan as set out in the application. The Grant Officer has the right to negotiate about any design elements of the grant that are changed after award and has the right to terminate the grant if negotiations fail.

Female juvenile offenders often face more serious barriers than male juvenile offenders, and grantees must also require that sub-grantees serve female juvenile offenders equitably in their programs.

1. Workforce Development Supporting the development of career goals and an understanding of career pathway options is an important part of the workforce development program component. Exposure to career pathway options and the establishment of career goals should begin for those youth in confinement while youth are still in confinement. In addition, the workforce development component should feature year-round and summer internships, and summer jobs for juvenile offenders ages 17 and under, and work experience and placement into apprenticeships and employment for juvenile offenders ages 18 to 24. The internships should provide enrollees a chance to work, either individually or in groups, on projects in which they interact with professionals and learn about new career fields. The workforce development component may also include providing paid or unpaid work experience or on-the-job training as part of a transitional jobs program that eventually leads to placement in private sector employment for participants, ages 18 to 24.

2. Education and Training The education and training component must place high priority on helping both younger and older youth obtain their high school diploma, focusing on interventions to help youth ages 17 and under succeed in high school and to help out-of-school youth ages 18 and above enroll and succeed in alternative schools, evening continuation schools, or GED programs. This component must also include efforts to improve the reading and math skills of participants, to encourage younger youth to apply to college, and to assist older youth enter apprenticeships, vocational training leading to industry-recognized credentials, or community or four-year colleges. Interventions must include reading and math remediation, credit retrieval, helping youth compile the credits that they have earned at various high schools and correctional facilities, tutoring, GED instruction, assisting youth in filling out college application and financial aid forms, and pre-apprenticeship training. The education and training activities for youth in juvenile correctional facilities must begin while these youth are still in confinement. These interventions must include linking academics to career pathways and career goals.

Implementing this component will require partnerships with the local public school system, apprenticeship programs, job training programs, and community and four-year colleges.

3. Case Management This component will provide a team of full-time advocates to serve program participants. The Department anticipates these case managers or advocates will assist community supervision officers in serving returning young offenders and in linking these offenders to supportive services, transportation, housing, mental health services, and other social services. Case managers should also coordinate with child care agencies to ensure that juvenile offenders with children have access to child care. Case managers should also ensure that participants receive training in financial literacy; counseling regarding criminal records, civil rights, and applying for jobs; and assistance in applying for Federal benefits such as Pell Grants and Food Stamps.

The Department expects that case management will start at some point before release for youth in correctional facilities to allow these youth to become familiar with their case managers before release. The Department also expects that case managers will provide follow-up services to participants within the period of performance of the grant.

4. Mentoring This component will provide adult mentors for program participants. Mentors can be provided by many types of organizations, such as faith-and community-based organizations, business firms, local television and radio stations, local newspapers, and college fraternities, and may include one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring, and service-based mentoring. The Department encourages the use of one-on-one mentoring and mentoring in small groups. The Department expects that mentoring will start at some point before release for youth in correctional facilities to allow these youth to become familiar with their mentors before release.

Mentors will assist youth with transitioning into the community, and may address issues such as family support and unification, and assistance with understanding how to secure supportive services.

5. Restorative Justice Projects Grantees must require that sub-grantees implement community service projects that allow returning offenders to give something positive back to their neighborhood to make up for their criminal offenses. Examples of possible collaborating agencies for these restorative justice projects include local conservation and service corps programs, AmeriCorps programs, volunteer organizations, local businesses, local government agencies, and state and local parks. Note that no entity may use these grant funds to pay for building materials.

6. Community-Wide Efforts to Reduce Crime and Violence Grantees must require that sub-grantees involve faith-based and community organizations, state and local government agencies, and social service organizations in the neighborhoods being served in a community-wide effort to prevent crime and violence as was done in Boston’s 10 Point Coalition (http://www.bostontenpoint.org/index.html). Such efforts require multiple organizations and agencies to join together to pressure youth gangs to reduce violence, to negotiate truces between rival gangs, and to offer guidance and assistance to youth refraining from violence.

D. Required Partnerships In their solicitations to select sub-grantees, grantees must require sub-grantees to, at a minimum, partner with the following organizations and provide documentation of support and commitments that support these activities:

Juvenile correctional facilities to receive referrals of eligible youth pre-release who plan to return to the community being served; to allow workforce development, educational, case management, and mentoring services at the correctional facility; and to coordinate post-release transitional services for program participants.

The local juvenile justice system to receive referrals of eligible youth who are in locally operated detention facilities, on probation, in alternative sentence programs, were diverted before adjudication as an alternative to juvenile prosecution, or have been involved in the juvenile justice system within the past 12 months; to coordinate services for program participants with juvenile community supervision officers; and to allow workforce development, educational, case management, and mentoring services at the detention facility.

The local public school system in order to take steps to improve the transition of youth returning to school after release from juvenile correctional facilities and to improve services to youth placed on probation by the juvenile justice system.

The local foster care system to ensure coordination in serving juvenile offenders who are in foster care.

http://www.bostontenpoint.org/index.html

Local drug and alcohol abuse treatment centers to provide assistance to program participants in need of such services.

The local workforce investment board and local employers to coordinate the provision of employment services.

E. Allowable Uses of Grant Funds Allowable uses of grant funds for projects funded under these grants include, but are not limited to, the following activities:

1) Workforce and education activities, such as:

Job placement services Vocational skills training and wages in an on-the-job training framework Paid and unpaid work experiences, including transitional jobs and community service activities Payment of stipends to participants based on their performance in the program Payment of employment and retention bonuses Basic skills instruction and remedial education Language instruction educational programs for individuals with limited English proficiency Tutoring, credit retrieval programs, dropout prevention activities, GED instruction, and career awareness classes Counseling and assistance in compiling high school credits, applying for post-secondary education, and applying for financial aid Alternative secondary school services.

2) Case management and supportive services, including referrals for mental health, substance abuse, and housing services.

3) Mentoring.

4) Participant personal development activities that seek to develop non-technical skills, abilities, and traits that participants need to function in a specific employment environment that support one or more workplace competencies including problem-solving and other cognitive skills, oral communication skills, personal qualities, work ethic, and interpersonal and teamwork skills. Examples include leadership training, financial literacy training, and job readiness training.

5) Follow-up services within the period of performance of the grant that focus efforts on job retention for older youth and school retention for younger youth, including regular contact with participant employers and schools; assistance in addressing work-related or school-related problems that arise; assistance in securing better paying jobs, career development, and further education; peer support groups, adult mentoring; and tracking of progress made by participants in employment after training. Follow-up services for older youth should begin when they have a long-term placement, and grantees can determine the appropriate point to begin follow-up services for younger youth.

II. Award Information A. Award Amount ETA has approximately $17 million available under this competition and expects to fund approximately two grants of approximately $8.5 million each.

B. Period of Performance DOL will fund these grants for a 32-month period of performance that includes up to six months of planning, and up to 26 months of operation. In the Budget Narrative, discussed in section IV.B.I, applicants must provide separate budgets for planning and operations. Regardless of the length of the planning period, applicants must budget for a maximum of 26 months of operation. Grantees must be judicious in their use of funds during the planning period and careful to use them specifically for planning and pre-implementation activities associated with this grant.

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants Eligible applicants are not-for-profit Section 501(c)(3) organizations with the capacity to implement multi-site, multi-state projects.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Cost sharing or matching funds are not required as a condition for application.

C. Other Eligibility Criteria

1. Each applicant may submit only one proposal under this announcement.

2. Transparency

The Department is committed to conducting a transparent grant award process and publicizing information about program outcomes. Applicants are advised their application and information related to its review and evaluation (whether or not the application is successful) may be publicly available, either fully or partially. In addition, information about grant progress and results may also be made publicly available.

D. Eligible Participants

1. Participants Eligible to Receive Services

An individual may participate in a project funded under these grants if they:

Are at least age 16 years of age and no older than 24 years of age on the date of enrollment Are currently involved or have been involved with the juvenile justice system within 12 months before enrollment, which includes those:

o under the supervision of the juvenile justice system, either in out-of-home placements or on probation or parole o placed in an alternative sentence by the juvenile justice system o placed in a diversion program as an alternative to juvenile prosecution by the juvenile justice system

Currently reside in (or resided in before confinement in a correctional facility) the community to be served identified by the sub-grantee

Exceptions: Up to 10 percent of participants may be out-of-school youth, ages 21 and under, who have not been involved in the juvenile justice system within the prior 12 months of enrollment, and up to 10 percent of participants may be juvenile offenders who currently reside in (or resided in before confinement in a correctional facility) a geographic area outside of, but close to, the target community.

2. Veterans Priority for Participants

The Jobs for Veterans Act (Public Law 107-288) requires grantees to provide priority of service for 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 can be found 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 http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816.

IV. Application and Submission Information A. How to Obtain an Application Package

This SGA contains all of the information and links to forms needed to apply for grant funding.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

Proposals submitted in response to this SGA must consist of three separate and distinct parts: (I) a cost proposal; (II) a technical proposal; and (III) attachments to the technical proposal. Applications that do not contain all of the three parts or that fail to adhere to the instructions in this section will be considered non-responsive and will not be considered. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts and sub-parts of the application.

Part I. The Cost Proposal. The Cost Proposal must include the following items:

SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance” (available at http://www07.grants.gov/agencies/forms_repository_information.jsp). 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 shall be considered the authorized representative of the applicant. All applicants for Federal grant and funding opportunities are required to have a Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S®) number, and must supply their D-U-N-S® Number on the SF-424. The D- U-N-S® Number is a nine-digit identification number that uniquely identifies business entities. If you do not have a D-U-N-S® Number, you can get one for free through the D&B website:

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do.

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do

The SF-424A Budget Information Form (available at http://www07.grants.gov/agencies/forms_repository_information.jsp). In preparing the Budget Information Form, the applicant 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.

Note that the entire Federal grant amount requested (not just one year) must be included on the SF-424 and SF-424A and budget narrative. No leveraged resources should be shown on the SF-424 and SF-424A. The amount listed on the SF-424, SF-424A and budget narrative must be the same. Please note, the funding amount included on the SF-424 will be considered the official funding amount requested if any inconsistencies are found. Applications that fail to provide an SF-424 including D-U-N-S® Number, SF-424A, and a budget narrative will be considered non-responsive and not reviewed.

Regardless of the method of application submission, all applicants must register with the Federal Central Contractor Registry (CCR) before submitting an application. Step-by-step instructions for registering with CCR can be found at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step2.jsp. An awardee must maintain an active CCR 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 CCR database after the initial registration, the applicant is required to review and update on an annual basis from the date of initial registration or subsequent updates its information in the CCR 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.

Failure to register with the CCR before application submission will result in your application being found non-responsive and not being reviewed.

Part II. The Technical Proposal. The Technical Proposal must demonstrate the applicant’s capability to implement the grant project in accordance with the provisions of this Solicitation. The guidelines for the content of the Technical Proposal are provided in section V of this SGA. The Technical Proposal is limited to 22 double-spaced single-sided 8.5 x 11 inch pages with 12 point text font and 1 inch margins. Any materials beyond the specified page limit will not be read. Applicants should number the Technical Proposal beginning with page number

1. The first two pages of the technical proposal must be an abstract which discusses the following: 1) the number of local sites to be operated under the grant, 2) the anticipated number of youthful offenders served, 3) the anticipated workforce development and educational interventions the project will provide, and 4) the anticipated local partnerships that the project will develop. Applications that do not include Part II, the Technical Proposal, will be considered non-responsive and not reviewed.

Part III. Attachments to the Technical Proposal. Attachments to the technical proposal will not be considered. Additional materials such as resumes or general letters of support or commitment will not be considered. Applicants should not send documents separately to ETA, because documents received separately will be tracked through a different system and will not be attached to the application for review. ETA will not accept general letters of support submitted by organizations or individuals that are not partners in the proposed project and that do not directly identify the specific commitment or roles of the project partners.

Support letters of this nature will not be considered in the evaluation review process.

C. Submission Date, Times, Process and Addresses

The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is April 12, 2011.

Applications may be submitted electronically on http://www.grants.gov or in hard-copy by mail or http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step2.jsp hand delivery (including overnight delivery). Hard-copy applications must be received at the address below no later than 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Applications submitted on grants.gov must also be successfully submitted (as described below) no later than 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

Applications sent by e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX) will not be accepted.

Applicants submitting proposals in hard-copy must submit an original signed application (including the SF-424) and one (1) ‘‘copy-ready’’ version free of bindings, staples or protruding tabs to ease in the reproduction of the proposal by DOL. Applicants submitting proposals in hard copy are also required to provide an identical electronic copy of the proposal on compact disc (CD). If discrepancies between the hard copy submission and CD copy are identified, the application on the CD will be considered the official applicant submission for evaluation purposes. Failure to provide identical applications in hardcopy and CD format may have an impact on the overall evaluation.

If an application is physically submitted by both hard-copy and through http://www.grants.gov, a letter must accompany the hard-copy application stating which application to review. If no letter accompanies the hard-copy, we will review the copy submitted through http://www.grants.gov. Applications that do not meet the conditions set forth in this notice will be considered non-responsive. No exceptions to the mailing and delivery requirements set forth in this notice will be granted. Further, documents submitted separately from the application, before or after the deadline, will not be accepted as part of the application.

Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Division of Federal Assistance, Attention: Donna Kelly, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY 10-09, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210. Applicants are advised that mail delivery in the Washington area may be delayed due to mail decontamination procedures. Hand-delivered proposals will be received at the above address. All overnight mail will be considered to be hand-delivered and must be received at the designated place by the specified closing date and time.

Applications that are submitted through Grants.gov must be successfully submitted at http://www.grants.gov no later than 4 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date and then subsequently validated by Grants.gov. The submission and validation process is described in more detail below. The process can be complicated and time-consuming. Applicants are strongly advised to initiate the process as soon as possible and to plan for time to resolve technical problems if necessary.

The Department strongly recommends that before the applicant begins to write the proposal, applicants should immediately initiate and complete the “Get Registered” registration steps at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp. Applicants should read through the registration process carefully before registering. These steps may take as much as four weeks to complete, and this time should be factored into plans for electronic submission in order to avoid unexpected delays that could result in the rejection of an application. The site also contains registration checklists to help you walk through the process. The Department strongly recommends that applicants download the “Organization Registration Checklist” at http://www.grants.gov/assets/Organization_Steps_Complete_Registration.pdf and prepare the information requested before beginning the registration process. Reviewing and assembling required information before beginning the registration process will alleviate last minute searches for required information and save time.

As described above, applicants must have a D–U–N–S® Number and must register with the Federal Central Contractor Registry (CCR).

The next step in the registration process is creating a username and password with Grants.gov to become an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR). AORs will need to know the D-U-N-S® Number of the organization for which they will be submitting applications to complete this process. To read more detailed instructions for creating a profile on Grants.gov visit: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step3.jsp.

After creating a profile on Grants.gov, the E-Biz point of Contact (E-Biz POC) – a representative from your organization who is the contact listed for CCR – will receive an email to grant the AOR permission to submit applications on behalf of their organization. The E-Biz POC will then log in to Grants.gov and approve an applicant as the AOR, thereby giving him or her permission to submit applications. To learn more about AOR Authorization visit:

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step5.jsp, or to track AOR status visit:

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step6.jsp.

An application submitted through Grants.gov constitutes a submission as an electronically signed application. The registration and account creation with Grants.gov, with E- Biz POC approval, establishes an AOR. When you submit the application through Grants.gov, the name of your AOR on file will be inserted into the signature line of the application.

Applicants must register the individual who is able to make legally binding commitments for the applicant organization as the AOR; this step is often missed and it is crucial for valid submissions.

When a registered applicant submits an application with Grants.gov, an electronic time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by Grants.gov. Within two business days of application submission, Grants.gov will send the applicant two email messages to provide the status of the application’s progress through the system. The first email, sent almost immediately, will contain a tracking number and will confirm receipt of the application by Grants.gov. The second email will indicate the application has either been successfully validated or has been rejected due to errors. Only applications that have been successfully submitted by the deadline and subsequently successfully validated will be considered. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure a timely submission. While it is not required that an application be successfully validated before the deadline for submission, it is prudent to reserve time before the deadline in case it is necessary to resubmit an application that has not been successfully validated. Therefore, sufficient time should be allotted for submission (two business days) and, if applicable, additional time to address errors and receive validation upon resubmission (an additional two business days for each ensuing submission). It is important to note that if sufficient time is not allotted and a rejection notice is received after the due date and time, the application will not be considered.

To ensure consideration, the components of the application must be saved as .DOC (document), . RTF (rich text), . XLS (Excel) or .PDF (portable document) format (ETA must be able to easily copy and paste information from applications into other file formats). If submitted in any other format, the applicant bears the risk that compatibility or other issues will prevent us from considering the application. ETA will attempt to open the document but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening. In such cases, the non-conforming application will not be considered for funding.

We strongly advise applicants to use the various tools and documents, including FAQs, which are available on the “Applicant Resources” page at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/resources.jsp.

ETA encourages new prospective applicants to view the online tutorial, “Grant Applications 101: A Plain English Guide to ETA Competitive Grants,” available through Workforce3One at: http://www.workforce3one.org/page/grants_toolkit.

To receive updated information about critical issues, new tips for users and other time sensitive updates as information is available, applicants may subscribe to “Grants.gov Updates” at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription_signup.jsp.

If applicants encounter a problem with Grants.gov and do not find an answer in any of the other resources, call 1-800-518-4726 to speak to a Customer Support Representative or email “support@grants.gov”. The Contact Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It is closed on federal holidays.

Late Applications: For applications submitted on Grants.gov, only applications that have been successfully submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date and then successfully validated will be considered. Applicants take a significant risk by waiting to the last day to submit by Grants.gov.

Any hard-copy application received after the exact date and time specified for receipt at the office designated in this notice will not be considered, unless it is received before awards are made, it was properly addressed, and it was: (a) sent by U.S. Postal Service mail, postmarked not later than the fifth calendar day before the date specified for receipt of applications (e.g., an application required to be received by the 20th of the month must be postmarked by the 15th of that month); or (b) sent by professional overnight delivery service to the addressee not later than one working day before the date specified for receipt of applications. ‘‘Postmarked’’ means a printed, stamped or otherwise placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) that is readily identifiable, without further action, as having been supplied or affixed on the date of mailing by an employee of the U.S.

Postal Service. Therefore, applicants should request the postal clerk to place a legible hand cancellation ‘‘bull’s eye’’ postmark on both the receipt and the package. Failure to adhere to these instructions will be a basis for a determination that the application was not filed timely and will not be considered. Evidence of timely submission by a professional overnight delivery service must be demonstrated by equally reliable evidence created by the delivery service provider indicating the time and place of receipt.

D. Intergovernmental Review

This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”

E. Funding Restrictions

All proposal costs must be necessary and reasonable and in accordance with Federal guidelines. Determinations of allowable costs will be made in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles. Disallowed costs are those charges to a grant that the grantor agency or its representative determines not to be allowed in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles or other conditions contained in the grant.

Applicants, whether successful or not, will not be entitled to reimbursement of pre-award costs.

1. Indirect Costs As specified in OMB Circular Cost Principles, indirect costs are those that have been incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be readily identified with a particular final cost objective. An indirect cost rate (ICR) is required when an organization operates under more than one grant or other activity, whether Federally-assisted or not. Organizations must use the ICR supplied by the Federal Cognizant Agency. If an organization requires a new ICR or has a pending ICR, the Grant Officer will award a temporary billing rate for 90 days until a provisional rate can be issued. This rate is based on the fact that an organization has not established an ICR agreement. Within this 90 day period, the organization must submit an acceptable indirect cost proposal to their Federal Cognizant Agency to obtain a provisional ICR.

2. Administrative Costs Under this SGA, an entity that receives a grant to carry out a project or program may not use more than 10 percent of the amount of the grant to pay administrative costs associated with the program or project. Administrative costs could be direct or indirect costs, and are defined at 20 CFR 667.220. Administrative costs do not need to be identified separately from program costs on the SF-424A Budget Information Form. However, they must be tracked through the grantee’s accounting system. To claim any administrative costs that are also indirect costs, the applicant must obtain an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement from its Federal Cognizant agency, as specified above.

3. Salary and Bonus Limitations Under Public Law 109-234, none of the funds appropriated in Public Law 109-149 or prior Acts under the heading “Employment and Training Administration” that are available for expenditure on or after June 15, 2006, may be used by a recipient or sub-recipient of such funds to pay the salary and bonuses of an individual, either as direct costs or indirect costs, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II, except as provided for in section 101 of Public Law 109-149. Public Laws 111-8 and 111-117 contain the same limitation on funds appropriated under each of these Laws. This limitation applies to grants funded under this SGA. The salary and bonus limitation does not apply to vendors providing goods and services as defined in OMB Circular A-133 (codified at 29 CFR Parts 96 and 99). See Training and Employment Guidance Letter number 5-06 for further clarification: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2262.

4. Intellectual Property Rights The Federal Government reserves a paid-up, nonexclusive and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use for Federal purposes: i) the copyright in all products developed under the grant, including a subgrant or contract under the grant or subgrant; and ii) any rights of copyright to which the grantee, subgrantee or a contractor purchases ownership under an award (including but not limited to curricula, training models, technical assistance products, and any related materials). Such uses include, but are not limited to, the right to modify and distribute such products worldwide by any means, electronically or otherwise. The grantee may not use federal funds to pay any royalty or license fee for use of a copyrighted work, or the cost of acquiring by purchase a copyright in a work, where the Department has a license or rights of free use in such work. If revenues are generated through selling products developed with grant funds, including intellectual property, these revenues are program income. Program income is added to the grant and must be expended for allowable grant activities.

If applicable, the following needs to be on all products developed in whole or in part with grant funds:

“This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S.

Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, expressed or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes are permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.”

F. Other Submission Requirements

Withdrawal of Applications:…