sga-dfa-py-11-02.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) Adult Generation 5

Announcement Type: Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) Funding Opportunity Number: SGA/DFA PY-11-02 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 17.270

Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is March 13, 2012. Applications must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Addresses: Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management, Attention: Latifa Jeter, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY-11-02, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210. For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to section IV.

Summary:

The Employment and Training Administration (“ETA”), U.S. Department of Labor (“Department”), announces the availability of approximately $20.6 million to serve adult ex-offenders returning to their communities. ETA expects to award approximately 17 grants of up to $1,212,000 each for 27-months, which includes up to three months for a planning phase and a minimum of 24 months of operation. The 24 months of operation must include time to allow each participant to complete the program and have between 3-4 months of follow-up. The last cohort would complete program services 3 to 4 months prior to the end of the grant. Some participants may be receiving follow-up services while others are still receiving direct services.

Any non-profit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) status may apply for these grants to provide pre-release and post-release services to ex-offenders returning to high-poverty, high-crime communities. These services will include job training leading to credentials for in-demand industries, employment preparation, mentoring and assistance connecting to supportive services such as housing, and substance abuse programs and mental health treatment. Applicants must describe their community’s need for reentry services and the degree to which reentry is an issue in their communities; describe their program’s design to provide services to adult ex-offenders that will result in employment for in-demand industries; and provide evidence of partnerships with the criminal justice system, local One-Stop Career Centers and other workforce investments programs, the local public housing authority and other providers of housing services and of mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

Funds awarded through this SGA are prohibited from being used for transitional jobs (PL 112- 10). A “transitional job” is defined as temporary, subsidized work as a means to improve participants’ employability, earnings, and opportunities for advancement, and promote self-sufficiency and long-term success in the unsubsidized labor market.

This solicitation provides background information, 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 A. Background on Funding Opportunity During 2010, 708,677 sentenced prisoners were released back from state and federal prisons, an increase on nearly 20 percent from 2002.1 At least 95 percent of state prisoners will be released back to their communities at some point.2 Without assistance to make a successful transition, the majority of ex-offenders return to criminal activity. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, almost three out of five returning ex-offenders will be charged with new crimes within three years of their release from prison and two out of five will be re-incarcerated.

Released prisoners face a myriad of challenges that contribute to their return to criminal activity, leading to re-arrest and re-incarceration. Joblessness among ex-prisoners has been broadly linked to recidivism rates. Statistics indicate that even before incarceration, many adult prisoners have had little to no participation in the workforce. Employment rates and earnings history of people in prisons and jails are often low before incarceration as a result of limited education experiences, low skill levels, and the prevalence of physical and mental health problems;

incarceration only exacerbates these challenges.3 Post-incarceration, employment rates only get worse —unemployment among ex-offenders has been estimated at between 25 and 40 percent.

Likewise, prisoners also demonstrate low levels of educational attainment. Nineteen percent of adult State prisoners are completely illiterate and 40 percent are functionally illiterate;4 Two in five prison and jail inmates lack a high school diploma or its equivalent.5 Research has also documented the substance abuse and mental health issues of ex-offenders—factors that are likely to contribute to poor education levels, un-employability, and a return to criminal activity. Three quarters of those returning from prisons have a history of substance use disorders. Over 70 percent of prisoners with serious mental illnesses also have a substance abuse disorder.6 In 2004, 53 percent of state and 45 percent of federal prisoners met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria for drug abuse or dependence. Nearly a third of state and a quarter of federal prisoners committed their offense under the influence of drugs.

Among state prisoners who were dependent on or abusing drugs, 53 percent had at least three prior sentences to probation or incarceration, compared to 32 percent of other inmates. At the time of their arrest, drug dependent or abusing state prisoners (48 percent) were also more likely than other inmates (37 percent) to have been on probation or parole supervision.7 In addition to

1 Guerino, P.M., P.M. Harrison, and W. Sabol. Prisoners. Prisoners in 2010. NCJ 236096. Washington, D.C.: U.S.

Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011.

2 Guerino, P.M., P.M. Harrison, and W. Sabol. Prisoners. Prisoners in 2010. NCJ 236096. Washington, D.C.: U.S.

Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011.

3 Holtzer, H.,S. Raphael, & M. Stoll. Employment Barriers Facing Ex-Offenders. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 2003 4 Rubinstein, 2001 as quoted in Petersilia, 2003.

5 Harlow, C.W. Education and Correctional Populations. NCJ 195670. Washington, D.C. :U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003.

6 Hammett, Roberts, & Kennedy.

7 Mumola, C.J. & J.C. Karberg. Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004. NCJ 21350.

Washington, D.C. :U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006.

the mental health problems, 12% of State inmates and nearly 6% of Federal inmates reported having a learning or speech disability which can impact their reintegration into the community.8

In order to successfully reintegrate into the community, it is essential that ex-offenders possess the skills and support necessary to enter and compete for jobs in the labor market. Non-profit organizations are uniquely positioned to provide the services needed to assist with the reintegration of these ex-offenders back into their communities because they can provide the resources and infrastructure that are necessary to intervene in the lives of ex-offenders and interrupt cycles of crime and incarceration. Since collaboration and communication with public, private and nonprofit providers and policymakers are essential to helping those in resource-poor neighborhoods, the trust that these organizations have earned is invaluable. This grant will rely heavily on non-profit organizations to develop relationships and facilitate connections to rehabilitation services for program participants.9

B. Required Program Components The Reintegration of Ex-Offenders – Adult (RExO – Adult) program is designed to strengthen the communities to which the majority of ex-offenders return through an employment-centered program that focuses on job opportunities and training that leads to credentials in demand industries. Grantees must provide comprehensive and coordinated services to ex-offenders in each of the three components described below.

1. Employment opportunities to reduce recidivism. The RExO – Adult program is an employment-centered program intended to address the needs of ex-offenders returning to communities. Employment is a critical stabilizing factor for ex-offenders and this initiative will stress job placement in an in demand occupation, job retention, and increasing the earning potential of ex-offenders. Grantees will offer job placement services in coordination with businesses, local One-Stop Career Centers, educational institutions, and other employment service providers. Grantees will also use services available to support employment of ex-offenders, such as the Federal Bonding program and Work Opportunity Tax Credits. Grantees will develop partnerships with various employment partners, such as individual employers, Employer Advisory Councils, Chambers of Commerce, and Neighborhood Business Councils to ensure pathways to employment for participants. Grantees must follow a timeline for participant services that allow each participant to complete the program and have between 3-4 months of follow-up. The last cohort would complete program services 3 to 4 months prior to the end of the grant.

2. Vocational training and educational interventions designed to improve the career pathways and earning potential of ex-offenders. Educational attainment is increasingly critical in the global economy. Many jobs will require more than a secondary degree. The Center for Economic Policy Research found that “time behind bars can lead to deterioration in a worker’s ‘human capital,’ including formal education, and on-the-job experience and even ‘soft

8 Beck, Allen J. and Maruschak, Laura M. (1997). Medical Problems of Inmates. US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report.

9 Yoon, Jamie and Nickel, Jessica. (2008). Reentry Partnerships: A Guide for State and Faith-Based and Community Organizations. Council of State Governments Justice Center, New York, NY.

skills’ such as punctuality or customer relations.”10 In order to improve employment opportunities for ex-offenders, opportunities for educational attainment and industry-recognized credentials are essential. Grantees should conduct assessments and work with participants who may not be ready for immediate employment with opportunities for vocational and educational assistance. This may take the form of continuing education courses to improve literacy and numeracy and lead to the attainment of a high school diploma or GED, or toward the attainment of an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree. These services may be provided by partnering with adult education agencies, community colleges or other education providers. Grantees will use these partnerships to offer opportunities for advanced vocational training with the goal of obtaining industry-recognized credentials for in demand industries in the local economy. Applicants must base their training selections on information on current employment needs, and informed by projections of job growth in their local economy. Workforce information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), local economic development organization and local Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) should be used to determine what types of training and related credentialing to provide. Other sources that offer local labor market projections may also be used.

3. Mentoring of ex-offenders to support reintegration. Mentoring is a key element of reentry support. Previous research and programming have shown mentoring to be a promising practice in reducing recidivism and supporting returning offenders.11 Grantees must provide post-release mentoring in coordination with the corrections, parole, and probation structure.

Participating adult ex-offenders will be matched with appropriate mentors who will be primarily responsible for offering support and guidance to the ex-offender in the community and the workplace. For the purposes of the RExO – Adult program, mentoring is defined as a relationship over a prolonged period of time between two or more people where volunteer mentors assist ex-prisoners in successfully and permanently reentering their communities by providing consistent support as needed, guidance, and encouragement that helps participants in develop positive social relationships and achieve program outcomes such as job retention, family reunification and reduced recidivism.

C. Partnerships and Services to Support Participant Success In addition to partnering with employers and education providers, grantees are required to partner with Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIBs) and One-Stop Career Centers. These workforce system entities provide training in work readiness and soft skills, as well as opportunities for education and vocational training, and access to employer partners. Examples of partnerships with LWIBs and One-Stop Career Centers include memoranda of understanding for referral to supportive services, training and other opportunities provided by these entities, and co-location of staff from the Grantee at the One-Stop Career Center to serve as a liaison for participants using the One-Stop Career Center.

10 Schmitt, John and Warner, Kris. (2010). Ex-Offenders and the Labor Market. Center for Economic Policy Research, Washington, DC.

11 Bauldry, Shawn, Djakovic, Danijela Korom, McClanahan, Wendy S., McMaken, Jennifer, and Kotloff, Laurie.

(2009). Mentoring Formerly Incarcerated Adults: Insights from the Ready4Work Reentry Initiative. Public/Private Ventures, Philadelphia, PA.

Grantees must also partner with State or local correctional agencies, which may include state Departments of Correction, county and city jails, and probation/parole offices, to provide referrals of prisoners being released or recently released into the communities, as well as to provide access to state prisons and county or city jails to serve offenders within three months of release. These agencies will also be important partners in documenting recidivism outcomes as described in Section VI. (Award Administration Information) Part C. (Reporting). Past examples of collaborative partnerships have included partnering with correctional agencies that have received Second Chance Act funding to provide a seamless process of referrals and partnerships with Reentry One-Stop Career Centers, located in communities or in jails, which focus on the employment needs of soon-to-be-released prisoners and released ex-offenders.

Many prisons use employment advisory councils that provide behind-the-fence apprenticeship opportunities for inmates and create pathways to post-release employment. Partnering with state prisons’ employment advisory councils can create stronger linkages to future employment opportunities and a better understanding of which credentials are valued by local employers.

The Department has determined that grant funds cannot be used to provide housing, substance abuse or mental health services. Therefore, grantees should create strong partnerships with clearly defined roles and letters of commitment to provide the supportive services needed to assist ex-offenders to successfully enter the workforce or use other funding sources to provide these services in-house. Grantees should work to develop partnerships with the following entities:

Drug and alcohol abuse treatment centers and mental health service providers to accept referrals for program participants in need of such services. This may include partnering with Federal, State or locally funded substance abuse treatment programs, community-based mental health treatment centers or other health treatment providers that can serve ex-offenders.

Community homeless shelters, housing authorities or other providers of short-term and emergency shelter. Housing is a key concern of ex-offenders on release from incarceration and is integral to creating the stability necessary to succeed in employment.

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

1) Up to three months before release from incarceration, grantees can provide services, to include:

Orientation activities for new participants;

Assessment activities, including risk assessment, work-readiness assessments and education placement assessments;

Development of post-release plans;

Assistance to prisoners in obtaining documents necessary for employment upon release;

Education and vocational training;

Soft skills training;

Job training;

Mentoring and case management; and Other authorized activities necessary to prepare offenders for employment or other program services after release.

2) Post-release workforce development services, such as:

Education and vocational training;

Job training;

On-the-job training;

Work readiness training;

Work experience Job placement assistance; and Basic skills remediation.

3) Case management services, including referrals to housing assistance services, legal aid services, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and supportive services as defined in Section 101(46) of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

4) Mentoring, both during active participation and after program exit.

5) Follow-up services that focus on job retention, wage gains and career progress through regular contact with employers and other post-placement supportive agencies, including assistance in addressing work-related problems that arise, assistance in securing better paying jobs, career development and further education, continued mentoring, and performance tracking of participant outcomes.

6) These funds can also be used to provide monetary incentives to participants for performance or success in meeting benchmarks associated with the goals of the grant. See Section IV.E.5. Use of grant funds for participant.

II. Award Information A. Award Amount The Department expects to award approximately 17 grants of up to $1,212,000 each. Any grant application with a proposed value greater than $1,212,000 will be deemed non-responsive and will not be considered. The Department anticipates the approximate cost-per-participant to be $3,000 with each grantee serving approximately 400 participants during the duration of the grant.

In the event additional funds become available, ETA reserves the right to use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this solicitation.

B. Period of Performance These grants will be funded for 27-months, which includes up to three months for a planning phase and a minimum of 24 months of operation. Applicants must plan to fully expend grant funds during the period of performance while ensuring full transparency and accountability for all expenditures. The 24 months of operation includes time for follow-up services that may be on average between 3-4 months. In the Budget Narrative, discussed in Section IV.B, Part I, applicants must provide separate budgets for the planning and program services periods.

Grantees must be judicious in their use of funds during the planning phase and use them specifically for planning and pre-implementation activities associated with this grant. Grantees must achieve planning milestones during the three-month planning phase. These milestones include the hiring of core program staff, including the Project Director, Job Developer(s), and Case Manager(s) positions.

In addition, during the planning phase grantees must solidify all necessary partnerships for the successful delivery of services and initiate recruitment and outreach efforts for enrollment of participants. Completion of these milestones within the grant’s planning phase will be reviewed by the Federal Project Officer at the end of the planning phase. Grantees who do not meet milestones may be subject to corrective action.

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants Any non-profit organization with IRS 501(c)(3) status may apply for these grants to provide pre-release and post-release services to ex-offenders returning to high-poverty, high-crime communities. Recipients of these grants will be located in or have an existing staff presence, such as satellite offices or shared office space in the high-poverty, high-crime area to be served.

This grant focuses on high-poverty, high-crime areas that are heavily impacted by a large proportion of ex-offenders returning each year and which experience high rates of recidivism.

For the purpose of this SGA, high-poverty, high-crime communities are defined as follows: high-poverty areas are those communities with poverty rates of at least 30 percent (applicants must use American Community Survey data to show in their proposals the average poverty rate of the various Census Tracts included in their target community); high-Crime communities are those communities where the felony crime rate is higher than the crime rate of the overall city (applicants should use the felony crime rate of the closest police precinct that overlaps the target community to compare to the city felony crime rate).

A single application may be submitted to serve multiple sites. However, applicants must demonstrate that they have an existing organizational presence (office or office sharing agreement) in each of the identified geographic areas to be served. The application may not be for more than $1,212,000.

B. Cost-Sharing or Matching Cost-sharing or matching are not required as a condition of this application, although leveraging of resources is strongly encouraged in order to maximize the impact of the grant. Applicants should describe what resources, new and existing, may support the goals of the project.

C. Other Eligibility Criteria There are no other eligibility criteria.

D. Eligible Participants

1. Participants Eligible to Receive Training Individuals 18 years old and older who have been convicted as an adult and imprisoned under

Federal or State law, and who have never been convicted of a sex-related offense other than prostitution, can be served with these grants. Eligible individuals can be referred from partnering criminal justice agencies and also recruited from within the target community. All individuals served by this program must be enrolled in the program within 180 days after their release from prison, jail, or a halfway house and must be returning to the target community. Services may be provided to current inmates, including residents of a halfway house, with release dates within three months after the start of services. Grantees have the discretion to enroll individuals convicted of either violent or non-violent offenses. However, the grantee must have a clear and consistent enrollment policy that addresses how enrollment of program applicants with either type of conviction will be treated. Grantees may choose to have a more rigorous risk assessment for violent offenders and should note this where it will factor into enrollment eligibility.

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.

F. Other Grant Specifications

1. Transparency DOL is committed to conducting a transparent grant award process and publicizing information about program outcomes. Posting grant applications on public websites is a means of promoting and sharing innovative ideas. For this grant competition, we will publish the abstracts required by Section IV, Part IIIa, for all applications on the Department’s public website or similar publically accessible location. Additionally, we will publish a redacted version of the Technical Proposal required by Section IV. Part II, for all those applications that are awarded grants, on the Department’s website or a similar location. No other parts of or attachments to the application will be published. The Technical Proposals and Abstracts will not be published until after the grants are awarded. In addition, information about grant progress and results may also be made publicly available.

DOL recognizes that grant applications sometimes contain information that an applicant may consider proprietary or business confidential information, or may contain personally identifiable information. Proprietary or confidential commercial/business information is information that is not usually disclosed outside your organization and the disclosure of which is likely to cause your organization substantial competitive harm. Personally identifiable information is information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual‘s identity, such as name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother‘s maiden name, or biometric records, or other information that is linked or linkable to an individual, such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information.12

Abstracts will be published in the form originally submitted, without any redactions. However, in order to ensure that personally identifiable information and proprietary or confidential commercial/business information is properly protected from disclosure, when DOL posts the winning Technical Proposals, applicants whose technical proposals will be posted will be asked to submit a second redacted version of their Technical Proposal, with any proprietary, confidential commercial/business, and personally identifiable information redacted. All non-public information about the applicant’s staff should be removed as well. The Department will contact the applicants whose technical proposals will be published by letter or email, and provide further directions about how and when to submit the redacted version of the Technical Proposal.

Submission of a redacted version of the Technical Proposal will constitute permission by the applicant for DOL make the redacted version publically available. If an applicant fails to provide a redacted version of the Technical Proposal, DOL will publish the original Technical Proposal in full, after redacting personally identifiable information. (Note that the original, unredacted version of the Technical Proposal will remain part of the complete application package, including an applicant’s proprietary and confidential information and any personally identifiable information.)

Applicants are encouraged to maximize the grant application information that will be publicly disclosed, and to exercise restraint and redact only information that is clearly proprietary, confidential commercial/business information, or capable of identifying a person. The redaction of entire pages or sections of the Technical Proposal is not appropriate, and will not be allowed, unless the entire portion merits such protection. Should a dispute arise about whether redactions are appropriate, DOL will follow the procedures outlined in the Department’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations (29 CFR Part 70).

Redacted information in grant applications will be protected by DOL from public disclosure in accordance with federal law, including the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1905), FOIA, and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a). If DOL receives a FOIA request for your application, the procedures in DOL’s FOIA regulations for responding to requests for commercial/business information submitted to the government will be followed, as well as all FOIA exemptions and procedures. 29 CFR § 70.26. Consequently, it is possible that application of FOIA rules may result in release of information in response to a FOIA request that an applicant redacted in its “redacted copy.”

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.

12 Memorandums 07-16 and 06-19. GAO Report 08-536, Privacy: Alternatives Exist for Enhancing Protection of Personally Identifiable Information, May 2008, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08536.pdf.

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 deemed non-responsive and will not be reviewed. 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://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15 ). 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. As stated in block 21 of the SF424 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 http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15 ). The SF-424B is not required to be submitted with the application. 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.

The SF-424A Budget Information Form (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15 ). 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 while distinguishing between planning and program services. 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 a signed SF-424 including D-U-N-S® Number, SF-424A, and a budget narrative will be considered non-responsive and will not be 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 http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15 http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step2.jsp 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 will not be 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 20 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.

Applications that do not include Part II, the Technical Proposal, will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed.

Part III. Attachments to the Technical Proposal. In addition to the Technical Proposal, the applicant must submit the following attachments:

Required Attachments

a) An up to two-page abstract summarizing the proposed project, including but not limited to the scope of the project and proposed outcomes, a brief discussion of the geographic area to be served by the grant, the sources of recruitment for participants, the training and employment opportunities to be offered, and the partnerships that will be developed. If using grants.gov for submission, this document must be attached under the Mandatory Other Attachment section and labeled abstract. Please note that applicants will be held to outcomes provided and failure to meet those outcomes may have a significant impact on future grants with ETA.

b) Project/Performance Site Location(s) form (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15 ). If using grants.gov for submission, this form must be attached under the required forms section. Please note that this is a standard form used for many programs and has a check box for applying as an individual. Disregard this box on the form as individuals are not eligible to apply for this solicitation.

c) Letters of commitment from state or local criminal justice agencies and the local Workforce Investment Board and One-Stop Career Center as specified in Section V, Part A Number 3;

d) Verification from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of non-profit 501(c)(3) status signed by an authorized representative of the IRS is required. ALL non-profit applicants must submit this verification even if you are a current DOL grantee and documentation are assumed to be on file.

Applications that do not include all of the required attachments listed above will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed.

Additional Attachments

We recommend that applicants attach the following documents; failure to provide these attachments will result in a deduction of points:

a) Letters of commitment and memoranda of understanding from expected partners, including housing agencies, substance abuse treatment facilities, and other letters to support the applicant’s response to the evaluation criteria found in section V.;

b) Charts documenting past grant performance and timeliness of reports as discussed in Section V;

c) Previous grantor contact information as discussed in Section V; and

d) A timeline of project activities.

The required and additional attachments listed above do not count against the 20-page limit for the Technical Proposal.

The attachments must be affixed as separate, clearly identified appendices to the application.

Additional materials such as resumés or general letters of support or commitment will not be considered.

Applicants should not send documents separately to DOL, because documents received separately will be tracked separately through a different system and will not be attached to the application for review. DOL 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.

C. Submission Date, Times, Process and Addresses The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is March 13, 2012.

Applications may be submitted electronically on http://www.grants.gov or in hard copy by mail or hand delivery (including overnight delivery). Hard copy applications must be received at the address below no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Applications submitted on grants.gov must also be successfully submitted (as described below) no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. 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, Office of Grants Management, Attention: Latifa Jeter, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY 11-02, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210. Applicants are advised that mail delivery in the Washington DC 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 4:00 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. Grants.gov will reject applications if the applicant’s CCR is expired. 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, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .rtf or .pdf files. 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 or 606-545-5035 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 proposed project 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.