[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49522-49528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23687]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Workforce Investment Act: Indian and Native American Employment
and Training Programs; Solicitation for Grant Applications: Final
Grantee Designation Procedures for Program Years 2000 and 2001
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of final designation procedures for grantees.
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SUMMARY: This document contains the procedures by which the Department
of Labor (DOL) will select and designate service providers for Program
Years 2000 and 2001 for Indian and Native American Employment and
Training Programs under the Workforce Investment Act. Grantees or
potential eligible providers participating in Public Law 102-477
Demonstration Projects must apply for designation if they wish to
receive WIA funds. This law allows Federally-recognized tribes to
consolidate their formula-funded employment and training and related
dollars under a single service plan administered by the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. This notice provides the information that applicants
need to submit appropriate requests for designation.
DATES: Notices of Intent must be received in the Department by October
1, 1999, or no later than 30 days from date of publication of this
solicitation in the Federal Register, whichever is later. If not
received by that Federal Register publication date, Notices of Intent
must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service no later than that
publication date. Failure to meet this requirement will disqualify the
applicant from further consideration.
ADDRESSES: Send a signed original and two copies of the Notice of
Intent to Mr. James C. DeLuca, Chief, Division of Indian and Native
American Programs, Room N-4641 FPB ATTN: MIS Desk, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Workforce Investment Act: Indian and Native American Programs;
Final Designation Procedures for Program Years 2000 and 2001
Table of Contents
Introduction: Scope and Purpose of Notice
I. General Designation Principles
II. Notice of Intent
III. Use of Panel Review Procedure
IV. Notification of Designation/Nondesignation
V. Special Designation Situations
VI. Designation Process Glossary
Introduction: Scope and Purpose of Notice
Section 166 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) authorizes
programs to serve the employment and training needs of Indians and
Native Americans.
Requirements for these programs are set forth in the Act, and in
the WIA section 166 regulations at 20 CFR part 668, published at 64 FR
18622, 18736 (April 15, 1999). The specific eligibility and application
requirements for designation are set forth at 20 CFR part 668, subpart
B. Pursuant to these requirements, the Department of Labor (DOL)
selects entities for funding under WIA, section 166 for a two-year
designation period. Designated Native American section 166 service
providers will be funded annually during the designation period,
contingent upon all other grant award requirements being met and the
continuing availability of Federal funds.
The Notice of Intent (see Part II, below) is mandatory for all
applicants. Any organization interested in being designated as a Native
American section 166 grantee should be aware of and comply with the
procedures in these parts.
The amount of WIA section 166 funds to be awarded to designated
Native American organizations is determined under procedures described
at 20 CFR 668.296(b) and not through this designation process.
I. General Designation Principles
Based on WIA and applicable regulations, the following general
principles are intrinsic to the designation process:
(1) All applicants for designation shall comply with the
requirements found at 20 CFR part 668, subpart B, which contains the
basic eligibility, application, and designation requirements. Potential
applicants should be aware that a non-incumbent entity must have a
population within the designated geographic service area which would
provide formula funding under 20 CFR 668.296(b) in the amount of at
least $100,000 per program year. Federally-recognized tribes wishing to
participate in the demonstration under Public Law 102-477 must have a
service area and population which generates at least $20,000 per year
in section 166 formula funds.
(2) High unemployment, lack of training, lack of employment
opportunity, societal and other barriers exist within predominantly INA
communities and among INA groups residing in other communities. The
nature of this program is such that Indians and Native Americans are
best served by a responsible Indian and Native American organization
directly representing them, with the demonstrated knowledge and ability
to coordinate resources within the respective communities. The WIA and
the governing regulations establish a priority for Indian and Native
American organizations. That priority is the basis for the steps which
will be followed in designating grantees.
(3) A Federally-recognized tribe, band or group on its reservation,
and Alaska Native entities defined in the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA) or consortia that include a tribe or an entity
are given highest priority over any other organization if they have the
capability to administer the program and meet all eligibility and
regulatory requirements. This priority applies only to the areas over
which the organizations have legal jurisdiction.
In the event that such a tribe, band or group (including an Alaska
Native entity) is not designated to serve its reservation or geographic
service area, the DOL will consult with the governing body of such
entities when designating alternative service deliverers. Such
consultation may be accomplished in writing, in person, or by
telephone, as time and circumstances permit. When it is necessary to
select alternative service deliverers, the Grant Officer will, in
accordance with 20 CFR 668.280, whenever possible, accommodate the
views and recommendations of the INA community leaders and the Division
of Indian and Native American Programs (DINAP).
(4) In designating Native American section 166 grantees for areas
not covered by the highest priority in accordance with (3) above, DOL
will designate Indian and Native American-controlled organizations as
service providers. This would include the group referred to in (3)
applying for off-reservation areas. As noted in (3) above, when
vacancies occur, the Grant Officer will select alternates in accordance
with 20 CFR 668.280.
(5) Incumbent and non-incumbent applicants seeking additional areas
are expected to clearly demonstrate a working knowledge of the
community that they plan to serve, including available resources,
resource utilization and acceptance by the service population.
(6) Special employment and training services for Indian and Native
American
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people have been provided through an established service delivery
network for the past 24 years under the authority of JTPA section 401
and its predecessor, section 302 of the repealed Comprehensive
Employment and Training Act (CETA). The DOL intends to exercise its
designation authority to both preserve the continuity of such services
and to prevent the undue fragmentation of existing geographic service
areas. Consistent with the present regulations and other provisions of
this notice, this will include priority for those Native American
organizations with an existing demonstrated capability to deliver
employment and training services within an established geographic
service area, and for organizations which directly represent the
recipients of WIA services. Such preference will be determined through
input and recommendations from the Chief of DOL's Division of Indian
and Native American Programs (DINAP) and the Director of DOL's Office
of National Programs (ONP),
(7) In preparing applications for designation, applicants should
bear in mind that the purpose of section 166 of WIA is ``to support
employment and training activities for Indian, Alaska Native, and
Native Hawaiian individuals in order--
(A) To develop more fully the academic, occupational, and literacy
skills of such individuals;
(B) To make such individuals more competitive in the workforce; and
(C) To promote the economic and social development of Indian,
Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities in accordance with the
goals and values of such communities.''
II. Notice of Intent
1. Dates and Address for Submittal
Send a signed original and two copies of the completed Notice of
Intent (NOI) to Mr. James C. DeLuca, Chief, Division of Indian and
Native American Programs, Room N-4641 FPB, ATTN: MIS Desk, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Notices of Intent which comply with the requirements of this
solicitation must be received by or postmarked by October 1, 1999, or
30 days from date of publication of this solicitation in the Federal
Register, whichever is later. NOIs not received by the publication
deadline will be accepted only with an official, U.S. Postal Service
postmark indicating timely submission. Dates indicating submission by
private express delivery service or by metered mail are unacceptable as
proof of submission.
When more than one eligible organization applies to provide
services in the same area, a review of the applicants will be conducted
and when necessary, a competitive selection will be made. Competing
applicants will be notified of such competition no later than November
15, 1999, and may submit revised Notices of Intent to be received by
the department or postmarked no later than January 5, 2000. At a
minimum, revised Notices of Intent should include the information
required in Part A as applicable and Part B. All Notices of Intent must
be submitted to the Chief of DINAP at the above address.
2. Notice of Intent Content and Procedure
The information required in Part A must be provided by all
applicants. Additionally, competing organizations will be required, if
notified by the Grant Officer, to provide the information in Part B.
Part A
1. A completed SF-424, ``Application for Federal Assistance'',
signed by the authorized signatory official;
2. An identification of the applicant's legal status, including
articles of incorporation or consortium agreement as appropriate;
3. A specific description of the territory being applied for, by
State(s), counties, reservation(s) or similar area, or service
population;
4. A very brief summary, including the funding source, contact
person and phone number of the employment and training or human
resource development programs serving Native Americans that the entity
currently operates or has operated within the previous two-year period;
5. A brief description of the planning process used by the entity,
including involvement of the governing body and local employers.
6. Evidence to establish an entity's ability to administer funds
under 20 CFR 668.220 and 668.230 which should at a minimum include:
(a) A statement that fraud or criminal activity has not been found
in the organization, OR a brief description of the circumstance where
it has been found and a description of resolution, corrective action
and current status, AND
(b) A narrative demonstrating that an entity has or can acquire the
necessary program and management personnel to safeguard federal funds
and effectively deliver program services that support the purposes of
the Workforce Investment Act, AND
(c) If not otherwise provided, a narrative demonstrating that an
entity has successfully carried out or has the ability to successfully
carry out activities that will strengthen the ability of the
individuals served to obtain or retain unsubsidized employment,
including the past two-year history of publically funded grants/
contracts administered including identification of the fund source and
a contact person.
The Grant Officer may require additional, clarifying, or other
information including a site visit, prior to designating applicants.
Part B
If the Grant Officer determines that there is competition for all
or part of a given service area, the following information will be
required of competing entities:
(1) Evidence that the entity represents the community proposed for
services such as: Demonstration of support from Native American-
controlled organizations, State agencies, or individuals in a position
to speak to the employment and training competence of the entity in the
specific area applied for; and
(2) Submission of a service plan and other information expanding on
the information required at Part A which the applicant feels can
strengthen its case, including information on any unresolved or
outstanding administrative problems.
Exclusive of charts or graphs and letters of support, the
additional information submitted to augment the Notice of Intent in a
situation involving competition should not exceed 75 pages of double-
space unreduced type.
Incumbent and non-incumbent Federally-recognized tribes and Alaska
entities need not submit evidence of support regarding their own
reservations or areas of legal jurisdiction. However, such entities are
required to provide such evidence for any area which they wish to serve
beyond their reservation boundaries, or their Congressionally-mandated
or Federally-established service areas.
All applicants for non-contiguous geographic service areas must
prepare a separate, complete Notice of Intent (including the above-
referenced supplementary information if applicable) for each such area.
III. Use of Panel Review Procedure
An initial review of all applicants, conducted by DINAP and with
the concurrence of the Grant Officer, will identify priority applicants
and
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recommend those areas requiring further competition. A formal panel
review process may be utilized under the following circumstances:
(1) When one or more new applicants, none qualifying for the
highest priority for the requested area, can demonstrate the potential
for superiority over the incumbent organization, OR
(2) When two or more applicants, none qualifying for the highest
priority, request an area and the incumbent organization fails to apply
for designation.
When further competition occurs, the Grant Officer will convene a
review panel to score the information submitted with the Notice of
Intent (Part A and B). This panel will include individuals with
knowledge of or expertise in programs dealing with Indians and Native
Americans. The purpose of the panel is to review and evaluate an
organization's potential, based on its application (including the
required supplemental information), to provide services to a specific
Native American community, to rate the proposals in accordance with the
rating criteria and to make recommendations to the Grant Officer. The
panel will be provided the information described in the Notice of
Intent and supplemental information provided through the Grant Officer.
It is DOL's policy that no information affecting the panel review
process will be solicited or accepted past the regulatory postmarked or
hand-delivered deadlines. All information provided before these
deadlines must be in writing.
This policy does not preclude the Grant Officer from requesting
additional information independent of the panel review process.
During the review, the panel will not give weight to undocumented
assertions. Any information must be supported by adequate and
verifiable documentation, e.g., supporting references must contain the
name of the contact person, an address, and telephone number. Panel
recommendations are advisory to the Grant Officer.
The factors listed below will be considered in evaluating the
applicants approach to providing services.
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Points
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1. (a) Previous experience in successfully operating an 20
employment and training program serving Indians and Native
Americans, OR (b) Previous experience in operating other human
resources development programs serving Indians or Native
Americans or coordinating employment and training services....
2. Approach to providing services including: Identification of 40
the training and employment problems and needs in the
requested area and approach to addressing such needs and
demonstration of the ability to maintain continuity of
services to Indian or Native American participants consistent
with those previously provided in the community...............
3. Description of Planning Process including involvement of 15
community leaders, involvement with local Workforce Investment
Boards and Youth Councils, etc................................
4. Coordination, linkages and the ability to utilize existing 15
resources within the community, including one-stop systems (as
applicable), to eliminate duplication of effort...............
5. Demonstration of support and recognition of the Native 10
American community and service population.....................
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Total.................................................... 100
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IV. Notification of Designation/Nondesignation
The Grant Officer will make the final designation decision giving
consideration to the following factors: the review panel's
recommendation, in those instances where a panel is convened; input
from DINAP, the Office of National Programs, other offices within the
Employment and Training Administration, and the DOL Office of the
Inspector General; and any other available information regarding the
organization's financial and operational capability, and
responsibility. The Grant Officer will select the entity that
demonstrates the ability to produce the best outcomes for its
customers. Decisions will be made by March 1, 2000, and will be
provided to applicants as follows:
(1) Designation Letter. The designation letter signed by the Grant
Officer will serve as official notice of an organization's designation.
The letter will include the geographic service area for which the
designation is made. It should be noted that the Grant Officer is not
required to adhere to the geographical service area requested in the
Notice of Intent. The Grant Officer may make the designation applicable
to all of the area requested, a portion of the area requested, or if
acceptable to the designee, more than the area requested.
(2) Conditional Designation Letter. Conditional designations will
include the nature of the conditions, the actions required to be
finally designated and the time frame for such actions to be
accomplished. Failure to satisfy such conditions may result in a
withdrawal of designation.
(3) Non-Designation Letter. Any organization not designated, in
whole or in part, for a geographic service area requested will be
notified formally of the Non-Designation and given the basic reasons
for the determination. An applicant for designation which is refused
such designation, in whole or in part, will be afforded the opportunity
to appeal its Non-Designation as provided at 20 CFR 668.270.
V. Special Designation Situations
(1) Alaska Native Entities
DOL has established geographic service areas for Alaska Native
employment and training grantees based on the following: (a) The
boundaries of the regions defined in the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (ANCSA); (b) the boundaries of major sub-regional areas
where the primary provider of human resource development related
services is an Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)-recognized tribal
council; and (c) the boundaries of the one Federal reservation in the
State. Within these established geographic service areas, DOL will
designate the primary Alaska Native-controlled human resource
development services provider or an entity formally selected by such
provider. In the past, these entities have been regional nonprofit
corporations, IRA-recognized tribal councils, and the tribal government
of the Metlakatla Indian Community. DOL intends to follow these
principles in designating Native American grantees in Alaska for
Program Years 2000 and 2001.
(2) Oklahoma Indians
DOL has established a service delivery system for Indian employment
and training programs in Oklahoma based on a preference for Oklahoma
Indian tribes and organizations to serve portions of the State.
Generally, service areas have been designated geographically as
countywide areas. In cases in which a significant portion of
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the land area of an individual county lies within the traditional
jurisdiction(s) of more than one tribal government, the service area
has been subdivided to a certain extent on the basis of tribal
identification information contained in the most recent Federal
Decennial Census of Population. Wherever possible, arrangements
mutually satisfactory to grantees in adjoining or overlapping
geographic service areas will be honored by DOL. Where mutually
satisfactory arrangements cannot be made, DOL will designate and assign
service area to Native American grantees in a manner which is
consistent with WIA and that will preserve the continuity of services
and prevent unnecessary fragmentation of the programs.
VI. Designation Process Glossary
In order to ensure that all interested parties have the same
understanding of the process, the following definitions are provided:
(1) Indian or Native American-Controlled Organization
This is defined as any organization with a governing board, more
than 50 percent of whose members are Indians or Native Americans. Such
an organization can be a tribal government, Native Alaska or Native
Hawaiian entity, consortium, or public or private nonprofit agency. For
the purpose of designation determinations, the governing board must
have decision-making authority for the WIA section 166 program. It
should be noted that, pursuant to WIA section 166(d)(2)(B), individuals
who were eligible to participate under section 401 of JTPA on August 6,
1998, shall be eligible to participate under WIA. Organizations serving
such individuals shall be considered ``Indian controlled'' for WIA
section 166 purposes.
(2) Service Area
This is defined as the geographic area described as States,
counties, and/or reservations for which a designation is made. In some
cases, it will also show the specific population to be served. The
service area is identified by the Grant Officer in the formal
designation letter. Grantees must ensure that all eligible population
members have equitable access to employment and training services
within the service area.
(3) Incumbent Organizations
Organizations which are current grantees under JTPA section 401,
during PY 1999, are considered incumbent grantees for the existing
service area, for the purposes of WIA.
Signed at Washington, DC, this third day of September, 1999.
Anna W. Goddard,
Director, Office of National Programs.
James C. Deluca,
Chief, Division of Indian and Native American Programs.
E. Fred Tello,
Grant Officer, Division of Federal Assistance.
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[FR Doc. 99-23687 Filed 9-10-99; 8:45 am]
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