[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 187 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51772-51776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25843]
[[Page 51771]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VI
Department of Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
Employment and Training Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
Job Training Partnership Act: Indian and Native American Employment and
Training Programs; Solicitation for Grant Application: Final Grantee
Designation Procedures for Program Year 1999; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 187 / Monday, September 28, 1998 /
Notices
[[Page 51772]]
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Job Training Partnership Act: Indian and Native American
Employment and Training Programs; Solicitation for Grant Application:
Final Grantee Designation Procedures for Program Year 1999
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of final designation procedures for grantees.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document contains the procedures by which the Department
of Labor (DOL) will designate potential grantees to receive a one-year
grant for Indian and Native American Employment and Training Programs
under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Grantees participating
in the Pub. L. 102-477 Demonstration Project are exempted from
competition. The designations will be for JTPA Program Year (PY) 1999
(July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000). This notice provides the
information prospective grant applicants need to submit appropriate
requests for designation.
DATES: Final Notices of Intent must be postmarked (U.S. Postal Service)
no later than January 1, 1999.
ADDRESS: Send an original and two copies of the Final Notices of Intent
to Ms. Anna Goddard, Director, Office of National Programs, Room N-4641
FPB ATTN: MIS Desk, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Because these designation procedures involve
only the final 12-month period authorized under the Job Training
Partnership Act (JTPA) (July 1, 1999--June 30, 2000), the Department of
Labor (DOL) has sought to minimize disruption by applying the waiver of
competition provisions of section 401(l) of JTPA. JTPA section 401
grantees who are presently operating under Pub. L. 102-477, The Indian
Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992,
must submit a Final Notice of Intent for redesignation under this
procedure in order to maintain their service area designation and
eligibility for funds under this title. They are, however, exempt from
competition for the current service areas covered in their ``477
Plans'', assuming all other designation requirements continue to be
met.
Job Training Partnership Act: Indian and Native American Programs;
Final Designation Procedures for Program Year 1999
Table of Contents
Introduction: Scope and Purpose of Notice
I. General Designation Principles
II. Waiver Provision
III Final Notice of Intent
IV. Preferential Hierarchy for Determining Designations
V. Use of Panel Review Procedure
VI. Notification of Designation/Nondesignation
VII. Special Designation Situations
VIII. Designation Process Glossary
Introduction: Scope and Purpose of Notice
Section 401 of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) authorize
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 JTPA section 401 regulations at 20 CFR part 632. The specific
organization eligibility and application requirements for designation
are set forth at 20 CFR 632.10 and 632.11. Pursuant to these
requirements, the Department of Labor (DOL) selects entities for
funding under section 401. It designates such entities as potential
Native American section 401 grantees which will be awarded grant funds
contingent upon all other grant award requirements being met. This
notice describes how DOL will designate potential grantees who may
apply for grants for Program Year 1999.
The Final Notice of Intent (see Part III, below) is mandatory for
all applicants. Any organization interested in being designated as a
Native American section 401 grantee should be aware of and comply with
the procedures in these parts.
The amount of JTPA section 401 funds to be awarded to designated
Native American section 401 grantees is determined under procedures
described at 20 CFR 632.171 and not through this designation process.
The JTPA grant application process is described at 20 CFR 632.18
through 632.20.
I. General Designation Principles
Based on JTPA 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 632, subpart B, regardless of their
apparent standing in the preferential hierarchy (see Part IV,
Preferential Hierarchy For Determining Designations, below). The basic
eligibility, application and designation requirements are found in 20
CFR part 632, subpart B.
(2) The nature of this program is such that Indians and Native
Americans are entitled to program services and are best served by a
responsible organization directly representing them and designated
pursuant to the applicable regulations. The JTPA and the governing
regulations give clear preference to Native American-controlled
organizations. That preference is the basis for the steps which will be
followed in designating grantees.
(3) A State or Federally-recognized tribe, band or group on its
reservation is given absolute preference over any other organization if
it has the capability to administer the program and meets all
regulatory requirements. This preference generally applies only to the
area within the reservation boundaries. With regard to eligibility,
every attempt, consistent with law and regulation, will be made to
qualify newly Federally-recognized tribes. However, pursuant to 20 CFR
632.171 and Sec. 162(a) of JTPA, Census data are still necessary to
determine funding amounts.
In the event that such a tribe, band or group (including an Alaskan
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, as provided
at 20 CFR 632.10(e). 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 continue to utilize input and recommendations from the
Division of Indian and Native American Programs (DINAP).
(4) In designating Native American section 401 grantees for off-
reservation areas not awarded to Federally-recognized tribes, DOL will
provide preference to Indian and Native American-controlled
organizations as described in 20 CFR 632.10(f) and as further clarified
in Part VIII (1) Indian or Native American-Controlled Organization of
this notice. As noted in (3) above, when vacancies occur, the Grant
Officer will continue to utilize input and recommendations from DINAP
when designating alternative service deliverers.
(5) Incumbent and non-incumbent applicants seeking additional areas
must submit evidence of significant support from other employment and
training or other social services organizations within the communities
(geographic service areas) which they are currently
[[Page 51773]]
serving or requesting to serve. DOL will give particular weight to
support from Native American-controlled organizations, but support from
other (i.e., State and local) agencies/organizations will also be
accepted. See Part III, Final Notice of Intent, below, for more
details.
(6) The Grant Officer will make the designations using a two-part
process:
(a) Those applicants described in Part IV (1) of the Preferential
Hierarchy For Determining Designations will be designated on a
noncompetitive basis if all pre-award clearances, responsibility
reviews, and regulatory requirements are met.
(b) All applicants described in Part IV, (2), (3), and (4) of the
Preferential Hierarchy For Determining Designations, which have not
been granted waivers, will be considered on a competitive basis for
such areas, and all information submitted with the Final Notice of
Intent or in response to a request from the Grant Officer, as well as
pre-award clearances, responsibility reviews, and all regulatory
requirements will be considered in the competitive process.
(7) Special employment and training services for Indian and Native
American 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 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 preference for those
Native American organizations with an existing capability to deliver
employment and training services within an established geographic
service area. 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), and through the use of the rating system described in
this Notice. Unless a non-incumbent applicant in the same preferential
hierarchy as an incumbent applicant grantee can demonstrate that it is
significantly superior overall to the incumbent, the incumbent will be
designated, if it otherwise meets all of the requirements for
redesignation.
(8) In preparing applications for designation, applicants should
bear in mind that the purpose of the JTPA, as amended, is ``to
establish programs to prepare youth and adults facing serious barriers
to employment for participation in the labor force by providing job
training and other services that will result in increased employment
and earnings, increased education and occupational skills, and
decreased welfare dependency, thereby improving the quality of the work
force and enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of the
Nation.''
After making the initial waiver determinations, DOL's first step in
the designation process is to determine which areas have more than one
potential applicant for designation. This should be accomplished by
January 8, 1999. For those areas for which no waiver has been granted,
each such organization will be notified as soon as possible of the
potential for competition, and will be apprised of the identity of the
other organization(s) applying for that area. Such notification will
instruct all potential competitors to submit full Notice(s) of Intent
by the required postmark deadline of January 31, 1999 (see Part III,
Final Notice of Intent, below).
It is DOL policy that, to the extent that compliance with the
regulations permits, a geographic service area and the applicant which
will operate a section 401 program in that area are to be determined by
the Native American community to be served by the program. Applicants
in competition should take special care with the material submitted to
supplement their Final Notices of Intent to ensure that they are
complete and fully responsive to all matters covered by the
preferential hierarchy and rating systems discussed in this notice.
(9) Although tribes and organizations participating in the
employment and training demonstration project under Pub. L. 102-477
qualify for exemption from designation competition under Sec. 401(l) of
JTPA, they still must submit a Final Notice of Intent (see Section III,
below) to continue to receive funds under the JTPA.
II. Waiver Provision
JTPA section 401(l) states:
``The competition for grants under this section shall be
conducted every 2 years, except that if a recipient of such a grant
has performed satisfactorily under the terms of the existing grant
agreement, the Secretary may waive the requirement for such
competition on receipt from the recipient of a satisfactory 2-year
program plan for the succeeding 2-year grant period.''
Because of the impending expiration of JTPA, the Department is
exercising this waiver authority for PY 1999. All incumbent grantees
who have performed ``satisfactorily'', both programmatically and
administratively, under their present grant may receive a waiver for
the PY 1999 designation period. The responsibility review criteria at
20 CFR 632.11(d) of the current regulations serve as the baseline
instrument to determine ``satisfactory'' performance, although other
factors may be involved.
Unlike the designation procedures for PY's 1995-96, incumbent
grantees will not have to request a waiver for PY 1999. The Department
will determine those grantees which qualify for a waiver, and will
publish this list in the Federal Register by November 15, 1998.
Incumbent grantees, including tribes serving areas outside their
reservations, which are not granted waivers will be subject to the
competitive process published in this solicitation.
Incumbent grantees receiving a waiver will be required to submit
only an SF-424 for their currently-designated service area(s)
postmarked by January 1, 1999.
Non-incumbent applicants who qualify for Preferential Hierarchy
Status 1 may apply by January 1, 1999 for and be designated to serve
their Hierarchy 1 service area(s), providing these applicants are
otherwise fundable.
Tribes and organizations participating in the employment and
training demonstration project under Pub. L. 102-477 are automatically
granted waivers, unless they have outstanding and serious unresolved
issues with the Department which affect their continued JTPA
designation.
III. Final Notice of Intent
Even though a waiver may be granted, all applicants must submit an
original and two copies of a Final Notice of Intent (FNOI) (which may,
in some instances as noted above, be only an SF-424, properly completed
and signed), postmarked (by the U.S. Postal Service) not later than
January 1, 1999, consistent with the regulations at 20 CFR 632.11.
Final Notices of Intent may also be delivered in person not later than
the close of business on the first business day of the designation
year.
Final Notices of Intent are to be sent to the Chief, Division of
Indian and Native American Programs (DINAP), at the address cited
above.
Final Notice of Intent Contents: (As Outlined at 20 CFR 632.11)
A completed and signed SF-424, ``Application for Federal
Assistance'';
An indication of the applicant's legal status, including
articles of incorporation or consortium agreement as appropriate;
[[Page 51774]]
A clear indication of the territory being applied for, by
State(s), counties, and/or reservation(s);
If the Grant Officer determines that there is competition for all
or part of a given service area, the following information may also be
required of competing entities:
Evidence of community support from Native American-
controlled organizations, State agencies, or individuals in a position
to speak to the employment and training competence of the entity; and
Other information relating to capability, such as service
plans and previous experience which the applicant feels will 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 State and Federally-recognized tribes
need not submit evidence of community support regarding their own
reservations. 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.
As stated above, if no competition exists, the regulations permit
current grantees requesting their existing geographic service areas to
submit only an SF-424 in lieu of a complete application, including
those grantees currently participating in the demonstration under Pub.
L. 102-477 who are exempt from designation cycle competition. If
competition is determined to exist, current grantees, other than
tribes, bands or groups (including Alaskan Native entities) requesting
their existing areas, will be instructed to submit a ``full'' Final
Notice of Intent, which will include the supplementary information
outlined above. If a waiver has been granted an incumbent, no further
information is necessary, beyond the submission of the SF-424. Tribes,
bands or groups (including Alaskan Native entities) will be asked to
submit a full Final Notice of Intent if they intend to serve areas
beyond their reservation boundaries.
Any organization applying by January 1, 1999, for non-contiguous
geographic service areas shall prepare a separate, complete Final
Notice of Intent (including the above-referenced supplementary
information relating to community support and capability) for each such
area unless currently designated and granted a waiver for such area(s).
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 of January 1 or January 31 (see Part V, Use of
Panel Review Procedure, below). 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.
IV. Preferential Hierarchy for Determining Designation
In cases in which only one organization is applying for a clearly
identified geographic service area and the organization meets the
requirements at 20 CFR 632.10(b) and 632.11(d), DOL shall designate the
applying organization as the grantee for the area. In cases in which
two or more organizations apply for the same area (in whole or in part)
and a waiver has not been granted the incumbent, and the incumbent is
otherwise fundable, DOL will utilize the order of designation
preference described in the hierarchy below. The higher-ranking
organization will be designated, assuming all other requirements are
met. The preferential hierarchy is:
(1) Indian tribes, bands or groups on Federal or State reservations
for their reservation, or their Congressionally-mandated or Federally-
established service area; Oklahoma Indians only as specified in Part
VII, Special Designation Situations, below; and Alaskan Native entities
only specified in Part VII, Special Designation Situations, below.
(2) Native American-controlled, community-based organizations as
defined in Part VIII (1) of the glossary in this notice, with
significant support from other Native American-controlled organizations
within the service community. This includes tribes applying for
geographic service areas other than their own reservations.
When a non-incumbent can demonstrate in its application, by
verifiable information, that it is potentially significantly superior
overall to the incumbent, and the incumbent has not been granted a
waiver, a formal competitive process will be utilized which may include
a panel review. Such potential will be determined by the consideration
of such factors as the following: completeness of the application and
quality of the contents; documentation of relevant experience; Native
American-controlled organizational support; understanding of area
training and employment needs and approach to addressing such needs;
and the capability of the incumbent. If there is no incumbent, new
applicants qualified for this category would compete against each
other.
(3) Organizations (private nonprofit or units of State or local
governments) having significant Native American control, such as a
governing body or administration chaired or headed by a Native American
and having a majority membership of Native Americans.
(4) Non-Native American-controlled organizations. In the event such
an organization is designated, it must develop a Native American
advisory process as a condition for the award of a grant.
The Chief, DINAP, will make determinations regarding hierarchy,
geographic service areas, eligibility of new applicants and the
timeliness of submissions. He may convene a task force to assist in
making such determinations. The role of the task force is that of a
technical advisory body.
The Chief, DINAP, will ultimately advise the Grant Officer in
reference to which position an organization holds in the designation
hierarchy. Within the regulatory time constraints of the designated
process, the Chief, DINAP, will utilize whatever information is
available.
The applying organization must supply sufficient information to
permit the determination to be made. Organizations must indicate the
category which they assume is appropriate and must adequately support
that assertion.
V. Use of Panel Review Procedure
A formal competitive process may be utilized under the following
circumstances:
(1) The Chief, DINAP, advises that a new applicant qualified for
the second category of the hierarchy appears to be potentially
significantly superior overall to an incumbent Native American-
controlled, community-based organization (which has not been granted a
waiver) with significant local Native American community support.
(2) The Chief, DINAP, advises that more than one new applicant is
qualified for the second category of the hierarchy, and the incumbent
grantee has not reapplied for designation.
(3) The Chief, DINAP, advises that two or more organizations have
equal status in the third or fourth categories of the hierarchy, when
there are no
[[Page 51775]]
applicants qualified for the first and second categories.
When competition occurs, the Grant Officer may convene a review
panel of Federal Officials to score the information submitted with the
Final Notice of Intent. The purpose of the panel is to evaluate an
organization's capability, based on its application, to serve the area
in question. The panel will be provided only the information described
at 20 CFR 632.11 and submitted with the ``full'' Final Notice of Intent
by the deadline of January 31, 1999. 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.
The factors listed below will be considered in evaluating the
capability of the applicant. In providing additional information to
supplement the Final Notice of Intent, the applicant should organize
his documentation of capability to correspond with these factors.
(1) Operational Capability--40 points. (20 CFR 632.10 and 632.11)
(a) Previous experience in successfully operating an employment and
training program serving Indians and Native Americans of a scope
comparable to that which the organization would operate if designated--
20 points.
(b) Previous experience in operating other human resources
development programs serving Indians or Native Americans or
coordinating employment and training services with such programs--10
points.
(c) Ability to maintain continuity of services to Indian or Native
American participants with those previously provided under JTPA--10
points.
(2) Identification of the training and employment problems and
needs in the requested area and approach to addressing such problems
and needs--20 points. (20 CFR 632.2)
(3) Planning Process--20 points. (20 CFR 632.11)
(a) Private sector involvement--10 points.
(b) Community support as defined in Part VIII (1), Designation
Process Glossary, and documentation as provided in Part I (5), General
Designation Principles--10 points.
(4) Administrative Capability--20 points. (20 CFR 632.11)
(a) Previous experience in administering public funds under DOL or
similar administrative requirements--15 points.
(b) Experience of senior management staff to be responsible for a
DOL grant--5 points.
VI. 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, the DOL Employment and
Training Administration's Office of Grant and Contracts Management and
Office of Management Services, 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 make decisions by March 1, 1999,
and will provide them to all 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
Final 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.
(3) Nondesignation Letter. Any organization not designated, in
whole or in part, for a geographic service area requested will be
notified formally of the NONDESIGNATION and given the basic reasons for
the determination. An applicant for designation which is refused such
designation, in whole or in part, may file a Petition for
Reconsideration in accordance with 20 CFR 632.13, and subsequently, may
appeal the NONDESIGNATION to an administrative law judge under the
provisions of 20 CFR part 636.
If an area is not designated for service through the foregoing
process, alternative arrangements for service will be made in
accordance with 20 CFR 632.12.
VII. Special Designation Situations
(1) Alaskan Native Entities. DOL has established geographic service
areas for Alaskan Native employment and training based on the
following: (a) The boundaries of the regions defined in the Alaskan
Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA); (b) the boundaries of major
subregional 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 Alaskan Native-controlled human
resource development services provider or an entity formally designated
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 Year 1999.
(2) Oklahoma Indians. DOL has established a service delivery system
for Indian employment and training programs in Oklahoma based on a
preference for Oklahoma Indians to serve portions of the State.
Generally, geographic service areas have been designated geographically
as countywide areas. In cases in which a significant portion of 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 have been honored by DOL. DOL intends to
follow these principles in designating Native American grantees in
Oklahoma for Program Year 1999, to preserve continuity and prevent
unnecessary fragmentation.
VIII. 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 Alaskan or Native
Hawaiian entity, consortium, or public or private nonprofit agency. For
the purpose of hierarchy determinations, the governing board
[[Page 51776]]
must have decision-making authority for the section 401 program.
(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 defined 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) Community Support. This is evidence of active participation
and/or endorsement from employment and training and/or related public
service organizations within the geographic service area for which
designation is requested. Priority will be given to Indian or Native
American-controlled organizations within the geographic service area
for which designation is requested, although applicants are not
precluded from submitting attestations of support from individuals, the
business community, State and local government offices, and community
organizations that are not Indian or Native American-controlled. All
such endorsements submitted as ``community support'' should address the
employment and training/social services capability of the organization.
Other support, such as that concerning cultural or social functions,
would not meet DOL's definitional criteria for community support.
Signed at Washington, D.C., this 22nd day of September, 1998.
Anna W. Goddard,
Director, Office of National Programs.
E. Fred Tello,
Grant Officer, Office of Grants and Contracts Management, Division of
Acquisition and Assistance.
[FR Doc. 98-25843 Filed 9-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P
