[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 130 (Friday, July 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35518-35546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-16558]
[[Page 35517]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part IV
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
_______________________________________________________________________
Request for REACH Plans Under the Office of Community Services FY 1996
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Residential Energy
Assistance Challenge Option (REACH) Program; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 130 / Friday, July 5, 1996 /
Notices
[[Page 35518]]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
[Program Announcement No. OCS-96-08]
Request for REACH Plans Under the Office of Community Services FY
1996 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Residential Energy
Assistance Challenge Option (REACH) Program
AGENCY: Office of Community Services, ACF, DHHS.
ACTION: Announcement of availability of funds and request for REACH
plans under the Office of Community Services Residential Energy
Assistance Challenge Option (REACH) Program.
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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of
Community Services (OCS) announces that, based on availability of
funds, REACH Plans will be accepted for grants pursuant to the
Secretary's authority under Section 2607B(b) of the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.
CLOSING DATES: The closing date and time for receipt of REACH
applications is 4:30 p.m., eastern time zone, on September 3, 1996.
Applications received after 4:30 p.m. on that day will be classified as
late. Postmarks and other similar documents do not establish receipt of
an application. Detailed application submission instructions including
the addresses where applications must be received are found in Part VI
B, Application Submission.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Community Services,
Administration for Children and Families, Division of Community
Demonstration Programs, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Fifth Floor,
Washington, D. C. 20447. Attention: Richard Saul--(202) 401-9341; Anna
Guidery--(202) 401-5318.
This Notice is accessible on the OCS Electronic Bulletin Board for
downloading through your computer modem by calling 1-800-627-8886. For
assistance in accessing the Bulletin Board, a Guide to Accessing and
Downloading is available from Ms. Minnie Landry at (202) 401-5309.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this
program is 93.568.
Table of Contents
Part I--Introduction
A. Legislative Authority
B. Definition of Terms
C. Purpose
Part II--Background Information
A. Program Priority Areas
B. Project Periods and Budget Periods
C. Availability of Funds and Grant Amounts
D. Program Participants/Beneficiaries
E. Prohibition and Restrictions on the Use of Funds
F. Multiple Submittals and Multiple Grants
G. Maintenance of Effort
Part III--Reach Priority Areas and Program Requirements
A. Program Requirements for Priority Area 1.0
1. Eligible Applicants for Priority Area 1.0
2. Program Focus
3. Economic Development Strategy and Mobilization of Resources
4. Scope of the Priority Area 1.0 REACH Plan
5. Low-Income Citizen Participation
6. Third-Party Project Evaluation
7. Consistency With LIHEAP Legislation
8. Dissemination of Project Results.
B. Special Program Requirements for Priority Area 2.0
1. Eligible Applicants for Priority Area 2.0
2. Program Focus
3. Economic Development strategy
4. Scope of the Priority Area 2.0 REACH Plan
5. Low-Income Citizen Participation
6. Third Party Project Evaluation
7. Consistency With LIHEAP Legislation
8. Dissemination of Project Results
Part IV--Reach Plan Elements and Review Criteria
A. Program Elements, Review and Assessment Criteria for REACH Plans
Under Priority Area 1.0
B. Special Program Elements, Review and Assessment Criteria for
REACH Plans Under Priority Area 2.0
Part V--Quality Standards for Energy Efficiency Education Services
Plans
A. Purpose
B. Target Population
C. Needs Assessment and Project Design Process
D. Service Delivery
E. Relation of Services to Changes, of Changes to Outcomes, and of
Outcomes to Goals (a ``Logic Model'')
F. Evaluation
Part VI--Application Procedures
A. Availability of Forms
B. Application Submission
C. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
D. Application Consideration
E. Criteria for Screening Applications
Part VII--Instructions for Completing Application Forms
A. SF-424--Application for Federal Assistance
B. SF-424A--Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs
C. SF-424B--Assurances--Non-Construction
Part VIII--Contents of Reach Plan
Part IX--Post-Award Information and Reporting Requirements
A. Notification of Grant Award
B. Attendance at Workshops
C. Reporting Requirements
D. Audit Requirements
E. Prohibitions and Requirements with regard to Lobbying
F. Applicable Federal Regulations
Part I. Introduction
A. Legislative Authority
Section 2607B(b) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of
1981, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq., authorizes the creation of
the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option (REACH) Program, to
be funded for the first time in FY 1996. REACH is designed to provide
services through local community-based agencies to help LIHEAP eligible
households reduce their energy vulnerability.
The Secretary is authorized to make incentive grants to States,
Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and certain Insular Areas that submit
qualifying Plans, hereinafter referred to as REACH Plans, that are
approved by the Secretary as REACH initiatives. Successful applicants
are to use such grants for the costs of planning, implementing, and
evaluating the initiative.
The Secretary must also reserve from any funds allocated under the
REACH initiative, funds to make additional payments to REACH programs
that (a) have energy efficiency education services plans that meet
quality standards established by the Secretary in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy; and (b) have the potential for being replicable
model designs for other programs.
This Announcement is requesting competitive REACH Plans from
eligible applicants which are consistent with the information,
requirements, and program elements and review criteria outlined in
Parts II, III, IV, and V, below.
B. Definition of Terms
For purposes of this Program Announcement, the following
definitions apply [Definitions marked with an asterisk(*) are the
definitions found in Section 2603 of the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Act, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 8622) and apply to the REACH
Initiative]:
--Budget Period: The term ``budget period'' refers to the interval of
time into which a multi-year period of assistance (project period) is
usually divided for budgetary and funding purposes.
[[Page 35519]]
--Community-based, nonprofit: A corporation or association whose
profits may not lawfully accrue to the benefit of any shareholder or
individual, and whose goals, objectives and activities are established
and carried out through a process involving the participation of
residents of the community or local area being served, including low-
income residents.
--Community-Based Organization Recipient (CBO Recipient): The
Community-based nonprofit entity through which State REACH Project
services shall be delivered in the applicant State under Priority Area
1.0.
--Energy burden* means the expenditures of the household for home
energy divided by the income of the household.
--Energy crisis* means weather-related and supply shortage emergencies
and other household energy-related emergencies.
--Highest home energy needs* means the home energy requirements of a
household determined by taking into account both the energy burden of
such household and the unique situation of such household that results
from having members of vulnerable populations, including very young
children, individuals with disabilities, and frail older individuals.
--Home energy* means a source of heating or cooling in residential
dwellings.
--Household* means any individual or group of individuals who are
living together as one economic unit for whom residential energy is
customarily purchased in common or who make undesignated payments for
energy in the form of rent.
--Innovative project: One that departs from or significantly modifies
past program practices and tests (a) new approach(es).
--Intervention: Any planned activity within a project that is intended
to produce changes in the target population or the environment, and can
be formally evaluated.
--Nonprofit Organization: A corporation or association whose profits
may not lawfully accrue to the benefit of any shareholder or individual
(and through which REACH Project services may be delivered under
Priority Area 2.0).
--Outcome evaluation: An assessment of measured results designed to
provide a valid determination of the net effects attributable to the
intervention. An outcome evaluation will produce and interpret findings
related to whether the intervention produced desirable changes and its
potential for replicability. It should answer the question, ``Did this
program work?''
--Poverty level* means, with respect to a household in any State, the
income poverty line as prescribed and revised at least annually
pursuant to section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act,
as applicable to such State. (See Attachment A.)
--Process evaluation: Descriptive information that is gathered on the
development and implementation of a program/intervention that may serve
as a document for replicating the program elsewhere. The evaluation
should also identify problems that occurred and how they were dealt
with and recommend improved means of future implementation. It should
answer the question: ``How was the program carried out?'' In concert
with the outcome evaluation, it should also help explain, ``Why did
this program work/not work?''
--Project period: The term ``project period'' refers to the total time
for which a project is approved for support, including any extensions.
--Secretary* means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
--State* means each of the several States and the District of Columbia.
--State median income* means the State median income promulgated by the
Secretary in accordance with procedures established under section
2002(a)(6) of the Social Security Act (as such procedures were in
effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act) and
adjusted, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary,
to take into account the number of individuals in the household.
C. Purpose
As described in the authorizing legislation, the purpose of the
REACH Program is to--
(1) minimize health and safety risks that result from high energy
burdens on low-income Americans;
(2) prevent homelessness as a result of inability to pay energy
bills;
(3) increase efficiency of energy usage by low-income families; and
(4) target energy assistance to individuals who are most in need.
In keeping with this broad mandate, OCS will support a limited
number of innovative Pilot Projects that seek to demonstrate the long
term cost effectiveness of supplementing energy assistance payments
with non-monetary benefits that can increase the ability of eligible
households to meet energy costs and help them to achieve energy self-
sufficiency.
Part II. Background Information
A. Program Priority Areas
The REACH Program will have two Priority Areas: Priority Area 1.0,
for which eligible applicants are States, the District of Columbia and
Puerto Rico; and Priority Area 2.0, for which eligible applicants are
Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and certain Insular Areas which are
LIHEAP grantees that use LIHEAP funds to implement a LIHEAP Program.
B. Project Periods and Budget Periods
(See Part I, B, Definition of Terms)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 authorizes a
block grant program of which the REACH Program is a part, and to which
45 CFR Parts 74 and 92 and OMB Circulars do not apply. However, 45 CFR
Part 96 does apply to REACH funds. Grantees must obligate REACH funds
within the Fiscal Year following the Fiscal Year in which the REACH
grant was awarded by OCS.
1. Project Periods. Project periods will be 36 months for all REACH
projects under Priority Area 1.0 and for projects under Priority Area
2.0 when the applicant elects to delegate the project to a non-profit
organization as described below.
States under Priority Area 1.0 and applicants under Priority Area
2.0 with thirty-six month Project Periods are encouraged to provide for
completion of the planning and consummation of awards to sub-recipients
within a time frame that will allow for adequate start-up and an
implementation period of at least two years, followed by a phase-out
period that will permit completion of the required evaluation under
Priority Area 1.0 and reporting under Priority Area 2.0.
Project periods will be 12 months under Priority Area 2.0 where
applicants elect to operate projects directly, as described below.
2. Budget Periods. Budget Periods for all REACH Projects in
Priority Areas 1.0 and 2.0 will be twelve months (one year).
(a) In the case of projects under Priority Area 1.0, States will
receive grants for the full amount of the three-year Project Period,
and will award REACH funds to CBO Recipients for total project budgets
covering the full Project Period as described above, and should solicit
and/or design local projects accordingly. Applicants under Priority
Area 1.0 may include in the REACH Initiative budget an amount up
[[Page 35520]]
ten percent (10%) of the total REACH grant for planning,
administration, and coordinating costs at the State level, and for
contracting with a third party evaluator as defined in Part IV-A,
Element VI, below, and discussed in Part III-A.6., during the first
project year (the first twelve month budget period) of the REACH
Initiative. States may apply for continued funding for such costs for
each of the second and third project years (budget periods) on a non-
competitive basis, for an amount each year of up to two and one-half
percent (2.5%) of the original grant, subject to the availability of
funds, satisfactory progress of the grantee, and determination that
this would be in the best interest of the government.
(b) In the case of REACH Projects under Priority Area 2.0, where
applicants elect to operate REACH projects through non-profit
organizations, grants awarded pursuant to this announcement will
likewise be for the full amount of the three year Project Period, and
applicants will in like manner award REACH funds to sub-recipients for
total project budgets covering the full Project Period as described in
the preceding paragraph (a). Such applicants may include up to five
percent (5%) of the total REACH grant for planning, administration and
coordinating costs of the first year, which may be continued for years
two and three on the same terms as described in preceding paragraph
(a).
(c) Where applicants under Priority Area 2.0 elect to operate REACH
programs themselves, as described below, grants awarded pursuant to
this announcement will be for 12-month (one year) Project and Budget
Periods only.
C. Availability of Funds and Grant Amounts
The total amount expected to be available for REACH Initiative
grants pursuant to this announcement is approximately $5,000,000. The
Office of Community Services expects to award up to eight competitive
grants under Priority Area 1.0 for General Pilot Projects of $500,000
to $1,500,000 each for the planning, implementation and evaluation of
REACH Initiatives; but the total amount awarded under Priority Area 1.0
will not exceed $4,000,000, except as provided under Priority Area 2.0.
OCS expects to award up to eight grants under Priority Area 2.0 for
smaller Pilot Projects of $50,000 to $150,000 each to Indian Tribes and
Tribal Organizations for a total of up to $400,000. Any funds not
awarded under Priority Area 2.0 will be available for funding under
Priority Area 1.0. Pursuant to the legislative mandate, an additional
$600,000 has been reserved by the Secretary to make additional payments
of up to $100,000 each to qualifying funded REACH Initiatives under
Priority Area 1.0, and payments of up to $25,000 each under Priority
Area 2.0, for implementation and evaluation of Energy Efficiency
Education Services Plans which meet the Quality Standards established
in consultation with the Secretary of Energy which are set forth in
Part V of this Announcement, and have the potential for being
replicable model designs for other programs. Where any funded REACH
Initiatives do not qualify for such payments, available reserved funds
may be distributed among the applicants that do qualify, at the
discretion of OCS and through negotiation with the qualifying
applicants.
D. Program Participants/Beneficiaries
Projects proposed for funding under this announcement must result
in direct benefits to low-income individuals and families who are
eligible for LIHEAP benefits under the applicant's LIHEAP program,
pursuant to Section 2605(b)(2) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Act of 1981, as amended. However, not all LIHEAP recipients and/or
eligible households must be provided REACH services. Applicants may
target a portion of the LIHEAP-eligible population for REACH services.
Attachment A to this announcement is an excerpt from the Poverty
Income Guidelines currently in effect. Annual revisions of these
guidelines are normally published in the Federal Register in February
or early March of each year. Where relevant to REACH eligibility
criteria, grantees will be required to apply the most recent guidelines
throughout the project period. These revised guidelines also may be
obtained at public libraries, Congressional offices, or by writing the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C. 20402. They also are accessible on the OCS Electronic
Bulletin Board for reading and/or downloading. (See For Further
Information at beginning of this announcement.)
Consistent with the legislative purpose of the REACH Initiative
``to target energy assistance to individuals who are most in need'',
projects proposed for funding under this Announcement may further
restrict eligibility to lower income individuals and families within
the LIHEAP eligible universe.
Under the authorizing legislation applicants may designate all or
part of the State or all or part of the client population as a focus of
its REACH Initiative. The Secretary has determined that in order best
to compare the cost effective outcomes of REACH benefits with those of
LIHEAP payment benefits alone, the geographic/client focus of the REACH
program should be one which results in REACH expenditures bearing a
reasonable relationship to the LIHEAP payment benefits available to the
same target population. For example, if the target population of the
REACH Project were to receive REACH benefits costing ten times the
amounts they received in LIHEAP payments, it would be difficult to
compare the long-term cost effectiveness of these benefits with those
of LIHEAP payments alone. Consequently, REACH Project expenditures
should not be less than one-half nor more than twice the amount of
LIHEAP benefits paid within the REACH service area to REACH eligible
households over two years, under the current appropriation. In other
words, if LIHEAP financial assistance to a REACH target population
totals $100,000 over two years, the applicant should plan to provide
between $50,000 and $200,000 in REACH services to that target
population area.
E. Prohibition and Restrictions on the Use of Funds
The use of funds for the purchase or construction of real property
is prohibited. Costs incurred for rearrangement and alteration of
facilities required specifically for the funded program are allowable
when specifically approved by ACF in writing. However, in keeping with
the legislative mandate to include in REACH Project activities energy
related residential repair and energy efficiency improvements, such
activities will not be considered to be violative of these prohibitions
or restrictions.
If the applicant is proposing a project which will affect a
property listed in, or eligible for inclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places, it must identify this property in the narrative and
explain how it has complied with the provisions of section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended. If there is any
question as to whether the property is listed in or eligible for
inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, the applicant
should consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer. (See
Attachment D: SF-424B, Item 13 for additional guidelines.) The
applicant should contact OCS early in the
[[Page 35521]]
development of its application for instructions regarding compliance
with the Act and data required to be submitted to the Department of
Health and Human Services. Failure to comply with the cited Act will
result in the application being ineligible for funding consideration.
F. Multiple Submittals and Multiple Grants
Due to the limited number of grants that will be made under this
program, only one application from any one eligible applicant will be
funded by OCS from FY 1996 REACH funds. (This does not preclude
applicants under Priority Area 1.0 from including more than one local
REACH Project/CBO Recipient in their REACH plans.)
G. Maintenance of Effort
The activities funded under this program announcement must be in
addition to, and not in substitution for, activities previously carried
on without Federal assistance. Also, the benefits and services provided
eligible participants in the REACH Project must be provided in addition
to and in coordination with benefit payments and services provided
under the applicant's regular LIHEAP Program. A signed certificate of
Maintenance of Effort must be included with the application (see
Attachment J).
Part III. Reach Priority Areas and Program Requirements
A. Program Requirements for Priority Area 1.0
1. Eligible Applicants for Priority Area 1.0. Eligible applicants
for these grants under Priority Area 1.0 are the fifty States, the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. They must deliver REACH services,
in one or more specific projects, through community-based, nonprofit
organizations, hereinafter referred to as CBO Recipients, by awarding
grants to or entering into contracts with such CBO Recipients for the
purpose of providing such services and payments directly to individuals
eligible for benefits. If a State makes LIHEAP payments directly to
eligible individuals or energy suppliers, the State must enter into
contract(s) with such CBO Recipients to administer such programs,
including (i) determining eligibility, (ii) providing outreach
services, and (iii) providing benefits other than payments.
In awarding grants or entering into contracts to carry out its
REACH Initiative, the State must give priority to eligible entities, as
defined in Section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42
U.S.C. 9902(1)) except where significant geographic portions of the
State are not served by such entities, that (1) have a record of
successfully providing services under the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (as determined by DHHS), and (2) receive funds under
the Department of Energy's Low Income Weatherization Assistance
Program. The State may not require any such entity to operate a REACH
Project.
2. Program Focus.
The goals of a Priority 1.0 funded REACH Plan over the project
period must include:
(1) a reduction in energy costs of participating low-income
households;
(2) an increase in the regularity of home energy bill payments by
participating households; and
(3) an increase in energy vendor contributions towards reducing
energy burdens of eligible households.
As noted above, so that the cost effective outcomes of REACH
benefits may best be compared with those of LIHEAP benefits alone, an
Applicant, in designating the REACH service area or segment of the
eligible population to be served by the proposed REACH Plan, should
seek to define (an) area(s) or population segment(s) whose allocation
under the LIHEAP program bears a reasonable relationship to the
resources available to the REACH Project. That is, REACH Project
expenditures should not be less than one-half or more than twice the
amount of LIHEAP benefits paid within the REACH service area to REACH
eligible households over two years, under the current appropriation. In
this regard, the applicant should consider the totality of resources
that will be available to support the REACH Project's implementation
and the level of benefit and/or services reasonably required to achieve
the Project's goals and objectives. This will be a function, in part,
of the specific interventions that will go to make up the ``benefits
and services'' in the particular Project design; and an objective of
every REACH Plan should be to measure the success of such interventions
in achieving more cost-effective long-term outcomes than energy payment
benefits alone. Thus OCS is interested in REACH Plans that propose
testing innovative approaches to helping low-income families achieve
energy self-sufficiency, and ultimate independence from energy
assistance payments.
3. Economic Development Strategy and Mobilization of Resources. OCS
is interested in having Applicants approach the energy needs of low-
income families within a holistic context of the economic, social,
physical, and environmental barriers to achieving self-sufficiency.
Thus applicants should include in their REACH Plan an explanation of
how the proposed project(s) will be integrated with and support a
larger economic development strategy within the target community or
communities.
REACH grantees are not required to match REACH grant awards with
either cash or in-kind contributions of goods and services. However, in
keeping with this holistic integration of REACH Projects within the
community, they are expected to be closely coordinated with other
public and private sector programs involved with community
revitalization, housing rehabilitation and weatherization, and family
development; and OCS will give favorable consideration in the
application review process to applicants who mobilize third-party cash
and/or in-kind contributions for direct use in the REACH Project. Even
though there is no matching requirement for the REACH Program, grantees
will be held accountable for any match, cash or in-kind contribution
proposed or pledged as part of an approved application. (See Part IV,
Element III.)
If the REACH service area or portion thereof is covered by a
comprehensive community-based strategic plan, such as that required for
applying for Empowerment Zone/-Enterprise Community (EZ/EC) status, to
achieve both economic and human development in an integrated manner,
applicants should document how they and/or the designated CBO
Recipient(s) were involved in the preparation and implementation of the
plan, and how the proposed REACH project(s) will support the goals of
that plan. (See Part IV-A, Element VIII.)
4. Scope of the Priority Area 1.0 REACH Plan. A State may submit a
REACH Plan which proposes one local REACH Project to be implemented by
one CBO Recipient; it may submit a Plan in which the same project is
proposed to be implemented in several localities by separate CBO
Recipients; or it may submit a plan proposing two or more different and
distinct Projects, each to be implemented through a separate CBO
Recipient. Where a State proposes different and distinct REACH Projects
to be carried out by more than one CBO Recipient, the REACH Plan should
include, for each of these projects/CBO Recipients, a separate
narrative section, no more than ten pages in length, covering Element I
(with three Sub-Elements), explaining the project Theory, Design and
Plan of the proposed project, as explained in Part IV, and designated
as Segment One
[[Page 35522]]
of the Project Narrative; and a Budget Justification as described in
Element II, covering Project Budget Appropriateness. As set forth in
Part IV, ``Segment One'' of the Project Narrative should describe the
concept of the proposed REACH Project, describing the goals or outcomes
that the project seeks to achieve; the needs of the target population
that the project seeks to address, and the assumptions about how those
needs can be met; and the activities or interventions that the project
will undertake to meet the needs and achieve the goals and outcomes of
the project.
Where a REACH Plan proposes only one distinct project, to be
implemented either in one locality or in several, by either one or more
than one CBO Recipient, then the Plan need include only one Segment One
narrative.
Each Priority Area 1.0 REACH Plan must also include the
designation, in accordance with the priorities described in Section A.
1., above, of the CBO Recipient(s) through which the proposed
project(s) will be implemented. With each Priority Area 1.0 REACH Plan
there must be included a Letter of Agreement from each designated CBO
Recipient subscribing to the project concept as described in the
appropriate Segment One narrative section of the Plan and agreeing to
operate the REACH project as proposed. The Letter of Agreement must
also commit the CBO Recipient(s) to a process of Low-Income Citizen
Participation in the establishment of the local REACH Project, as
described in Section A. 5., below.
The REACH Plan must include a description of the methodology the
State and local agencies will use to determine--
(i) which households will receive one or more forms of benefits
under the REACH Initiative;
(ii) the cases in which nonmonetary benefits are likely to provide
more cost-effective long-term outcomes than payment benefits alone; and
(iii) the amount of such benefits required to meet the goals of the
program.
The Plan must also include a method to be used for targeting REACH
nonmonetary benefits. It should further provide that the State will
award the grant(s) or contract(s) for implementation of the REACH
Project within a time frame that will allow for adequate start-up and
an implementation period of at least two years, followed by a phase-out
period that will permit completion of the required evaluation. (See
Part II-B. 1., Project Periods, and Part IV-A, Sub-Element I(c))
Finally, the REACH Plan must include:
(A) a brief description of the crisis and emergency assistance
activities the State will undertake that are designed to:
(1) discourage family energy crises;
(2) encourage responsible vendor and consumer behavior; and
(3) provide only financial incentives that encourage household
payment; (See Part IV-A, Sub-Element I(b))
(B) a brief description of the activities the State will undertake
to--
(1) provide incentives for recipients of assistance to pay home
energy costs; and
(2) provide incentives to vendors to help reduce the energy burdens
of recipients of assistance.
(C) an assurance that, subject to the methodologies described
above, each CBO Recipient will provide a variety of services and
benefits, including--
(i) payments to, or on behalf of, individuals eligible for
residential energy assistance services and benefits under Section
2605(b) for home energy costs;
(ii) energy efficiency education;
(iii) residential energy demand management services, including any
other energy related residential repair and energy efficiency
improvements in coordination with, or delivered by, Department of
Energy weatherization assistance programs at the discretion of the
State;
(iv) family services, such as counseling and needs assessment,
related to energy budget management, payment plans, and related
services; and
(v) negotiation with home energy suppliers on behalf of households
eligible for REACH services and benefits. (See Part IV-A, Sub-Element
I(b)). Project activities should be closely coordinated with the
applicant's LIHEAP Program and with Empowerment Zone/-Enterprise
Community Initiatives where applicable; (See Part IV-A, Element VIII)
and,
(D) an assurance that no regulated utility covered by the plan will
be required to act in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable
regulatory requirements. (See Part IV-A, Element VII.)
5. Low-Income Citizen Participation. To be considered for funding a
REACH Plan must include provision for the systematic and regularized
solicitation, by the designated CBO Recipient(s), of the views of
eligible low-income individuals in the community; and for the
assurance, by means of an advisory board or similar process, that such
organization(s) will be responsive to such views in the development and
implementation of the local Project. Assurance for compliance with
these requirements may be accomplished through the Letter of Agreement
required in Paragraph 4, above. (See Part IV-A, Sub-Element I(a))
6. Third-Party Project Evaluation. REACH Plans must include
provision for an independent, methodologically sound evaluation of the
effectiveness of the activities carried out with the grant and their
efficacy in achieving stated project goals related to reducing
participant home energy costs and increasing the ability of
participants to meet such costs independent of payment subsidy,
including, specifically, the performance goals set out above at the
opening of Section A. 2., Program Focus, above.
The Plan should include a well thought through outline of an
evaluation plan for the proposed project(s). The outline should explain
how the applicant proposes to answer the key questions about how
effectively the project is being/was implemented (the Process
Evaluation) and whether and why/why not the project activities or
interventions achieved the expected outcomes and goals of the
project(s) (the Outcome Evaluation). (See Part I, Section B for
definitions of Process and Outcome Evaluations.) Applicants may propose
a single evaluation for their overall REACH Initiative, or separate
evaluations for individual projects, as and where appropriate.
In addition to the performance goals mentioned above, the outline
should include a description of the indicators that will be used by the
State (and the CBO Recipient(s)) to measure whether the goals have been
achieved.
The evaluation must be conducted by an independent, third-party
evaluator, i.e., a person with recognized evaluation skills who has
experience with social programs and is organizationally distinct from,
and not under the control of, the applicant or the local
organization(s) implementing the REACH Project. It is important that
each successful applicant have a third-party evaluator selected, and
performing at the very latest by the time the work program of the
project is begun, and if possible before that time so that he or she
can participate in the final design of the program, in order to assure
that data necessary for the evaluation will be collected and available.
7. Consistency With LIHEAP Legislation. To be funded, a REACH Plan
must include a demonstration that
[[Page 35523]]
it is consistent with the following Sections of the Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Act, as amended: Section 2603; paragraphs (2), (3),
(4), (5), (7), (10), (11), (12), (13), and (14) of Section 2605(b);
Subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) of Section 2605; and
Section 2606.
The definitions in Section 2603 have been incorporated into the
definitions in Part I, Section B of this Announcement and will apply to
the REACH Initiative. The rest of the cited sections, subsections and
paragraphs are set forth in Attachment K to this Announcement.
8. Dissemination of Project Results. REACH Plans should include
provision for disseminating the results of the project. Applicants may
budget up to $5,000 for dissemination purposes.
B. Special Program Requirements for Priority Area 2.0
1. Eligible Applicants for Priority Area 2.0. Eligible Applicants
for these grants under Priority Area 2.0 are Indian Tribes and Tribal
Organizations which are current grantees of the LIHEAP Program; and the
Insular Areas of American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam, provided they are LIHEAP
grantees that use LIHEAP funds to implement a LIHEAP Program. In
accordance with 45 CFR 96.42(a), the Secretary has determined that
inasmuch as these applicants are generally representative of and close
to their communities, which with few exceptions are relatively small;
and inasmuch as they generally implement their LIHEAP programs and
other social service programs directly; that therefore the requirements
of Section 2607B(e)(2) (A) and (B) are not applicable to eligible
applicants under Priority Area 2.0; and that consequently REACH
grantees under Priority Area 2.0 may implement REACH programs directly,
without delegation to CBO Recipients. However, as explained in Part II
B, Budget Periods, above, applicants electing to implement their REACH
Projects directly will be limited to projects of one year duration
(Project and Budget Periods of one year only).
Applicants under Priority Area 2.0 may also elect to operate their
projects through grants or contracts to non-profit organizations.
However, in such cases the non-profit organization does not have to be
a community based organization (CBO) as defined Part I. If they choose
to operate their projects through non-profit organizations, the Project
and Budget Periods applicable to Priority Area 1.0 will apply.
2. Program Focus. The Program Focus for Priority Area 2.0 REACH
projects should be the same as for Priority Area 1.0, described above
in Section A.2.
3. Economic Development Strategy. Although OCS is interested in
having applicants under Priority Area 2.0 approach the energy needs of
low-income families within a holistic context of the economic, social,
physical, and environmental barriers to achieving self-sufficiency,
applicants under Priority Area 2.0 will not be required to include a
specific Economic Development Strategy in their REACH Plan.
4. Scope of the Priority Area 2.0 REACH Plan. The Priority 2.0
REACH Plan should describe the concept of the proposed REACH Project,
describing the goals or outcomes that the project seeks to achieve; the
needs of the target population that the project seeks to address, and
the assumptions about how those needs can be met; and the activities or
interventions that the project will undertake to meet the needs and
achieve the goals and outcomes of the project.
The REACH Plan must include a description of the methodology the
State and local agencies will use to determine--
(i) which households will receive one or more forms of benefits
under the REACH Initiative;
(ii) the cases in which nonmonetary benefits are likely to provide
more cost-effective long-term outcomes than payment benefits alone; and
(iii) the amount of such benefits required to meet the goals of the
program;
The Plan must also include a method to be used for targeting REACH
nonmonetary benefits.
Finally, the REACH Plan must include:
(A) a brief description of the crisis and emergency assistance
activities the applicant will undertake that are designed to:
(1) discourage family energy crises;
(2) encourage responsible vendor and consumer behavior; and
(3) provide only financial incentives that encourage household
payment;
(B) a brief description of the activities the applicant will
undertake to--
(1) provide incentives for recipients of assistance to pay home
energy costs; and
(2) provide incentives to vendors to help reduce the energy burdens
of recipients of assistance.
(C) an assurance that, subject to the methodologies described
above, each applicant or nonprofit sub-recipient, as appropriate, will
provide a variety of services and benefits, including at least two of
the following--
(i) payments to, or on behalf of, individuals eligible for
residential energy assistance services and benefits under Section
2605(b) for home energy costs;
(ii) energy efficiency education;
(iii) residential energy demand management services, including any
other energy related residential repair and energy efficiency
improvements in coordination with, or delivered by, Department of
Energy weatherization assistance programs at the discretion of the
State;
(iv) family services, such as counseling and needs assessment,
related to energy budget management, payment plans, and related
services; and
(v) negotiation with home energy suppliers on behalf of households
eligible for REACH services and benefits. (See Part IV-B, Sub-Element
I(b)).
Given the size of most tribal and small insular territory LIHEAP
programs, the Secretary has determined, in accordance with 45 CFR
96.42(a), that REACH applications from tribal and small insular area
LIHEAP grantees under Priority Area 2.0 do not have to provide all of
the above services.
Project activities should be closely coordinated with the
applicant's LIHEAP Program.
and
(D) an assurance that no regulated utility covered by the plan will
be required to act in a manner that is inconsistent with applicable
regulatory requirements. (See Part IV-B, Element VI)
5. Low-Income Citizen Participation. To be considered for funding,
a REACH Plan must include provision for the systematic and regularized
solicitation by the grantee of the views of eligible low-income
individuals in the community. (See Part IV-B, Sub-Element I(a))
6. Third-Party Project Evaluation. As noted above, the Priority
Area 1.0 requirement for a third party evaluation does not apply out to
Priority Area 2.0 grantees. However, Priority Area 2.0 REACH Plans must
describe the indicators they will use to measure whether their
performance goals have been achieved, and they must submit a report
summarizing these results at the end of the grant period.
7. Consistency With LIHEAP Legislation. To be funded, a REACH Plan
under Priority Area 2.0 must include a demonstration that it is
consistent with the following Sections of the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Act, as amended: Section 2603; paragraphs (2), (3), (4),
(5), (7),
[[Page 35524]]
(10), (11), (12), (13), and (14) of Section 2605(b); Subsections (d),
(e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) of Section 2605; and Section 2606.
The definitions in Section 2603 have been incorporated into the
definitions in Part I, Section B of this Announcement and will apply to
the REACH Initiative. The rest of the cited sections, subsections and
paragraphs are set forth in Attachment K to this Announcement.
8. Dissemination of Project Results. Applicants under Priority 2.0
may budget up to $1,000 for dissemination of project results.
Part IV. Reach Plan Elements and Review Criteria
The ultimate goals of the projects to be funded under the REACH
Program are to realize significant improvements in the ability of
eligible households to meet energy costs and pay home energy bills with
regularity, through innovative project interventions which will reduce
energy costs and increase the capability of low-income participants to
pay; in the case of REACH Projects under Priority Area 1.0, to evaluate
the effectiveness of these interventions and of the project design
through which they were implemented; and thus to make possible the
replication of successful programs. OCS intends to make the awards of
all the above grants on the basis of brief, concise REACH Plans. The
elements and format of these plans, along with the review criteria that
will be used to judge them, will be outlined in this Part.
The competitive review of REACH Plans will be based on the degree
to which applicants:
(1) incorporate each of the Elements and Sub-Elements below into
their plans, so as to describe convincingly a project that will develop
and implement new and innovative approaches to address critical energy
needs or problems of the poor;
(2) include the required assurances and program activities set
forth in Part III, above; and,
(3) in the case of applications under Priority Area 1.0; test and
evaluate such approaches and activities so as to make possible
replication of a successful program.
A. Program Elements, Review and Assessment Criteria for REACH Plans
under Priority Area 1.0
This Section has been divided into Two Segments: Segment One made
up of Element I (with three Sub-Elements) which should be completed for
each different and distinct local REACH Project to be carried out by a
CBO Recipient, and must not be more than ten pages in length; and
Segment Two made up of Elements II through VIII, which should be
completed only once for the applicant's entire REACH Initiative, and
must not be more than twenty pages in length. As explained in Part III-
A. 4., Scope of REACH Plan, a State may submit a REACH Plan which
proposes one local REACH Project to be implemented by one CBO
Recipient; it may submit a Plan in which the same project is proposed
to be implemented in several localities by separate CBO Recipients; or
it may submit a plan proposing two or more different and distinct
Projects, each to be implemented through a separate CBO Recipient.
Where a State proposes different and distinct REACH Projects to be
carried out by more than one CBO Recipient, the REACH Plan should
include, for each of these projects/CBO Recipients a separate Segment
One Narrative; where a REACH Plan proposes only one distinct project,
to be implemented either in one locality or in several, by either one
or more than one CBO Recipient, then the Plan need include only one
Segment One narrative.
In order to simplify the application preparation and review
process, OCS seeks to keep applications cogent and brief. For each of
the Project Elements or Sub-Elements below there is at the end of the
discussion a suggested number of pages to be devoted to the particular
element or sub-element. These are suggestions only; but the applicant
must remember that each Narrative Segment One cannot be more than ten
pages in length, and that the single Project Narrative Segment Two,
covering Program Elements II through VIII for the overall REACH
Initiative, cannot be more than 20 pages in length.
REACH Plans with project narratives (excluding appendices) that
exceed these limits will not be reviewed for funding. Project
narratives should be on letter-sized pages in 12 c.p.i. type or
equivalent on a single side. Applicants should prepare and assemble
their project description using the following outline of required
project elements. They should, furthermore, build their project
concept, plans, and project description upon the guidelines set forth
for each of the project elements.
In reviewing REACH Plans for funding, where Plans include more than
one narrative Segment One describing a local Project/CBO Recipient, OCS
reserves the right to consider each such Project/CBO Recipient on its
own merits, and where review scores and other considerations merit, may
choose not to fund a particular local Project/CBO Recipient. In such a
case, OCS will negotiate an appropriate budget for the applicant's
overall REACH Initiative.
Segment One
[Priority Area 1.0 applicants to complete for each local Project/CBO
Recipient; each completed Segment (1) limited to ten pages in length]
Element I. Project Theory, Design, and Plan. (Total Weight of 0-30
points in application review.) OCS seeks to learn from the application
why and how the project as proposed is expected to lead to significant
improvements in individual and family energy self-sufficiency.
Applicants are urged to design and present their project in terms
of a conceptual cause-effect framework. In the following paragraphs a
logic model or framework is described, that suggests a way to present a
project so as to show the logic of the cause-effect relations between
project activities and project results. Applicants don't have to use
the exact logic model language described; but it is important to
present the project in a way that makes clear the cause-effect
relationship between what the project plans to do and the results it
expects to achieve.
Applicants are reminded that Part III-A, Section 4, Scope of the
REACH Plan under Priority Area 1.0, includes a discussion of those
activities which should be included in this element of their REACH
Plan.
Sub-Element I(a). Description of Target Population, Analysis of
Need, and Project Assumptions. (Weight of 0-10 points in application
review.) The logic model begins with identifying the underlying
assumptions about the program. These are the beliefs on which the
proposed program is built: the assumptions about the needs of the
client population to be served; about the current services available to
those clients, and where and how they fail to meet their needs; about
why the services or interventions proposed in the REACH Plan are
appropriate, and will meet those needs; and about the impact the
proposed interventions will have on the clients.
In other words, the underlying assumptions of the program are the
applicant's analysis of the needs and problems to be addressed by the
project, and the applicant's theory of how its proposed interventions
will address those needs and problems to achieve the desired result.
Thus a strong application is based upon a clear description of the
needs and problems to be addressed and a persuasive understanding of
the causes of those problems.
In this sub-element of the REACH Plan the applicant should
precisely
[[Page 35525]]
identify the target population to be served. The geographic area to be
impacted should then be briefly highlighted, selectively emphasizing
the socioeconomic/poverty and other data that are relevant to the
project design. This sub-element to the REACH Plan, might include, for
instance, data on the building type, condition, and age of low-income
housing; the predominant fuel used for home heating; the number and
percent of utility shut-offs among low-income energy consumers;
climatic conditions; unemployment statistics for the area; the price of
fuels; and the demand management services offered by local utilities.
The needs of this target population should then be clearly defined,
and the applicant should state its underlying assumptions about how
these needs can be addressed by the proposed project.
Applicants must include in this element a brief description of the
provision that has been and will be made for the systematic and regular
solicitation by CBO Recipients of the views of eligible low-income
individuals in the community on the design and implementation of the
REACH Project, and the mechanism(s) that will be employed by the
applicant and the CBO Recipients to assure their responsiveness to such
views in the establishment of the REACH Project. (See Part III-A,
Section 5.)
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 4 pages for this
narrative sub-element.
Sub-Element I(b). Project Strategy and Design Framework:
Interventions, Outcomes, and Goals. (Weight of 0-10 points in
application review.) To continue with the ``logic model'':
The underlying assumptions concerning client needs and the theory
of how they can be effectively addressed, which are discussed above,
lead in the project design to the conduct of a variety of project
activities or interventions, each of which is assumed to result in
immediate changes, or outcomes.
The immediate changes lead to intermediate outcomes; and the
intermediate outcomes lead to attainment of the final project goals.
So in this sub-element the applicant should describe the major
activities, or interventions, which are to be carried out to address
the needs and problems identified in the previous sub-element. And it
should discuss the immediate changes, or outcomes, which are expected
to result. These are the results expected from each service or
intervention immediately after it is provided. For example, a survey of
home furnaces for safety and efficiency might be expected to result in
identification of repairs and retrofits that could increase efficiency
and lower costs. Or providing energy efficiency education to families
in the low income community might be expected to result in modifying
behavior of family members so that they would dress more warmly to be
more comfortable at a lower thermostat setting, would not leave doors
or windows open, would hang curtains over windows, and would use hot
water more conservatively, by, for example, installing low-flow shower
heads, etc.
At the next level are the intermediate outcomes which result from
these immediate changes. Often an intermediate project outcome is the
result of several immediate changes resulting from a number of related
interventions such as repairs and education. Intermediate project
outcomes should be expressed in measurable changes in knowledge,
attitudes, behavior, or status/condition. In the above examples, the
immediate changes achieved by the home energy survey program could be
expected to lead to intermediate outcomes of furnace retrofits and home
weatherization. The acquisition of energy conservation skills, coupled
with the availability of energy saving devices such as efficient light
bulbs or low-flow shower heads, could result in the actual installation
of these devices in the home.
Finally, the REACH Plan should describe how the achievement of
these intermediate outcomes will be expected to lead to the attainment
of the project goals: energy efficient and healthy housing, energy
consumption at a level which is affordable for the household, a
successful community fuel cooperative that lowers fuel prices, new
demand management services, or whatever they may be.
Applicants don't have to use the exact ``logic model'' terminology
described above, but it is important to describe the project in a way
that makes clear the expected cause-and-effect relationship between
what the project plans to do--the activities or interventions, the
changes that are expected to result, and how those changes will lead to
achievement of the project goals of greater energy self-sufficiency.
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 4 pages for this
design section of the REACH Plan.
Sub-Element I(c), Work Plan. (Weight of 0-10 points in the
application review.) Once the project strategy and design framework are
established, the applicant should present the highlights of a work plan
for the project. The plan should explicitly tie into the project design
framework and should be feasible, i.e., capable of being accomplished
with the resources, time, staff, and partners available. The plan
should briefly describe the key project tasks, and show the timelines
and major milestones for their implementation. Critical issues or
potential problems that might affect the achievement of project
objectives should be explicitly addressed, with an explanation of how
they would be overcome, and how the objectives will be achieved
notwithstanding any such problems. The plan should be presented in such
a way that it can be correlated with the Budget Justification included
in the application following the budget forms. (See Element V.)
Applicant may be able to use a simple Gantt or time line chart to
convey the work plan in minimal space.
It is suggested that the applicant use no more than 2 pages for
this Sub-Element.
Segment Two
[Priority Area 1.0 applicants to complete once for overall REACH Plan;
Segment Two limited to twenty pages in length.]
Element II. Organizational Experience and Capability. (Weight of 0
to 10 points in application review.) Applicants should cite the
capability and relevant experience of each of the community-based
organizations (CBO Recipients) designated to implement the proposed
REACH Project in developing and operating programs which deal with
poverty problems similar to those to be addressed by the proposed
project. Applicants should explain how in their designation they have
given priority, as required by the authorizing legislation, to eligible
entities described in Section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant
Act which have a record of successfully providing service under LIHEAP
and which receive funds from the Department of Energy's Weatherization
Assistance Program. (See Part III-A, Section I, Eligible Applicants for
Priority Area 1.0) The applicant should also cite each such
organization's experience in collaborative programming and operations
which involve evaluations and data collection. The designated CBO
Recipient(s)' capabilities and status in these regards should be
established by a letter of certification to that effect by the
Applicant, and by the State CSBG Director or the State LIHEAP or
Weatherization Program administering agency(ies) where they are not the
same. While the proposed project management team will be identified and
described elsewhere in the application, applicants
[[Page 35526]]
should identify agency executive leadership in this section and briefly
describe their involvement in the proposed project and provide
assurance of their commitment to its successful implementation.
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 4 pages for this
element.
Element III. Economic Development Strategies, Mobilization of
Resources, and Project Innovations. (Weight of 0 to 10 points in the
application review.) Applicants should in this Element explain how its
REACH Initiative approaches the energy needs of low-income families
within a holistic context of the economic, social, physical, and
environmental barriers to achieving self-sufficiency. This should
include an explanation of how the proposed project(s) will be
integrated with and support a larger economic development strategy
within the target community or communities.
Thus REACH Initiatives are expected to be closely coordinated with
other public and private sector programs involved with community
revitalization, housing rehabilitation and weatherization, and family
development; and OCS will give favorable consideration in the
application review process to applicants who mobilize cash and/or
third-party in-kind contributions for direct use in the REACH Project.
Even though there is no matching requirement for the REACH Program,
grantees will be held accountable for any match, cash or in-kind
contribution proposed or pledged as part of an approved application.
(See Part III-A, Section 4(C))
Within the context of this holistic and coordinated plan, applicant
should highlight the ways in which the proposed project represents a
new and innovative approach or approaches to provide for greater energy
self-sufficiency of the poor and/or to deal with particularly critical
energy needs or problems of the poor that are common to a number of
communities. Innovation can be in the characteristics of the target
population to be served, or the needs to be addressed; the kinds of
activities, or interventions, that will be carried out; the ways in
which they will be carried out; new and different combinations of
activities or interventions that will be implemented; or in the
settings in which the project will function: e.g., new and innovative
types of technologies or institutions in which the project will
function.
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 4 pages for this
element.
Element IV. Project Management and Organization. (Weight of 0 to 10
points in the application review.) While the experience of agency
leadership is important to project success, the caliber of day-to-day
project management is critical. Applicants should identify the State
Project Coordinator, and key staff including the Project Director(s) in
CBO Recipient(s) that will be implementing the project at the local
level, and any other staff they feel are especially important to the
success of the project, and include resumes as an Appendix to the REACH
Plan. Where the staff have not been identified, a position description
should be included in the Appendix. The REACH Plan should describe the
staff's relevant capabilities for managing this multi-faceted project,
with emphasis placed on successful management experience in directing
both on-budget and leveraged resources to create community conditions
capable of supporting effective interventions and transforming lives.
REACH Plans will be assessed, for this element, on the relevant
experience, capabilities, commitment and planned level of effort of the
Project Coordinator and key staff members as described in the Plan.
Applicants should also, in this section, describe (and diagram if
necessary) the organization of the project. The relationships among the
State and the participating community-based organizations, the Project
Coordinator and the key officials in those organizations, and any other
partnering organizations should be depicted, and the project-related
responsibilities of these key actors should be made clear.
This element should include a brief description of the crisis and
emergency assistance activities the applicant will undertake that are
designed to: (1) provide incentives for recipients of assistance to pay
home energy costs, and (2) provide incentives to vendors to help reduce
the energy burdens of recipients of assistance. (See Part III-A,
Section 4 (B))
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 4 pages for this
element (not counting the resumes and/or position descriptions, which
should be in an Appendix).
Element V. Project Budget Appropriateness. (Weight of 0-10 points
in the application review.) Applicants will be required to submit
Federal forms with their REACH Plans to provide basic applicant and
project information (SF 424) and information about how Federal and
other project funds will be used (SF 424A). In addition to and
immediately following the completed Federal budget forms, applicants
must submit a Budget Justification, or explanatory budget information.
This Budget Justification is not considered a part of the Project
Narrative, and does not count as within the limitation on number of
pages; but rather is to be included in the application following the
budget forms. Each Applicant must submit one SF 424, one SF 424A, and
one Budget Justification in its own name, which cover the entire REACH
Initiative, and one SF 424A and Budget Justification for each local CBO
Recipient.
The Budget Narrative should briefly explain the adequacy of the
Federal funds and other mobilized resources to accomplish project
purposes, should explain the source and nature of mobilized resources,
and should identify and briefly explain any imbalances between the
level of activities undertaken and project funds expended.
Applicants under Priority Area 1.0 may include in the REACH
Initiative budget an amount up ten percent (10%) of the total REACH
grant for planning, administration, and coordinating costs at the State
level during the first project year of the REACH Initiative, and for
contracting with a third-party evaluator as defined under Element VI,
below, and discussed in Part III-A.6.
Applicants should include funds in the project budget for travel by
State and CBO Recipient Project Directors and Chief Evaluators to
attend two national evaluation workshops in Washington, D.C., and are
encouraged to seek agreement from CBO Recipients to attend also. (See
Part IX-B, Attendance at Workshops.)
Note: None of the costs of providing service or benefits under
the REACH Program shall be considered to be an administrative cost
or function for purposes of any limitation on administrative costs
or functions contained in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.
Element VI. Project Evaluation. (Weight of 0-15 points in the
application review.) Sound evaluations are essential to the REACH
Program. Applicants are required to include in their applications a
well thought through outline of an evaluation plan for their project.
The outline should explain how the applicant proposes to answer the key
questions about how effectively the project is being/was implemented
(the Process Evaluation) and whether and why/why not the project
activities, or interventions, achieved the expected outcomes and goals
of the project (the Outcome Evaluation). (See Part I, Section B for
definitions of process and outcome evaluation, and Part III-A.6. for a
discussion of evaluation requirements.)
[[Page 35527]]
OCS plans to engage an Evaluation Technical Assistance Contractor
which will assist REACH Priority Area 1.0 Grantees and CBO Recipients
in the finalization of Evaluation Plans, the establishment of data
collection systems, the preparation of Evaluation Reports, and other
aspects of project evaluation so as to assure that project evaluations
will provide accurate and useful information to those interested in
replication.
Applicants are not being asked to submit a complete and final
Evaluation Plan as part of their REACH Plan; but they must include:
(1) A well thought through outline of an evaluation plan which
identifies the principal cause-and-effect relationships to be tested,
and which demonstrates the applicant's understanding of the role and
purpose of both Process and Outcome Evaluations (see previous
paragraph);
(2) the identity and qualifications of the proposed third party
evaluator, or if not selected, the qualifications which will be sought
in choosing an evaluator, which must include successful experience in
evaluating social service delivery programs, and the planning and/or
evaluation of programs designed to foster energy self-sufficiency in
low income populations; and
(3) a commitment to the selection of a third-party evaluator
approved by OCS, and to completion of a final evaluation design and
plan, in collaboration with the approved evaluator and the OCS
Evaluation Technical Assistance Contractor during the first six-months
of the project, if funded.
Applicants should ensure, above all, that the evaluation outline
presented is consistent with their project design. A clear project
framework of the type recommended earlier identifies the key project
assumptions about the target populations and their needs, and the
hypotheses, or expected cause-effect relationships to be tested in the
project: that the proposed project activities, or interventions, will
address those needs in ways that will lead to the achievement of the
project goals of energy self-sufficiency. It also identifies in advance
the most important process and outcome measures that will be used to
identify performance success and expected changes in individual
participants, the grantee organization, the CBO Recipient(s), and the
community.
For these reasons, the evaluator that the applicant expects to work
with should be involved--at least briefly but substantively--in the
development of the project design and proposal.
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 4 pages for this
element, plus the Resume or Position Description for the evaluator,
which should be in an Appendix.
Element VII. Significant and Beneficial Impact. (Weight of 0-10
points in the application review.) OCS seeks, with the REACH Program,
to support innovative approaches that will create significant benefits
for low-income energy consumers, their families, and their communities.
Accordingly, it intends to make grants that have a strong likelihood of
creating beneficial impacts both within the project communities and,
through wide dissemination of useful project results and findings, in
other communities facing similar challenges.
The proposed project is expected to lead to tangible achievements
toward reducing household energy burdens on the poor and increasing
their ability to pay for the household energy they need. As a result,
the project should lead to verifiable reductions in homelessness and
health and safety risks associated with high energy costs that are
beyond the resources of low income families in the targeted
community(ies). Applicants should summarize, in this section, the
beneficial impacts that they propose to make in that community, their
expectations for the continuation of those benefits beyond the
project's life, and the kind of information that they expect to share
with OCS and the social service/community development fields from their
pilot project. Project proposals will be assessed, for this element, on
the likely value of the project to the target community over time--
given the proposed outcomes and the likelihood that they will be
realized--and to the larger community of LIHEAP and CSBG grantees
across the nation.
Applicants should include in this element a brief assurance that no
regulated utility covered by the REACH Plan will be required to act in
a manner that is inconsistent with applicable regulatory requirements.
(See Part III-A, Section 4(D))
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 2 pages for this
element. The score for this element will be based to some extent on the
coherence and feasibility of the entire REACH Plan.
Element VIII. Community Empowerment Consideration. (Weight of 0-5
points in application review.) Special consideration will be given to
applicants whose proposed REACH Projects will be located in areas which
are characterized by severe poverty and other indicators of socio-
economic distress such as a poverty rate of at least 20%, designation
as an Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community, high levels of
unemployment, and a high incidence of violence, gang activity, crime,
or drug use. If such is the case, applicants should document that they
or their proposed CBO Recipients were involved in the preparation and
planned implementation of a comprehensive community-based strategic
plan to achieve both economic and human development in an integrated
manner and how the proposed project supports the goal(s) of that plan.
(See Part III-A, Section 3 and Section 4(C))
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 2 pages for this
element.
B. Special Program Elements, Review and Assessment Criteria for REACH
Plans Under Priority Area 2.0
In order to simplify the application preparation and review
process, OCS seeks to keep grant applications cogent and brief. For
each of the Project Elements or Sub-Elements below there is at the end
of the discussion a suggested number of pages to be devoted to the
particular element or sub-element. These are suggestions only; but the
applicant must remember that Project Narratives must not be more than
twenty (20) pages in length.
REACH Plans with project narratives (excluding appendices) that
exceed these limits will not be reviewed for funding. Project
narratives should be on letter-sized pages in 12 c.p.i. type or
equivalent on a single side. Applicants should prepare and assemble
their project description using the following outline of required REACH
Plan elements. They should, furthermore, build their project concept,
plans, and project description upon the guidelines set forth for each
of the elements.
Element I. Project Theory, Design, and Plan. (Total Weight of 0 to
50 points in application review.) OCS seeks to learn from the
application why and how the project as proposed is expected to lead to
significant improvements in individual and family energy self-
sufficiency.
Applicants are urged to design and present their project in terms
of a conceptual cause-effect framework. In the following paragraphs a
logic model, or framework, is described that suggests a way to present
a project so as to show the logic of the cause-effect relations between
project activities and project results. Applicants don't have to use
the exact logic model language described; but it is important to
present the project in a way that makes clear the cause-effect
relationship between what the project plans to do and the results it
expects to achieve.
[[Page 35528]]
Applicants under Priority Area 2.0 are not required to carry out
REACH activities through community-based organizations (CBO
Recipients), but may implement REACH Plans directly themselves.
However, as explained in Part II B, Budget Periods, above, applicants
electing to implement their REACH Projects directly will be limited to
projects of one year duration (Project and Budget Periods of one year
only). Applicants under Priority Area 2.0 may also elect to operate
their projects through grants or contracts to nonprofit organizations.
In such cases the nonprofit organization does not have to be a
community based organization (CBO) as defined in Part I. If they choose
to operate their projects through nonprofit organizations, the Project
and Budget Periods applicable to Priority Area 1.0 will apply. Note
also that applicants under Priority 2.0 need only include two of the
REACH Program activities listed in Part III B. Section 4.(C) under
Scope of the Priority Area 2.0 REACH Plan.
Sub-Element I(a). Description of Target Population, Analysis of
Need, and Project Assumptions. (Weight of 0 to 20 points in application
review.) This sub-element should be the same as under Priority Area 1.0
and it suggested that it take no more than 4 pages of the Project
Narrative.
Sub-Element I(b). Project Strategy and Design Framework:
Interventions, Outcomes, and Goals. (Weight of 0 to 20 points in
application review.) This sub-element should be the same as under
Priority Area 1.0 and it is suggested that it take no more than 4 pages
of the Project Narrative.
Sub-Element I(c), Work Plan. (Weight of 0 to 10 points in the
application review.) This sub-element should be the same as under
Priority Area 1.0 and it is suggested that it take no more than 2 pages
of the Project Narrative.
Element II. Organizational Experience and Capability. (Weight of 0
to 10 points in application review.) Applicants should cite their
capability and relevant experience in developing and operating programs
which deal with energy and poverty problems similar to those to be
addressed by the proposed project. While the proposed project
management team will be identified and described below in Element III,
applicants should identify organization executive leadership in this
section and briefly describe their involvement in the proposed project
and provide assurance of their commitment to its successful
implementation.
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 2 pages for this
element.
Element III. Project Management and Organization. (Weight of 0 to
10 points in the application review.) While the experience of agency
leadership is important to project success, the caliber of day-to-day
project management is critical. Applicants should identify key staff,
including the Project Director, who will be implementing the project,
and any other staff they feel are especially important to the success
of the project. Resumes should be included as an Appendix to the REACH
Plan. Where the staff have not been identified, a position description
should be included in the Appendix. REACH Plans will be assessed, for
this element, on the relevant experience, capabilities, commitment and
planned level of effort to the project of the Project Director and key
staff members as described in the Plan.
It is suggested that applicants use no more than 2 pages for this
element (plus the resumes and/or position descriptions which should be
in an Appendix).
Element IV. Project Budget Appropriateness. (Weight of 0-10 points
in the application review.) Applicants will be required to submit
Federal forms with their REACH Plans to provide basic applicant and
project information (SF-424) and information about how Federal and
other project funds will be used (SF-424A). Where Priority Area 2.0
applicants elect to have REACH services provided through a nonprofit
organization sub-recipient, an SF-424A must be completed for the
applicant, and another SF-424A must be completed for the nonprofit
organization sub-recipient. The sub-recipient SF-424A should include
budget information for all three years of the project period, divided
into three separate budget periods as explained in Part VII and the
instructions accompanying the forms. In addition to and immediately
following the completed Federal budget forms, applicants must submit a
Budget Justification, or explanatory budget information for the first
12-month budget period. Again, where a Priority Area 2.0 applicant
elects to implement the REACH project services through a nonprofit sub-
recipient, a Budget Justification should be included for the sub-
recipient, covering the full three year project budget. The Budget
Justification is not considered a part of the Project Narrative, and
does not count as part of the twenty page limit; but rather is included
in the application following the budget forms.
The Budget Justification should briefly explain the adequacy of the
Federal funds and other mobilized resources to accomplish project
purposes, should explain the source and nature of any mobilized
resources.
Applicants should include funds in the project budget for travel by
the Project Director to attend an orientation workshop in Washington,
D.C.
Note: None of the costs of providing service or benefits under
the REACH Program shall be considered to be an administrative cost
or function for purposes of any limitation on administrative costs
or functions contained in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.
Element V. Project Evaluation. (Weight of 0-10 points in the
application review.) As noted in Part III above, REACH grantees under
Priority Area 2.0 will not be required to carry out a third-party
evaluation of their projects. However, their REACH Plans must describe
the indicators they will use to measure whether the performance goals
of their project have been achieved. It is suggested that applicant use
no more than 1 page for this Element.
Element VI. Significant and Beneficial Impact. (Weight of 0-10
points in the application review.) This element should be the same as
under Priority Area 1.0 and it is suggested that it take no more than 3
pages of the Application Narrative.
Part V--Quality Standards for Energy Efficiency Education Services
Plans
The REACH authorizing legislation includes a section which
describes a separate Energy Efficiency Education Services program which
applicants may include in their REACH Initiative. Those applicants
which include this program in their REACH Initiative must submit
separate Energy Efficiency Education Services Plans; and if they meet
the quality standards set forth below, and have the potential for being
replicable model designs for other programs, are eligible for
supplemental payments as outlined in Part II C. This Part sets out the
Quality Standards for Energy Efficiency Education Services Plans.
Section 2607B(b)(2) of the REACH authorizing legislation provides
for a reservation of funds by the Secretary to make additional payments
to qualifying REACH applicants that have energy efficiency education
services plans that meet quality standards established in consultation
with the Secretary of Energy, and have the potential for being
replicable model designs for other programs. This Part sets forth those
standards. As explained in Part II above, those REACH applicants under
Priority Area 1.0 that are selected to receive
[[Page 35529]]
REACH grants will receive an additional amount of $100,000, and REACH
applicants under Priority Area 2.0 will receive an additional $25,000,
for the same project and budget periods, if they have submitted, as an
appendix to their REACH Plans, an Energy Efficiency Education (EEE)
Services Plan that has the potential for being a replicable model
design for other programs and meets the following quality standards:
A. Purpose
The Plan should state the purpose of the proposed EEE services,
which should be generally consistent with and include the following
goals: to assist low-income households, especially those with high
energy burdens, to use energy efficiently, to reduce their home energy
costs, to minimize health and safety risks within their homes, to
increase their indoor comfort level, and to maintain their highest
possible level of energy self-sufficiency.
B. Target Population
The Plan should identify a target population for the EEE services
which includes LIHEAP recipients and at least some who have received
services from the Weatherization Assistance Program, and others
consistent with the stated purpose and goals of the program. The Plan
should include assurances that the defined target population is one
from whom data on energy usage and costs before and after receipt of
the EEE services will be available, and should indicate how such data
will be collected.
C. Needs Assessment and Project Design Process
The Plan should describe the needs assessment that the applicant
has undertaken or will undertake among the target population, how the
design of the EEE Services Program will respond to the needs identified
(see Paragraph D, below), and how the EEE Program priorities have been
or will be determined by the needs discovered.
D. Service Delivery
(1) Setting: the Plan should indicate the setting or settings--in-
office instruction (e.g. at time of initial intake), workshops, or home
visits--in which the EEE services will be delivered, and project the
number of service units planned for each.
(2) Services: the Plan should identify the types of services to be
delivered and how--whether by lecture, audio-visual media, written
materials, hands on experience, or other educational technique--and if
appropriate, which services are planned to be used in which of the
identified settings.
E. Relation of Services to Changes, of Changes to Outcomes, and of
Outcomes to Goals (a ``Logic Model'')
The Plan should briefly set forth each EEE service planned (e.g. a
demonstration and discussion on air infiltration), the immediate
changes expected to result from delivery of the service (e.g. a better
understanding of the importance of stopping infiltration), the
intermediate outcomes expected to result from the changes (e.g. action
by the client to stop infiltration in their dwelling), and how these
changes and outcomes will be expected to achieve a program goal (e.g.
reduced energy consumption). This exact terminology need not be used in
the Plan; but the cause and effect relationship between the EEE
services planned and the achievement of program goals should be briefly
explained. This part of the Plan should include provision for the
development with EEE service recipients of an Action Plan through which
the recipient will make a commitment to take actions based on the EEE
information received; and it should also include a provision for
reinforcement of the commitment through follow-up activities by the
grantee or other ``interventions''.
F. Evaluation
The EEE Services Plan submitted by applicants under Priority Area
1.0 should provide for the inclusion of an Evaluation of the Energy
Efficiency Education Services Program as a part of the Evaluation Plan
Outline for the overall REACH Initiative. It should provide for Process
and Outcome Evaluations, and should describe what data will be
collected and how it will relate to the achievement of EEE program
goals. The EEE portion of the evaluation plan outline should make
specific provision for consumer evaluation of the EEE service program
interventions; and should conclude with a commitment from the grantee
to revise and improve its EEE program in response to the overall
evaluation where appropriate.
For applicants under Priority Area 2.0, the EEE Services Plan
should provide assurances that the applicant will: (1) provide for
consumer evaluation of the EEE Services program, and (2) revise and
improve its EEE program in response to such evaluation, where
appropriate.
The EEE Services Plan, if included, should be an Appendix to the
Applicant's REACH Plan, and should not exceed ten pages in length.
Part VI. Application Procedures
A. Availability of Forms
Attachments B through J contain all of the standard forms necessary
for the application for awards under this OCS program. These
attachments and Parts VI and VII of this Notice contain all the
instructions required for submittal of applications.
Additional copies of this Notice may be obtained by writing or
telephoning the office listed under the section entitled FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT at the beginning of this announcement. In addition,
this Notice is accessible on the OCS Electronic Bulletin Board for
downloading through your computer modem by calling 1-800-627-8886. For
assistance in accessing the Bulletin Board, a Guide to Accessing and
Downloading is available from Ms. Minnie Landry at (202) 401-5309.
B. Application Submission
1. Number of Copies Required. One signed original REACH Plan and
four copies should be submitted. Applicants have the option to omit
from copies to be made available to non-Federal reviewers the specific
salary rates or amounts for individuals identified in the application
budget. Rather, only summary information is required in these copies.
2. Acknowledgment of Receipt. All applicants will receive an
acknowledgement with an assigned identification number. Applicants are
requested to supply a self-addressed mailing label with their State
Plan which can be attached to this acknowledgement. The assigned
identification number, along with any other identifying codes, must be
referenced in all subsequent communications concerning the State Plan.
If an acknowledgement is not received within three weeks after the
deadline date, please notify ACF by telephone at (202) 401-9365.
3. Deadline: Mailed applications shall be considered as meeting an
announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline time
and date at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services,
Division of Community Demonstration Programs, 370 L Enfant Promenade,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20447; Attention: Application for REACH Program.
Applicants are responsible for mailing applications well in advance,
when using all mail services, to ensure that the applications are
received on or before the deadline time and date.
[[Page 35530]]
Applications hand carried by applicants, applicant couriers, or by
overnight/express mail couriers shall be considered as meeting an
announced deadline if they are received on or before the deadline date,
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., at DHHS, Administration
for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Division of
Community Demonstration Programs, Mail Room, 2nd Floor Loading Dock,
Aerospace Center, 901 D Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024, between
Monday and Friday (excluding Federal holidays). (Applicants are
cautioned that express/overnight mail services do not always deliver as
agreed.)
ACF cannot accommodate transmission of applications by fax or
through other electronic media. Therefore, applications transmitted to
ACF electronically will not be accepted regardless of date or time of
submission and time of receipt.
4. Late applications: Applications which do not meet the criteria
above are considered late applications. ACF will notify each late
applicant that its application will not be considered in the current
competition.
5. Extension of deadline: ACF may extend the deadline for all
applicants because of acts of God such as floods, hurricanes, etc., or
when there is widespread disruption of the mails. However, if ACF does
not extend the deadline for all applicants, it may not waive or extend
the deadline for any applicants.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, as
amended, the Department is required to submit to OMB for review and
approval any reporting and record keeping requirements in regulations,
including program announcements. This program announcement does not
contain information collection requirements beyond those approved for
ACF grant applications under OMB Control Number 0970-0139.
D. Application Consideration
Applications which meet the screening requirements in Section E
below will be reviewed competitively. Such applications will be
referred to reviewers for a numerical score and explanatory comments
based solely on responsiveness to the Legislative Authority, the
Requirements outlined in Part III, and the Application Elements and
Review Criteria set forth in Part IV of this Announcement.
The results of these reviews will assist the Director and OCS
program staff in considering competing applications. Reviewers' scores
will weigh heavily in funding decisions but will not be the only
factors considered. Applications will be considered in rank order of
the averaged scores. However, highly ranked applications are not
guaranteed funding since other factors are taken into consideration,
including, but not limited to: the timely and proper completion of
projects funded with OCS funds granted in the last (5) years; comments
of reviewers and government officials; staff evaluation and input;
geographic distribution; previous program performance of applicants;
compliance with grant terms under previous DHHS grants; audit reports;
investigative reports; and applicant's progress in resolving any final
audit disallowances on OCS or other Federal agency grants.
OCS reserves the right to discuss applications with other Federal
or non-Federal funding sources to determine the applicant's performance
record.
E. Criteria for Screening Applications
All applications that meet the published deadline for submission
will be screened to determine completeness and conformity to the
requirements of this announcement. Only those applications meeting the
following requirements will be reviewed and evaluated competitively:
1. Eligibility: The applicant must be an ``eligible applicant'' as
defined in Part III-A, Section 1 or Part III-B, Section 1. Applicants
must also be aware that the applicant's legal name as required on the
SF-424 (Item 5) must match that listed as corresponding to the Employer
Identification Number (Item 6).
2. The application must contain a Standard Form 424 ``Application
for Federal Assistance'' (SF-424), signed by an official of the
organization applying for the grant who has authority to obligate the
organization legally; one budget form (SF-424A) covering the entire
REACH Project, and one SF-424A for each CBO Recipient (or nonprofit
sub-recipient in the case of Priority Area 2.0 applicants electing to
delegate their REACH Projects) and signed ``Assurances'' (SF-424B)
completed according to instructions published in Part VII and
Attachment D to this Announcement.
3. A project narrative must also accompany the standard forms, and,
for Priority Area 1.0, must be limited to no more than ten (10) pages
for Narrative Segment One and twenty (20) pages for Narrative Segment
Two; and for Priority Area 2.0, must be limited to no more than twenty
(20) pages. Narratives must be typewritten on one side of the paper
only, in type no smaller than 12 c.p.i., 11 point, or equivalent, with
margins no less than one inch. Charts, exhibits, letters of support,
cooperative agreements, resumes and position descriptions are not
counted against this page limit and should be included in the
appendices to the proposal. It is strongly recommended that applicants
follow the format for the narrative discussed in Part IV, REACH Plan
Elements and Review Criteria.
Part VII--Instructions for Completing Application Forms
The standard forms attached to this announcement shall be used to
apply for funds under this program announcement.
It is suggested that you reproduce single-sided copies of the SF-
424 and SF-424A, and type your application on the copies. Please
prepare your application in accordance with instructions provided on
the forms (Attachments B and C) as modified by the OCS specific
instructions set forth below:
A. SF-424--Application for Federal Assistance
One SF-424 to be completed by applicant. Top of Page. Where the
applicant is a previous Department of Health and Human Services
grantee, enter the Central Registry System Employee Identification
Number (CRS/EIN) and the Payment Identifying Number, if one has been
assigned, in the Block entitled Federal Identifier located at the top
right hand corner of the form (third line from the top).
Item 1. For the purposes of this announcement, all projects are
considered Applications; there are no Pre-Applications.
Item 7. Enter ``A'' in the box for State. If applicant is an Indian
Tribe enter ``K'' in the box for Indian Tribe.
Item 9. Name of Federal Agency - Enter DHHS-ACF/OCS.
Item 10. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for OCS
programs covered under this announcement is 93.568. The title is
``LIHEAP/REACH''.
Item 11. Enter a brief descriptive title of the project.
Item 13. Proposed Project--The project start date must begin on or
before September 30, 1996; the ending date should be calculated on the
basis of a 12-month or 36-month Project Period, whichever is
applicable.
Item 15a. This amount should be no greater than $1,500,000 for
applications under Priority Area 1.0; no greater than
[[Page 35531]]
$150,000 for applications under Priority Area 2.0.
Item 15b-e. These items should reflect both cash and third-party,
in-kind contributions for the Project Period.
B. SF-424A--Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs
One SF-424A completed for applicant, covering entire REACH Project,
and one SF-424A to be completed for each CBO Recipient (or nonprofit
sub-recipient in the case of Priority Area 2.0 applicants electing to
delegate their REACH Projects).
In completing these sections, the Federal Funds budget entries will
relate to the requested OCS funds only, and Non-Federal will include
mobilized funds from all other sources--applicant, state, local, and
other. Federal funds other than requested OCS funding should be
included in Non-Federal entries.
Sections A, B, and C of SF-424A should reflect budget estimates for
each year of the Project Period.
Section A--Budget Summary. You need only fill in lines 1 and 5
(with the same amounts)
Col. (a): Enter ``LIHEAP/REACH.''
Col. (b): Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.568.
Col. (c) and (d): not relevant to this program.
Column (e)-(g): enter the appropriate amounts (column e should not
be more than $1,500,000 for applications under Priority Area 1.0; or
more than $150,000 for applications under Priority Area 2.0.
Section B--Budget Categories. (1) For applicants, a single SF-424A
covering entire REACH Project: complete a one-year budget in accordance
with the instructions provided, entering the amount of grant or
contract to CBO Recipient(s) or nonprofit sub-recipient under the
Object Class Category ``Contractual''.
(2) For CBO Recipients (or nonprofit sub-recipients in the case of
Priority Area 2.0 applicants), an SF-424A to be completed for each,
covering the full three year project as follows:
(Note that the following information supersedes the instructions
provided with the Form in Attachment C.)
Columns (1)-(5): For each of the relevant Object Class Categories:
Column 1: Enter the OCS grant funds for the first year.
Column 2: Enter the OCS grant funds for the second year.
Column 3: Enter the OCS grant funds for the third year.
Column 4: Leave blank.
Column 5: Enter the total federal OCS grant funds for the three
year budget by Class Categories, showing a total budget of not more
than $1,500,000.
Note: With regard to Class Categories, only out-of-town travel
should be entered under Category c. Travel. Local travel costs
should be entered under Category h. Other. Costs of supplies should
be included under Category e. ``Supplies'' is tangible personal
property other than ``equipment''. ``Equipment'' means an article of
nonexpendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of
more than one year and an acquisition cost which equals or exceeds
the lesser of (a) the capitalization level established by the
organization for financial statement purposes, or (b) $5,000. (ref.:
OMB Circular A-87) In other words, unless the level established
under (a) is less than $5,000, equipment costing less than $5,000
should be included in Category e. Supplies.
Section C--Non Federal Resources should be completed in accordance
with the instructions provided, remembering that ``all non-OCS funds''
fall in this category.
Sections D, E, and F may be left blank.
As previously noted in Part IV, a supporting Budget Justification
must be submitted providing details of expenditures under each budget
category, and justification of dollar amounts which relate the proposed
expenditures to the work program and goals of the project.
C. SF-424B Assurances-Non-Construction
One SF-424B to be submitted by applicant. Applicants requesting
financial assistance for a non- construction project must file the
Standard Form 424B, ``Assurances: Non-Construction Programs.''
Applicants must sign and return the Standard Form 424B with their
applications.
Applicants must provide a certification concerning Lobbying. Prior
to receiving an award in excess of $100,000, applicants shall furnish
an executed copy of the lobbying certification. Applicants must sign
and return the certification with their applications. Applicants should
note that the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 has simplified the
lobbying information required to be disclosed under 31 USC 1352 (The
Byrd Amendment).
Applicants must make the appropriate certification on their
compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Pro-
Children Act of 1994 (Certification Regarding Smoke Free Environment).
By signing and submitting the applications, applicants are providing
the certification and need not mail back the certification with the
applications.
Applicants must make the appropriate certification that they are
not presently debarred, suspended or otherwise ineligible for award. By
signing and submitting the applications, applicants are providing the
certification and need not mail back the certification with the
applications.
Copies of the certifications and assurances are located at the end
of this announcement.
Part VIII--Contents of Reach Plan
Application pages should be numbered sequentially throughout the
application package, beginning with an Abstract of the Plan as page
number one, and each REACH Plan must include all of the following, in
the order listed below:
1. An Abstract of the plan--very brief, not to exceed 250 words,
that would be suitable for use in an announcement that the application
has been selected for a grant award; which identifies the type of
project(s), the target population, the CBO Recipient(s) (in the case of
Priority Area 1.0 applicants), and the nonprofit organization sub-
recipient (in the case of Priority Area 2.0 applicants electing to
delegate their REACH Project), and the major elements of the work
plan(s).
2. Table of Contents;
3. A completed Standard Form 424 which has been signed by an
official of the organization applying for the grant who has authority
to obligate the organization legally.
[Note: The original SF-424 must bear the original signature of
the authorizing representative of the applicant organization].
4. A single Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A)
for the applicant, covering the entire REACH Project; and separate SF-
424A forms for each CBO Recipient or nonprofit sub-recipient as
appropriate;
5. A narrative budget justification for each object class category
included under Section B, for each SF-424A;
6. Filled out, signed and dated Assurances--Non-Construction
Programs (SF-424B), Attachment D;
7. Restrictions on Lobbying--Certification for Contracts, Grants,
Loans, and Cooperative Agreements: fill out, sign and date form found
at Attachment G;
8. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, SF-LLL: Fill out, sign and
date form found at Attachment H, if appropriate (omit Items 11-15 on
the SF LLL and ignore references to continuation sheet SF-LLL-A)
9. A project narrative, limited to the number of pages specified
below, which includes all of the required elements described in Part
IV; [Specific information/data required under each
[[Page 35532]]
component is described in Part IV Application Elements and Review
Criteria].
For Plans submitted under Priority Area 1.0, the total number of
pages for Segment One of the Project Narrative(s) dealing with Element
I, Project Theory, Design, and Plan, must not exceed 10 pages for each
such narrative submitted for a specific local project; and Segment Two
of the narrative dealing with Elements II through VII must not exceed
20 pages, excluding Appendices. The Project Narratives for Plans
submitted under Priority Area 2.0 must not exceed 20 pages in length.
Plans for supplemental EEE Services should not exceed 10 pages in
length. (See Part V) Plans must be typewritten on one side of the paper
only, in type no smaller than 12 c.p.i., 11 point, or equivalent, with
margins no less than one inch. Pages should be numbered sequentially
throughout the application package, excluding Appendices, beginning
with the Abstract as Page #1.
10. Appendices, including Maintenance of Effort Certification (See
Attachment J); Letter(s) of Agreement from designated CBO Recipients
(or nonprofit sub-recipients, as appropriate) through which project
will be implemented; resumes and/or position descriptions (see Program
Element IV); Certification Regarding Lobbying, if appropriate; and any
letters from cooperating or partnering agencies in target communities.
Such letters are not part of the narrative and should be included in
the Appendices. These letters are, therefore, not counted against the
page limitations.
REACH Plans must be uniform in composition since OCS may find it
necessary to duplicate them for review purposes. Therefore,
applications must be submitted on white 8\1/2\ x 11 inch paper only.
They must not include colored, oversized or folded materials. Do not
include organizational brochures or other promotional materials,
slides, films, clips, etc. in the proposal. They will be discarded if
included. The applications should be two-hole punched at the top center
and fastened separately with a compressor slide paper fastener, or a
binder clip. The submission of bound plans, or plans enclosed in
binders is specifically discouraged.
Attachment M provides a checklist to applicants in preparing a
complete application package.
Part IX--Post-Award Information and Reporting Requirements
A. Notification of Grant Award
Following approval of the REACH Plans selected for funding, notice
of project approval and authority to draw down project funds will be
made in writing. The official award document is the Financial
Assistance Award which provides the amount of Federal funds approved
for use in the project, the project and budget periods for which
support is provided, the terms and conditions of the award, the total
project period for which support is contemplated, and the total
required grantee financial participation, if any.
B. Attendance at Workshops
Project coordinators, Project Directors at the local CBO
Recipient(s), and chief evaluators (in the case of REACH Initiatives
funded under Priority Area 1.0) and Project Directors (in the case of
REACH Initiatives funded under Priority Area 2.0) are encouraged to
attend a national REACH Orientation workshop in Washington, D.C.
scheduled during the first six months of the Project Period. They are
also encouraged to attend, as presenters, a workshop on utilization and
dissemination to be held at the end of the project period. Project
budgets should include funds for travel to and attendance at these
workshops. (See Part IV, Element V, Budget Appropriateness)
C. Reporting Requirements
Grantees will be required to submit semi-annual program progress
and financial reports (SF 269) throughout the project period, as well
as a final program and financial report within 90 days of the
termination of the project. For REACH Projects under Priority Area 1.0
an interim evaluation report, along with the written policies and
procedures resulting from the process evaluation, will be due 30 days
after the first eighteen months of the project period and a final
evaluation report will be due 90 days after the expiration of the
grant. These reports will be submitted in accordance with instructions
to be provided by OCS, and will be the basis for the dissemination
effort to be conducted by the Office of Community Services.
D. Audit Requirements
Grantees are subject to the audit requirements in Section 2605B(10)
of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, as amended, 42
U.S.C. 8621 et seq.
E. Prohibitions and Requirements With Regard to Lobbying
Section 1352 of Public Law 101-121, signed into law on October 23,
1989, imposes prohibitions and requirements for disclosure and
certification related to lobbying on recipients of Federal contracts,
grants, cooperative agreements, and loans. It provides exemptions for
Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Current and prospective
recipients (and their subtier contractors and/or grantees) are
prohibited from using Federal funds, other than profits from a Federal
contract, for lobbying Congress or any Federal agency in connection
with the award of a contract, grant, cooperative agreement or loan. In
addition, for each award action in excess of $100,000 (or $150,000 for
loans) the law requires recipients and their subtier contractors and/or
subgrantees (1) to certify that they have neither used nor will use any
appropriated funds for payment to lobbyists; (2) to disclose the name,
address, payment details, and purpose of any agreements with lobbyists
whom recipients or their subtier contractors or subgrantees will pay
with profits or nonappropriated funds on or after December 22, 1989 and
(3) to file quarterly up-dates about the use of lobbyists if material
changes occur in their use. The law establishes civil penalties for
noncompliance. See Attachments H and I for certification and disclosure
forms to be submitted with the applications for this program.
F. Applicable Federal Regulations
Attachment L indicates the regulations which apply to all
applicants/grantees under the REACH Program.
Dated: June 19, 1996.
Donald Sykes,
Director, Office of Community Services.
Attachment A--1996 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and
the District of Columbia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Povery
Size of family unit guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................................................ $7,740
2............................................................ 10,360
3............................................................ 12,980
4............................................................ 15,600
5............................................................ 18,220
6............................................................ 20,840
7............................................................ 23,460
8............................................................ 26,080
[[Page 35533]]
For family units with more than 8 members, add $2,226 for each
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 Poverty Guidelines for Alaska
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Povery
Size of family unit guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................................................ $9,660
2............................................................ 12,940
3............................................................ 16,220
4............................................................ 19,500
5............................................................ 22,780
6............................................................ 26,060
7............................................................ 29,340
8............................................................ 32,620
For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,280 for each
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1996 Poverty Guidelines for Hawaii
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Povery
Size of family unit guideline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1............................................................ $8,910
2............................................................ 11,920
3............................................................ 14,930
4............................................................ 17,940
5............................................................ 20,950
6............................................................ 23,960
7............................................................ 26,970
8............................................................ 29,980
For family units with more than 8 members, add $3,010 for each
additional member. (The same increment applies to smaller family sizes
also, as can be seen in the figures above.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-C
[[Page 35535]]
Instructions for the SF 424
This is a standard form used by applicants as a required
facesheet for preapplications and applications submitted for Federal
assistance. It will be used by Federal agencies to obtain applicant
certification that States which have established a review and
comment procedure in response to Executive Order 12372 and have
selected the program to be included in their process, have been
given an opportunity to review the applicant's submission.
Item and Entry
1. Self-explanatory.
2. Date application submitted to Federal agency (or State if
applicable) & applicant's control number (if applicable).
3. State use only (if applicable).
4. If this application is to continue or revise an existing
award, enter present Federal identifier number. If for a new
project, leave blank.
5. Legal name of applicant, name of primary organizational unit
which will undertake the assistance activity, complete address of
the applicant, and name and telephone number of the person to
contact on matters related to this application.
6. Enter Employer Identification Number (EIN) as assigned by the
Internal Revenue Service.
7. Enter the appropriate letter in the space provided.
8. Check appropriate box and enter appropriate letter(s) in the
space(s) provided:
--``New'' means a new assistance award.
--``Continuation'' means an extension for an additional funding/
budget period for a project with a projected completion date.
--``Revision'' means any change in the Federal Government's
financial obligation or contingent liability from an existing
obligation.
9. Name of Federal agency from which assistance is being
requested with this application.
10. Use the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number and
title of the program under which assistance is requested.
11. Enter a brief descriptive title of the project. If more than
one program is involved, you should append an explanation on a
separate sheet. If appropriate (e.g., construction or real property
projects), attach a map showing project location. For
preapplications, use a separate sheet to provide a summary
description of this project.
12. List only the largest political entities affected (e.g.,
State, counties, cities).
13. Self-explanatory.
14. List the applicant's Congressional District and any
District(s) affected by the program or project.
15. Amount requested or to be contributed during the first
funding/budget period by each contributor. Value of in-kind
contributions should be included on appropriate lines as applicable.
If the action will result in a dollar change to an existing award,
indicate only the amount of the change. For decreases, enclose the
amounts in parentheses. If both basic and supplemental amounts are
included, show breakdown on an attached sheet. for multiple program
funding, use totals and show breakdown using same categories as item
15.
16. Applicants should contact the State Single Point of Contact
(SPOC) for Federal Executive Order 12372 to determine whether the
application is subject to the State intergovernmental review
process.
17. This question applies to the applicant organization, not the
person who signs as the authorized representative. Categories of
debt include delinquent audit disallowances, loans and taxes.
18. To be signed by the authorized representative of the
applicant. A copy of the governing body's authorization for you to
sign this application as official representative must be on file in
the applicant's office. (Certain Federal agencies may require that
this authorization be submitted as part of the application.)
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
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[[Page 35537]]
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-C
[[Page 35538]]
Instructions for the SF-424A
General Instructions
This form is designed so that application can be made for funds
from one or more grant programs. In preparing the budget, adhere to
any existing Federal grantor agency guidelines which prescribe how
and whether budgeted amounts should be separately shown for
different functions or activities within the program. For some
programs, grantor agencies may require budgets to be separately
shown by function or activity. For other programs, grantor agencies
may require a breakdown by function or activity. Sections A,B,C, and
D should include budget estimates for the whole project except when
applying for assistance which requires Federal authorization in
annual or other funding period increments. In the latter case,
Sections A,B,C, and D should provide the budget for the first budget
period (usually a year) and Section E should present the need for
Federal assistance in the subsequent budget periods. All
applications should contain a breakdown by the object class
categories shown in Lines a-k of Section B.
Section A. Budget Summary
Lines 1-4, Columns (a) and (b)
For applications pertaining to a single Federal grant program
(Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog number) and not requiring a
functional or activity breakdown, enter on Line 1 under Column (a)
the catalog program title and the catalog number in Column (b).
For applications pertaining to a single program requiring budget
amounts by multiple functions or activities, enter the name of each
activity or function on each line in Column (a), and enter the
catalog number in Column (b). For applications pertaining to
multiple programs where none of the programs require a breakdown by
function or activity enter the catalog program title on each line in
Column (a) and the respective catalog number on each line in Column
(b).
For applications pertaining to multiple program where one or
more programs require a breakdown by function or activity, prepare a
separate sheet for each program requiring the breakdown. Additional
sheets should be used when one form does not provide adequate space
for all breakdown of data required. However, when more than one
sheet is used, the first page should provide the summary totals by
programs.
Lines 1-4, Columns (c) Through (g.)
For new applications, leave Columns (c) and (d) blank. For each
line entry in Columns (a) and (b), enter in Columns (e), (f), and
(g) the appropriate amounts of funds needed to support the project
for the first funding period (usually a year).
For continuing grant program applications, submit these forms
before the end of each funding period as required by the grantor
agency. Enter in Columns (c) and (d) the estimated amounts of funds
which will remain unobligated at the end of the grant funding period
only if the Federal grantor agency instructions provide for this.
Otherwise, leave these columns blank. Enter in columns (e) and (f)
the amounts of funds needed for the upcoming period. The amount(s)
in Column (g) should be the sum of amounts in Columns (e) and (f).
For supplemental grants and changes to existing grants, do not
use Columns (c) and (d). Enter in Column (e) the amount of the
increase or decrease of Federal funds and enter in Column (f) the
amount of the increases or decrease of non-Federal funds. In Column
(g) enter the new total budgeted amount (Federal and non-Federal)
which includes the total previous authorized budgeted amounts plus
or minus, as appropriate, the amounts shown in Columns (e) and (f).
The amount(s) in Column (g) should not equal the sum of amounts in
Columns (e) and (f).
Line 5--Show the totals for all columns used.
Section B. Budget Categories
In the column headings (1) through (4), enter the titles of the
same programs, functions, and activities shown on Lines 1-4, Column
(a), Section A. When additional sheets are prepared for Section A,
provide similar column headings on each sheet. For each program,
function or activity, fill in the total requirements for funds (both
Federal and non-Federal) by object class categories.
Lines 6a-i--Show the totals of Lines 6a to 6h in each column.
Line 6j--Show the amount of indirect cost.
Line 6k--Enter the total of amounts on Lines 6i and 6j. For all
applications for new grants and continuation grants the total amount
in column (5), Line 6k, should be the same as the total amount shown
in Section A, Column (g), Line 5. For supplemental grants and
changes to grants, the total amount of the increase or decrease as
shown in columns (1)-(4), Line 6k should be the same as the sum of
the amounts in Section A, Columns (e) and (f) on Line 5.
Line 7--Enter the estimated amount of income, if any, expected
to be generated from this project. Do not add or subtract this
amount from the total project amount. Show under the program
narrative statement the nature and source of income. The estimated
amount of program income may be considered by the federal grantor
agency in determining the total amount of the grant.
Section C. Non-Federal Resources
Lines 8-11--Enter amounts of non-Federal resources that will be
used on the grant. If in-kind contributions are included, provide a
brief explanation on a separate sheet.
Column (a)--Enter the program titles identical to Column (a),
Section A. A breakdown by function or activity is not necessary.
Column (b)--Enter the contribution to be made by the applicant.
Column (c)--Enter the amount of the State's cash and in-kind
contributions if the applicant is not a State or State agency.
Applicants which are a State or State agencies should leave this
column blank.
Column (d)--Enter the amount of cash and in-kind contributions
to be made from all other sources.
Column (e)--Enter totals of Columns (b), (c), and (d).
Line 12--Enter the total for each of Columns (b)-(e). The amount
in Column (e) should be equal to the amount on Line 5, Column (f),
Section A.
Section D. Forecasted Cash Needs
Line 13--Enter the amount of cash needed by quarter from the
grantor agency during the first year.
Line 14--Enter the amount of cash from all other sources needed
by quarter during the first year.
Line 15--Enter the totals of amounts of Lines 13 and 14.
Section E. Budget Estimates of Federal Funds Needed for Balance of
the Project
Lines 16-19--Enter in Column (a) the same grant program titles
shown in Column (a), Section A. A breakdown by function or activity
is not necessary. For new applications and continuation grant
applications, enter in the proper columns amounts of Federal funds
which will be needed to complete the program or project over the
succeeding funding periods (usually in years). This section need not
be completed for revisions (amendments, changes, or supplements) to
funds for the current year of existing grants.
If more than four lines are needed to list the program titles,
submit additional schedules as necessary.
Line 20--Enter the total for each of the Columns (b)-(e). When
additional schedules are prepared for this Section, annotate
accordingly and show the overall totals on this line.
Section F. Other Budget Information
Line 21--Use this space to explain amounts for individual direct
object-class cost categories that may appear to be out of the
ordinary or to explain the details as required by the Federal
grantor agency.
Line 22--Enter the type of indirect rate (provisional,
predetermined, final or fixed) that will be in effect during the
funding period, the estimated amount of the base to which the rate
is applied, and the total indirect expense.
Line 23--Provide any other explanations or comments deemed
necessary.
Attachment D--Assurances--Non-Construction Programs
Note: Certain of these assurances may not be applicable to your
project or program. If you have questions, please contact the
awarding agency. Further, certain Federal awarding agencies may
require applicants to certify to additional assurances. If such is
the case, you will be notified.
As the duly authorized representative of the applicant I certify
that the applicant:
1. Has the legal authority to apply for Federal assistance, and
the institutional, managerial and financial capability (including
funds sufficient to pay the non-Federal share of project costs) to
ensure proper planning, management and completion of the project
described in this application.
2. Will give the awarding agency, the Comptroller General of the
United States, and if appropriate, the State, through any authorized
representative, access to and the right to examine all records,
books, papers,
[[Page 35539]]
or documents related to the award; and will establish a proper
accounting system in accordance with generally accepted accounting
standards or agency directives.
3. Will establish safeguards to prohibit employees from using
their positions for a purpose that constitutes or presents the
appearance of personal or organizational conflict of interest, or
personal gain.
4. Will initiate and complete the work within the applicable
time frame after receipt of approval of the awarding agency.
5. Will comply with the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970
(42 U.S.C. Secs. 4728-4763) relating to prescribed standards for
merit systems for programs funded under one of the nineteen statutes
or regulations specified in Appendix A of OPM's Standards for a
Merit System of Personnel Administration (5 C.F.R. 900, Subpart F).
6. Will comply with all Federal statutes relating to
nondiscrimination. These include but are not limited to: (a) Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin; (b)
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 U.S.C.
Secs. 1681-1683, and 1685-1686), which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of sex; (c) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794), which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of handicaps; (d) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as
amended (42 U.S.C Secs. 6101-6107), which prohibits discrimination
on the basis of age;
(e) the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-
255), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of drug
abuse; (f) the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-616),
as amended, relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of alcohol
abuse or alcoholism; (g) Secs. 523 and 527 of the Public Health
Service Act of 1912 (42 U.S.C. 290 dd-3 and 290 ee-3), as amended,
relating to confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient
records; (h) Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 3601 et seq.), as amended, relating to nondiscrimination in the
sale, rental or financing of housing; (i) any other
nondiscrimination provisions in the specific statute(s) under which
application for Federal assistance is being made; and (j) the
requirements of any other nondiscrimination statute(s) which may
apply to the application.
7. Will comply, or has already complied, with the requirements
of Titles II and III of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real
Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-646) which
provide for fair and equitable treatment of persons displaced or
whose property is acquired as a result of Federal or federally
assisted programs. These requirements apply to all interests in real
property acquired for project purposes regardless of Federal
participation in purchases.
8. Will comply with the provisions of the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C.
Secs. 1501-1508 and 7324-7328) which limit the political activities
of employees whose principal employment activities are funded in
whole or in part with Federal funds.
9. Will comply, as applicable, with the provisions of the Davis-
Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Secs. 276a to 276a-7), the Copeland Act (40
U.S.C. Sec. 276c and 18 U.S.C. Secs. 874), and the Contract Work
Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. Secs. 327-333), regarding
labor standards for federally assisted construction subagreements.
10. Will comply, if applicable, with flood insurance purchase
requirements of Section 102(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act
of 1973 (P.L. 93-234) which requires recipients in a special flood
hazard area to participate in the program and to purchase flood
insurance if the total cost of insurable construction and
acquisition is $10,000 or more.
11. Will comply with environmental standards which may be
prescribed pursuant to the following: (a) institution of
environmental quality control measures under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (P.L. 91-190) and Executive Order
(EO) 11514; (b) notification of violating facilities pursuant to EO
11738; (c) protection of wetlands pursuant to EO 11990; (d)
evaluation of flood hazards in floodplains in accordance with EO
1988; (e) assurances of project consistency with the approved State
management program developed under the Coastal Zone Management Act
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. Secs. 1451 et seq.); (f) conformity of Federal
actions to State (Clear Air) Implementation Plans under Section
176(c) of the Clear Air Act of 1955, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7401
et seq.); (g) protection of underground sources of drinking water
under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, as amended, (P.L. 93-
523); and (h) protection of endangered species under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended, (P.L. 93-205).
12. Will comply with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (16
U.S.C. Secs. 1271 et seq.) related to protecting components or
potential components of the national wild and scenic rivers system.
13. Will assist the awarding agency in assuring compliance with
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 470), EO 11593 (identification and protection of
historic properties), and the Archaeological and Historic
Preservation Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 469a-1 et seq.).
14. Will comply with P.L. 93-348 regarding the protection of
human subjects involved in research, development, and related
activities supported by this award of assistance.
15. Will comply with the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966
(P.L. 89-544. as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) pertaining to the
care, handling, and treatment of warm blooded animals held for
research, teaching, or other activities supported by this award of
assistance.
16. Will comply with the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention
Act (42 U.S.C. Secs. 4801 et seq.) which prohibits the use of lead
based paint in construction or rehabilitation of residence
structures.
17. Will cause to be performed the required financial and
compliance audits in accordance with the Single Audit Act of 1984.
18. Will comply with all applicable requirements of all other
Federal laws, executive orders, regulations and policies governing
this program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Signature of authorized certifying official
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title
Applicant organization
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date submitted
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
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[[Page 35541]]
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-C
[[Page 35542]]
Attachment F--Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other
Responsibility Matters--Primary Covered Transactions
By signing and submitting this proposal, the applicant, defined
as the primary participant in accordance with 45 CFR Part 76,
certifies to the best of its knowledge and belief that it and its
principals:
(a) are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for
debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered
transactions by any Federal Department or agency;
(b) have not within a 3-year period preceding this proposal been
convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for
obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal,
State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction;
violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of
embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction
of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property.
(c) are not presently indicated or otherwise criminally or
civilly charged by a governmental entity (Federal, State or local)
with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph
(1)(b) of this certification; and
(d) have not within a 3-year period preceding this application/
proposal had one or more public transactions (Federal, State or
local) terminated for cause or default.
The inability of a person to provide the certification required
above will not necessarily result in denial of participation in this
covered transaction. If necessary, the prospective participant shall
submit an explanation of why it cannot provide the certification.
The certification or explanation will be considered in connection
with the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS)
determination whether to enter into this transaction. However,
failure of the prospective primary participant to furnish a
certification or an explanation shall disqualify such person from
participation in this transaction.
The prospective primary participant agrees that by submitting
this proposal, it will include the clause entitled ``Certification
Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary
Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions'' provided below without
modification in all lower tier covered transactions and in all
solicitations for lower tier covered transactions.
Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and
Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions
(To Be Supplied to Lower Tier Participants)
By signing and submitting this lower tier proposal, the
prospective lower tier participant, as defined in 45 CFR Part 76,
certifies to the best of its knowledge and belief that it and its
principals:
(a) are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for
debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from
participation in this transaction by any federal department or
agency.
(b) where the prospective lower tier participant is unable to
certify to any of the above, such prospective participant shall
attach an explanation to this proposal.
The prospective lower tier participant further agrees by
submitting this proposal that it will include this clause entitled
``Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and
Voluntary Exclusion--Lower Tier Covered Transactions'' without
modification in all lower tier covered transactions and in all
solicitations for lower tier covered transactions.
Attachment G--Certification Regarding Lobbying
Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans, and Cooperative Agreements
The undersigned certifies, to the best of his or her knowledge
and belief, that:
(1) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be
paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any
agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or
an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding
of any Federal contract, the making of any Federal grant, the making
of any Federal loan, the entering into of any cooperative agreement,
and the extension continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification
of any Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
(2) If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been
paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to
influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of
Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a
Member of Congress in connection with this Federal contract, grant,
loan or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and
submit Standard Form-LLL, ``Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,'' in
accordance with its instructions.
(3) The undersigned shall require that the language of this
certification be included in the award documents for all subawards
at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under
grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all
subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.
This certification is a material representation of fact upon
which reliance was placed when this transaction was made or entered
into. Submission of this certification is a prerequisite for making
or entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31,
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required certification
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not
more than $100,000 for each such failure.
State for Loan Guarantee and Loan Insurance
The undersigned states, to the best of his or her knowledge and
belief, that:
If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for
influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any
agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or
an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this
commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a
loan, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL
``Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying,'' in accordance with its
instructions.
Submission of this statement is a prerequisite for making or
entering into this transaction imposed by section 1352, title 31,
U.S. Code. Any person who fails to file the required statement shall
be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more
than $100,000 for each such failure.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Signature
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Organization
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P
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BILLING CODE 4184-01-C
[[Page 35544]]
Attachment I--Certification Regarding Environmental Tobacco Smoke
Public Law 103-227, Part C--Environmental Tobacco Smoke, also
known as the Pro-Children Act of 1994 (Act), requires that smoking
not be permitted in any portion of any indoor facility owned or
leased or contracted for by an entity and used routinely or
regularly for the provision of health, day care, education, or
library services to children under the age of 18, if the services
are funded by Federal programs either directly or through State or
local governments, by Federal grant, contract, loan, or loan
guarantee. The law does not apply to children's services provided in
private residences, facilities funded solely by Medicare or Medicaid
funds, and portions of facilities used for inpatient drug or alcohol
treatment. Failure to comply with the provisions of the law may
result in the imposition of a civil monetary penalty of up to $1,000
per day and/or the imposition of an administrative compliance order
on the responsible entity.
By signing and submitting this application the applicant/grantee
certifies that it will comply with the requirements of the Act. The
applicant/grantee further agrees that it will require the language
of this certification be included in any subawards which contain
provisions for children's services and that all subgrantees shall
certify accordingly.
Attachment J--Certification Regarding Maintenance of Effort
The undersigned certifies that:
(1) activities funded under this program announcement are in
addition to, and not in substitution for, activities previously
carried on without Federal assistance.
(2) funds or other resources currently devoted to activities
designed to meet the needs of the poor within a community, area, or
State have not been reduced in order to provide the required
matching contributions.
When legislation for a particular block grant permits the use of
its funds as match, the applicant must show that it has received a
real increase in its block grant allotment and must certify that
other anti-poverty programs will not be scaled back to provide the
match required for this project.
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Organization
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Authorized Signature
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Title
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Date
Attachment K--Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981
[Public Law 97-35, August 13, 1981, as amended (95 Stat. 357)]
* * * * *
Title XXVI--Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Short Title
Sec. 2601
This title may be cited as the ``Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981''
Applications and Requirements
Sec. 2605
* * * * *
(b) As part of the annual application required by subsection
(a), the chief executive officer of each State shall certify that
the State agrees to--
* * * * *
(2) make payments under this title only with respect to--
(A) households in which 1 or more individuals are receiving--
(i) aid to families with dependent children under the State's
plan approved under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act
(other than such aid in the form of foster care in accordance with
section 408 of such Act);
(ii) supplemental security income payments under title XVI of
the Social Security Act;
(iii) food stamps under the Food Stamp Act of 1977; or
(iv) payments under section 415, 521, 541, or 542 of title 38,
United States Code, or under section 306 of the Veterans' and
Survivors' Pension Improvement Act of 1978; or
(B) households with incomes which do not exceed the greater of--
(i) an amount equal to 150 percent of the poverty level for such
State; or
(ii) an amount equal to 60 percent of the State median income;
except that a State may not exclude a household from eligibility in
a fiscal year solely on the basis of household income if such income
is less than 110 percent of the poverty level for such State, but
the State may give priority to those households with the highest
home energy costs or needs in relation to household income;
(3) conduct outreach activities designed to assure that eligible
households, especially households with elderly individuals or
disabled individuals, or both, and households with high home energy
burdens, are made aware of the assistance available under this
title, and any similar energy-related assistance available under
subtitle B of title VI (relating to community services block grant
program) or under any other provision of law which carries out
programs which were administered under the Economic Opportunity Act
of 1964 before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(4) coordinate its activities under this title with similar and
related programs administered by the Federal Government and such
State, particularly low-income energy-related programs under
subtitle B of title VI (relating to community services block grant
program), under the supplemental security income program, under part
A of title IV of the Social Security Act, under title XX of the
Social Security Act, under the low-income weatherization assistance
program under title IV of the Energy Conservation and Production
Act, or under any other provision of law which carries out programs
which were administered under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
before the date of the enactment of this Act;
(5) provide, in a timely manner, that the highest level of
assistance will be furnished to those households which have the
lowest incomes and the highest energy costs or needs in relation to
income, taking into account family size, except that the State may
not differentiate in implementing this section between the
households described in clauses (2)(A) and (2)(B) of this
subsection;
(6) if the State chooses to pay home energy suppliers directly,
establish procedures to--
(A) notify each participating household of the amount of
assistance paid on its behalf;
(B) assure that the home energy supplier will charge the
eligible household, in the normal billing process, the difference
between the actual cost of the home energy and the amount of the
payment made by the State under this title;
(C) assure that the home energy supplier will provide assurances
that any agreement entered into with a home energy supplier under
this paragraph will contain provisions to assure that no household
receiving assistance under this title will be treated adversely
because of such assistance under applicable provisions of State law
or public regulatory requirements; and
(D) ensure that the provision of vendored payments remains at
the option of the State in consultation with local grantees and may
be contingent on unregulated vendors taking appropriate measures to
alleviate the energy burdens of eligible households, including
providing for agreements between suppliers and individuals eligible
for benefits under this Act that seek to reduce home energy crisis,
and encourage regular payments by individuals receiving financial
assistance for home energy costs;
(10) provide that such fiscal control and fund accounting
procedures will be established as may be necessary to assure the
proper disbursal of and accounting for Federal funds paid to the
State under this title, including procedures for monitoring the
assistance provided under this title, and provide that the State
will comply with the provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United
States Code (commonly known as the ``Single Audit Act'');
(11) permit and cooperate with Federal investigations undertaken
in accordance with section 2608;
(12) provide for timely and meaningful public participation in
the development of the plan described in subsection (c);
(13) provide an opportunity for a fair administrative hearing to
individuals whose claims for assistance under the plan described in
subsection (c) are denied or are not acted upon with reasonable
promptness;
(14) cooperate with the Secretary with respect to data
collecting and reporting under section 2610;
* * * * *
(d) The State shall expend funds in accordance with the State
plan under this title or in accordance with revisions applicable to
such plan.
(e) Each State shall, in carrying out the requirements of
subsection (b)(10), obtain
[[Page 35545]]
financial and compliance audits of any funds which the State
receives under this title. Such audits shall be made public within
the State on a timely basis. The audits shall be conducted in
accordance with chapter 75 of title 31, United States Code.
(f)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law unless enacted
in express limitation of this paragraph, the amount of any home
energy assistance payments or allowances provided directly to, or
indirectly for the benefit of, an eligible household under this
title shall not be considered income or resources of such household
(or any member thereof) for any purpose under any Federal or State
law, including any law relating to taxation, food stamps, public
assistance, or welfare programs.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection and for
purposes of determining any excess shelter expense deduction under
section (5)(e) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e))--
(A) the full amount of such payments or allowances shall be
deemed to be expended by such household for heating or cooling
expenses, without regard to whether such payments or allowances are
provided directly to, or indirectly for the benefit of, such
household; and
(B) no distinction may be made among households on the basis of
whether such payments or allowances are provided directly to, or
indirectly for the benefit of, any of such households.
(g) The State shall repay to the United States amounts found not
to have been expended in accordance with this title or the Secretary
may offset such amounts against any other amount to which the State
is or may become entitled under this title.
(h) The Comptroller General of the United States shall, from
time to time (but not less frequently than every three years),
evaluate the expenditures by States of grant under this title in
order to assure that expenditures are consistent with the provisions
of this title and to determine the effectiveness of the State in
accomplishing the purposes of this title.
(i) A household which is described in subsection (b)(2)(A)
solely by reason of clause (ii) thereof shall not be treated as a
household described in subsection (b)(2) if the eligibility of the
household is dependent upon--
(1) an individual whose annual supplemental security income
benefit rate is reduced pursuant to section 1611(e)(1) of the Social
Security Act by reason of being in an institution receiving payments
under title XIX of the Social Security Act with respect to such
individual;
(2) an individual to whom the reduction specified in section
1612(a)(2)(A)(1) of the Social Security Act applies; or
(3) a child described in section 1614(f)(2) of the Social
Security Act who is living together with a parent, or the spouse of
a parent, of the child.
(j) In verifying income eligibility for purposes of subsection
(b)(2)(B), the State may apply procedures and policies consistent
with procedures and policies used by the State agency administering
programs under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, under
title XX of the Social Security Act, under subtitle B of title VI of
this Act (relating to community services block grant program), under
any other provision of law which carries out programs which were
administered under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 before the
date of the enactment of this Act, or under other income assistance
or service programs (as determined by the State).
Nondiscrimination Provisions
Sec. 2606
(a) No person shall on the ground of race, color, national
origin, or sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the
benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any program or
activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under
this title. Any prohibition against discrimination on the basis of
age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 or with respect to an
otherwise qualified handicapped individual as provided in section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 also shall apply to any such
program or activity.
(b) Whenever the Secretary determines that a State that has
received a payment under this title has failed to comply with
subsection (a) or an applicable regulation, he shall notify the
chief executive officer of the State and shall request him to secure
compliance. If within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 90
days, the chief executive officer fails or refuses to secure
compliance, the Secretary is authorized to (1) refer the matter to
the Attorney General with a recommendation that an appropriate civil
action be instituted; (2) exercise the powers and functions provided
by title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination
Act of 1975, or section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
may be applicable; or (3) take such other action as may be provided
by law.
(c) When a matter is referred to the Attorney General pursuant
to subsection (b), or whenever he has reason to believe that the
State is engaged in a pattern or practice in violation of the
provisions of this section, the Attorney General may bring a civil
action in any appropriate United States district court for such
relief as may be appropriate, including injunctive relief.
(42 U.S.C. 8625)
PART 96--BLOCK GRANTS
Subpart A--Introduction
Sec.
96.1 Scope.
96.2 Definitions.
96.3 Information collection approval numbers.
Subpart B--General Procedures
96.10 Prerequisites to obtain block grant funds.
96.11 Basis of award to the States.
96.12 Grant payment.
96.13 Reallotments.
96.14 Time period for obligation and expenditure of grant funds.
96.15 Waivers.
96.16 Applicability of Title XVII of the Reconciliation Act (31
U.S.C. 7301-7305).
96.17 Annual and biennial reporting deadlines.
Subpart C--Financial Management
96.30 Fiscal and administrative requirements.
96.31 Audits.
96.32 Financial settlement.
96.33 Referral of cases to the Inspector General.
Subpart D--Direct Funding of Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations
96.40 Scope.
96.41 General determination.
96.42 General procedures and requirements.
96.43 Procedures during FY 1982.
96.44 Community services.
96.45 Preventive health and health services.
96.46 Alcohol and drug abuse and mental health services.
96.47 Primary care.
96.48 Low-income home energy assistance.
Subpart E--Enforcement
96.50 Complaints.
96.51 Hearings.
96.52 Appeals.
Subpart F--Hearing Procedure
96.60 Scope.
96.61 Initiation of hearing.
96.62 Presiding officer.
96.63 Communications to presiding officer.
96.64 Intervention.
96.65 Discovery.
96.66 Hearing procedure.
96.67 Right to counsel.
Subpart G--Social Services Block Grants
96.70 Scope.
96.71 Definitions.
96.72 Transferability of funds.
96.73 Sterilization.
Subpart H--Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
96.80 Scope.
96.81 Reallotment report.
96.82 Required report.
96.83 Increase in maximum amount that may be used for
weatherization and other energy related home repair.
96.84 Miscellaneous.
96.85 Exemption from requirement for additional outreach and intake
services.
96.86 Exemption from requirement for additional outreach and intake
services.
96.87 Leveraging incentive program.
96.88 Administrative costs.
96.89 Exemptions from standards for providing energy crisis
intervention assistance.
Attachment M
In view of the numerous legislative requirements of the REACH
Program as to elements and assurances in the REACH Plan, the
following ``REACH Plan Elements and Assurances Checklist'' has been
prepared as Attachment L, for the assistance of applicants under
Priority Areas 1.0 and 2.0.
[[Page 35546]]
REACH Plan Elements and Assurances Checklist
A. Service delivery through community-based nonprofit entity.
(For applicants under Priority Area 1.0 only.)
[Include in Plan Elements I, II, and IV]
B. Priority given to CSBG eligible entities that are successful
LIHEAP service providers and receive Weatherization Assistance
Program funds from the Department of Energy. (For applicants under
Priority Area 1.0 only.)
[Include in Plan Element II and attach letter(s) of certification as
described therein]
C. Each CBO Recipient to provide a variety of services, to
include:
(i) payments to, or on behalf of, individuals eligible for
residential energy assistance services and benefits under section
2605(b) for home energy costs;
(ii) energy efficiency education;
(iii) residential energy demand management services, including
any other energy related residential repair and energy efficiency
improvements in coordination with, or delivered by, Department of
Energy weatherization assistance programs at the discretion of the
State;
(iv) family services, such as counseling and needs assessment,
related to energy budget management, payment plans, and related
services; and
(v) negotiation with home energy suppliers on behalf of
households eligible for REACH services and benefits;
[Include in Plan Element I, and for applicants under Priority Area
1.0, Element III also, as appropriate]
D. a description of the methodology the State and local agencies
will use to determine--
(i) which households will receive one or more forms of benefits
under the State REACH initiative;
(ii) the cases in which nonmonetary benefits are likely to
provide more cost-effective long-term outcomes than payment benefits
alone; and
(iii) the amount of such benefit required to meet the goals of
the program;
[Include in Elements I(b), I(c), and for applicants under Priority
Area 1.0, Elements III and VI also, as appropriate]
E. (F.) a method for targeting nonmonetary benefits;
[Include in Elements I(a), I(b), IV (under Priority Area 1.0), and
III, (under Priority Area 2.0)]
G. a description of the crisis and emergency assistance
activities the State will undertake are designed to--
(i) discourage family energy crises;
(ii) encourage responsible vendor and consumer behavior; and
(iii) provide only financial incentives that encourage household
payment;
[Include in Element I and, under Priority Area 1.0, Element III
also, as appropriate]
H. a description of the activities the State will undertake to--
(i) provide incentives for recipients of assistance to pay home
energy costs; and
(ii) provide incentives for vendors to help reduce the energy
burdens of recipients of assistance;
[Include as appropriate in Element I and, under Priority Area 1.0,
Elements III and IV also, as appropriate]
I. an assurance that the State will require each entity that
receives a grant or enters into a contract under this section to
solicit and be responsive to the views of individuals who are
financially eligible for benefits and services under this section in
establishing its local program;
[Include in Elements I(a) and I(c)]
J. a description of performance goals for the State REACH
initiative including--
(i) a reduction in the energy costs on participating households
over one or more fiscal years;
(ii) an increase in the regularity of home energy bill payments
by eligible households; and
(iii) an increase in energy vendor contributions towards
reducing energy burdens of eligible households;
[Include in Element I(b) and, under Program Area 1.0, Element VI
also]
K. a description of the indicators that will be used by the
State to measure whether the performance goals have been achieved;
[Include in Element VI]
L. a demonstration that the plan is consistent with Section
paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (7), (10), (11), (12), (13), and (14)
of section 2605(b) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of
1981, as amended; subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j)
of section 2605; and section 2606 of this title;
[See Attachment K for texts of these Sections and subsections;
include as appropriate in Elements I, III, IV, and VII]
M. an assurance that benefits and services will be provided in
addition to other benefit payments and services provided under this
title and in coordination with such benefit payments and services;
[Include in Element I]
N. an assurance that no regulated utility covered by the plan
will be required to act in a manner that is inconsistent with
applicable regulatory requirements.
[Include in Element VII]
[FR Doc. 96-16558 Filed 7-2-96; 12:02 pm]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P-M
