[Federal Register: March 23, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 56)]
[Notices]
[Page 13757-13761]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23mr07-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.128G.
Dates:
Applications Available: March 23, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 7, 2007.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 6, 2007.
[[Page 13758]]
Eligible Applicants: State designated agencies (interpreted to mean
designated State agencies as defined in section 7(8) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended); nonprofit agencies working in
collaboration with a State designated agency; and local agencies
working in collaboration with a State designated agency.
Estimated Available Funds: $851,200. Contingent upon the
availability of funds and the quality of applications, the Secretary
may make additional awards in FY 2008 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $170,000-$220,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $212,800.
Estimated Number of Awards: 4.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of this program is to provide
grants for vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with
disabilities who are migrant and seasonal farmworkers, (individuals who
have been determined in accordance with rules prescribed by the
Secretary of Labor), and to the family members who are residing with
those individuals (whether or not those family members are individuals
with disabilities).
Priority: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), this priority
is from the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (34
CFR 75.225).
Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2007 and any subsequent
year in which we make awards based on the list of unfunded applications
from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we will award five additional
points to an application, depending on the extent to which the
application meets this priority.
This priority is:
Novice Applicant
The applicant must be a novice applicant. Novice applicant means
any applicant for a grant from the Department that:
1. Has never received a grant or subgrant under the Migrant and
Seasonal Farmworkers program;
2. Has never been a member of a group application, submitted in
accordance with Sec. Sec. 75.127-75.129, that received a grant under
the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers program; and
3. Has not had an active discretionary grant from the Federal
Government in the five years before the deadline date for applications
under the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers program.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 774.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, and 86. (b) The regulations in 34 CFR part 369.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $851,200. Contingent upon the
availability of funds and the quality of applications, the Secretary
may make additional awards in FY 2008 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $170,000-$220,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $212,800.
Estimated Number of Awards: 4.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: State designated agencies (interpreted to
mean designated State agencies as defined in section 7(8) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended); nonprofit agencies working in
collaboration with a State designated agency; and local agencies
working in collaboration with a State designated agency.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Cost sharing of at least 10 percent of
the total cost of the project is required of grantees under the Migrant
and Seasonal Farmworkers Program. See 29 U.S.C. 774(a)(1).
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll
free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free):
1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.128G.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 5075, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone:
(202) 245-7363. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 23, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 7, 2007.
Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Deadline for
Intergovernmental Review: July 6, 2007.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about
Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order
12372 is in the application package for this competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this
[[Page 13759]]
competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an
exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in
this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
Program-CFDA Number 84.128G must be submitted electronically using the
Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at http://www.Grants.gov. Through
this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application
package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your
application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant
application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You may access the electronic grant application for the Migrant and
Seasonal Farmworkers Program at http://www.Grants.gov. You must search
for the downloadable application package for this program by the CFDA
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search
(e.g., search for 84.128, not 84.128G).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the application process through Grants.gov
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
). These steps include (1)
Registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see http://www. grants.gov/section910/
Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information form SF 424, Budget Information--
Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the
Department of Education Supplemental Information form SF 424--have
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
You must attach any narrative sections of your application
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password protected file,
we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions as described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed
elsewhere in this notice under For Further Information Contact, and
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem
[[Page 13760]]
affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m.,
Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The Department
will contact you after a determination is made on whether your
application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Sonja T. Turner, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5019, Potomac
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2740. FAX: (202) 245-7593.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.128G), 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260 or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.128G), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service.
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.128G), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are
submitting your application; and
(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not
receive this notification within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: The Government Performance and Results Act
of 1993 (GPRA) directs Federal departments and agencies to improve the
effectiveness of their programs by engaging in strategic planning,
setting outcome-related goals for programs, and measuring program
results against those goals. Program officials must develop performance
measures for all their grant programs to assess their performance and
effectiveness. The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) has
established the following performance measure for the Migrant and
Seasonal Farmworkers Program and will use this measure to assess the
effectiveness of the program.
Percentage of individuals served who were placed in
employment.
[[Page 13761]]
Each grantee must annually report on this measure in its annual
performance report. In addition, the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
Program is part of the Administration's job training and employment
common measures initiative. The common measures for job training and
employment programs targeting adults are: entered employment
(percentage employed in the first quarter after program exit);
retention in employment (percentage of those employed in the first
quarter after exit that were still employed in the second and third
quarter after program exit); earnings increase (percentage change in
earnings pre-registration to post-program and first quarter after exit
to third quarter after exit); and efficiency (annual cost per
participant). The Department is currently working toward the
implementation of these common measures. Each grantee will be required
to collect and report data for the common measures when they are
implemented.
In addition, the Department will modify the annual performance
reporting form that grantees use for progress reporting to ensure that
grantees separately report information for individuals served
exclusively by their project. Grantees will report--(1) The number of
individuals served exclusively by the project who achieved successful
employment outcomes; (2) the number of individuals served by the
project who did not achieve employment outcomes; and (3) the number of
individuals served by both the State designated agency and the project.
We anticipate that this modified performance reporting form will be
published for public comment in March 2007.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Sonja T. Turner, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5019, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2649. Telephone: (202) 245-7557 or by e-
mail: Sonja.Turner@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call theFederal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
VIII. Other Information
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.
Dated: March 20, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E7-5370 Filed 3-22-07; 8:45 am]
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