OESE Grant Programs under CFDAs 84.184F/G/M/Q

4000-01-U

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Applications for New Awards; Project Prevent Grant Program

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education

ACTION: Notice.

Overview Information:

Project Prevent Grant Program

Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2014.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.184M.

Dates:

Applications Available: [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: [INSERT DATE 45 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: [INSERT DATE 105 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The Project Prevent Grant Program provides grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to increase their capacity to help schools in communities with pervasive violence better address the needs of affected students and to break the cycle of violence.

Background: A 2009 U.S. Department of Justice study showed that more than 60 percent of the children surveyed were exposed to violence within the past year either directly or indirectly.¹ Almost 40 percent of American children were direct victims of two or more violent acts, and one in ten was a victim of violence five or more times. Children’s exposure to violence, whether as victims or witnesses, is often associated with long-term physical, psychological, and emotional harm. These harms, among others, include: experiencing depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders; failing or having difficulty in school; and becoming delinquent or engaging in criminal behavior, including violent acts.

Since 1980, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been studying patterns of violence and the effects of violence on communities and individuals, and advancing strategies to prevent violence and mitigate the impacts of exposure to violence.² Attorney General Eric Holder launched the Defending Childhood initiative in 2010 to better understand and develop a strategy to address this national crisis of children’s exposure to violence. The Attorney General’s Task Force released a report and national action plan in December 2012, which informed the development of this new program.³

In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a national effort to “reduce the pervasive, harmful, and costly health impact of violence and trauma by integrating trauma-informed approaches throughout health, behavioral health, and related systems and addressing the behavioral health needs of people involved in or at risk of involvement in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.” This includes the outlining of “Principles and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.”⁴

On January 16, 2013, President Obama put forward a specific plan, called “Now is the Time,” of actions and steps to protect our children and communities by reducing gun violence. Project Prevent was one the new programs proposed in the plan and included in the President’s FY 2014 budget request. Congress has appropriated sufficient funding under Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities National Activities in FY 2014 in order for the U.S. Department of Education to hold a new discretionary grant competition for Project Prevent grants that will enable LEAs to increase their capacity to better identify, assess, and serve students exposed to pervasive violence; and bolster the capacity of these LEAs to ensure those affected students receive trauma-informed mental health services in order to reduce the likelihood that these students will later commit violent acts. As part of these grants, these LEAs will be provided resources to increase the capacity of the affected schools to deliver evidenced-based strategies to prevent further violence.

Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and one competitive preference priority.  We establish the absolute priority in this notice. The competitive preference priority is from the [insert notice information for OII’s Promise Zones NFP]. We are establishing the absolute priority for the FY 2014 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1).

Absolute Priorities: This priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet this priority.

This priority is:

Absolute Priority -- Expand the Capacity of LEAs to Assist Schools in Communities with Pervasive Violence to Break the Cycle of Violence by Better Meeting the Needs of Affected Students.

Under this priority, an applicant is required to address the problem of students’ direct or indirect exposure to pervasive violence by supporting the deployment of resources and technical assistance through LEA projects that would increase the capacity of selected schools, in communities and neighborhoods with pervasive violence, to offer students: (1) access to school-based counseling services, or referral to community-based counseling services, for trauma or anxiety; (2) social and emotional supports to help address the effects of violence; and (3) conflict resolution and other school-based strategies to prevent future violence.

Under this priority, an applicant is also required to develop projects in selected schools that are designed to better meet the needs of affected students by improving the school environment and safety, which may include decreasing the incidence of harassment, bullying, violence, gang involvement, and substance use.

Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2014 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award an additional five points to an application that meets this priority.

This priority is:

Competitive Preference Priority--Promise Zones.

Projects that are designed to serve and coordinate with a federally designated Promise Zone.

Application Requirements: The following requirements apply to this competition --

(1) Description of the severity and magnitude of the problem and identification of schools to be served by the proposed project.

Applicants must provide a description of how pervasive violence in the community is specifically affecting students in particular schools to be served as part of project activities. This will include a description of the nature of the problem for a specific geographic area, citing sources such as: incidents of community domestic violence or violent crime, rates of child abuse and neglect, school crime and safety data, student mental health screenings or assessments, surveys of school climate, surveys of student engagement, or other relevant data and information as appropriate. It may also include demographic data as provided by U.S. Census surveys. Data cited must be compared to similar data at the State or local level, in order to assess the magnitude of the problem and ensure the schools selected have the greatest need.

(2) Linkages with Related Federal, State, and Local Initiatives.

Applicants must provide a description of how they intend to work collaboratively with State and local juvenile justice, mental health, public health, child welfare, and other community agencies to achieve project goals and objectives. This must include a description of proposed coordination with federally funded efforts related to youth violence prevention and mental health promotion (such as National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, Defending Childhood, and other violence prevention related grants administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Evidence of collaboration and coordination must be provided through letters of support. Project Prevent funded grants must complement, rather than duplicate, existing, ongoing or new efforts whose goals and objectives are to reduce youth violence and mitigate the effects of pervasive violence on students.

(3) Expand and improve LEA capacity to serve students exposed to pervasive violence, ensure affected students receive trauma-informed mental health services, and break the cycle of violence.

Applicants must provide a description of activities to accomplish this requirement, which must include three or more of the following: a.) professional development opportunities for LEA and school mental health staff (counselors, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists) on how to screen for and respond to violence-related trauma and implement appropriate school-based mitigation strategies; b.) improving the range, availability, and quality of school-based mental health services by hiring qualified school psychologists, school counselors, or school social workers with expertise in violence prevention and trauma-informed interventions; c.) providing training to selected school staff (teachers, administrators, and support staff), community partners, youth, and parents on the problem of student exposure to pervasive violence and the importance of screening and intervention for trauma and associated behavior; d.) addressing the needs of at-risk students in affected schools by developing or improving processes to better target services to at-risk students in affected schools and developing or improving processes to assess students exposed to pervasive violence and whether they are experiencing resulting mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders; e.) enhancing linkages between LEA mental health services and community mental health systems to ensure affected students receive referral to treatment as appropriate, including linkages that leverage new opportunities under the Affordable Care Act.

(4) Delivery of a continuum of evidenced-based programs and practices in selected schools to promote conflict resolution, improve school climate and safety, and other school-based strategies to prevent further violence.

Applicants must provide a description of the continuum of the evidenced-based programs and practices that will be implemented at the school level to prevent further violence, which must include the following: a.) implementation of interventions and activities (programs, and/or practices) that target all students in school regardless of risk level, with a goal of preventing negative and/or violent behavior (such as bullying or fighting or gang participation), and to enhance knowledge and skills related to positive behavior (to include conflict resolution, and other skills); b.)implementation of interventions and activities (such as those related to anger management, conflict resolution, or promotion of positive behavior, or development of protective factors) that target individual students or a population sub-group of students whose risk of developing mental or behavioral disorders is significantly higher than average c.) implementation of interventions and services that target individual students at high risk and who have detectable signs of mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders and/or exhibiting aggressive, violent, or disruptive behavior, or gang participation. NOTE: Applicants must discuss the research and evidence supporting the proposed programs and practices to be implemented for the target population, and may use federal registries listed in the application package for identifying such programs and practices.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities, application requirements, and definitions. Section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, however, allows the Secretary to exempt from rulemaking requirements, regulations governing the first grant competition under a new or substantially revised program authority. This is the first grant competition for this program under section 4121 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and, therefore, it qualifies for this exemption. In order to ensure timely grant awards, the Secretary has decided to forgo public comment on the first priority and application requirements under section 437(d)(1) of GEPA. This priority and these application requirements will apply to the FY 2014 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7131.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Education Department suspension and debarment regulations in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The regulations in CFR part 299.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Discretionary grants.

Estimated Available Funds: TBD.

Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2014 and in subsequent fiscal years from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.

Estimated Range of Awards: $250,000-$1,000,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $495,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: TBD.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 48 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs, including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not require cost sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package: You can obtain an application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications Center (ED Pubs).

To obtain a copy via the Internet, use the following address: www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html. To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write, fax, or call the following: ED Pubs, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, VA 22304. Telephone, toll free: 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (703) 605-6794. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call, toll free: 1-877-576-7734.

You can contact ED Pubs at its Web site, also: www.EDPubs.gov or at its e-mail address: [email protected].

If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.184M.

Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) by contacting the person listed under Accessible Format in section VIII of this notice.

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 competition.

Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, provide the project narrative and management plan to address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. The required budget and budget narrative will be provided in a separate section. You must limit the application narrative to the equivalent of no more than 50 pages, using the following standards:

• A “page” is 8.5" x 11", on one side only, with 1" margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.

• Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.

• Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).

• Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New, or Arial.

The page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, the page limit does apply to all of the application narrative section.

Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that exceed the page limit.

3. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: [INSERT DATE 45 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

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 in paper format by mail or hand delivery, please refer to section IV. 7. Other Submission Requirements of 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 in section VII of this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the application process, the individual's application remains subject to all other requirements and limitations in this notice.

4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

6. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification Number, and System for Award Management: To do business with the Department of Education, you must--

a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the System for Award Management (SAM) (formerly the Central Contractor Registry (CCR)), the Government’s primary registrant database;

c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and

d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information while your application is under review by the Department and, if you are awarded a grant, during the project period.

You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number can be created within one-to-two business days.

If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service. If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a new TIN, please allow 2-5 weeks for your TIN to become active.

The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM database by an entity. Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal financial assistance under a program administered by the Department, please allow sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number and TIN. We strongly recommend that you register early.

Note: Once your SAM registration is active, you will need to allow 24 to 48 hours for the information to be available in Grants.gov. and before you can submit an application through Grants.gov.

If you are currently registered with SAM, you may not need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will need to update your registration annually. This may take three or more business days.

Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM or updating your existing SAM account, we have prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet, which you can find at: http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html.

In addition, if you are submitting your application via Grants.gov, you must (1) be designated by your organization as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself with Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the following Grants.gov Web page: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html.

7. Other Submission Requirements:

Applications for grants under this 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 Project Prevent Grant

Program, CFDA number 84.184M, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at 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 Project Prevent Grant Program at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number’s alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.184, not 84.184M).

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 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. 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 4:30:00 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 submission 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 under News and Events on the Department’s G5 system home page at http://www.G5.gov.

• 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: the Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.

• You must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in a PDF (Portable Document) read-only, non-modifiable format. Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-modifiable PDF or submit a password-protected file, we will not review that material. (Additional, detailed information on how to attach files is in the application instructions.]

• 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, toll free, 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 4:30:00 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 described elsewhere in this notice.

If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this notice 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 affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30:00 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: Earl Myers, Jr., U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 3E247, Washington, DC 20202

FAX: (202) 453-6716.

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 following address:

U.S. Department of Education

Application Control Center

Attention: CFDA Number 84.184M

LBJ Basement Level 1

400 Maryland Avenue, SW.

Washington, DC 20202-4260

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 84.184M

550 12th Street, SW.

Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza

Washington, DC 20202-4260

The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 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

1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are listed in the application package.  

2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, the Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the applicant in carrying out a previous award, such as the applicant’s use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and compliance with grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or submitted a report of unacceptable quality.

In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).

3. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR 74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary may impose special conditions on a grant if the applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or other management system that does not meet the standards in 34 CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has not fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible.

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 notify you informally, also.

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: (a) If you apply for a grant under this competition, you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110

(c) 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 directed by the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

4. Performance Measures: The Department has established the following performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of the Project Prevent Grant Program:

(1) The percentage of grantees that report a measurable decrease in violent, aggressive, and disruptive behavior in schools served by the grant.

(2) The percentage of grantees that report a measurable increase in the number of students in schools served by the grant receiving school-based and community mental health services to address needs caused by exposure to violence.  

(3) The percentage of grantees that report a measurable increase in the school engagement of students served by the grant.  

These measures constitute the Department's indicators of success for this program. Consequently, we advise applicants for a grant under this program to give careful consideration to these measures in conceptualizing the approach and evaluation of their proposed project. If funded, applicants will be required to provide, in its annual performance and final reports, data about progress in meeting these measures.

5. Continuation Awards: In making a continuation award, the Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.253, the extent to which a grantee has made “substantial progress toward meeting the objectives in its approved application.” This consideration includes the review of a grantee’s progress in meeting the targets and projected outcomes in its approved application, and whether the grantee has expended funds in a manner that is consistent with its approved application and budget.

In making a continuation grant, the Secretary also considers whether the grantee is operating in compliance with the assurances in its approved application, including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).

VII. Agency Contact

For Further Information Contact: Earl Myers, Jr., U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW. 3E247 Washington, 20202. Telephone: (202) 453-6716 or by e-mail: [email protected].

If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) [on request to the program contact person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this notice.

Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can 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). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.

You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.

Dated:

____________________________________

Deborah S.Delisle,

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

1 Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., and Kracke, K. 2009. Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey. Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

2 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention. Retrieved from: www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention

3 U.S. Department of Justice. (2012). Report of the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence. Retrieved from: www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/task-force.html.

4 Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. (2012). SAMHSA's Working Definition of Trauma and Principles and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. Retrieved from: http://samhsa.gov/traumaJustice.

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