ETA SOLICITATION FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Grant Applications for the Youth CareerConnect program
Announcement Type: Initial
Funding Opportunity Number: SGA/DFA PY-13-01
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 17.274
Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is [insert date 60 days after date of publication of the one page notice in the Federal Register]. Applications must be received no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Addresses: Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management, Attention: Steve Rietzke, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY13-01, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210. For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to Section IV.
Executive Summary:
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department), announces the availability of approximately $100 million in grant funds, divided among approximately 25 to 40 grants with a period of performance not to exceed 54 months, authorized under Section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA), as amended (codified at 29 U.S.C. 2916a), for the Youth CareerConnect grant program.
In response to skill shortages in high-growth industries and occupations (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”), Congress established the H-1B visa category for non-immigrants seeking work in high-skill or specialty occupations, imposed a user fee on employers for H-1B visa applications, and set annual limits on the number of H-1B visas granted. ACWIA, as amended, authorized the Department to use a portion of those fees to fund job training services and related activities. The Department is conducting the Youth CareerConnect program under this authority. The program is designed to provide high school students with education and training that combines rigorous academic and technical curricula focused on specific in-demand occupations and industries for which employers are using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers as well as the related activities necessary to support such training to increase participants’ employability in H-1B in-demand industries and occupations. Furthermore, given the large number of H-1B visas in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) industries, pending high quality proposals, DOL expects a large share of the grants to support education and training in STEM industries.
Grants must be awarded to partnerships of private and public sector entities as defined in Section III below. Applicants are required to provide a match of 25 percent of the grant award as discussed in Section III.B.
The ultimate goals for the program are to ensure that participants gain academic and occupational skills by completing the program and graduating from high school; move into a positive placement following high school that includes unsubsidized employment, post-secondary education, long-term occupational skills training, or Registered Apprenticeship; obtain an industry-recognized credential (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) in an H-1B industry or occupation for those industries where credential attainment is feasible by program completion, in addition to a high school diploma; and earn post-secondary credit towards a degree or credit-bearing certificate issued by an institution of higher education.
Program Purpose
The Youth CareerConnect program is designed to strengthen college- and career-readiness by redesigning the high school experience to focus on providing students with challenging, relevant learning opportunities, and enabling schools to develop new partnerships with colleges and employers to support instruction and to help develop the skills students need to be prepared for jobs now and in the future. It will provide high school students with education and training that combines rigorous academic and technical curriculum focused on specific H-1B in-demand industries or careers that will increase participants’ employability in high-growth, in-demand occupations and industries and prepare them for post-secondary education.
In response to industry skill shortages in high-growth industries and occupations, Congress established the H-1B visa category for non-immigrants seeking work in high-skill or specialty occupations, imposed a user fee on employers for H-1B visa applications, and set annual limits on the number of H-1B visas granted. ACWIA, as amended, authorized the Department to use a portion of the fees thus generated to fund job training services and related activities to prepare American workers to replace foreign workers who are employed under the H-1B visa program. The Department is conducting the Youth CareerConnect program under this authority and the program is designed to provide education and training to develop a talent pipeline in the occupations and industries for which employers are using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers as well as the related activities necessary to support such training.
DOL worked closely with the Department of Education to develop this Solicitation in response to the Administration’s goal of improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of high school students so that they will be prepared to succeed in college and in a competitive workforce through President Obama’s High School Redesign Initiative. In alignment with this initiative, the Youth CareerConnect program encourages America’s school districts, the workforce investment system, and their partners to use existing Federal, State, and local resources to transform the high school experience for America’s youth. This effort challenges educators to implement learning models that are rigorous, relevant, and focused on real-world experiences while incorporating personalized learning and career and college exploration. For more information on the President’s High School Redesign Initiative, please visit: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-redesigning-americas-high-schools and http://www.ed.gov/highschool. The requirements for the program model have been designed in part from the evidence-base of successful high school redesign efforts, such as the Career Academy model (for research and evaluation of the Career Academy model see: http://www.mdrc.org/project/career-academies-exploring-college-and-career-options-ecco#featured_content).
The Youth CareerConnect program is intended to increase high school students’ preparedness for post-secondary education and employability in high-growth H-1B industries and occupations that will lead to living wages and benefits that enable workers to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Over time, these education and training programs will help employers reduce their dependency on skilled foreign professionals permitted to work in the U.S. on a temporary basis under the H-1B visa program, by cultivating talent among high school students, including groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in many occupations and industries for which employers are using H-1B visas.
To meet the legislative intent of preparing American workers to replace foreign workers with H-1B visas, the proposed programs must support industries and occupations for which employers are currently using H–1B visas to hire foreign workers.
Proposed program models must:
Use a small learning community approach (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”);
Integrate academic and career-focused curricula around one or more industry theme(s) (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”);
Demonstrate strong partnerships with employers;
Result in a high school diploma and, where feasible and applicable, an industry-recognized credential;
Ensure all students participate in post-secondary education and training that leads to credit toward a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing post-secondary certificate granted by an institution of higher education;
Incorporate activities that will develop academic and social skills, competencies, and behaviors demanded by the high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and occupation(s) targeted through the SGA and stated in the applicant’s statement of need;
Offer multiple educational and career pathways (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) with a demonstrated track record of success in serving eligible participants;
Blend educational and workplace environments to develop work readiness (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) and technical skills that will lead to successful employment, entry into and successful completion of post-secondary education, long-term occupational skills training, or Registered Apprenticeship; and
Ensure that low-income students, other vulnerable youth, including students with disabilities, and populations underrepresented in H-1B fields, such as females and minorities, benefit from this program and have the supports needed to be successful.
The Department is particularly interested in programs that leverage existing Federal, State, and local resources that are already established with the goal of transforming neighborhoods, schools, the workforce, and the regional economy.
Program Authority
The Youth CareerConnect program is authorized under Section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA), as amended (29 U.S.C. 2916a).
C. Youth CareerConnect Program Core Elements
Core Element 1: Integrated Academic and Career-Focused Learning
Core Element 2: Employer Engagement
Core Element 3: Individualized Career and Academic Counseling
Core Element 4: Work-based Learning and Exposure to the World of Work
Core Element 5: Program Sustainability
Core Element 6: Program Performance and Outcomes
To ensure the Youth CareerConnect program accomplishes the goals stated above in Section I.A., all applications must address all of the following core elements in the proposal.
Core Element 1: Integrated Academic and Career-Focused Learning
Both high school diploma attainment and H-1B industry-specific credential attainment are critical to the proposed program design. Programs must use contextualized learning strategies (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) and must be organized around one or more career(s) within high-growth H-1B industries and occupations appropriate to the local/regional labor markets. A sample list of industries and occupations for which employers recently have applied for H–1B visas to hire foreign workers is attached to this solicitation (see Appendix B). This list is not exhaustive; additional information can be found in the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center Online Wage Library (http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CaseH1B.aspx) or DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Performance Data: (http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performancedata.cfm).
Programs must offer multiple educational and career pathways that help participants transition into employment or post-secondary opportunities, such as higher education, long-term occupational skills training, or “earn and learn” models such as Registered Apprenticeship (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”). The Department requires that program curricula development is aligned with their State’s rigorous college and career ready standards (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) in English language arts and mathematics, as well as standards in other core academic subjects, so that participants are prepared to meet all high school graduation and college entrance requirements without the need for later post-secondary remediation. The proposed program model must prepare students to succeed in college and in a competitive workforce while resulting in a high school diploma and, wherever feasible and applicable, an industry-recognized credential, which includes post-secondary degrees. For those program models that do not lead to the attainment of an industry-recognized credential by program completion, program models must place participants on a pathway leading towards credential attainment. For those program models that result in an industry-recognized credential, the Department encourages program models that incorporate stackable and latticed credentials (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”).
Applicants must actively engage employers and/or industry associations to develop an integrated rigorous college and career-focused curriculum organized around an industry theme. Applicants must identify, as part of their curriculum development, any credentials that are either necessary for employment in the field of study or are widely used by employers for hiring and promotion purposes within that industry.
Program models that extend beyond high school into one or two years of post-secondary education must have established strong partnerships with institutions of higher education, such as a local community college or four-year university, to ensure all participants complete the program with a high school diploma and an industry-recognized credential, or a credit-bearing post-secondary certificate or degree. In addition, program models extending into two years of post-secondary education must result in either attainment of an Associate’s Degree or entrance into a Registered Apprenticeship program.
Program models that do not extend beyond the high school years must ensure all participants participate in education and training that results in academic credit towards a credit-bearing post-secondary certificate or degree and results in an industry-recognized credential(s) in addition to the high school diploma upon program completion, or place participants on a pathway leading towards the identified credential, which may include a post-secondary degree such as an Associates or Bachelor’s degree. This would enable participants to simultaneously earn credit towards a credit-bearing post-secondary certificate or degree through dual enrollment with an eligible institution of higher education or through other advanced coursework, such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses. Post-secondary opportunities also include Registered Apprenticeship programs and programs must work with institutions of higher education to negotiate agreements to award credit towards a post-secondary credit-bearing certificate or degree for the training received in the Registered Apprenticeship program.
The proposed program must incorporate small learning communities, such as a school-within-a-school (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”), a small school, or other appropriate models (which may include whole school transformation, as long as a small learning community is maintained). The learning communities must offer several industry-specific classes available only to program participants and should include a cross-disciplinary team of teachers with a lead teacher or coordinator. Program enrollment must be open to all students and programs may not exclude a student on the basis of the student’s prior level of academic achievement and should encourage a broad cross-section of students to participate to encourage and support the participation of low-income students, students with disabilities, and students who are traditionally underrepresented in the proposed industry/occupation (e.g., males in certain health care occupations, females in information technology/engineering, etc.). The program should be structured to maintain personalization and provide a motivating, supportive, and disciplined instructional environment.
The proposed program must provide participants with a rigorous curriculum that prepares them to succeed in college and in a competitive workforce, including careers in H-1B industries/occupations. The curriculum must be organized as a non-duplicative sequence of integrated college and career-focused courses (at least one or more career-focused course must be offered per year) that enables participants to be placed on a pathway leading toward an industry-recognized credential, including post-secondary degrees, necessary for an H-1B industry/occupation upon completion of the program. In industries/occupations where it is not feasible to obtain an industry-recognized credential upon completion of the program, courses must help participants enter a career ladder (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) within the H-1B industry/occupation and put them on a path towards obtaining an industry-recognized credential.
Curriculum must integrate work readiness skills and be contextualized to illustrate applications in the career field and provide participants with opportunities to participate in inter-disciplinary, project-based learning activities. A common planning time (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) should be provided to teachers to foster the integration of academic and career-focused content.
The Department encourages applicants to incorporate competency-based assessment mechanisms in their program design. Competency-based education is an outcomes-oriented approach that is not dependent on seat-time measures of learning. Instead, student mastery of learning outcomes is assessed and certified through observational methods, such as task performance, exams, demonstrations, or other direct measures of proficiency, and credentials are awarded based on successful demonstration of competence. The emphasis of this approach is on the mastery of specific competencies as demonstrated through performance-based assessments (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms” for further definitions of “competency-based education” and “seat-time measures of learning”).
To provide holistic support to program participants, supportive and wrap-around services (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) also must be provided to participants to remove barriers to the successful program participation of students, especially those with special needs, including English language learners, students with disabilities, students from low-income families, and pregnant and parenting students. These services may include, but are not limited to, individualized tutoring, transportation, childcare, services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or other necessary services. Additionally, leadership development activities and opportunities should be provided. Examples of leadership development activities include Youth Policy Councils that serve as youth-led advisory groups for the program or the development of a school-based enterprise, among others.
Core Element 2: Employer Engagement
The Youth CareerConnect program is intended to create a pipeline of participants who, upon program completion, enter a career pathway that aligns with specific in-demand H-1B industry sectors and/or occupations. Employer investment in this program is an innovative approach towards developing a workforce that aligns with employer needs.
Employer engagement is integral to the design, sustainability, and success of this program. In-kind contributions provided by employers may count towards match, as outlined in Section III.B. Employer activities that involve the interaction between participants and the workplace, work-based learning, and mentoring provide benefits to both employers and participants and further the establishment of this pipeline (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms,” for definitions of “work-based learning” and “mentoring”).
Youth CareerConnect programs must leverage existing partnerships and/or develop new partnerships with local employers for the development and sustainability of curriculum and program activities to create strong career pathways in an H-1B industry/occupation for high school students upon graduation and beyond high school.
Applicants must include at least one employer or consortium of employers for each selected high-growth H-1B industry or occupation in their proposed program model. The Department encourages collaboration with multiple employers and other organizations representing an industry sector, including existing industry sector partnerships, labor-management organizations, Registered Apprenticeship sponsors, or regional innovation clusters, to ensure that program participants will be prepared with the skills needed for the high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and occupation(s) identified within the targeted community. The Department additionally encourages applicants to place a priority on diversity and inclusion in their employer engagement efforts.
The employer partner(s) role is to be actively engaged in and providing resources to support the program in the following ways, including, but not limited to:
Helping to define the program strategies and goals;
Assisting with curriculum development and program design, including the ability to incorporate real-world, industry-relevant STEM projects;
Providing resources to support education/training (such as equipment, facilities, instructors, funding, internships, Registered Apprenticeships, and other work-based training opportunities, where applicable);
Providing participants with mentorship opportunities for at least one year based on a work-based learning model within the industry sector identified during the participant’s career exploration;
Facilitating externships and other forms of professional development and training for teachers, faculty, and guidance counselors such as opportunities for employers to mentor school staff to ensure that alignment between the program and the identified industry/sector is sustained and that school staff have appropriate information to guide participants to a career path in the industry sector;
Engaging participants by providing field trips to the employer partner’s place of employment, participating in speaking engagements at the high school to describe various jobs in specific career fields, and offering job shadowing opportunities to expose participants to the world of work;
Providing project-based learning opportunities through paid/unpaid internships, either during the summer or the school year. Registered Apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships are also examples of project-based learning. Internships may be paid either through the employer match, grant funds, or a combination of grant funds and the employer match and must directly relate to occupations identified in the participant’s career plan within the applicant’s identified H-1B industry;
Providing ongoing technical assistance including active participation on an advisory board;
Giving hiring preference to participants who complete the grant-funded education and training program; and
Engaging populations historically underrepresented in H-1B fields, such as females and minorities.
Core Element 3: Individualized Career and Academic Counseling
Proposed programs must provide, as an integral part of the program design, individualized career counseling and academic counseling that includes career and post-secondary awareness and exploration opportunities beyond the high school experience. This counseling must include creating Individual Development Plans (IDPs) with each participant that address post-secondary preparation, such as planning that includes the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or continued education/training, employment, or both. Each participant’s IDP should include career objectives, a program of study, degree and/or certificate objectives, and work experiences; the IDP is a living document and should be reviewed and updated regularly throughout participation in the program.
Every participant should be counseled to find viable ways of pursuing both a career pathway that may include “earn and learn” programs such as Registered Apprenticeship, and a post-secondary degree or certificate. The counseling component should address both preparing for college and preparing for a career. Counseling should facilitate opportunities for both academic and career exploration and should identify navigable pathways leading to careers and career ladders. Participants should be assisted in making informed choices about careers and post-secondary education options. Examples of counseling activities include:
Creating and regularly reviewing and updating each participant’s IDP;
Helping participants identify viable educational and career goals;
Assisting participants to select courses within a program of study to meet their career and educational objectives, including dual enrollment courses provided by an eligible institution of higher education, or other advanced coursework, such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme courses;
Identifying work-based learning experiences that complement participants’ career aspirations;
Assisting participants to select and apply to post-secondary education and training opportunities that are a good fit for participants based on academic progress and degree and/or certificate objectives;
Working with participants to determine ways to finance post-secondary education and training, including the completion of the FAFSA;
Assisting participants to identify and obtain employment in their chosen career pathway;
Providing career interest inventories and occupational information based on local labor market conditions; and
Assisting participants with resume preparation interview skills, and salary negotiation skills, along with other work readiness skills that are critical for success in the workplace.
The program model must also address the unique needs of students with disabilities and English language learners and encourage and support the participation of low-income students and students who are traditionally underrepresented in the proposed industry/occupation, such as females and minorities.
To facilitate the comprehensive career and academic counseling described, the program should provide dedicated counselors for program participants. Counselors must meet frequently with each participant individually on a set schedule to assess progress on their career and academic plans and to make adjustments as necessary. The workforce investment system partner can facilitate the relationship between the American Job Centers (AJCs) and high schools. For example, the Department encourages program models to use the AJCs, Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth services providers, and other community resources that can deliver direct career counseling services or augment services provided by the education partner.
Core Element 4: Work-based Learning and Exposure to the World of Work
Work experience is a required part of the program design. Work experiences, which must be provided by the employer partner(s), are planned, structured learning experiences that take place in a workplace for a limited period of time. Work experiences may be paid or unpaid and may be in the private, for-profit sector; the non-profit sector; or the public sector. Work experiences are designed to enable youth to gain exposure to the working world and its requirements and to be inspired and energized to continue their studies through the practical application of their skills and knowledge. Work experiences should help youth acquire the personal attributes, knowledge, and skills needed to obtain a job and advance in employment. The primary purpose is to provide the youth participant with the opportunities for career exploration and skill development and is not to benefit the employer; although the employer, may, in fact, benefit from the activities performed by the youth. Work experiences may be subsidized or unsubsidized and may occur during the school year, during the summer, or both. The Department encourages programs to pay for work experiences with matching funds. Matching requirements are detailed in Section III.B. Additional information about payments to participants is detailed in the Payments to Participants Section IV.E.5.
In addition to actual work experience, youth participants must receive exposure to the world of work and various career pathways throughout their participation in the program. This exposure should enable them to select and obtain a job in their chosen field and to advance in their career. Ideally, the youth participants will explore a variety of careers during the early part of the program and then participate in a more formal work experience within a specific occupation during the latter part of the program. This exposure to the world of work includes, but is not limited to, the following experiences and activities: classroom speakers from targeted employers; field trips to employers in relevant industries and occupations; job shadowing opportunities; attendance at conferences for trade associations and professional organizations; community service and service learning in relevant industries and occupations (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”); mock interviews by potential employers; résumé writing workshops; and internships with an employer during the final year of the program. Activities intended to expose participants to the world of work should complement but not be a substitute for work experience. In addition, classroom curriculum must be closely tied to and reinforce the work experience/world of work exposure activities.
An example of how applicants could structure their work experience/exposure to the world of work would include broad learning about various careers through research projects, guest speakers, and site visits during Year 1; job shadowing and observations in targeted career areas during Year 2; and additional job shadowing, a summer internship, and a formal, paid internship matched to the participant’s expressed interests and aligned with his or her career plan during Year 3 (or years three and four, but ideally the senior year of high school). A similar sequence should be considered within the context of the proposed program design, which may or may not be conducted on a traditional, annual, school-year calendar.
Core Element 5: Program Sustainability
To ensure program sustainability after the DOL grant ends, Youth CareerConnect programs must include: 1) a focus on professional development during the grant period, including training of teachers, career counselors, and other staff, with the training concentrating on educating professional staff about the specific industry of focus and how to incorporate it into the core curriculum; and 2) a sustainability plan that outlines how the program will be designed to build capacity and continue to provide the same level of instruction and support to participants whose participation will extend beyond the grant period.
The Department expects that every cohort of participants enrolled using grant funds will be provided the same level of program services and activities, even if they are not anticipated to graduate from the program during the grant’s period of performance. Proposed program models must show (as described more fully in Section IV.B.3.c.ii.) how grant funds will be allocated towards activities supporting the sustainability of this program, including the use of other sources of funds such as partner contributions, and how the same level of program performance will be sustained after the grant period. Intermediary organizations and employers may provide expertise in solidifying program sustainability (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”).
A. Professional Development for Teachers, Career Counselors, and Other Staff
Youth CareerConnect programs must offer professional development throughout the grant period, including providing (with support from the workforce investment system, education, and employer required partners) training for staff and teachers in the skills and competencies of the application’s specific industry focus as well as on the career-focused core curriculum that will be developed through the grant and integrated with existing academic standards and curriculum, to improve the quality of the program and make it more likely that the program is sustained beyond the life of the grant. The proposed professional development activities should be a coherent, sustained program of training in the target fields, and be part of a comprehensive effort to improve teaching and service delivery that supports rigorous program activities for participants as well as specific participant outcomes.
Successful professional development programs will be characterized by the following key features supported by research or evidence: (1) include an investment of time allocated specifically for professional learning that could include industry site-based residencies or internships; (2) include intensive training and follow-up experiences to the training, such as individualized mentoring and focused coaching by master teachers and industry experts; (3) facilitate professional collaboration (enabling professional networking and establishing communities of practice amongst teachers and with partners); (4) be focused on specific school and industry-based content with active learning opportunities that will transfer into effective teaching practices and curriculum; and (5) use multiple measures to evaluate professional learning and effectiveness of professional development.
B. Sustainability Plan:
A sustainability plan that addresses program management capacity and includes plans for program sustainability by addressing a number of factors is a critical program component. The Department expects Youth CareerConnect programs to institutionalize key elements of the program (e.g., integrated, contextualized academic and technical curriculum, work experience, opportunities to earn credit for post-secondary education and training, professional development for teachers, etc.) after the grant ends.
Ideally, the plan would incorporate the sustainability of partnerships that include multiple employers in a region and a concentration of interconnected employers, service providers, post-secondary institutions, the workforce investment system, the school district system and associated institutions that are linked by common workforce needs.
In addition, a component of the sustainability plan is to have committed partners in the program who provide matching contributions (cost-sharing) during the life of the grant and then continue to provide funding following the end of the grant. Match requirements under this Solicitation are discussed in Section III.B.
Core Element 6: Program Performance and Outcomes
The program will include a strong focus on performance measures, both short- and long-term. The short-term measures will serve as interim indicators of program progress that will help both grantees and DOL ensure that programs are on track for success. The long-term measures are more outcome-oriented and are a gauge of program success upon completion of the grant. Grantees must track specific data elements, by participant, to report against program performance measures. Data collection will include demographic information; assessment information, including proficiency in math and reading; information on services received; and short- and long-term performance data, including information such as wage at placement and type of occupation for each job placement. The ultimate goal for this program is to ensure that all program completers: 1) graduate from high school with a high school diploma; 2) obtain a degree or industry-recognized credential in an H-1B industry or occupation, and have earned college credits towards a degree in the selected high-growth H-1B industry or occupation; and 3) move into a positive placement that includes unsubsidized employment, post-secondary education, long-term occupational skills training, or a Registered Apprenticeship. Grantees will be required to report on the following performance measures.
Short-term measures:
Enrollment Rate – the number of participants enrolled in the program compared to the target number of participants identified in the grant application;
Attendance Rate – the rate of school attendance by participants in the program;
Chronic Absence Rate – the percentage of participants who have missed 10 percent of school days for any reason-excused or unexcused -- as well as suspensions;
Mentoring Rate – percentage of participants who have matched mentors and participate in formal mentoring;
Yearly Program Retention Rate – percentage of participants who continue in program from one school year to the next;
Work Readiness Indicator – the percentage of participants who are deemed work ready based on an employer evaluation conducted at the end of each internship/work experience (using the DOL-developed work readiness tool found at: http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL/TEGL07-10a4.pdf);
Internship Placement and Completion Rates – the percentage of program participants who begin an internship and, of those who begin an internship, the percentage who complete;
Post-Secondary Credit Attainment Rate – the percentage of participants who attain post-secondary education credit from courses taken during the program; and
Average Post-Secondary Credit Hours Attained – the average number of post-secondary credits attained per participant while in the program.
Long-term measures:
Final Program Retention Rate – the percentage of participants who complete the program, of those who enter the program;
High School Diploma Attainment Rate – the percentage of participants who attain a high-school diploma;
Credential Attainment Rate – the percentage of participants who attain an industry-recognized credential in the specified H-1B industry or occupation;
Diploma and Credential Attainment Rate – the percentage of participants who attain a high-school diploma and credential in the specified H-1B industry or occupation; and
Placement Rate – the percentage of participants who are placed in one of the following: unsubsidized employment, post-secondary education, occupational skills training, or Registered Apprenticeship (the performance report also will include separate counts of the number of participants who enter unsubsidized employment, enter post-secondary education, enter occupational skills training, and enter a Registered Apprenticeship).
D. Allowable Activities
All proposed program costs must be necessary and reasonable and in accordance with applicable Federal regulations, including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cost principles and Uniform Administration Requirements. Determinations of allowable costs will be made in accordance with the applicable OMB cost principles. Disallowed costs are those charges to a grant that the grantor agency or its representative determines not to be allowable in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles or other conditions contained in the grant agreement. Applicants, whether successful or not, will not be entitled to reimbursement of pre-award costs.
Grant funds can be used in accordance with 29 U.S.C. 2916a to: 1) provide job training services and related activities; and 2) assist in the development and implementation of program activities. Applicants may propose to use grant funds for a wide range of allowable activities within the overarching core elements that support the direct education and training of eligible participants, including but not limited to, the following:
Develop or enhance curriculum;
Academic and occupational skills training;
Academic supports, such as tutoring;
Career and post-secondary awareness and exploration activities;
Exposure to the world of work, such as job shadowing and career awareness activities;
Work experience/internships/summer employment/pre-apprenticeships/Registered Apprenticeships;
Mentoring, including employer mentoring;
Employer engagement activities;
Career counseling/academic counseling;
Post-secondary coursework, including costs associated with dual enrollment;
Work readiness/soft skills training (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”);
Wrap around supportive services necessary to support participant’s ability to participate in program activities, such as transportation, childcare, tools/supplies, and work clothes;
Professional development for program staff;
Leadership development activities for program participants;
Technology, equipment, and facility upgrades for classrooms necessary to support program activities;
Costs related to credential attainment for individual participants, e.g., certification exam fees;
Assessments, including assessments of skill levels, aptitudes, abilities, and competencies, career exploration and academic progress;
Job search and placement assistance;
Scholarships, in certain circumstances, limited to tuition and other post-secondary education or training-related costs, including books and academic fees for courses in the identified H-1B industry/occupation; and
Data collection and development and/or modification of a management information system that will allow the collection of required participant level data and reports and facilitate continuous improvement of operations.
Applicants may not supplant other funding sources that they are currently using to fund existing activities.
For more information applicants should refer to the applicable Federal cost principles at 2 CFR 220, 225, or 230 as well as 29 CFR Parts 95 or 97.
Funding will be provided in the form of a grant. Approximately $100 million is expected to be available to fund approximately 25 to 40 grants. DOL intends to fund grants ranging from $2 million to $7 million. Grants can be used to fund programs in a single site or to fund multi-site programs. Applicants should request a funding amount within this range that is commensurate with the complexity and scope of their proposed program model (e.g., multi-industry and multi-site programs would be more likely to warrant higher funding). Awards made under this announcement are subject to the availability of Federal funds. In the event that additional funds become available, ETA reserves the right to use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this solicitation.
B. Period of Performance
The period of performance is up to 54 months with an anticipated start date of April 1, 2014. This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities, with a five-month planning and implementation period for grantees starting programs in the fall 2014 school year.
In general, grant planning and implementation is expected to align with the school academic year; therefore, the first cohort of participants to begin grant-funded activities and all core program services are expected to begin with the fall 2014 school year. Applicants should plan to fully expend grant funds during the period of performance while ensuring full transparency and accountability for all expenditures. Therefore, applicants must carefully consider their ability to spend the level of funding requested during the allotted time. Grant-funded program models will not exceed four (4) years per cohort, in alignment with the grant’s total period of performance.
Within the planning period, grantees must achieve certain milestones, which include the hiring of core program staff, as well as staff member training and curriculum development. During the planning period, grantees must finalize all necessary partnerships for the successful delivery of services and initiate recruitment and outreach efforts for enrollment of participants.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants
As stated under Section 414(c) of ACWIA, grants under this SGA will be awarded to partnerships of public and private sector entities.
i. Eligible Lead Applicants
Eligible lead applicants, who will serve as the fiscal agent, for grants under this solicitation must be a public or non-profit local workforce entity, a local education agency, or a non-profit entity with program model experience as defined below.
The lead applicant is the legal entity named on the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance form and will serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant, including responsibility for monitoring of partners and sub-grantees as well as deliverables. The lead applicant must identify each required member of the partnership in the required Abstract, as discussed in section IV.B. of this SGA. The grantee organization will be: 1) the point of contact with DOL to receive and respond to all inquiries or communications under this SGA; 2) the entity with authority to withdraw or draw down funds through the Department of Health and Human Services - Payment Management System (HHS-PMS); 3) the entity responsible for submitting to DOL all deliverables under the grant, including all technical, financial, and performance reports related to the program, regardless of which partner performed the work; 4) the entity that may request or agree to a revision or modification of the grant agreement or statement of work; 5) the entity with overall responsibility for carrying out the programmatic functions of the grant, as well as for the stewardship of all expenditures under the grant; 6) the entity responsible for establishing sub-grant relationships with the identified program partners; and 7) the entity responsible for working with DOL to close out the grant.
For the purposes of this SGA, the lead applicant must be an entity from one of the following three categories:
1. Public or non-profit local workforce entity
Under this category, eligible applicants are entities that represent the local workforce investment system as follows:
A Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB), as established under Section 117 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), that has been incorporated (in States in which the State Workforce Investment Board carries out the functions of a LWIB pursuant to a DOL-approved waiver, the State Board is authorized to apply in the role of the LWIB);
A State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) in states designated as a single State local area, as established under Section 116(b) of WIA; or
In areas where the LWIB is not incorporated, the legal entity that serves as the fiscal agent for the Local Workforce Investment Board. To apply under this category, this entity must provide, as an attachment to their application, a letter from the chair of the Local Workforce Investment Board that: affirms that the applicant is the legal entity that serves as the fiscal agent for the LWIB, confirms that the applicant is submitting the application on behalf of the LWIB, and includes the applicant’s legal name and Federal Tax Identification Number.
2. Local Educational Agency (LEA)
As defined by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a “local educational agency” includes traditional school districts, as well as: educational service agencies; Bureau of Indian Education schools; and the Hawaii and Puerto Rico Departments of Education (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms” for further definition). If applying under this category, the LEA must provide its National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) District Identification Number on the Abstract.
3. Non-profit organization with program model experience
To be eligible to apply as a lead applicant under this category, a non-profit organization must have experience implementing high school reform or a youth program that includes a small learning community approach, has integrated academic and career-focused learning around one or more industry themes, and incorporates multiple local partners such as employers. An institution of higher education that operates or establishes a non-profit organization consistent with the aforementioned requirements will also be considered an entity eligible to serve as a lead applicant. The Department is aware of the significant experience that WIBs and LEAs have in programs training and educating America’s youth and recognizes that certain non-profits share this experience. Therefore the Department will consider non-profits with the experience described above. If applying under this category, the non-profit must provide a letter on its organizational letter head attesting current non-profit status and affirming and documenting its experience with the described program model, including identifying the school(s), industry of focus, and employer partners.
ii. Eligible Required Partners
To be eligible for consideration under this SGA, the application must include at least one partner from each of the following four groups (the lead fiscal applicant may count as one of these partners if it meets one of the definitions below): 1) entities involved in administering the workforce investment system established under Title I of the WIA; 2) local educational agencies as defined by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (applicant must also identify the specific high school(s) or alternative school(s) that are part of proposal); 3) employers or consortia of employers; and 4) public, accredited institutions of higher education, as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), as amended.
For the purposes of this SGA, required partner groups are defined as:
1. The Local Workforce Investment System entities involved in administering the workforce investment system established under Title I of WIA, including:
A Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB), as established under Section 117 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), that has been incorporated (in States in which the State Workforce Investment Board carries out the functions of a LWIB pursuant to a DOL-approved waiver, the State Board is authorized to apply in the role of the LWIB);
A State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) in states designated as a single State local area, as established under Section 116(b) of WIA;
In areas where the LWIB is not incorporated, the legal entity that serves as the fiscal agent for the LWIB. To serve as a partner under this category, this entity must provide, as an attachment to the application, a letter from the chair of the LWIB that: affirms that the partner is the legal entity that serves as the fiscal agent for the LWIB, confirms that the entity is participating in the application on behalf of the LWIB, and includes the entity’s legal name and Federal Tax Identification Number; or
American Job Center Operators as discussed under Section 121 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2841).
2. Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)
As defined by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a “local education agency” includes traditional school districts, as well as: educational service agencies; Bureau of Indian Education schools; and the Hawaii and Puerto Rico Departments of Education (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms” for further definition).
3. Employers or Consortia of Employers from the H-1B industry/occupation the applicant identifies in response to Section IV.B.3.a.iv. of this SGA
Individual Employer(s)
Consortia of Employers
4. Institutions of Higher Education (IHE)
Institutions of higher education, or a consortium of institutions of higher education, as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), that are public or non-profit educational institutions, legally authorized within the State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education; and accredited by an agency or association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Generally, institutions of higher education include 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, among others. Institutions of higher education should provide documentation of their accreditation status as an attachment to the application.
All of these entities must be active and invested partners that are contributing tangible resources, products, models, and/or equipment to the program proposed in the application, with roles and responsibilities defined in the grant application. Applicants must specify the resources to be contributed, including identifying sources for the required twenty-five percent (25%) match discussed in the following section of the SGA. All applicants must clearly identify a lead applicant for the partnership, which may be the local educational agency, the public workforce entity, or a non-profit organization with program model experience. Applicants may include additional partners beyond the required partners identified above.
Applicants are required to provide a match of 25 percent of the grant award. The match can be met with cash or in-kind contributions. Applicants are encouraged to propose a progressive match that increases with each year of the grant. For example, an applicant requesting a $2 million grant award would have to provide $500,000 in matching funds (25 percent of the grant award). Using a progressive match strategy would mean that matching funds would be expended at increasing rates such that in year one, 10 percent of the match amount, or $50,000, in year two, 20 percent of the total match, or $100,000, in year three, 30 percent of the total match, or $150,000, and in year four, 40 percent of the total match, or $200,000 would be expended. A total of $500,000 in matching funds would be provided, but through a progressive cost sharing that has grant funds paying most of the early implementation costs with other funds covering a progressively larger share over the life of the grant. These percentages are not mandatory; a progressive schedule that works for your program may be proposed. Any progressive schedule should be detailed in the Project Narrative, as described in Section III.B.3.
The Department anticipates that the majority of cash or in-kind match contributions will come from employers. Match, including guidance for valuing in-kind contributions, is discussed at 29 CFR 95.23 (as applied to grants with non-profit organizations as the lead grantee) and at 29 CFR 97.24 (for grants with state and local governments as the lead grantee). Examples of match provided by the employer may include paid work experience/summer employment for participants or in-kind resources such as staff time associated with curriculum development, participating in career awareness presentations, and serving as mentors. Other contributors of match may include the non-federal workforce investment system resources, post-secondary education or training institutions, philanthropy, non-profits/community organizations, State or local government, or other entities that comprise or are otherwise affiliated with the program. Examples of the match provided by post-secondary education and training providers could include the cost of tuition, fees, and any relevant supplies for participating high school students taking post-secondary courses; services such as staff time associated with tutoring and counseling; paying for industry-recognized certification exams; providing professional development for participating staff such as training classes, and certifications; costs associated with providing campus resources (e.g., classroom space, equipment, libraries, etc.); and staff time associated with curriculum development.
Please note that matching funds must be provided during the grant period of performance. Funds used for projects before the period of performance may not be counted as match. Additionally, under the definition of match, other Federal funds may NOT count towards the required match unless the statutes governing those Federal funds explicitly allow them to be used as match.
To be allowable as match, an expenditure must be an allowable cost under the grant. Determinations of allowable costs will be made in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles listed in Section IV.E. If the cost would not be an allowable cost under the grant, then it cannot be counted toward an applicant’s match contribution. Applicants should note that compliance with the match requirement is measured at the end of the grant. If the required match is not met, applicants will be responsible for reimbursing ETA the amount of unmet match when the grant is closed.
Please note that in addition to the Federal amount being requested by a grantee, the match contribution must be specified on the SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance and the SF-424A, Budget Information form. If there is a discrepancy in the amount of matching contributions specified on the SF-424, SF-424A, or Budget Narrative, DOL will consider the amount of funds specified on the SF-424 as the amount of the applicant’s match. Applicants must specify matching funds of 25 percent on their SF-424 form. Grant funds will not be awarded to applicants that fail to specify their match on the SF-424.
Grantees must track and report matching funds quarterly (see Appendix A, “Definition of Terms”) on Form ETA-9130. Instructions and the form may be found at http://www.doleta.gov/grants/financial_reporting.cfm.
C. Other Information
1. Application Screening Criteria
Applications that contain any of the following deficiencies will be found non-responsive and will not be reviewed. The deficiencies are:
Failure to satisfy the deadline requirements in Section IV.C;
Failure to designate a lead applicant that meets the eligibility requirements specified in Section III.A.i., including:
If the lead applicant is an unincorporated LWIB or SWIB, it must provide a letter from the chair of the State or Local Workforce Investment Board as specified in Section III.A.i.1.
If the lead applicant is an LEA, it must provide its National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) District Identification Number, as specified in Section III.A.i.2.
If the lead applicant is a non-profit organization, it must provide a letter on its organizational letter head attesting current non-profit status and affirming and documenting its experience with the described program model, as specified in Section III.A.i.3.
Failure to meet the partnership requirements for all four required partners specified in Section III.A.ii.
Failure to include: a signed SF-424 application form, including D-U-N-S® (DUNS) Number and 25 percent match, an SF-424A budget form, a budget narrative, and a project narrative (see Section IV.B);
Failure to register with the System for Award Management (SAM) and maintain an active account referenced in Section IV.B; and
Failure to include the below attachments and the required information in each (see Section IV.B):
Abstract; and
Signed letters of commitment and/or Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) from each of the required partners.
2. Number of Applications to Be Submitted
An organization (based on its Employer Identification Number) may only be awarded one grant as a result of this competition; however, this would not preclude an organization from being the lead applicant on one proposal and a partner on another or a partner on multiple applications.
3. Eligible Participants
Participants Eligible to Receive Training
Eligible participants are students enrolled in high school, including students who have dropped out and re-enrolled prior to or in conjunction with enrollment in the funded program. Program models must cover two, three, or four years of high school, including a student’s final two years of high school. The program may apply to students in grades 9-12, 10-12, 10-13, 11-12, 11-13, or 11-14 and must include industry-specific classes available only to program participants. All program services must be provided at no cost to program participants.
Applicants must work within their State’s child labor laws when incorporating work-based learning activities for youth. (For information regarding Federal child labor provisions authorized by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, applicants may visit: http://www.dol.gov/whd/childlabor.htm.)
Veterans Priority for Participants
The Jobs for Veterans Act (Public Law 107-288) requires grantees to provide priority of service for veterans and spouses of certain veterans for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services in any job training program directly funded, in whole or in part, by DOL. The regulations implementing this priority of service can be found at 20 CFR Part 1010. In circumstances where a grant recipient must choose between two qualified candidates for a service, one of whom is a veteran or eligible spouse, the veterans priority of service provisions require that the grant recipient give the veteran or eligible spouse priority of service by first providing him or her that service. To obtain priority of service, a veteran or spouse must meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Grantees must comply with DOL guidance on veterans’ priority. ETA’s Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 10-09 (issued November 10, 2009) provides guidance on implementing priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses in all qualified job training programs funded in whole or in part by DOL. TEGL No. 10-09 is available at http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816.
4. Cost per Participant
The Department expects that the annual cost-per-participant will be between $2,000 and $3,000 for each year in the program, but it should not exceed $3,000 per participant per year. The expected cost-per-participant-per-year is calculated by dividing the total DOL grant award (this does not include matching funds listed on the SF-424) by the number of participants served each year in the program.
The projected enrollment described in the application is not binding. At the time of grant award, DOL will finalize grantees’ expected enrollment goals, based on the size of grant award and the cost-per-participant parameters specified above.
This SGA, found at www.Grants.gov and http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm, contains all of the information and links to forms needed to apply for grant funding.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission
Proposals submitted in response to this SGA must consist of four separate and distinct parts: (1) the SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance;” (2) Project Budget; (3) Project Narrative; and (4) attachments to the Project Narrative. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts and sub-parts of the application.
Applicants must complete the SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance” (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15). The SF-424 must clearly identify the applicant and must be signed by an individual with authority to enter into a grant agreement. Upon confirmation of an award, the individual signing the SF-424 on behalf of the applicant shall be considered the authorized representative of the applicant. As stated in block 21 of the SF-424 form, signature of the authorized representative on the SF-424 certifies that the organization is in compliance with the Assurances and Certifications form SF-424B (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15). The SF-424B is not required to be submitted with the application.
All applicants for Federal grant and funding opportunities are required to have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and must supply their DUNS Number on the SF-424. The DUNS Number is a nine-digit identification number that uniquely identifies business entities. If you do not have a DUNS Number, you can get one for free through the D&B website: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do. As authorized under 2 CFR 25, grant recipients authorized to make subawards must be aware of the following requirements related to DUNS Numbers:
Grantees must notify potential sub-grantees that no entity may receive a sub-award from you unless the entity has provided its DUNS number to you.
Grantees may not make a sub-award to an entity unless the entity has provided its DUNS number to you.
Applicants must register with SAM before submitting an application. Instructions for registering with SAM can be found at https://sam.gov. An awardee must maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application under consideration. To remain registered in the SAM database after the initial registration, the applicant is required to review and update the registration at least every 12 months from the date of initial registration or subsequently updates its information in the SAM database to ensure it is current, accurate and complete. For purposes of this paragraph, the applicant is the entity that meets the eligibility criteria to serve as the lead applicant and has the legal authority to apply and to receive the award.
Applicants must complete the SF-424A Budget Information Form (available at http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/FormLinks?family=15). In preparing the Budget Information Form, the applicant must provide a concise narrative explanation to support the budget request, explained in detail below.
Budget Narrative: The budget narrative must provide a description of costs associated with each line item on the SF-424A. It should also include a description of the 25 percent match resources, including the source of the match requirements and the plan securing matching funds.
Use the following guidance for preparing the budget narrative:
Personnel – List all staff positions by title. Give the annual salary of each person, the percentage of each person’s time devoted to the project, the amount of each person’s salary funded by the grant and the total personnel cost for the period of performance.
Fringe Benefits – Provide a breakdown of the amounts and percentages that comprise fringe benefit costs such as health insurance, FICA, retirement, etc.
Travel – Specify the purpose, mileage, per diem, estimated number of in-state and out-of-state trips and other costs for each type of travel.
Equipment – Identify each item of equipment to be purchased which has an estimated acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit and a useful lifetime of more than one year. List the quantity and unit cost per item. Items with a unit cost of less than $5,000 are supplies.
Supplies – Supplies include all tangible personal property other than “equipment.” The detailed budget should identify categories of supplies (e.g., office supplies). List the quantity and unit cost per item.
Contractual – Identify each proposed contract and specify its purpose and estimated cost. If applicable, identify any sub-recipient agreements, including purpose and estimated costs. See 29 CFR 99.105 for more information on the distinction between sub-contractor (vendor) and sub-recipient.
Construction – Construction costs are not allowed and this line must be left as zero. Minor alterations to adjust an existing space for grant activities (such as a classroom alteration) may be allowable. DOL does not consider this as construction and the costs must be shown on other appropriate lines such as Contractual.
Other – List each item in sufficient detail for DOL to determine whether the costs are reasonable or allowable. List any item, such as stipends or incentives, not covered elsewhere here.
Indirect Charges – If indirect charges are included in the budget, include the approved indirect cost rate with a copy of the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, a description of the base used to calculate indirect costs and total cost of the base, and the total indirect charges requested. See Section IV.E.1. for more information.
Note that the entire Federal grant amount requested (not just one year) must be included on the SF-424 and SF-424A and budget narrative. Cost sharing or match must also be shown on the SF-424, SF-424A and budget narrative. Please note, the funding amount included on the SF-424 will be considered the official funding amount requested if any inconsistencies are found.
The following instructions provide all of the information needed to complete the Project Narrative. Applicants should carefully read and consider each section, and include all required information in their Project Narrative. The Project Narrative will be evaluated using the evaluation criteria identified in Section V.A. Applicants should use the same section headers identified below for each section of their Project Narrative:
a. Statement of Need
i. Poverty Rate of Geographic Area
For each city or town that will be served by the program, the project narrative must provide the poverty rate as listed in the Poverty Data available for download at: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. Applicants serving a single city or town should simply state the poverty rate found at the above link. For those programs proposing to serve multiple cities or towns, applicants must state the poverty rate and population of each city or town as well as the calculation of the weighted average poverty rate for the area to be served. The weighted average takes into account the relative size and poverty rate for each city or town. Calculate the weighted average by first adding the two (or more) populations (from 2010 Census data) and determining the percentage of each town in the overall population. Then the population percentages are multiplied by each poverty rate and the adjusted poverty rates are added together to calculate the weighted average poverty rate. For example, if an applicant proposes to serve two cities and city 1 has a population of 100,000 with a poverty rate of 10% and city 2 has a population of 50,000 and a poverty rate of 15%, then city 1 accounts for 66.7% of the total population the applicant is proposing to serve and city 2 accounts for 33.3% of the total population the applicant is proposing to serve. Therefore .667 x 10% + .333 x 15% = a weighted average poverty rate of 11.67%. Applicants must include, as an attachment to the proposal, the applicable American Community Survey (ACS) Poverty Data tables used to identify the poverty rate.
ii. Percent of Students from Low-Income Families
For the identified school(s) where the program will take place, the project narrative must provide the percentage of students from low-income families, based on eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch subsidies under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, or other poverty measures that the LEA uses to determine school attendance areas under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). (See Section 1113(a)(5) of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)). Consistent with ESEA Title I, applicants may calculate the percentage of students from low-income families at a high school by using poverty data from the middle or elementary school attendance areas that feed into the high school. If the program is two or more schools, a weighted average must be calculated using the same formula used to determine the weighted average poverty rate. Although the applicant can choose which type of LEA poverty measure they will use, the applicant must use the same LEA poverty measure for all schools. Applicants must include, as an attachment to the proposal, the applicable data sources used to identify the percentage of students from low-income families.
iii. Median Income Level of Geographic Area
The project narrative must provide, for each city or town that will be served by the program, the median income level that is listed in the data available for download at: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. Applicants serving multiple cities or towns must provide the weighted average median income level of the proposed cities and/or towns to be served. The weighted average median income level must be calculated using the same formula used to determine the weighted average poverty rate. Applicants must include, as an attachment to the proposal, the applicable ACS data tables used to identify the median income level.
iv. Industry Focus
In the project narrative, applicants must:
Identify and describe the selection of the high growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) targeted by the program;
Identify the education and skills required for workers to meet the employment demand;
Cite evidence that demonstrates that the selected high-growth industry(ies)/occupation(s) is one for which employers currently seek H-1B visas and/or is an occupation(s) along the career pathway in the relevant industry;
Cite evidence based on local labor market data as derived from Bureau of Labor Statistics data or other relevant sources, such as city, county, or State labor market reports, demonstrating that the selected H-1B industry(ies)/occupation(s) is high-growth;
Identify and describe the education, skills, and credentials necessary for entry into the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) and identify and describe the education and training required to attain the competencies and degrees/credentials required for the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s);
Describe how the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) will lead to living wages and benefits that enable workers to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and
Provide evidence that the local or regional employers face a gap in skills of the available workforce and in the training available to the workforce. Describe the current and future projected demand for employment in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s), including demand for entry-level positions, and cite the source for the projected demand, such as DOL, State workforce agencies, employers, and/or other relevant sources.
b. Program Design
i. Integrated Academic and Career Focused Learning
In this section, applicants must fully describe the integrated academic and career-focused curriculum (or curricula) aligned to their State’s college and career-ready standards that will be used to develop the education and skills required for workers in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) or occupation(s) on which the program will focus, as well as the industry-recognized credential(s) that will result from this training. The applicant must:
Identify and describe the program’s non-duplicative sequence of integrated academic and career-focused courses (at least one or more career-focused courses must be offered per year in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupations(s) and related career fields), describe how it is aligned to the State’s college-and career- ready standards, and how it will result in all participants earning a high school diploma, post-secondary credit towards a degree or credit-bearing certificate, and wherever feasible and applicable, an industry-recognized credential. For those programs that are not designed to result in an industry-recognized credential, the applicant must demonstrate that no relevant, widely accepted credential is appropriate for the proposed sequence of academic and career-focused courses, and provide evidence that the program’s academic and career-focused courses will successfully prepare participants for employment in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupation(s) and related career fields. For those industries where credential attainment is not feasible by program completion, applicants must describe how the program model will place participants on a career path to attain an industry-recognized credential, which may include a post-secondary degree, following the program;
Identify and describe how the course of study is aligned and consistent with college- and career-ready graduation requirements, including minimum high school graduation expectations (e.g., completion of a minimum course of study, content mastery, proficiency on college- and career-ready assessments) that reflect a rigorous, robust, and well-rounded curriculum and that cover a wide range of academic and technical knowledge and skills to ensure that by the time students graduate high school, they satisfy requirements for admission into credit-bearing courses at the state’s public four-year and two-year degree-granting institutions and the requirements associated with post-secondary advanced training, including registered apprenticeships;
Identify and describe how the innovative curriculum elements will enhance the academic experience, including: how the use of coursework differs from that of a traditional high school; how instructional strategies will be used to address basic skills deficiencies, and how project-based and contextualized learning strategies will be used to integrate academic and career-focused content;
Identify and describe the specific teaching strategies to be used in the proposed program, including details about the class schedule, common planning to foster the integration of academic and technical education, and how participant mastery of skills will be determined;
Describe how work readiness skills training will be incorporated into the curriculum to ensure that program participants have the soft skills necessary to succeed in the workforce;
Identify and describe the post-secondary course work included in the curriculum, including how the cost will be covered for participants, that will result in the attainment of credit towards a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing certificate for all program participants;
Describe how industry and post-secondary partners have or will be involved in the design of the integrated education and career-focused curriculum to ensure that the skills learned and credential(s) attained or pursued are aligned with the needs of employers and sufficient for entry into the selected H-1B industry/occupation;
Provide evidence of an established relationship with an institution of higher education, such as a local community college, that will allow for all participants to earn post-secondary credits toward a degree or credit-bearing certificate in the selected H-1B industry/occupation; and
For those curricula or programs that are designed to result in an industry-recognized credential prior to program completion, identify and describe the industry-recognized credential that participants will earn, how the credential aligns with the selected H-1B industry/occupation, how the credential can be stacked and latticed, is portable, and provides entry onto the career pathway following exit from the program.
Description of Approach to School Setting:
Describe and justify the program model, including the targeted grades (the acceptable targeted grades can be 9-12, 10-12, 10-13, 11-12, 11-13, or 11-14 and the model must include industry specific classes available only to the program);
Describe the participant recruitment and participant retention in program plan, such as how the program will inform students and parents about applying for and enrolling in the program; assist parents/students in completing required registration, data collection, and consent forms; maintain communications about ongoing activities; and keep parents engaged;
Identify and describe how students will be recruited and selected for program enrollment, including how they will seek to ensure that program participants reflect the full diversity of the overall school population and community; how they will encourage and support the participation of low-income students and students who are traditionally underrepresented in the selected H-1B industry/occupation, such as females, minorities, students with disabilities, and English language learners; and how they will ensure that students will not be selected on the basis of academic achievement;
Identify and describe how the applicant will address the unique needs of participants with disabilities and English language learners; and
Describe how class and program size will be limited to maintain personalization and how small learning communities will be maintained, such as through units within cohorts.
Description of Wrap-Around Services:
Identify and describe how the applicant will provide key supportive services to participants, such as transportation assistance to aid participants in reaching internships and/or work experience opportunities, that will enable and enhance program participation; and
Identify the academic and program supports available to participants, such as tutoring, after-school programs, or remedial education, and describe how these supports will assist participants with becoming proficient.
ii. Employer Engagement
In this section, the applicant must describe and demonstrate the specific activities, staff, and resources employer partners will provide. Specifically, applicants must:
Identify and describe employer partners committed to the project, including the role of each employer partner, evidence through MOUs or signed letters of commitment for each employer partner, and the resources contributed to the program by each employer partner (if applicable);
Identify and describe specific activities that the applicant will implement with its employer partners to ensure program staff development and curriculum development meet the goals of the programs;
Describe how the identified employer partners will provide ongoing technical assistance including active participation on an advisory board;
Describe how the applicant will leverage existing partnerships and/or develop new partnerships with local employers;
Describe how employers will assist with the development and sustainability of an industry-focused curriculum and incorporate program activities that will create strong career pathways for program participants upon program completion;
Describe strategies and detailed plans for employer engagement and program participant immersion in an array of work-based learning opportunities that includes a combination of internship opportunities, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, Registered Apprenticeship opportunities, job shadowing opportunities, and career awareness activities that directly relate to the selected high growth industry(ies)/occupation(s) and will align with a participant’s IDP;
Identify strategies for developing an industry-related, employer-based mentoring program and describe how support and supervision will be provided to both mentors and participants; the method and frequency of interaction with participants; mentor recruiting and matching with participants, including ensuring that mentors are representative of the participant population (i.e., include females and minorities); the average duration anticipated (minimum one year); and procedures for terminating mentoring relationships;
Describe how career exploration activities will be coordinated with, and incorporated into, school curriculum activities that allow participants frequent opportunities to interact with professionals in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupation(s), including field trips and internships; and
Describe how employer partners will help train and prepare worksite supervisors to integrate participants for work-based learning activities such as internships. Demonstration of worksite training may include, but is not limited to, determining program goals and staffing (per worksite); determining workplace capacity and outcomes; training and mentoring of supervisors for the participants; determining career connected activities that reinforce academic goals; intern recruiting, matching, training and orientation; evaluating participant growth; and identifying areas for improvement.
iii. Career and Academic Counseling
In this section, the applicant must describe the academic and career preparation activities that will assist participants in developing their career and academic goals and understanding long-term career and educational pathway options as one component of their participation in the program. To demonstrate these program objectives, applicants must:
Describe the ratio of participants to counselors, participant access to counseling services, and the types and frequency of counseling offered;
Identify and describe the career and academic counseling services available to participants. Describe how counseling services will:
Be integrated into the program;
Be ongoing and comprehensive;
Be augmented by the utilization of program partners;
Lead to post-program career placement opportunities;
Assist each participant to develop career goals, understand career pathway options, and establish an Individual Development Plan (IDP); include how the IDP will be created, reviewed, updated, and developed with clear academic and career goals and participant input; IDPs must include specific career goals, degree/certificate attainment goals, work experience plans, and training needs that correlate to the participant’s academic schedule;
Assist participants in developing specific educational goals, including relevant benchmarks, and utilizing appropriate assessment tools; and
Lead to continuing education, including post-secondary educational placement, continued occupational skills training, or Registered Apprenticeships through assistance with activities like completing college applications and financial aid forms, such as the FAFSA, or college and training program tours;
Describe how other counseling needs, such as personal issues, will be assessed and addressed; and
Describe how counseling will encourage and support the participation of low-income students and students who are traditionally underrepresented in the proposed industry/occupation.
iv. Work-Based Learning and Exposure to the World of Work
In this section, applicants must identify how work-based learning opportunities will be incorporated into the academic and career-focused curriculum as well as demonstrate how the implementation of these activities will be incorporated within each participant’s IDP. The applicant also must fully describe the types of work-based learning activities and exposures to the world of work provided throughout the year (both during the academic period and/or summer).
Applicants must describe the offered work-based learning opportunities, including descriptions of:
Work experience and career awareness activities provided in each academic year (i.e., career exploration, job shadowing opportunities, internships, pre-apprenticeships, Registered Apprenticeships);
Plans for providing the activities, including who would provide them, where they would be provided and the planned duration of each activity;
How internship opportunities will be identified;
Whether internship opportunities will be paid and, if so, how they will be paid;
How the applicant will address the transportation needs of participants to access internships; and
How internships taking place at a worksite will be monitored by the applicant and the type of support the applicant will provide to employers hosting work experience opportunities.
Applicants must describe how the program will integrate work experience opportunities into the academic and career-focused curriculum and identify:
How the integrated academic and career-focused curriculum will relate to the work experience opportunities of program participants; and
Opportunities for the program participants to apply what they learn in their academic and technical skills courses in the work setting.
Applicants must provide a description of how community service learning opportunities may be used as a part of a broader program strategy that complements curriculum but is not a substitute for work experience and leadership development opportunities for participants, including:
The strategy for community service learning, identifying: participant time commitment, types of activities, integration of vocational skills, staff training, and other factors;
The strategy for youth leadership development opportunities, including how youth will be engaged in the decision-making process; and
A description of youth leadership development and community service learning activities that are integrated with the academic training, technical skills training, the specific industry focus, and career exploration/work experience components of the program.
v. Partners
In this section, applicants must identify and describe the required partners (in accord with the standards in Sec. III. A. ii. of the SGA) and other partners, specify clear roles for each partner, and describe the activities that each partner will undertake. Specifically, the applicant must provide for the following information about the partners:
Workforce Investment System:
A description of the local workforce investment system’s main responsibilities in designing and executing the program;
A plan for collaboration between the workforce investment system and the local education agency;
The resources that the workforce investment system has committed to the program;
A plan for coordinating with and utilizing the resources provided by the network of American Job Centers to develop and implement career counseling services and plan for incorporating up-to-date information; and
A description of the role the workforce investment system will play in connecting program graduates with education, training, and/or employment opportunities.
Local Education Agency (LEA):
Identification of the specific school(s) involved in the program;
A description of the local education agency’s main responsibilities in designing and executing the program;
A plan for the collaboration between the local education agency and the workforce investment system partner;
A description of the resources that the LEA has committed to the program;
A description of how the LEA ensures that integrated academic and career-focused curriculum aligns to college- and career-ready standards, incorporates work readiness and employability skills, includes project-based learning strategies, creates a sequence of coursework that is both credit-bearing and fulfills graduation requirements, and partners with institutions of higher education to provide post-secondary credit;
A description of the collaboration with employer and post-secondary partners to provide professional development, training, and certification/credentialing that builds capacity of teaching and other program staff to implement the academic and career-focused program;
A description of how it will administer academic and wraparound supports such as tutoring, counseling, and assistance with finding appropriate services so that all participants, including low-income students, English Learners, and students with disabilities, can successfully graduate high school and enter post-secondary education and training credit bearing courses without the need for remediation;
A clear plan for program management, including scheduling, staffing, and equipment/supplies/resources acquisition and allocation, necessary to implement the defined program model;
A description of the role the local education agency will play in connecting program graduates with education, training, and/or employment opportunities;
A description of how the LEA will leverage its relevant State and local resources, initiatives, and funding streams to help support both the implementation and the sustainability of college and career preparation reforms; and
A description of how the LEA, in close collaboration with the lead applicant, will gather, store, and report participant and program-level data.
Institution of Higher Education (IHE):
A description of the IHE’s main responsibilities;
A description of the role of the IHE in ensuring that the academic content is aligned with college-level content, including programs that offer students access to college-level coursework and opportunities to gain postsecondary credit while still in high school;
A description of how the IHE will help offer meaningful college and career exploration opportunities and high-quality advisory services;
A description of the supportive services (e.g., tutoring) available to participants while they are taking post-secondary coursework;
A description of how the secondary and IHE partners will make facilities and/or equipment available to program teachers and participants that are necessary for the implementation of program activities;
A plan for developing articulation agreements to award all participants with academic credit towards a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing post-secondary certificate for education or training through the program; and
A description of how each IHE partner that will contribute towards program goals.
Additional Program Partner Roles:
A description of the program partner, either a required or additional partner, that will fulfill the following roles and how the following roles and responsibilities will support and enhance the program:
Coordinating collaborative partnerships through the facilitation of dialogue among partners;
Implementing partnership agreements;
Managing data collection and analysis; and
Handling the logistical and administrative details of providing work experiences for all participants and facilitating employer input into curriculum;
A description of additional partnerships, if any, and how they will support and enhance the program, and what resources they will contribute;
A description of how any additional partners will contribute to program goals; and
A description of how the program will continue even as employer partners, school leaders, and other key leaders change.
Below is a list of organizations that could serve as additional partners playing a role in program operations and/or providing wrap-around services.
Intermediaries, including workforce, education, or other intermediaries;
Registered Apprenticeship program if relevant to the selected H-1B industry/occupation;
Industry-related Nonprofit Organizations, including trade or industry associations such as local Chambers of Commerce; small business federations; labor organizations; or employers, associations, and joint labor-management organizations that run Registered Apprenticeship programs;
Organizations that provide technical skills training;
Mentorship organizations;
Organizations that provide community service learning or leadership development opportunities;
Organizations that provide wrap-around assistance to participants;
Museums or science/technology learning centers; or
Federal/public laboratories or research facilities.
c. Organizational Profile
i. Program Management
The applicant must describe its capacity to manage the programmatic, fiscal, and administrative aspects of the proposed program. In this section, applicants must provide an organizational chart, included as an attachment to the project narrative. The organizational chart must clearly identify:
The lead organization, the required partner organizations, any additional partners not required, and the linkages between each partner organization;
All relevant leadership, program, administrative, and advisory positions within each partner organization; and
The comprehensive management structure.
The applicant also must provide a program calendar, included as an attachment to the project narrative. The program calendar must clearly identify:
A timeline for completing activities within the planning period;
The planned activities and services provided to participants over the entire cycle of one cohort; and
The timeline for cohort recruitment and enrollment into the program.
In addition, in the project narrative, the applicant must describe its staffing plan, including:
The professional qualifications that the applicant will require of the full-time program manager, who may be employed by any of the partners (either required or additional);
The timeframe for hiring the program manager if one is not already hired;
How the program manager will coordinate collaborative partnerships through facilitating dialogue among partners, implementing partnership agreements, establishing collaborative processes and procedures, including a program operations manual, managing data collection and analysis, handling the logistical and administrative details of providing work-related experiences for participants, facilitating employer input into the curriculum, and creating a feedback loop between partners to share data on progress, review areas in need of improvement, and recognize best and promising practices; and
The proposed roles and qualifications of staff members within both the lead and the partner organizations.
ii. Sustainability
In this section, applicants must demonstrate the resources the program will use to ensure institutional capacity to support the Youth CareerConnect program in the long-term, demonstrating strong potential to continue program activities without future Federal funding, and how the continuing program will incorporate the strategies used to carry out the Core Elements described in Section I.C.
To the extent possible, applicants should demonstrate plans for the sustainability of partnerships that include multiple employers in a region and a concentration of interconnected employers, service providers, post-secondary institutions, the workforce investment system, the school district system and associated institutions that are linked by common workforce needs.
Applications must demonstrate how they plan to sustain program activities beyond the program’s period of performance and provide a detailed description of professional development plans for program staff and how they will lead to sustainability beyond the period of performance by describing the following:
How it will offer professional development throughout the grant period, including training staff and teachers both in the skills and competencies of the application’s specific industry focus, as well as on the career-focused core curriculum which applicants will develop through the grant;
The specific number and type of teachers, guidance counselors, and other staff that will receive training, and the specific certifications or other credentials they will receive that certify their competency;
The professional development activities in target fields as part of a comprehensive effort to improve teaching;
The use of student achievement data and other program metrics to inform professional development design; and
A plan for how the applicant will sustain professional development beyond the period of performance.
Applicants must also include a sustainability plan that describes the following:
How the program will ensure that all participants in the program will be able to complete the program and graduate from high school if still enrolled in the program when the grant ends;
The applicant’s capacity and plan to institutionalize key elements of the program (e.g., integrated and contextualized academic and career-focused curriculum, work experience, post-secondary education/training that enable all students to earn credit towards a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing post-secondary certificate, professional development for teachers, etc.) after the grant ends;
How the same level of program performance will be sustained for future cohorts beyond the life of the grant;
How the applicant will use data to determine which strategies and activities were effective and how effective strategies, activities, and partnerships will be integrated into the program throughout the duration of the program and beyond;
How the program will utilize State and local per pupil allocations as well as secure cash and in-kind resources from employer, workforce, and education/training partners to ensure the program has adequate funding to continue its operations once the grant period ends, including the costs necessary to sustain dual enrollment programs and other costs associated with ensuring that all student in the program will earn post-secondary credit towards a degree or credit-bearing certificate; and
Any additional efforts in the school and/or school district to prepare all students for success in post-secondary education/training and the workplace and how the proposed program will complement these efforts.
iii. Budget
Applicants must also describe the sources and uses of funds as well as all matching resources as part of the Budget Narrative. The Budget Narrative is included as a separate document as part of the Project Budget and does not count against the 30-page limit. Applicants must describe the following in their Budget Narrative:
How the source(s) of the match requirement aligns with the program needs for implementation of the program model, including a detailed description of cash and in-kind resources that will contribute towards the match;
The plan for securing matching funds, such as a progressive match, including the percentage of the match that it will expend each year and what the match will fund in each of the four years of the program;
A description of the costs associated with each line item on the SF-424A; and
A description of the budget in relation to the scope of work of the program and the dedicated staff.
In addition, in the project narrative, applicants must include the following:
The proposed cost per participant; and
How the proposed cost per participant aligns with similar programs that the applicant, a partner, or another organization has conducted.
d. Data Collection and Program Performance
In this section, applicants must provide projections for specific performance indicators identified below in Section ii. The applicant’s projected goals will be used as the basis for negotiating some of the performance targets for the grant. Many of the performance targets will be set based on national goals identified by the DOL. In addition, applicants must fully describe their capacity and ability to collect participant-level data on all program participants, including setting up mechanisms to transfer this data to the DOL on a quarterly basis in accordance with DOL/ETA quarterly reporting guidelines, and setting up processes and procedures for ensuring information is collected and stored in accordance with DOL Personally Identifiable Information (PII) policies and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Applicants must also describe how they will use data, including short- and long-term measures, to assess the effectiveness of their program and ensure continuous program improvement.
Data Collection Plan
Applicants must describe a data collection plan that includes:
A description of the management information system in place, or plans for the development of a system, to track participant characteristics, services and outcomes of each program participant throughout the life of the grant;
Detailed descriptions of how the applicant will collect and store data on participant outcomes;
A description of how the applicant will train dedicated staff to collect, store and transmit participant data to the Department;
A description of processes and procedures for collecting the necessary consent to proceed with the data collection in compliance with applicable law (e.g., FERPA); and
A detailed description on how data, including DOL-required data and any additional program data, will be used to inform program management and the development and continuous improvement of the program.
Short- and long-term measures, including a description of how the applicant will meet its performance goals by providing (the information requested is this section [or subsection] must be provided as an attachment to the project narrative in the form of the matrix described in Section IV.B.4.i.):
Projections for each of the following indicators for all participants served with grant funds (note: goals will be set nationally for any of the short and long-term performance measures not included below):
Total participants who will be served over the life of the grant, including the number of participants to be served in each year of the grant and the number of participants to be served in each cohort;
Total number of participants who will participate in formal mentoring;
Total number of participants who will participate in an internship;
The average number of post-secondary credits that participants will attain during the program;
Yearly program retention rate measuring the percentage of participants that continue in the program from one year to the next; and
Final program retention rate measuring the percentage of participants that complete all years of the program.
Applicants must describe past performance activities that demonstrate and support the applicant’s ability to successfully implement the proposed program by describing the following:
Past accomplishments achieved, such as operating a youth-focused education or workforce development program comparable in complexity and duration to the proposed program. Applicants which have not operated such a program must explain how their experience in operating other programs has prepared them to undertake the complexities of this type of program, and must describe the previous program experience and how long the programs were in operation;
Applicants also must describe how previous experience in the development of both the academic and career-focused skills training curricula were developed, how long they have been used, and how successful they were in implementing the curricula; and
Describe relevant past experiences and accomplishments working with any of the listed required program partners and/or entities.
In addition to the Project Narrative, the applicant must submit attachments. All attachments must be clearly labeled as Attachments. Only those attachments listed below will be excluded from the page limit. Additional materials such as résumés or general letters of support must not be included. Applicants must submit their application in one package because documents received separately will be tracked separately and will not be attached to the application for review. Save all files with descriptive file names of 50 characters or less and be sure to only use standard characters in file names: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and underscore (_). File names may not include special characters (e.g., &,–,*,%,/,#), periods (.), blank spaces or accent marks, and must be unique (i.e., no other attachment may have the same file name). An underscore (example: my_Attached_File.pdf) may be used to separate a file name.
The following attachments must be submitted by all applicants, and applications that fail to include any of these attachments will be found non-responsive and will not be reviewed:
Abstract: All applicants must submit an up to two-page abstract summarizing the proposed project, including, but not limited to, the scope of the project and proposed outcomes. The proposed project must include: 1) the program name; 2) the name of the lead applicant (including, if applicable, the NCES District Identification Number) and the names of the other three required partners within the program (identified in Section III.A.); 3) the applicant’s city/state; 4) the jurisdictions (i.e., county(ies) and cities/towns within each county) that will be served by the program, including the population of each jurisdiction; 5) the grant’s selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) from the H-1B visa lists; 6) the funding level requested and match amount; 7) a summary of the specific program activities (identified in Section IV.A.); 8) the number of participants to be served and a description of the program model, including the participating schools and grade levels within the model; and 9) public contact information where grantee wants public inquires to be addressed (must be an email, website, or phone number). The Abstract is limited to two-page double-spaced single sided 8.5x11 inch pages with 12 point text font and 1 inch margins. If using grants.gov for submission, this document must be attached under the Mandatory Other Attachment section and labeled “Abstract.” Please note that applicants will be held to outcomes provided and failure to meet those outcomes may have a significant impact on future grants with ETA.
Signed letters of commitment and/or MOUs from each of the required partners (see Section III.A.). Each letter and/or MOU must confirm the commitment to fulfill the responsibilities of each organization involved in the program during the life of the grant as outlined in the project narrative (see Section IV.B.3.A).
Required eligibility documentation for certain lead applicants, as applicable:
If the lead applicant is an unincorporated LWIB or SWIB, it must provide a letter from the chair of the State or Local Workforce Investment Board as specified in Section III.A.i.1.
If the lead applicant is a non-profit organization, it must provide a letter on its organizational letter head attesting current non-profit status and affirming and documenting its experience with the described program model, as specified in Section III.A.i.3.
Additional attachments that are required for all applicants, which may impact the scoring under Section V.A, are:
If the applicant listed additional partners, signed letters of commitment or MOU must be included to support the additional program collaborations and the specific roles of each additional partner (see Section III.A.).
An organizational chart that identifies all relevant leadership, program, administrative, and advisory positions within each required partner organization. The organizational chart must demonstrate that the program will be implemented through a comprehensive management structure that allows for efficient and effective communication between all levels of the program and demonstrates how information and responsibilities will be shared across partner organizations.
A Program Calendar which specifically includes: 1) a timeline for completing critical activities within the planning period; 2) the planned activities and services provided to participants over the entire cycle of one cohort of youth; and 3) the timeline for cohort recruitment and enrollment into the program. The Federal Project Officer will review completion of these milestones within the grant’s planning phase. Grantees who have not met milestones may be subject to corrective action.
An ACS data table showing the poverty rate and median income level for each city/town in the targeted community (as identified in Section IV.B.3.A).
The appropriate documentation that the applicant used to determine the percentage of low-income students under ESEA. (See Section 1113(a)(5) of the ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5), as identified in Section IV.B.3.A.)
A matrix with performance targets for those performance measures identified in Section IV.B.3.d.ii. of the Project Narrative.
The completed and signed form available in Attachment B of this solicitation that includes the name of each school that will participate in the program, its location (address, city, state), and its enrollment data disaggregated by grade level for the most recent school year for which data are available.
Documentation of accreditation status of the institution of higher education partner, as specified in Section III.A.ii.4.
The closing date for receipt of applications under this announcement is [insert date 60 days after date of publication of the one page notice in the Federal Register]. Applications must be submitted either electronically on http://www.grants.gov or in hard copy by mail or in hard copy by hand delivery (including overnight delivery). Hard copy applications must be received at the address below no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Applications submitted on grants.gov must also be successfully submitted (as described below) no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Applicants are cautioned that applications should be submitted before the deadline to ensure that the risk of late receipt of the application is minimized. Applications sent by e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX) will not be accepted.
Applicants submitting proposals in hard copy by mail or overnight delivery must submit an original signed application (including the SF-424) and one (1) ‘‘copy-ready’’ version free of bindings, staples or protruding tabs to ease in the reproduction of the proposal by DOL. Applicants submitting proposals in hard copy are also required to include in the hard copy submission an identical electronic copy of the proposal on compact disc (CD). If discrepancies between the hard copy submission and CD copy are identified, the application on the CD will be considered the official applicant submission for evaluation purposes. Failure to provide identical applications in hardcopy and CD format may have an impact on the overall evaluation.
If an application is physically submitted by both hard copy and through http://www.grants.gov, a letter must accompany the hard-copy application stating which application to review. If no letter accompanies the hard copy, we will review the copy submitted through http://www.grants.gov.
No exceptions to the mailing and delivery requirements set forth in this notice will be granted. Further, documents submitted separately from the application, before or after the deadline, will not be accepted as part of the application.
Mailed applications must be addressed to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management, Attention: Steve Rietzke, Grant Officer, Reference SGA/DFA PY 13-01, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210. Applicants are advised that mail delivery in the Washington DC area may be delayed due to mail decontamination procedures. Hand-delivered proposals will be received at the above address. All overnight delivery submissions will be considered to be hand-delivered and must be received at the designated place by the specified closing date and time.
Applications that are submitted through Grants.gov must be successfully submitted at http://www.grants.gov no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date and then subsequently validated by Grants.gov. The submission and validation process is described in more detail below. The process can be complicated and time-consuming. Applicants are strongly advised to initiate the process as soon as possible and to plan for time to resolve technical problems if necessary.
The Department strongly recommends that before applicants begin to write the proposal, they should immediately initiate and complete the “Get Registered” registration steps at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp. Applicants should read through the registration process carefully before registering. These steps may take as much as four weeks to complete, and this time should be factored into plans for timely electronic submission in order to avoid unexpected delays that could result in the rejection of an application. The site also contains registration checklists to help applicants walk through the process. The Department strongly recommends that applicants download the “Organization Registration Checklist” at http://www.grants.gov/assets/Organization_Steps_Complete_Registration.pdf and prepare the information requested before beginning the registration process. Reviewing and assembling required information before beginning the registration process will alleviate last minute searches for required information and save time.
As described earlier in Section IV.B.1., applicants must have a DUNS Number and must register with the System for Award Management (SAM).
The next step in the registration process is creating a username and password with Grants.gov to become an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR). AORs will need to know the DUNS Number of the organization for which they will be submitting applications to complete this process. To read more detailed instructions for creating a profile on Grants.gov visit: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step3.jsp.
After creating a profile on Grants.gov, the E-Biz point of Contact (E-Biz POC) - a representative from your organization who is the contact listed for SAM – will receive an email to grant the AOR permission to submit applications on behalf of their organization. The E-Biz POC will then log in to Grants.gov and approve an individual as the AOR, thereby giving him or her permission to submit applications. To learn more about AOR Authorization visit: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step5.jsp, or to track AOR status visit: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/org_step6.jsp.
An application submitted through Grants.gov constitutes a submission as an electronically signed application. The registration and account creation with Grants.gov, with E-Biz POC approval, establishes an AOR. When an application is submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the AOR on file will be inserted into the signature line of the application. Applicants must register the individual who is able to make legally binding commitments for the applicant organization as the AOR; this step is often missed and it is crucial for valid submissions.
When a registered applicant submits an application with Grants.gov, an electronic time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by Grants.gov. Within two business days of application submission, Grants.gov will send the applicant two email messages to provide the status of the application’s progress through the system. The first email, sent almost immediately, will contain a tracking number and will confirm receipt of the application by Grants.gov. The second email will indicate the application has either been successfully validated or has been rejected due to errors. Grants.gov will reject applications if the applicant’s registration in SAM is expired. Only applications that have been successfully submitted by the deadline and subsequently successfully validated will be considered. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure a timely submission. While it is not required that an application be successfully validated before the deadline for submission, it is prudent to reserve time before the deadline in case it is necessary to resubmit an application that has not been successfully validated. Therefore, sufficient time should be allotted for submission (two business days) and, if applicable, additional time to address errors and receive validation upon resubmission (an additional two business days for each ensuing submission). It is important to note that if sufficient time is not allotted and a rejection notice is received after the due date and time, the application will not be considered.
To ensure consideration, the components of the application must be saved as .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .rtf or .pdf files. If submitted in any other format, the applicant bears the risk that compatibility or other issues will prevent DOL from considering the application. DOL will attempt to open the document but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening. In such cases, the non-conforming application will not be considered for funding.
We strongly advise applicants to use the various tools and documents, including FAQs, which are available on the “Applicant Resources” page at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/resources.jsp.
ETA encourages new prospective applicants to view the online tutorial, “Grant Applications 101: A Plain English Guide to ETA Competitive Grants,” available through Workforce3One at: http://www.workforce3one.org/page/grants_toolkit.
To receive updated information about critical issues, new tips for users and other time sensitive updates as information is available, applicants may subscribe to “Grants.gov Updates” at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription_signup.jsp.
If applicants encounter a problem with Grants.gov and do not find an answer in any of the other resources, call 1-800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035 to speak to a Customer Support Representative or email “[email protected]”. The Contact Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is closed on Federal holidays.
Late Applications: For applications submitted on Grants.gov, only applications that have been successfully submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date and then successfully validated will be considered. Applicants take a significant risk by waiting to the last day to submit through Grants.gov.
Any hard copy application received after the exact date and time specified for receipt at the office designated in this notice will not be considered, unless it is received before awards are made, it was properly addressed, and it was: (a) sent by U.S. Postal Service mail, postmarked no later than the fifth calendar day before the date specified for receipt of applications (e.g., an application required to be received by the 20th of the month must be postmarked by the 15th of that month); or (b) sent by professional overnight delivery service to the addressee not later than one working day before the date specified for receipt of applications. ‘‘Postmarked’’ means a printed, stamped or otherwise placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) that is readily identifiable, without further action, as having been supplied or affixed on the date of mailing by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Therefore, applicants should request the postal clerk to place a legible hand cancellation ‘‘bull’s eye’’ postmark on both the receipt and the package. Failure to adhere to these instructions will be a basis for a determination that the application was not filed timely and will not be considered. Evidence of timely submission by a professional overnight delivery service must be demonstrated by equally reliable evidence created by the delivery service provider indicating the time and place of receipt.
This funding opportunity is not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”
All proposed project costs must be necessary and reasonable and in accordance with Federal guidelines. Determinations of allowable costs will be made in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles. Disallowed costs are those charges to a grant that the grantor agency or its representative determines not to be allowed in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles or other conditions contained in the grant. Specifically, under this solicitation, an entity that receives a grant to carry out a project or program may not use grant funds for land purchases. Additionally, under this solicitation, an entity that receives a grant to carry out a project or program may not use more than 15 percent of the total amount of the grant on renovations; for the purposes of match, there is no cap on the amount of match that can be used to pay for allowable renovation costs. Applicants, whether successful or not, will not be entitled to reimbursement of pre-award costs.
4. Intellectual Property Rights
The Federal Government reserves a paid-up, nonexclusive and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use for Federal purposes: i) the copyright in all products developed under the grant, including a subgrant or contract under the grant or subgrant; and ii) any rights of copyright to which the grantee, subgrantee or a contractor purchases ownership under an award (including, but not limited to, curricula, training models, technical assistance products, and any related materials). Such uses include, but are not limited to, the right to modify and distribute such products worldwide by any means, electronically or otherwise. The grantee may not use Federal funds to pay any royalty or license fee for use of a copyrighted work, or the cost of acquiring by purchase a copyright in a work, where the Department has a license or rights of free use in such work. If revenues are generated through selling products developed with grant funds, including intellectual property, these revenues are program income. Program income is added to the grant and must be expended for allowable grant activities.
If applicable, the following needs to be on all products developed in whole or in part with grant funds:
“This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.”
5. Payments to Participants
For the purposes of grants awarded under this SGA, organizations may only use grant funds to pay for the wages or stipends of participants for paid work experience. Work experience is defined as a planned, structured learning experience that takes place in a workplace for a limited period of time, and may be paid or unpaid. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to any work relationship that is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. For more information on the FLSA, applicants may visit http://www.dol.gov/whd/ and should review the fact sheet, “Internship Programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.pdf.
Grantees have flexibility in the design and implementation of work experiences; however, they must provide an individual with supervised work experience in his or her desired career field where the individual has prescribed learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience. These learning goals can include academic learning, career development, skill development, and the attainment of credentials in the individual’s expected career field.
Payments to youth may take the form of wages or stipends, depending upon whether the participant in the work experience is considered an employee or a trainee. Grantees providing stipends must maintain documentation on how the amount for the stipend was set and the circumstances under which stipends will be provided. Grantees providing wages, stipends or incentive payments to youth should be aware of the implications under IRS provisions. Please consult http://www.irs.gov for more information.
Withdrawal of Applications: Applications may be withdrawn by written notice to the Grant Officer at any time before an award is made.
Criteria
Procedures for assessing the technical merit of applications have been instituted to provide for an objective review of applications and to assist the applicant in understanding the standards against which each application will be judged. The evaluation criteria are based on the information required in the application as described in Section IV.B.2 and 3. The evaluation criteria are described below:
Criterion |
Points |
(See Section IV.B.3.A. Statement of Need |
16
|
(See Section IV.B.3.B. Program Design) |
56 |
(See Section IV.B.3.C. Organizational Profile) |
17 |
(See Section IV.B.3.D. Data Collection and Program Performance) |
11 |
TOTAL |
100 |
i. Statement of Need (maximum 16 points)
Reviewers will award points based on the extent to which applicants demonstrate a clear and strong need for grant-funded services within the community. Points for this section will be based on the following sub-criteria:
a. Poverty Rate of Geographic Area (maximum 3 points) (Applicants must include supporting documentation, described in Sections IV.B.3. and IV.B.4., as an attachment to the project narrative.)
Applicants will receive 3 points for this subsection if, based on the Poverty Data table, the weighted average poverty rate is 15 percent or more across all cities or towns to be served.
Applicants will receive 2 points for this subsection if, based on the Poverty Data table, the weighted average poverty rate is 10 percent to 14.99 percent across all cities or towns to be served.
Applicants will receive 1 point for this subsection if, based on the Poverty Data table, the weighted average poverty rate is 5 percent to 9.99 percent across all cities or towns to be served.
If, based on the Poverty Data table, the weighted average poverty rate is less than 5 percent across all cities or towns to be served, the applicant will receive 0 points.
b. Percent of Students from Low-Income Families (maximum 4 points) (Applicants must include supporting documentation, described in sections IV.A.3. and IV.A.4., as an attachment to the project narrative)
Applicants will receive 4 points for this subsection if the percentage of students in the specific school(s) identified in the grant application who are from low-income families have a weighted average of more than 55 percent.
Applicants will receive 3 points for this subsection if the percentage of students in the specific school(s) identified in the grant application who are from low-income families have a weighted average of between 46 percent and 55 percent.
Applicants will receive 2 points for this subsection if the percentage of students in the specific school(s) identified in the grant application who are from low-income families have a weighted average of between 36 percent and 45 percent.
Applicants will receive 1 point for this subsection if the percentage of students in the specific school(s) identified in the grant application who are from low-income families have a weighted average of between 25 percent and 35 percent.
Applicants will receive 0 points for this subsection if the percentage of students in the specific school(s) identified in the grant application who are from low-income families have a weighted average of below 25 percent.
c. Median Income Level of Geographic Area (maximum 3 points) (Applicants must include supporting documentation, described in Sections IV.A.3. and IV.A.4., as an attachment to the project narrative)
Applicants will receive 3 points for this subsection if the weighted average median income level is less than $40,000 across all cities or towns to be served.
Applicants will receive 2 points for this subsection if the weighted average median income level is between $40,000 and $54,999 across all cities or towns to be served.
Applicants will receive 1 point for this subsection if the weighted average median income level is between $55,000 and $74,999 across all cities or towns to be served.
If the weighted average median income level is above $75,000 across all cities or towns to be served, the applicant will receive 0 points.
d. Industry Focus (maximum 6 points)
Scoring under this sub-criterion will be based on the following factors:
The clarity with which the applicant identifies and describes the selection of the high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) targeted by the program;
The strength with which the applicant demonstrates that the selected high-growth industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) is one for which employers currently seek H-1B visas and/or is an occupation(s) along the career pathway in the relevant industry;
The strength with which the applicant demonstrates, using the types of data described in the Project Narrative Section, that the selected H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) is high-growth according to one or more of the following factors: 1) it is projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy; 2) it is being transformed by technology and innovation requiring new skill sets for workers; 3) it is a new and emerging industry or occupation that is projected to grow; or 4) it has a significant impact on the economy overall or on the growth of other industries and occupations;
The clarity with which the applicant identifies and describes the education, skills, and/or credentials necessary for entry into the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) and demonstrates a strong understanding of the education and training required to attain the competencies and degrees/credentials required for the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s);
The clarity with which the applicant describes how the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s) will lead to living wages and benefits that enable workers to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and
The extent to which the applicant provides compelling evidence that the local or regional employers face a gap in skills of the available workforce and in the training available to the workforce, clearly describes the current and future projected demand for employment in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s), provides evidence of how that demand coincides with the proposed program, and cites the source of the projected demand.
ii. Program Design (maximum 56 points)
Integrated Academic and Career Focused Learning (maximum 16 points)
Description of integrated academic and career-focused curriculum leading to a high school diploma and industry-recognized credential, for those industries where credential attainment by program completion is feasible (maximum 10 points).
Applicants will be evaluated on the following factors:
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes a compelling non-duplicative sequence of integrated academic and career-focused courses (at least one career-focused courses must be offered per year in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupations(s) and related career fields offered by the program), including how it is aligned to the State’s college- and career- ready standards and how it will result in participants earning a high school diploma, post-secondary credit towards a degree or credit-bearing certificate, and an additional industry-recognized credential, for those industries where credential attainment by program completion is feasible and for those industries where credential attainment is not feasible by program completion, a justification why a credential is not attainable by program completion and how the program model will place participants on a path to attain an industry-recognized credential, which may include a post-secondary degree, following the program;
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes how the course of study is aligned and consistent with college- and career-ready graduation requirements, including minimum high school graduation expectations (e.g., completion of a minimum course of study, content mastery, proficiency on college- and career-ready assessments) that reflect a rigorous, robust, and well-rounded curriculum and that cover a wide range of academic and technical knowledge and skills to ensure that by the time students graduate high school, they satisfy requirements for admission into credit-bearing courses commonly required by the State’s public degree-granting institutions;
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes how the innovative curriculum elements will successfully enhance the academic experience, including: how the use of coursework differs from that of a traditional high school; how instructional strategies will be used to address basic skills deficiencies; and how project-based and contextualized learning strategies will be used to integrate academic and career-focused content;
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes the successful teaching strategies to be used in the proposed program, including details about the class schedule, the inclusion of common planning to foster integration of academic and technical education, and how participant mastery of skills will be determined;
The strength of the program model in implementing an effective strategy for incorporating work readiness skills training into the curriculum to ensure that program participants have the soft skills necessary to succeed in the workforce;
The clarity with which applicant identifies and describes how post-secondary course work will be included in the curriculum, determines how the cost will be covered for participants, and demonstrates how it will result in the attainment of credit towards a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing post-secondary certificate for all program participants;
How fully the applicant describes how industry and post-secondary partners will be successfully involved in the design of the integrated education and career-focused skills training curriculum to ensure that the skills learned and credential(s) attained are aligned with the needs of employers and sufficient for entry into the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s);
The applicant provides sufficient evidence of an established relationship with an institution of higher education, that will allow for all participants to earn credits that lead toward a post-secondary credit-bearing certificate or degree in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s); and
For those curricula or programs that are designed to result in an industry-recognized credential prior to program completion, the clarity with which the applicant identifies and describes the industry-recognized credential that participants will earn, or will be better prepared to earn, including how pertinent the credential is to the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) and/or occupation(s), how the credential can be stacked and latticed, how the credential is portable, and how successfully the credential provides entry onto the career pathway following exit from the program.
Description of approach to school setting (i.e., small learning community/program-within-a-school) (maximum 4 points).
Applicants will be evaluated on the extent to which they identify and justify their proposed approach to the school setting. Specifically:
The extent to which the applicant clearly identifies and justifies the program model, including the targeted grades and the industry-specific classes available only to program participants, as described in the Project Narrative Section;
The extent to which the applicant effectively describes how students will be recruited and selected for program enrollment, including how they will seek to ensure that program participants reflect the full diversity of the overall school population and community; how they will encourage and support the participation of low-income students and students who are traditionally underrepresented in the selected H-1B industry/occupation, such as females, minorities, students with disabilities, and English language learners; and how they will ensure that students will not be selected on the basis of academic achievement;
The extent to which the applicant describes a compelling participant recruitment and participant retention in program plan, as identified in the Project Narrative Section;
The clarity with which the applicant identifies how students will be selected for program enrollment and ensures that students are not selected on the basis of prior levels of academic achievement, status as an English language learner, or status as a student with disabilities and that enrollment is voluntary and open to all students;
The clarity with which the applicant identifies and describes an effective plan for addressing the unique needs of participants with disabilities and English language learners, including a description of the supports in place;
How fully the applicant describes an effective plan for limiting class and program size to maintain personalization and for how small learning communities will be maintained; and
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes a plan for assessing participant satisfaction and engagement levels and using this information to continuously improve program operations.
Description of wrap-around services (maximum 2 points)
Applicants will be evaluated on the following factors:
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes an effective plan for providing key supportive services to participants, such as transportation assistance to aid participants in reaching internships and/or work experience opportunities and child care for participants with children, that will enable and enhance program participation; and
The extent to which the applicant clearly identifies additional supportive services available to participants, such as tutoring, after-school programs, or remedial education, and clearly describes how these supports will remove barriers to the successful participation of students with special needs, including English language learners, students with disabilities, students from low-income families, and pregnant and parenting teens.
Employer Engagement (maximum 8 points)
Applicants will be evaluated on the following factors:
Employer Involvement in Program Development (maximum 4 points)
The extent to which the signed letter(s) of commitment from each employer partner clearly specifies its role, as well as resources contributed to the program;
The clarity with which the applicant identifies specific activities that it will implement with its employer partners to ensure that program staff development and curriculum development meet the goals of the program and the extent to which the applicant describes an effective strategy for implementation;
The extent to which the applicant describes how the identified employer partners will successfully provide ongoing technical assistance, including active participation on an advisory board;
The extent to which the applicant describes how it will successfully leverage existing partnerships and/or develop new partnerships with local employers and provide evidence of each employer partner’s involvement with the program; and
The extent to which the applicant effectively describes how employers will assist with the development and sustainability of a career-focused curriculum and incorporate program activities that will create strong career pathways for program participants upon program completion.
Employer Involvement in Participant Learning Activities (maximum 4 points)
The extent to which the applicant describes effective strategies and detailed plans for employer engagement and program participant immersion in an array of work-based learning opportunities that includes a combination of internship opportunities, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, Registered Apprenticeship opportunities, job shadowing opportunities, and career awareness activities that directly relate to the industry sector identified within the program’s curriculum and will align with a participant’s IDP;
The extent to which the applicant describes an effective strategy for developing a high-quality industry-related, employer-based mentoring program that provides strong support and supervision for participants and mentors, establishes well-matched mentor/participant relationships, including ensuring that mentors are representative of the participant population, enables frequent interactions between mentors and participants for a minimum of one year, and provides sound procedures for terminating mentoring relationships; and
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes an effective plan for working with the employer partner(s) to assess participant progress on workplace competencies through the work readiness indicator tool.
Career and Academic Counseling (maximum 7 points)
Applicants will be evaluated on the following factors:
Counseling Component (maximum 2 points)
The applicant demonstrates that there are dedicated counselors for program participants and that the ratio of participants to counselors is sufficient to provide frequent individualized counseling; and
The extent to which the applicant describes an effective strategy for participant access to counseling services and provides a compelling plan to ensure that appropriate types of counseling is offered with sufficient frequency.
Counseling services (maximum 5 points)
The extent to which the applicant clearly and fully identifies and describes the career and academic counseling services available to participants and shows a logical plan for how counseling services will:
Be integrated into the program;
Be ongoing and comprehensive;
Be augmented by the utilization of program partners;
Lead to post-program career placement opportunities;
Assist each participant to develop career goals, understand career pathway options, and create effective program IDPs with the IDP requirements identified in the Project Narrative Section;
Assist participants in developing and achieving specific educational goals, including relevant benchmarks and the use of appropriate assessment tools; and
Lead to continuing education through assistance with activities like informing participants about their post-secondary options, completing appropriate college applications and financial aid forms, such as the FAFSA, or college and training program tours;
The extent to which the applicant provides a logical strategy for how other counseling needs, such as personal issues, will be assessed and addressed; and
The extent to which the applicant describes how counseling will encourage and support the participation of low-income students and students who are traditionally underrepresented in the proposed industry/occupation.
Work-Based Learning and Work Experience (maximum 8 points)
Applicants will be evaluated on the following factors:
Work-based learning and work experience model (maximum 5 points):
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes the work experience and career awareness activities provided in each academic year;
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes and logically justifies where the activities will take place, who will provide the work experience opportunities, and the duration of each activity;
The extent to which the applicant provides an effective method for identifying work experience opportunities;
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes whether internship opportunities will be paid and, if so, how they will be paid; and
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes how it will effectively monitor internships and provide the appropriate type of support to employers hosting internship opportunities.
Program integration of work experience and academic and career-focused curriculum (maximum 2 points)
The extent to which the academic and career-focused curriculum is logically linked to the work experience opportunities of program participants; and
The extent to which the applicant identifies an effective strategy for ensuring that program participants have the opportunity to apply what they learn in their academic and technical skills courses in the work setting.
Community service learning and youth leadership development opportunities. (maximum 1 points)
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes an effective strategy for community service learning;
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes an effective strategy for youth leadership development opportunities, including how youth will be engaged in the decision-making process; and
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes a compelling plan for integrating youth leadership and community service learning activities with the academic and technical skills training, the career exploration/work experience components of the program, and the specific industry focus.
Partners (maximum 17 points)
Applicants will be evaluated on the extent to which the application provides evidence of the following factors (note that this section is scored based on the quality of partnerships, not the quantity):
Role of the Local Workforce Investment System (maximum 5 points)
Scoring in this section is based on the extent to which the applicant:
Clearly describes the local workforce investment system’s main responsibilities in designing and executing the program;
Provides evidence of an effective plan for collaboration between the workforce investment system and the local education agency;
Clearly provides evidence that the workforce investment system has committed sufficient resources to the program;
Presents an effective plan for coordinating with and utilizing the resources provided by the network of AJCs to develop and implement career guidance and academic counseling services that incorporate the most up-to-date information on industry sectors and occupations; and
Describes a substantial and effective role for the workforce investment system to play in successfully connecting program graduates with education, training, and/or employment opportunities.
Role of the Local Education Agency (LEA) (maximum 5 points)
Scoring in this section is based on the extent to which the applicant:
Clearly describes the local education agency’s main responsibilities in designing and executing the program;
Provides a compelling and effective plan for collaboration between the local education agency and the workforce investment system partner;
Clearly identifies and describes the resources that the LEA has committed to the program;
Clearly describes the LEA’s role in ensuring that relevant secondary curriculum integrates academic and career-preparation, aligns to State college- and career-ready standards, incorporates work readiness and employability skills, includes project-based learning strategies, creates a sequence of coursework that is both credit-bearing and fulfills graduation requirements, and partners with institutions of higher education to provide post-secondary credit;
Clearly describes the LEA’s collaboration with employer and post-secondary partners to provide professional development, training, and certification/credentialing that builds capacity of teaching and other program staff to implement the academic and career-focused program model;
Clearly identifies and describes the available academic and wraparound supports such as tutoring, counseling, and assistance with finding appropriate services so that all participants, including low-income students, English Learners, and students with disabilities, can successfully graduate high school and enter post-secondary education and training credit bearing courses without the need for remediation;
Provides a compelling plan for program management that includes adequate scheduling, staffing, and equipment/supplies/resources acquisition and allocation necessary to implement the defined model;
Clearly describes and defines the role the local education agency will play in connecting program graduates with education, training, and/or employment opportunities;
Clearly describes how the LEA will leverage its relevant State and local resources, initiatives, and funding streams to help support both the implementation and the sustainability of college and career preparation reforms; and
Clearly describes how the LEA, in close collaboration with the lead applicant, will gather, store, and report participant and program-level data.
Partnerships with IHEs (maximum 5 points)
Scoring in this section is based on the extent to which the applicant:
Describes substantial and logical responsibilities for the IHE(s);
Describes the role of the IHE in ensuring that the academic content is aligned with college-level content, including programs that offer students access to college-level coursework and opportunities to gain postsecondary credit while still in high school;
Describes how the IHE will help offer meaningful college and career exploration opportunities and high-quality advisory services;
Describes the academic support services (e.g., tutoring) that will be provided to all participants to ensure their successful completion of post-secondary education coursework;
Describes an effective plan for making facilities and equipment available to program teachers and participants that are necessary for the implementation of program activities;
Describes a plan for developing articulation agreements to award all participants with academic credit towards a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing post-secondary certificate for education or training through the program; and
Clearly identifies and describes each IHE partner that will contribute towards the program goals.
Additional Program Partner Roles (maximum 2 points)
Scoring in this section is based on the extent to which the applicant:
Fully identifies and describes how the roles and responsibilities identified in Section IV.B.3.b.v. will be successfully implemented by the program;
Fully identifies and describes any additional partners, how they will successfully support and enhance the program, and what resources they will contribute;
Fully describes how any additional partner(s) will contribute to program goals; and
Fully describes how the program will successfully continue even as employer partners, school leaders, and other key leaders change.
iii. Organizational Profile (maximum 17 points)
a. Program Management (maximum 5 points)
Applicants will be evaluated in this section on the extent to which the organizational chart, Program Calendar, and comprehensive staffing plan provided in the application:
Clearly identify the professional qualifications that the applicant will require of the full-time program manager that demonstrate sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure proper management, including management of partner activities;
Present a reasonable timeframe for hiring the program manager if one is not already identified;
Clearly explain how the program manager will effectively coordinate collaborative partnerships through facilitating dialogue among partners;
Clearly define the proposed roles of staff members within both the lead and the partner organizations and demonstrates an appropriate balance of duties among partners;
Clearly explain an appropriate plan for staffing each key component of the program;
Clearly explain how the program manager will ensure a feedback loop between partners to share data on progress and areas in need of improvement, facilitate employer input into curriculum, and acknowledge/recognize partners’ participation;
Clearly identify the lead organization and depict the linkages between each partner organization;
Clearly identify all relevant leadership, program, administrative, and advisory positions within each partner organization;
Provide evidence of a comprehensive management structure that will allow for efficient and effective communication between all levels of the program and across partner organizations; and
Provide a compelling and reasonable timeline for successfully completing proposed program services and activities within the Program Calendar.
b. Sustainability (maximum 8 points)
Applications will be evaluated in this section based on the extent to which the applicant demonstrates the capacity to sustain program activities beyond the program’s grant period of performance including a fully descriptive and effective sustainability plan. Specifically:
1. Professional development plan for program staff leading to sustainability beyond the period of performance (maximum 3 points)
The extent to which the applicant clearly describes how it will successfully offer professional development throughout the grant period, including training staff and teachers in the skills and competencies of the application’s selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupation(s) as well as on the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupation(s)core curriculum which will be developed through the grant;
The clarity with which the applicant identifies the specific number and type of teachers, guidance counselors, and other staff that will be involved in the program and the specific certifications or other credentials they will receive to certify their competency;
The clarity with which the applicant identifies and describes the professional development activities that constitute a coherent, sustained program of training in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies)/occupation(s)and are part of a comprehensive effort to improve teaching and learning aligned to State college- and career-ready standards;
The clarity with which the applicant describes how student achievement data and other program metrics will be used to inform professional development design; and
The strength with which the applicant provides a comprehensive and effective professional development plan for training staff and teachers that includes a clear description of how the applicant proposes to successfully sustain professional development beyond the period of performance.
2. Sustainability plan (maximum 5 points)
The extent to which the applicant provides a comprehensive sustainability plan that fully demonstrates the capacity to:
Ensure that all participants in the program will be able to complete the program and graduate from high school if still enrolled in the program when the grant ends;
Institutionalize key elements of the program (e.g., integrated and contextualized academic and career-focused curriculum, work experience, post-secondary education/training that enable all students to earn credit towards a post-secondary degree or credit-bearing post-secondary certificate, professional development for teachers, etc.) after the grant ends;
Maintain the same level of program performance for future cohorts beyond the life of the grant;
Use data to determine effective program strategies, activities, and partnerships and continuously improve the program and continue to do so after the end of the grant period;
Utilize State and local per pupil allocations as well as secure cash and in-kind resources from employer, workforce, and education/training partners to ensure the program has adequate funding to continue its operations once the grant period ends, including the costs necessary to sustain dual enrollment programs and other costs associated with ensuring that all student in the program will earn post-secondary credit towards a degree or credit-bearing certificate; and
Complement and leverage existing efforts within the school and/or school district to prepare all students for success in post-secondary education/training and the workplace.
c. Budget (maximum 4 points)
Scoring in this section is based on the extent to which the applicant provides suitable and fully detailed descriptions of:
The extent to which the matching resources align with the program needs for implementation of the program model and the appropriateness of the source of the match;
The presence of a plan for securing matching funds, such as a progressive match that increases each year of the program and the compelling strategies that will ensure that the match requirement is met;
The extent to which the applicant’s Budget Narrative provides a complete description of costs associated with each line item on the SF-424A (as described in Section IV.B.2) in sufficient detail to justify the total cost for each line item;
The extent to which the applicant demonstrates that the budget is justified and reasonable given the scope of work of the program, including adequate staff personnel devoted to the project to support achieving program objectives;
The proposed cost per participant; and
How the proposed cost per participant aligns with similar programs that the applicant, a partner, or another organization has conducted.
iv. Data Collection and Program Performance (maximum 11 points)
Applications will be evaluated based on the extent to which applicants describe and document a comprehensive data collection plan, collection of short- and long-term measures, use of data for program management and improvement, and past performance and program experience that demonstrate the capacity and experience to execute the grant. Specifically, applications will be evaluated on the extent to which applicants fully demonstrate the capacity to execute all of the following and provide detailed descriptions that include:
A data collection plan (maximum 4 points)
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes a comprehensive and effective data collection plan that clearly identifies and describes the following:
Processes and procedures for setting up mechanisms to transfer data to the Department on a quarterly basis in accordance with DOL/ETA quarterly reporting guidelines and ensuring information is collected and stored in accordance with DOL Personally Identifiable Information (PII) policies and FERPA;
The performance management system in place, or detailed plans for the development of a system to track participant characteristics, services and outcomes of each program participant throughout the life of the grant;
How the applicant will collect and store participant data;
Processes and procedures for collecting the necessary consent to proceed with the data collection in compliance with applicable law (e.g., FERPA);
How the applicant will train dedicated staff on the collection and transmission of participant data to the Department; and
How data will be used for program management and to inform the development and continuous improvement of the program.
Short- and long-term program measures (maximum 2 points):
The extent to which the projections for the specific indicators identified below are clear and achievable:
Participants to be served in each year of the grant including the number of participants to be served in each cohort;
Participants that will participate in formal mentoring;
Participants that will participate in an internship;
The average number of post-secondary credit(s) that participants will attain during the program;
Yearly program retention rate measuring the percentage of participants that continue in the program from one year to the next; and
Final program retention rate measuring the percentage of participants that complete all years of the program.
Past Performance (maximum 5 points):
The extent to which the applicant describes and documents past accomplishments of the lead or partner organizations, such as operating a youth-focused education or workforce development program comparable in complexity and duration to the proposed program. For applicants that have not operated such a program, the extent to which the applicant sufficiently explains how its experience in operating other programs has prepared it to undertake the complexities of this type of program and clearly describes previous program experience and how long these programs were in operation;
The extent to which the applicant identifies and describes previous program experience in the development of both academic and career-focused skills training curricula and how long the curricula have been used; and
The extent to which the applicant provides evidence of past accomplishments and relevant experience working with any of the listed required program partners and/or entities.
Applications for grants under this Solicitation will be accepted after the publication of this announcement and until the specified time on the closing date. A technical review panel will carefully evaluate applications against the selection criteria. These criteria are based on the policy goals, priorities, and emphases set forth in this SGA. Up to 100 points may be awarded to an applicant, depending on the quality of the responses to the required information described in Section V.A. The final scores (which may include the mathematical normalization of review panels) will serve as the primary basis for selection of applications for funding. The Grant Officer may also consider other factors such as geographic balance; the availability of funds; and representation among various H-1B industries/occupations. The panel results are advisory in nature and not binding on the Grant Officer. The Grant Officer may consider any information that comes to his/her attention. The government may elect to award the grant(s) with or without discussions with the applicant. Should a grant be awarded without discussions, the award will be based on the applicant’s signature on the SF-424, including electronic signature via E-Authentication on http://www.grants.gov, which constitutes a binding offer by the applicant.
All award notifications will be posted on the ETA Homepage (http://www.doleta.gov). Applicants selected for award will be contacted directly before the grant’s execution. Non-selected applicants will be notified by mail or email and may request a written debriefing on the significant weaknesses of their proposal.
Selection of an organization as a grantee does not constitute approval of the grant application as submitted. Before the actual grant is awarded, ETA may enter into negotiations about such items as program components, staffing and funding levels, and administrative systems in place to support grant implementation. If the negotiations do not result in a mutually acceptable submission, the Grant Officer reserves the right to terminate the negotiations and decline to fund the application. DOL reserves the right to not fund any application related to this SGA.
1. Administrative Program Requirements
All grantees will be subject to all applicable Federal laws, regulations, and the applicable OMB Circulars. The grant(s) awarded under this SGA will be subject to the following administrative standards and provisions:
a. Non-Profit Organizations – OMB Circular A–122 (Cost Principles), relocated to 2 CFR Part 230, and 29 CFR Part 95 (Administrative Requirements)
b. Educational Institutions – OMB Circular A–21 (Cost Principles), relocated to 2 CFR Part 220, and 29 CFR Part 95 (Administrative Requirements).
c. State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments – OMB Circular A–87 (Cost Principles), relocated to 2 CFR Part 225, and 29 CFR Part 97 (Administrative Requirements).
d. Profit Making Commercial Firms – Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) – 48 CFR part 31 (Cost Principles), and 29 CFR Part 95 (Administrative Requirements).
e. All entities must comply with 29 CFR Part 93 (New Restrictions on Lobbying), 29 CFR Part 94 (Government wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance)), 29 CFR 95.13 and Part 98 (Government wide Debarment and Suspension, and drug-free workplace requirements), and, where applicable, 29 CFR Part 96 (Audit Requirements for Grants, Contracts, and Other Agreements) and 29 CFR Part 99 (Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations).
f. 29 CFR Part 2, subpart D—Equal Treatment in Department of Labor Programs for Religious Organizations, Protection of Religious Liberty of Department of Labor Social Service Providers and Beneficiaries.
g. 29 CFR Part 31—Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs of the Department of Labor—Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
h. 29 CFR Part 32—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance.
i. 29 CFR Part 35— Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance from the Department of Labor.
j. 29 CFR Part 36—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance.
k. 29 CFR Parts 29 and 30—Labor Standards for the Registration of Apprenticeship Programs, and Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship and Training, as applicable.
2. Other Legal Requirements:
a. Religious Activities
The Department notes that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. Section 2000bb, applies to all Federal law and its implementation. If an applicant organization is a faith-based organization that makes hiring decisions on the basis of religious belief, it may be entitled to receive Federal financial assistance under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act and maintain that hiring practice even though Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act contains a general ban on religious discrimination in employment. If a faith-based organization is awarded a grant, the organization will be provided with information on how to request such an exemption.
b. Lobbying or Fundraising the U.S. Government with Federal Funds
In accordance with Section 18 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-65) (2 U.S.C. 1611), non-profit entities incorporated under Internal Revenue Service Code Section 501(c) (4) that engage in lobbying activities are not eligible to receive Federal funds and grants. No activity, including awareness-raising and advocacy activities, may include fundraising for, or lobbying of, U.S. Federal, State or Local Governments (see OMB Circular A-122).
c. Transparency Act Requirements
Applicants must ensure that they have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Pub. Law 109-282, as amended by Section 6202 of Pub. Law 110-252) (Transparency Act), as follows:
All applicants, except for those excepted from the Transparency Act under sub-paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 below, must ensure that they have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the subaward and executive total compensation reporting requirements of the Transparency Act, should they receive funding.
Upon award, applicants will receive detailed information on the reporting requirements of the Transparency Act, as described in 2 CFR Part 170, Appendix A, which can be found at the following website: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-22705.pdf
The following types of awards are not subject to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act:
Federal awards to individuals who apply for or receive Federal awards as natural persons (i.e., unrelated to any business or non-profit organization he or she may own or operate in his or her name);
Federal awards to entities that had a gross income, from all sources, of less than $300,000 in the entities' previous tax year; and
Federal awards, if the required reporting would disclose classified information.
d. Safeguarding Data Including Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Applicants submitting proposals in response to this SGA must recognize that confidentiality of PII and other sensitive data is of paramount importance to the Department of Labor and must be observed except where disclosure is allowed by the prior written approval of the Grant Officer or by court order. By submitting a proposal, Grantees are assuring that all data exchanges conducted through or during the course of performance of this grant will be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable Federal law and TEGL NO. 39-11 (issued June 28, 2012). All such activity conducted by ETA and/or Grantee/s will be performed in a manner consistent with applicable State and Federal laws.
By submitting a grant proposal, the applicant agrees to take all necessary steps to protect such confidentiality by complying with the following provisions that are applicable in governing their handling of confidential information:
To ensure that such PII is not transmitted to unauthorized users, all PII and other sensitive data transmitted via e-mail or stored on CDs, DVDs, thumb drives, etc., must be encrypted using a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) validated cryptographic module. Grantees must not e-mail unencrypted sensitive PII to any entity, including ETA or contractors.
Grantees must take the steps necessary to ensure the privacy of all PII obtained from participants and/or other individuals and to protect such information from unauthorized disclosure. Grantees must maintain such PII in accordance with the ETA standards for information security described in this TEGL and any updates to such standards provided to the grantee by ETA. Grantees who wish to obtain more information on data security should contact their Federal Project Officer.
Grantees shall ensure that any PII used during the performance of their grant has been obtained in conformity with applicable Federal and State laws governing the confidentiality of information.
Grantees further acknowledge that all PII data obtained through their ETA grant shall be stored in an area that is physically safe from access by unauthorized persons at all times and the data will be processed using grantee issued equipment, managed information technology (IT) services, and designated locations approved by ETA. Accessing, processing, and storing of ETA grant PII data on personally owned equipment, at off-site locations e.g., employee’s home, and non-grantee managed IT services, e.g., Yahoo mail, is strictly prohibited unless approved by ETA.
Grantee employees and other personnel who will have access to sensitive/confidential/proprietary/private data must be advised of the confidential nature of the information, the safeguards required to protect the information, and that there are civil and criminal sanctions for noncompliance with such safeguards that are contained in Federal and State laws.
Grantees must have their policies and procedures in place under which grantee employees and other personnel, before being granted access to PII, acknowledge their understanding of the confidential nature of the data and the safeguards with which they must comply in their handling of such data as well as the fact that they may be liable to civil and criminal sanctions for improper disclosure.
Grantees must not extract information from data supplied by ETA for any purpose not stated in the grant agreement.
Access to any PII created by the ETA grant must be restricted to only those employees of the grant recipient who need it in their official capacity to perform duties in connection with the scope of work in the grant agreement.
All PII data must be processed in a manner that will protect the confidentiality of the records/documents and is designed to prevent unauthorized persons from retrieving such records by computer, remote terminal or any other means. Data may be downloaded to, or maintained on, mobile or portable devices only if the data are encrypted using NIST validated software products based on FIPS 140-2 encryption. In addition, wage data may only be accessed from secure locations.
PII data obtained by the grantee through a request from ETA must not be disclosed to anyone but the individual requestor except as permitted by the Grant Officer.
Grantees must permit ETA to make onsite inspections during regular business hours for the purpose of conducting audits and/or conducting other investigations to assure that the grantee is complying with the confidentiality requirements described above. In accordance with this responsibility, grantees must make records applicable to this Agreement available to authorized persons for the purpose of inspection, review, and/or audit.
Grantees must retain data received from ETA only for the period of time required to use it for assessment and other purposes, or to satisfy applicable Federal records retention requirements, if any. Thereafter, the grantee agrees that all data will be destroyed, including the degaussing of magnetic tape files and deletion of electronic data.
e. Record Retention
Applicants must be prepared to follow Federal guidelines on record retention, which require grantees to maintain all records pertaining to grant activities for a period of not less than three years from the time of final grant close-out.
3. Other Administrative Standards and Provisions
Except as specifically provided in this SGA, DOL/ETA’s acceptance of a proposal and an award of Federal funds to sponsor any programs(s) does not provide a waiver of any grant requirements and/or procedures. For example, the OMB Circulars require that an entity’s procurement procedures must ensure that all procurement transactions are conducted, as much as practical, to provide open and free competition. If a proposal identifies a specific entity to provide services, the DOL’s award does not provide the justification or basis to sole source the procurement, i.e., avoid competition.
4. Special Program Requirements
a. Evaluation
In addition to the performance reports required of all grantees, DOL also requires grantees to fully participate in the Department’s evaluation of grant-funded programs as a condition of award. The evaluation will be funded by DOL and conducted by a third-party independent contractor. After grants are awarded, grantees will receive detailed information about the national evaluation, which will include three components: 1) analysis of participant characteristics and short-term and long term outcomes, including after the end of the grant period; 2) implementation analysis in all grantee sites; and 3) in selected grantees, outcome or impact analysis, which may use a non-experimental design or an experimental design that requires random assignment to test promising approaches.
Data on students and their outcomes are needed for both quarterly performance reports to DOL by grantees and for the national evaluation of short and long-term outcomes, including after the grant period ends. For example, the national evaluator will continue to track employment and post-secondary outcomes for students in grantee schools to determine long-term outcomes. Grantees are therefore required to collaborate on the collection of necessary data. Grantees will facilitate parental/student consent for all students in the school, and participate in data collection in compliance with FERPA and other applicable law.
As a part of the grant application, the superintendent of the participating LEA, the principal of each school that proposes to implement a Youth CareerConnect program, and an authorized representative from the IHE (or other partner) for the portion of the program that extends beyond high school graduation (if applicable to the program model) must complete and sign the form in Attachment B; this form commits the school(s) to participate in the evaluation, including random assignment, teacher and staff interviews, and collection of parental/student consent for sharing of school records data with the national evaluator. The form also commits the school(s) to facilitate the collection of data that DOL requires for performance reporting (see preliminary data items in Attachment B). DOL will provide more details to grantees on the data items required for performance and evaluation after grants have been awarded.
b. Performance Goals
Please note that applicants will be held to outcomes provided and failure to meet those outcomes may result in technical assistance or other intervention by ETA, and may also have a significant impact on decisions regarding future grants with ETA.
Grantees must agree to meet DOL reporting requirements. Quarterly financial reports, quarterly progress reports, and MIS data must be submitted by the grantee electronically. The grantee is required to provide the reports and documents listed below:
1. Quarterly Financial Reports
A Quarterly Financial Status Report (ETA 9130) is required until such time as all funds have been expended or the grant period has expired. Quarterly reports are due 45 days after the end of each calendar year quarter. Grantees must use DOL’s Online Electronic Reporting System and information and instructions will be provided to grantees.
2. Quarterly Performance Reports
The grantee must submit a quarterly progress report within 45 days after the end of each calendar year quarter. The report must include quarterly information regarding grant activities, performance goals, and milestones. The last quarterly progress report that grantees submit will serve as the grant’s Final Performance Report. This report must provide both quarterly and cumulative information on the grant activities. It must summarize project activities, employment outcomes and other deliverables, and related results of the project, and must thoroughly document the training or labor market information approaches used by the grantee. DOL will provide grantees with formal guidance about the data and other information that is required to be collected and reported on either a regular basis or special request basis.
For further information about this SGA, please contact Ariam Ferro, Grants Management Specialist, Office of Grants Management, at (202) 693-3968. Applicants should e-mail all technical questions to [email protected] and must specifically reference SGA/DFA PY 13-01, and along with question(s), include a contact name, fax and phone number. This announcement is being made available on the ETA Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/grants and at http://www.grants.gov.
A. Transparency
DOL is committed to conducting a transparent grant award process and publicizing information about program outcomes. Posting grant applications on public websites is a means of promoting and sharing innovative ideas. For all applications in this grant competition, we will publish the Abstracts required by Section IV.B.4., and selected information from the SF-424 for all applications on the Department’s public website or similar publicly accessible location. Additionally, we will publish a version of the Project Narrative required by Section IV.B.3. for all those applications that are awarded grants, on the Department’s website or a similar location. No other attachments to the application will be published. The Project Narratives and Abstracts will not be published until after the grants are announced. In addition, information about grant progress and results may also be made publicly available.
DOL recognizes that grant applications sometimes contain information that an applicant may consider proprietary or business confidential information, or may contain personally identifiable information (PII). Proprietary or business confidential information is information that is not usually disclosed outside your organization and disclosing this information is likely to cause you substantial competitive harm.
PII is any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, such as name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, or biometric records, and any other information that is linked or linkable to an individual, such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information.1
Abstracts will be published in the form originally submitted, without any redactions. Applicants should not include any proprietary or confidential business information or PII in this summary. In the event that an applicant submits proprietary or confidential business information or PII, DOL is not liable for the posting of this information contained in the Abstract. The submission of the grant application constitutes a waiver of the applicant’s objection to the posting of any proprietary or confidential business information contained in the Abstract. Additionally, the applicant is responsible for obtaining all authorizations from relevant parties for publishing all PII contained within the Abstract. In the event the Abstract contains proprietary or confidential business information or PII, the applicant is presumed to have obtained all necessary authorizations to provide this information and may be liable for any improper release of this information.
By submission of this grant application, the applicant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States, the U.S. Department of Labor, its officers, employees, and agents against any liability or for any loss or damages arising from this application. By such submission of this grant application, the applicant further acknowledges having the authority to execute this release of liability.
In order to ensure that proprietary or confidential business information or PII is properly protected from disclosure when DOL posts the winning Project Narratives, applicants whose Project Narratives will be posted will be asked to submit a second redacted version of their Project Narrative, with any proprietary, confidential commercial/business, and PII redacted. All non-public information about the applicant’s and consortium members’ staff (if applicable) should be removed as well.
The Department will contact the applicants whose Project Narratives will be published by letter or email, and provide further directions about how and when to submit the redacted version of the Project Narrative.
Submission of a redacted version of the Project Narrative will constitute permission by the applicant for DOL to make the redacted version publicly available. We will also assume that by submitting the redacted version of the Project Narrative, the applicant has obtained the agreement to the applicant’s decision about what material to redact of all persons and entities whose proprietary, confidential business information or PII is contained in the Project Narrative. If an applicant fails to provide a redacted version of the Project Narrative within 45 days of DOL’s request, DOL will publish the original Project Narrative in full, after redacting only PII. (Note that the original, unredacted version of the Project Narrative will remain part of the complete application package, including an applicant’s proprietary and confidential business information and any PII.)
Applicants are encouraged to maximize the grant application information that will be publicly disclosed, and to exercise restraint and redact only information that clearly is proprietary, confidential commercial/business information, or PII. The redaction of entire pages or sections of the Project Narrative is not appropriate, and will not be allowed, unless the entire portion merits such protection. Should a dispute arise about whether redactions are appropriate, DOL will follow the procedures outlined in the Department’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations (29 CFR Part 70).
Redacted information in grant applications will be protected by DOL from public disclosure in accordance with Federal law, including the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1905), FOIA, and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a). If DOL receives a FOIA request for your application, the procedures in DOL’s FOIA regulations for responding to requests for commercial/business information submitted to the government will be followed, as well as all FOIA exemptions and procedures. See 29 CFR § 70.26. Consequently, it is possible that application of FOIA rules may result in release of information in response to a FOIA request that an applicant redacted in its “redacted copy.”
Web-Based Resources
DOL maintains a number of web-based resources that may be of assistance to applicants. For example, the CareerOneStop portal (http://www.careeronestop.org), which provides national and State career information on occupations; the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Online (http://online.onetcenter.org) which provides occupational competency profiles; and America's Service Locator (http://www.servicelocator.org), which provides a directory of our nation's AJCs.
C. Industry Competency Models and Career Clusters
ETA supports an Industry Competency Model Initiative to promote an understanding of the skill sets and competencies that are essential to an educated and skilled workforce. A competency model is a collection of competencies that, taken together, define successful performance in a particular work setting. Competency models serve as a starting point for the design and implementation of workforce and talent development programs. To learn about the industry-validated models visit the Competency Model Clearinghouse (CMC) at http://www.careeronestop.org/CompetencyModel. The CMC site also provides tools to build or customize industry models, as well as tools to build career ladders and career lattices for specific regional economies.
Career Clusters and Industry Competency Models both identify foundational and technical competencies, but their efforts are not duplicative. The Career Clusters link to specific career pathways in sixteen career cluster areas and place greater emphasis on elements needed for curriculum performance objectives; measurement criteria; scope and sequence of courses in a program of study; and development of assessments. Information about the sixteen career cluster areas can be found by accessing: www.careerclusters.org.
D. Workforce3One Resources
1. ETA encourages applicants to view the information gathered through the conference calls with Federal agency partners, industry stakeholders, educators, and local practitioners. The information on resources identified can be found on Workforce3One.org at: http://www.workforce3one.org/view/2001008333909172195/info.
2. ETA encourages applicants to view the online tutorial, “Grant Applications 101: A Plain English Guide to ETA Competitive Grants,” available through Workforce3One at: http://www.workforce3one.org/page/grants_toolkit.
3. ETA has created Workforce System Strategies to make it easier for the public workforce system and its partners to identify effective strategies and support improved customer outcomes. The collection highlights strategies informed by a wide range of evidence such as experimental studies and implementation evaluations, as well as supporting resources such as toolkits. ETA encourages applicants to review these resources by visiting http://strategies.workforce3one.org/.
4. ETA has created a technical assistance portal at: https://etareporting.workforce3one.org/page/financial that contains online training and resources for fiscal and administrative issues. Online trainings available include but are not limited to Introduction to Grant Applications and Forms, indirect Costs, Federal Cost Principles, and accrual accounting.
E. Instructions for identifying city or town level poverty rate using the American Fact Finder:
1. Go to http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
2. Enter the name of the city or town in which participants will be served in the proposed program and click “Go.”
3. Click “Poverty,” which is the next to last button on the left-hand side of the page. The number that appears is the percentage of individual below poverty level and this is the number to provide for each city or town that that will be served as a part of the proposed program.
F. Instructions for identifying city or town median income level using the American Fact Finder:
1. Go to http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
2. Enter the name of the city or town in which participants will be served in the proposed program and click “Go.”
3. Click “Income” which is the fourth to last button on the left-hand side of the page. The number that appears is the median household income and this is the number to provide for each city or town that that will be served as a part of the proposed program.
OMB Information Collection No 1225-0086, Expires January 31, 2016.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments about the burden estimated or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, to the attention of the Departmental Clearance Officer, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N1301, Washington, DC 20210. Comments may also be emailed to [email protected]. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN THE COMPLETED APPLICATION TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND IT TO THE SPONSORING AGENCY AS SPECIFIED IN THIS SOLICITATION.
This information is being collected for the purpose of awarding a grant. The information collected through this “Solicitation for Grant Applications” will be used by the Department of Labor to ensure that grants are awarded to the applicants best suited to perform the functions of the grant. Submission of this information is required in order for the applicant to be considered for award of a grant.
Signed XXXXX, in Washington, D.C. by:
XXXXX Grant Officer, Employment and Training Administration
Appendix A: Definitions of Terms
For the purposes of this solicitation, the following terms are defined as specified below:
Career Ladder – A group of related jobs or occupations linked together by common or complementary skills that provide workers with career advancement opportunities and employers with a pipeline of trainable employees.
Career Pathway – A clear sequence, or pathway, of education coursework and/or training credentials aligned with employer-validated work readiness standards and competencies that allow workers to advance to increasingly higher levels of education and employment. Career pathways provide a framework for weaving together basic and post-secondary education and workforce training, including adult education, job-training, and college programs, that currently are separated into silos, and connecting those services to employers’ workforce needs.
College- and Career-Ready Standards – State-determined academic content standards for kindergarten through 12th grade that build towards college and career readiness by the time of high school graduation. College- and career-ready standards are either (1) standards that are common to a significant number of States; or (2) standards that are approved by a State network of institutions of higher education, which must certify that students who meet the standards will not need remedial course work at the post-secondary level. Such standards shall be in subjects determined by the state, but include at least English language arts and mathematics, and shall include the same knowledge, skills and levels of achievement expected of all children.
Common Planning Time - Common planning allows schools to increase personalization of learning, as it enables groups of teachers to identify specific learning needs of a common set of students, using the common time to meet, develop action plans, appropriate interventions, supports and other mechanisms to promote student success. Integration of academic and work-based learning is enabled by staff who are given time to develop shared project based learning experiences, rubrics and other mechanisms of assessing student learning. Promoting collaborative teams of teachers can also foster capacity building and may lead to greater levels of teacher satisfaction.
Competency-Based Education – An outcomes-oriented approach in which student mastery of learning outcomes is assessed and certified through observational methods, such as task performance, exams, demonstrations, or other direct measures of proficiency. Credentials are awarded based on the mastery of specific competencies as demonstrated through performance-based assessments.
Contextualized Learning Strategies – Instruction that embeds traditional academic content (e.g., reading, writing, mathematics) within a context that is meaningful to students’ daily lives and/or interests; real-world experiences are integrated into the curriculum, and knowledge, skills, and abilities are developed in the context in which they will be used.
Employability Skills – Also referred to as Job Readiness Skills, Soft Skills, or Work Readiness Skills; a set of skills and behaviors that are necessary for any job such as, social competence, job seeking and interview skills, workplace norms, conflict resolution, and communication skills, to name a few.
High-Growth Industry/Occupation – An industry and/or occupation that meets one or more of the following factors: 1) it is projected to add substantial numbers of new jobs to the economy; 2) it is being transformed by technology and innovation requiring new skill sets for workers; 3) it is a new and emerging industry or occupation that is projected to grow; or 4) it has a significant impact on the economy overall or on the growth of other industries and occupations.
Intermediary – A go-between or third party that acts as a mediator or a link between two or more parties and is specialized in a specific area enabling it to serve as a conduit for communication and services, such as between a local education agency and an employer partner.
Industry Theme – Topics of study that incorporate industry- and/or occupation-specific core competencies and that enhance a participant’s ability to enter a specific career or career pathway.
Industry-Recognized Credentials – The term credential refers to certification of an individual’s attainment of measurable technical or occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an occupation. Industry-recognized credentials are either developed or endorsed by a nationally-recognized industry association or organization or are sought or accepted by employers within the industry sector for purposes of hiring or recruitment. The credential must be awarded by a third party, such as an educational institution or a professional, industry, or employer organization. Industry-recognized credentials demonstrate core competencies and meet industry standards for specific industry occupations. Examples of industry-recognized credentials include: Associates and Bachelor’s degrees; Registered Apprenticeship certificates; occupational licenses (typically, but not always, awarded by State government agencies); industry-recognized or professional association certifications, also known as personnel certifications; and other certificates of skills completion for specific skill sets or competencies within one or more industries or occupations. For more information on credential, degree, and certificate attainment, please refer to Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 15-10, “Increasing Credential, Degree, and Certificate Attainment by Participants of the Public Workforce System,” particularly Attachment 2 of the TEGL (http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/TEGL15-10.pdf).
Job Readiness Skills – Also referred to as Employability Skills, Soft Skills, or Work Readiness Skills; a set of skills and behaviors that are necessary for any job such as, social competence, job seeking and interview skills, workplace norms, conflict resolution, and communication skills, to name a few.
Latticed Credentials – Credentials that allow for side-to-side credentialing, enabling individuals to add or shift to another related field of study.
Local Education Agency (LEA) – A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or of or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools. The term includes:
Any other public institution or agency having administrative control and direction of a public elementary school or secondary school;
An elementary school or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs but only to the extent that including the school makes the school eligible for programs for which specific eligibility is not provided to the school in another provision of law and the school does not have a student population that is smaller than the student population of the local educational agency receiving assistance under the ESEA with the smallest student population, except that the school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any State educational agency other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
Educational service agencies that are recognized under applicable State law as local educational agencies, and consortia of those agencies; and
The State educational agency in a State in which the State educational agency is the sole educational agency for all public schools.
Mentoring – Includes one-on-one, group, and/or service-based mentoring in which program participants are matched with adult mentors in the selected high-growth H-1B industry(ies) or occupation(s). Mentors should have frequent contact with program participants over a prolonged period of at least one year and should provide guidance in navigating their identified career pathway.
Portable Credentials – Credentials that are recognized and accepted as verifying the qualifications of an individual in other settings – either in other geographic areas, at other educational institutions, or by other industries or employing companies.
Quarters – The calendar year can be divided into 4 quarters. The first quarter is from the first day of January through the last day of March; the second quarter is from the first day of April through the last day of June; the third quarter is from the first day of July through the last day of September; and the fourth quarter is from the first day of October through the last day of December.
Registered Apprenticeship – is a unique, flexible training system that combines job-related technical instruction with structured on-the-job learning experiences. Upon completion of a Registered Apprenticeship program, participants receive an industry-issued, nationally-recognized, portable credential that certifies occupational proficiency. Registered Apprenticeship requires a written plan designed to move an apprentice from a low- or no-skill entry-level position to full occupational proficiency. Registered Apprenticeship programs must meet parameters established under the National Apprenticeship Act. For more information, please see the Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship website: http://www.doleta.gov/OA/action_clinic/eta_default.cfm.
School-within-a-School – A separate and autonomous smaller educational unit within a larger school; it has a separate educational program, its own staff and students, and its own budget. Both the teachers and students are affiliated with the school-within-a-school as a matter of choice.
Seat-Time Measures of Learning – Traditional measures of student achievement that advance students based on attendance and the completion of courses rather than the student’s proficiency. Students are often organized into age-determined groups and classes of roughly equal size, and they receive the same course content at the same pace.
Service Learning/Community Service Learning – A teaching and learning strategy that actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities that simultaneously teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities. Learning activities incorporate participant reflection and are designed to develop work readiness skills and positive behaviors, such as leadership, time management, teamwork, and respect for authority and fellow participants.
Small Learning Community – Smaller, autonomous groups of students and teachers in a more personalized learning environment that can better meet the needs of students. Generally, the same teachers and student remain together from grade to grade. Teachers in these units usually have common planning time to allow them to develop interdisciplinary projects and keep up with the progress of their shared students.
Soft Skills – Also referred to as Employability Skills, Job Readiness Skills, or Work Readiness Skills; a set of skills and behaviors that are necessary for any job such as, social competence, job seeking and interview skills, workplace norms, conflict resolution, and communication skills, to name a few.
Stackable Credentials – Credentials that can be earned in sequence and build upon previously-learned content as individuals progress along a career pathway or up a career ladder. They allow individuals the ability to build a portfolio of credentials as they transition from learning to work or to different and potentially higher-paying jobs.
Work-Based Learning – Educational training that combines rigorous academic preparation with hands-on career development experiences to connect classroom instruction to the world of work and future career opportunities.
Work Readiness Skills – Also referred to as Employability Skills, Job Readiness Skills, or Soft Skills; a set of skills and behaviors that are necessary for any job such as, social competence, job seeking and interview skills, workplace norms, conflict resolution, and communication skills, to name a few.
Wrap-Around Supportive Services – Services that are designed to address needs and ensure participant success. Services may include, but are not limited to, childcare, transportation, tools, or work clothes.
Appendix B: H-1B Visa Information – Top 2011 H-1B Visas
The following tables reflect top 2011 H‐1B Visas by North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Codes, Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes, SOC Occupation Titles, and Annual Median Wage. Please note: this list is not exhaustive and applicants are advised to also refer to the Foreign Labor Certification Data Center Online Wage Library (http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CaseH1B.aspx) and/or DOL’s OFLC Performance Data at: http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performancedata.cfm for the latest database of occupations approved under H-1B petitions.
STEM-Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (NAICS: 54)
SOC Codes |
Name |
Annual Salary1 |
17-2072 |
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer |
94,670 |
17-2141 |
Mechanical Engineers |
83,550 |
19-1021 |
Biochemists and Biophysicists |
87,640 |
17-2051 |
Civil Engineers |
82,710 |
19-2031 |
Chemists |
74,780 |
15-2041 |
Statisticians |
77,280 |
27-1024 |
Graphic Designers |
48,690 |
Manufacturing (NAICS: 31-33)
SOC Codes |
Name |
Annual Salary1 |
13-1111 |
Management Analysts |
87,980 |
13-1161 |
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists |
67,130 |
17-2112 |
Industrial Engineers |
79,840 |
11-2021 |
Marketing Managers |
126,190 |
Information (NAICS: 51)
SOC Codes |
Name |
Annual Salary1 |
15-1131 |
Computer Programmers |
76,010 |
15-1121 |
Computer Systems Analysts |
82,320 |
15-1133 |
Software Developers, Systems Software |
100,420 |
15-1132 |
Software Developers, Applications |
92,080 |
15-1142 |
Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
74,270 |
15-1799 |
Computer Occupations, All Other* |
80,500 |
15-1141 |
Database Administrators |
77,350 |
11-3021 |
Computer and Information Systems Managers |
125,660 |
17-2061 |
Computer Hardware Engineers |
101,360 |
Finance and Insurance (NAICS: 52)
SOC Codes |
Name |
Annual Salary1 |
13-2051 |
Financial Analysts |
87,740 |
13-2011 |
Accountants and Auditors |
70,130 |
13-1199 |
Business Operations Specialists, All Other |
69,070 |
Educational Services (NAICS: 61)
SOC Codes |
Name |
Annual Salary1 |
25-2021 |
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education |
55,270 |
25-2031 |
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational |
56,760 |
Health Care and Social Assistance (NAICS: 62)
SOC Codes |
Name |
Annual Salary1 |
29-1069 |
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other |
184,650 |
15-2031 |
Operations Research Analysts |
78,840 |
19-1042 |
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists |
87,640 |
29-1123 |
Physical Therapists |
79,830 |
29-1063 |
Internists, General |
189,210 |
29-1051 |
Pharmacists |
112,160 |
1Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates |
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2Only the Occupations with at least 1,000 H-1B Visas issued were used. |
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Attachment A: Checklist for Part IV.B.4, Attachments to the Project Narrative
Attachment |
Required – Failure to submit will result in non-responsive application. |
Required – Will be used in scoring under Section V.A. |
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ATTACHMENT B: Evaluation Commitment
This form must be included in the grant application as an attachment to the Project Narrative, and it must be completed and signed by: 1) the superintendent of the LEA that has governing authority over the program school(s); 2) the principal of each school(s) that proposes to implement a Youth CareerConnect program; 3) an authorized representative from the IHE (or other partner) for the portion of the program that extends beyond high school graduation (if applicable to the program model); and 4) a representative of the lead applicant if the lead applicant is not the LEA. Additionally, this form must be completed with the name of each school that will participate in the program, its location (address, city, state), and its enrollment data disaggregated by grade level for the most recent school year for which data are available.
As a part of a Local Education Agency or Institution of Higher Education that proposes to implement a Youth CareerConnect program through a Department of Labor grant, I/we agree to:
Facilitate Data Collection: I/we understand that award of this grant requires me/us to facilitate the collection and/or transmission of data for evaluation and performance monitoring purposes to DOL and/or its national evaluator. The data must be collected on an annual basis throughout each student’s high school career.
The type of data that will be collected may include but is not limited to:
High school attendance;
Annual dropout rate;
The high school courses in which the student was enrolled and the grades and credits received for those courses;
Scores on State-, district-, or school-administrated assessments of reading and math;
Information on dual enrollment in a post-secondary education institution;
Demographic information such as gender, race/ethnicity, English proficiency, and the extent to which a language other than English is spoken at home;
Whether the student is certified as eligible for free and reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program; and
Whether the student has an individualized education program.
Facilitate Supplemental Data Collection: I/we understand that additional data will be needed for students, once they reach working age, who may enroll concurrently or subsequently in post-secondary education or enter the workforce, for performance and evaluation purposes. I/we agree to collaborate with the national evaluator to help facilitate data collection on employment, earnings, and post-secondary education activity as needed.
Participate in Evaluation: I/we understand that participation and full cooperation in the national evaluation of the Youth CareerConnect grant program is a condition of this grant award and includes facilitating site visits and teacher and staff interviews; collaborating in study procedures, including random assignment; and transmitting data required for the evaluation of students in the study sample, including those who may be in a control group.
Participate in Random Assignment: I/we agree that if our school(s) is (are) included in the national Youth CareerConnect evaluation, it may be necessary to select student applicants for admission to Youth CareerConnect by a random lottery, using procedures established by the evaluator.
Secure Parental/Student Consent: I/we agree to include a parental/student consent form in the application or enrollment packet for all students in schools implementing the Youth CareerConnect program. The parental/student consent forms must be collected prior to the start of any evaluation and acceptance of students into Youth CareerConnect. The parental/student consent form will be provided to grantees by DOL and will ask for parental/student permission to share school records data with the evaluator, using high security privacy procedures.
SIGNATURES
Superintendent of the Local Education Agency (LEA)
Print Name ________________________________ Signature ___________________________
LEA ________________________________________________ Date ______________
Authorized Representative of the Institution of Higher Education (IHE)
Print Name ________________________________ Signature ___________________________
IHE ________________________________________________ Date ______________
IHE Enrollment Data:___________________________________________________________________
Name and Organization of Lead Applicant Representative (if lead applicant is not the LEA)
Print Name___________________________________ Signature_________________________
Name of Organization__________________________________________Date_____________________
Principal of School Proposed for Participation in Youth CareerConnect
Print Name ________________________________ Signature ___________________________
School Name ________________________________________________ Date _____________
School Address __________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 9 (if applicable):____________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 10:_______________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 11:_______________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 12:_______________________________________________________________
Name and Principal of School Proposed for Participation in Youth CareerConnect (if applicable)
Print Name ________________________________ Signature ___________________________
School Name ________________________________________________ Date _____________
School Address __________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 9 (if applicable):____________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 10:_______________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 11:_______________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 12:_______________________________________________________________
Name and Principal of School Proposed for Participation in Youth CareerConnect (if applicable)
Print Name ________________________________ Signature ___________________________
School Name ________________________________________________ Date _____________
School Address __________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 9 (if applicable):____________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 10:_______________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 11:_______________________________________________________________
Enrollment Data, Grade 12:_______________________________________________________________
1 OMB Memorandum 07-16 and 06-19. GAO Report 08-536, Privacy: Alternatives Exist for Enhancing Protection of Personally Identifiable Information, May 2008, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08536.pdf.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | DEPARTMENT OF LABOR |
| Author | superman |
| Last Modified By | Smith, Melissa - ETA |
| File Modified | 2013-10-31 |
| File Created | 2013-10-30 |