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93.602 ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

(Assets for Independence)

FEDERAL AGENCY

ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AUTHORIZATION

Assets for Independence Act, Title IV; Community
Opportunities, Accountability, Training, and Educational Services Act of
1998, Public Law 105-285, 42 U.S.C. 604, as amended.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the Assets for Independence Program is to
demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of asset-building projects that
assist low-income people in becoming economically self-sufficient by
teaching them about economic and consumer issues and enabling them to
established matched savings accounts called Individual Development
Accounts (IDAs). The program is demonstrating and evaluating the effects
of AFI Projects and IDAs in terms of increasing the economic
self-sufficiency of low-income families; promoting savings for first-time
homeownership, post-secondary education; and small business or
micro-enterprise development; and stabilizing and improving families and
communities.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE

Project Grants.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS

Grants for five-year project and budget periods. Grantees
must allocate at least 85% of the grant funds for matching participants'
IDA savings and 2% of the grant funds for data collection and evaluation.
Grantees may use the remaining 13% to support other project activities and
related matters. Grantees are required to provide or secure nonfederal
cash contributions equal to or greater than the grant amount.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applicant Eligibility

This program supports innovative projects administered by
national, State-wide, regional and community-based organizations. Eligible
applicants are: (1) Private nonprofit organizations, including faith-based
organizations, that are tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code; (2) State or local governments or agencies or Tribal
governments submitting applications jointly with tax exempt organizations;
(3) A credit union designated as a low-income credit union by the National
Credit Union Administration (NCUA); or an organization designated as a
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the Secretary of the
Treasury (or the CDFI Fund).

Beneficiary Eligibility

Eligible project participants are individuals that are
members of households eligible for assistance under TANF or of households
whose adjusted gross income does not exceed the earned income amount as
described in Section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, taking into
account the size of the household or of households whose annual income
does not exceed 200 percent of the poverty income guidelines as
established and published by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The net worth of the household at the end of the calendar year preceding
the determination of eligibility must not exceed $10,000 excluding the
primary dwelling unit and one motor vehicle owned by a member of the
household. Grantees may restrict eligibility to target people with lower
incomes and net worth.

Credentials/Documentation

Low Income Credit Unions must submit official documentation
that the National Credit Union Administration has designated the
organization as such. Community Development Financial Institutions must
submit documentation that the U.S. Department of the Treasury has
designated the organization as such.

APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS

Preapplication Coordination

This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372,
"Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should
consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact
in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires
to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the
program for Review, and 45 CFR 100, Intergovernmental Review of Department
of Health and Human Services "Programs and Activities". Applicants from
participating jurisdictions should contact their State Point Of Contact
(SPOC) as soon as possible to alert them and receive instructions.

Application Procedure

Competitive applications must be submitted on Standard
Forms 424, 424A, and 424B, and include a project narrative as described in
the program announcement issued by the Office of Community Services and
published in the Federal Register and www.grants.gov website. Required
forms are attached to the published announcement. No State plan is
required.

Award Procedure

The Director, Office of Community Services makes funding
decisions based on recommendations of a panel of experts who review
funding proposals. The panel review is based on criteria set forth in the
program announcement.

Deadlines

Application deadlines are posted on Grants.gov
(www.grants.gov)

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Applications will normally be approved/disapproved and
grant awards made within 90 days of application receipt.

Appeals

Not applicable.

Renewals

Not applicable.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Grant amounts are
limited to the amount of nonfederal cash available for a proposed project
as certified by the applicant.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

These grants have 5-year budget and project periods.
Grantees may access grant funds throughout the period to the extent that
they provide proof that they have the required nonfederal cash support on
hand.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

Reports

Grantees are required to submit semi-annual narrative
progress and financial status reports covering the initial 6 month and 12
month periods. Thereafter, grantees must submit annual reports. In
addition, grantees must provide annual program data reports.

Audits

Grantees must comply with OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits
of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations." Non-Federal
grantees that expend $500,000 or more in a year in Federal awards must
have a single or program-specific audit conducted for that year in
accordance with the provisions of this part. Non-Federal entities that
expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from the
audit requirements for that year, except as noted in section .215(a), but
records must be available for review or audit by appropriate officials of
the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and General Accounting Office
(GAO).

Records

None.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Account Identification

75-1536-0-1-506.

Obligations

(Grants and Contracts) FY 05 $24,702,000; FY 06
$24,452,000; and FY 07 est $24,452,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

The Office of Community Services (OCS) awards grants for
this program ranging up to $1,000,000. The average grant is approximately
$350,000. OCS expects to fund approximately 55 grants per year. Eligible
entities may apply for new grants up to the statutory limit of $1,000,000
in each funding cycle.

PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

In fiscal year 2005, OCS awarded 44 grants. It is estimated
that OCS will award approximately 62 in FY 06 and 62 in FY 07.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE

The following regulations: Title 45 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 16 - DHHS Grant Appeals Process, Part 74 -
Administration of Grants (grants with subgrants to entities), Part 75 -
Informal Grant Appeal Procedures, Part 76 - Debarment and Suspension from
Eligibility For Financial Assistance, Subpart F - Drug Free Workplace
Requirements, Part 80 - Non-discrimination Under Programs Receiving
Federal Assistance through Department of Health and Human Services
Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Part 81 -
Practice and Procedures for Hearings Under Part 80 of this Title, Part 83
- Regulation for the Administration and Enforcement of Sections 799A and
845 of the Public Health Service Act, Part 84 - Non-discrimination on the
Basis of Handicap in Programs and Activities Receiving Federal Financial
Assistance, Part 85 - Enforcement of Non- discrimination on the Basis of
Handicap in Programs or Activities Conducted by Department of Health and
Human Services, Part 86 - Non- discrimination on the Basis of Sex in
Education Programs and Activities Receiving or Benefiting from Federal
Financial Assistance, Part 91 - Non-discrimination on the Basis of Age in
Health and Human Services Programs or Activities Receiving Federal
Financial Assistance, Part 92 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements to States and Local Governments (Federal
Register, March 11, 1988), Part 93 - New Restrictions on Lobbying.

INFORMATION CONTACTS

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

James Gatz, Office of Community Services, Administration
for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, 370
L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Washington, DC 20447. Telephone: (202) 401-4626
or e-mail address: [email-masked].

Web Site Address

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/assetbuilding

RELATED PROGRAMS

None.

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS

List of funded projects is available on request to
Information Contact and on the website listed above.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS

(1) Organization experience and administrative capability;
(2) sufficiency of the project theory, design, and plan: The degree to
which the project described in the application appears likely to aid
project participants in achieving economic self-sufficiency through
activities requiring one or more of the qualified expenses (postsecondary
education, first home purchase, or business capitalization); (3) adequacy
of plan for providing information for evaluation; (4) commitment of
nonfederal funds and additional resources; (5) results or benefits
expected; and (6) significant and beneficial impacts.

General Services Administration
Office of Chief Acquisition
Officer
Regulatory and Federal Assistance Division (VIR)