Supporting Statement: Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

Senior Community Service Employment Program FOA

1225-0086

March 2016

Funding Opportunity Announcement

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

National Grants for Program Year (PY) 2016

Supplemental Justification

Supplemental Supporting Statement A: Justification

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL, or the Department, or we) will announce the availability of approximately $338,520,000 in grant funds authorized by Title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA) as amended in 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-365 for the Community Service Employment for Older Americans program commonly referred to as the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) for National Grants for Program Year (PY) 2016.

SCSEP provides funding based on a formula for State grantees and funding based on a competition for grants to national organizations. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is for the purpose of selecting National Grantees for PY 2016 and provides an opportunity for applicants to compete for funding as identified under 20 CFR 641.400. SCSEP is the only Federally-sponsored employment and training program targeted specifically to low-income older individuals who are able to enter or reenter the workforce. Program participants receive paid work experience at local public or non-profit agencies and are paid the higher of the Federal, State, or local minimum wage, or the prevailing wage for similar employment, for approximately 20 hours per week while in community service and other job training (OAA Amendments § 502(b)(1)(J); 20 CFR 641.565(a)). The dual goals of the program are to promote useful opportunities in community service job training and to move SCSEP participants into unsubsidized employment.

To be eligible for funds under this grant program, an applicant MUST be a non-profit organization, Federal public agency, or Tribal organization consortium that has the ability to administer a multi-State program.

We anticipate awarding approximately 10-22 grants ranging from $2 million to $50 million each under this FOA. Awards made under this announcement are subject to the availability of Federal funds. Selection of grantees will be determined based on the strength of the proposal and on other pertinent factors, outlined in this announcement.

The period of performance is four years, renewable annually for each of those four years based on annual Departmental application requirements and subject to the availability of funds, with an anticipated start date of July 1, 2016. This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities. We anticipate having a transition phase lasting from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016 in which SCSEP participants will be moved from previous grantees to PY16 grantees as necessary. The grant may be extended for a fifth year at the Department’s discretion, contingent upon the grantee meeting or exceeding the minimum negotiated performance measures as required by section 514(a) of the OAA Amendments and 20 CFR 641.700.

Applications will include the following information collections: 1) Signed SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance; 2) SF-424A, Budget Information Form; 3) Budget Narrative; 4) Project Narrative; 5) List of government grants and contracts; 6) Signed programmatic assurances; 7) Copy of statutory provision (Federal agencies only); 8) Audited financial statements and management letters; 9) Memoranda of Understanding and Agreement; 10) a bid for authorized positions on SCSEPapply.org; and, 11) for General Applicants, a copy of the certified mail receipt that applicant has submitted their plans to the Governors of all States in which they intend to operate the SCSEP.

Electronic availability:

The Funding Opportunity Announcement will be available electronically at: http://www.grants.gov/. Based on past DOL experience, the Department anticipates that 80 percent of responses will be submitted electronically.

Small Entities:

This information collection will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Assurances of confidentiality:

These grant solicitations do not offer applicants assurances of confidentiality.

Special circumstances:

This Funding Opportunity Announcement implicates no special circumstances.

Burden:

Based on past experience, the DOL expects to receive approximately 30 applications from an equal number of respondents. ETA estimates public reporting burden for the information collection to average 20 hours per response for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining needed data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

30 applications x 20 hours = 600 hours.

The DOL has increased the December 2015, average hourly earnings in the professional and business services industry of $30.26 per hour by 40 percent (total $42.36 per hour) to monetize this burden. See The Employment Situation—February 2016, DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, at page 33.

600 hours x $42.36 = $25,416.

The DOL associates no other burden costs with this information collection. In addition to the application, each grantee will be required to submit quarterly financial, performance, and narrative reports to the ETA. Those information collection requirements will be cleared under a separate control number.

Total burden: 30 respondents, 30 responses, 600 hours, $0 other cost burdens.

Supplemental Supporting Statement B: Statistical Methods

This information collection does not employ statistical methods.

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