Support to Communities: Fostering Opioid Recovery through Workforce Development
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Notice of Availability of Funds and Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Support to Communities: Fostering Opioid Recovery through Workforce Development Grant Program
ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE: Initial
Funding Opportunity Number: FOA-ETA-20-01
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 17.277
Key Dates: The closing date for receipt of applications under this Announcement is
[insert date 60 days after the date of publication on Grants.gov]. We must receive applications no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Addresses: Address mailed applications to:
The U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration, Office of Grants Management Attention: Brinda Ruggles, Grant Officer
Reference: FOA-ETA-20-01
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716
Washington, DC 20210
For complete application and submission information, including online application instructions, please refer to Section IV Application and Submission Information.
The United States is facing an ongoing health crisis stemming from widespread misuse of and addiction to opioids and other drugs, including illicit drugs. The Administration has made addressing this crisis a high priority, allocating significant funds and personnel to support treatment and recovery services, target availability of overdose-reversing drugs, train first responders, and more.
At the White House’s direction, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a national public health emergency on October 26, 20171 and has renewed the declaration every 90 days thereafter. As a result of this declaration, the White House recommended the use of grant funds to help workers who have been displaced from the workforce because of the opioid crisis.2 Since 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) has issued two grant opportunities addressing the workforce impacts of the opioid and larger substance misuse crisis. In all, the Department has awarded Phase One National Health Emergency (NHE) Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grants (DWGs) and Phase Two Disaster Recovery DWGs to 17 states and tribal entities to provide reemployment services for individuals impacted by the crisis; to train individuals to transition into professions that can impact the crisis, such as alternative pain management, mental health treatment, and addiction treatment; and to create temporary employment opportunities for peer recovery counselors and other positions that can immediately mitigate the impact of the crisis.
The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act), which became Public Law 115-271 in October 2018, is a bipartisan effort to address the country’s opioid and substance misuse epidemic. This law includes critical provisions to standardize the delivery of addiction medicine; expand access to high-quality, evidence-based care; and address the impacts of the epidemic by increasing and strengthening our workforce. Further, it directs the Department to carry out a pilot grant program to address the economic and workforce impacts associated with high rates of substance use disorders. The provisions of the law related to the pilot grant build upon the model previously established by the Department’s NHE Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grants and the NHE Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants.
As authorized by the SUPPORT Act, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is announcing the availability of up to $20 million in grant funds for the Support to Communities: Fostering Opioid Recovery through Workforce Development grant program to fund approximately 8 to 10 partnership grants, with awards ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. The Department may award additional grants depending on the availability of funds.
The Support to Communities grant program is a separate funding opportunity from the NHE grants, which are awarded on a rolling basis. While the Support to Communities grants share some similarities with the two rounds of NHE grants, these grants will be awarded on a competitive basis and include additional features and requirements outlined in the SUPPORT Act.
The goals of these grants are to:
Implement innovative approaches for addressing the economic and workforce-related impacts on local communities affected by the opioid and substance misuse epidemic;
Engage employers as essential partners to address the impacts of substance and opioid misuse by playing an active role in the grant’s program design and delivery, pioneering creative ways to support the skills attainment of existing or new employees, and connecting businesses with resources such as the Employer Resource Network to help workers retain their employment;
Provide training and employment services and comprehensive screening services, including outpatient treatment recovery care and other supportive services, to individuals impacted by the crisis; and
Deliver training and employment opportunities to encourage more individuals to enter professions that could address the crisis and/or provide relevant skills training that would help individuals enter career pathways and find and retain employment in in-demand occupations.
Eligible applicants for the Support to Communities grant funds are State workforce agencies, State workforce agencies of outlying areas, and Tribal organizations, as defined by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128, codified at 29 U.S.C. § 3101 et seq.) (WIOA). Applicants will use these funds to collaborate with a network of partners to address the substance misuse epidemic in their local areas. Grantees will engage community partners, such as local workforce development boards, employers or industry organizations, treatment and recovery centers, education providers, legal services and law enforcement organizations, and community-based and faith-based organizations, to address the economic effects of widespread substance misuse, opioid use, addiction, and overdose in significantly impacted service areas.
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION 6
III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 10
1. Eligible Lead Applicants 10
2. Role of the Lead Applicant 11
4. Participating Partnership 12
5. Allowable Program Activities and Services 14
B. COST SHARING OR MATCHING 18
1. Application Screening Criteria 19
2. Number of Applications Applicants May Submit 20
IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 22
A. HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE 22
B. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION SUBMISSION 22
1. SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance” 22
4. Attachments to the Project Narrative 35
C. Submission Date, Time, Process and Address 39
2. Electronic Submission through Grants.gov 40
D. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW 42
2. Administrative Cost Limitation 43
3. Salary and Bonus Limitations 44
4. Intellectual Property Rights 44
5. Use of Grant Funds for Participant Wages 45
F. OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS 46
V. Application Review Information 46
B. Standards for Evaluating the Applicant’s Response to each Requirement 47
C. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS 48
1. Merit Review and Selection Process 48
VI. Award Administration Information 52
B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 52
1. Administrative Program Requirements 52
2. Other Legal Requirements 53
3. Other Administrative Standards and Provisions 56
4. Special Program Requirements 57
1. Quarterly Financial Reports 58
2. Quarterly Performance Reports 58
B. Industry Competency Models and Career Clusters 60
E. Evidenced-Based Screening Resources 61
1. National Institute on Drug Abuse: Screening and Assessment Tools Chart 61
2. Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Model 61
IX. OMB Information Collection 61
Attachment 1: disability and medical information protections for grant participants 62
ATTACHMENT 2: Suggested Abstract Format 65
This Announcement solicits applications for the Support to Communities: Fostering Opioid Recovery through Workforce Development grant program. The purpose of this program is to empower grantees to address the health and economic impacts of widespread substance and opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose, and to serve or retrain workers in significantly impacted communities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 702,568 people died from a drug overdose in the United States between 1999 and 2017, with 399,230 involving opioids. Nearly one in three people know someone addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers.3 In 2018, approximately two million Americans aged 12 or older had an opioid use disorder (prescription pain killers or heroin).4 Provisional counts in July 2019 by the CDC reported that, while overdose deaths in the United States showed a decline of 5 percent between 2017 and 2018, fatal overdoses involving other drugs, particularly fentanyl, methamphetamine and others continued to rise.5 In all, researchers have found that this crisis has cost the United States more than $1 trillion since 2001, and that it could have a negative impact of $500 billion more over the next three years if conditions do not change.6
President Trump has made addressing this crisis a high priority, declaring a national public health emergency and allocating significant funds and personnel to support treatment and recovery services, target availability of overdose-reversing drugs, train first responders, and more.
Through its workforce development capacity, the Department complements the role of health and law enforcement agencies to address this national crisis. First, the opioid and broader substance misuse crisis has created several negative employment-related trends, and DOL has taken action to reverse these by providing additional funding for services to reintegrate workers affected by the crisis. Opioid and substance misuse affects both employed and unemployed workers. Research has shown that the number of opioid prescriptions correlates in many areas with a reduction of labor force participation rates,7 as well as an increase in unemployment rates coincident with increases in opioid-related hospitalizations, although it is unclear whether opioid use disorder is a cause of unemployment or an effect of scarce employment opportunities. Additionally, lost workforce productivity in American businesses attributed to opioid misuse—as demonstrated through diminished job performance, absenteeism, incarceration, and even death—has approached $20 billion annually.8 Researchers have estimated lost wages due to overdose deaths at $800,000 per person.9
Authorized by the SUPPORT Act, this pilot grant program will address the economic and workforce impacts associated with a high rate of substance use disorders and the opioid health crisis by supporting communities and individuals impacted by this public health epidemic. The goals of this program are to: 1) implement innovative approaches for addressing the economic and workforce-related impacts on local communities affected by the opioid and substance misuse epidemic; 2) engage employers as essential partners to address the impacts of substance and opioid misuse by playing an active role in the grant’s program design and delivery, pioneering creative ways to support the skills attainment of existing or new employees, and connecting businesses with resources, such as the Employer Resource Network to help workers retain their employment; 3) provide training and employment services and comprehensive screening services, including outpatient treatment recovery care and other supportive services, to individuals impacted by the crisis; and 4) deliver training and employment opportunities to encourage more individuals to enter professions that could address the crisis and/or provide relevant skills training that will help personally impacted individuals find and retain employment in in-demand occupations.
In light of the complexity of the crisis, partnerships will be central to these projects. Depending on the type of lead applicant, described in Section III.A.1 Eligible Applicants, the SUPPORT Act requires unique subgrant obligations, noted in Figure 1 below and further described in Section III.A.3. Subgrant Authority:
Lead Applicant |
State workforce agencies |
The State workforce agency of outlying areas |
Tribal organizations |
Subgrant Requirements |
Must subgrant to one or more local workforce development boards. |
Must subgrant to a local workforce agency or local entity that will implement the proposed grant activities and services. |
Do not have to subgrant but are encouraged to identify the entity that will manage and/or implement the proposed grant activities and services. |
Participating Partnerships |
Local workforce development boards will develop Participating Partnerships, as described in Section III.A.4, to implement the grant in the proposed service areas. |
They are also encouraged to partner with at least one organization from the Participating Partnerships. |
They are also encouraged to partner with at least one organization from the Participating Partnerships. |
Other Requirements |
Single State local areas must subgrant to the State workforce development board, which will carry out the functions of the local board to manage the grant. |
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Figure 1: Eligible Applicants, Subgrant Authority, Participating Partnerships and Other Requirements.
The intent of this FOA is to fund projects that provide employment and training services to individuals impacted by the opioid crisis and to transition more skilled workers into professions that can impact the crisis. Eligible participants are:
Applicants may propose skills training and support activities that enable participants to transition to productive careers in in-demand occupations for workers who are personally affected by the opioid and substance misuse crisis. Applicants may also propose skills training in recovery and health-related professions for workers seeking to transition or gain new or upgraded skills in professions that support people with or at risk of developing substance use disorders. Individuals personally affected by the opioid crisis may also participate in training activities in recovery and health-related occupations. Figure 2 is provided below for further clarification:
|
Type of Worker 1 |
Type of Worker 2 |
Eligible Participants |
Workers who are personally affected by opioid misuse or other substance use disorder.
Defined as individuals who themselves or whose friends or family members have been impacted by substance use disorders and voluntarily disclose that either they have or a friend or family member has a history of opioid misuse or other substance use disorder. |
Workers who seek to transition to professions that support individuals with a substance use disorder or occupations that address the opioid recovery efforts in local service areas.
This includes individuals who need new or upgraded skills to better serve struggling or at-risk individuals. |
Skills Training |
|
|
Other Requirements |
Eligible participants for both types of workers include dislocated workers, individuals with barriers to employment, new entrants in the workforce, or incumbent workers (employed or underemployed). |
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Figure 2: Description of eligible participants, allowable skills training, and other requirements.
Public Law 115-271, Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act or the “SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act,” Title VIII, Subtitle C, Sec. 8041 Addressing Economic and Workforce Impacts of the Opioid Crisis, authorizes this grant program.
Given that the intent of this grant is to reach communities combatting problems associated with opioid and substance misuse, applicants must propose projects that will serve communities, regions, or local areas that have been significantly impacted by problems related to the opioid crisis or other substance use disorders.
Applicants must propose grant activities in service areas that demonstrate an increase in such problems equal to or greater than the national increase, between 1999 and the latest year for which data are available. In addition, applicants must demonstrate the significant impact of opioid and substance misuse on the community (or communities) within these service areas by providing relevant information identified in the scoring criteria, Section IV.B.3(a)(1) Service Area.
Funding will be provided in the form of a grant. We expect the availability of approximately $20 million to fund approximately 8 to 10 grants. You may apply for a minimum award of $500,000 and a maximum award of $5 million.
Awards made under this Announcement are subject to the availability of Federal funds. In the event that additional funds become available, we reserve the right to use such funds to select additional grantees from applications submitted in response to this Announcement.
The period of performance is 48 months with an anticipated start date of MONTH DAY, YEAR. This performance period includes all necessary implementation and start-up activities and, depending on the proposed program design, the delivery of recovery and support services and career and employment services, including training and employment retention activities.
In keeping with the authority provided by Congress under the SUPPORT Act, grants under this program will be awarded to an eligible lead applicant, which must be: a State workforce agency, an outlying area, or a Tribal organization. The lead applicant will serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant.
The following organizations are eligible to apply for this grant program:
The lead applicant will serve as the grantee, must be the organization specified in Section 8 of the SF-424 Application Form, and will be: 1) the point of contact with the Department to receive and respond to all inquiries or communications under this FOA and any subsequent grant award; 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 the Department all deliverables under the grant, including all technical and financial reports related to the project, regardless of which partnership member performed the work; 4) the entity that may request or agree to a revision or amendment of the grant agreement or statement of work; 5) the entity that ensures that the programmatic functions are carried out, as well as provides stewardship of all expenditures under the grant; 6) the entity responsible for coordinating with the national evaluator, including participating in an evaluation and other studies, if selected by DOL; and 7) the entity responsible for working with DOL to close out the grant.
As required by the SUPPORT Act, this FOA has unique subgrant requirements depending on the lead applicant. The lead applicant making subgrants shall make available subgrant funds to a local board, or local entity, receiving a subgrant from the lead applicant by the later of:
(i) the date that is 90 days after the date of a lead applicant award from DOL; or
(ii) the date that is 15 days after the date when the lead applicant makes the subgrant.
State workforce agencies must subgrant to one or more local workforce development boards (as defined in section 3 of WIOA). The local workforce development boards will be tasked with managing the services and training activities, as outlined in Section III.A.5. Allowable Services and Program Activities. The local workforce development board(s) must each establish and coordinate a Participating Partnership, as described in Section III.A.4. Participating Partnerships, to carry out the services that address the impacts of substance misuse and the opioid epidemic in their local communities. The local workforce development board(s) may not use more than 10 percent of the grant funds for the Participating Partnership’s administrative costs.
State workforce agencies in states designated as single State local areas under WIOA section 106(d) and 20 CFR § 679.270(a-b), and in states that operate WIOA under a waiver allowing the State workforce development board to act as the local board, do not have to subgrant to local workforce development boards. In those states, the State workforce development board must carry out the functions of the local board described in the previous paragraph. They must establish and coordinate a Participating Partnership, as described in Section III.A.4 Participating Partnerships, to carry out the services under this grant that address the impacts of substance abuse and the opioid epidemic in their proposed service areas; and they may not use more than 10 percent of grant funds for the Participating Partnership’s administrative costs.
Outlying areas, represented by the State workforce agency, must manage the grant. Outlying areas must subgrant to the local workforce development board or a local entity to implement the grant’s proposed training activities and services. Outlying areas have the option of engaging organizational entities from the Participating Partnership as optional partners to deliver services.
Tribal organizations are not required to subgrant; however, they must identify the organizational entity responsible for carrying out the proposed services and activities under this grant. Tribal entities have the option of engaging organizational entities from the Participating Partnership as optional partners to deliver services.
Given the widespread nature of the opioid and substance misuse crisis and its complex array of underlying causes, these grants will require comprehensive partnerships across the spectrum of workforce, health, justice, and community organizations, among others, to align and coordinate the form and delivery of employment and related services that best meet the needs of impacted individuals and create opportunities for reemployment. These organizations collectively form the “Participating Partnership,” which is required for each local workforce development board that is a subgrantee of a State workforce agency applicant, and is optional for outlying areas and Tribal organizations.
State workforce agency applicants must provide a description of the Participating Partnership(s) established by their local boards or, for single State local areas and in states that operate WIOA under a waiver allowing the State workforce development board to act as the local board by the State workforce development board, a description of the Participating Partnership(s) established by the State workforce development board, to demonstrate the active involvement and commitment of organizational entity(ies). This can include signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs), Letters of Commitment, a partnership agreement, or other types of signed agreements.
In the required Abstract (see Section IV.B.4. Attachments to the Project Narrative), applicants must clearly identify the lead applicant and any organizations that are partners of the grant. If the lead applicant is a State workforce agency, list the members of each local workforce development board’s Participating Partnership. State workforce agency applicants will be scored based on the inclusion of this documentation, as described in Section IV.B.4.a) Required Attachments, as well as the level and quality of their involvement in the project, as described in the scoring criteria, Section IV.B.3. Project Narrative.
The State workforce agency as the lead applicant must subgrant to one or more local workforce development boards, which will each lead Participating Partnerships in their proposed service areas. Local workforce boards will spearhead the effort of implementing the grant in their local community(ies) through the entities engaged in the Participating Partnership. These local boards must cover at least a portion of the crisis-impacted communities identified in the State workforce agency’s application that have seen an increase in opioid-related activity between 1999 and the latest year for which data are available. In selecting participating local workforce development boards, lead applicants must ensure, to the extent practicable, the equitable distribution of subgrants, based on (i) geography (such as urban and rural distribution) and (ii) significantly impacted service areas, as described in Section I.C. Service Area. Lead applicants must also consider capacity and prior performance of potential subgrantees, as described in the scoring criteria, Section IV.B.3.c. Project Design.
For State workforce agencies, a Participating Partnership includes 1) the lead applicant (grantee); 2) a local workforce development board, or for single State local areas or a state that has a waiver allowing their State workforce board to act as local board, the workforce board receiving a subgrant; and 3) one or more of the following organizations:
A treatment provider12
An employer or industry organization
An education provider13
A legal service or law enforcement organization
A faith-based or community-based organization
Other State or local agencies, including counties or local governments
Other organizations, as determined to be necessary by the local board
Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations
Treatment providers may be any of the following entities:
A nonprofit provider of peer recovery support services, defined as a provider that delivers peer recovery support services through an organization14
A community health care provider
A Federally qualified health center15
An Indian health program16, including an Indian health program that serves an urban center or
A Native Hawaiian health center17
ETA recognizes that the workforce-related impacts of the opioid and substance misuse crisis may raise new challenges for workforce development agencies, and these grants intend to allow State workforce agencies (through Participating Partnerships led by local workforce development boards), outlying areas, or Tribal organizations to creatively align and deliver career, training, and supportive services that will best serve workers impacted by the crisis.
All applicants must provide career, training, and employment services, as described below in Section III.A.5.a Career, Training, and Employment Services. ETA requires applicants to co-enroll grant participants in WIOA title I Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service programs to maximize the impact of these grant funds and ensure delivery of the full range of necessary employment services.
Applicants are encouraged to lead efforts in their proposed service areas to identify and promote proven and promising practices, strategies, and initiatives for meeting the needs of employers and program participants.
Applicants must offer career services, training activities and employment services, and related services, concurrently or sequentially with the services referenced in Section III.A.5.b-f, below, using grant funds or leveraged funds.
In addition, applicants should be mindful of proposing career services, training activities, and employment services that are based on the type of worker who will be served with grant funds, as described in Section III.C.3. Eligible Participants. Applicants may propose skills training and support activities that enable workers personally affected by the opioid and substance abuse misuse crisis to enter productive careers in in-demand occupations. Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed training will lead to a career pathway for in-demand jobs in the proposed service area(s).
Applicants may also propose career services, training activities, and employment services in recovery and health-related occupations such as: substance use disorder treatment and related services, services offered through providers of peer recovery support services, non-addictive pain therapy and pain management services, emergency response services, or mental health care for workers personally affected by the opioid and substance abuse crisis and/or for those workers seeking to enter these professions that support people with or at risk of developing substance use disorders.
Career and training services are defined in WIOA regulations at 20 CFR §§ 678.430 and 680.200, respectively. Applicants must determine the necessary career or training service mix for their affected service areas, which could include a combination of the services described below.
These services, categorized as career services under WIOA, must be available to program participants who are in a pre-employment or pre-training stage of the program, and may include:
initial education and skills assessments;
services to promote employability skills, such as punctuality, personal maintenance skills, and professional conduct;
in-depth interviewing and evaluation to identify employment barriers and to develop individual employment plans;
career planning that includes career pathways leading to in-demand, high-wage jobs;
job coaching, job matching, and job placement services;
provision of payments and fees for employment and training-related applications, tests, and certifications; and
any other appropriate career service described in section 134(c)(2) of WIOA (29 U.S.C. § 3174(c)(2)).
Training activities must be available to participants. Applicants may offer a wide range of training activities, such as:
traditional classroom training, which may be funded through individual training accounts under section 134(c)(3)(G) of WIOA (29 U.S.C. § 3174(c)(3)(G)) for participants who are co-enrolled with WIOA;
work-based learning opportunities with employer partners, including paid work, internships, on-the-job training, and apprenticeships; or
any other appropriate training service described in section 134(c)(3) of WIOA (29 U.S.C. § 3174(c)(3)).
Applicants must provide services to assist participants in maintaining employment for 12 months. During their first six months of employment, participants must receive career services to facilitate job retention, which may include any of the following services:
case management and support services, including a continuation of the pre-employment career and training services described above;
a continuation of skills training or career and technical education, or other training described above as pre-employment training services, which is conducted in collaboration with the employers of such participants;
mentorship services and job retention support for such participants; or
targeted training for managers, human resource representatives, and mentors or other workers working with such participants in the business in which such participants are employed.
Local workforce development boards, in coordination with organizations from the Participating Partnership, must provide at least one of the program activities and services outlined below. Outlying areas and Tribal entities are encouraged to develop partnerships with organizations from the list of Participating Partnerships, and must provide at least one of the following services:
Employers are essential partners to address the economic and workforce impacts of substance and opioid misuse in local communities. Employers can play an active role in various aspects of the program design and delivery, including defining program goals and activities, informing training design, identifying necessary skills and competencies for targeted occupations, and offering innovative and creative ways for skills attainment throughout the grant period of performance.
The Participating Partnership, outlying areas, and Tribal organizations may engage employer support for a variety of activities, such as to:
learn about and provide the support needed by employers to obtain their commitment and test creative solutions to employ and retain program participants and individuals with a substance use disorder;
connect small to mid-size businesses with community resources such as the Employer Resource Network to provide participants with job retention services, work supports, and training opportunities to support entry-level employees;
connect employers to program participants receiving concurrent outpatient treatment and job training services;
encourage hiring individuals with barriers to employment by promoting programs to support their employment, such as the Federal Bonding Program and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, when those individuals meet relevant eligibility criteria;
assist employers in identifying and providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including those in recovery from a substance use disorder;
help employers employ program participants or such individuals engaging in a work-based learning program for a transitional period before hiring such a program participant or individual for full-time employment of not less than 30 hours a week;
connect employers and workers to on-the-job or customized training programs before or after layoff to facilitate reemployment;
connect employers with an education provider to develop classroom instruction to complement on-the-job learning for program participants and such individuals;
help employers develop and design curricula for work-based learning programs for program participants and such individuals; or
learn about the skill and hiring requirements of employers.
Upon determination of eligibility, applicants may use evidenced-based screening services to assess individuals seeking participation in the grant to identify the appropriate course of action to support grant participants. Applicants may conduct further assessments of the individual to determine the services needed for the individual to obtain or retain employment, including an assessment of strengths and general work readiness. Section VIII.E. Evidenced-based Screening Resources provides links to resources for more information on evidence-based screening methods that could support applicants’ efforts during the participant intake and screening process.
State workforce agencies making sub grants to local workforce development board(s) and State workforce agencies of outlying areas must develop WIOA Individual Employment Plans, with an added component for treatment services, for each participant. Tribal organizations may develop Individual Treatment and Employment Plans (ITEP) for each participant, in coordination with other services provided to participants. Case managers must work with each participant to develop their ITEPs, which may include:
identifying employment and career goals;
exploring career pathways that lead to employment in in-demand industries and sectors, as determined by the State board and the head of the State workforce agency or, as applicable, the Tribal entity; or
setting appropriate achievement objectives to attain, and/or developing the appropriate combination of services to enable the participant to achieve, the identified employment and career goals.
Applicants may provide individualized and group outpatient treatment and recovery services during the day and evening, and on weekends. Participating Partnerships that are serving workers who are personally affected by substance use disorders (as described in Section III.C.3.a(1) Eligible Participants) may use up to 10 percent of grant funds for these services. Outlying areas and Tribal organizations serving workers who are personally affected by substance use disorders may propose up to 20 percent of grant funds.
These treatment and recovery services must be based on a model that utilizes combined behavioral interventions and other evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions, and may include additional services, such as:
health, mental health, addiction, or other forms of outpatient treatment that may impact a substance use disorder and co-occurring conditions;
drug testing for a current substance use disorder prior to enrollment in career or training services or prior to employment; and
linkages to community services, such as the Employer Resource Network, including services offered by partner organizations designed to support program participants, or referrals to health care, including referrals to substance use disorder treatment and mental health services.
Applicants may provide Supportive Services. Participating Partnerships providing supportive services may use up to 10 percent of grant funds to provide supportive services to participants. Outlying areas and Tribal organizations may propose up to 20 percent of grant funds to provide supportive services. These services may include the following:
coordinated wraparound services to provide maximum support for program participants. These services aim to assist program participants in maintaining their employment and recovery for at least 12 months;
assistance in establishing eligibility for assistance under Federal, State, Tribal, and local programs providing health services, mental health services, vocational services, housing services, transportation services, social services, or services through early childhood education programs (as defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1003));
services offered through providers of peer recovery support services;
networking and mentorship opportunities; or
any supportive services determined necessary.
This program does not require cost sharing or matching funds. Including such funds is not one of the application screening criteria and applications that include any form of cost sharing or match will not receive additional consideration during the review process. Instead, the agency considers any resources contributed to the project beyond the funds provided by the agency as leveraged resources. Section IV.B.2 provides more information on leveraged resources.
You should use the checklist below as a guide when preparing your application package to ensure that the application has met all of the screening criteria. Note that this checklist is only an aid for applicants and should not be included in the application package. We urge you to use this checklist to ensure that your application contains all required items. If your application does not meet all of the screening criteria, it will not move forward through the merit review process.
Application Requirement |
Instructions |
Complete? |
The deadline submission requirements are met |
Section IV.C |
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Eligibility of Lead Applicant |
Section III.A |
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If submitted through Grants.gov, the components of the application are saved in any of the specified formats and are not corrupt. (We will attempt to open the document, but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening.) |
Section IV.C.2 |
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Application Federal funds request does not fall below $500,000 or exceed the ceiling amount of $5 million |
Section II.A |
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SAM Registration |
Section IV.B.1 |
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SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance |
Section IV.B.1 |
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SF-424 includes a DUNS Number |
Section IV.B.1 |
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SF-424A, Budget Information Form |
Section IV.B.2 |
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Budget Narrative |
Section IV.B.2 |
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Project Narrative |
Section IV.B.3 |
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Documentation of Commitment from:
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Section IV.B.4.(a)(2) |
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We will consider only one application from each eligible lead applicant. If we receive multiple applications from the same entity, we will only consider the most recently received application that met the deadline. If the most recent application is disqualified for any reason, we will not replace it with an earlier application.
Applicants may serve one or both of the populations of workers outlined below.
Individuals eligible to be served by this grant are workers, including dislocated workers, individuals with barriers to employment, new entrants to the workforce, or incumbent workers, who are personally affected by substance use disorders, defined as individuals who themselves or whose friends or family members have been impacted by substance use disorders. According to section 8041(e)(2)(A) of the SUPPORT Act, these workers must also voluntarily confirm that they themselves, or a friend or family member, have a history of opioid misuse or another substance use disorder.
Grant recipients must operate their programs in compliance with nondiscrimination and EEO obligations set forth in federal nondiscrimination law, as applicable. Accordingly, grant recipients should be aware of requirements pertaining to the gathering and confidentiality of medical information and their obligations under Department civil rights regulations pertaining to protections for individuals with disabilities. Additionally, grant recipients must ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable.
Applicants and their subgrantees (if applicable) must establish processes and procedures to obtain this voluntary disclosure from the individual seeking grant-funded services. Grantees may not exclude an individual who does not disclose this information from receiving grant-funded services. Individuals who voluntarily disclose their substance misuse history are eligible to receive any services under the grant, including training in occupations not related to supporting opioid-impacted individuals. However, if the person does not disclose, he or she is eligible only to be served within the FOA’s other target population in Section III.E.3.a(2) Workers Seeking to Enter Professions that Could Help Address the Opioid Crisis and Its Causes. Please see Attachment 1: Disability and Medical Information Protections for Grant Participants for more details.
Workers, including dislocated workers, individuals with barriers to employment, new entrants to the workforce, or incumbent workers, who seek to transition to professions that support individuals with a substance use disorder or are at risk for developing such a disorder, and need new or upgraded skills to better serve such a population of struggling or at-risk individuals, are eligible to receive services under this grant.
For the purposes of the FOA, the categories of workers are defined as follows:
Dislocated workers: This term is defined in WIOA section 3(15) and refers to individuals who were terminated or laid off, have received a notice of termination or layoff from employment, or were self-employed but are now unemployed.
Incumbent workers: This term refers to individuals who are employed but need training to secure full-time employment, advance in their careers, or retain their current occupations. This includes low-wage and medium-wage workers who need to upgrade their skills to retain employment or advance in their careers, as well as workers who are currently working part-time.
Individuals with barriers to employment and training: This term is defined in WIOA section 3(24) as a person who is a member of one of the following groups: Displaced homemakers; Low-income individuals; Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, as defined in section 166; Individuals with disabilities, including youth who are individuals with disabilities; Older individuals; Ex-offenders; Homeless individuals (as defined in section 41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. § 14043e–2(6))), or homeless children and youths (as defined in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2))); Youth who are in or have aged out of the foster care system; Individuals who are English language learners, individuals who have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural barriers; Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers, as defined in section 167(i); Individuals within 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.); Single parents (including single pregnant women); Long-term unemployed individuals; and such other groups as the Governor involved determines to have barriers to employment.
New entrants to the workforce: This term is generally defined as individuals who have not had prior and/or significant work experience, or who have had significant gaps in employment before gaining entry into this grant program.
38 U.S.C. 4215 requires grantees to provide priority of service to 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 are 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 https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2816.
While this grant is funded under the SUPPORT Act, career and training services provided under this grant must be delivered consistently with WIOA. Grantees might find additional information on veterans’ priority of service and WIOA helpful. Please see TEGL 19-16, available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3851.
This FOA, found at www.Grants.gov and https://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm, contains all of the information and links to forms needed to apply for grant funding.
Applications submitted in response to this FOA must consist of four separate and distinct parts:
1. The SF-424 “Application for Federal Assistance;”
2. Project Budget, composed of the SF-424A and Budget Narrative;
3. Project Narrative; and
4. Attachments to the Project Narrative
You must ensure that the funding amount requested is consistent across all parts and sub-parts of the application.
You must complete the SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance” (available at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1.
In the address field, fill out the nine-digit (plus hyphen) zip code. Nine-digit zip codes can be looked up on the USPS website at https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action.
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 is considered the Authorized Representative of the applicant. As stated in block 21 of the SF-424 form, the 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 https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1). You do not need to submit the SF-424B with the application.
In addition, the applicant’s Authorized Representative’s signature in block 21 of the SF-424 form constitutes assurance by the applicant of compliance with the following requirements
As a condition to the award of financial assistance from the Department of Labor the grant applicant assures that it will comply fully with the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions of the following laws, as applicable: Section 188 of the WIOA, which prohibits discrimination against all individuals in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, political affiliation or belief, and against beneficiaries on the basis of either citizenship status or participation in any WIOA Title I—financially assisted program or activity; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color and national origin; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities; The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age; and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs.
The grant applicant also assures that all regulations implementing the laws listed above.
All applicants for Federal grant and funding opportunities must have a 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: https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do.
Grant recipients authorized to make subawards must meet these requirements related to DUNS Numbers:
Grant recipients must notify potential subawardees that no entity may receive a subaward from you unless the entity has provided its DUNS number to you.
Grant recipients may not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its DUNS number to you.
(See, Appendix A to 2 CFR section 25.)
Applicants must register with the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application. Find instructions for registering with SAM at https://www.sam.gov.
A recipient 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 update 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 and has the legal authority to apply and to receive the award. If an applicant has not fully complied with these requirements by the time the Grant Officer is ready to make a Federal award, the Grant Officer may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.
You must complete the SF-424A Budget Information Form (available at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1. In preparing the Budget Information Form, you must provide a concise narrative explanation to support the budget request, explained in detail below.
The Budget Narrative must provide a description of costs associated with each line item on the SF-424A. The Budget Narrative should also include a section describing any leveraged resources provided (as applicable) to support grant activities. Leveraged resources are all resources, both cash and in-kind, in excess of this award. Valuation of leveraged resources follows the same requirements as match. Applicants are encouraged to leverage resources to increase stakeholder investment in the project and broaden the impact of the project itself.
Each category should include the total cost for the period of performance. Use the following guidance for preparing the Budget Narrative.
Personnel: List all staff positions by title (both current and proposed), including the roles and responsibilities. For each position give the annual salary, the percentage of time devoted to the project and the amount of each position’s salary funded by the grant.
Fringe Benefits: Provide a breakdown of the amounts and percentages that comprise fringe benefit costs such as health insurance, FICA, retirement, etc.
Travel: For grantee staff only, specify the purpose, number of staff traveling, 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 you expect to purchase which has an estimated acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit (or if your capitalization level is less than $5,000, use your capitalization level) and a useful lifetime of more than one year (see 2 CFR 200.33 for the definition of Equipment). List the item, quantity, and the unit cost per item.
Items with a unit cost of less than $5,000 are supplies, not “equipment.” In general, we do not permit the purchase of equipment during the last funded year of the grant.
Supplies: Identify categories of supplies (e.g. office supplies) in the detailed budget and list the item, quantity, and the unit cost per item. Supplies include all tangible personal property other than “equipment” (see 2 CFR 200.94 for the definition of Supplies).
Contractual: Under the Contractual line item, delineate contracts and subawards separately. Contracts are defined according to 2 CFR 200.22 as a legal instrument by which a non-Federal entity purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award. A subaward, defined by 2 CFR 200.92, means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program.
For each proposed contract and subaward, specify the purpose and activities to be provided, and the estimated cost.
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. We do not consider this as construction and you must show the costs on other appropriate lines such as Contractual.
Other: Provide clear and specific detail, including costs, for each item so that we are able to determine whether the costs are necessary, reasonable and allocable. List any item, such as stipends or incentives, not covered elsewhere here.
Indirect Costs: If you include an amount for indirect costs (through a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement or De Minimis) on the SF-424A budget form, then include one of the following:
a) If you have a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), provide an explanation of how the indirect costs are calculated. This explanation should include which portion of each line item, along with the associated costs, are included in your cost allocation base. Also, provide a current version of the NICRA.
or
b) If you intend to claim indirect costs using the 10 percent de minimis rate, please confirm that your organization meets the requirements as described in 2 CFR 200.414(f). Clearly state that your organization has never received a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), and your organization is not one described in Appendix VII of 2 CFR 200, paragraph (D)(1)(b).
Applicants choosing to claim indirect costs using the de minimis rate must use Modified Total Direct Costs (see 2 CFR 200.68 below for definition) as their cost allocation base. Provide an explanation of which portion of each line item, along with the associated costs, are included in your cost allocation base. Note that there are various items not included in the calculation of Modified Total Direct Costs. See below the definitions to assist you in your calculation.
2 CFR 200.68 Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) means all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs, and with the approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs.
The definition of MTDC in 2 CFR 200.68 no longer allows for any sub-contracts to be included in the calculation. You will also note that participant support costs are not included in modified total direct cost. Participant support costs are defined below.
2 CFR 200.75 Participant Support Cost means direct costs for items such as stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances, and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with conferences, or training projects.
See Section IV.B.4 and Section IV.E.1 for more information. Additionally, the following link contains information regarding the negotiation of Indirect Cost Rates at DOL: https://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/dcd/index.htm.
Note that the SF-424, SF-424A, and Budget Narrative must include the entire Federal grant amount requested (not just one year).
Do not show leveraged resources on the SF-424 and SF-424A. You should describe leveraged resources in the Budget Narrative.
Applicants should list the same requested Federal grant amount on the SF-424, SF-424A, and Budget Narrative. If minor inconsistencies are found between the budget amounts specified on the SF-424, SF-424A, and the Budget Narrative, ETA will consider the SF-424 the official funding amount requested. However, if the amount specified on the SF-424 would render the application nonresponsive, the Grant Officer will use his or her discretion to determine whether the intended funding request (and match if applicable) is within the responsive range.
The Project Narrative must demonstrate your capability to implement the grant project in accordance with the provisions of this Announcement. It provides a comprehensive framework and description of all aspects of the proposed project. It must be succinct, self-explanatory, and well organized so that reviewers can understand the proposed project. Applicants should substantiate effectiveness of approach with past performance, not necessarily under a federal grant, but success in serving targeted populations. Past performance should be addressed in all applicable sections, services, and activities below.
The Project Narrative is limited to 20 double-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 x 11-inch pages with Times New Roman 12-point text font and 1-inch margins. You must number the Project Narrative beginning with page number 1.
We will not read or consider any materials beyond the specified page limit in the application review process.
The following instructions provide all of the information needed to complete the Project Narrative. Carefully read and consider each section, and include all required information in your Project Narrative. The agency will evaluate the Project Narrative using the evaluation criteria identified in Section V.A. You must use the same section headers and criterion (e.g., Statement of Need and Service Area) identified below for each section of the Project Narrative:
Applicants must submit an application that specifically identifies the significant impact on the community(ies) within the proposed service area(s) as a result of opioid and substance use disorder-related problems.
For each of the identified proposed service area(s), which may be defined by local cities, counties, regions, or WIOA local areas, provide a clear demonstration of the significant impact related to opioid and substance misuse. At a minimum, each service area must show an increase equal to or greater than the national increase in such problems, between 1999 and the latest year for which data are available, and a description of how the eligible entity will prioritize support for significantly impacted service areas. (4 points)
Provide a clear description of how each impacted service area is heavily impacted by opioid misuse or other substance use disorders using one or more of the relevant data sources, with citations. (4 points)
For States and outlying areas: |
For Tribal entities: |
Points will be awarded based on the strength of the data in showing the impact or magnitude of the problems. Possible sources may include (among others):
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Tribal Entities may use criteria noted for States and outlying areas, or provide alternative relevant sources of data. When including alternative data, the applicant should include an explanation of the following:
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Applicants must demonstrate how the rate of substance use disorders is related to an economic or employment downturn in the proposed service area(s) or persistent economically depressed conditions in such service area(s), which may be illustrated by information gathered from sources such as:
documentation of any layoff, announced future layoff, legacy industry decline, decrease in an employment or labor market participation rate, or economic impact, whether or not the result described in this clause is overtly related to a high rate of a substance use disorder;
documentation showing decreased economic activity related to, caused by, or contributing to a high rate of a substance use disorder, including a description of how the service area has been impacted, or will be impacted, by such a decrease; or
data or documentation, beyond anecdotal evidence, showing that employers face challenges filling job vacancies due to a lack of skilled workers able to pass a drug test.
The applicant must clearly identify the outcome(s) and output(s) that will result from the project. Outcomes are the measurable results of the project. They are the positive benefits, negative changes, or measurable characteristics that occur as a result of project activities or outputs. Outputs are tangible products or services that result from the project. The proposed metrics should be aligned with the project goals and achievable during the period of performance. Future grant awards will take into account grant performance and results.
Identify the total number of workers who receive grant-funded services through this grant program and include the following metrics: (8 points)
Total number of participants who begin job training activities and services (output)
Total number of participants who receive supportive services and/or recovery treatment services (output)
Total number of participants who complete training activities and services (output)
Total number of participants who enter employment that is related to the training and services received (outcome)
Total number of participants who retain employment for 6 months (outcome)
Total number of participants who retain employment for 12 months (outcome)
Cost Per Participant and Cost Per Positive Outcome
Drawing on past experience and substantiated performance, provide a thorough and convincing explanation of how the applicant plans to achieve these goals, including a description of Participating Partners’ roles in meeting these grant outcomes, by the end of the grant period of performance. (6 points)
For the total participants served, clearly identify the type of participants who will be served through the project and an explanation of how these individuals meet the requirements of the FOA as described in Section III.C.3. Eligible Participants, including a description of the demographic characteristics and skill levels. (4 points)
Describe the outreach and recruitment strategy to reach the targeted population(s) and achieve the proposed numbers served. (4 points)
Thoroughly describe how the proposed career and training services will support the achievement of the proposed training outcomes. (4 points)
Drawing on past experience and substantiated performance, provide a clear and convincing explanation that participants will achieve the skill attainment necessary for job placement and employment retention. (4 points)
Applicants must clearly identify the proposed methods that the project will use to address the stated outcomes and outputs. Applicants must clearly present a plan of action that describes the scope and detail of how the project will accomplish the proposed work.
For State workforce agencies subgrants to local workforce development board(s) or outlying areas subgrants to local entities |
For Tribal Entity as the Lead Applicant/Grantee |
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a. The primary indicators of performance described in section 116(c)(1)(A)(i) of the WIOA (29 U.S.C. § 3141(c)(1)(A)(i)) to assess the estimated effectiveness of the proposed services and activities, including the estimated number of individuals with a substance use disorder who may be served by the proposed services and activities; b. The record of the subgrantee in serving individuals with a barrier to employment; and/or c. The capacity of the local workforce development board to establish a participating partnership that will meets the challenges associated with the local opioid and substance misuse crisis. |
a. The primary indicators of performance described in WIOA section 166, to assess the estimated effectiveness of the proposed services and activities, including the estimated number of individuals with a substance use disorder who may be served by the proposed services and activities. |
Scoring under this criterion depends on the lead applicant. Applications will be scored based on the type of applicant.
For State workforce agencies as the lead applicant/grantee |
For outlying areas and Tribal organizations as the lead applicant/grantee |
Scoring under this criterion is based on the Participating Partnership’s ability to support the project:
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Scoring under this criterion is based on the lead applicant’s ability to bring together a network of partners to support the project:
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Scoring under this criterion depends on the demonstrated effectiveness of past services, as well as the service mix proposed by the lead applicant, based on the unique needs of their proposed service area(s).
Career Services (2 points)
Provide a detailed description of the career services provided to program participants who are in the career and training stage of the program. These services may include initial education and skills assessments; services to promote employability skills; career planning that includes career pathways leading to in-demand, high-wage jobs; job coaching, job matching, and job placement services; provision of payments and fees for employment; and training-related applications, tests, and certifications.
Training Services (8 points)
Provide a detailed description of the training activities and clear description of how education providers, such as institutions of higher education, will support and deliver the training services that encompass traditional classroom training funded through WIOA individual training accounts; class-size training with institutions of higher education; work-based learning opportunities with employer partners, including paid work, internships, on-the-job training and apprenticeships; or any other appropriate training service described in section 134(c) of WIOA (29 U.S.C. § 3174(c)). (4 points)
Clearly identify the in-demand occupations for the proposed training activity(ies) to serve the target populations, as described on Section III.C.3. Eligible Participants. (2 points)
Demonstrate the workforce shortage in the professional area(s) for those applicants that propose to serve workers seeking to enter professions that could help address the opioid crisis and its causes through occupations such as: substance use disorder treatment and related services, non-addictive pain therapy and alternative pain management and treatment services, mental health care treatment services, emergency response services, or mental health care, using related data sources and information, such as: (2 points)
The distance between the communities affected by opioid abuse or another substance use disorder and facilities or professionals offering services in the professional area; or
The maximum capacity of facilities or professionals to serve individuals in an affected community; or
In order to demonstrate need in the proposed occupations, increases in arrests related to opioid or another substance use disorder, overdose deaths, or nonfatal overdose emergencies in the community.
Employment Retention Services (4 points)
Provide a complete description of the employment and retention services that participants will receive to maintain employment for a period of at least 12 months. (2 points)
Provide a comprehensive explanation of the services that participants will receive in the first six months of employment, including at least one of the following: (2 points)
case management and support services, including a continuation of the services described as pre-employment training services;
a continuation of skills training, career and technical education, or other training described as pre-employment training services, conducted in collaboration with the employers of such participants;
mentorship services and job retention support for such participants; or
targeted training for managers, human resources representatives, and mentors or others working with such participants in the business where such participants are employed.
Employer Engagement Services (2 points)
Provide a compelling explanation of a proven employer engagement strategy, including partnership with community resources such as the Employer Resource Network, which will result in hiring and retaining individuals with substance use disorders. (2 points)
Recovery and Support Services (4 points)
Provide a detailed explanation of how the proposed services and activities (Service Plan) are aligned with the State, outlying area, or Tribal organization’s strategy, as applicable, for addressing problems described in the specified service areas or across the State, outlying area, or Tribal land. (2 points)
Provide a clear and convincing description of the lead applicant’s service plan as described in section a – d below. (4 points)
The FOA requires lead applicants to provide one or more of the services described below. Because not all services are required, points will be awarded based on the strength of at least one proposed service. Points will not be deducted if only one activity is proposed. If more than one service is proposed, points will be distributed accordingly.
Provide a clear description of the applicant’s proposed screening services and how evidenced-based screening methods will be used to determine the appropriate services and training activities that could be provided to all participants; identification of the specific needs of these individuals to determine the need for services; and identification of the process to accept walk-ins or referrals from employers, labor organizations, or other entities recommending individuals to participate in such program;
Provide a clear description of how WIOA Individual Employment Plans or Individual Treatment and Employment Plans will be developed by a case manager for each participant served, which, in addition to identifying employment and career goals, may include: treatment; exploring career pathways that lead to in-demand industries and sectors, as determined by the State board and the head of the State workforce agency or, as applicable, the Tribal entity; setting appropriate achievement objectives; or developing the appropriate combination of services to attain the employment and career goals;
Provide a clear identification of the treatment provider(s) and a clear and concise description of how individualized and group outpatient treatment and recovery services, as described in Section III.D, will be available to individuals directly or indirectly affected by the opioid crisis, using models that utilize combined behavioral interventions and other evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions; and/or
Identify and explain how partners will provide supportive services to individuals impacted by the opioid crisis, including a description of the services.
Provide a detailed description demonstrating the lead applicant’s and, if applicable, subgrantee’s capacity to effectively manage each component of the program, including project management, communications with all partners and staff, effective procurement processes, and internal procedures; (4 points) and
ii. Within the project narrative, include a detailed organizational chart that identifies the lead applicant, Participating Partnerships or relevant partnerships, and other proposed partners. The chart must describe the structure of the relationships of all partners involved in the project. The chart also must identify the proposed project’s staffing plan to illustrate that partners have the capacity to support the lead applicant to carry out the proposed project. The staffing plan must describe the qualifications and experience of all executive and administrative staff, as well as other personnel such as board members, advisors, and consultants, to fulfill the needs and requirements of the proposed project. Such qualifications and experience must demonstrate the ability to manage a strategic partnership, including fiscal and administrative management, outreach, and promotion. (4 points)
Applicants must agree to meet DOL reporting requirements and provide individual record-level data that would be made available for evaluation and national reporting purposes. Please refer to Section IV.C for a description of the reporting requirements for projects funded under this grant program.
Provide a comprehensive description of the existing or planned systems and processes that the lead applicant will use to provide timely and accurate financial and participant-level performance reporting, including the process for tracking participant-level data on participant characteristics, services, activities, and employment outcomes of apprentices served through the project to report to the Department during the life of the grant. In addition, the description must detail how these systems will be used to regularly assess progress towards the identified performance goals and that rigorous performance reporting will be taken into account in staffing and budgeting plans. (6 points)
Applicants will receive points based on past performance.
Provide a full description of the lead applicant’s prior experience in the development of partnerships to address an economic crisis within their proposed service area during the grant period of performance. This could include evidence of existing partnerships, prior experience in addressing opioid and substance misuse issues, and the number of workers served in prior programs; (2 points) and
Demonstrate that organizations identified in the Participating Partnership or other relevant partnerships have substantiated, successful experience in cost-effective positive outcomes related to: deploying projects; providing employment services to individuals with barriers to employment; developing work-based learning programs, internships, mentorships, externships, or clinical placements within the proposed occupations; and enrolling participants in training, including securing employment placements, and/or wage increases. (2 points)
Please see Section IV.B.2 for information on requirements related to the budget and budget justification. The Budget and Budget Justification do not count against the page limit requirements for the Project Narrative.
Provide a detailed explanation of how the budget is reasonable and feasible based on the activities outlined in the Project Narrative, how the proposed expenditures will address the opioid crisis in the proposed service area(s), and whether key personnel have adequate time devoted to the project to achieve the project results. (4 points)
In addition to the Project Narrative, you must submit attachments. All attachments must be clearly labeled. We will exclude only those attachments listed below from the page limit.
You must not include additional materials such as resumes or general letters of support. You must submit your 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 filenames of 50 characters or less, and use only standard characters in filenames: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and underscore (_). Filenames may not include special characters (e.g., &, –, *, %, /, #), periods (.), blank spaces, or accent marks and must be unique (e.g., no other attachment may have the same filename). You may use an underscore (example: My_Attached_File.pdf) to separate a file name.
You must submit an abstract up to two pages summarizing the proposed project, including, but not limited to, the scope of the project and proposed outcomes. Omission of the abstract will not result in your application being screened out; however, the lack of the required information in the abstract may impact scoring. See Section III.C.1 for a list of items that will result in the screening out of your application. The abstract must include:
Project title/name;
Summary of program activities;
Brief summary of the proposed project, including, but not limited to, the scope of the project and proposed outcomes
Total funding requested;
Lead applicant organization’s name;
Lead applicant entity type (State workforce agency, outlying area, or Tribal organizational)
Lead applicant location (city/state)
Depending on the lead applicant, a list of key organizations that will manage the grant;
If a State workforce agency
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If a single State local area or a state that has a waiver allowing their State workforce board to act as local board |
If the State workforce agency of an outlying area
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If a Tribal organization
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List of the required local workforce development board partner(s). |
List of the State workforce development board. |
List of the local workforce development board or local entity. |
List of the local organizational entity (if selected). |
Local workforce development board(s) |
State workforce development board |
Local workforce development board or local entity |
Name of local organizational entity |
City and county location |
City and county location |
City and county location |
City and county location |
List of the Participating Partnerships, as it applies to the lead applicant;
If a State workforce agency |
If outlying areas and Tribal organizations choose to work with organizations list the Participating Partnership |
List of the name of the organization and entity type for each subgrantee(s) or local workforce development board(s)’s Participating Partnership. |
List the name of the organization and entity type for each member of the Participating Partnership. |
Project Service Area(s) (specific location(s) where grant services will be provided);
If the geographic area(s) to be served are rural, urban, and/or suburban;
Targeted population(s) to be served;
Proposed Occupational Training; and
Occupational training for workers who are seeking to enter or transition to professions that address the impacts of the opioid crisis |
Occupational training for individuals personally affected by the opioid and substance misuse crisis |
List of the in-demand occupations that will address the impacts of the opioid crisis that for which skills training will be provided. |
List of the in-demand occupations for which skills training will be provided. |
Public contact information.
State workforce agencies as the lead applicant must submit documentation of commitment from local workforce development board(s) that will serve as subgrantee(s). Single area states and states that have waivers allowing their State workforce boards to act as local boards, while not required to subgrant, must identify the State workforce board and submit documentation of commitment. Outlying areas that subgrant to the State workforce development board or local entity must also provide documentation of commitment.
Omission of the documentation will result in your application being screened out. See Section III.C.1 for a list of items that will result in the screening out of your application.
We request the following attachments, but their omission will not cause us to screen out the application. Furthermore, the omission of the attachment will impact scoring unless otherwise noted.
For a State workforce agency, local workforce development boards should provide documentation of commitment showing representation from each of the Participating Partner entities, as described in Section III.A.3. Participating Partnership.
Outlying areas and Tribal organizations that choose to work with organizations from the Participating Partnership should provide documentation of commitment showing representation for each partner. This may include signed and dated Letters of Commitment from optional partner organizations that propose to provide services to support the program model and lead to the identified outcomes. When submitting via grants.gov, these letters must be uploaded as attachments to the application package and specifically labeled “Letters of Commitment.”
Include a detailed organizational chart that identifies the lead applicant, Participating Partnerships or relevant partnerships, and other proposed partners, with additional details as described in Section IV.B.3(d)(1)(ii).
When submitting via grants.gov, the chart must be uploaded as an attachment to the application package and specifically labeled “Organizational Chart.”
Include documentation relating to layoffs, decreased economic activity or data, or employer challenges, as described in Section IV.B.3(a)(2)(i)(a, b, and c).
When submitting via grants.gov, these documents must be uploaded as attachments to the application package and specifically labeled “Documentation of Need.”
You may be required to participate in a Federal evaluation of the Support to Communities grant program. The evaluation may include an experimental impact evaluation in which eligible participants will be randomly assigned to the program or to a control group that does not receive the program. You must submit a statement of commitment to participate in a national evaluation initiated by DOL, for the applicant and all partners, including employers or regional industry associations. The evaluation may involve making records on participants, employers, and funding available; providing access to program and partner personnel and participants; facilitating random assignment by increased recruitment of potential participants; and following evaluation procedures as specified by the evaluator(s) under the direction of ETA and the DOL Chief Evaluation Office, including after the period of operation. This attachment does not impact the scoring of the application. Applicants that do not submit this attachment and are selected for grant award will not receive their grant funds unless this attachment is submitted as a condition of grant award funding.
If you are requesting indirect costs based on a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement approved by your Federal Cognizant Agency, then attach the most recently approved Agreement. (For more information, see Sections IV.B.2 and IV.E.1.) This attachment does not impact the scoring of the application.
When submitting via grants.gov, this document must be uploaded as an attachment to the application package and specifically labeled “NICRA.”
All applicants are requested to submit Funding Opportunity Announcement Financial System Assessment Information. (See Section V.B.2 for a sample template and additional instructions.) This attachment does not impact the scoring of the application.
We must receive your application by [insert date XX days after the date of publication on Grants.gov]. You must submit your application either electronically on https://www.grants.gov or in hard copy by mail or in hard copy by hand delivery (including overnight delivery) no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their application before the closing date to ensure that the risk of late receipt of the application is minimized. We will not review applications received after 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. We will not accept applications sent by e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX).
All applications submitted in hardcopy by mail or hand delivery (including overnight delivery) submissions must be received at the designated place by the specified closing date and time. Applicants submitting applications in hard copy by mail or hand delivery must submit a “copy-ready” version free of bindings, staples or protruding tabs to ease in the reproduction of the application by DOL. Applicants submitting applications in hard copy must also include in the hard copy submission an identical electronic copy of the application on compact disc (CD) or flash drive. If we identify discrepancies between the hard copy submission and CD/flash drive copy, we will consider the application on the CD/flash drive as the official submission for evaluation purposes. Failure to provide identical applications in hardcopy and CD/flash drive format may have an impact on the overall evaluation.
If an application is physically submitted by both hard copy and through https://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 https://www.grants.gov.
We will grant no exceptions to the mailing and delivery requirements set forth in this notice. Further, we will not accept documents submitted separately from the application, before or after the deadline, as part of the application.
Address mailed applications to:
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Office of Grants Management
Attention: Brinda Ruggles, Grant Officer
Reference FOA-ETA-20-01
200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N4716
Washington,
DC 20210
Please note that mail decontamination procedures may delay mail delivery in the Washington DC area. We will receive hand-delivered applications at the above address at the 3rd Street Visitor Entrance. 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.
Applicants submitting applications through Grants.gov must ensure successful submission no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date. Grants.gov will subsequently validate the application.
The process can be complicated and time-consuming. You are strongly advised to initiate the process as soon as possible and to plan for time to resolve technical problems. Note that validation does not mean that your application has been accepted as complete or has been accepted for review by the agency. Rather, grants.gov only verifies the submission of certain parts of an application.
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.
Applicants must follow the online instructions for registration at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html. We recommend that you 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.
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 Agency Organizational Representative (AOR). When an application is submitted through Grants.gov, the name of the AOR that submitted the application is inserted into the signature line of the application, serving as the electronic signature. The EBiz POC must authorize the individual who is able to make legally binding commitments on behalf of your organization as the AOR; this step is often missed and it is crucial for valid submissions.
Grants.gov applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different webforms within an application. For a complete workspace overview, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html.
For access to complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to:
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.
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. Grants.gov will send the applicant AOR an email acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) with the successful transmission of the application, serving as proof of their timely submission. The applicant will receive two email messages to provide the status of the application’s progress through the system.
The first email 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 later successfully validated will be considered. It is your sole responsibility 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, enough time should be allotted for submission (24-48 hours) 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 enough time is not allotted and a rejection notice is received after the due date and time, DOL will not consider the application.
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. We will attempt to open the document, but will not take any additional measures in the event of problems with opening.
We strongly advise applicants to use the various tools and documents, including FAQs, which are available on the “Applicant Resources” page at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html.
We encourage new prospective applicants to view the online tutorial, “Grant Applications 101: A Plain English Guide to ETA Competitive Grants,” available through WorkforceGPS at: https://strategies.workforcegps.org/resources/2014/08/11/16/32/applying-for-eta-competitive-grants-a-web-based-toolkit-for-prospective-applicants-438?p=1.
To receive updated information about critical issues, new tips for users, and other time-sensitive updates as information is available, you may subscribe to “Grants.gov Updates” at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/manage-subscriptions.html.
If you 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 Grants.gov Contact Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, it is closed on Federal holidays. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to call the Grants.gov Support Center and get a ticket number.
Late Applications
For applications submitted on Grants.gov, we will consider only applications successfully submitted no later than 4:00:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date and then successfully validated. You take a significant risk by waiting to the last day to submit through Grants.gov.
We will not consider any hard copy application received after the exact date and time specified for receipt at the office designated in this notice, unless we receive it 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, you 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 Cost Principles, now found in the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), codified at 2 CFR Part 200 and at 2 CFR Part 2900 (Uniform Guidance-DOL specific). Disallowed costs are those charges to a grant that the grantor agency or its representative determines not to be allowed in accordance with the Cost Principles or other conditions contained in the grant. Applicants, whether successful or not, will not be entitled to reimbursement of pre-award costs.
As specified in the Uniform Guidance Cost Principles, indirect costs are those that have been incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be readily identified with a particular final cost objective. An indirect cost rate is required when an organization operates under more than one grant or other activity, whether Federally-assisted or not. You have two options to claim reimbursement of indirect costs.
Option 1: You may use a NICRA or Cost Allocation Plan (CAP) supplied by the Federal Cognizant Agency. If you do not have a NICRA/CAP or have a pending NICRA/CAP, and in either case choose to include estimated indirect costs in your budget, at the time of award the Grant Officer will release funds in the amount of 10 percent of salaries and wages to support indirect costs. Within 90 days of award, you are required to submit an acceptable indirect cost proposal or CAP to your Federal Cognizant Agency to obtain a provisional indirect cost rate. (See Section IV.B.4. for more information on NICRA submission requirements.)
Option 2: Any organization that has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, with the exceptions noted at 2 CFR 200.414(f) in the Cost Principles, may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10 percent of modified total direct costs (see 2 CFR 200.68 for definition), which may be used indefinitely. If you choose this option, this methodology must be used consistently for all Federal awards until such time as you choose to negotiate for an indirect cost rate, which you may apply to do at any time. (See 2 CFR 200.414(f) for more information on use of the de minimis rate.)
Under this FOA, an eligible entity that receives a grant to carry out a project or program is limited to five (5) percent of the amount of the grant to pay administrative costs associated with the program or project. Such costs include both personnel and non-personnel costs and both direct and indirect costs. For the purposes of this FOA we use the definition of Administrative costs found in 20 CFR 683.215. Administrative costs are not related to the direct provision of services (including services to participants and employers). Administrative costs do not need to be identified separately from program costs on the SF-424A Budget Information Form. However, they must be tracked through the recipient’s accounting system. To claim any administrative costs that are also indirect costs, the applicant must obtain an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement from its Federal Cognizant Agency or be eligible to use the 10 percent de minimis rate, as specified above. All costs charged as a result of the de minimis rate will be counted towards the administrative cost limitation.
Local workforce development boards and other subgrantees may use no more than 10 percent of the funds received under a subgrant for the administrative costs of the Participating Partnership.
None of the funds appropriated under the heading “Employment and Training” in the appropriation statute(s) may be used by a recipient or subrecipient of such funds to pay the salary and bonuses of an individual, either as direct costs or indirect costs, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II. This limitation does not apply to contractors providing goods and services as defined in the Audit Requirements of the OMB Uniform Guidance (see 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F). Where States are recipients of such funds, States may establish a lower limit for salaries and bonuses of those receiving salaries and bonuses from subrecipients of such funds, taking into account factors including the relative cost-of-living in the State, the compensation levels for comparable State or local government employees, and the size of the organizations that administer Federal programs involved including ETA. See Public Law 113-235, Division G, Title I, section 105, and Training and Employment Guidance Letter number 05-06 for further clarification: https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2262.
Pursuant to 2 CFR § 2900.13, to ensure that the Federal investment of DOL funds has as broad an impact as possible and to encourage innovation in the development of new learning materials, the grantee will be required to license to the public all work created with the support of the grant under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY) license. Work that must be licensed under the CC BY includes both new content created with the grant funds and modifications made to pre-existing, grantee-owned content using grant funds.
This license allows subsequent users to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the copyrighted Work and requires such users to attribute the Work in the manner specified by the grantee. Notice of the license shall be affixed to the Work. For general information on CC BY, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
Instructions for marking your work with CC BY can be found at https://wiki.creativecommons.org/Marking_your_work_with_a_CC_license.
Questions about CC BY as it applies to this specific funding opportunity should be submitted to the ETA Grants Management Specialist specified in Section VII.
Only work that is developed by the recipient in whole or in part with grant funds is required to be licensed under the CC BY license. Pre-existing copyrighted materials licensed to, or purchased by the grantee from third parties, including modifications of such materials, remain subject to the intellectual property rights the grantee receives under the terms of the particular license or purchase. In addition, works created by the grantee without grant funds do not fall under the CC BY licensing requirement.
The purpose of the CC BY licensing requirement is to ensure that materials developed with funds provided by these grants result in work that can be freely reused and improved by others. When purchasing or licensing consumable or reusable materials, the grantee is expected to respect all applicable Federal laws and regulations, including those pertaining to the copyright and accessibility provisions of the Federal Rehabilitation Act.
Separate from the CC BY license to the public, 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 subaward or contract under the grant or subaward; and ii) any rights of copyright to which the recipient, subrecipient, 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, DOL treats such revenues as program income. Such 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.”
This FOA allows the use of grant funds for the purposes of On-the-Job Training.
Grant funds for State workforce agencies, represented by local workforce development boards and the Participating Partnership, are limited to:
Use no more than 10 percent of the funds received under such subgrant for the provision of treatment and recovery services; and
Use no more than 10 percent of the funds received under such subgrant for the provision of supportive services.
Outlying areas and Tribal organizations may propose up to:
20 percent of the funds received for the provision of treatment and recovery services; and
20 percent of the funds received for the provision of supportive services.
For all grant recipients and sub-recipients, the earning of profit is not an allowable cost item. Earnings above actual costs incurred are to be treated as program income. Any program income earned must be used for program purposes.
Withdrawal of Applications: You may withdraw an application by written notice to the Grant Officer at any time before an award is made.
We have instituted procedures for assessing the technical merit of applications to provide for an objective review of applications and to assist you in understanding the standards against which your application will be judged. The evaluation criteria are based on the information required in the application as described in Sections IV.B.2. Project Budget and IV.B.3. Project Narrative. Reviewers will award points based on the evaluation criteria described below.
Section IV.B.3.Project Narrative of this FOA has several “section headers” (e.g., IV.B.3.a) Statement of Need). Each of these “section headers” of the Project Narrative includes one or more “criteria,” and each “criterion” includes one or more “rating factors,” which provide detailed specifications for the content and quality of the response to that criterion. Each of the rating factors has a specific point value assigned. These point values are the numbers of points possible for the application to earn for the rating factor.
Criterion |
Points (maximum) |
|
12
|
|
30 |
|
36 |
|
14 |
(See Section IV.B.3.e) Past Performance – Programmatic Capability) |
4 |
|
4 |
TOTAL |
100 |
Section IV.B.3. Project Narrative provides a detailed explanation of the information an application must include (e.g., a comprehensive work plan for the whole period of performance with feasible and realistic dates). Reviewers will rate each “rating factor” based on how fully and convincingly the applicant responds. For each “rating factor” under each “criterion,” panelists will determine whether the applicant thoroughly meets, partially meets, or fails to meet the “rating factor,” unless otherwise noted in Section IV.B.3, based on the definitions below:
Standard Rating |
Definition |
Standard for Calculating Points |
Thoroughly Meets |
The application thoroughly responds to the rating factor and fully and convincingly satisfies all of the stated specifications. |
Full Points |
Partially Meets |
The application responds incompletely to the rating factor or the application convincingly satisfies some, but not all, of the stated specifications. |
Half Points |
Fails to Meet |
The application does not respond to the rating factor or the application does respond to the rating factor but does not convincingly satisfy any of the stated specifications. |
Zero Points |
In order to receive the maximum points for each rating factor, applicants must provide a response to the requirement that fully describes the proposed program design and demonstrates the quality of approach, rather than simply re-stating a commitment to perform prescribed activities. In other words, applicants must describe why their proposal is the best strategy and how they will implement it, rather than that the strategy contains elements that conform to the requirements of this FOA.
A technical merit review panel will carefully evaluate applications against the selection criteria to determine the merit of applications. These criteria are based on the policy goals, priorities, and emphases set forth in this FOA. Up to 100 points may be awarded to an applicant, depending on the quality of the responses provided. 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 panel results are advisory in nature and not binding on the Grant Officer. The Grant Officer reserves the right to make selections based solely on the final scores or to take into consideration other relevant factors when applicable. Such factors may include the geographic distribution of funds and/or other relevant factors. 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 https://www.grants.gov, which constitutes a binding offer by the applicant.
Prior to making an award, ETA will review information available through various sources, including its own records and any OMB-designated repository of government-wide eligibility qualification or financial integrity information, such as Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), Dun and Bradstreet, and “Do Not Pay.” Additionally, ETA will comply with the requirements of 2 CFR Part 180 codified by DOL at 29 CFR Part 98 [Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement)]. This risk evaluation may incorporate results of the evaluation of the applicant’s eligibility (application screening) or the quality of its application (merit review). If ETA determines that an award will be made, special conditions that correspond to the degree of risk assessed may be applied to the award. Criteria to be evaluated include:
Financial stability;
Quality of management systems and ability to meet the management standards prescribed in the Uniform Grant Guidance;
History of performance. The applicant’s record in managing awards, cooperative agreements, or procurement awards, if it is a prior recipient of such Federal awards, including timeliness of compliance with applicable reporting requirements and, if applicable, the extent to which any previously awarded amounts will be expended prior to future awards;
Reports and findings from audits performed under Subpart F – Audit Requirements of the Uniform Grant Guidance or the reports and findings of any other available audits and monitoring reports containing findings, issues of non-compliance, or questioned costs; and
The applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on recipients.
NOTE: As part of ETA’s Risk Review process, The Grant Officer will determine:
If the applicant had any restriction on spending for any ETA grant due to adverse monitoring findings; or
If the applicant received a High Risk determination in accordance with Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 23-15.
Depending on the severity of the findings and whether the findings were resolved, the Grant Officer may, at his/her discretion, elect to not fund the applicant for a grant award regardless of the applicant’s score in the competition.
All applicants are requested to submit the following information as an attachment to their application (suggested template below) for ETA to assess the applicant’s Financial System. This information will be taken into account as one component of ETA’s Risk Review Process. Applicants may use the suggested template or answer the questions in a separate attachment. It is unlikely that an organization will be able to manage a Federal grant without the following system/processes in place. Applicants are expected to have these in place before applying for a grant with ETA.
U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR -EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
(ETA) |
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SECTION A: PURPOSE |
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The
financial responsibility of grantees must be such that the grantee
can properly discharge the public trust which accompanies the
authority to expend public funds. Adequate administrative and
financial systems including the accounting systems should meet the
following criteria as contained in 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 2900. |
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|
SECTION B: GENERAL |
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1. Complete the following items: |
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a. When was the organization founded/incorporated (month, day, year) |
b. Principal officers |
Titles |
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c. Employer Identification Number: |
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d.
Number of Employees |
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2.
Is the organization or institution affiliated with any other
organization: Yes No |
3.
Total Sales/Revenues in most recent accounting period. (12
months) |
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|
SECTION C: ACCOUNTING SYSTEM |
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1. Has any Government Agency rendered an official written opinion concerning the adequacy of the accounting system for the collection, identification and allocation of costs under Federal contracts/grants? Yes No |
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a. If yes, provide name, and address of Agency performing review: |
b. Attach a copy of the latest review and any subsequent correspondence, clearance documents, etc. |
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Note: If review occurred within the past three years, omit questions 2-8 of this Section and Section D. |
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2. Which of the following best describes the accounting system: |
State administered |
Internally Developed |
|
|
Web-based |
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3. Does the accounting system identify the receipt and expenditure of program funds separately for each contract/grant? |
|
Yes |
No |
Not Sure |
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4. Does the accounting system provide for the recording of expenditures for each grant/contract by the component project and budget cost categories shown in the approved budget? |
|
Yes |
No |
Not Sure |
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5. Are time distribution records maintained for an employee when his/her effort can be specifically identified to a particular cost objective? |
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Yes |
No |
Not Sure |
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6. If the organization proposes an overhead rate, does the accounting system provide for the segregation of direct and indirect expenses? |
|
Yes |
No |
Not Sure |
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7.
Does the organization have an approved indirect cost rate or cost
allocation plan? |
|
Yes |
No |
Not Sure |
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8.
Does the accounting/financial system include budgetary controls
to preclude incurring obligations in excess of: |
|
|
|
|
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9. Does the organization or institution have an internal control structure that would provide reasonable assurance that the grant funds, assets and systems are safeguarded? |
|
Yes |
No |
Not Sure |
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|
|
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SECTION D: FINANCIAL STABILITY |
|
||||||||||
1.
Is there any legal matter or an ongoing financial concern that
may impact the organization's ability to manage and administer the
grant? Yes No |
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|
SECTION E: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
|
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1. Did an independent certified public accountant (CPA) ever examine the financial statements? Yes No |
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2.
If an independent CPA review was performed please attach a copy
of their latest report and any management letters issued.
Enclosed N / A |
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3. If an independent CPA was engaged to perform a review and no report was issued, please provide details and an explanation below: |
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|
SECTION F: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
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1. Use this space for any additional information (indicate section and item numbers if a continuation) |
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All award notifications will be posted on the ETA Homepage (https://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 application.
Selection of an organization as a recipient does not constitute approval of the grant application as submitted. Before the actual grant is awarded, we 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. We reserve the right to not fund any application related to this FOA.
All grantees will be subject to all applicable Federal laws, and regulations—including the OMB Uniform Guidance, and the terms and conditions of the award. The grant(s) awarded under this FOA will be subject to the following administrative standards and provisions:
Non-Profit Organizations, Educational Institutions, For-profit entities and State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments – 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards) and 2 CFR 2900 (DOL’s Supplement to 2 CFR Part 200)
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)), 2 CFR Part 180 (OMB Guidance to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement)), and, where applicable, 2 CFR Part 200 (Audit Requirements).
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.
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.
29 CFR Part 32—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance.
29 CFR Part 35—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance from the Department of Labor.
29 CFR Part 36—Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance.
29 CFR Part 38 – Implementation of the Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity Provisions of WIOA as applicable.
29 CFR Parts 29 and 30—Labor Standards for the Registration of Apprenticeship Programs, and Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship and Training, as applicable.
Department of Labor will follow the procedures outlined in the Department’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations (29 CFR Part 70). 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 generally 5 U.S.C. § 552; 29 CFR Part 70.
Standard Grant Terms and Conditions of Award—see the following link: https://www.doleta.gov/grants/resources.cfm .
The Department notes that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. § 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 this grant solicitation and maintain that hiring practice. If a faith-based organization is awarded a grant, the organization will be provided with more information.
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 2 CFR § 200.450 for more information).
You must ensure that you have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the reporting requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-282, as amended by section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, and the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008, as follows:
Except for those excepted from the Transparency Act under sub-paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 below, you must ensure that you 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, you 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: https://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 (e.g., 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.
Applicants submitting applications in response to this FOA 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 an application, you 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 recipient(s) will be performed in a manner consistent with applicable state and Federal laws.
By submitting a grant application, you agree 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:
You must ensure that PII and sensitive data developed, obtained, or otherwise associated with DOL/ETA funded grants is securely transmitted.
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. You must not e-mail unencrypted sensitive PII to any entity, including ETA or contractors.
You 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. You must maintain such PII in accordance with the ETA standards for information security described in TEGL No. 39-11 and any updates to such standards we provide to you. Grantees who wish to obtain more information on data security should contact their Federal Project Officer.
You must ensure that any PII used during the performance of your grant has been obtained in conformity with applicable Federal and state laws governing the confidentiality of information.
You further acknowledge that all PII data obtained through your ETA grant must be stored in an area that is physically safe from access by unauthorized persons at all times and the data will be processed using recipient-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-recipient managed IT services, (e.g., Yahoo mail), is strictly prohibited unless approved by ETA.
Your 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.
You must have policies and procedures in place under which your 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.
You 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 recipient through a request from ETA must not be disclosed to anyone but the individual requestor, except as permitted by the Grant Officer or by court order.
You 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 you are complying with the confidentiality requirements described above. In accordance with this responsibility, you must make records applicable to this Agreement available to authorized persons for the purpose of inspection, review, and/or audit.
You 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, you agree that all data will be destroyed, including the degaussing of magnetic tape files and deletion of electronic data.
You must follow Federal guidelines on record retention, which require that you maintain all records pertaining to grant activities for a period of at least three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. See 2 CFR § 200.333-.337 for more specific information, including information about the start of the record retention period for awards that are renewed quarterly or annually, and when the records must be retained for more than three years.
You must abide by the following definitions of contract, contractor, subaward, and subrecipient:
Contract: Contract means a legal instrument by which a non-Federal entity (defined as a state, local government, Indian tribe, institution of higher education (IHE), nonprofit organization, for-profit entity, foreign public entity, or a foreign organization that carries out a Federal award as a recipient or subrecipient) purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award. The term as used in this FOA does not include a legal instrument, even if the non-Federal entity considers it a contract, when the substance of the transaction meets the definition of a Federal award or subaward (see definition of Subaward below).
Contractor: Contractor means an entity that receives a contract as defined above in Contract.
Subaward: Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity (defined as a non-Federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal program) to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.
Subrecipient: Subrecipient means a non-Federal entity that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a Federal program; but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such program. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency.
You must follow the provisions at 2 CFR § 200.330-.332 regarding subrecipient monitoring and management. Also see 2 CFR § 200.308(c)(6) regarding prior approval requirements for subawards. When awarding subawards, you are required to comply with provisions on government wide suspension and debarment found at 2 CFR Part 180 and codified by DOL at 29 CFR Part 98.
Any entity that receives an award under this Announcement must close its grant with ETA at the end of the final year of the grant. Information about this process may be found in ETA’s Grant Closeout FAQ located at https://www.doleta.gov/grants/docs/GCFAQ.pdf.
Except as specifically provided in this FOA, our acceptance of an application 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 Uniform Guidance requires that an entity’s procurement procedures ensure that all procurement transactions are conducted, as much as practical, to provide full and open competition. If an application identifies a specific entity to provide goods or services, the award does not provide the justification or basis to sole source the procurement, e.g., avoid competition.
As a condition of grant award, grantees are required to participate in an evaluation, if undertaken by DOL. The evaluation may include an implementation assessment across grantees, an impact and/or outcomes analysis of all or selected sites within or across grantees, and a benefit/cost analysis or assessment of return on investment. Conducting an impact analysis could involve random assignment (which involves random assignment of eligible participants into a treatment group that would receive program services or enhanced program services, or into control group(s) that would receive no program services or program services that are not enhanced). We may require applicants to collect data elements to aid the evaluation. As a part of the evaluation, as a condition of award, grantees must agree to: (1) make records available to the evaluation contractor on: participants, employers, and funding; (2) provide access to program operating personnel, participants, and operational and financial records, and any other pertaining documents to calculate program costs and benefits; and (3) in the case of an impact analysis, facilitate the assignment by lottery of participants to program services (including the possible increased recruitment of potential participants); and (4) follow evaluation procedures as specified by the evaluation contractor under the direction of DOL.
Per the requirements of Public Law 115-271 (the SUPPORT Act), if selected for participation in an evaluation, grantees will be expected to pay any additional costs associated with successful participation in an evaluation including but not limited to recruitment of additional target population individuals in order to meet study requirements, staffing to administer study protocols, and/or resources to generally support the evaluation effort. The specific requirements will be detailed in a memorandum of understanding with the grantee at the time of the evaluation.
Please note that applicants will be held to the outcome goals provided in their applications. Failure to meet those outcomes may result in technical assistance or other intervention by ETA, and may also have a significant impact on decisions about future grants with ETA.
You must meet DOL reporting requirements. Specifically, you must submit the reports and documents listed below to DOL electronically:
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. On the final Financial Status Report, you must include any subaward amounts so we can calculate final indirect costs, if applicable. You must use DOL’s Online Electronic Reporting System and information and instructions will be provided to grantees. For other guidance on ETA’s financial reporting, reference Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 02-16 and our webpage at https://www.doleta.gov/grants/financial_reporting.cfm.
You must submit a quarterly progress report within 45 days after the end of each calendar year quarter. The report must include quarterly information on grant activities, performance goals, and milestones. The last quarterly progress report 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 that you used. Submission requirements will be provided to grantees upon award. We will also provide you with guidance about the data and other information that is required to be collected and reported on either a regular basis or special request basis.
The State workforce agency, in partnership with the local workforce development board(s) as the subgrantee, and the State workforce agency of outlying areas, must use existing case management or other management information systems for the purposes of performance reporting to reduce duplication of efforts and resources. If feasible, Tribal organizations are encouraged to work with the State workforce agency and/or local workforce development boards to leverage existing case management or other management information systems to submit performance data to DOL.
The following WIOA primary indicators of performance are applicable to these grants:
Employment Rate – 2nd Quarter After Exit: The percentage of participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program.
Employment Rate – 4th Quarter After Exit: The percentage of participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after exit from the program.
Median Earnings – 2nd Quarter After Exit: The median earnings of participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program.
Credential Attainment: The percentage of participants enrolled in an education or training program who attain a recognized postsecondary credential or a secondary school diploma, or its recognized equivalent, during participation in or within one year after exit from the program.
Measurable Skill Gains: The percentage of program participants who, during a program year, are in an education or training program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential or employment and who are achieving measurable skill gains, defined as documented academic, technical, occupational, or other forms of progress, towards such a credential or employment.
Effectiveness in Serving Employers (Retention with the Same Employer in the 2nd and 4th Quarter After Exit)
Grantees will report against these primary indicators using participant-level data reported in the Participant Individual Record Layout and submitted in the Workforce Integrated Performance System described below.
Grantees should report using the Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS). Information on how to report are available on the WIPS Resource Page: https://doleta.gov/performance/wips/. All relevant data elements on the individual record layout must be completed.
Recipients must report the characteristics, services received, and outcomes of participants served under this grant. Grantees must submit an individual record file quarterly on all participants and exiters. Performance accountability for these grants generally aligns with WIOA title I programs and WIOA section 116(b)(2)(A). The quarterly PIRL submission is the means for calculating individual participant performance outcomes, as well as performance for this funding opportunity. An amendment to the DOL-only PIRL (ETA 9172) was approved on January 17, 2018 (OMB Control No. 1205-0521), which may be found at this website: https://doleta.gov/performance/reporting/.
Quarterly project narrative reports are required using the WIOA Joint Narrative template (OMB Control No. 1205-0448). This report is an opportunity for grantees to share information on project success stories, upcoming grant activities, and promising approaches and processes. The final quarterly report must summarize the successes and/or challenges in delivering services to the target population, as well as address the topics of sustainability, replicability, and lessons learned.
For further information about this FOA, please Aiyana Pucci, Grants Management Specialist, Office of Grants Management, at (202) 693-3403. Applicants should e-mail all technical questions to [email protected] and must specifically reference FOA-ETA-20-01, and along with question(s), include a contact name, fax and phone number. This Announcement is available on the ETA Web site at https://www.doleta.gov/grants and at https://www.grants.gov.
DOL maintains a number of web-based resources that may be of assistance to applicants. These include the CareerOneStop portal (https://www.careeronestop.org), which provides national and state career information on occupations; the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Online (https://online.onetcenter.org) which provides occupational competency profiles; and America's Service Locator (https://www.servicelocator.org), which provides a directory of our nation's American Job Centers (formerly known as One-Stop Career Centers).
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 https://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.
We encourage you to view the information on workforce resources gathered through consultations with Federal agency partners, industry stakeholders, educators, and local practitioners, and made available on WorkforceGPS at: https://workforcegps.org.
We encourage you to view the online tutorial, “Grant Applications 101: A Plain English Guide to ETA Competitive Grants,” available through WorkforceGPS at: https://strategies.workforcegps.org/resources/2014/08/11/16/32/applying-for-eta-competitive-grants-a-web-based-toolkit-for-prospective-applicants-438?p=1.
We 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. We encourage you to review these resources by visiting https://strategies.workforcegps.org.
We created a technical assistance portal at https://www.workforcegps.org/resources/browse?id=b8dd0aa1ecfb4b2282d6cd30c7248790 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, Cost Principles, and Accrual Accounting.
SkillsCommons (https://www.skillscommons.org) offers an online library of curriculum and related training resources to obtain industry-recognized credentials in manufacturing, IT, healthcare, energy, and other industries. The website contains thousands of Open Educational Resources (OER) for job-driven workforce development, which were produced by grantees funded through the US Department of Labor’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program. Community colleges and other training providers across the nation can reuse, revise, redistribute, and reorganize the OER on SkillsCommons for institutional, industry, and individual use.
List of evidence-based screening tools and assessment resource materials (revised June 2018):
A comprehensive guide and links to evidence-based screening and assessment tools you can use with program participants, organized by substance type, participant age, and administration method to help find the right tool.
https://www.samhsa.gov/sbirt/about
SBIRT is a comprehensive, integrated, public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for persons with substance use disorders, as well as those who are at risk of developing these disorders. Early intervention in community settings provides treatment opportunities for at-risk substance users before more severe consequences occur.
Screening quickly assesses the severity of substance use and identifies the appropriate level of treatment.
Brief intervention focuses on increasing insight and awareness regarding substance use and motivation toward behavioral change.
Referral to treatment provides those identified as needing more extensive treatment with access to specialty care.
OMB Information Collection No 1225-0086, Expires September 30, 2019.
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 YOUR GRANT APPLICATION TO THIS ADDRESS. ONLY SEND COMMENTS ABOUT THE BURDEN CAUSED BY THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND YOUR GRANT APPLICATION TO THE SPONSORING AGENCY AS SPECIFIED EARLIER IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
This information is being collected for the purpose of awarding a grant. DOL will use the information collected through this “Funding Opportunity Announcement” to ensure that grants are awarded to the applicants best suited to perform the functions of the grant. This information is required to be considered for this grant.
Signed ____________, 2019, in Washington, D.C. by:
Brinda Ruggles, Grant Officer, Employment and Training Administration
Attachment 1: disability and medical information protections for grant participants
ETA intends for these grants to help reintegrate individuals with a history of opioid or other substance use into the workforce. Consistent with past opioid-crisis grants provided by the Department, disability and medical information protections are of paramount concern. Neither applicants nor their subgrantees may require a participant to disclose a personal history of opioid or substance misuse or indirect or direct impact of opioid or substance misuse.
Additionally, because WIOA State agencies and local workforce development boards are central to the operation of these grants, and these Support to Communities grants are closely related to the National Health Emergency (NHE) grants, ETA is requiring grantees and subgrantees to comply with the already-familiar disability and medical information protections contained in WIOA’s antidiscrimination provisions in section 188 and 29 CFR Part 38, which were applied to the NHE Phase One and Phase Two grants.
Accordingly, applicants should be aware of requirements pertaining to the gathering and confidentiality of medical information and Department civil rights regulations pertaining to protections for individuals with disabilities.
Confidentiality of Medical Information
Under applicable law, grant recipients must maintain the confidentiality of medical information obtained about an individual. Medical information must be kept confidential even if the individual volunteers the medical information without being asked. Information regarding an individual’s disability is included in information that must be kept confidential, but any medical information obtained must be kept confidential (whether or not the individual has a disability).
Example 1: An applicant may voluntarily disclose that she has previously taken opioids legally with a prescription from her doctor (which is medical information, but may or may not be disability related), and the grant recipient must keep that information in a separate file and limit which staff have access to that information, under 29 CFR § 38.41(b)(3), which explains how to keep such information separately and who may have access to it.
Example 2: An individual may self-disclose that he has diabetes (which is both medical information and disability-related information), and the grant recipient must keep that information in a separate file and limit which staff have access to that information, under 29 CFR § 38.41(b)(3) (which explains how to keep such information separately and who may have access to it).
Drug Use and Protections for Individuals with Disabilities
When making program decisions about individuals, grant recipients should remember that disability is among the statuses protected from discrimination for participants in and applicants for programs supported by this grant program. For example, grant recipients will have to make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and they cannot treat a participant or applicant for services less favorably on the basis of the individual’s disability.
Due to the nature of this grant, some participants or applicants for participation will be individuals with disabilities based on their drug-use history, and some will not. Disability status, and how it may affect the provision of services, is a case-by-case determination, and given the many causes and complicating factors surrounding the opioid crisis, the circumstances of an individual’s history with opioids could differ significantly.
Disability status for a substance use disorder usually depends on whether the individual is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs, including the illegal use of some prescription drugs.18 A person in substance use disorder recovery who is not currently using drugs illegally may be legally protected as an individual with a disability. The question of “current use” of illegal drugs is made on a case-by-case basis. “Current” means that the illegal drug use occurred “recently enough” to justify the grant recipient’s reasonable belief that drug use is an ongoing problem. Grant recipients may treat an individual less favorably because of current illegal use of drugs, but may not make adverse decisions on the basis of an individual’s disability (even if he or she is currently engaged in the illegal use of drugs).
A potential or enrolled participant in a grant project may also have another disability, separate from his or her drug history, which entitles him or her to legal protections.
Example 1: A grant recipient discovers that a blind participant who uses a service dog is currently engaging in the illegal use of opioids. The grant recipient may terminate the individual’s participation in the program because of the current illegal use of drugs, but the grant recipient may not prohibit the individual from using his service dog because he is illegally using drugs.
Example 2: An individual is in recovery from an opioid use disorder but is not currently misusing opioids. The grant recipient must reasonably accommodate this disability by, for example, changing the program activity schedule to allow the participant to receive treatment, including medication-based treatment as indicated, during the program day. However, if the grant recipient discovers that the individual has resumed illegal use of drugs, the grant recipient may terminate the individual’s participation on the basis of that current illegal drug use.
ATTACHMENT 2: Suggested Abstract Format
Please feel free to tailor template as needed to fit your information.
Support to Communities: Fostering Opioid Recovery through Workforce Development Grant Program |
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Project Title/Name:
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Summary of Proposed Project: |
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Total Funding Requested: |
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Lead Applicant Organization’s Name: |
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Lead Applicant Entity Type: |
___ State workforce agency ___Outlying area’s State workforce agency ___Tribal organization |
Lead Applicant Location (City/State): |
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Partnerships
If State Workforce Agency, or Single State Local Area, List Required Partner(s) and Participating Partnerships |
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Name(s) of the Local workforce development board(s) |
City and County location |
Entity Type
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Optional Partners in Participating Partnership
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If State Workforce Agency of Outlying Area, List Partner(s) |
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Name(s) of the local workforce development board or local entity |
City and County Location |
Entity Type
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Optional Partners in Participating Partnership
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If Tribal Organization, List Partner(s) |
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Name of local entity that will manage the grant |
City and County Location |
Entity Type
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Optional Partners in Participating Partnership
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Description of the area(s) to be served: (where participants will receive services or receive training) |
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Geographic area to be served: |
__Rural, __Urban, and/or __Suburban |
Target populations to be served:
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List the demand occupations that address the impacts of opioid crisis workers are seeking to enter for their
professions;
or List the demand occupations for training activities that support individuals personally affected by opioid/substance misuse crisis: |
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Public contact information: |
Name, Title: Address: Phone Number: Email Address: |
1 For more information on the HHS declaration, visit https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2017/10/26/hhs-acting-secretary-declares-public-health-emergency-address-national-opioid-crisis.html.
2 White House Press Release October 25, 2017, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-taking-action-drug-addiction-opioid-crisis/.
3 American Psychiatry Association, “Nearly One in Three People Know Someone Addicted to Opioids; More than Half of Millennials Believe It Is Easy to Get Illegal Opioids,” May 2018. Accessed June 21, 2019, from https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/news-releases/nearly-one-in-three-people-know-someone-addicted-to-opioids-more-than-half-of-millennials-believe-it-is-easy-to-get-illegal-opioids.
4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Annual National Report. Accessed on September 18, 2019 from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2018-nsduh-annual-national-report
5 The New York Times, “Drug Overdose Deaths Drop in U.S. for First Time since 1990,” , July 17, 2019. Accessed August 8, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/17/upshot/drug-overdose-deaths-fall.html.
6 Altarum, “Economic Toll of Opioid Crisis in U.S. Exceeded $1 Trillion Since 2001,” February 13, 2018, available at https://altarum.org/about/news-and-events/economic-toll-of-opioid-crisis-in-u-s-exceeded-1-trillion-since-2001.
7 Alan B. Krueger, “Where Have All the Workers Gone? An Inquiry into the Decline of the U.S. Labor Force Participation Rate,” Sept. 7, 2017, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, available at https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/where-have-all-the-workers-gone-an-inquiry-into-the-decline-of-the-u-s-labor-force-participation-rate/..
8 Congressional Research Service, “The Opioid Epidemic and the Labor Force,” November 28, 2017, available at https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/IN10828.html.
9 Altarum, “Economic Toll of Opioid Crisis in U.S. Exceeded $1 Trillion Since 2001,” Feb. 13, 2018, available at https://altarum.org/about/news-and-events/economic-toll-of-opioid-crisis-in-u-s-exceeded-1-trillion-since-2001.
10 Grantees may not require participants to disclose whether they have a history of drug addiction or know someone with a history of opioid misuse. Any such disclosure must be voluntary. If a participant does not disclose whether he or she or a friend or family member has a history of opioid misuse or other substance use disorder, the participant must be served as a worker who seeks to transition to a profession that supports individuals with substance use disorders. Additional details on applicants’ responsibilities pertaining to these disclosures are covered in Attachment 1.
11 As defined in the SUPPORT Act, “state” means each of the several states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
12 For the purposes of this FOA, a treatment provider is defined as a health care provider that (i) offers services for treating substance use disorders and is licensed in accordance with applicable State law to provide such services; and (ii) accepts health insurance for such services, including coverage under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq.).
13 An education provider is as an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1001); or a postsecondary vocational institution, as defined in section 102(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. § 1002(c)).
14 As described in section 547(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 290ee–2(a).
15 As defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1395x).
16 As defined in section 3 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. § 1603).
17 As defined in section 12 of the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act (42 U.S.C. § 11711).
18 “Illegal use of drugs” means the use of a drug that is unlawful to possess or distribute under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq.). “Illegal use of drugs” does not include the use of a drug taken under supervision by a licensed health care professional or other uses authorized by the Controlled Substances Act or other provisions of Federal law.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Stowers, Samantha A - ETA |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-15 |