Through demonstration and pilot projects, to address
national employment and training problems that have interstate validity and
will aid policymakers and stakeholders in addressing these problems. Such
projects shall include; the provision of direct services to individuals to
enhance employment opportunities and an evaluation component and may include:
(1) The establishment of advanced manufacturing technology skill centers
developed through local partnerships; (2) projects that provide training to
upgrade the skills of employed workers who reside and are employed in
enterprise communities or empowerment zones; (3) programs conducted jointly
with the Department of Defense to develop training programs using innovative
learning technologies; (4) projects that promote the use of distance learning;
(5) projects that assist in providing comprehensive services to increase the
employment rates of out-of-school youth residing in high poverty areas within
empowerment zones and enterprise communities; (6) the establishment of
partnerships with national organizations expert in developing, organizing, and
administering employment and training projects; (7) projects to assist public
housing authorities that provide job training programs to residents; and (8)
projects that assist local areas to evaluate the degree to which participants
in programs under this title achieve self-sufficiency.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Grants awarded for carrying out demonstration and pilot
projects under this subsection shall be awarded only on a competitive basis,
except that a noncompetitive award may be made in the case of a project that
is funded jointly with other public or private sector entities that provide a
portion of the funding for the project.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: State
and local governments, Federal agencies, private non-profit and for-profit
organizations, including faith-based and community-based organizations, and
educational institutions. Note: Applicant eligibility may be restricted to one
or more applicant classes under particular announcements and solicitations.
Beneficiary Eligibility:
Generally limited to the economic disadvantaged and to those who are
underemployed, unemployed, need to upgrade their skills in order to retain
jobs, at-risk youth, and/or to those who evidence barriers to employability.
Credentials/Documentation:
Non-governmental entities ordinarily must furnish documentary evidence of
adequate financial controls.
Pre-application Coordination:
None except as specified in solicitations. This program is excluded from
coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure: For
most projects, the competitive contracting process is used. As topics are
determined, requests for proposals are announced in the Commerce Business
Daily and subsequently issued in hardcopy and posted on the world wide web at
www.doleta.gov.
Award Procedure: Procedures
for each project are specified in the applicable request for proposals.
Deadlines: Specified in the
applicable request for proposals.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:
From 45 to 90 days.
Appeals: Procedures for
each project are specified in the applicable request for proposals.
Renewals: Extensions
available upon approval; renewals are not automatic.
ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula and Matching Requirements:
In certain instances for particular solicitations or groups of awards, formula
and matching requirements may be imposed because of statutory requirements
and/or administrative decisions.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:
Most projects last one to two years. Payments to grantees are usually made by
Letter of Credit draw-down procedures.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: At a minimum,
quarterly progress and financial reports and final reports are required.
Additional requirements are included in the solicitation.
Audits: In accordance with
the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised June 24, 1997) Audits of
States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, nonfederal entities
that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will
have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal
entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt
from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No.
A-133.
Records: Recipients are
required to maintain books, records, documents and other evidence of
accounting procedures and practices sufficient to reflect properly all direct
and indirect costs of whatever nature claimed to have been incurred for the
performance of the grant. Records are to be retained for 3 years from the date
of final payment unless the grant officer authorizes earlier disposal.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification:
16-0174-0-1-504.
Obligations: (Grants) FY 01
$35,000,000; FY 02 est $35,000,000; and FY 03 est $35,000,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance: $100,000 to $1.75 million.
In fiscal year 2001, approximately 50 new pilot and
demonstration projects or major modifications of existing projects were
initiated. For fiscal years 2002 and 2003 approximately 50 new projects or
major modifications will be undertaken.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
Notices of solicitations are published periodically in
the Federal Register and on the web site address below.
INFORMATION CONTACTS:
Regional or Local Office:
Contact the nearest Employment and Training Administration regional office
listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.
Headquarters Office:
Division of Pilots, Demonstrations and Research, Office of Policy and
Research, Employment and Training Administration, U. S. Department of Labor,
200 Constitution Ave., NW., Room N-5637, Washington, DC 20210. Contact: Steve
Wandner. Telephone: (202) 693-3663, e-mail swandner@DOLETA.gov.
Web Site Address: http://www.doleta.gov
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
A $550,000 grant to a national industry organization to
provide training and apprenticeship opportunities for economically
disadvantaged persons and displaced workers; $1.4 million to five States to
help economically disavantaged individuals establish and maintain small
business ventures in their communities; a $200,000 grant to a national labor
and industry-based association to train and place persons with disabilities in
jobs in the aerospace and machining industry; a $100,000 grant to a community
college to test a workplace literacy model designed to provide basic academic
skills required for occupational skills training; $750,000 in grants for four
organizations to develop innovative methods and approaches for meeting the
employment and training needs of various disadvantaged immigrant groups.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:
Criteria for each proposal are specified in the
applicable request for proposals.
