FEDERAL AGENCY:

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

AUTHORIZATION:

Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Title I, Subtitle D, Section 171, Public Law 105-220.

OBJECTIVES:

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

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:  
Grant amounts vary and are influenced by the complexity of the initiative being studied. A general range of grant amounts would be $200,000 to $1 million and an average $500,000. WDQI grant award amounts are influenced by the total amount available funding as determined by the appropriation.

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:   See Regional Agency Offices. Contact the nearest ETA Regional Office listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office:   Wayne S. Gordon 200 Constitution Ave, N.W. Room N-5641, Washington, District of Columbia 20210 Email: gordon.wayne@dol.gov Phone: 2026933179

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.