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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

17.249:  Employment Services and Job Training Pilots: Demonstrations and Research

Popular Name: 

Objectives:  To provide, foster, and promote job training and other services which are most appropriately administered at the national level. Programs operate in more than one State and serve groups with particular disadvantages in the labor market. To promote and foster new or improved linkages between the network of Federal, State, and local employment, training, and human resource agencies and components of the private sector. To carry out other special Federal responsibilities under the Act.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

17.249 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  State and local governments, Federal agencies, private nonprofit and profit-making 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 economically disadvantaged, normally with further targeting by sex, age group, race, other demographic criteria, or according to employment barriers.

Credentials/Documentation:  Non-governmental entities ordinarily must furnish documentary evidence of adequate financial controls. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments, FMC 73-8 for publicly financed educational institutions, and the appropriate parts of 41 CFR 1-15 for other recipients.

17.249 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  None except as specified by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) for solicited proposals and applications. This program is excluded from coverage under Executive Order No. 12372.

Application Procedure:  Solicited Proposals and Applications -Instructions regarding application procedures will be furnished in the solicitation; Unsolicited Proposals - Applicants should provide information (including documentation) justifying the need for the proposed activity and how it is consistent with the Act; a proposed statement of work which includes what is to be done, by and for whom, how and when, anticipated benefits, and should present a quarterly schedule of output; information regarding the applicant including capability to conduct and manage the proposed activity, and its organization and proposed project staffing; a detailed budget; and, when an activity is to include other entities in providing training, services, or employment opportunities, documentation of this commitment.

Award Procedure:  Awards are usually determined by the ETA Office of Contracting. Occasionally, awards are made by ETA regional offices. Award procedures will vary according to the purpose of the award.

Deadlines:  Unsolicited preapplications - none. Solicited proposals and applications - ETA will indicate applicable deadlines in the solicitation.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  From 45 to 90 days.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  Renewals are not automatic.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Solicited Proposals - ETA will furnish information on selection criteria in the solicitation and other appropriate media. Unsolicited Proposals - Interested organizations should be aware of the following: (i) The amounts available for financing unsolicited proposals and applications is extremely limited. Ordinarily, funds are available for financing unsolicited proposals only as a result of actual spending at lower levels than those anticipated in the ETA annual funding plan; (ii) priority is placed upon projects which are operated in more than one State, or which have a clear potential for multi-State application. Projects which would be operated within a single jurisdiction usually receive no priority; (iii) in order to merit active consideration, a proposed project must demonstrate a strong and immediate focus on equipping unemployed, underemployed, and disadvantaged persons with skills and abilities specifically related to successful participation in the labor market, or it must otherwise clearly contribute to the accomplishment of the purposes of the Act; (iv) proposals are usually deemed more attractive when they ensure that eligible individuals will have direct access to unsubsidized, stable, well-paying, and upwardly mobile job opportunities in the private sector; and (v) Projects usually are deemed more attractive when they address the employment-related needs of groups with extremely severe problems in the labor market such as handicapped persons, offenders, and others who face formidable barriers to employment. Projects are usually deemed more attractive when costs per participant and costs per placement into unsubsidized employment are reasonably related to job characteristics (e.g., entry wage, skill level), or to characteristics of participants which constitute barriers to employment. Unsolicited proposals should be submitted to the Administrator, OFAM, Attention: Office of Contracting, Room S4203, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210.

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 disadvantaged 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; a $145,000 grant to support a State/local coordination model for providing comprehensive employment and training and supportive services for public housing residents; $415,000 in grants to three organizations to develop career paths for disadvantaged adults and youth in semi-and paraprofessional eldercare positions.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  $100,000 to $1,750,000.

17.249 RELATED PROGRAMS:

17.249 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

17.249 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Type of Assistance:  Project Grants (Contracts).

Obligations:  (Contracts) FY 99 $27,100,000; FY 00 est $23,717,000; and FY 01 est $35,000,000.

Budget Account Number:  16-0174-0-1-504.

Authorization:  Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, as amended, Title IV, Part D, Sections 451, 453, Public Law 97-300, 29 U.S.C. 1731 and 1733.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  Notices of solicitations are published periodically in the Federal Register or Commerce Business Daily.

17.249 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:  Administrator, Office of Policy and Research, Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210. Contact: Beverly Bachemin Phone: (202) 219-5472 x153.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

17.249 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  Not required by statute but may be administratively imposed for particular solicitations or groups of awards. In unsolicited proposals where in-kind or cash matching is proposed, the proposals should include documentation of the proposed match.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Awards usually cover a 1-year period. Payments to grantees or contractors are usually made by Letter of Credit procedures.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Funds may be used to provide or arrange for job training, related services, and job opportunities for members of groups with particular disadvantages in the general labor market or in certain segments of the labor market. These groups may include displaced homemakers, offenders, persons with limited English-speaking ability, handicapped persons, youth, single parents, women, minorities, displaced workers, and persons lacking educational credentials. Funds under this program are awarded primarily on a competitive basis. Project contracts may also be made for training to meet industry-wide skill shortages and for promotional, developmental, and demonstration activities as determined by the Secretary. Funds under this program are not available to extend ongoing program efforts in given areas, occupations, or services (even though such projects might have distinctive elements and be useful for the particular area), or to make up for perceived inadequacies in the level of resources available at the local level. Funds are to be used to develop or demonstrate new approaches, arrangements or methods having general or wide applicability throughout The Nation.

17.249 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  Quarterly progress and financial reports are normally required.

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 must maintain records of financial expenditures and program performance for 3 years after final payment under their contracts.