[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 247 (Monday, December 27, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77251-77255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28216]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)


Notice of Public Comment on the Proposed Adoption of ANA Program 
Policies and Procedures

AGENCY: Administration for Native Americans (ANA).
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 814 of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974; as amended, 42 U.S.C., 2991b-1, the Administration for Native 
Americans (ANA) herein describes its proposed interpretive rules, 
general statement of policy and rules of agency procedure or practice 
in relation to the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS), 
Language Preservation and Maintenance (hereinafter referred to as 
Native Language), and Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (hereinafter 
referred to as Environmental) programs. Under the statute, ANA is 
required to provide members of the public an opportunity to comment on 
proposed changes in interpretive rules, statements of general policy, 
and rule of agency procedure or practice and to give notice of the 
final adoption of such changes at least 30 days before the changes 
become effective. The notice also provides additional information about 
ANA's plan for administering the programs.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of comments is 30 days from date of 
publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments in response to this notice should be addressed to 
Sheila Cooper, Director of Programs Operations, Administration for 
Native Americans, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW., Mail Stop: Aerospace 8-
West, Washington, DC 20447. Delays may occur in mail delivery to 
Federal offices; therefore, a copy of comments should be faxed to: 
(202) 690-7441. Comments will be available for inspection by members of 
the public at the Administration for Native Americans, Aerospace 
Center, 901 D Street SW., Washington, DC 20447.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Cooper, toll free at (877) 922-
9262.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 814 of the Native American Programs 
Act of 1974 (the Act), as amended, requires ANA to provide notice of 
its proposed interpretive rules, statements of policy and rule of 
agency organization, procedure or practice. These proposed 
clarifications, modifications and new text will appear in the three ANA 
FY 2005 program announcements: SEDS, Native Language and Environmental. 
This notice serves to fulfill this requirement.

Additional Information

I. ANA Application Format

    ANA has revised Part Two, ``Application Review Criteria'' of the FY 
2005 Program Announcement, specifically the Application Submission 
Requirements. Previously, ANA required applicants to include and count 
the Objective Work Plan (OWP) form (OMB Control Number 0980-0204), and 
the Federal and non-Federal share line-item budget and budget 
justification narrative in the page limitation. In FY 2005, ANA has 
removed the OWP and the line-item budget and budget justification 
narrative from the page limitation. With the exemption of the OWP and 
the budget section from the page limitation, ANA has reduced in the FY 
2005 program announcements the Application Submission Requirements to 
40 pages. The exemption of the OWP and the budget from the page 
limitation will enable applicants applying for multi-year awards to 
provide more information on the proposed project. (Legal authority: 
Section 803 (a) and (d) and 803C of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 2991b-3.)

II. Required Forms

    The Grant Application Data Summary (GADS) form (OMB Clearance 
Number 0970 0261 exp. 03/31/2007) is a new ANA form. The Commissioner 
for the Administration for Native Americans is required to collect and 
disseminate information related to the social and economic conditions 
of Native Americans for inclusion in its annual report to Congress. The 
data collected on the GADS is required to assist in gathering that 
data. The information is also used to ensure that ANA obtains the 
proper number of reviewers to review each category of grant 
applications. Although not included in prior announcements, GADS 
received OMB approval after the publication of the FY 2004 
announcement. It will be included in this announcement and future 
announcements to be submitted as a part of the application package.

[[Page 77252]]

(Legal authority: Section 803B of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991B-2.)

III. Evaluation Criteria

    (a) ANA has modified five evaluation criteria titles and adjusted 
the point values and weight of three criteria. In ANA's FY 2004 grant 
competitions, ANA did not rate applications on how closely they 
followed the prescribed format. This year, ANA is proposing to revise 
the Evaluation Criteria to provide for the award of points in rating 
applications based on whether the applicant complied with the 
requirements in the announcement with regard to the organization of the 
application. ANA will maintain six evaluation criteria and the titles 
and merit weight apply to all three ANA program areas. Criterion One 
was retitled from ``Project Introduction and Summary/Abstract'' to 
``Introduction and Project Summary/Application Format'' and modified to 
add points for the Application Format to clarify the importance of 
adhering to the application requirements. Criterion Two was retitled 
from ``Objectives and Need for Assistance'' to ``Need for Assistance''. 
Criterion Three was retitled for clarity from ``Approach'' to ``Project 
Approach''. Criterion Four was retitled from ``Organizational 
Profiles'' to ``Organizational Capacity'' and the point value was 
reduced to allow for the increase in weight and points awarded under 
Criterion One. Criterion Five was retitled for clarity from ``Results 
or Benefits Expected'' to ``Project Impact/Evaluation'' and the point 
value was reduced to allow for the increase in weight and points 
awarded under Criterion Six. For FY 2005 program announcements the 
titles and assigned point criteria values are: Criterion One--
Introduction and Project Summary/Application Format (10 pts.); 
Criterion Two--Need for Assistance (20 pts.); Criterion Three--Project 
Approach (25 pts.); Criterion Four--Organizational Capacity (15 pts.); 
Criterion Five--Project Impact/Evaluation (15 pts.); Criterion Six--
Budget and Budget Justification/Cost Effectiveness (15 pts.). (Legal 
authority: Section 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the Native American 
Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 2991b-3.)
    (b) In the FY 2004 Program Announcement within the ANA Criterion 
Five, ANA used the term ``Performance'' Indicator. In the FY 2005 
Program Announcement this term will be changed to ``Impact'' Indicator 
to be consistent with the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as 
amended. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the 
Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 
2991b-3.)
    (c) Standard and Required Impact Indicators: As ANA continues to 
improve its competitive grant program ANA has modified (through 
addition or deletion) its collection of impact indicators under each of 
its programs (SEDS, Native Language and Environmental). The modified 
impact indicators will continue to be used to inform Congress and the 
public on the effectiveness, success and impact that ANA programs have 
in Native American communities and on behalf of Native American 
families. Two impact indicators will be required across all three 
program areas to serve as a common baseline of data that is required to 
be reported in ANA's legislation to demonstrate the diversity of 
projects and to monitor the impact of projects on the community. The FY 
2005 program announcements still require five impact indicators to be 
submitted by the applicant under Criterion Five. ANA has standardized 
for consistency and program performance data collection two of the 
required impact indicators across all three program areas (SEDS, Native 
Language and Environmental). The two standard required impact 
indicators are: (1) number of partnerships formed and (2) the amount of 
dollars leveraged beyond the required NFS match. In addition to the two 
standard required impact indicators, an applicant must also submit 
three additional indicators either selected from a suggested list in 
each program announcement or applicant project-specific impact 
indicators. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d), 803B and 803C of 
the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b, 
2991b-2 and 2991b-3.)
    The optional impact indicators for SEDS are: (1) Number of 
infrastructures and administrative systems, including policies and 
procedures developed and implemented; (2) number of codes or ordinances 
developed and implemented; (3) number of people to successfully 
complete a workshop/training; (4) number of children, youth, families 
or elders assisted or participating; (5) number of volunteer hours; (6) 
number of faith-based or community-based partnerships; (7) number of 
jobs created; (8) number of community-based small businesses 
established or expanded; (9) identification of Tribal or Village 
government business, industry, energy or financial codes or ordinances 
that were adopted or enacted; and (10) number of micro-businesses 
started. The optional impact indicators for Language, Category I are: 
(1) Number of surveys completed; (2) percent and number of community 
members assessed; (3) the rate of language loss or gain; (4) number of 
elders consulted; (5) number of language experts consulted; (6) number 
of community goals developed to preserve the native language; and (7) 
number of infrastructure and administrative systems, including policies 
and procedures developed and implemented. (Legal authority: Section 
803(a) and (d), 803B and 803C of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b, 2991b-2 and 2991b-3.)
    The optional impact indicators for Language, Category II are: (1) 
Number of people involved in establishment or operation of project; (2) 
number of training classes or workshops held to teach language; (3) 
number and type of materials developed; (4) number of media products 
developed; (5) number of translations achieved; (6) number of 
individuals who increased in ability to speak the language; (7) number 
of participants who achieve fluency; (8) number of settings the 
language is spoken in; and (9) number of infrastructure and 
administrative systems, including policies and procedures developed and 
implemented. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d), 803B and 803C of 
the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b, 
2991b-2 and 2991b-3.)
    The optional impact indicators for Environmental are: (1) Number of 
environmental regulations, codes or ordinances created; (2) number of 
people to successfully complete a workshop/training; (3) number of 
workshops/trainings provided; (4) types of capacity building systems 
created and implemented to support environmental program functions; (5) 
identification of Tribal or Village government regulations, codes or 
ordinances that were enacted and adopted; (6) number of regulations, 
codes or ordinances successfully enforced; and (7) number of 
infrastructure and administrative systems, including policies and 
procedures developed and implemented. ANA may add/delete optional 
impact indicators to program announcements as necessary to support ANA 
initiatives. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d), 803B and 803C of 
the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b, 
2991b-2 and 2991b-3.)
    (d) ANA corrected the timeframe for use of research data in an 
application from 48 to 36 months under the Language, Category II 
program.

[[Page 77253]]

IV. ANA Funding Restrictions

    In ANA's effort to streamline its program announcements and to 
clarify Funding Restriction Policies for applicants, ANA has relocated 
general policy statements from the criterion section of the program 
announcement text to the Funding Restrictions Policies section. 
Formerly listed under ``ANA Administrative Policies'', the bullet point 
on funding requests for feasibility studies, business plans, marketing 
plans or written materials and the bullet point on proposals from 
consortia of Tribes were moved to the section entitled ``ANA Funding 
Restrictions''. These restrictions are already reflected in the ANA 
eligibility restrictions at 45 CFR 1336.33(b) (2) and (b) (6). The 
bullet point on the social service delivery programs was inadvertently 
omitted from previous announcements, but ANA is statutorily required to 
address these programs. The restriction already appears in the ANA 
eligibility regulation at 45 CFR 1336.33(b) (3). ANA will include the 
following funding restrictions in all program announcements in 
compliance with sections 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the Native American 
Programs Act of 1974 as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 2991b-3 and 45 CFR 
1336:
    <bullet> Projects that request funds for feasibility studies, 
business plans, marketing plans or written materials, such as manuals, 
that are not an essential part of the applicant's project or SEDS long-
range development plan. (Legal authority: Sections 803(a) and (d) and 
803C of the Native American Programs Act of 1974 as amended, 42 U.S.C. 
2991b and 2991b-3 and 45 CFR 1336.33.)
    <bullet> The support of ongoing social service delivery programs or 
the expansion, or continuation, of existing social service delivery 
programs. (Legal authority: Sections 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the 
Native American Programs Act of 1974 as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 
2991b-3 and 45 CFR 1336.33.)
    <bullet> Proposals from consortia of Tribes that are not specific 
to support from and roles of member Tribes. An application from a 
consortium must have goals and objectives that will create positive 
impacts and outcomes in the communities of its members. ANA will not 
fund activities by a consortium of Tribes that duplicates activities 
for which member Tribes also receive funding from ANA. (Legal 
authority: Sections 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the Native American 
Programs Act of 1974 as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 2991b-3 and 45 CFR 
1336.33.)

V. Initial Screening

    Prior to competitive panel review, all applications are pre-
screened for completeness. Previously, each application submitted to 
ANA in response to a program announcement was pre-screened to ensure 
that (a) The application was received by the program announcement 
closing date; (b) the application was submitted in accordance with 
Section IV, ``Application and Submission Information''; (c) the 
applicant is eligible for funding in accordance with Section III, 
``Eligibility Information''; (d) the applicant submitted the proper 
supporting documentation such as proof of non-profit status, 
resolutions, and required government forms; (e) an authorized 
representative has signed the application; and (f) the applicant has a 
DUNS number. An application that does not meet (a) through (f) 
immediately above is determined to be incomplete and is excluded from 
the competitive review process.
    In an effort to ensure consistency with the way ACF evaluates 
competitive discretionary grant applications, ACF has changed its 
policy to include only two enforceable screen-out criteria: timeliness 
and compliance with stated funding limitations. Additionally, ACF has 
approved ANA's request to include two additional screen-out criteria: 
inclusion of a signed and dated resolution by the governing body and, 
for applicants that are not Tribes or Alaska Native Village 
governments, submission of a resolution and proof that a majority of 
the governing board of directors is representative of the community to 
be served.
    Consequently, ANA will screen applications for completeness prior 
to the competitive panel review using the following elements: (a) The 
application is received by ANA on or before the published program 
announcement closing date; (b) the Federal request does not exceed the 
ceiling award amount as published in the program announcement; (c) the 
application includes a signed and dated resolution of the governing 
body; and (d) if the applicant is not a Tribe or Alaska Native village 
government, the native non-profit organization submits a resolution and 
proof that a majority of the governing board of directors is 
representative of the community to be served. An application that does 
not contain these elements will be considered incomplete and excluded 
from the competitive review process.

VI. Administrative Policies

    In ANA's effort to streamline its program announcements and to 
clarify administrative policies for applicants, ANA has relocated 
general policy statements from the Criterion section of the program 
announcement text to the Administrative Policies section. ANA has also 
clarified administrative policies that have historically prompted 
numerous questions and created application and project development 
inconsistencies. For example, ANA removed ``Organizational Capacity'' 
and reworded the first bullet below for clarity. The second bullet 
below clarifies the administrative policy on the funding of projects 
versus programs to include the term ``short-term'' to communicate that 
projects will not be awarded for longer than three years in most 
program areas. The third and fourth bullets were moved from Definitions 
to Administrative Policies to establish the policy to determine project 
progress before additional funding is committed. For the purposes of 
clarity, the fifth bullet combined and reworded the requirement for 
community involvement under the definition for ``Community 
Involvement'' with a similar paragraph under ``Need for Assistance''. 
The sixth bullet supports the needs of ANA and was reworded for 
clarity. The seventh bullet was also reworded for clarity. The policy 
on the treatment of multiple applications and applications from Tribal 
components has been reworded for clarity and broken into two separate 
points to ensure application to both Tribes and non-profit 
organizations. The revised policy is contained in the eighth and ninth 
bullet points of the list below. The ninth bullet corrects the 
inadvertent omission of the categories that apply to the board of 
directors for non-profit applicants. ANA will now include the following 
administrative policies in each program announcement (Legal authority: 
Sections 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974, as amended, and 45 U.S.C. 2991b and 2991b-3):
    Applicants must comply with the following administrative policies:
    <bullet> All funded applications will be reviewed to ensure that 
the applicant has provided a positive statement to give credit to ANA 
on all material developed using ANA funds.
    <bullet> ANA funds short-term projects, not programs. Proposed 
projects must have definitive goals and objectives that will be 
achieved by the end of the project period. All projects funded by ANA 
must be completed, or self-sustaining or

[[Page 77254]]

supported by other-than-ANA funding at the end of the project period.
    <bullet> Before funding the second or third year of a multi-year 
grant, ANA will require verification and support documentation from the 
grantee that objectives and outcomes proposed in the preceding year 
were accomplished and that the non-Federal share was met.
    <bullet> ANA reviews the quarterly and annual reports of grantees 
to determine if the grantee is meeting its goals, objectives and 
activities identified in the Objective Work Plan (OWP).
    <bullet> Applications from national and regional organizations must 
clearly demonstrate a need for the project, explain how the project 
originated, discuss the community-based delivery strategy of the 
project, identify and describe the intended beneficiaries, describe and 
relate the actual project benefits to the community and organization 
and describe a community-based delivery system. National and regional 
organizations must describe their membership, define how the 
organization operates and demonstrate Native community and/or Tribal 
government support for the project. The type of community to be served 
will determine the type of documentation necessary to support the 
project.
    <bullet> Applicants proposing an Economic Development project must 
address the project's viability. A business plan, if applicable, must 
be included to describe the project's feasibility, cash flow and 
approach for the implementation and marketing of the business.
    <bullet> ANA will review proposed projects to ensure applicants 
have considered all resources available to the community to support the 
project.
    <bullet> ANA will not accept applications from Tribal components 
that are Tribally authorized divisions unless the ANA application 
includes a Tribal resolution.
    <bullet> ANA will only accept one application per eligible entity. 
The first application received by ANA will be the application 
considered for competition unless ANA is notified in writing which 
application should be considered for competitive review.
    <bullet> If the applicant, other than a Tribe or an Alaska Native 
Village government, is proposing a project benefiting Native Americans, 
Alaska Natives, or both, the applicant must provide assurance that its 
duly elected or appointed board of directors is representative of the 
community to be served. Applicants must provide information that at 
least a majority of the individuals serving on a non-profit applicant's 
board fall into one or more of the following categories: (1) A current 
or past member of the community to be served; (2) a prospective 
participant or beneficiary of the project to be funded; or (3) have a 
cultural relationship with the community to be served. (Legal 
authority: 45 CFR 1336.33(a).)

VII. Funding Thresholds

    This is a clarification to the ANA Environmental Regulatory 
Enhancement program announcement funding threshold. The funding 
threshold for the Environmental Regulatory Enhancement program will be 
$50,000.00 (floor amount) to $250,000.00 (ceiling amount) per budget 
period. Applications exceeding the $250,000.00 threshold will be 
considered non-responsive and will not be considered for funding under 
this announcement. (Legal authority: Sections 803(a) and (d) and 803C 
of the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 
2991b and 2991b-3.)

VIII. Definitions

    The following definitions will be used in the appropriate program-
specific FY 2005 program announcements. ANA has clarified many areas 
that applicants have historically found difficult to understand and 
that have previously prompted numerous questions and created 
application and project development inconsistencies. The ANA program 
announcements will now include additional definitions for the following 
terms:
    Consortium/Tribal Village: A group of Tribes or Villages that join 
together for long-term purposes or for the purpose of an ANA grant.
    Impact Indicators: Measurement descriptions used to identify the 
outcomes or results of the project. Outcomes or results must be 
quantifiable, measurable, verifiable and related to the outcome of the 
project to determine that the project has achieved its desired 
objective and can be independently verified through ANA monitoring and 
evaluation.
    Objective Work Plan (OWP): The project plan the applicant will use 
in meeting the results and benefits expected for the project. The 
results and benefits are directly related to the Impact Indicators. The 
OWP provides detailed descriptions of how, when, where, by whom and why 
activities are proposed for the project and is complemented and 
condensed in the OWP. ANA will require separate OWPs for each year of 
the project. (Form OMB<greek-i> 0980-0204 exp 10/31/2006.)
    Minor Renovation or Alteration: Work required to change the 
interior arrangements or other physical characteristics of an existing 
facility, or install equipment so that it may be more effectively used 
for the project. Minor alteration and renovation may include work 
referred to as improvements, conversion, rehabilitation, remodeling or 
modernization, but is distinguished from construction and major 
renovations. A minor alteration and/or renovation must be incidental 
and essential for the project (``incidental'' meaning the total 
alteration and renovation budget must not exceed the lesser of $150,000 
or 25 percent of total direct costs approved for the entire project 
period).
    Total Approved Project Costs: The sum of the Federal request plus 
the non-Federal share. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d) and 
803C of the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 
2991b and 2991b-3.)

IX. Application Review Information

    To ensure that grantees fulfill their obligations to ANA, ANA is 
including a review of grantees' past performance when considering the 
applicant for a new or ongoing award under all three program areas. The 
inclusion of this item in the application consideration process will 
assist ANA in making its funding decisions on whether or not to award 
to a particular grant applicant. Factors that may impact a grantee's 
past performance are their timeliness to report submission 
requirements, timely use and proper expenditure of the grant award 
funds and the administrative ease of closing out the grantee at the end 
of the award period.
    The following statement is included under the Application 
Consideration for the Review and Selection Process:
    Application Consideration: The Commissioner's funding decision is 
based on an analysis of the application by the review panel, panel 
review scores and recommendations; an analysis by ANA staff; review of 
previous ANA grantee's past performance; comments from State and 
Federal agencies having contract and grant performance-related 
information; and other interested parties.

X. Native Language Program Area

    The title for Native Language Category I grants has been changed 
from ``Native Language Category I Planning'' to ``Native Language 
Category I Assessment''. The change clarifies the purpose of the 12-
month Category I grant. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d) and 
803C of the Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 
2991b and 2991b-3.)

[[Page 77255]]

    The FY 2005 Native Language Program Announcement expands the 
Category I--Program Area of Interest and the necessary assessment data 
to be collected. ANA recommends each applicant consider the Program 
Area of Interest in the development of a project. The Program Area of 
Interest under Category I is ``A project for data collection and 
compilation that surveys the current language status through a 
``formal'' method (e.g., work performed by a linguist and/or a language 
survey conducted by community members) or an ``informal'' method (e.g., 
a community consensus of the language status based on elders, Tribal 
scholars and/or other community members) with the development of long-
range language preservation goals and uses elders in the development of 
these goals. This assessment data should capture, at a minimum, the 
following data: number of speakers; age of speakers; gender of 
speakers; level(s) of fluency; number of first language speakers 
(native language as the first language acquired); number of second 
language speakers (native language as the second language acquired); 
where native language is used (e.g., home, court system, religious 
ceremonies, church, media, school, governance or cultural activities); 
source of data (formal and/or informal); and rate of language loss or 
gain. (Legal authority: Section 803(a) and (d) and 803C of the Native 
American Programs Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2991b and 2991b-
3.)

    Dated: December 17, 2004.
Quanah Crossland Stamps,
Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans
[FR Doc. 04-28216 Filed 12-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P