U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Federal Highway 

Administration 

Memorandum 

Subject: ACTION: Due June 18, 2021 

Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) 

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise 

Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Call for 

Statements of Work 

Date: May 10, 2021 

In Reply Refer To: 

HCR-30 

From: Martha Kenley 

DBE & Contractor Compliance 

Team Leader 

To: Directors of Field Services 

Division Administrators 

Civil Rights Specialists 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Civil Rights (HCR) requests that 

State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs) submit their FY2021 Disadvantaged 

Business Enterprises Supportive Services (DBE/SS) Statements of Work (SOW) to their 

respective FHWA Division Office (Division) for review and approval. Divisions should 

review and evaluate the State DOT’s SOW submission to ensure it meets the intent of the 

DBE/SS program. After review, the Division must submit the SOW and all supporting 

documents to the corresponding State folder located on the HCR DBE/SS SharePoint site by, 

June 18, 2021. 

The SOW package must include: 

• An intent to approve letter; 

• A detailed budget; and 

• A copy of the entire SOW 

Examples of all of these supporting documents are on the HCR DBE/SS SharePoint Site. 

Should a State DOT decide not to participate in the DBE/SS program for FY2021, the State 

DOT’s Chief Executive Officer, or designee, must submit a written statement on agency 

letterhead of the State DOT’s intention to decline the FY2021 DBE/SS allocation. Please 

submit the letter of decline to HCR’s SharePoint by June 18, 2021. 

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PROGRAM FUNDING 

HCR anticipates the FY2021 allocations will approximate the program annual allocation of 

$10M (see Table 1 attached). 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 

HCR requires that every State DOT accepting DBE/SS funds include a Business 

Development Program (BDP). The purpose of a BDP is to evaluate and provide a structured 

process for DBEs to receive firm-specific training and technical assistance to increase 

opportunities for successful participation as primes or subcontractors on highway-related 

contracts. Regulation 49 CFR Part 26, Appendix C sets forth the parameters of a BDP. For 

additional information on BDPs, please refer to a report developed from a Peer Exchange 

among FHWA, FTA, recipients, and stakeholders. 

STATEMENT OF WORK SUBMISSION PROCESS 

HCR requires each State DOT to design an effective and feasible metric-based DBE/SS 

program for the purpose for increasing the capacity and to improve the overall business 

practices of DBEs. FHWA expects State DOTs to develop their own SOWs. State DOTs 

must not use the services of a consultant or future service provider to create the SOW. The 

SOW must outline the State DOT’s proposed budget, approximated, based on the attached 

funding levels. It is important to know that HCR will accept amendments to the budget and 

SOW after HCR publishes the FY2021 final allocation amounts. The Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this program is 20.205. 

State DOTs must describe how the program will deliver business development services for 

identified DBEs and the process of how staff selects DBEs for the program. The SOW 

should contain goals and objectives tailored to the development of each identified DBE 

participant. State DOTs must submit only one SOW per Federal fiscal year, although each 

SOW may include multiple concepts within a single submission. For example, the SOW 

may include an element of a concluding program and an additional Business Development 

element. The SOW should not exceed ten pages in total, excluding attachments and/or 

exhibits. 

State DOTs should announce all DBE/SS solicitations on their public website and must 

solicit proposals from qualified sources in such a way as to ensure the competitive nature of 

the procurement (23 CFR § 230.204 (e)). 

ALLOCATION AND PERFORMANCE PROCESS 

Based on the availability of funds, the Division Administrator’s recommendation as well as 

concurrence by the USDOT Secretary and FHWA Administrator, HCR’s Associate 

Administrator will allocate the funds. Then, the State DOT will need to request obligation of the 

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funds in the Fiscal Management Information System (FMIS). From there, the Division will 

provide authorization to proceed via FMIS (23 CFR § 630.106). When the State DOT awards 

the contract and once approved in FMIS by the Division, the performance period for the DBE/SS 

contract begins. DBE/SS contracts may contain an option to renew for up to two years 

conditioned upon documented satisfactory performance and availability of funding. Finally, the 

State DOT must obligate the funds during FY 2021 and spend all the allocated funds by the end 

of FY 2022, unless given written permission to extend by the Division. The Divisions must 

notify HCR of all extension approvals. State DOTs must de-obligate all unexpended balances 

within 90-day of the end of the FY 2022 unless given written approval to extend the date by the 

Division. 

To ensure success of the DBE/SS program, all Divisions must maintain a sufficient level of 

program oversight to measure progress, achievement of stated metrics, and to address identified 

concerns promptly. State DOTs must also ensure appropriate DBE/SS program oversight, 

regularly track progress, and demonstrate achievement of program goals/objectives. State DOTs 

must submit timely and accurate reports to their respective Division. Divisions must submit a 

short narrative report to HCR at the end of the performance period. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Janelle Hinton at (202) 366-1604 or 

Janelle.Hinton@dot.gov. 

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Table I: Approximate FY2021 DBE/SS Estimated Allocation 

State Program 

Code

 FY2021 

Estimated 

Allocation 

Alabama Z480 $ 190,403 

Alaska Z480 $ 125,838 

Arizona Z480 $ 183,622 

Arkansas Z480 $ 129,936 

California Z480 $ 921,122 

Colorado Z480 $ 135,733 

Connecticut Z480 $ 126,051 

Delaware Z480 $ 42,453 

District of Columbia Z480 $ 40,044 

Florida Z480 $ 475,495 

Georgia Z480 $ 324,048 

Hawaii Z480 $ 42,447 

Idaho Z480 $ 71,782 

Illinois Z480 $ 356,809 

Indiana Z480 $ 239,133 

Iowa Z480 $ 123,339 

Kansas Z480 $ 94,839 

Kentucky Z480 $ 166,749 

Louisiana Z480 $ 176,141 

Maine Z480 $ 46,327 

Maryland Z480 $ 150,814 

Massachusetts Z480 $ 152,423 

Michigan Z480 $ 264,235 

Minnesota Z480 $ 163,650 

Mississippi Z480 $ 121,378 

Missouri Z480 $ 237,585 

Montana Z480 $ 102,970 

Nebraska Z480 $ 72,540 

Nevada Z480 $ 91,130 

New Hampshire Z480 $ 41,466 

New Jersey Z480 $ 250,579 

New Mexico Z480 $ 92,161 

New York Z480 $ 421,259 

North Carolina Z480 $ 261,745 

North Dakota Z480 $ 62,307 

Ohio Z480 $ 336,399 

Oklahoma Z480 $ 159,165 

Oregon Z480 $ 125,440 

Pennsylvania Z480 $ 411,770 

Rhode Island Z480 $ 54,886 

South Carolina Z480 $ 168,053 

South Dakota Z480 $ 70,775 

Tennessee Z480 $ 212,074 

Texas Z480 $ 978,983 

Utah Z480 $ 87,145 

Vermont Z480 $ 50,935 

Virginia Z480 $ 255,387 

Washington Z480 $ 170,133 

West Virginia Z480 $ 109,676 

Wisconsin Z480 $ 188,834 

Wyoming Z480 $ 64,293 

Puerto Rico Z480 $ 35,000 

Virgin Islands Z480 $ 22,500 

Estimated Allocation Total $ 10,000,000 

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