Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices 17871

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training

Administration

Job Training Partnership Act, Title IV–

D, Pilot and Demonstration Program:

Out-of-School Youth Opportunity Area

Demonstration

AGENCY: Employment and Training

Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds

and Solicitation for grant application

(SGA).

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor

(DOL), Employment and Training

Administration (ETA), announces a

program to select a small number of

sites to serve as demonstrations for a

comprehensive approach aimed at

improving the labor market prospects of

out-of-school youth in high poverty

areas. This demonstration would be

designed to provide employment,

education and training opportunities,

mentoring support, leadership,

development and other services as

needed for all youth in the target areas

designated as Empowerment Zones (EZ)

or Enterprise Communities (EC). This

notice provides information on the

process that eligible entities must use to

apply for these demonstration funds and

how grantees will be selected.

Funds for these demonstration

programs are authorized under the Job

Training Partnership Act, (JTPA), Title

IV–D. It is anticipated that up to $4.5

million will be available for funding.

DATES: The closing date for receipt of

proposals is May 12, 1997 at 2:00 PM

(Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: Applications shall be

mailed to: U.S. Department of Labor,

Employment and Training

Administration, Division of Acquisition

and Assistance, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Room S–4203,

Washington, DC 20210; Attention: Ms.

Brenda Banks, Reference SGA/DAA 97–

013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Brenda Banks, Division of Acquisition

and Assistance, Telephone: (202) 219–

8694 (This is not a toll-free number).

This solicitation will also be published

on the Internet on the Employment and

Training Administration’s Home Page at

http://www/doleta.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All

information required to submit a grant

application is contained in this

announcement. This announcement

consists of five parts. Part I describes the

purpose of the demonstration program.

Part II describes the eligibility and

award information. Part III includes the

program outline of the demonstration

projects. Part IV describes the

application process. Part V describes the

evaluation and rating criteria.

Part I—Purpose

This grant announcement continues a

pilot demonstration of a new initiative

for out-of-school youth proposed in the

President’s 1998 budget. Under this

demonstration, an Opportunity Area

would be created to expand

employment, education, and training

opportunities for out-of-school youth

ages 16–24, with priority given to high

school dropouts. The demonstration

would be designed to provide

employment, education and training

opportunities, mentoring support,

leadership development and other

services as needed for all youth in the

target areas. It would complement both

the economic development initiative of

the Empowerment Zone and the Schoolto-Work system being implemented. As

some proportion of target area residents

will live in public housing, it will also

complement efforts by the Department

of Housing and Urban Development

(HUD) to address the isolation of public

housing residents. The aim of the

demonstration is to build a system of

constructive education/training/

employment and personal development

activities for out-of-school youth that

parallels the system being implemented

for a school youth under the School-toWork Opportunities Act so as to raise

and maintain substantially higher

employment rates for out-of-school

youth.

Research findings have shown that

both education and employment are

critical factors in improving long term

earnings for out-of-school youth.

Another primary goal of this project is

to raise employment rates in the target

area to 80 percent among the out-ofschool youth population through the

creation of a new approach to

addressing their needs.

Part II—Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants

This grant competition is limited to

Service Delivery Areas (SDAs) covering

urban and rural sites designated by HUD

and the Department of Agriculture as

Empowerment Zones (EZ’s),

supplemental empowerment zones,

Enterprise Communities (EC’s), or

enhanced enterprise communities. In

EZ/EC’s that include more than one

SDA (e.g., Philadelphia/Camden and

Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas), the

SDAs can submit either separate

applications or a joint application. SDAs

shall provide evidence that they are

located within the EZ/ECs. To be

eligible to apply, SDAs will need to

identify a contiguous set of census tracts

with a population of at least 10,000 in

the 1990 Census. SDAs will need to list

as co-supporters the local public school

system, the local EZ/EC governing

board, representatives of major

employer networks, including

employers connected to the school-towork effort, the State School-to-Work

Partnership, and if applicable, the local

School-to-Work Partnership.

Community based organizations (CBOs)

should also be involved in preparing the

application. The State should also be

involved in the application and the

Governor should provide a letter of

support.

Applicants should outline how they

will also involve residents and youth in

planning and implementation of the

project. Partners and/or co-supporters

are not necessarily subcontractors. Some

will bring resources to the table that are

already funded and available to youth in

the targeted community.

Entities described in Section 501(c)(4)

of the Internal Revenue Code that

engage in lobbying activities are not

eligible to receive funds under this SGA.

The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995,

Public Law No. 104–65, 109 Stat. 691,

that became effective January 1, 1996,

prohibits the award of federal funds to

these entities if they engage in lobbying

activities.

Target Population

Application should identify a target

area within the EZ/EC with a population

of between 10,000 and 15,000 persons

and poverty rate in the 1990 Census that

is among the highest in the EZ/EC. In

urban sites, the target area should be

comprised of contiguous census tracts.

In rural counties larger than 15,000, the

target area should be comprised of

contiguous census tracts or block

numbering areas. In both urban and

rural sites, the target area should

include a high school and at least one

middle school. It is particularly

important in rural communities with a

limited number of employers that job

commitments be currently available.

Grant Awards

The Department expects to award two

(2) grants of up to $2.250 million each

under this competition. Pending

availability of funds and grantee’s

performance, some level of second and

third year funding may also be provided

to the demonstration sites. Award

decisions will be published on the

Internet under the Department’s Home

Page at http://www/doleta.gov.
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Part III—Program Outline

Program Components

Grant funds shall be used for building

appropriate activities into a coherent

system that connects disconnected

youth to long term development

relationships and services needed for

permanent long term employment. The

component parts of the system needs to

be responsive to the particular problems

of out-of-school youth in high poverty

areas, especially the pervasive

joblessness of males. Many appropriate

building blocks and allowable activities

may be operating in or near the target

area. From programs such as the Center

for Employment Training (CET),

YouthBuild, WorkPlus, youth

conservation corps, and alternative

schools, we have learned some

principles about ‘‘what works’’:

• Continuous support of a caring

adult.

• Strong and effective connections to

employers.

• Opportunities for improving

educational skills and certification.

• Program support and services over

an extended period of time.

• Motivation techniques, incentives,

peer group activities, leadership

training.

Through this grant, the services

provided need to be strengthened in

accordance with these principles and

linked together to provide youth

suitable options. Guidance in making

choices need to be provided by adult

mentors working with youth over an

extended period of time. All

components must effectively link youth

to a network of employers, both public

and private.

Allowable activities include, but are

not limited to, job placement officers

working to link youth with private

sector employers; on-the-job training;

training based on the model programs

such as CET in San Jose; YouthBuild

type programs directed towards

rehabilitating inner-city housing and

that teach leadership skills and prepare

youth for construction careers;

WorkPlus efforts to coordinate with

employers to structure secondary labor

market jobs into career ladders;

alternative schools; local conservation

corps programs for youth who need to

gain disciplined work experience before

being ready for private sector

placement; and adult mentors working

with youth over an extended period of

time.

The CET program provides training in

high-wage occupations and has strong

links to the private sector. The

WorkPlus program is in a sense of

temporary employment service that

provides youth with a series of jobs with

progressive responsibilities. DOL

expects that various CBOs in each site

will operate many of the services

provided under this grant.

The initiative will saturate the local

community by making employment and

training services available to all

unemployed youth who reside in the

community and by establishing an

integrated administrative structure with

other service providers who are already

located in the community to attract and/

or create needed services to achieve the

goal of this demonstration.

Other activities should include

teaching life skills that focus on such

issues on ethics, loyalty, honesty,

positive attitudes, and daily behavior

and responsibilities that participants are

expected to have for successful

employment and a productive life style.

Services should not be fragmented, but

should operate as an integrated system

that supports and furthers the notion of

sustaining the effort beyond the grant

period through the creation of a new or

changed infrastructure.

The program’s primary outreach,

intake and counseling activities should

operate through a neighborhood-based

center. All other connecting activities

should be easily accessible to program

participants and should be provided in

settings of small learning communities.

Investment of Co-Supporters and Other

Partners: (Matching Requirement)

Applicants should use partnerships to

enhance the out-of-school programs

funded under the grant; and to provide

complementary programs and services

so as to make the target neighborhood

an Opportunity Area for all youth. A

one to one match is required. It is

expected that co-supporters and other

partners will invest State, local and

other federal resources to secure the

success of the project. Complementary

projects should include: (1) school-towork efforts in the target area high

school; (2) commitments for specific

numbers of career-track jobs by

employers, both engaged in school-towork efforts and those who are not; (3)

school district efforts to reduce the

dropout and truancy rates in area

middle schools and high schools; (4)

investments from State and other federal

programs; (5) a public/private

collaboration to start a College Bound

Program in the target area; and (6) a

comprehensive sports and recreation

program for youth of all ages in the

target neighborhood.

The application should provide dollar

values of matching contributions from

each supporter, and these figures will be

included in the final grant budget. The

investments of co-supporters and

partners should equal or exceed the

investment of DOL in the first year of

the project, and this matching ratio will

increase over the life of the grant.

Applicants also should agree to a

good faith effort to continue initiatives

started under this grant beyond the

potential three year grant period.

Applicants are encouraged to use State

and local educational funds to support

education and training services for

youth who have dropped out of school.

Evaluation Component

The demonstration sites will be

required to collect and maintain

participant records so that this can be a

learning experience for DOL. These

participant records should be similar to

the Standardized Program Information

Reports (SPIR) required for JTPA Title II

programs. No funds under this grant

should be set aside for local evaluations,

as the project will be evaluated through

DOL. The DOL evaluation will be aimed

primarily at learning from this

demonstration how to better implement

a broader Youth Opportunity Area

initiative.

Sample Site Plan

One example of the type of plan that

could be included in the proposal is

shown below. This example is intended

to be illustrative rather than

prescriptive. It is expected that each

community will develop a plan that is

tailored to their area. In this example,

the target community within the EZ/EC

has a population of 15,000, with 2,240

16–24 year olds and with 20 percent of

its population living in public housing.

Roughly half of the 16–24 year olds are

out-of-school and 40 percent of the outof-school youth are employed. To reach

an 80% employment level for this group

will require 896 being employed, or 448

more jobs. To achieve this level of

employment and to stem the dropout

rate, the following programs will be

developed with the DOL grant and

matching funds (again, this is an

example):

DOL grant Local match

Job Developers (250 youth @$2,000) ..................................................................................................................... $400,000 ........................
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices 17873

DOL grant Local match

CET training (75 youth @$6,500) ............................................................................................................................ 150,000 $337,500

On-the-job training (75 youth @$5,000) .................................................................................................................. 250,000 125,000

YouthBuild (40 youth @$20,000) ............................................................................................................................ 600,000 200,000

Local conservation corps (40 youth @$20,000) ...................................................................................................... 500,000 300,000

Alternative school (65 youth @$8,000) ................................................................................................................... 260,000 260,000

Enhanced school-to-work effort ............................................................................................................................... 60,000 265,000

Middle school restructuring ...................................................................................................................................... 30,000 230,000

Futures program in high school ............................................................................................................................... ........................ 200,000

College Bound program ........................................................................................................................................... ........................ 200,000

Sports and recreation program ................................................................................................................................ ........................ 140,000

2,250,000 2,257,500

The matching funds for other program

services such as CET and OJT training

could be used to serve 22-24 year olds,

and thus come from JTPA Title II–A.

The YouthBuild and conservation corps

type programs matching funds could

come from local corporations and

foundations. Matching funds for a new

alternative school in the target

community would come from State or

local education funds, HUD, and Pell

grants. In addition to providing

matching funds for job training

programs, the local area should also

provide matching funds for new

initiatives to strengthen the target area’s

middle schools and high schools. These

initiatives would include enhanced

school-to-work efforts in the high

school; a ‘‘Futures’’ program to prepare

entering ninth graders for starting high

school and to provide outreach workers

to keep youth in school; a College

Bound program; and a comprehensive

sports and recreation program for youth.

These initiatives would be paid for

through a combination of public school

funds, local corporations, and local

foundations. A significant number of

private sector jobs would also be

pledged for participants.

Part IV—Application Process

Eligible SDAs must begin as quickly

as possible forming the partnerships

with State and local school-to-work

efforts, local public schools,

empowerment zones, and the private

sector necessary to carry out this

project. An original and three (3) copies

of the proposal must be submitted. The

proposal must consist of two (2)

separate and distinct parts—Part I, the

financial Proposal and Part II, the

Technical Proposal. Applicants shall

indicate on the SF–424 the

organization’s IRS Status. The Federal

Domestic Assistance Catalog number is

17.249.

1. Financial Proposal must contain

Standard Form 424, ‘‘Application for

Federal Assistance’’ (Appendix A); and

the ‘‘Budget Information Sheet’’

(Appendix B), for the first 18 month

operating period. The budget must

include on a separate page a detailed

breakout of each budget line item.

2. Technical Proposal must not be

more than 10 single spaced, single sided

8.5 × 11 inch pages with 1 inch margins.

Attachments must not exceed 10 pages.

Applications that fail to meet the page

limitation requirement will not be

considered. The technical proposal

should reflect the local partnerships that

are being developed, and should

include answers to the following

questions:

(a) What is the need in the target

community? What is its population and

poverty rate in the 1990 Census? What

are the dropout rates of the target area

high schools, as measured by the

number of ninth graders enrolled in

September of 1992 and the number of

students graduating in June of 1996?

(b) What new system building

initiatives for out-of-school youth will

be funded with the grant? Show how

these initiatives, particularly the

employer connections, will be

integrated into the new system.

(c) How will this new initiative fit

into your overall EZ/EC?

(d) What school-to-work initiatives

consistent with the School-to-Work

Opportunities Act of 1994 currently

exist in the target area high school?

What additional school-to-work

initiatives will be implemented if this

grant is received to like employers with

out-of-school youth?

(e) What dropout prevention efforts

currently exist in the target area middle

schools and high schools? What new

initiatives are committed as a match if

this grant is received?

(f) What do local major corporations

promise as their role if the area becomes

an opportunity area? The application

should be clear in specifying existing

private sector activities and new

activities promised as a match. The

specific number of jobs pledged for

target area youth should be included in

the application.

(g) What State and local public sector

matching commitments are being

promised? Again, the application

should be clear in specifying existing

public sector activities in the target area

and new activities promised as a match.

These may be neighborhood

development projects, self supporting

you corps, community service crops,

etc.

(h) What strategy do you have for

maintaining these enhanced services to

out-of-school youth after the

demonstration has ended? Will school

funds be provided?

The technical proposal should also

include letters of commitment from the

local chief elected official and the

Governor, and the letter of commitment

signed by appropriate officials

(Appendix C).

CLOSING DATE: All applications must be

received at the specified location by

May 12, 1997 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern

Time). Applications must be mailed no

later than five (5) days prior to the

closing date for the receipt of

applications. However, if proposals are

hand-delivered, they must be received

at the designated place by 2:00 PM,

Eastern Time on the closing date for

receipt of applications. All overnight

mail will be considered to be handdelivered mail. Telegraphed and/or

faxed proposals will be found to be

nonresponsive and will not be honored.

Proposals that fail to adhere to the above

instructions will not be considered.

Late Proposals

Any proposal received at the office

designated in this solicitation after the

exact time specified for receipt will not

be considered unless it—

(1) Was sent by U.S. Postal Service

registered or certified mail no later than

the fifth calendar day before the closing

date specified for receipt of

applications; or

(2) Was sent by U.S. Postal Service

Express mail Next Day Service—Post

Office to Addressee, not later than 5:00

P.M. at the place of mailing two working
17874 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 70 / Friday, April 11, 1997 / Notices

days prior to the date specified for

receipt of proposals. The term ‘‘working

days’’ excludes weekends and U.S.

Federal holidays.

The only acceptable evidence to

establish the date of mailing of a late

proposal sent by U.S. Postal Service

registered or certified mail or Express

Mail Next-Day Service—Post Office to

Addressee is the U.S. postmark on the

envelope or wrapper; or by the date

entered by the post office receiving clerk

on the mailing label; and on the original

receipt from the Postal Service. Both

postmarks must show a legible date or

the proposal shall be processed as if it

had been mailed late. Therefore,

applicants should request the postal

clerk to place a legible hand

cancellation ‘‘bull’s eye’’ postmark on

both the receipt and the envelope or

wrapper.

Withdrawal of Proposals

Proposals may be withdrawn by

written notice or telegram (including

mailgram) received at any time before

award. Proposals may be withdrawn in

person by the applicant or by an

authorized representative thereof, if the

representative’s identity is made known

and the representative signs a receipt for

the proposal.

Part V—Evaluation Criteria

Prospective offerers are advised that

the selection of grantee(s) for award is

to be made after careful evaluation of

proposals by a panel within DOL. Each

panelist will evaluate the proposals for

acceptability against the factors

enumerated below. The panel results are

advisory in nature and not binding on

the ETA Grant Officer:

(1) Need in target neighborhood, as

measured by its poverty rate in the 1990

Census (10 Points)

(2) Plan and capacity for conducting

project. (30 Points)

(3) Level of investments of schools

and other public sector partners. (25

Points)

(4) Level of investments (matching

funds) of private sector partners,

including commitments for privatesector jobs. (15 Points)

(5) Current school-to-work program

and plans for next year’s school-to-work

program in target area high school. (10

Points)

(6) Dropout prevention plans. (10

Points)

Applicants are advised that

discussions may be necessary in order

to clarify any inconsistencies in their

applications. The final decision on

awards will be based on what is most

advantageous to the Federal

Government, taking into account factors

such as geographic diversity, mix of EZs

and ECs, and demographic

characteristics.

The Government may elect to award

grant(s) without discussions with the

offers. In such situations, an award

based on the offerer’s signature on the

SF–424 constitutes a binding offer.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 4th day of

April, 1997.

Janice E. Perry,

Grant Officer, Employment and Training

Administration.

Appendices

1. Appendix—‘‘Application for Federal

Assistance’’ (SF–424)

2. Appendix B—‘‘Budget Information’’

3. Appendix C—‘‘Letter of Commitment’’

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[FR Doc. 97–9191 Filed 4–10–97; 8:45 am]

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