Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58653 

LABOR SURPLUS AREAS—Continued 

[October 1, 2008 THROUGH September 30, 2009] 

ELIGIBLE LABOR SURPLUS AREAS CIVIL JURISDICTIONS INCLUDED 

TYLER COUNTY ...................................................................................... TYLER COUNTY 

WETZEL COUNTY ................................................................................... WETZEL COUNTY 

WISCONSIN 

ADAMS COUNTY ..................................................................................... ADAMS COUNTY 

APPLETON CITY ..................................................................................... APPLETON CITY IN 

CALUMET COUNTY 

OUTAGAMIE COUNTY 

WINNEBAGO COUNTY 

BAYFIELD COUNTY ................................................................................ BAYFIELD COUNTY 

BELOIT CITY ............................................................................................ BELOIT CITY IN 

ROCK COUNTY 

BURNETT COUNTY ................................................................................ BURNETT COUNTY 

FLORENCE COUNTY .............................................................................. FLORENCE COUNTY 

FOREST COUNTY ................................................................................... FOREST COUNTY 

GREEN BAY CITY ................................................................................... GREEN BAY CITY IN 

BROWN COUNTY 

IRON COUNTY ........................................................................................ IRON COUNTY 

KENOSHA CITY ....................................................................................... KENOSHA CITY IN 

KENOSHA COUNTY 

LANGLADE COUNTY .............................................................................. LANGLADE COUNTY 

MANITOWOC CITY .................................................................................. MANITOWOC CITY IN 

MANITOWOC COUNTY 

MARINETTE COUNTY ............................................................................. MARINETTE COUNTY 

MARQUETTE COUNTY ........................................................................... MARQUETTE COUNTY 

MENOMINEE COUNTY ........................................................................... MENOMINEE COUNTY 

MILWAUKEE CITY ................................................................................... MILWAUKEE CITY IN 

MILWAUKEE COUNTY 

OCONTO COUNTY .................................................................................. OCONTO COUNTY 

POLK COUNTY ........................................................................................ POLK COUNTY 

RACINE CITY ........................................................................................... RACINE CITY IN 

RACINE COUNTY 

RUSK COUNTY ....................................................................................... RUSK COUNTY 

SAWYER COUNTY .................................................................................. SAWYER COUNTY 

VILAS COUNTY ....................................................................................... VILAS COUNTY 

WASHBURN COUNTY ............................................................................ WASHBURN COUNTY 

WEST BEND CITY ................................................................................... WEST BEND CITY IN 

WASHINGTON COUNTY 

[FR Doc. E8–23567 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Notice of Availability of Funds and 

Solicitation for Grant Applications 

(SGA) for YouthBuild Grants 

Announcement Type: Notice of 

Solicitation for Grant Applications. 

Funding Opportunity Number: SGA/ 

DFA PY 08–07. 

Catalog of Federal Assistance 

Number: 17.274. 

Key Dates: The closing date for receipt 

of applications under this 

announcement is January 15, 2009. 

Applications must be successfully 

submitted at http://www.grants.gov no 

later than 11:59:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) 

and then subsequently validated by 

Grants.gov. Application and submission 

information is explained in detail in 

Part IV of this SGA. DOL requires 

applicants to submit their applications 

electronically through Grants.gov, 

unless prior written approval for an 

exception is granted. Requests for 

exceptions to the electronic submission 

requirement is explained in detail in 

Part IV of this SGA. A Virtual 

Prospective Applicant Conference will 

be held for this grant competition. The 

date and access information for this 

Virtual Prospective Applicant 

Conference will be posted on ETA’s 

Web site at http://www.doleta.gov/ 

youth%5Fservices/ 

youthbuildgrantee.cfm. Please be 

advised that the appropriation funding 

this competition does not allow for 

funds to be obligated prior to April 1, 

2009. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Labor 

(DOL or Department), Employment and 

Training Administration (ETA) 

announces the availability of 

approximately $47 million in grant 

funds for YouthBuild Grants. 

YouthBuild Grants will be awarded 

through a competitive process. Grant 

funds will be used to provide 

disadvantaged youth with: The 

education and employment skills 

necessary to achieve economic selfsufficiency in occupations in high 

demand and postsecondary education 

and training opportunities; 

opportunities for meaningful work and 

service to their communities; and 

opportunities to develop employment 

and leadership skills and a commitment 

to community development among 

youth in low-income communities. As 

part of their programming, YouthBuild 

grantees will tap the energies and 

talents of disadvantaged youth to 

increase the supply of permanent 

affordable housing for homeless 

individuals and low-income families 

and to help youth develop the 

leadership, learning, and high-demand 

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58654 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 

occupational skills needed to succeed in 

today’s global economy. 

DOL hopes to serve approximately 

2,900 youth participants during the first 

year of the grant, with projects operating 

in approximately 90–100 communities 

across the country. Under this 

announcement, DOL will be awarding 

grants to organizations to oversee the 

provision of education and employment 

services to disadvantaged youth in their 

communities. Each applicant should 

indicate the proposed number of 

participants to be served based on an 

average annual cost of between 

$15,000—$18,000. 

This solicitation provides background 

information and describes the 

application submission requirements, 

outlines the process that eligible entities 

must use to apply for funds covered by 

this solicitation, and outlines the 

evaluation criteria used as a basis for 

selecting grantees. 

ADDRESSES: DOL will accept electronic 

applications only, and they must be 

submitted through the Grants.gov portal, 

unless the applicant has received prior 

written approval for an exception from 

the Grant Officer, as named in this 

solicitation. Applicants must submit 

exception requests and, upon receiving 

an exception of the electronic 

submission requirements, their 

complete applications in paper copy to 

the U.S. Department of Labor, 

Employment and Training 

Administration, Division of Federal 

Assistance, Attention: Donna Kelly, 

Reference SGA/DFA PY 08–07, 200 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N– 

4716, Washington, DC 20210. 

Applications that do not meet the 

conditions set forth in this notice will 

not be considered. No exceptions to the 

submission requirements set forth in 

this notice will be granted. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

This solicitation consists of eight 

parts: 

• Part I provides background 

information on YouthBuild, a 

description of ETA’s Youth Vision, 

YouthBuild program objectives, and 

additional information on the key 

components of YouthBuild to consider 

when preparing an application. 

• Part II describes the size and nature 

of the anticipated awards. 

• Part III describes eligibility 

information. 

• Part IV provides information on the 

application and submission process. 

• Part V describes the criteria against 

which applications will be reviewed 

and explains the proposal review 

process. 

• Part VI provides award 

administration information. 

• Part VII contains ETA agency 

contact information. 

• Part VIII lists additional resources 

of interest to applicants and other 

information. 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

YouthBuild is a youth and 

community development program that 

simultaneously addresses several core 

issues facing low-income communities: 

housing, education, employment, crime 

prevention, and leadership 

development. Part A of this section 

provides a background of the 

YouthBuild program. Part B describes 

the core objectives of the YouthBuild 

program with Part C providing 

additional information on key 

components of YouthBuild to consider 

when preparing a grant application. 

A. Background 

The YouthBuild model balances inschool learning, geared toward a high 

school diploma or passing the General 

Education Development (GED) test, and 

construction skills training, geared 

toward a career placement for the youth. 

The in-school component is an 

alternative education program that 

assists youth who are often significantly 

behind in basic skills to obtain a high 

school diploma or GED credential. The 

primary target populations for 

YouthBuild are high school dropouts 

that may also be adjudicated youth, 

youth aging out of foster care, and other 

at-risk youth populations. The 

YouthBuild model enables these youth 

to access the education they need to 

move on to post-secondary and highgrowth, high demand jobs which will 

enable them to prosper in the 21st 

century economy. There are currently 

over 200 YouthBuild programs 

operating in the United States, funded 

through various funding sources. 

YouthBuild was started in East 

Harlem, New York in 1978 to provide 

education services for youth and teach 

construction skills while renovating and 

building homes for low-income families. 

It was replicated in five locations in 

New York City during the 1980s. In 

1993, the YouthBuild program was 

established by Federal statute and the 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD) was designated as 

the agency responsible for administering 

the program. 

In December 2003, the White House 

Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth 

recommended the transfer of the 

YouthBuild program from HUD to DOL 

because the program is ‘‘at its core, an 

employment and training program for 

disadvantaged youth, and will benefit 

from administrative oversight in DOL 

within the Employment and Training 

Administration.’’ 

In September 2006, the YouthBuild 

Transfer Act was signed by President 

George W. Bush. The bill repeals the 

YouthBuild program’s statutory 

authority under the Cranston-Gonzalez 

National Affordable Housing Act (Pub. 

L. 102–550; 49 U.S.C. 12899 et seq.) and 

transfers the statutory authority for the 

program, with needed modifications 

and improvements, to subtitle D of Title 

I of the Workforce Investment Act 

(WIA). The YouthBuild program is 

being administered as a ‘‘national 

program’’ by ETA. 

Since its inception, a primary purpose 

of the YouthBuild program has been to 

provide job training and employment 

opportunities for disadvantaged youth. 

ETA will leverage its significant 

expertise and resources in the area of 

workforce investment under WIA to 

strengthen YouthBuild grantees’ 

connections to One-Stop Career Centers 

and the Department’s registered 

apprenticeship programs; leverage 

investments such as the President’s 

High Growth Job Training Initiative; 

improve access to the post-secondary 

and community college system; and 

broker connections to the workforce 

system’s business partners. 

B. Youthbuild Program Objectives 

Funds made available through the 

YouthBuild grants will be used to carry 

out a YouthBuild program with the 

following core objectives: 

• To enable disadvantaged youth to 

obtain the education and employment 

skills necessary to achieve economic 

self-sufficiency in occupations in 

demand and post-secondary education 

and training opportunities; 

• To provide disadvantaged youth 

with opportunities for meaningful work 

and service to their communities; 

• To foster the development of 

employment and leadership skills and 

commitment to community 

development among youth in lowincome communities; and 

• To expand the supply of permanent 

affordable housing for homeless 

individuals and low-income families by 

utilizing the energies and talents of 

disadvantaged youth. 

C. Key Components and Additional 

Information About the YouthBuild 

Grant Application Process 

What Type of Information Should Be 

Addressed in the Design of the Program? 

Part II of the application contains the 

Technical Proposal, which should 

address specific grant requirements 

identified in Section A of Part V of this 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58655 

SGA. Applicants applying for these 

grants are asked to describe their 

community, the youth to be served, the 

need for this Federal support, and their 

plan for providing education, skills 

training, and leadership development 

services to youth. They must describe 

how their efforts contribute to the 

overall economic development of their 

community. They must also 

demonstrate that they have established 

partnerships with—or made a good faith 

effort to establish partnerships with— 

Local Workforce Investment Boards, the 

public school system, local community 

colleges, the juvenile justice system, 

registered apprenticeship programs, 

local faith-based and community 

organizations that serve at-risk and 

disadvantaged youth, and/or the local 

housing authority. Applicants are 

expected to identify their plan to 

leverage other Federal, State, or local 

funding, as well as private funding 

sources, to provide other ‘‘wrap around’’ 

supportive services as well as to support 

the costs associated with their defined 

construction project. Applicants are 

asked to describe their previous 

experience operating YouthBuild or 

similar youth programs with 

educational components. Applicants are 

asked to describe how occupational 

safety is addressed at their worksite. 

They are also asked to describe their 

organization’s ability to manage this 

grant. 

What Size Grants Are Available? 

Applicants can apply for 3 year grants 

(2 years of program operations with a 12 

month follow-up period) that will range 

from $700,000 to $1.1 million. These 

grants will be incrementally funded, 

with half of the grant funds awarded 

from fiscal year (FY) 2009 

appropriations, for the first 12 months 

of operations. Pending satisfactory 

performance and availability of funds, 

the remaining funds would be awarded 

next year (FY 2010) for second year 

operations. These awards will support 2 

years of core program operations 

(education, occupational skills training, 

and youth leadership development 

activities) plus an additional 12 months 

of follow-up support services and 

tracking of participant outcomes for 

each cohort of youth. A minimum of 5 

percent of total funds should be 

reserved for the 12 month follow-up 

period. 

If an Organization was Selected to 

Receive a New Award in FY 2008 

(Awarded July 2008) or if an 

Organization has Remaining Funds from 

a Previous YouthBuild Competition 

Either from the Housing and Urban 

Development or the Department of 

Labor, are they Eligible to Apply in this 

YouthBuild Competition? 

Yes; however, the prospective 

applicant should demonstrate how 

funds will be expended in the period of 

performance outlined in this SGA. 

What Roles Might Partners Play in 

Partnerships? 

Because disadvantaged youth possess 

a wide range of challenges that must be 

addressed through multiple strategies, 

prospective applicants must undertake 

an inventory of their communities to 

identify resources and services provided 

by faith-based and community 

organizations, government entities, and 

other youth serving organizations. The 

inventory will provide an opportunity 

for prospective applicants to do a fresh 

assessment of potential partners and 

resources that will support the 

YouthBuild program. Collaboration 

across youth serving agencies/ 

organizations is critical to the success of 

any youth initiative or program. A 

single organization does not typically 

have the resources to respond to the 

myriad of issues that impact youth most 

in need. The Department understands 

that these inventories will vary from 

community to community and that, 

particularly for rural and Native 

American applicants, resources and 

services may be limited. 

Because of the importance of 

collaboration and partnership, DOL is a 

member of the Shared Youth Vision 

Federal Partnership. The Federal 

Partnership has a mission to collaborate 

and coordinate across agencies in order 

to effectively serve the youth most in 

need. There are a number of States 

(currently over half) who have formed 

Shared Youth Vision State teams. Please 

go to the ETA’s Web site for a list of 

State teams and more information on 

the Shared Youth Vision at http:// 

www.doleta.gov/ryf/WhiteHouseReport/ 

VMO.cfm. 

Partnerships and partnership roles 

will vary depending on the applicant’s 

strategy and participant needs. 

However, DOL expects that the 

applicant will make a good-faith effort 

to attract the following partners and that 

each collaborative partner will, at a 

minimum, contribute as described 

below. 

Education and training providers (K– 

12, adult education, community and 

technical colleges, 4-year colleges and 

universities, and other training entities) 

are important foundational partners to 

ensure the project’s activities are tied to 

the broader continuum of education 

providers in the community. Whenever 

possible, the YouthBuild program 

should strive to be connected in a 

meaningful way with the K–12 system 

for the purpose of (1) ensuring a wider 

variety of educational opportunities 

within the community as a whole and 

(2) as a drop-out prevention strategy. 

YouthBuild programs should also be 

connected to post-secondary training 

opportunities, particularly community 

colleges, whenever possible to ensure 

the smooth transition of YouthBuild 

participants into post-secondary 

training opportunities available through 

community colleges, including the use 

of articulation agreements and staff 

development for YouthBuild staff. 

Programs that offer the GED should have 

explicit, well-defined pathways to postsecondary educational opportunities 

such as community colleges, registered 

apprenticeship programs, and other 

occupational training programs. 

Employers (including professional 

organizations and trade associations) 

should be actively engaged in the 

project and should participate fully in 

grant activities including: defining the 

program strategy and goals; identifying 

needed skills and competencies; 

designing training approaches and 

curricula; contributing financial 

support; sponsoring apprenticeship and 

pre-apprenticeship placements and 

activities; and, where appropriate, 

hiring qualified YouthBuild graduates. 

The workforce investment system 

(which may include State and Local 

Workforce Investment Boards, State 

Workforce Agencies, and One-Stop 

Career Centers and their cooperating 

partners, as such terms are defined 

under the WIA), may play a number of 

roles, including: identifying and 

assessing potential candidates for 

YouthBuild; working collaboratively to 

leverage WIA investments through coenrollment with the Youth Formula 

program; referring qualified candidates 

to the YouthBuild program for 

enrollment; providing access to ‘‘wraparound’’ supportive services, when 

appropriate; providing local labor 

market information to YouthBuild staff 

and participants; and connecting 

qualified YouthBuild graduates to 

employers that have existing job 

openings. Examples of YouthBuild 

programs working with the workforce 

system can be found in TRAINING AND 

EMPLOYMENT NOTICE NO. 44–07, 

‘‘Providing Strategies to the One-Stop 

Career Center System on Collaborating 

with YouthBuild Programs’’ at http:// 

wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?

DOCN=2646. 

The juvenile justice system is an 

important partner in referring potential 

participants to the YouthBuild program, 

providing support and guidance for 

YouthBuild participants with court 

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58656 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 

involvement, and assisting in the 

reporting of recidivism rates among 

YouthBuild participants. Some 

YouthBuild participants may be placed 

in the program as a form of alternative 

sentencing or for re-entry services. In 

these instances, police, parole and 

probation, detention and juvenile 

correction facilities, judges, and social 

workers will be critically important 

partners for creating a safety net to 

prevent recidivism and ensure 

attachment to the community. 

Faith-based and community 

organizations are valuable partners in 

the YouthBuild program. These 

organizations can serve as avenues of 

outreach to eligible youth and may 

provide a variety of grant services, such 

as case management, mentoring, and 

English as a Second Language (ESL) 

courses, and other comprehensive 

supportive services, when appropriate, 

for YouthBuild participants. Industryrelated groups, such as ACE Mentoring 

(http://www.acementor.org) may also 

provide valuable work experience in 

construction and related fields in the 

context of a mentoring relationship. 

Each collaborative partner must have 

a clearly defined role. These roles must 

be verified through a letter of 

commitment (not just a letter of support) 

submitted by each partner. The letter of 

commitment must detail the role the 

partner will play in the project, 

including specific responsibilities and 

resources committed, if appropriate. 

These letters must clearly indicate the 

partnering organization’s unique 

contribution and commitment to the 

project. 

In situations where these partnerships 

are not supported with letters of 

commitment, the applicants should, at a 

minimum, demonstrate that the 

potential partner was contacted and 

provided a sufficient opportunity for 

response. It is suggested that applicants 

use registered mail to demonstrate such 

efforts. 

What if Two or More Organizations 

Submit Separate Applications To Serve 

the Same Urban or Rural Community? 

If more than one proposal to serve the 

same urban or rural community is rated 

highly, DOL will consider whether the 

urban or rural community is large 

enough to support more than one 

project. 

Can I Apply for Multiple Towns in One 

Application? 

If a town is large enough to reasonably 

support a YouthBuild program, the 

grant activities should generally be 

focused on one town. If the applicant 

determines that the town is not large 

enough to support a YouthBuild 

program, it may include additional 

towns and provide justification for one 

larger service area. If multiple towns are 

included together in the application, 

applicants must limit the total requested 

grant amount to $1.1 million. 

What Is the Definition of ‘‘Low-Income’’ 

Family for the Purposes of Program 

Eligibility? 

The definition of ‘‘low-income 

family’’ is taken directly from the 

United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)) which states: 

‘‘The term ‘low-income families’ 

means those families whose incomes do 

not exceed 80 per centum of the median 

income for the area, as determined by 

the Secretary with adjustments for 

smaller and larger families, except that 

the Secretary may establish income 

ceilings higher or lower than 80 per 

centum of the median for the area on the 

basis of the Secretary’s findings that 

such variations are necessary because of 

prevailing levels of construction costs or 

unusually high or low family incomes.’’ 

The median for each applicant’s 

proposed area of service can be found at 

HUD’s Web site: http:// 

www.huduser.org/datasets/il.html. 

What Are Allowable Uses of Grant 

Funds? 

Allowable uses of grant funds may 

include: 

(1) Education and Workforce 

Activities, such as: 

• Basic skills instruction and 

remedial education; 

• Language instruction educational 

programs for individuals with limited 

English proficiency; 

• Secondary education services and 

activities, including tutoring, study 

skills training, and dropout prevention 

activities, designed to lead to the 

attainment of a secondary school 

diploma, GED credential, or other Staterecognized equivalent (including 

recognized alternative standards for 

individuals with disabilities); 

• Counseling and assistance in 

obtaining post-secondary education and 

required financial aid; 

• Alternative secondary school 

services; 

• Work experience and skills training 

(coordinated, to the maximum extent 

feasible, with pre-apprenticeship and 

registered apprenticeship programs) in 

housing rehabilitation and construction 

activities; 

• Occupational skills training; and 

• Other paid and unpaid work 

experiences, including internships and 

job shadowing. 

(2) Counseling services and related 

activities, such as comprehensive 

guidance and counseling on drug and 

alcohol abuse and referral. 

(3) Youth development activities, 

such as: 

• Community service and peercentered activities encouraging 

responsibility and other positive social 

behaviors, and 

• Leadership development activities 

related to youth policy committees that 

allow YouthBuild participants to engage 

in local policy and decision-making 

related to the program. 

(4) Supportive services and provision 

of need-based payments necessary to 

enable individuals to participate in the 

program. 

(5) Supportive services to assist 

individuals, for a period not to exceed 

12 months after the completion of 

training, in obtaining or retaining 

employment, or applying for and 

transitioning to post-secondary 

education. 

(6) Supervision and training for 

participants in the rehabilitation or 

construction of housing, including 

residential housing for homeless 

individuals or low-income families, or 

transitional housing for homeless 

individuals. 

(7) Supervision and training for 

participants in the rehabilitation or 

construction of community and other 

public facilities. 

(8) Payment of a portion of the 

administrative costs of the grantee. 

(9) Mentoring (one-on-one, group or 

team) of participants by adults who 

have been appropriately screened and 

matched to work with youth. 

(10) Provision of wages, stipends, or 

other benefits and incentives to 

participants in the program. 

(11) Ongoing training and technical 

assistance for staff that are related to 

developing and carrying out the 

program. 

(12) Follow-up services. 

(13) Equipment and/or supplies 

related to the YouthBuild activities 

funded through this grant. The 

Department interprets this to mean that 

the purchase of construction materials 

to be used as part of the direct training 

for YouthBuild participants would be an 

allowable use of grant funds. 

Can Training Be Provided in Industries 

Other Than Construction? 

No, DOL YouthBuild funds provided 

under this solicitation cannot be used to 

support occupational skill training other 

than construction. Programs may offer 

training in other industries however, 

other funding sources must be used to 

support these career pathways. 

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Will YouthBuild Projects Be Required 

To Follow Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration (OSHA) 

Guidelines? 

Yes, YouthBuild projects will be 

required to follow Occupational Safety 

and Health Administration (OSHA) 

guidelines in the operation of their 

construction projects and to submit 

incident reports to DOL of injuries 

occurring on worksites. DOL will 

require that YouthBuild grantees: 

• Provide comprehensive 

documented training on construction 

safety for youth working on YouthBuild 

projects, including requirements for 

youth to demonstrate knowledge and 

proficiency in hazard identification, 

abatement, and safe work practices; 

• Demonstrate compliance with 

Federal and state child labor laws and 

occupational safety and health 

regulations; 

• Provide written jobsite-specific 

safety plans overseen by an on-site 

supervisor with the knowledge, skills, 

and authority to correct safety and 

health hazards and enforce the sitespecific safety plan; 

• Provide necessary personal 

protective equipment to youth working 

on YouthBuild projects; and 

• Report all worksite injuries and 

illnesses to youth working on 

YouthBuild projects, along with 

documentation on remedial measures to 

prevent future similar injuries and help 

ensure that YouthBuild is a model 

program that takes active steps for 

participant safety and health. 

Can DOL Funds Be Used for Paid Work 

Experiences, Needs-Based Stipends, 

Wages, and Other Supportive Services? 

Payments to participants for 

classroom training, paid work 

experiences, and occupational skill 

training are allowable expenses as well 

as for other needs-based supportive 

services. If the applicant plans to use 

grant funds for these purposes, 

sufficient information must be provided 

in the budget narrative to clearly justify 

the proposed amounts to be provided. 

Grantees are responsible for consulting 

with an accountant or other experts to 

ascertain if their payment structure 

complies with IRS standards. 

Is the Purchase of Food an Allowable 

Use of Funds? 

DOL considers food to be an 

allowable cost for YouthBuild when 

used as a supportive service. To qualify, 

the provision of food must be needsbased, and must be necessary to enable 

the recipients to participate in the 

program. The purchase of food is an 

unallowable cost for grant funds if 

expended for any reason other than 

needs-based supportive services. To 

provide food as a supportive service, 

grantees must create and consistently 

apply a written policy for determining 

needs-based services for participants. 

Grantees can provide food to enrollees 

as part of an on-site training class or 

work-site experience where access to 

food services and vendors is unavailable 

or unreliable, but you must document in 

your files that providing such food 

directly is reasonable and necessary in 

order to ensure continuity of training 

services. 

Should Prospective Applicants Include 

Travel Costs Associated With Technical 

Assistance and Training in Their 

Budget? 

Prospective applicants should include 

travel funds in their budget to cover 

travel for key staff to attend at least one 

national meeting per year and at least 

two regional trainings per year. 

How Will Success Be Measured Under 

These Grants? 

The three outcome measures are: 

• Literacy and numeracy gains; 

• High School diploma/GED/ 

certification attainment rate; and 

• Placement in employment/postsecondary education/occupational skills 

training program/military. 

In addition, grantees may report on a 

number of interim indicators that will 

serve as predictors of success. Interim 

indicators include: 

• Placement retention rate; 

• Enrollment rate; 

• Participation in education/training 

activities; 

• Workforce preparation: 

• Recidivism; 

• Mentoring; and 

• Community service/leadership 

activities. 

In applying for these grants, 

applicants agree to submit updated 

Management Information System (MIS) 

data on enrollee characteristics, services 

provided, placements, outcomes, and 

follow-up status. YouthBuild grantees 

are required to use the ETA Web-based 

Case Management and Performance 

System which is provided to grantees at 

no cost. 

What Is the Expected Average Annual 

Cost per Participant? 

DOL expects the annual cost to be 

between $15,000 and $18,000 per 

participant. 

When Is the YouthBuild Program 

Expected To Begin Enrolling Youth? 

Grantees must begin program 

operations, including the enrollment of 

youth within 6 months from the date of 

the award, and where possible align 

with the local academic calendar. 

Although there is no way to address 

every question in this solicitation, the 

following questions associated with 

allowable construction costs were 

frequently asked and are included for 

your information: 

Can Funds Be Used for Rehabilitation or 

Construction of Buildings Other Than 

Low-Income Housing? 

Yes. In training participants, up to 10 

percent of grant funds may be used in 

the rehabilitation or construction of 

community and other public facilities. 

Public facilities include health care 

clinics, schools, and community 

centers. The remaining 90 percent of 

funds must be used to train participants 

in the rehabilitation or construction of 

low-income housing. 

Would Construction of a Kitchen or 

Shower Facility Be an Allowable Cost to 

a Public Facility? 

If it is a public facility that needs to 

have a kitchen or shower facility 

installed and it is done under the 10 

percent limitation and it is used for 

training purposes, then it is allowable. 

Does a Federally-Qualified Health Care 

Facility Qualify as an Allowable 

Construction Site? 

The rehabilitation of a community 

health facility is permissible. The 10 

percent limitation would apply to such 

costs. 

Are Architectural Fees an Allowable 

Use of Grant Funds? 

Yes, the portions of the architectural 

fees that are related to allowable 

YouthBuild training activities funded 

through this grant are an allowable use 

of funds. 

Are Brokerage Fees an Allowable Use of 

Grant Funds? 

No, brokerage fees and other fees 

associated with the acquisition of 

property are not directly related to 

participant training and are not an 

allowable use of grant funds. 

Are Subcontractor Costs and Supplies, 

e.g. Roofing, Landscaping, etc., 

Allowable Uses of Grant Funds? 

Non-training services and deliverables 

that are not directly related to 

participant training are not an allowable 

use of grant funds unless they are used 

in the provision of training. Property 

enhancements, such as landscaping, are 

not allowable grant costs. 

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Can Unallowable Costs Be Used To 

Fulfill the 25 Percent Match 

Requirement? 

If the cost is not allowable to be paid 

with grant funds, it would also not be 

acceptable in fulfilling the 25 percent 

match requirement. 

Can Funds Be Used To Purchase Land? 

Grant funds may not be used to 

purchase land. 

Can Grant Funds Be Used To Purchase 

a Home To Rehabilitate for the Project? 

Grantees may only charge a 

proportion of the purchase cost, 

exclusive of land, which is reflective of 

the portion of the property that will be 

used for participant training. 

II. Award Information 

A. Award Amount 

DOL intends to fund approximately 

90–100 grants ranging from $700,000 to 

$1.1 million through this competition; 

however, this does not preclude DOL 

from funding grants at either a lower or 

higher amount, or funding a smaller or 

larger number of projects, based on the 

type and the number of quality 

submissions. Applicants are encouraged 

to submit budgets within this range for 

quality projects at whatever funding 

level is appropriate to their project. The 

average annual cost per participant 

should be between $15,000 and $18,000. 

In the event additional funds become 

available, ETA reserves the right to use 

such funds to select additional grantees 

from applications submitted in response 

to this solicitation. 

B. Period of Performance 

Grants will be awarded for a 3 year 

period of performance. This includes 2 

years of core program operations 

(education, occupational skills training, 

and youth leadership development 

activities) for 2 or more cohorts of youth 

plus an additional 12 months of followup support services and tracking of 

participant outcomes for each cohort of 

youth. 

III. Eligibility Information and Other 

Grant Specifications 

A. Eligible Applicants 

An organization is an eligible 

applicant for these grants if it is a public 

or private non-profit agency or 

organization (including a consortium of 

such agencies or organizations with a 

designated lead applicant), including, 

but not limited to: 

• Community-based organizations, 

including faith-based organizations; 

• An entity carrying out activities 

under the WIA, such as a local 

workforce investment board or OneStop Career Center; 

• A community action agency; 

• A State or local housing 

development agency; 

• An Indian tribe or other agency 

primarily serving Indians; 

• A community development 

corporation; 

• A State or local youth service 

conservation corps; or 

• Any other relevant public or private 

non-profit entity that provides 

education or employment training and 

can meet the required elements of the 

grant. 

B. Eligible Enrollees 

An individual may participate in a 

YouthBuild program only if such 

individual: 

• Is between the ages of 16 and 24 on 

the date of enrollment; and 

• Is a member of a disadvantaged 

youth population such as a member of 

a low-income family, and/or a youth in 

foster care (including youth aging out of 

foster care), and/or a youth offender, 

and/or a youth who is an individual 

with a disability, and/or a child of an 

incarcerated parent, and/or a migrant 

youth; and 

• A school dropout. 

Organizations are not required to 

serve the entire age group population 

between 16 and 24, but all participants 

must fall within this range. 

Up to (but not more than) 25 percent 

of the participants in the program may 

be youth who do not meet the education 

or disadvantaged criteria above but: 

• Are basic skills deficient, despite 

attainment of a secondary school 

diploma, GED credential, or other staterecognized equivalent (including 

recognized alternative standards for 

individuals with disabilities); or 

• Have been referred by a local 

secondary school for participation in a 

YouthBuild program leading to the 

attainment of a secondary school 

diploma. 

C. Matching Funds and Leveraged 

Resources 

Aligning resources and leveraging 

funding are key components of success 

under the YouthBuild grant program. 

Therefore, applicants must provide cash 

or in-kind resources equivalent to 25 

percent of the grant award amount as 

matching funds. Please note that neither 

prior investments nor Federal resources 

may be counted towards the matching 

funds threshold. Construction materials 

that are acquired without grant funds 

and are used for approved projects as 

part of the training for YouthBuild 

participants may be used in fulfilling 

the 25 percent match requirement. The 

match may be cash or in-kind resources 

and must meet all the requirements in 

accordance with the applicable Federal 

cost principles. 

To be allowable as part of match, a 

cost must be an allowable charge for 

Federal grant funds. Determinations of 

allowable costs will be made in 

accordance with the applicable Federal 

cost principles as indicated in Part 

IV(E). If the cost would not be allowable 

as a grant-funded charge, then it also 

cannot be counted toward matching 

funds. Matching funds must be 

expended during the grant period of 

performance and must be reported 

quarterly on the ETA 9130 form. 

Any cash or in-kind resources 

committed beyond the 25 percent of the 

grant award amount required as 

matching funds may be counted as 

leveraged funds. Please note that 

applicants are expected to fulfill the 

match amount specified on their SF–424 

application and SF–424A budget form. 

The SF–424A form is required even 

though the form states that it should 

only be used for non-construction. Upon 

completion of the grant, if the match 

amount specified by the applicant is not 

met or if a portion of the matching funds 

are found to be an unallowable cost, the 

amount of DOL grant funds may be 

decreased on a dollar for dollar basis. 

This may result in the repayment of 

funds to DOL. Applicants who fail to 

provide a 25 percent match will be 

considered non-responsive. 

Applicants are encouraged to leverage 

additional funds outside of the match to 

supplement the project as a whole. 

Matching funds and leveraged resources 

could come from a variety of sources 

including: public sector (e.g., State or 

local governments); non-profit sector 

(e.g., community organizations, faithbased organizations, or education and 

training institutions); private sector 

(e.g., businesses or industry 

associations); investor community (e.g., 

angel networks or economic 

development entities); and the 

philanthropic community (e.g., 

foundations). 

Applicants should clearly make the 

distinction of what will be considered 

matching funds versus ‘‘additional’’ 

leveraged funds. In addition to the 

Federal amount you are requesting, the 

matching funds shall be shown on the 

SF–424 and SF–424A. Do not include 

the leveraged funds on the SF 424 or SF 

424A. The amount of funds specified on 

these forms will be considered by DOL 

as the applicant’s match. Leveraged 

resources should be explained in the 

budget narrative separate from the 

explanation of match. Applications will 

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be evaluated on how the match and 

leveraged funds are fully integrated in 

support of program outcomes. Grantees 

must track and report both match and 

other non-Federal leveraged resources 

quarterly on Form ETA 9130. 

Instructions and the form may be found 

at http://www.doleta.gov/sga/pdf/9130_

Basic_JUL08.pdf. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

A. Address To Request Application 

Package 

This SGA contains all of the 

information and links to forms needed 

to apply for grant funding. 

B. Content and Form of Application 

Submission 

The proposal will consist of three 

separate and distinct parts—a cost 

proposal (I), a technical proposal (II), 

and a description of and information on 

the work site (III). Applications that fail 

to adhere to the instructions in this 

section will be considered nonresponsive and will not be considered. 

Part I. The Cost Proposal. The Cost 

Proposal must include the following 

four items: 

• The Standard Form (SF) 424, 

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance’’ 

(available at http://www07.grants.gov/

agencies/forms_repository_

information.jsp and http://www.doleta.

gov/grants/find_grants.cfm). The SF 424 

must clearly identify the applicant and 

be signed by an individual with 

authority to enter into a grant 

agreement. Upon confirmation of an 

award, the individual signing the SF 

424 on behalf of the applicant shall be 

considered the authorized 

representative of the applicant. 

• All applicants for Federal grant and 

funding opportunities are required to 

have a Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) 

number. See Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) Notice of Final Policy 

Issuance, 68 FR 38402, Jun. 27, 2003. 

Applicants must supply their DUNS 

number on the SF 424. The DUNS 

number is a nine-digit identification 

number that uniquely identifies 

business entities. Obtaining a DUNS 

number is easy and there is no charge. 

To obtain a DUNS number, access this 

website: www.dunandbradstreet.com or 

call 1–866–705–5711. 

• The SF 424A Budget Information 

Form (available at http:// 

www07.grants.gov/agencies/ 

forms_repository_information.jsp and 

http://www.doleta.gov/grants/ 

find_grants.cfm). In preparing the 

Budget Information Form, the applicant 

must provide a concise narrative 

explanation to support the request. 

• A Budget Narrative: The budget 

narrative should break down the budget, 

match and leveraged resources by 

project activity, should discuss cost-perparticipant, and should discuss 

precisely how the administrative costs 

support the project goals. If the 

applicant plans to use grant funds for 

paid work experiences, needs-based 

payments, and other supportive services 

for the participants, sufficient 

information must be provided in the 

budget narrative to clearly justify the 

proposed amounts to be provided. All 3 

years of proposed funding should be 

included on the SF 424A. 

Please note that applicants that fail to 

provide a SF 424, SF 424A, a Dun and 

Bradstreet number, and a budget 

narrative will be removed from 

consideration prior to the technical 

review process. Only an applicant’s 

match amount (not other leveraged 

resources) should be listed on the SF 

424 (Block 18) and SF 424A Budget 

Information Form (Section A & C). The 

amount of Federal funding requested for 

the entire period of performance (i.e. 3 

years) should be shown together on the 

SF 424 and SF 424A Budget Information 

Form. Applicants are also encouraged, 

but not required, to submit OMB Survey 

N. 1890–0014: Survey on Ensuring 

Equal Opportunity for Applicants, 

which can be found at http:// 

www.doleta.gov/sga/forms.cfm. 

Part II. The Technical Proposal. The 

Technical Proposal will demonstrate the 

applicant’s capability to implement the 

YouthBuild grant project in accordance 

with the provisions of this solicitation. 

The guidelines for the content of the 

Technical Proposal are provided in Part 

V Section A of this SGA. The Technical 

Proposal is limited to 20 double-spaced 

single-sided pages with 12 point text 

font and 1 inch margins. Any materials 

beyond the 20-page limit will not be 

read. Applicants should number the 

Technical Proposal beginning with page 

number 1. 

In addition to the 20-page Technical 

Proposal, the applicant must provide an 

organization chart that reflects how the 

YouthBuild program will be staffed. In 

instances where the YouthBuild 

program is part of a larger organization 

(e.g., a Housing Authority), please 

include a diagram that indicates where 

the YouthBuild program fits within the 

larger organization. Also, the applicant 

must provide a timeline outlining 

project activities; letters of commitment 

from partners; and a two-page Abstract 

summarizing the proposed project 

including applicant name, project title, 

a description of the area to be served, 

and the funding level requested. The 

Abstract must note whether the 

application is being submitted as an 

urban, rural, or Native American 

application. No support letters are 

permitted. Commitment letters must 

accompany the application 

electronically. Please note that 

applicants should not send letters of 

commitment separately to ETA because 

letters are tracked through a different 

system and will not be attached to the 

application for review. These additional 

materials (organizational chart, timeline, 

commitment letters, and two-page 

abstract) do not count against the 20- 

page limit for the Technical Proposal, 

but may not exceed twenty (20) pages. 

Any additional materials (organizational 

chart, timeline, commitment letters, and 

two-page abstract) beyond the 20-page 

limit will not be read. 

Part III. The Work Site Description. 

The application must submit the Work 

Site Description Form (ETA–9143) 

including all requested attachments, 

which describes the planned work site 

that will be used for on-site construction 

training for youth participants. These 

forms can be found at http:// 

www.doleta.gov/youth%5Fservices/ 

youthbuildgrantee.cfm. Information on 

property for use in year two will be 

requested prior to receipt of 2nd year 

funding. 

Section 10 of ETA 9143 requests 

information from the property owner or 

property management company or 

companies allowing access to the 

housing site(s) for on-site construction 

training. DOL will deem non-responsive 

any application that fails to specifically 

identify the location of the on-site 

construction, including evidence of site 

access. Guidance on evidence of site 

access is as follows: 

• If the applicant has a contract or 

option to purchase the property, include 

a copy of the contract or option; or 

• If a third party owns the property or 

has a contract or option to purchase, 

that third party must provide a letter 

stating the nature of the ownership and 

specifically providing access to the 

property for the purposes of the program 

and the time frame in which the 

property will be available. In the case of 

a contract or option, include a copy of 

the document. 

C. Submission Process, Date, Times, and 

Addresses 

The closing date for receipt of 

applications under this announcement 

is January 15, 2009. 

1. Electronic Submission. DOL 

requires applicants to submit their 

applications electronically through 

Grants.gov, unless prior written 

approval for an exception is granted (see 

#2 below for more information). 

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Applications must be successfully 

submitted at http://www.grants.gov no 

later than 11:59:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) 

on January 15, 2009, and then 

subsequently validated by Grants.gov. 

The Grants.gov helpdesk is available 

from 7 a.m. (Eastern Time) until 9 p.m. 

(Eastern Time). Applicants should factor 

the unavailability of the Grants.gov 

helpdesk after 9 p.m. (Eastern Time) 

into plans for submitting an application. 

The submission and validation process 

is described in more detail below. The 

process can be complicated and timeconsuming. Applicants are strongly 

advised to initiate the process as soon 

as possible and to plan for time to 

resolve technical problems if necessary. 

It is strongly recommended that 

before the applicant begins to write the 

proposal, applicants should 

immediately initiate and complete the 

‘‘Get Registered’’ registration steps at 

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_

registered.jsp. These steps may take 

multiple days or weeks to complete, and 

this time should be factored into plans 

for electronic submission in order to 

avoid unexpected delays that could 

result in the rejection of an application. 

It is highly recommended that 

applicants use the ‘‘Organization 

Registration Checklist’’ at http:// 

www.grants.gov/assets/Organization_

Steps_Complete_Registration.pdf to 

ensure the registration process is 

complete. 

Within two business days of 

application submission, Grants.gov will 

send the applicant two e-mail messages 

to provide the status of application 

progress through the system. The first email, almost immediate, will confirm 

receipt of the application by Grants.gov. 

The second e-mail will indicate the 

application has either been successfully 

validated or has been rejected due to 

errors. Only applications that have been 

successfully submitted and successfully 

validated will be considered. It is the 

sole responsibility of the applicant to 

ensure a timely submission, therefore 

sufficient time should be allotted for 

submission (two business days), and if 

applicable, subsequent time to address 

errors and receive validation upon 

resubmission (an additional two 

business days for each ensuing 

submission). It is important to note that 

if sufficient time is not allotted and a 

rejection notice is received after the due 

date and time, the application will not 

be considered. 

The components of the application 

must be saved as either .doc, .xls or .pdf 

files. Documents received in a format 

other than .doc, .xls or .pdf will not be 

read. 

Applicants are strongly advised to 

utilize the plethora of tools and 

documents, including FAQs, that are 

available on the ‘‘Applicant Resources’’ 

page at http://www.grants.gov/ 

applicants/app_help_reso.jsp#faqs. To 

receive updated information about 

critical issues, new tips for users and 

other time sensitive updates as 

information is available, applicants may 

subscribe to ‘‘Grants.gov Updates’’ at 

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/ 

email_subscription_signup.jsp. 

If applicants encounter a problem 

with Grants.gov and do not find an 

answer in any of the other resources, 

call 1–800–518–4726 to speak to a 

Customer Support Representative or email ‘‘support@grants.gov’’. 

2. Exceptions to the Electronic 

Submission Requirement. DOL will 

accept electronic applications only, and 

they must be submitted through the 

Grants.gov portal, unless the applicant 

has received prior written approval for 

an exception from the Grant Officer, as 

named in this solicitation. An exception 

request must be in writing and state the 

basis for the request and explain why 

electronic submission is not possible. 

Exception requests must be sent to the 

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment 

and Training Administration, Division 

of Federal Assistance, Attention: Donna 

Kelly, Reference SGA/DFA PY 08–07, 

200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 

N–4716, Washington, DC 20210. The 

basis for exceptions may include, but 

are not limited to (a) lack of available 

Internet access in the geographic 

location in which the applicant’s 

business office is located or (b) physical 

disability of the applicant that prevents 

the applicant from accessing or 

responding to the application 

electronically. The exception request 

should also include an email address, if 

available, or a name and mailing 

address where responses can be 

directed. Exception requests will be 

accepted beginning on the date of 

publication of this solicitation and must 

be received no later than December 16, 

2008. DOL will not consider an 

exception request that does not conform 

to the above requirement (see #3 below 

for the limited circumstances in which 

we will consider a request that arrives 

after that date). DOL will acknowledge 

receipt of the exception request by email, if an e-mail address is provided, 

or by other available means. DOL will 

not make determinations or respond to 

exception requests via the telephone, 

and will not accept exception requests 

by email. Each exception request will be 

reviewed and a determination made. 

DOL will inform the applicant, whether 

or not the exception has been granted. 

In the event an exception is granted, the 

submission date for mailed applications 

will be the same as the electronic 

application submission receipt date. 

Applicants receiving an exception must 

follow the submission instructions as 

follows. 

Submission Instructions for 

Applicants Receiving an Exception of 

Electronic Submission. Applicants 

receiving an exception of the electronic 

submission requirements must submit 

their complete applications in paper 

copy as follows: 

(a) Mailed applications must be 

addressed to the U.S. Department of 

Labor, Employment and Training 

Administration, Division of Federal 

Assistance, Attention: Donna Kelly, 

Reference SGA/DFA PY 08–07, 200 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N– 

4716, Washington, DC 20210. 

Applicants are advised that mail 

delivery in the Washington area may be 

delayed due to mail decontamination 

procedures. Hand delivered and 

overnight delivery proposals will be 

received at the above address. 

(b) Applicants submitting proposals 

in hard-copy must submit an original 

signed application (including the SF 

424) and one (1) ‘‘copy-ready’’ version 

free of bindings, staples or protruding 

tabs to ease in the reproduction of the 

proposal by DOL. Applicants submitting 

proposals in hard-copy are also 

requested, though not required, to 

provide an electronic copy of the 

proposal on CD–ROM. Please reference 

SGA/DFA PY 08–07 on the submittal 

envelope. 

(c) Applications sent by e-mail, 

telegram, or facsimile (fax) will not be 

accepted. Applications that do not meet 

the conditions set forth in this notice 

will not be honored. No exceptions to 

the mailing and delivery requirements 

set forth in this notice will be granted. 

Any paper applications received 

without prior written approval for 

exception to the requirements of 

electronic submission will not be 

considered. 

3. Late Applications. For applications 

submitted on Grants.gov, only 

applications that have been successfully 

submitted no later 11:59:59 p.m. 

(Eastern Time) on the closing date and 

successfully validated will be 

considered. For applicants receiving an 

exception of the electronic submission 

requirement, any application received 

after the exact date and time specified 

for receipt at the office designated in 

this notice will not be considered, 

unless it is received before awards are 

made, was properly addressed, and: (a) 

was sent by U.S. Postal Service 

registered or certified mail not later than 

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the fifth calendar day before the date 

specified for receipt of applications 

(e.g., an application required to be 

received by the 20th of the month must 

be post marked by the 15th of that 

month) or (b) was sent by professional 

overnight delivery service to the 

addressee not later than one working 

day prior to the date specified for 

receipt of applications. ‘‘Post marked’’ 

means a printed, stamped or otherwise 

placed impression (exclusive of a 

postage meter machine impression) that 

is readily identifiable, without further 

action, as having been supplied or 

affixed on the date of mailing by an 

employee of the U.S. Postal Service. 

Therefore, applicants should request the 

postal clerk to place a legible hand 

cancellation ‘‘bull’s eye’’ postmark on 

both the receipt and the package. 

Failure to adhere to the above 

instructions will be a basis for a 

determination of nonresponsiveness. 

Evidence of timely submission by a 

professional overnight delivery service 

must be demonstrated by equally 

reliable evidence created by the delivery 

service provider indicating the time and 

place of receipt. 

D. Intergovernmental Review 

This funding opportunity is not 

subject to Executive Order (EO) 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’ 

E. Cost Principles 

All proposal costs must be necessary 

and reasonable in accordance with 

Federal guidelines. Determinations of 

allowable costs will be made in 

accordance with the applicable Federal 

cost principles, e.g., Non-Profit 

Organizations—OMB Circular A–122. 

Disallowed costs are those charges to a 

grant that the grantor agency or its 

representative determines not to be 

allowed in accordance with the 

applicable Federal Cost Principles or 

other conditions contained in the grant. 

Applicants will not be entitled to 

reimbursement of pre-award costs. 

Legal Rules Pertaining to Inherently 

Religious Activities by Organizations 

that Receive Federal Financial 

Assistance. Direct Federal grants, subawards, or contracts under this program 

shall not be used to support inherently 

religious activities such as religious 

instruction, worship, or proselytization. 

Therefore, organizations must take steps 

to separate, in time or location, their 

inherently religious activities from the 

services supported with DOL financial 

assistance under this program. Neutral, 

secular criteria that neither favor nor 

disfavor religion must be employed in 

the selection of grant and sub-grant 

recipients. In addition, under the 

Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and 

DOL regulations implementing the 

Workforce Investment Act, a recipient 

may not use direct Federal assistance to 

train a participant in religious activities, 

or employ participants to construct, 

operate, or maintain any part of a 

facility that is used or to be used for 

religious instruction or worship. See 29 

CFR 37.6(f). Under WIA, ‘‘no individual 

shall be excluded from participation in, 

denied the benefits of, subjected to 

discrimination under, or denied 

employment in the administration of or 

in connection with, any such program 

or activity because of race, color, 

religion, sex (except as otherwise 

permitted under Title IX of the 

Education Amendments of 1972 and the 

Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 

1993), national origin, age, disability, or 

political affiliation or belief.’’ 

Regulations pertaining to the Equal 

Treatment for Faith-Based 

Organizations, which includes the 

prohibition against supporting 

inherently religious activities with 

direct DOL financial assistance, can be 

found at 29 CFR Part 2, Subpart D. 

Provisions relating to the use of indirect 

support (such as vouchers) are at 29 

CFR 2.33(c) and 20 CFR 667.266. 

A faith-based organization receiving 

federal financial assistance retains its 

independence from Federal, State, and 

local governments, and may continue to 

carry out its mission, including the 

definition, practice, and expression of 

its religious beliefs. For example, a 

faith-based organization may use space 

in its facilities to provide secular 

programs or services supported with 

Federal financial assistance without 

removing religious art, icons, scriptures, 

or other religious symbols. In addition, 

a faith-based organization that receives 

Federal financial assistance retains its 

authority over its internal governance, 

and it may retain religious terms in its 

organization’s name, select its board 

members on a religious basis, and 

include religious references in its 

organization’s mission statements and 

other governing documents in 

accordance with all program 

requirements, statutes, and other 

applicable requirements governing the 

conduct of DOL funded activities. 

The Department notes that the 

Religious Freedom Restoration Act 

(RFRA), 42 U.S.C. 2000bb, applies to all 

Federal law and its implementation. If 

your organization is a faith-based 

organization that makes hiring decisions 

on the basis of religious belief, it may be 

entitled to receive Federal financial 

assistance under Title I of the Workforce 

Investment Act and maintain that hiring 

practice even though Section 188 of the 

Workforce Investment Act contains a 

general ban on religious discrimination 

in employment. If you are awarded a 

grant, you will be provided with 

information on how to request such an 

exemption. 

Faith-based and community 

organizations may reference 

‘‘Transforming Partnerships: How to 

Apply the U.S. Department of Labor’s 

Equal Treatment and Religion-Related 

Regulations to Public-Private 

Partnerships’’ at: http:// 

www.workforce3one.org/public/ 

_shared/ 

detail.cfm?id=5566&simple=false. 

Indirect Costs. As specified in OMB 

Circular Cost Principles, indirect costs 

are those that have been incurred for 

common or joint objectives and cannot 

be readily identified with a particular 

cost objective. In order to utilize grant 

funds for indirect costs incurred, the 

applicant must obtain an Indirect Cost 

Rate Agreement with its Federal 

Cognizant Agency either before or 

shortly after the grant award. If an 

applicant already has a Federal Indirect 

Cost Rate Agreement, that agreement 

may be used. 

Administrative Costs. Under the 

YouthBuild grants, an entity that 

receives a grant to carry out a project or 

program may not use more than 15 

percent of the amount of the grant to 

pay administrative costs associated with 

the program or project. Administrative 

costs could be both direct and indirect 

costs and are defined at 20 CFR 667.220. 

Administrative costs do not need to be 

identified separately from program costs 

on the SF 424A Budget Information 

Form. They should be discussed in the 

budget narrative and tracked through 

the grantee’s accounting system. To 

claim any administrative costs that are 

also indirect costs, the applicant must 

obtain an indirect cost rate agreement 

from its Federal Cognizant Agency as 

specified above. 

Intellectual Property Rights. The 

Federal Government reserves a paid-up, 

nonexclusive and irrevocable license to 

reproduce, publish or otherwise use, 

and to authorize others to use for federal 

purposes: i) the copyright in all 

products developed under the grant, 

including a subgrant or contract under 

the grant or subgrant; and ii) any rights 

of copyright to which the grantee, 

subgrantee or a contractor purchases 

ownership under an award (including 

but not limited to curricula, training 

models, technical assistance products, 

and any related materials). Such uses 

include, but are not limited to, the right 

to modify and distribute such products 

worldwide by any means, electronically 

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or otherwise. Federal funds may not be 

used to pay any royalty or licensing fee 

associated with such copyrighted 

material, although they may be used to 

pay costs for obtaining a copy which are 

limited to the developer/seller costs of 

copying and shipping. If revenues are 

generated through selling products 

developed with grant funds, including 

intellectual property, these revenues are 

program income. Program income is 

added to the grant and must be 

expended for allowable grant activities. 

Salary and Bonus Limitations. In 

compliance with Public Law 109–234 

and Public Law 110–5, none of the 

funds appropriated in Public Law 109– 

149, Public Law 110–5, or prior Acts 

under the heading ‘Employment and 

Training’ that are available for 

expenditure on or after June 15, 2006, 

shall be used by a recipient or subrecipient of such funds to pay the salary 

and bonuses of an individual, either as 

direct costs or indirect costs, at a rate in 

excess of Executive Level II, except as 

provided for under section 101 of Public 

Law 109–149. This limitation shall not 

apply to vendors providing goods and 

services as defined in OMB Circular A– 

133. See Training and Employment 

Guidance Letter number 5–06 for further 

clarification: http://wdr.doleta.gov/ 

directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=2262. 

F. Withdrawal of Applications 

Applications may be withdrawn by 

written notice or telegram (including 

mailgram) received at any time before 

an award is made. Applications 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. 

V. Application Review Information 

A. Evaluation Criteria 

This section identifies and describes 

the criteria that will be used to evaluate 

proposals for a YouthBuild Grant. These 

criteria and point values are: 

Criterion Points 

1. Statement of Need ....................... 5 

2. Program Management and Organizational Capacity ........................ 15 

3. Project Design, Service Strategy, 

and Program Outcomes ................ 35 

4. Linkages to Key Partners and Leveraged Resources ....................... 25 

5. Evidence of Past and Projected 

Success in YouthBuild or Other 

Relevant Programs ....................... 20 

Total Possible Points ................. 100 

1. Statement of Need (5 points) 

Please describe the community where 

the YouthBuild program will operate. 

Identify the need for a YouthBuild 

program in the community that is 

proposed to be served through the grant 

and demonstrate the need for the project 

in that area. Applicants are expected to 

present information on various 

characteristics of the community(ies) in 

which they expect to operate. If there 

are particular neighborhoods within the 

city where the grant will be focused, 

describe these neighborhoods and 

provide available data specific to those 

areas. Required information includes 

the population of the area, its poverty 

rate, the incidence of homelessness, 

shortage of affordable housing, its 

unemployment rate, the graduation rate, 

and the number of 18–24 year olds 

without a high school diploma. 

To obtain these indicators, applicants 

can use census tract data from the 2000 

census—go to http:// 

factfinder.census.gov and use the link 

on the left for People. Graduation rates 

for every school district in the nation 

may be found at http:// 

www.edweek.org/apps/maps/. 

All of these indicators should be 

presented in chart form and the 

applicant must provide the sources for 

the data provided. In addition, 

applicants should provide information 

on the economic and employment 

factors facing the community; including 

negative factors as well as promising 

economic and employment trends that 

will require an educated and skilled 

workforce. 

If the organization plans to build or 

rehabilitate houses or community/ 

public facilities in a different 

community from that in which youth 

will be recruited, present the 

homelessness and poverty data for that 

area and the unemployment, poverty, 

and graduation rates for the area in 

which the organization will be 

recruiting youth participants. 

Applicants will be evaluated on: 

• The clear and specific need for a 

YouthBuild program in their 

community; 

• The graduation rate and the impact 

that it has on economic development 

and burdens on public systems; and 

• The degree to which other factors in 

distressed communities are negatively 

impacting youth and their families such 

as poverty rate, unemployment rate, etc. 

particularly in comparison with other 

areas of the city. 

2. Program Management and 

Organizational Capacity (15 points) 

Please provide a description of the 

applicant organization and a statement 

of its qualifications for running a 

YouthBuild program including years of 

operation, current annual budget, 

experience of staff and continuity of 

leadership and their relevant 

experience. Please fully describe the 

organization’s capacity to track and 

report outcomes. Please discuss the 

professional development activities 

available to staff, either on-site or 

through training funds. 

Please fully describe any previous 

experience of the organization in 

operating grants from either Federal or 

non-Federal sources. Describe the fiscal 

controls in place in the organization for 

auditing and accountability procedures. 

Grantee must also provide information 

on the overall financial stability of the 

organization that has financial oversight 

for this program. 

Please describe the organization’s 

ability to handle multiple funding 

streams with appropriate accounting 

systems in place. The applicant should 

demonstrate how funds will be 

expended in the period of performance 

outlined in this SGA. 

Applicants must describe their 

proposed project management structure 

including, where appropriate, the 

identification of a proposed project 

manager, discussion of the proposed 

staffing pattern, and the qualifications 

and experience of key staff members or 

short job descriptions. 

Scoring under this criterion will be 

based on the extent to which applicants 

provide evidence of the following: 

• The overall financial stability of the 

organization as demonstrated by strong 

accounting systems, fiscal controls, and 

previous grants management. 

• The capacity of the applicant 

organization to accomplish the goals 

and outcomes of the project, including 

the ability to collect and manage data in 

a way that allows consistent, accurate, 

and expedient reporting. 

• The time commitment of the 

proposed staff dedicated to the 

YouthBuild program is sufficient to 

ensure proper direction, management, 

and timely completion of the project. 

• The roles and contribution of staff, 

consultants, and collaborative 

organizations are clearly defined and 

linked to specific objects and tasks. 

• The background, experience, and 

other qualifications of the staff are 

sufficient to carry out their designated 

roles. 

• The organization is able to begin 

program operations, including the 

enrollment of youth, within 6 months 

from the date of the award, and where 

possible align with the local academic 

calendar. 

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In addition, programs with funds 

remaining from either HUD or DOL 

YouthBuild awards must demonstrate 

how additional funds will be integrated 

into the existing program, how these 

funds will be used to serve additional 

youth, and how the additional funds 

will be expended in the period of 

performance outlined in the SGA. 

3. Project Design, Service Strategy, and 

Program Outcomes (35 points total) 

a. How will youth be recruited and 

selected for the program? (5 points) 

Please provide a description that fully 

demonstrates how eligible youth will be 

recruited and selected as participants, 

including a description of arrangements 

that will be made with Local Workforce 

Investment Boards, One-Stop Career 

Centers, faith-based and community 

organizations, State educational 

agencies or local educational agencies 

(including agencies of Indian tribes), 

public assistance agencies, the courts of 

jurisdiction, agencies operating shelters 

for homeless individuals and other 

agencies that serve youth who are 

homeless individuals, foster care 

agencies, and other appropriate public 

and private agencies. Please provide a 

description that fully demonstrates the 

outreach efforts that will be undertaken 

to recruit eligible young women 

(including young women with 

dependent children) as participants. 

Applicants will be evaluated on: 

• The quality and comprehensiveness 

of their recruitment strategy including 

methods for outreach, referral, and 

selection. 

• The program’s efforts to recruit 

eligible young women into the 

YouthBuild program. 

b. How will education and 

occupational skills training be delivered 

to youth? (15 points) 

Please provide a description that fully 

demonstrates the educational and job 

training activities, work opportunities, 

post-secondary education and training 

opportunities, and other services that 

will be provided to participants, and 

how those activities, opportunities, and 

services will prepare youth for 

employment in occupations in demand 

in the local labor market. Given the 

connection between education and 

earnings, it is DOL’s expectation that the 

academic component will be rigorous 

and challenging and will provide youth 

with opportunities to transition to postsecondary training. The program should 

be structured so that participants in the 

program are offered education and 

related services designed to meet 

educational needs for at least 50 percent 

of the time during which they 

participate in the program. YouthBuild 

program participants must be offered 

work and skill development activities 

for at least 40 percent of the time during 

which they participate in the program. 

As described below, the proposal will 

be rated on the quality of the education 

program, the quality of the occupational 

skills training, and the integration of 

these two components as well as other 

criteria listed in (1) and (2) below. 

(1) Education 

Please indicate the type of academic 

credential that participants earn while 

in the program (GED or high school 

diploma). Please fully describe the 

quality of the academic program and the 

qualifications of the teaching staff. Fully 

describe any innovative and successful 

strategies that the program or initiative 

has used to address low basic skills of 

participants. Please describe if and how 

the academic portion of your program 

differs from that of a traditional 

comprehensive high school. If distance 

learning and/or credit retrieval is used, 

please fully describe how this is 

incorporated into the overall academic 

program. Please describe how student 

mastery is demonstrated. Please fully 

describe the relationship between the 

program and the local school district(s). 

Please fully demonstrate how the 

academic program is integrated with the 

occupational skills training component 

of the program. Please explain how 

academic and occupational skills 

training instructors work together to 

reinforce and complement classroom 

and workplace lessons. Please describe 

other innovative teaching strategies 

used in the program. 

Please explain how the program 

explicitly links participants to local 

community colleges and trade schools, 

particularly for YouthBuild programs 

that only offer GEDs to participants. 

Please describe the types of college 

exploration, planning, preparation, and 

assistance that will be provided. 

Describe the types of follow-up services 

that will be provided to support youth 

as they transition to post-secondary 

education and ensure that they 

graduate. 

Applicants will be evaluated on: 

• The use of innovative and evidencebased instructional strategies to address 

basic skill deficiencies; 

• The extent to which a challenging 

curriculum is provided; 

• The extent to which project-based 

learning is used; 

• The degree to which the 

occupational skill training provided by 

the program is reinforced in the 

academic portion of the program; 

• The explicit links for participants to 

local community colleges and trade 

schools; and 

• The degree to which career and 

college exploration are incorporated 

into the overall culture of the program. 

(2) Occupational Skills Training 

Please discuss the occupational skills 

training component of the program 

including where and how the training 

will be conducted, how the curriculum 

is developed, the type of industryrecognized credentials that result from 

the training, and the involvement of 

industry partners in the development of 

the training. Describe how the applied 

learning of the construction trades will 

improve and enhance the academic 

outcomes for the youth. Please describe 

the skills and qualifications of the 

occupational skills training instructors. 

Please provide a description of the 

payment structure for participants. 

Provide labor market information for the 

community, State, and/or region where 

the YouthBuild program will be 

implemented, including both current 

data (as of the date of submission of the 

application) and projections on career 

opportunities in growing industries. 

Please explain how the YouthBuild 

program will prepare youth for 

employment in high-growth industries 

as defined by the local labor market. 

Please describe how the organization 

will oversee the worksite to identify 

existing and potential hazards, how 

youth will be trained to protect 

themselves from potential worksite 

accidents, and how hazards will be 

prevented and controlled through 

policies and procedures. Provide 

information on how worksite 

supervisors will be trained to ensure 

OSHA-approved worksite safety. Please 

indicate the ratio of adults to youth at 

construction training sites. 

This section of the application will be 

evaluated on the following criteria: 

• The degree to which occupational 

skills training is integrated with the 

academic component of the program; 

• The availability of industryrecognized credentials upon completion 

of the occupational skills training 

components of the program; 

• The strength of connections to 

business partners and apprenticeship 

programs; 

• The duration of the occupational 

skills training component is aligned 

with the legislative rule of being at least 

40 percent of a participant’s time in the 

program; 

• The comprehensiveness of safety 

plans for the occupational skills training 

worksite including the training of staff 

and participants in OSHA guidelines. 

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c. How will community service 

learning and leadership development 

opportunities be provided for youth in 

the program? (5 points) 

Please fully describe the proposed 

leadership curriculum, qualifications of 

instructors, and the impact of the 

proposed leadership activities on the 

target area. The application must fully 

describe the leadership development 

training that will be offered to 

participants, the expected leadership 

competencies with which participants 

will graduate, youth committee 

involvement strategies, efforts for 

providing the training to build group 

cohesion and peer support, and 

opportunities for continued leadership 

after graduation. Please describe how 

community service learning 

opportunities will be implemented at 

the site. 

Applicants will be evaluated on: 

• The quality of leadership 

development and community service 

learning activities and 

• How these activities are integrated 

with academic, skills training, and 

career exploration components of the 

program. 

d. What types of post-program 

transition services will be provided? 

What types of follow-up services will be 

provided? Post-program transition 

services are defined as services offered 

during program enrollment that will 

assist a young person in making a 

successful transition from the 

YouthBuild program into employment 

and/or post-secondary education and 

training programs. Follow-up services 

are services provided to a YouthBuild 

program participant upon exit from the 

program. (10 points) 

Please fully describe the types of postprogram transition services that will be 

offered to prepare youth for career 

pathway opportunities and placements 

and/or educational opportunities and 

placements. Please fully describe how 

each individual’s work readiness will be 

assessed and how work readiness 

training will be provided. Also describe 

how an individual’s readiness for 

placement in post-secondary education 

and/or apprenticeship programs will be 

assessed. Please fully demonstrate the 

types of career exploration and planning 

activities that will be offered by the 

program, particularly for high-growth, 

high-demand, and high-wage 

occupations. For a list of the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Employment and 

Training Administration’s Targeted 

High-Growth Industries, go to: http:// 

www.doleta.gov/BRG/eta_default.cfm. 

Please fully describe the program’s job 

placement and retention strategy 

including how the program will work 

with employers and/or One-Stop Career 

Centers to identify and create job 

openings for the young people served by 

the program. 

Please fully describe the types of 

follow-up that will be provided to 

program graduates. These supportive 

services should relate to employment 

placement and retention, postsecondary transition and degree 

attainment. Describe how appropriate 

continued support services will be 

provided. 

Important elements for evaluation 

include: 

• The degree to which work readiness 

and career exploration are integrated 

into the culture, core mission and 

activities of the program; 

• The program’s integrated approach 

to providing post-program planning for 

participants; and 

• The structure of its participant 

follow-up service strategy. 

4. Linkages to Key Partners, Match and 

Leveraged Resources (25 points total) 

a. Who are the key partners that will be 

supporting the program? (15 points) 

Please describe the key partners who 

will be involved in the proposed 

YouthBuild project. Specifically, 

describe in detail the activities to be 

undertaken by partners, the level of 

commitment from each partnering 

organization, and their qualifications to 

assist with this project. As an 

attachment, the applicant should 

include letters of commitment from key 

partners that demonstrate the strength 

and maturity of the partnership 

including previous collaboration on 

projects. Where they exist, partnerships 

should include existing statewide 

collaborations such as Shared Youth 

Vision state teams and Governor’s 

Children’s Cabinets. Prospective 

applicants should also have thorough 

knowledge of and, where possible, 

engage with DOL discretionary projects 

in their area to determine if 

collaborations can be created between 

YouthBuild and other DOL investments, 

particularly where those investments 

target at-risk youth and/or the training 

and employment opportunities relating 

to the construction industry. These 

investments include Workforce 

Innovation in Regional Economic 

Development (WIRED)—http:// 

www.doleta.gov/wired/, the President’s 

High Growth Job Training Inititiative 

(HGJTI)—http://www.doleta.gov/BRG/ 

JobTrainInitiative/, and the President’s 

Community-Based Job Training Grants 

(CBJTG)—http://www.doleta.gov/ 

business/CommunityBasedJobTrainingGrants.cfm. 

Please describe how the applicant 

conducted its inventory of community 

assets of youth-serving organizations. 

Such an inventory should include faithbased and community organizations and 

government entities that will be 

integrated into the network of 

organizations providing referrals to, 

supportive services or leveraged 

resources for youth participating in the 

proposed program. The Department 

understands that these inventories will 

vary from community to community 

and that, particularly for rural and 

Native American applicants, resources 

and services may be limited. The 

thoroughness of the applicant’s process 

for inventorying available resources in 

the community will be considered as 

part of the evaluation of the application. 

Please provide a description of how 

the proposed program will coordinate 

with Federal, State, and local agencies 

and Indian tribes to access services, 

including local workforce investment 

activities, vocational education 

programs, limited English proficiency 

instruction programs, and activities 

conducted by public schools, 

community colleges, and national 

service programs, as well as other job 

training provided with funds available 

under this title. 

Please describe the partnerships with 

the juvenile justice system or housing 

and community development systems. 

Please fully describe the specific role of 

employers in the proposed program, 

such as their role in developing the 

proposed program and assisting in 

service provision and in placement 

activities. Please fully describe the 

program’s relationship with local 

building trade unions and their role in 

training, the relationship of the 

proposed program to established 

registered apprenticeship programs and 

employers, and the ability of the 

applicant to grant industry-recognized 

skills certifications through the 

program. 

Points for this factor will be awarded 

based on: 

• The comprehensiveness of the 

partnership and the degree to which 

each key partner plays a committed role 

in the proposed project; 

• The partners knowledge and 

experience concerning the proposed 

grant activities, and their ability to 

impact the success of the project; 

• Evidence, including letters of 

commitment, that key partners have 

expressed a clear dedication to the 

project and understand their areas of 

responsibility; and 

• Evidence of a plan for interaction 

and communication between partners 

and the demonstrated ability of the lead 

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agency to successfully manage 

partnerships. 

• A description of the inventory 

process undertaken to identify partners 

and resources to support the program. 

The thoroughness of the process for 

identifying resources within the 

applicant’s community, not the quantity 

of the resources, will be evaluated. 

b. What match and other leveraged 

resources are being contributed to this 

project? (10 points) 

Applicants should clearly describe 

the required matching funds and any 

additional funds or resources leveraged 

in support of the proposed strategies 

and demonstrate how these funds 

contribute to the goals of the project. 

Important elements of the explanation 

include: 

• Which partners and/or grant subrecipients have contributed match and 

leveraged resources and the extent of 

each contribution, including an 

itemized description of each 

contribution; 

• The quality of the match and 

leveraged resources, including the 

extent to which each contribution will 

be used to further the goals of the 

project; and 

• Evidence, such as letters of 

commitment, that key partners have 

expressed a clear commitment to 

provide the contribution. 

Assessment of this criterion will be 

based on the extent to which the 

application fully describes the amount, 

commitment, nature, and quality of 

match and leveraged resources. A match 

in the sum of 25 percent of the Federal 

funding request must be provided. 

Matching funds may be either cash or 

in-kind. Both matching funds and 

additional leveraged resources will be 

scored based on the degree to which the 

source and use of those resources are 

clearly explained and the extent to 

which all resources are fully integrated 

into the project to support grant 

outcomes. 

5. Evidence of Past and Projected 

Success in Youthbuild or Other 

Relevant Programs (20 points) 

Please fully describe and document 

past accomplishments operating a 

YouthBuild program or similar youth 

programs that combine academic and 

occupational skills training. Please 

explain how long the program has been 

in operation and provide annual 

performance data in a chart on the 

following factors: 

• Length of program operation; 

• Number of youth recruited; 

• Number of youth enrolled; 

• Number of youth completing the 

program; 

• Number and percent of youth 

receiving their GED and/or high school 

diploma (please differentiate between 

the two); 

• Rate of literacy and numeracy gains 

by participants; 

• Number and percent of youth who 

have entered construction-related 

employment; 

• Number and percent of youth who 

have entered other employment; 

• Employment retention rates; 

• Number and percent of youth who 

have entered post-secondary training or 

education; 

• Post-secondary training or 

education retention rates; where 

available, please indicate the number of 

participants who have completed postsecondary training or education and 

have achieved a credential; 

• Number and percent of youth who 

have entered registered apprenticeship 

programs; and 

• Annual cost per participant. 

Please indicate the projected 

enrollment per year and the expected 

performance outcomes if awarded a 

grant (in terms of literacy and numeracy 

gains; high school diploma/GED 

attainment; placement in employment, 

post-secondary education, occupational 

skills training, or the military; and 

employment retention rate). Please fully 

describe how both the academic and 

skills training curricula were developed 

and how long they have been used. 

Please note that performance outcomes 

described in this section are not 

binding. At the time of grant award, 

DOL will inform grantees of expected 

outcomes based on existing outcome 

data for this type of program. DOL 

reserves the right to set expected 

performance outcomes at a later date in 

the awards selection process. 

Please indicate the types of private 

foundation funding the organization has 

secured in the past. Also, fully describe 

long-term partnerships with 

organizations that have added to the 

robustness of the program and how the 

organization has sustained these 

partnerships. 

Important elements to be considered 

with this factor are: 

• The degree to which the 

performance data is provided and 

documented; 

• The variety and types of funding 

streams and long-term partnerships that 

the program has been able to attract to 

support YouthBuild activities; 

• The complexity of construction 

activities undertaken and the degree to 

which youth are exposed and trained in 

a variety of construction skills; 

• The use of occupational skills 

training curriculum that results in an 

industry-recognized credential; i.e., the 

National Center for Construction 

Education and Research (NCCER) or the 

Home Builder’s Institute’s (HBI) HPACT 

curriculum; and 

• The use of a State approved 

curricula for either GED or high school 

diploma. 

B. Review and Selection Process 

Proposals that are timely and 

responsive to the requirements of this 

SGA will be rated against the criteria 

listed above by an independent panel 

comprised of representatives from DOL, 

HUD, U.S. Department of Justice, and 

U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services and other peers. The ranked 

scores will serve as the primary basis for 

selection of applications for funding, in 

conjunction with other factors such as 

urban, rural, and geographic balance; 

whether the areas to be served have 

previously received grants for 

YouthBuild programs; the availability of 

funds; and which proposals are most 

advantageous to the Government. The 

panel results are advisory in nature and 

not binding on the Grant Officer, and 

the Grant Officer may consider any 

information that comes to his/her 

attention. The Government may elect to 

award the grant(s) with or without 

discussions with the applicants. Should 

a grant be awarded without discussions, 

the award will be based on the 

applicant’s signature on the SF 424, 

which constitutes a binding offer by the 

applicant (including electronic 

signature via E-Authentication on 

http://www.grants.gov). 

VI. Award Administration Information 

A. Award Notices 

All award notifications will be posted 

on the ETA homepage (http:// 

www.doleta.gov). Applicants selected 

for award will be contacted directly 

before the grant’s execution. Applicants 

not selected for award will be notified 

by mail. 

B. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements 

1. Administrative Program 

Requirements 

All grantees will be subject to all 

applicable Federal laws, regulations, 

and the applicable OMB Circulars. The 

grant(s) awarded under this SGA will be 

subject to the following administrative 

standards and provisions: 

a. Non-Profit Organizations—OMB 

Circulars A–122 (Cost Principles) and 

29 CFR Part 95 (Administrative 

Requirements). 

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b. Educational Institutions—OMB 

Circulars A–21 (Cost Principles) and 29 

CFR Part 95 (Administrative 

Requirements). 

c. State and Local Governments— 

OMB Circulars A–87 (Cost Principles) 

and 29 CFR Part 97 (Administrative 

Requirements). 

d. Profit Making Commercial Firms— 

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)— 

48 CFR Part 31 (Cost Principles), and 29 

CFR Part 95 (Administrative 

Requirements). 

e. All entities must comply with 29 

CFR Parts 93 and 98, and, where 

applicable, 29 CFR Parts 96 and 99. 

f. 29 CFR Part 2, subpart D-Equal 

Treatment in Department of Labor 

Programs for Religious Organizations, 

Protection of Religious Liberty of 

Department of Labor Social Service 

Providers and Beneficiaries. 

g. 29 CFR Part 31–Nondiscrimination 

in Federally Assisted Programs of the 

Department of Labor-Effectuation of 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

h. 29 CFR Part 32–Nondiscrimination 

on the Basis of Handicap in Programs 

and Activities Receiving or Benefiting 

from Federal Financial Assistance. 

i. 29 CFR Part 33–Enforcement of 

Nondiscrimination on the Basis of 

Handicap in Programs or Activities 

Conducted by the Department of Labor. 

j. 29 CFR Part 35–Nondiscrimination 

on the Basis of Age in Programs or 

Activities Receiving Federal Financial 

Assistance from the Department of 

Labor. 

k. 29 CFR Part 36–Nondiscrimination 

on the Basis of Sex in Education 

Programs or Activities Receiving 

Federal Financial Assistance. 

The following administrative 

standards and provisions may be 

applicable: 

a. Workforce Investment Act—20 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 

667 (General Fiscal and Administrative 

Rules). 

b. 29 CFR Part 30—Equal 

Employment Opportunity in 

Apprenticeship and Training; and 

c. 29 CFR Part 37—Implementation of 

the Nondiscrimination and Equal 

Opportunity Provisions of the 

Workforce Investment Act of 1998. 

In accordance with Section 18 of the 

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–65) (2 U.S.C. 1611) non-profit 

entities incorporated under Internal 

Revenue Service Code section 501(c) (4) 

that engage in lobbying activities are not 

eligible to receive Federal funds and 

grants. 

Note: Except as specifically provided in 

this Notice, DOL/ETA’s acceptance of a 

proposal and an award of Federal funds to 

sponsor any program(s) does not provide a 

waiver of any grant requirements and/or 

procedures. For example, OMB Circulars 

require that an entity’s procurement 

procedures must ensure that all procurement 

transactions are conducted, as much as 

practical, to provide open and free 

competition. If a proposal identifies a 

specific entity to provide services, the DOL/ 

ETA’s award does not provide the 

justification or basis to sole source the 

procurement, i.e., avoid competition, unless 

the activity is regarded as the primary work 

of an official partner to the application. 

Further, as a Federal agency, DOL has 

a statutory duty to affirmatively further 

fair housing. DOL requires the same of 

its funding recipients under this 

solicitation. If the organization is a 

successful applicant, the organization 

will have a duty to affirmatively further 

fair housing opportunities for classes 

protected under the Fair Housing Act. 

Protected classes include race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, disability, 

and familial status. Therefore, the 

application should include specific 

steps to: 

• Overcome the effects of 

impediments to fair housing choice that 

were identified in the jurisdiction’s 

Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair 

Housing Choice; 

• Remedy discrimination in housing; 

or 

• Promote fair housing rights and fair 

housing choice. 

Further, the applicant has a duty to 

carry out the specific activities provided 

in its responses to this solicitation that 

address affirmatively furthering fair 

housing. 

C. Special Program Requirements 

Evaluation. DOL may require that the 

program or project participate in an 

evaluation of overall performance of 

YouthBuild grants. To measure the 

impact of the YouthBuild programs, 

DOL may arrange for or conduct an 

independent evaluation of the outcomes 

and benefits of the projects. Grantees 

must agree to make and retain records 

on participants, employers and funding 

available, and to provide access to 

program operating personnel and 

participants, as specified by the 

evaluator(s) under the direction of DOL, 

including after the expiration date of the 

grant. 

D. Reporting 

Quarterly financial reports, quarterly 

progress reports, and MIS data will be 

submitted by the grantee electronically. 

The grantee is required to provide the 

reports and documents listed below: 

• Quarterly Financial Reports. A 

Quarterly Financial Status Report (ETA 

9130) is required until such time as all 

funds have been expended or the grant 

period has expired. Quarterly reports 

are due 45 days after the end of each 

calendar year quarter. Grantees must use 

DOL’s On-Line Electronic Reporting 

System and information and 

instructions will be provided to 

grantees. 

• Quarterly Narrative Progress 

Reports. The grantee must submit a 

quarterly progress report to their 

designated Federal Project Officer 

within 45 days after the end of each 

quarter. This report should provide a 

detailed account of activities 

undertaken during that quarter. 

Grantees must agree to meet DOL 

reporting requirements. The quarterly 

progress report should be in narrative 

form and should include: 

1. In-depth information on 

accomplishments, including project 

success stories, upcoming grant 

activities, and promising approaches 

and processes. 

2. Progress toward performance 

outcomes, including updates on 

product, curricula, and training 

development. 

• Quarterly Performance Reports. 

Organizations will be required to submit 

updated data on enrollment, services 

provided, placements, outcomes, and 

follow-up status within 45 days after the 

end of each quarter. A governmentprocured, Web-based Case Management 

and Performance system will be 

provided at no charge to all grantees. 

Grantees will be required to have 

industry-standard computer hardware 

and high-speed Internet access in order 

to use the MIS system. Grant funds may 

be used with the prior approval of the 

Grant Officer to upgrade computer 

hardware and Internet access to enable 

projects to use the MIS system. 

• Injury Incident Reports. 

Organizations will be required to submit 

incident reports of injuries received by 

enrollees during the training program. 

DOL will provide specifications for this 

reporting after grant award. 

• Final Report. A final report must be 

submitted no later than 90 days after the 

expiration date of the grant. This report 

must summarize project activities, 

employment outcomes, and related 

results of the training project, and 

should thoroughly document capacity 

building and training approaches. The 

final report should also include copies 

of all deliverables, e.g. curricula and 

competency models. Three copies of the 

final report must be submitted to ETA, 

and grantees must agree to use a 

designated format specified by DOL for 

preparing the final report. 

• A Closeout Financial Status Report 

is due 90 days after the of the grant 

period. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices 58667 

• Record Retention. Applicants 

should be aware of Federal guidelines 

on record retention, which require 

grantees to maintain all records 

pertaining to grant activities for a period 

of not less than three years from the 

time of final grant close-out. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

For further information regarding this 

SGA, please contact Donna Kelly, Grant 

Officer, Division of Federal Assistance, 

at (202) 693–3934 (please note this is 

not a toll-free number). Applicants 

should fax all technical questions to 

(202) 693–2705 and must specifically 

address the fax to the attention of Donna 

Kelly and should include SGA/DFA PY 

08–07, a contact name, fax and phone 

number, and email address. This 

announcement is being made available 

on the ETA Web site at http:// 

www.doleta.gov/sga/sga.cfm, at http:// 

www.grants.gov, and in the Federal 

Register. 

VIII. Additional Resources of Interest to 

Applicants and Other Information 

Resources for the Applicant 

DOL maintains a number of webbased resources that may be of 

assistance to applicants: 

• The Web site for the ETA (http:// 

www.doleta.gov) is a valuable source for 

background information on the 

President’s High Growth Job Training 

Initiative. 

• The Workforce 3 One Web site 

(http://www.workforce3one.org) is a 

valuable resource for information about 

demand driven projects of the workforce 

investment system, educators, 

employers, and economic development 

representatives. 

• America’s Service Locator (http:// 

www.servicelocator.org) provides a 

directory of the nation’s One-Stop 

Career Centers. 

• Career Voyages (http:// 

www.careervoyages.gov), a Web site 

targeted at youth, parents, counselors, 

and career changers, provides 

information about career opportunities 

in high-growth/high-demand industries. 

• Applicants are encouraged to 

review ‘‘Help with Solicitation for Grant 

Applications’’ (http://www.doleta.gov). 

• For an understanding of the 

Department’s Equal Treatment and 

Religion-Related regulations and the 

responsibilities of receiving Federal 

grant support, please see ‘‘Transforming 

Partnerships: How to Apply the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Equal Treatment 

and Religion-Related Regulations to 

Public-Private Partnerships’’ at: http:// 

www.workforce3one.org/public/

_shared/detail.cfm?id=5566&

simple=false. 

• TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT 

NOTICE NO. 44–07 ‘‘Providing 

Strategies to the One-Stop Career Center 

System on Collaborating with 

YouthBuild Programs’’ can be found at 

http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_

doc.cfm?DOCN=2646. 

• Information on the Shared Youth 

Vision can be found at http:// 

www.doleta.gov/ryf/WhiteHouseReport/

VMO.cfm. 

IX. Other Information 

OMB Control Number 1225–0086. 

Expires September 30, 2009. 

According to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are 

required to respond to a collection of 

information unless such collection 

displays a valid OMB control number. 

Public reporting burden for this 

collection of information is estimated to 

average 20 hours per response, 

including time for reviewing 

instructions, searching existing data 

sources, gathering and maintaining the 

data needed, and completing and 

reviewing the collection of information. 

Send comments regarding the burden 

estimated or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including 

suggestions for reducing this burden, to 

the OMB Desk Officer for ETA, Office of 

Management and Budget, Room 10235, 

Washington, DC 20503. PLEASE DO 

NOT RETURN THE COMPLETED 

APPLICATION TO THE OMB. SEND IT 

TO THE SPONSORING AGENCY AS 

SPECIFIED IN THIS SOLICITATION. 

This information is being collected for 

the purpose of awarding a grant. The 

information collected through this 

‘‘Solicitation for Grant Applications’’ 

will be used by the DOL to ensure that 

grants are awarded to the applicant best 

suited to perform the functions of the 

grant. Submission of this information is 

required in order for the applicant to be 

considered for award of this grant. 

Unless otherwise specifically noted in 

this announcement, information 

submitted in the respondent’s 

application is not considered to be 

confidential. 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 30th day of 

September 2008. 

Donna Kelly, 

Employment and Training Administration, 

Grant Officer. 

[FR Doc. E8–23684 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FT–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Standards Administration 

Proposed Extension of the Approval of 

Information Collection Requirements 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as 

part of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

conducts a preclearance consultation 

program to provide the general public 

and Federal agencies with an 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing collections of 

information in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This 

program helps to ensure that requested 

data can be provided in the desired 

format, reporting burden (time and 

financial resources) is minimized, 

collection instruments are clearly 

understood, and the impact of collection 

requirements on respondents can be 

properly assessed. Currently, the 

Employment Standards Administration 

is soliciting comments concerning the 

proposal to extend OMB approval of the 

information collection: Employment of 

Apprentices, Messengers and Learners 

(Including Student-Learners and 

Student-Workers), Forms WH–205 and 

WH–209. A copy of the proposed 

information collection request can be 

obtained by contacting the office listed 

below in the ADDRESSES section of this 

Notice. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office listed in the 

addresses section below on or before 

December 8, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Ms. Hazel M. Bell, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Ave., NW., Room S–3201, Washington, 

DC 20210, telephone (202) 693–0418, 

fax (202) 693–1451, E-mail 

bell.hazel@dol.gov. Please use only one 

method of transmission for comments 

(mail, fax, or E-mail). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background: Fair Labor Standards 

Act (FLSA) section 14(a) requires that 

the Secretary of Labor, to the extent 

necessary to prevent curtailment of 

employment opportunities, provide by 

regulations or orders for the 

employment of categories of workers 

who, under special certificates, may be 

paid less than the generally applicable 

minimum wage set by section 6(a)(1) of 

the FLSA. 29 U.S.C. 206(a), 214(a); see 

also 29 CFR 520.200. This section also 

authorizes the Secretary to set 

limitations on such employment as to 

time, number, proportion, and length of 

service. 29 U.S.C. 214(a). These workers 

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