Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 2483 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of VBA’s 

functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) the accuracy of VBA’s estimate of the 

burden of the proposed collection of 

information; (3) ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (4) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

the use of other forms of information 

technology. 

Title: Educational/Vocational 

Counseling Application, VA Form 28– 

8832. 

OMB Control Number: 2900–0265. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: VA Form 28–8832, 

Application for Counseling, collects 

information that the Vocational 

Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) 

Division needs to quickly assess the 

applicant’s probable entitlement to 

counseling, to call up further records if 

necessary, and to contact the applicant 

to schedule a counseling appointment. 

Under 38 United States Code 501(a), the 

Secretary shall obtain information 

sufficient to establish the right to 

benefits. A veteran or dependent may 

use this form as a convenience to apply 

for counseling services. Without the 

form, the application could be delayed, 

particularly in instances where 

incomplete data is submitted. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

Households. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 2,550 

hours. 

Estimated Average Burden Per 

Respondent: 30 minutes. 

Frequency of Response: One time. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

5,100. 

Dated: January 13, 2015. 

By direction of the Secretary. 

Crystal Rennie, 

Department Clearance Officer, Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00641 Filed 1–15–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Funding Availability Under VA’s 

Homeless Providers Grant and Per 

Diem Program 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice of funding availability 

(NOFA) 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the 

availability of funds for assistance under 

the Per Diem Only (PDO) component of 

VA’s Homeless Providers Grant and Per 

Diem (GPD) Program. This Notice of 

Funding Availability (NOFA) is for 

those current ‘‘Transition in Place’’ 

(TIP) grantees who seek to renew their 

2012 TIP PDO grants. This NOFA 

contains information concerning the 

program, application process, and 

amount of funding available. 

DATES: An original signed and dated, 

request for reapplication letter on 

agency letterhead for assistance under 

VA’s Homeless Providers GPD Program 

must be received in the GPD Program 

Office, by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 

April 20, 2015, (see Submission Dates 

and Times below for additional 

requirements). 

In the interest of fairness to all 

competing applicants, this deadline is 

firm as to date and hour, and VA will 

treat as ineligible for consideration any 

application that is received after the 

deadline. Applicants should take this 

practice into account and make early 

submission of their material to avoid 

any risk of loss of eligibility brought 

about by unanticipated delays or other 

delivery-related problems. 

ADDRESSES: An original signed and 

dated, request for reapplication letter on 

agency letterhead must be submitted to 

the following address: VA Homeless 

Providers Grant and Per Diem Field 

Office, 10770 North 46th Street, Suite 

C–200, Tampa, FL 33617. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jeffery Quarles, Director, VA’s Homeless 

Providers Grant and Per Diem Program, 

Department of Veterans Affairs, 10770 

North 46th Street, Suite C–200, Tampa, 

FL 33617; (toll-free) (877) 332–0334. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

NOFA announces the availability of 

renewal funding in the form of per diem 

payments under VA’s Homeless 

Providers GPD Program for current TIP 

PDO grantees. The authority for this 

NOFA is the Homeless Veterans 

Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001, 

Public Law 107–95, sec. 5, codified as 

amended by Public Law 112–154, at 38 

U.S.C. 2011, 2012, 2013, 2061, and 38 

CFR part 61. 

Award Information: VA is pleased to 

issue this NOFA under VA’s Homeless 

Providers GPD Program as a part of the 

effort to end homelessness among our 

Nation’s Veterans. VA expects to fund 

approximately 500 beds over a 3-year 

period under this NOFA. The maximum 

award of $1.2 million will support an 

average of 25 beds per night, per project, 

at the current maximum per diem rate 

of $43.32; taking into consideration that 

the maximum per diem rate may 

increase in future years. Note: The final 

amount awarded may be adjusted based 

on any remaining funding from the 

previous award. 

Funding Priorities: None. 

Funding Actions: Conditionally 

selected applicants will complete a 

grant funding agreement with VA in 

accordance with 38 CFR 61.61 and 

provide any additional information as 

required by VA. Upon signature by the 

Secretary or designated representative 

final selection will be completed. 

VA will make per diem payments in 

a method consistent with VA policy. Per 

diem will be paid only for eligible 

Veterans (i.e., Veterans whom VA refers 

to the grantee, or for whom VA 

authorizes the provision of services) and 

will be available for the periods of 

awards specified in this NOFA. All 

payment specifics will be given to the 

grantee at the time of award. At no time 

may grantees draw more than the 

maximum approved per diem rate as 

authorized by VA’s GPD Program Office. 

All costs charged to the per diem grant 

must be allowable under the applicable 

OMB Circulars for Grants Management. 

Grant Award Period: For the purposes 

of this NOFA the award period will be 

approximately three (3) years beginning 

at the time of award final selection and 

announcement (on or about October 1, 

2015) and ending approximately on 

September 30, 2018. Specific start and 

end dates will be included in the grant 

agreement between final selectees and 

VA. For the purposes of this NOFA the 

award period will not exceed three (3) 

years. 

Eligibility Information: Existing fiscal 

year (FY) 2012 TIP PDO grantees are 

eligible to apply for renewal funding 

under this NOFA. 

Cost Sharing or Matching: None. 

Application and Submission 

Information: An application package is 

not needed for this NOFA. Applicants 

submitting a letter requesting reapplication on their agency’s letterhead 

agree to VA using their previously 

awarded FY 2012 TIP PDO application 

for scoring purposes. 

Content and Form of Application: 

Applicants must submit a letter 

requesting re-application on their 

agency’s letterhead. Failure to submit a 

re-application letter will result in the 

agency not being considered for renewal 

funding. 

Applicants who are conditionally 

selected will be notified of any 

additional information needed to 

confirm or clarify information provided 

in the application. Applicants will then 

be notified of the deadline to submit 


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2484 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 

such information. If an applicant is 

unable to meet any conditions for grant 

award within the specified time frame, 

VA reserves the right to not award funds 

and to use the funds available for other 

grant and per diem applicants. 

Submission Dates and Times: An 

original signed and dated, request for reapplication letter on agency letterhead 

requesting renewal assistance under 

VA’s Homeless Providers GPD Program 

must be received in the GPD Program 

Office, by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 

April 20, 2015. 

In the interest of fairness to all 

competing applicants, this deadline is 

firm as to date and hour, and VA will 

treat as ineligible for consideration any 

application that is received after the 

deadline. Applicants should take this 

practice into account and make early 

submission of their material to avoid 

any risk of loss of eligibility brought 

about by unanticipated delays or other 

delivery-related problems. 

For applications physically delivered 

(i.e., in person, United States Postal 

Service, FedEx, United Parcel Service 

(UPS), or any other type of courier) the 

VA GPD Program Office staff will accept 

the application and date stamp it 

immediately at the time of arrival. This 

is the date and time that will determine 

if the deadline is met for those types of 

delivery. DO NOT fax or email the 

application as it will be treated as 

ineligible for consideration. 

Funding Restrictions: Applicants may 

not receive assistance to replace funds 

provided by any State or local 

government to assist homeless persons. 

Agencies may not increase the 

number of beds awarded as stated in 

their FY 2012 grant application. 

Other Submission Requirements: 

None. 

Application Review Information 

A. Criteria For Facility Capital Grants: 

Rating criteria may be found at 38 CFR 

61.13. 

B. Review and Selection Process: 

Review and selection process may be 

found at 38 CFR 61.14. 

A full copy of the regulations 

governing the GPD Program is available 

at the GPD Web site at http://

www.va.gov/HOMELESS/GPD.asp. 

Award Notice: Although subject to 

change, the GPD Program Office expects 

the announcement of grant awards 

during the late fourth quarter of FY 2015 

(September). The initial announcement 

will be made via news release which 

will be posted on the GPD Web site at 

www.va.gov/homeless/gpd.asp. 

Following the initial announcement, the 

GPD Program Office will mail a 

notification letter to the grant recipients. 

Applicants that are not selected will be 

mailed a declination letter within 2 

weeks of the initial announcement. 

Administrative and National Policy: It 

is important to be aware that VA places 

great emphasis on responsibility and 

accountability. VA has procedures in 

place to monitor services provided to 

homeless Veterans and outcomes 

associated with the services provided in 

GPD-funded programs. Applicants 

should be aware of the following: 

Awardees will be required to support 

their request for payments with 

adequate fiscal documentation as to 

project expenses and in the case of per 

diem payments income and expenses. 

All awardees that are selected in 

response to this NOFA must meet the 

requirements of the current edition of 

the Life Safety Code of the National Fire 

Protection Association as it relates to 

their specific facility. Applicants should 

note that all facilities are to be protected 

throughout by an approved automatic 

sprinkler system unless a facility is 

specifically exempted under the Life 

Safety Code. Applicants should make 

consideration of this when submitting 

their grant applications as no additional 

funds will be made available for capital 

improvements under this NOFA. 

Each program seeking per diem will 

have a liaison appointed from a nearby 

VA medical facility to provide oversight 

and monitor services provided to 

homeless Veterans in the per diemfunded program. 

Monitoring will include at a 

minimum, a quarterly review of each 

per diem program’s progress toward 

meeting internal goals and objectives in 

helping Veterans attain housing 

stability, adequate income support, and 

self sufficiency as identified in each per 

diem program’s original application. 

Monitoring will also include a review of 

the agency’s income and expenses as 

they relate to this project to ensure per 

diem payment is accurate. 

Each per diem-funded program will 

participate in VA’s national program 

monitoring and evaluation system 

administered by VA’s Northeast 

Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC). 

NEPEC’s monitoring procedures will be 

used to determine successful 

accomplishment of these housing 

outcomes for each per diem-funded 

program. 

Leases under TIP: Several questions 

have arisen with regard to leases in the 

GPD/TIP. The VA National GPD 

Program Office has developed the 

following Sub-Lease guidance in regard 

to TIP under GPD. 

Lease Guarantors: When a third party 

(in this case the grantee) guarantees to 

pay the lease costs if the lessee (in this 

case the Veteran) defaults. This is not 

allowed under this program. 

Sub-lease: The sub-lease is ‘‘[a] lease 

by a lessee (in this case the grantee) to 

a third party (the Veteran) conveying a 

subordinate right to occupy or use (as 

applicable) all or a portion of the leased 

property, under stipulated terms and 

conditions. For the sake of clarity, in a 

sub-lease TIP housing scenario, the 

landlord is the lessor, the grantee is the 

lessee, and the Veteran is the sub-lessee. 

GPD TIP Grantees may use sub-leases 

during the transitional housing phase if 

the sub-lease has been approved by the 

GPD Program Office and the sub-lease 

meets the following conditions: 

1. Period of sub-lease must be less 

than entire period of the grantee’s lease 

with the landlord. 

2. Grantee lease renewal must be 

taken into consideration when stating 

the period of the sub-lease. 

3. Sub-lease must be explicit that the 

grantee is the lessee not the Veteran. 

4. Sub-lease must stipulate that it will 

end (terminate) without any cost or 

liability owed from the Veteran to the 

lessee, if the Veteran vacates the subleased space prior to program 

completion. 

5. Sub-lease may not contain 

requirements contrary to GPD 

regulations, and each sub-lease should 

expressly state that the lease is 

subordinate to GPD’s regulations. 

6. Security deposits may not be 

charged to Veterans. However, grantee 

lessees may take other appropriate steps 

(if available under applicable law) in 

situations of property destruction. 

Lease Assumption: If and when a 

third party (in this case the Veteran) 

contractually assumes a lease from a 

lessee, the original lessee does not retain 

any legal interest in the lease, unless 

and to the extent that the assignment 

contract stipulates otherwise. In no 

event should any such exceptions 

violate GPD regulations. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 11 / Friday, January 16, 2015 / Notices 2485 

Signing Authority 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 

designee, approved this document and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jose 

D. Riojas, Chief of Staff, Department of 

Veterans Affairs, approved this 

document on January 5, 2015, for 

publication. 

Dated: January 13, 2014. 

William F. Russo, 

Acting Director, Office of Regulation Policy 

& Management, Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00715 Filed 1–15–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


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