DC Code § 1-328.05 (2021)
2021 District of Columbia Code|Title 1 - Government Organization|Chapter 3 - Specified Governmental Authority|Subchapter XII-A - Grant Administration|Part A - Grant Transparency|§ 1-328.05. Workforce job development grant-making authority

(a) The Director of the Department of Employment Services (“DOES”) may issue grants in accordance with applicable federal and District law to individuals and organizations from the funds made available to the DOES pursuant to local appropriations or, in coordination with the Workforce Investment Council, pursuant to the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, approved August 7, 1998 (112 Stat. 936; 29 U.S.C. § 2822), for workforce development purposes, including increasing occupational skills, job retention, employment opportunities, and earnings of the District’s workforce pursuant to: (1) Section 32-242; (2) Section 32-243; (3) Section 32-752; (4) Sections 32-1331 and 32-1332; and (5) Section 32-1610. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 47-368.06, grants that may be issued pursuant to this section include grants that the Mayor, Director of the DOES, or an agency receives through an intra-District transfer, a memorandum of understanding, or a reprogramming from an agency lacking grant-making authority. (b-1)(1) In addition to the notice required pursuant to § 1-328.13(c), before making or issuing a grant pursuant to this section, DOES shall: (A)(i) Issue a request for applications ("RFA"), which shall remain open for at least 30 days; and (ii) Beginning no later than the date the RFA is issued, post the RFA on the homepage of its website and widely advertise the RFA through public means, including social media; (B) Host a pre-application conference at least 14 days after the release of the RFA, at least 7 days before the deadline for submitting a Letter of Intent, if required, and at least 14 days before the deadline for submitting an application; (C) Verify an applicant's reported past performance and statements of receiving prior funding for similar work; and (D) Notwithstanding § 1-328.14(1), and before issuing an award selection notice, notify each applicant whose application was not selected for award, in writing, and include copies of the reviewers' evaluations and comments. (2)(A) A grant reviewer for grants issued pursuant to this section may not have a financial or personal relationship with any applicant in the competition the reviewer is judging and shall recuse him or herself from any competition in which such a relationship exists. (B) A grant reviewer shall complete a conflict of interest form indicating the nature of any financial or personal relationships with any applicant in a grant competition the reviewer is judging. (3) Whenever possible, DOES shall conduct site visits and interviews with identified grant finalists before making or issuing an award. (c) The Mayor, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2 [§ 2-501 et seq.], may issue rules to implement the provisions of this section. (d) By July 30, 2013, the Director of DOES shall submit to the Council a report providing an analysis of, and corrective actions for any problems pertaining to, the following issues related to contracting and procurement processing with DOES: (1) The procedures through which DOES processes and issues grants; (2) The average timeframe in which a contract is processed; and (3) The common delays to grant issuance. (e) The DOES shall: (1) Post on its website all executed grant agreements in full, without redactions; and (2) Quarterly transmit to the Council unredacted grantee performance evaluations and completed monthly status report forms.  (Apr. 23, 2013, D.C. Law 19-269, § 2, 60 DCR 2136; Mar. 9, 2016, D.C. Law 21-80, § 2(a), 63 DCR 766; Sept. 11, 2019, D.C. Law 23-16, § 2082, 66 DCR 8621.)  Effect of Amendments The 2016 amendment by D.C. Law 21-80 substituted “may issue grants in accordance with applicable federal and District law” for “may issue competitive grants” in the introductory language of (a). Emergency Legislation  For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2142(a) of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-112, Sept. 4, 2019, 66 DCR 11964).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2082 of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-112, Sept. 4, 2019, 66 DCR 11964).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2142(a) of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-91, July 22, 2019, 66 DCR 8497).   For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2082 of Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2019 (D.C. Act 23-91, July 22, 2019, 66 DCR 8497).  For temporary (90 days) addition of this section, see § 2 of the Workforce Job Development Grant-Making Authority Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-55, April 22, 2013, 60 DCR 6390, 20 DCSTAT 1403). For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 19-269, § 3 (sunset provision), see § 2 of the Workforce Job Development Grant-Making Reauthorization Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-52, May 6, 2015, 62 DCR 5948, 21 DCSTAT 1427). Temporary Legislation For temporary (225 days) repeal of D.C. Law 19-269, § 3 (sunset provision), see § 2 of the Workforce Job Development Grant-Making Reauthorization Temporary Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Law 21-16, July 22, 2015, 62 DCR 6874). Editor's Notes Sunset provision: Section 3 of D.C. Law 19-269 provided that the act shall sunset 2 years after April 23, 2013. Sunset provision repealed: Section 2(b) of D.C. Law 21-80 repealed D.C. Law 19-269, § 3.