2009 farmworker job grant competition waiver

Accessible letter PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2009/TEGL25-08acc.pdf

CLASSIFICATION
      EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION              OWI/DAS
                  ADVISORY SYSTEM                         CORRESPONDENCE
             U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                     SYMBOL
                Washington, D.C. 20210                    NFJP
                                                          DATE
                                                          May 27, 2009



TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 25-08

TO:          NATIONAL FARMWORKER JOBS PROGRAM (NFJP) TRAINING
             GRANTEES

FROM:        DOUGLAS F. SMALL /s/
             Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:     National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) Planning Guidance and
             Grants Competition Waiver for Program Year 2009

1. Purpose. To inform NFJP grantees of the Employment and Training
   Administration’s (ETA) waiver of the biannual grants competition scheduled for
   Program Year (PY) 2009 and to convey planning guidance for the same period.

2. References.
   • Section 167 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, as amended (P.L.
      105-220)
   • 20 CFR § 669.520

3. Background. The WIA generally requires the Department of Labor (DOL) to
   conduct a grants competition every two years to select entities to operate the NFJP.
   Pursuant to the Secretary of Labor’s (Secretary) authority provided in WIA section
   167 (c)(4)(B), the Department is exercising its option to waive competition, in all but
   the four service areas identified in sec. 4., for the NFJP biannual grants competition
   scheduled for PY 2009. The statute provides authority for the Secretary to waive the
   grant competition once during a four-year period, “if a recipient of such a grant has
   performed satisfactorily under the terms of the grant agreement.” Waiving the PY
   2009 grant competition will allow the Secretary to establish program and policy
   direction without undue disruption to program services.




 RESCISSIONS                                         EXPIRATION DATE
 None                                                Continuing

                                           -2-

   The competition for the current funding period was held in 2007. The next
   competitive NFJP grantee selection process, encompassing all service areas for PY
   2011, would take place in 2011.

   All grantees, except those serving the four service areas identified in sec. 4, must
   submit a PY 2009 grant plan package, as described in Sec. 5 of this guidance. Those
   grantees serving the four service areas identified in sec. 4 can obtain information on
   the requirements to compete for selection in PY 2009 in a forthcoming Solicitation
   for Grant Applications (SGA) to be published in the Federal Register.

4. Waiver Eligibility. To establish a reasonable standard upon which to determine
   satisfactory performance for purposes of waiving the competition, we have
   determined that the most fair and objective approach is to apply a baseline for
   acceptable performance at 80% of an adjusted national goal for entered employment.
   The Entered Employment Rate is being used as the seminal metric because, of the
   NFJP performance measures, it is the most reliable statistical tool in appraising
   performance. ETA has revised the Entered Employment Rate minimum
   performance criteria to better align it with the national economic climate: first, we
   adjusted the national goal from 78% to 76% to reflect the national economic
   downturn; and second, we determined that it is most equitable to establish a
   baseline for acceptable performance against the adjusted national goal that is
   modeled on the system used to measure the performance of states in the WIA
   formula-funded programs, which uses a threshold of 80% of the grantee’s
   performance goal to establish poor performance.

   Accordingly, we determined that the standard for satisfactory performance for
   purposes of waiving competition is achieving an Entered Employment Rate of
   60.8%. Based on this standard, grantees in all service delivery areas have
   demonstrated satisfactory performance, except for grantees operating in the
   Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, and Nebraska service delivery areas. Therefore, a
   competition will be held to select PY 2009 grantees for Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana,
   and Nebraska service delivery areas in accordance with the terms announced in a
   forthcoming SGA. To allow for publication of a limited SGA, the grant agreements
   with these four service delivery areas will be extended to September 30, 2009.

5. PY 2009 Grant Plan Requirements. To receive PY 2009 funds, those grantees
   meeting waiver eligibility requirements must submit an annual grant plan
   comprised of the following required components:

   A. Standard Form (SF) 424, “Application for Federal Assistance” Appendix A (OMB Rev.
      9-2003). The completed form must include the grantee’s Data Universal
      Numbering System (DUNS) number.

                                      -3-

B. SF-424-A Budget Information Form. In preparing the budget information form, the
   grantee must provide a concise narrative explanation to support the request. The
   narrative should break down the budget and discuss precisely how
   administrative costs support the project goals. Grantees who generate program
   income from NFJP funds must describe, in the budget narrative, the use of
   program income to serve more participants or improve program services in
   order to obtain approval by the Grant Officer.

C. Grant Plan Narrative. The grant plan narrative must include, at a minimum, the
   following elements:

      1. A description of the progress made in PY 2008 in support of the priorities
         described in the PY 2007 Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA), e.g., a
         balanced program of activities – continued progress toward enhanced
         integration through the One-Stop Career Center system with improved
         service delivery and increased efficiencies.

      2. The plan must contain the following information as required by 20 CFR §
         669.520:

                The employment and education needs of the farmworker
                population to be served;

                The manner in which proposed services to farmworkers and their
                families will strengthen their ability to obtain or retain employment
                or stabilize their agricultural employment; the related assistance
                and supportive services to be provided, and the manner in which
                such assistance and services are to be coordinated with other
                available services;

                The performance indicators and proposed levels of performance
                used to assess the performance of such entity, including the specific
                goals of the grantee's program for the two Program Years involved;

                The method the grantee will use to target its services on specific
                segments of the eligible population, as appropriate; and

                The array of services which the grantee intends to make available.

      3. A description of the program strategies to be employed in PY 2009 to
         continue progress in support of the priorities identified above. This
         section must include:

                                       -4-

                 Discussion of the barriers encountered in meeting priorities
                 described in the previous grant plan narrative and the strategies
                 developed to overcome those barriers; and

                 Description of the grantee’s achievements under the plan of
                 services provided for PY 2008, and a full description of the
                 activities to be conducted towards the proposed plan of services in
                 PY 2009.

          The annual grant plan must also describe:

                 The strategies that were developed for PY 2009 for outreach to, and
                 recruitment of new employers that can provide expanded
                 opportunities for farmworkers;

                 How the economic analysis conducted as part of the response to the
                 SGA has been or will be updated;

                 How the results are to be applied to the development of the PY
                 2009 grant plan; and

                 Progress made toward increasing the network of organizations
                 with which the grantee has working relationships, such that these
                 organizations direct their resources towards providing and/or
                 increasing services to farmworkers, thereby optimizing the NFJP’s
                 resources.

      4. A timeline for the entirety of PY 2009 that clearly depicts by month
         and/or quarter, the start and end dates for the milestones inherent in the
         activities described above.

D. Performance Goals. A description of the strategies to attain the performance goals
   established for the NFJP currently being implemented through the Common
   Measures. The PY 2009 performance goals are as follows:

                 Entered Employment: 72.2%
                 Employment Retention: 71.8%
                 Average Earnings: $8,844

   More information on the Common Measures may be found at the following ETA
   Web site: www.doleta.gov/performance, “TEGLs and TENs.”

                                          -5-

   E. Program Planning Summary (PPS). Grantees must provide a PPS (ETA Form 9094)
      which must be entered into the EBSS within 10 working days following approval
      of the PY 2009 grant plan.

   F. Budget Information Summary (BIS). Grantees must provide a BIS (ETA Form 9093)
      which depicts the PY 2009 budget plan for quarterly expenditures for
      administrative and program costs, breaking out projected costs for Related
      Assistance from that of all other program services. Administrative costs are
      limited to 15 percent of the total grant amount. All BIS data must be entered into
      the EBSS within 10 working days following approval of the PY 2009 grant plan.

   G. Carryover. All grant funds must be expended by June 30, 2009. However, in
      some cases grantees will have registered participants whose Individual
      Employment Plans provide for training that extends beyond June 30, 2009. ETA
      expects that funds dedicated to helping participants complete their training and
      other services, and other expenditures committed, but not yet liquidated, will
      have been obligated before June 30, 2009, but shown as carryover funds into PY
      2010. Otherwise, no carry-over provision will be available to the grantees.
      Grantees must file a Federal Financial Report for each quarter, regardless of the
      program year in which the grant funds were obligated. Grantees must also
      formally notify the appropriate regional Federal Project Officer of their intent to
      show carry-over funds into PY 2010.

6. PY 2009 Formula Allocations. The PY 2009 formula allocations for the NFJP have
   been prepared in the same manner as the PY 2008 allocations. The allocation tables
   are attached. The total amount appropriated for NFJP by the Department of Labor
   Appropriations Act, 2009 (P.L. 111-08, Division G), is $76,710,000. The total
   allocation for the four service delivery areas not eligible for waiver is $3,418,302.

7. Submission Requirements. Prepare the PY 2009 Grant Plan according to the
   guidance above and submit four copies, three with original signatures on the SF-424
   to the address below. All inquiries should be made to the same.

      Juan M. Regalado, Acting Program Manager
      National Farmworker Jobs Program
      Division of Adult Services
      Employment and Training Administration
      Mail Stop S-4209
      200 Constitution Ave, N.W.
      Washington, D.C. 20210

   A copy of your grant plan should also be provided to the Federal Project Officer in
   your region. All grant packages are due no later than 5:00 PM EDT, June 15, 2009.
   Applicants are advised that mail delivery in the Washington area may be delayed

                                         -6-

   due to mail decontamination procedures. Hand-delivered proposals will be
   received at the above address. All overnight mail will be considered to be hand-
   delivered and must be received at the designated place by the specified closing date
   and time. While not mandatory, DOL encourages the submission of applications
   thru professional overnight delivery service. Grant plan packages may be submitted
   electronically to the following e-mail address: [email protected]. The deadline above
   applies to both electronic and hard copy submissions.

8. Attachments. PY 2009 State Allocations and PY 2009 California sub-state
   allocations.

Linked official document 1: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2009/TEGL25-08a.pdf

-7-

            U. S. Department of Labor
      Employment and Training Administration
National Farmworker Jobs Program
   PY 2009 Allocations to States
 State                                    Total
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    $76,710,000

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . .            776,309
Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               -
Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        2,090,521
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . .           1,122,277
California . . . . . . . . . . . .        19,590,710
Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . .             980,266
Connecticut . . . . . . . . . .              345,463
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . .             124,413
Dist of Columbia . . . . . .                       -
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        4,064,259
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        1,502,013
Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         323,967
Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        1,053,631
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     1,408,861
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . .          905,314
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       1,153,436
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         1,053,738
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . .           1,186,974
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . .            892,821
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .          287,304
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . .             355,366
Massachusetts . . . . . . . .                315,681
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . .         1,371,678
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . .            1,209,709
Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . .          1,271,596
Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . .           966,413
Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . .            585,485
Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . .           1,066,744
Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . .          176,206
New Hampshire . . . . . . .                  99,921
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . .              682,518
New Mexico . . . . . . . . . .              928,062
New York . . . . . . . . . . . .           1,624,037
North Carolina . . . . . . . .             2,637,893
North Dakota . . . . . . . . .               595,512
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       1,235,058
Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . .           1,247,595
Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         1,933,036
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . .             1,514,423
Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . .            2,998,047
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . .               37,933
South Carolina . . . . . . . .              947,838
South Dakota . . . . . . . . .              608,022
Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . .             840,509
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        6,541,447
Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         283,510
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . .            187,035
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .         909,520
Washington . . . . . . . . . .             3,029,151
West Virginia . . . . . . . . .              192,467
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . .            1,225,988
Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . .              229,323

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                                U.S. Department of Labor
                          Employment and Training Administration
                     National Farmworker Jobs Program
                            California Allocation

                                                                        PY 2009
                Grantee                        Distribution
                                                                       Allocation

TOTAL STATE ALLOCATION                           100.00%           $     19,590,710

Center for Employment and Training, Inc.         41.0735%          $      8,046,590

Central Valley Opportunity Centers, Inc.         9.6465%           $      1,889,818

Kern County--Employers Training
                                                 10.5478%          $      2,066,389
Resources

Proteus, Inc.                                    19.7661%          $      3,872,319

California Human Development
                                                 18.9661%          $      3,715,594
Corporation
                 TOTAL                                             $     19,590,710