FEDERAL AGENCY:

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

AUTHORIZATION:

Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Title I, Subtitle D, Section 166; Public Law 105-220; 112 Stat. 936; 29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.

OBJECTIVES:

To support employment and training activities for Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian individuals in order: to develop more fully the academic, occupational, and literacy skills of such individuals; to make such individuals more competitive in the workforce; and to promote the economic and social development of Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities in accordance with the goals and values of such communities.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Funds may be utilized for employment and training programs and services, including classroom training, on the job training, training assistance, work experience, youth employment programs, day care, health care, job search, relocation, and transportation allowances designed to assist eligible participants to obtain employment. There are specified restrictions on the amount of grant funds which can be used for administrative costs.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   Federally-recognized Indian Tribal Governments, bands or groups, Alaska Native villages or groups (as defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. 1602(b)), Hawaiian Native communities meeting the eligibility criteria, and Native American Organizations (public bodies or private nonprofit agencies) selected by the Secretary. Tribes, bands and groups may also form consortia in order to qualify for designation as a grantee. An independently eligible grantee shall be an Indian or Native American entity which has: (1) A governing body as defined in 20 CFR 668.200(a); (2) (for new grantees) an identifiable Native American resident population sufficient to generate the funding level(s) outlined at 20 CFR 668.200(a)(3) within its designated service area; and (3) the capability to administer Indian and Native American employment and training programs as outlined at 20 CFR 668.220. Detailed requirements for consortium grantee applicants are set forth at 20 CFR 668.200(b).

Beneficiary Eligibility:   American Indians (members of Federally- recognized Indian tribes, bands, and groups); other individuals of Native American descent, such as, but not limited to, the Klamaths in Oregon, Micmac and Maliseet in Maine, the Lumbees in North Carolina and South Carolina; Indians variously described as terminated or landless, Eskimos and Aleuts in Alaska, and Hawaiian Natives. ("Hawaiian Native" means an individual any of whose ancestors were natives prior to 1778 of the area which now comprises the State of Hawaii.) Applicants must also be economically disadvantaged, or unemployed, or underemployed. A Native American grantee may in some cases enroll participants who are not economically disadvantaged, or unemployed, or underemployed in upgrading and retraining programs. See 20 CFR 668.300(b)(4?5).

Credentials/Documentation:   An entity which wants to be designated as a grantee must submit a notification of intent to apply biennially. Consortium applicants must include a formal consortium agreement with attachments specified in 20 CFR 668.200. A Comprehensive Services Plan is to be submitted by the designated grantees. It will include, among other things: (1) A program narrative description; (2) a planning summary; and (3) a brief budget summary.

Pre-application Coordination:   The standard application forms (SF- 424) as furnished by the Federal agency must be used for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   After prospective grantees have filed a notice of intent, and new applicants have additionally provided the information cited in 20 CFR 668.240, designation decisions are made. Subsequently, designated grantees must submit a Comprehensive Services Plan to the Employment and Training Administration, Division of Indian and Native American Programs (DINAP), Department of Labor. In addition, grantees must describe the administrative, planning, and operational elements needed to implement a WIA section 166 program. Instructions for completing these documents are issued annually by DINAP bulletin.

Award Procedure:   Grants will be made directly to eligible grantees by the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor.

Deadlines:   Notices of intent to apply for a grant are due by October 1 of every odd-numbered year. Designation decisions are made by March 1 of the following even-numbered year. Submission of the Comprehensive Services Plan generally occurs in mid-March or April, after designated grantees have been notified of their approximate allocation amount.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   From 30 to 90 days.

Appeals:   Applicants will be notified of approval or disapproval of the Comprehensive Annual Plan and if disapproved, given a reasonable time to make adjustments and resubmit the Plan. Final disapproval of an application or plan submitted by a designated grantee will not be made without affording the grantee an opportunity for reconsideration.

Renewals:   Grant awards may be renewed annually, while designation as a grantee applies for 2 years.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   This program has no matching requirements. One hundred percent of WIA section 166 monies are distributed by formula, as follows: 25 percent allocated on the basis of the relative number of unemployed Indians and other Native Americans within the grantee's geographic service area compared to the total number of unemployed Indians and other Native Americans in the U.S. 75 percent of the funds are allocated on the basis of the relative number of members of Indian and other Native American households, whose income is at or below the poverty level, within the grantee's geographic service area compared to the total number of members of Indians and Native American households in poverty in the U.S. This funding formula is codified at 20 CFR 668.296.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Funds are made available though annual program year grants. The program year runs from July 1 to June 30. Funds obligated for any program year may be expended by each recipient during the program year and the two succeeding program years. Payment will be made by advance Treasury check or electronic funds transfer through the computerized Payment Management System.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Quarterly Financial Status Report, semi-annual and annual Program (participation and characteristics) Report for both the Comprehensive Services (i.e., an adult) and Supplemental Youth Services Programs.

Audits:   In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, (rev. June 24, 1997) "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards in a year will have a single or program specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities which receive less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records:   Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records and all other pertinent records shall normally be retained for a period of 3 years after the grant is closed out. Participant records shall be retained for 5 years. Records must be retained longer in certain cases, such as when audit findings have not been resolved.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   16-0174-0-1-504.

Obligations:   (Grants) Program operates on program year (PY) beginning July 1 and ending June 30. PY 01 $55,000,000; PY 02 est $57,000,000; and PY 03 est $55,000,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   The range and average of financial assistance varies by year. Amounts are published annually in a Training Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) Grant awards range from $1,000 to $5,000,000. Funding is based on a formula which is based on the percentage of low-income and unemployed Native Americans living in a geographic service area requested by the applicant in the competitive proposal. Federally Recognized tribes are typically awarded funds based on their reservation area (land base) but may also apply for "off-reservation" areas.

Under WIA, the Native American Employment and Training Program continued as a program year operation, as it had been under the Job Training Partnership Act which WIA superseded. Some 21,700 participants were served in program year 2000 and 22,200 in program year 2001, including those participants served by grantees participating in the demonstration under Public Law 102-477.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Federal Register, Volume 65, No. 156, Friday, August 11, 2000, 20 CFR Parts 667 and 668 (20 CFR 652 et al.), Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.

NFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:  
Duane Hall
200 Constitution Avenue,
NW, Room S-4209,
Washington, District of Columbia 20210
Email: hall.duane@dol.gov
Phone: (972) 850-4637 Fax: (972) 850-4605

Web Site Address:  
http://www.doleta.gov/dinap

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

All funded projects have in common the provision of a comprehensive set of job training services. Examples of these services are training, referral to employment, counseling, work experience, child care, testing, job orientation, and follow up on terminated participants.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

Selection criteria are described in the regulations and DINAP administrative instructions issued biennially in the Solicitation for Grant Application published in the Federal Register. In general, designation is based on the regulatory requirements found at 20 CFR 668.210, 668.220, and 668.230, concerning legal status, ability to administer Federal funds, and prior experience and success in providing employment and training services to the client population. In addition, the other requirements for designation found at 20 CFR Part 668, Subpart B, must also be met.