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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 00-69

NOTICES

Availability of Workforce Investment Act of 1998 Section 231 Funds for Adult Basic Education, Including English as a Second Language and Adult Secondary Education Programs, for Program Year 2000-01

[30 Pa.B. 239]

   Title II of The Workforce Investment Act of 1998, The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, provides funds to local eligible provider agencies through the Department of Education for the establishment of adult education and family literacy programs that will:

   1.  Assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency;

   2.  Assist adults who are parents to obtain the educational skills necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children; and

   3.  Assist adults in the completion of a secondary school education.

   Eligible applicants include local education agencies and public or private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions. A for-profit agency is eligible to participate in the program only if it is part of a consortium with a local education agency or other eligible sponsor, with the nonprofit agency acting as fiscal agent. A for-profit organization must also have the capability and capacity to augment significantly the adult education services of such a consortium.

   Consistent with the purpose of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, for Program Year 2000-01, the Department of Education will give primary consideration to programs for the educationally disadvantaged.

   The ''Grant Period'' (or duration of a Section 231 grant) will be for a term of 3 years--July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2003--provided that sufficient progress is made toward meeting program objectives. At the end of the grant period, grantees will be authorized to reapply and compete with other applicants for another multi-year term. These grants will be funded by Rider K to a Master Agreement executed between the Department of Education and the funded agency. Current grant recipients were mailed Master Agreements in December 1999, that must be signed and returned to PDE by January 31, 2000. Agencies not currently funded will be given instructions on execution of the Master Agreement once grant applications are accepted for approval.

   For Section 231 grant applications, consideration will be given to funding in the following order of priorities:

Primary Consideration:

   1.  Applications for the continuation of existing programs that have demonstrated an ability to produce results consistent with the objectives of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act.

   2.  Applications for expansion of services to serve new, additional students in the following categories: (1) job seekers or incumbent workers in conjunction with CareerLink Center association; (2) out-of-school youth in conjunction with Youth Councils; (3) adults seeking to learn English as a Second Language--ESL, and/or; (4) others--must be identified. (These applications require a separate application.)

Secondary Consideration:  (Requires a pre-application procedure for which special instructions are contained in the Applications Procedures and Program Guidelines that can be accessed at www.paadulted.org)

   1.  Consolidation incentive grant applications for existing programs.

   2.  Applications for infrastructure enhancement for existing programs.

   Section 231 grants will comprise the 75% Federal share of total program costs. Grant recipients must fund the 25% local match share that may be in-kind. Other Federal funds may not be used for the local match unless specifically identified as eligible for use as matching funds.

   Restrictions placed upon the Pennsylvania Department of Education by the United States Department of Education on the administration of the grant include:

   1.  Not less than 82.5% of the State's allotment must be used for adult education and/or family literacy programs;

   2.  Not more than 8.25% of the State's allotment may be used for corrections education programs; and

   3.  Not more than 5% of a local applicant's grant may be used for administrative costs, unless a higher percent is approved in advance by the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education.

   Section 231 applications must be completed online and submitted by the e-grant website at http://www.egrants.ed.state.pa.us to the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education. Instructions and the Application Guidelines are available by ABLEsite at www.paadulted.org and by the e-grant website.

   Application due dates are as follows:

   1.Section 231 renewal applicationsMarch 24, 2000
   2.Section 231 renewal applications for agencies that received 1999-2000 new/expansion grants*** April 14, 2000
   3. Expansion, consolidation, and infrastructure enhancement grantsApril 21, 2000
*** These agencies need time to prepare applications after the grant continuation decisions are made. The decision letters will be issued after the evaluation of the New/Expansion Grant Recipients' Interim Reports which are due in the Bureau on March 12, 2001.

   Note: The Bureau of ABLE reserves the right to consider proposals received after these deadlines and, if appropriate, to approve them if and when funds become available.

   Potential applicants are urged to attend the proposal development workshop to learn the latest changes to program guidelines and new requirements for submitting e-grant applications for adult education and family literacy programs funded through (1) the Federal Workforce Investment Act, Section 231, (2) State Adult Literacy Program, Act 143 of 1986, and (3) the Federal Even Start Family Literacy Program. This workshop will be conducted by teleconference on January 31, 2000 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. For the nearest downlink site and to ensure that space, materials and handouts are available, all attendees must register to attend by contacting the Distance Learning Center at (800) 236-5293. For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, the Pennsylvania Relay Service (800) 654-5984 (TTY) can be used to call the Distance Learning Center. In order to ensure timely administration and processing of e-grant applications, both the grant writer and the fiscal officer should attend the workshop.

EUGENE W. HICKOK,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-69. Filed for public inspection January 7, 2000, 9:00 a.m.]


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