[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4719-4721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2068]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration


Susan Harwood Training Grant Program--Shipyards

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds and request for grant 
applications.

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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
awards funds to nonprofit organizations to conduct safety and health 
training and education in the workplace. This notice announces grant 
availability for training in safety and health programs for shipyards. 
The notice describes the scope of the grant program and provides 
information about how to get detailed grant application instructions. 
Applications should not be submitted without the applicant first 
obtaining the detailed grant application instructions mentioned later 
in the notice.
    Section 21(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 670) authorizes this program.

DATES: Applications must be received by March 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit grant applications to the OSHA Office of Training and 
Education, Division of Training and Educational Programs, 1555 Times 
Drive, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald Mouw, Chief, Division of 
Training and Educational Programs, or Don Guerra, Program Analyst, OSHA 
Office of Training and Education, 1555 Times Drive, Des Plaines, 
Illinois 60018, telephone (847) 297-4810, e-mail 
[email protected].

GRANTS CONFERENCE: The OSHA Office of Training and Education will hold 
a grants conference to assist potential applicants to understand the 
grant topic and answer questions pertaining to completing an 
application. The grants conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 
p.m. on February 18, 1999, at the OSHA Office of Training and 
Education, 1555 Times Drive, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018. Persons 
interested in attending this conference should contact Ronald Mouw, 
Chief, Division of Training and Educational Programs, or Don Guerra, 
Program Analyst, at (847) 297-4810, or e-mail [email protected] 
to obtain information about local hotel accommodations and 
transportation. It is not necessary to register for this conference.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What is the Purpose of the Program

    Susan Harwood Training Grants provide funds to train workers and 
employers to recognize, avoid, and prevent safety and health hazards in 
their workplaces. The program emphasizes three areas.
     Educating workers and employers in small businesses. A 
small business has 250 or fewer workers.
     Training workers and employers about new OSHA standards.
     Training workers and employers about high risk activities 
or hazards identified by OSHA through the priority planning process or 
otherwise, or as part of an OSHA special emphasis program.
    Grantees are expected to develop training and/or educational 
programs that address topics named by OSHA, recruit workers and 
employers for the training, and conduct the training. Grantees will 
also be expected to follow-up with people who have been trained to find 
out what, if any, changes were made to reduce hazards in their 
workplaces as a result of the training.

What is the Training Topic

    The purpose of this notice is to announce that funds are available 
for grants. The topic is recognition and avoidance of shipyard-related 
safety and health hazards. Each grant application must address one of 
the following shipyard safety and health topics:
    1. Shipbuilding and ship repair. Safety and health hazards 
affecting workers in Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 3731 who 
build or repair ocean-going vessels.
    2. Shipbreaking/ship scrapping. Safety and health hazards affecting 
workers in SIC 4499 who are involved with Navy ship scrapping contracts 
or other shipbreaking/ship scrapping contracts involving ocean-going 
vessels.
    In both the shipyard safety and health topics, the areas of primary 
concern are confined space entry, respiratory protection, welding, fire 
protection, fall protection, crane safety, asbestos removal, lead 
abatement, electrical safety, and hazard communication. It is 
permissible to cover other safety and health topics, but grants should 
emphasize the topics of primary concern.

Who is Eligible to Apply for a Grant

    Any nonprofit organization that is not an agency of a State or 
local government is eligible to apply. However, State or local 
government supported institutions of higher education are eligible to 
apply in accordance with 29 CFR 97.4(a)(1).

[[Page 4720]]

    Applicants other than State or local government supported 
institutions of higher education will be required to submit evidence of 
nonprofit status, preferably from the IRS.

What can Grant Funds be Spent on

    Grant funds can be spent on the following.
     Conducting training.
     Conducting other activities that reach and inform workers 
and employers about occupational safety and health hazards and hazard 
abatement.
     Developing educational materials for use in the training.

Are There Restrictions on How Grant Funds can be Spent

    OSHA will not provide funding for the following activities.
    1. Any activity that is inconsistent with the goals and objectives 
of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
    2. Training involving workplaces that are not covered by the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act. Examples include state and local 
government workers in non-State Plan States and workers covered by 
section 4(b)(1) of the Act.
    3. Production, publication, reproduction or use of training and 
educational materials, including newsletters and instructional 
programs, that have not been reviewed by OSHA for technical accuracy.
    4. Activities that address issues other than recognition, 
avoidance, and prevention of unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. 
Examples include workers' compensation, first aid, and publication of 
materials prejudicial to labor or management.
    5. Activities that provide assistance to workers in arbitration 
cases or other actions against employers, or that provide assistance to 
employers and/or workers in the prosecution of claims against Federal, 
State or local governments.
    6. Activities that directly duplicate services offered by OSHA, a 
State under an OSHA-approved State Plan, or consultation programs 
provided by State designated agencies under section 7(c)(1) of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act.
    7. Activities intended to generate membership in the grantee's 
organization. This includes activities to acquaint nonmembers with the 
benefits of membership, inclusion of membership appeals in materials 
produced with grant funds, and membership drives.

What Other Grant Requirements are There

    1. OSHA review of educational materials. OSHA will review 
educational materials produced by the grantee for technical accuracy 
during development and before final publication. OSHA will also review 
curriculums and purchased training materials for accuracy before they 
are used.
    When grant recipients produce training materials, they will provide 
copies of completed materials to OSHA before the end of the grant 
period. OSHA has a lending program that circulates grant-produced 
audiovisual materials. Grant recipients' audiovisual materials will be 
included in this lending program. In addition, all materials produced 
by grantees may be placed on the Internet by OSHA.
    2. OMB and regulatory requirements. Grantees will be required to 
comply with the following documents.
     29 CFR part 95, which covers grant requirements for 
nonprofit organizations, including universities and hospitals. These 
are the Department of Labor regulations implementing OMB Circular A-
110.
     OMB Circular A-21, which describes allowable and 
unallowable costs for educational institutions.
     OMB Circular A-122, which describes allowable and 
unallowable costs for other nonprofit organizations.
     OMB Circular A-133, which provides information about audit 
requirements.
    3. Certifications. All applicants will be required to certify to a 
drug-free workplace in accordance with 29 CFR part 98, to comply with 
the New Restrictions on Lobbying published at 29 CFR part 93, to make a 
certification regarding the debarment rules at 29 CFR part 98, and to 
complete a special lobbying certification.
    4. Matching share. The program requires the grantee to provide a 
matching share. Grant recipients are to provide a minimum of 20% of the 
total grant budget. This match may be in-kind, rather than a cash 
contribution. For example, if the Federal share of the grant is $80,000 
(80% of the grant), then the matching share will be $20,000 (20% of the 
grant), for a total grant of $100,000. The matching share may exceed 
20%.

How are Applications Reviewed and Rated

     OSHA staff will review grant applications and present the 
results to the Assistant Secretary who will make the selection of 
organizations to be awarded grants.
     OSHA will give preference to applications which:
     Address multiple shipyard safety and health subjects. For 
example, an application which addresses respiratory protection, 
welding, and fire protection would be preferred over one that only 
addresses welding.
     Plan train-the-trainer programs.
     Train managers and/or supervisors.
     Serve multiple employers. OSHA is interested in reaching 
more than one employer with each grant awarded.
    The following factors will be considered in evaluating grant 
applications.

1. Program Design

    a. The proposed training and education program addresses shipyards.
    b. The proposal plans to train workers and/or employers and clearly 
estimates the numbers to be trained.
    c. The proposal contains a train-the-trainer program, and the 
numbers to be trained by these trainers are clearly estimated.
    d. The planned activities are appropriate for the workers and/or 
employers to be trained.
    e. There is a plan to recruit trainees for the program.
    f. If the proposal includes developing educational materials, there 
is a plan for OSHA to review the materials during development.
    g. There is a plan to evaluate the program's effectiveness and this 
includes plans to follow-up with trainees to see if the training 
resulted in workplace change.
    h. The planned work can be accomplished in one year.
    i. There is a description of the target population, the hazards 
that will be addressed, the barriers which have prevented adequate 
training for the target population, why the program cannot be completed 
without Federal funds, and why funding sources currently available 
cannot be used for this purpose.

2. Program Experience

    a. The organization applying for the grant demonstrates experience 
with occupational safety and health.
    b. The organization applying for the grant demonstrates experience 
training adults in work-related subjects.
    c. The staff to be assigned to the project have experience with (1) 
occupational safety and health, (2) shipyards, and (3) training adults.
    d. The organization applying for the grant demonstrates experience 
in recruiting and training the population it proposes to serve under 
the grant.

[[Page 4721]]

3. Administrative Capability

    a. The applicant organization demonstrates experience managing a 
variety of programs.
    b. The applicant organization has administered, or will work with 
an organization that has administered, a number of different Federal 
and/or State grants over the past five years.
    c. The application is complete, including forms, budget detail, 
narrative and workplan, and required attachments.

4. Budget

    a. The budgeted costs are reasonable.
    b. The proposed non-Federal share is at least 20% of the total 
budget.
    c. The budget complies with Federal cost principles (which can be 
found in applicable OMB Circulars) and with OSHA budget requirements 
contained in the grant application instructions.
    d. The cost per trainee is less than $500 and the cost per training 
hour is reasonable.
    In addition to the factors listed above, the Assistant Secretary 
will take other items into consideration, such as the geographical 
distribution of the grant programs and the coverage of populations at 
risk.

How Much Money is Available for Grants

    There is approximately $500,000 available for this program.

How Long are Grants Awarded for?

    Grants are awarded for a twelve-month period. If first year 
performance is satisfactory, grants will be renewed for an additional 
twelve-month period.

How do I get a Grant Application Package

    Grant application instructions may be obtained from the OSHA Office 
of Training and Education, Division of Training and Educational 
Programs, 1555 Times Drive, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018. The 
application instructions are also available at http://www.osha-slc.gov/
Training/sharwood/sharwood.html.

When and Where are Applications To Be Sent

    The application deadline is 4:30 p.m. Central Time, March 26, 1999.
    Applications are to be mailed to the Division of Training and 
Educational Programs, OSHA Office of Training and Education, 1555 Times 
Drive, Des Plaines, IL 60018. Applications may be sent by fax to (847) 
297-4874.

How Will I be Told if My Application was Selected

    Organizations selected as grant recipients will be notified by a 
representative of the Assistant Secretary, usually from an OSHA 
Regional Office. An applicant whose proposal is not selected will be 
notified in writing.
    Notice that an organization has been selected as a grant recipient 
does not constitute approval of the grant application as submitted. 
Before the actual grant award, OSHA will enter into negotiations 
concerning such items as program components, funding levels, and 
administrative systems. If the negotiations do not result in an 
acceptable submittal, the Assistant Secretary reserves the right to 
terminate the negotiation and decline to fund the proposal.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 20th day of January 1999.
Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 99-2068 Filed 1-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P