[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19989-19992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9520]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration


Susan Harwood Training Grant Program

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 in 
construction; in ergonomics; in bloodborne pathogens; in electrical 
power generation, transmission and distribution; and for hard-to-reach 
workers. 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.
    Separate grant applications must be submitted by organizations 
interested in applying for more than one grant topic.
    The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act authorizes this program.

DATES: Applications must be received by June 15, 2001.

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, Deputy Director, Office 
of Training and Education, or Cynthia Bencheck, Program Analyst, OSHA 
Office of Training and Education, 1555 Times Drive, Des Plaines, 
Illinois 60018, telephone (847) 297-4810 (this is not a toll-free 
number), e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

What is the Purpose of the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program?

    OSHA's Strategic Plan contains strategic goals to improve workplace 
safety and health for all workers, change the workplace culture to 
increase employer and worker awareness of, commitment to, and 
involvement in safety and health, and to secure public confidence 
through excellence in the development and delivery of OSHA's programs 
and services. OSHA's intent is to reduce the number of worker injuries, 
illnesses and fatalities by focusing nationwide attention and Agency 
resources on the most prevalent types of workplace injuries and 
illnesses, the most hazardous industries, and the most hazardous 
workplaces. The Susan Harwood Training Grants Program is one of the 
mechanisms OSHA is using to achieve its strategic goals.
    Information about OSHA's Strategic Plan is available on OSHA's web 
site at www.osha.gov in the About OSHA category.
    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 its Strategic Plan, or as part of 
an OSHA special emphasis program.
    Grantees are expected to provide occupational safety and health 
services and training, develop safety and health training and/or 
educational programs,

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recruit workers and employers for the training, and conduct the 
training. Grantees are also expected to follow up with people trained 
by their program to determine what, if any, changes were made to reduce 
hazards in their workplaces as a result of the training.

What are the Training Topics this Year?

    The five training topics were chosen based on injuries and 
illnesses in selected industries identified in the OSHA Strategic Plan, 
and to target workers employed in jobs with high risk activities or 
hazards or who are affected by new/revised OSHA standards. Applicants 
wishing to apply for more than one grant topic area must submit a 
separate grant application for each topic. Each grant application must 
address one of the following areas.
    1. Construction, including residential construction. Applicants may 
address one or more of the following topics.
    a. Recognition and avoidance of safety and health hazards in 
highway construction with emphasis on work zone safety issues, such as 
preventing fatalities caused by being struck by vehicles and equipment 
or by contact with overhead power lines. (Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC)16.)
    b. Recognition and avoidance of safety and health hazards in steel 
erection construction activities, especially fall protection. (Standard 
Industrial Classification (SIC)15.)
    c. Recognition and avoidance of safety and health hazards involved 
in communication tower erection construction activities. (Standard 
Industrial Classification (SIC) 1623.)
    d. Recognition and avoidance of safety and health hazards involved 
in roofing activities, both commercial and residential, especially fall 
protection. (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 1761.)
    2. Blood Borne Pathogens. Programs that train workers and employers 
in the recognition and prevention of safety and health hazards in 
health services facilities involving the handling of human blood. 
(Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)80.)
    3. Ergonomics. Programs that train workers and employers in the 
recognition and prevention of ergonomic hazards following best 
practices for the workers in one of the following industries.
     Construction industry:

--Masonry, stonework, tile setting and plastering. (Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) 174.)
--General Building Contractors--residential buildings. (Standard 
Industrial Classification (SIC) 152.)
--Carpentry and floor work. (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 
175.)

     Primary metals. (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 
33.)
     Warehousing. (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 
42.)
     Air transportation. (Standard Industrial Classification 
(SIC) 45.)
    4. Electrical Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution. 
Programs that address safety and health hazards for workers from the 
following industries.
     Construction industry. (Standard Industrial Classification 
(SIC) 15.)
     Line workers and maintenance workers. (Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) 17.)
    5. Training programs on safety and health issues for hard-to-reach 
workers. Programs that will provide safety and health hazard 
information, training, and outreach for hard-to-reach workers such as 
non-English speaking workers, immigrants, migrants, and illiterate 
workers working in one of the following industries.
     Residential construction. (Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) 15.)
     Highway construction. (Standard Industrial Classification 
(SIC) 16.)
     Food processing industry, red meat and/or poultry 
processing. (Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 20.)
     Landscaping and tree trimming. (Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) 0783.)
    Nonprofit community-based organizations and other nonprofit 
organizations with established links and experience providing services 
to clients OSHA has designated as hard-to-reach workers are invited to 
apply.

Who is Eligible to Apply for a Grant?

    Any nonprofit organization is eligible to apply. State or local 
government supported institutions of higher education are eligible to 
apply in accordance with 29 CFR 97.4(a)(1).
    Applicants other than State or local government supported 
institutions of higher education will be required to submit evidence of 
nonprofit status, preferably from the Internal Revenue Service (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 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 21(d) of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act.

What Other Grant Requirements Are There?

    1. OSHA review of educational materials. OSHA will review all 
educational materials produced by the grantee for technical accuracy 
during development and before final publication. OSHA will also review 
training curricula and purchased training materials for accuracy before 
they are used.
    When grant recipients produce training materials, they must 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. Audiovisual materials produced by the grantee as 
a part of its grant program will be included in this lending program. 
In addition, all materials produced by grantees must be provided to 
OSHA in a digital format for possible publication on the Internet by 
OSHA.

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    2. OMB and regulatory requirements. Grantees are 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, 29 CFR part 96 and 99, which provides 
information about audit requirements.
    3. Certifications. All applicants are 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. Students. The training program must serve multiple employers. 
OSHA is interested in reaching more than one employer with each grant 
awarded.
    5. Other. In compliance with the President's Executive Orders 
12876, 12900, 12928, and 13021, the grantee is strongly encouraged to 
provide subgranting opportunities to Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and 
Universities.
    6. The restrictions on expenditures of federal funds in 
appropriations acts, P.L. 106-554, to the extent those restrictions are 
pertinent to the award.
    7. Acknowledgment of Federal Funds. When issuing statements, press 
releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations, and other 
documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part 
with Federal money, all grantees receiving Federal funds included in 
the Act, (P.L. 106-554), including but not limited to State and local 
governments and recipients of Federal research grants, shall clearly 
state: (1) The percentage of the total costs of the program or project 
which will be financed with Federal money; (2) the dollar amount of 
Federal funds for the project or program; and (3) percentage and dollar 
amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be 
financed by non-governmental sources.

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 that:
     Address multiple safety and health subjects. For example, 
an application for the construction target that stresses fall 
protection issues as well as other safety and health issues that affect 
construction workers involved in roofing would be preferred over one 
that only addresses fall protection issues.
     Train managers and/or supervisors in addition to workers.
    The following factors will be considered in evaluating grant 
applications.

1. Program Design

    a. The proposed training and education program addresses one of the 
five selected training topics. Please refer back to the ``What Are the 
Training Topics this Year?'' section for details on the training topics 
and appropriate Standard Industrial Codes.
    i. Safety and health hazards in construction. Applicants may 
address one of the following topics.
     Highway construction with emphasis on work zone safety 
issues.
     Steel erection construction with emphasis on fall 
protection.
     Communication tower erection construction with emphasis on 
fall protection.
     Roofing, both non-residential and residential with 
emphasis on fall protection.
    ii. Bloodborne pathogens hazards in health services facilities.
    iii. Ergonomic hazards utilizing best practices for one of the 
following industries.
     Construction.
     Primary Metals.
     Warehousing.
     Air Transportation.
     Health Services.
    iv. Electrical power generation, transmission and distribution 
safety and health hazards for one of the following.
     Workers involved in the new construction, renovation, or 
upgrading of power distribution and transmission systems.
     Workers employed as line workers and maintenance workers 
involved in the maintenance, repair, and servicing of power 
distribution and transmission systems.
    v. Safety and health hazard information, training, and outreach for 
hard-to-reach workers working in residential construction, food 
processing, highway construction, and landscaping and tree trimming.
    b. The proposal plans to train workers and/or employers and clearly 
estimates the numbers to be trained, and clearly identifies the types 
of workers and employers to be trained.
    c. If the proposal contains a train-the-trainer program, the 
following information must be provided:
--What ongoing support the grantee will provide to new trainers;
--The outline of the course curriculum that will be used by the new 
trainers to teach their students;
--The estimated number of the courses to be conducted by the new 
trainers;
--The estimated number of students to be trained by these new trainers; 
and
--A description of how the new trainers will report back to the grantee 
about their classes and student numbers.
    d. The planned activities and training are tailored to the needs 
and levels of the workers and 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 
impact to determine if the safety and health services provided resulted 
in workplace change. This includes a description of the evaluation plan 
to follow up with trainees to determine the impact the program has had 
in abating hazards and reducing worker injuries.
    h. There is a description of the target population, the hazards 
that will be addressed, the barriers that 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 and/or in providing services 
to its target audience.
    c. The staff to be assigned to the project has experience in 
occupational safety and health, the specific topic chosen, and training 
adults.
    d. The organization applying for the grant demonstrates experience 
in recruiting, training, and working with the population it proposes to 
serve under the grant.

3. Administrative Capability

    a. The applicant organization demonstrates experience managing a 
variety of programs.

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    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 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.
    c. 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 $5 million available for this program. The 
Federal award will average $150,000--$200,000.

How Long Are Grants Awarded for?

    Grants are awarded for a twelve-month period. If first year 
performance is satisfactory and funds are available, 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, Friday, June 
15, 2001.
    Applications are to be sent 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) 
297-6636. (This is not a toll-free number.)

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 11th day of April, 2001.
R. Davis Layne,
Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 01-9520 Filed 4-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-U