[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22565-22572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11301]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Office of the Secretary, Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation; Notice Inviting Applications for New Award for Fiscal Year 
2001

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation 
(ASPE), HHS.

ACTION: Announcement of the availability of funds and request for 
applications from states and large counties for cooperative agreements 
to study the characteristics of persons receiving cash assistance from 
the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation (ASPE) announces the availability of funds and invites 
applications for cooperative agreements to conduct research into the 
characteristics of individuals who receive cash assistance from the 
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. Approximately 
four to five states or large counties will receive funding under a 
cooperative agreement that will enable them to monitor and conduct 
research into the characteristics of current TANF recipients and their 
families. Topics relevant to these studies fall into several 
interrelated categories: (1) Demographic characteristics of the 
caseload; (2) employment and economic outcomes of the caseload; and (3) 
barriers to employment. ASPE is particularly interested in assisting 
state and local efforts to study their TANF recipients' potential 
barriers and opportunities for obtaining employment and achieving self-
sufficiency using survey data analysis enriched with administrative 
data. Given the nature of the research involved, competition is open 
only to state agencies that administer TANF programs and to counties 
with total populations greater than 500,000 that administer TANF 
programs.
    Cooperative Agreements are assistance mechanisms and subject to the 
same administrative requirements as grants; however, they are different 
from either a grant or a contract. Cooperative Agreements allow more 
involvement and collaboration by the government in the affairs of the 
project compared to a grant, but provide less direction of project 
activities than a contract. The Terms of Award are in addition to not 
in lieu of otherwise applicable guidelines and procedures.

Closing Date: The deadline for submission of applications under this 
announcement is June 18, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Application instructions and forms should be requested from 
and submitted to: Adrienne Little, Grants Officer, Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health 
and Human Services, Room 405F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: (202) 690-
8794. Requests for forms and administrative questions will be accepted 
and responded to up to ten (10) working days prior to the closing date.
    Copies of this program announcement and many of the required forms 
may also be obtained electronically at the ASPE World Wide Web Page: 
http://aspe.hhs.gov. You may fax your request to the attention of the 
Grants Officer at (202) 690-6518. Applications may not be faxed or 
submitted electronically.
    The printed Federal Register notice is the only official program 
announcement. Although reasonable efforts are taken to assure that the 
files on the ASPE World Wide Web Page containing electronic copies of 
this program announcement are accurate and complete, they are provided 
for information only. The applicant bears sole responsibility to assure 
that the copy downloaded and/or printed from any other source is 
accurate and complete.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Administrative questions should be 
directed to the Grants Officer at the address or phone number listed 
above. Programmatic/technical questions should be directed to Susan 
Hauan, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 
Department of Health and Human Services, Room 404E, Hubert H. Humphrey 
Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: 
(202) 690-8698. Questions may be faxed to (202) 690-6562 or e-mailed to 
[email protected].

Part I. Supplemental Information

Legislative Authority

    This cooperative agreement is authorized by section 1110 of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1310) and awards will be made from funds 
appropriated under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, 
and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, as 
enacted by section 1000(a)(4) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2001 (Pub. L. 106-554).

[[Page 22566]]

Eligible Applicants

    Given the nature of the research involved, competition is open only 
to state agencies that administer TANF programs and to counties with 
total populations greater than 500,000 that administer TANF programs. 
Consortia of states and counties are also encouraged to apply, as long 
as their combined total populations exceed 500,000 and a single agency 
is identified as the lead to handle grant funds and sub-granting. 
Public or private nonprofit organizations, including universities and 
other institutions of higher education, may collaborate with states in 
submitting an application, but the principal grantee will be a state or 
county. Private for-profit organizations may also apply jointly with 
states or counties, with the recognition that grant funds may not be 
paid as profit to any recipient of a grant or subgrant.
    The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 45, Part 92 defines a state 
as: ``Any of the several states of the United States, the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession 
of the United States, or any agency or instrumentality of a State 
exclusive of local governments. The term does not include any public 
and Indian housing agency under United States Housing Act of 1937.''

Available Funds

    Approximately $1,000,000 is available from ASPE, in funds 
appropriated for fiscal year 2001. ASPE anticipates providing 
approximately four to five awards of between $200,000 and $250,000 
each. If additional funding becomes available in fiscal year 2002, 
additional projects may be funded or some projects may receive second-
year non-competing continuation funding. However, applications for 
funding under this announcement should describe projects that can be 
completely carried out with fiscal year 2001 funding at the above 
anticipated level.

Use of Funds

    No federal funds received as a result of this announcement can be 
used to purchase computer equipment and no funds may be paid to 
grantees or sub-grantees as profit, i.e., any amount in excess of 
allowable direct and indirect costs of the recipient (45 CFR 74.81). 
Our intent is to sponsor state and local survey data collection efforts 
and administrative data linking and analysis, and grant funds awarded 
may not be used to pay for assistance programs or the provision of 
services.
    Grantees must provide a minimum of 5 percent of the total approved 
cost of the project. The total approved cost of the project is the sum 
of the federal share and the non-federal share. Thus, a project with a 
total budget of $200,000 must include a match of at least $10,000 and 
would imply a request for federal funds of no more than $190,000. The 
non-federal share may be met by cash or in-kind contributions, although 
applicants are encouraged to meet their match requirements through cash 
contributions.
    If a study has approved funding from other funding sources, the 
amount, duration, purpose, and source of the funds should be indicated 
in materials submitted under this announcement. If completion of the 
proposed study is contingent upon approval of funding from other 
sources, the relationship between the funds being sought elsewhere and 
from ASPE should be discussed in the budget information submitted as 
part of the application. In both cases, the contribution that ASPE 
funds will make to the project should be clearly presented.

Background

    Welfare caseloads have declined precipitously in recent years. 
Since January 1993, the number of people receiving welfare benefits has 
fallen from 14.1 million to 5.8 million recipients, a reduction of 
nearly 60 percent. This decline is attributable to several factors, 
including the provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-193) and the strong 
economy. In response to the demand from the public and policymakers, 
many studies to date address the circumstances of individuals who have 
left welfare or who applied and were formally or informally diverted 
from welfare. Fewer studies focus on the status of current TANF 
recipients. Questions have been raised, however, about who is staying 
on welfare. How many of the individuals on welfare are ``hard-to-
employ'' or more disadvantaged? How many are at high risk of reaching 
time limits? What services do recipients need to make the transition to 
work and success in the labor market? This information is of great 
interest to policymakers and administrators trying to adapt work 
programs to serve those remaining on the caseload better. Long-term 
recipients and those close to reaching time limits are of particular 
interest.
    ASPE is interested in funding studies under this announcement that 
address the characteristics and circumstances of individuals and 
families receiving cash assistance from the TANF program at a given 
point in time. TANF administrative records are an important source of 
data on the caseload. These administrative records provide valuable 
data on the characteristics of the TANF caseload; however, the picture 
they provide is incomplete. These state and county studies on the TANF 
caseload will help enrich our understanding of the characteristics of 
TANF recipients.
    The studies funded under this announcement continue ASPE's 
partnership with states and counties in building data infrastructure 
and, as such, build closely on many previous ASPE-sponsored research 
projects to study the outcomes of welfare reform. These include 
projects involving administrative data linking and several earlier 
rounds of grants to states and large counties.
    For the past three years, the Department has received policy 
research funds targeted by Congressional appropriators to support 
studies of the outcomes of welfare reform. Additional funds were also 
included in the fiscal year 2001 appropriation. Projects funded in 
fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000 include studies that measure outcomes 
for a broad population of low-income families and measure family 
hardship and well-being, including the utilization of other support 
programs. A large portion of the welfare outcome funds has been spent 
on competitive grants to states and large counties to study families 
leaving welfare, as well as those who have been diverted (formally and 
informally) from welfare receipt. Based on both linked administrative 
data and survey data, these projects provide valuable data on welfare 
outcomes from a variety of perspectives. Additional information on 
ASPE-funded welfare outcomes studies can be found on the ASPE web site 
at: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/leavers99/index.htm.
    As findings from these studies continue to emerge, forming a 
valuable knowledge base around welfare outcomes for families who leave 
welfare, it is appropriate to expand our understanding of the 
characteristics of current TANF recipients. Current recipients include 
both those who entered the program recently as well as those who have 
received welfare cash assistance over a longer period of time. The 
policy community is particularly interested in understanding the 
personal, family, and community-level barriers current recipients may 
face, as well as specific characteristics and skills that may provide 
opportunities for employment and future self-sufficiency.
    There have been several successful efforts to measure the 
characteristics of welfare recipients beyond

[[Page 22567]]

demographics. For example, both Missouri and Nebraska are using 
telephone interviews to collect data on barriers to employment among 
current and former welfare recipients. The National Survey of America's 
Families is another example of a telephone survey that includes 
questions on a variety of potential barriers to employment including 
mental health. The Women's Employment Survey collects a rich set of in-
person interview data on the characteristics of current and former 
welfare recipients, including domestic violence and substance abuse, in 
one Michigan County, and CalWORKS Needs Assessment examines health-
related and other barriers to self-sufficiency in Alameda County, 
California. In March 2001, a workshop sponsored by ASPE and co-
organized with Sheldon Danziger, principal investigator for the Women's 
Employment Survey, explored the use of measures in a telephone survey 
to capture such potential barriers as domestic violence, mental health, 
physical health, and substance use and abuse.
    Based on studies to date, it is clear that the information required 
to understand the detailed characteristics and circumstances of this 
population is not available in administrative data sources. Hence, 
survey data methods are needed for these state and county-level TANF 
caseload projects.

Part II. Purpose and Responsibilities

Purpose

    The purpose of this announcement is to partner with states and 
large counties through cooperative agreements to support their research 
efforts on the characteristics and circumstances of current Temporary 
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients. ASPE is committed to 
using the research funds appropriated by Congress to help build state 
and local capacity to conduct studies of the outcomes of welfare 
reform. Through these cooperative agreements, ASPE hopes to support 
state and local efforts to gather a variety of information about the 
above individuals and their families, including their demographic 
characteristics, employment and economic circumstances, and potential 
personal, family and community-level barriers to employment and 
economic self-sufficiency. Again, while TANF administrative records 
include basic data on TANF recipient characteristics, they do not 
provide sufficiently detailed information on recipient needs, barriers 
to work, and outcomes.
    This research will allow states and large counties to learn about 
the characteristics of families who receive TANF cash assistance at a 
given point in time. What are the characteristics of recipients and 
their families? What are the characteristics of employed recipients? 
What types of barriers do recipients face and how do these barriers 
differ between working and non-working recipients? How are such 
families faring in terms of economic and non-economic family well-
being?
    While applicants have the flexibility to define their specific 
study population, states' and localities' understanding of their own 
caseloads as well as a broader understanding of the circumstances of 
the TANF population as a whole, is achieved best with some cross-state 
comparability. The National Academy of Sciences has also indicated that 
increased comparability across state and local area welfare studies is 
needed for providing the most useful knowledge to the wider research 
and policy community and should be a high priority. To achieve cross-
study comparability it is preferred that the study populations 
identified include all single-parent families receiving TANF cash 
assistance at a given point in time. This preferred study population 
would include child-only cases where a single parent is present in the 
household. To meet state-specific policy and research needs, states and 
counties may also choose to stratify their samples of the study 
population and/or to broaden their study populations to include 
additional TANF cash recipients (e.g., two-parent cases, all child-only 
cases) or recipients of other forms of TANF assistance in the same 
month.
    Applicants are encouraged to propose to draw their sample cohorts 
of TANF recipients from their TANF administrative data files so as to 
minimize the amount of time between sample identification and the 
desired timing for survey implementation. This would maximize the 
number of survey respondents still receiving TANF at the time of the 
interview.
    Based on prior work, telephone survey instruments have been 
developed to address this population. ASPE will provide these 
instruments to the grantees and will work closely with them to finalize 
a data collection instrument. Grantees will have the opportunity to 
include questions that meet their own state-specific research and 
policy needs. It is anticipated that the total time to administer the 
survey instrument will be approximately 30-40 minutes over the 
telephone. Applicants should assume a survey instrument will be 
completed and cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by 
March 2002.
    Applicants may propose to draw stratified samples based on 
subgroups of particular interest to ensure sufficient sample size for 
analysis. For example, states may want to stratify their samples of 
single-parent recipients based on length of the current welfare spell 
or other spell dynamics. Using administrative data on months of past 
welfare receipt, a grantee could oversample long-term recipients (e.g., 
recipients for 24 or more months) or ``cyclers'' (e.g., recipients with 
multiple spells over a given time period). Grantees may also choose to 
stratify their samples and conduct subgroup analyses based on state-
specific policy interests such as teen parents, immigrants, non-
employed recipients, sanctioned recipients, recipients who are close to 
reaching time limits, or other special populations (e.g., the disabled, 
those with substance abuse problems). Subgroup comparisons across other 
characteristics, including race, age and geographic area (including 
urban/rural) are also encouraged. While ASPE understands that grantees 
will vary in the types of subgroup analyses that are of interest and 
that can be conducted, where possible ASPE will work closely with 
individual grantees to develop common definitions of subgroups across 
studies (e.g., long-term recipients).
    Grantees are also encouraged to augment their survey data with 
administrative records to capture welfare and work histories. For 
example, projects could include retrospective data on prior welfare 
receipt and could continue to track welfare participation data post-
interview. These individual records drawn from state TANF data files 
should be linked with the survey data collected. This combination of 
survey and administrative data will provide analysts with answers to a 
wider range of questions than would be possible with only one type of 
data.
    Applicants for the ASPE cooperative agreements may propose to 
augment their analyses with administrative data from additional 
programs. For example, some states or localities may choose to look at 
linked administrative data on TANF and child welfare to address the 
characteristics of the caseload vis a vis contacts with the child 
welfare system. Grantees could also choose to examine linked 
administrative data on earnings (using Unemployment Insurance records) 
and on participation in multiple public programs (e.g., TANF, Medicaid, 
the Food Stamp Program, and child care) in an effort to understand

[[Page 22568]]

work and program histories as well as post-interview employment and 
program participation.
    ASPE is interested in funding state and local area studies that 
examine the interrelationships of demographic characteristics, 
employment and economic outcomes, and potential barriers to employment 
and self-sufficiency for a sample of current recipients, with subgroup 
analyses proposed by the applicants. Below is a list of general topics 
and some examples of specific items states and localities may want to 
include in these studies. It is not meant to be exhaustive of all 
topics that may be included in each individual grantee's study. We 
encourage applicants to indicate particular topics from the list below 
that represent the most important data needs for their state or county. 
In addition, if prospective applicants have additional topics and 
survey questions they feel are relevant to their own state-specific 
information needs, they are encouraged to raise these survey topics and 
the associated questions they wish to answer in their applications. 
Indication of topics and survey questions by applicants will aid in the 
background preparation of survey questions to be cleared by the Office 
of Management and Budget by March 2002.
    Anticipated topics fall into three interrelated categories: (1) 
Demographic characteristics of the caseload; (2) employment and 
economic outcomes of recipients; and (3) barriers to employment and 
self-sufficiency.
    1. Demographic Characteristics of the Caseload: Age (of recipient, 
children), race/ethnic background, marital status, number of children, 
educational attainment, household composition, pregnancies and births, 
and living arrangements (including family and child moves).
    2. Employment and Economic Outcomes of Recipients: Employment 
status, reasons not working, participation in work programs and job 
skills training, utilization of job search services and/or basic work 
orientation services, earnings, income, child support payments.
    3. Potential Barriers to Employment and Self-Sufficiency. Personal 
Barriers: Very low education levels, few job skills, low levels of 
prior labor force participation, illiteracy, limited English language 
fluency, lack of basic work orientation skills (e.g., dress, 
punctuality, attendance, following instructions), physical and mental 
health problems and disabilities, substance abuse issues, and criminal 
records or involvement with the legal system.
    Family Barriers: The presence of very young children, presence of 
children or other family members with disabilities or chronic health 
problems, problems with child care, domestic violence, and presence of 
family members with criminal records or involvement with the legal 
system.
    Community Barriers: Poor public transportation, high crime rates, 
housing problems including lack of affordable housing, inadequate child 
care availability, inadequate job availability, and inadequate 
availability of services.
    Grantees may also be interested in additional topics such as: 
utilization of specific state program services, receipt of child care 
benefits, measures of hardship and family well-being, housing subsidies 
and housing insecurity, health insecurity, food insecurity, extended 
family support, or other topics of interest to state and federal 
policymakers. States and counties should include in their applications 
any additional survey topics or concepts of interest and the related 
policy questions these survey items will be used to answer. Applicants 
are encouraged to include examples of these specific survey questions, 
if available, in an appendix.

Cooperative Agreement

    ASPE will make awards under this announcement using the cooperative 
agreement mechanism. A cooperative agreement is a legal agreement 
between the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the 
recipient in which DHHS provides financial assistance and substantial 
federal programmatic involvement with the recipient during the 
performance of the project. In a cooperative agreement, DHHS and the 
recipient of federal funds share roles and responsibilities. The 
following two sections outline the responsibilities of the grantee and 
DHHS (respectively) in conducting activities to achieve the purpose of 
this project.

Grantee Responsibilities

    1. Prior to completion of final work plans, grantees will take part 
in an ongoing joint discussion of their proposed study designs, a 
survey instrument under development, and table shells used for 
reporting selected results. As part of this early process, a meeting 
will be held for the grantees and relevant federal personnel in 
Washington, D.C., to discuss the preliminary methodology and design of 
the research projects. Grantees should plan to attend this meeting. 
This ongoing process will allow for knowledge sharing across the 
various projects, as well as encourage peer-to-peer contacts among the 
grantees.
    2. No later than ninety (90) days after the date of award, the 
grantee shall submit an outline of progress to date, including efforts 
to secure subcontractors if applicable, and a final work plan that is 
based on and updates the work plan submitted in the original 
application.
    3. Grantees should provide concise quarterly progress reports 
fifteen (15) days after the end of each calendar quarter. The specific 
format and content for these reports will be provided by the Federal 
Project Officer.
    4. To continue the ongoing discussion of project implementation and 
results, a second meeting for grantees will be held approximately 11 to 
12 months after the start of the grant period. Grantees should plan to 
attend. The meeting will provide the grantees with an opportunity to 
continue their joint discussions of survey administration and data 
analysis, and to share their preliminary project results with other 
grantees.
    5. After completing the full project, grantees should provide ASPE 
with copies of their own state or county final reports. Grantees should 
provide at least three (3) copies of their final reports to the Grants 
Officer before the completion of the project. Grantees should plan to 
provide one unbound copy, suitable for photocopying; if only one is the 
original (has the original signature, is attached to a cover letter, 
etc.), it should not be this copy. State or county final reports should 
also be provided in electronic form on an IBM PC compatible 3 \1/2\ 
inch diskette in a word processing format compatible with ASPE software 
(currently WordPerfect 8).
    6. To encourage wider analysis, the grantee is required to make all 
data available to the research community. To the extent practicable, 
grantees are encouraged to follow guidance previously developed by a 
workgroup of grantees on producing and documenting data files (see 
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/leavers99/datafiles/index.htm for current 
guidance for fiscal years 1998 to 2000 Welfare Outcomes grantees). The 
data file and documentation for all survey and administrative data 
compiled under this effort should be made available for broader 
distribution to the research community prior to the completion of the 
project. If the data file has been edited to ensure confidentiality of 
individuals, the grantee has the option of designating the data file as 
a public-use data file. If not, the data file should be made available 
to researchers under restricted-access conditions to ensure 
confidentiality.

[[Page 22569]]

Grantees should plan to deposit these databases and documentation in an 
ASPE-designated central and secure depository. For example, ASPE is 
working with the fiscal years 1998 to 2000 grantees to place most of 
their Welfare Outcomes data files at the Research Data Center (RDC) of 
the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland. The 
RDC controls and monitors access by researchers to guard against 
breaches of confidentiality; associated costs are not the 
responsibility of the grantees.

ASPE Responsibilities

    1. ASPE shall convene two meetings of grantees, federal personnel, 
and relevant experts in the areas the grantees choose to address. These 
meetings will allow for technical assistance and peer-to-peer contacts 
both before final research design and survey instrument decisions have 
been made and after the first, preliminary results are available.
    2. ASPE shall work with grantees to develop a survey instrument.
    3. ASPE shall work with grantees to develop table shells for 
reporting selected results.
    4. ASPE shall provide consultation and technical assistance in the 
planning and operation of grant activities. This will include working 
closely with states and localities on the production and documentation 
of data files.
    5. ASPE will work with individual grantees on their data analysis 
and in preparing any reports and/or publications of the results.
    6. ASPE shall assist in information exchange and the dissemination 
of state and local area reports to appropriate federal, state, and 
local entities.
    7. ASPE shall facilitate arrangements to make data files available 
to the broader research community under restricted-access conditions to 
ensure confidentiality. ASPE will designate a central, secure 
depository for the restricted-access databases that grantees will 
provide at the end of the grant period.

Part III. Application Preparation and Evaluation Criteria

    This section contains information on the preparation of 
applications for submission under this announcement, the forms 
necessary for submission, and the evaluation criteria under which the 
applications will be reviewed. Potential grant applicants should read 
this section carefully in conjunction with the information provided 
above. The application must contain the required federal forms, title 
page, table of contents, and sections listed below. All pages of the 
narrative should be numbered.
    The application should include the following elements:
    1. Abstract: A one-page summary of the proposed project.
    2. Goals and Objectives of the Project: An overview that describes 
(1) The project; (2) state-specific information needs and policy 
questions to be investigated; (3) proposed accomplishments; and (4) 
knowledge and information to be gained from the project by the 
applicant, policymakers, and the research community. Applications 
should include specific policy questions to be answered; particular 
items of interest on the list of proposed topics for a survey 
instrument; identified gaps (if any) in the included survey topics; and 
any additional information that would be helpful for the grantee to 
gather from the sample of TANF recipients (including any questions the 
additional survey data would help to answer and examples of specific 
survey questions if available). The application should also describe 
how the applicant views the importance of this study and how each 
applicant plans to use the information collected.
    If the study builds on any current project, the applicant should 
describe how funding under this announcement will enhance, not 
substitute for, current state or local efforts. Applications from 
states and counties that received funding from ASPE previously are not 
precluded from submitting applications under this announcement; 
however, such applications will be graded only on the Evaluation 
Criteria listed below and will receive no preferential treatment during 
the award process.
    3. Methodology and Design: Provide a description and justification 
of how the proposed research project will be implemented, including 
definition of study population, data collection activities, use of 
existing data sources, methodologies, and an analytic research plan. 
The research design must appropriately link policy questions, data 
sources, and analyses, and must employ technically sound and 
appropriate approaches, design elements and procedures. The research 
plan should:
    (a) Describe in detail the methodology the applicant will use to 
extract a sample of TANF recipients in the sample month, including 
detailed information on plans for drawing a stratified sample if 
applicable. Sample sizes should be large enough to make statistically 
reliable within-group estimates and comparisons between planned 
subgroups.
    (b) Identify and describe the methodology used to gather survey 
data including the sampling plan, the survey mode, and the steps that 
will be taken to address any biases inherent in each. These should 
include steps planned to ensure a high response rate, such as in-person 
follow up to locate those who are difficult to contact, and steps taken 
to analyze differences between respondents and non-respondents, such as 
comparisons based on administrative data.
    (c) If applicant proposes to use administrative data, describe the 
methods used to clean, standardize and link case-level administrative 
data from different administrative sources (if applicable) as well as 
the methods used to match case records between TANF administrative data 
and survey data.
    (d) identify the methodology to be used to analyze the data and 
organize their final report. Simple tabular analysis, descriptive 
statistics, and associated tests for statistical significance are 
appropriate. More complex data analysis is acceptable but not expected.
    To the extent that the analysis uses data on individuals from 
multiple, separate sources, such as administrative databases from 
several state agencies, the application should discuss measures taken 
to maintain confidentiality, as well as demonstrate that the grantee 
has obtained authorized access to those data sources. The preferred 
form of proof is a signed interagency agreement with each of the 
relevant agencies/departments. Though not preferable, letters of 
support from the appropriate agencies are acceptable, provided that the 
letters clearly state that the proposing agency has the authorization 
to access and link all necessary data. Grant applicants must ensure 
that the collected data will only be used for management and research 
purposes, and that all identifying information will be kept completely 
confidential. Applicants should present the methods that will be used 
to ensure confidentiality of records and information once data are made 
publically available for research purposes.
    4. Experience, Capacity, Qualifications, and Use of Staff: Briefly 
describe the grant applicant's organizational capabilities and 
experience in conducting pertinent research projects. The application 
should describe the applicant's experience in conducting relevant 
surveys (e.g., experience in locating respondents and in completing 
interviews with similar populations) or identify key subcontractors 
with such experience. For applicants proposing administrative data 
analysis, the

[[Page 22570]]

application should detail the applicant's experience in linking 
administrative records across administrative sources and between 
administrative and survey data sources (as applicable), and in 
conducting research based on administrative data or identify key 
subcontractors with such experience.
    If the grant applicant plans to contract for any of the work (e.g., 
survey administration or data-linking), applications should include 
relevant information on any similar procurement activities and on their 
experiences in providing oversight on similar data projects. In 
addition, if the contractors have not been retained, the applicant 
should describe the process by which they will be selected and the time 
line for this selection process. Identify the key staff who are 
expected to carry out the project and provide a resume or curriculum 
vitae for each person. Provide a discussion of how key staff will 
contribute to the success of the project, including the percentage of 
each staff member's time that will be devoted to the project. Finally, 
applicants should demonstrate access to computer hardware and software 
for storing and analyzing the data necessary to complete this project.
    5. Work Plan: A work plan should be included which lists the start 
and end dates of the project, a time line that indicates the sequence 
of tasks necessary for the completion of the project, and the 
responsibilities of each of the key staff. In listing the sequence of 
tasks, the plan should provide sufficient detail to demonstrate the 
applicant has carefully thought through the necessary steps to complete 
the project. The plan should identify the total time commitments of key 
staff members in both absolute and percentage terms, including other 
projects and teaching or managerial responsibilities. Grantees should 
assume a survey instrument will be cleared by the Office of Management 
and Budget by March 2002 allowing for interviews to begin as early as 
April 2002. Due to the level of effort needed to conduct these survey 
data studies, grantees may want to consider work plans with time lines 
of seventeen months.
    The work plan also should include plans for dissemination of the 
results of the study (e.g., articles in journals, presentations to 
state legislatures or at conferences) and plans for making resulting 
data files available to qualified researchers. As noted above, ASPE 
prefers that appropriately documented data files be placed at a 
controlled environment such as the Research Data Center of the National 
Center for Health Statistics or be edited as appropriate for 
confidentiality and issued as a public-use data file. If the grant 
applicant does not plan to provide a public-use file or to place the 
data at a controlled environment, the application should explain why 
and should fully articulate how the applicant will make the data 
available to qualified researchers.
    6. Budget: Grant applicants must submit a request for federal funds 
using Standard Form 424A and include a detailed breakdown of all 
federal line items. A narrative explanation of the budget should be 
included that states clearly how the funds associated with this 
announcement will be used and describes the extent to which funds will 
be used for purposes that would not otherwise be incorporated within 
the project. The applicant should also document the level of funding 
from other sources and describe how these funds will be expended.
    As noted above, applicants should budget for two trips to the 
Washington, D.C. area, for at least two members of the research team. 
The preparation and documentation of a public-use data file or other 
efforts to make the resulting data publically available should also be 
accounted for in the project budget.

Review Process and Funding Information

    Applications will initially be screened for compliance with the 
timeliness and completeness requirements. Three (3) copies of each 
application are required. One of these copies must be in an unbound 
format, suitable for copying. If only one of the copies is the original 
(i.e., carries the original signature and is accompanied by a cover 
letter) it should not be this copy. Applicants are encouraged to send 
an additional two (2) copies to ease processing, but the application 
will not be penalized if these extra copies are not included. The grant 
applicant's Standard Form 424 must be signed by a representative of the 
applicant who is authorized to act with full authority on behalf of the 
applicant.
    A federal review panel will review and score all applications 
submitted by the deadline date that meet the screening criteria (all 
information and documents as required by this announcement). The panel 
will use the evaluation criteria listed below to score each 
application. The panel results will be the primary element used by the 
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation when making funding 
decisions. The Department reserves the option to discuss applications 
with other federal or state staff, specialists, experts and the general 
public. Comments from these sources, along with those of the reviewers, 
will be kept from inappropriate disclosure and may be considered in 
making an award decision.
    As a result of this competition, four to five grants of $200,000 to 
$250,000 each are expected to be made from funds appropriated for 
fiscal year 2001. Additional awards may be made depending on the policy 
relevance of applications received and the available funding, including 
funds that may become available in fiscal year 2002.

State Single Point of Contact

    DHHS has determined that this program is not subject to Executive 
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.'' 
Applicants are not required to seek intergovernmental review of their 
applications within the constraints of Executive Order 12372.

Deadline for Submission of Applications

    The closing date for submission of applications under this 
announcement is June 18, 2001. Hand-delivered applications will be 
accepted Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays, during the 
working hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Hubert H. 
Humphrey building, located at 200 Independence Avenue, SW in 
Washington, D.C. When hand-delivering an application, call (202) 690-
8794 from the lobby for pick up. A staff person will be available to 
receive applications.
    An application will be considered as having met the deadline if it 
is either received at, or hand-delivered to, the mailing address on or 
before June 18, 2001, or postmarked before midnight three days prior to 
June 18, 2001, and received in time to be considered during the 
competitive review process (within two weeks of the deadline).
    When mailing applications, applicants are strongly advised to 
obtain a legibly dated receipt from the U.S. Postal Service or from a 
commercial carrier (such as UPS, Federal Express, etc.) as proof of 
mailing by the deadline date. If there is a question as to when an 
application was mailed, applicants will be asked to provide proof of 
mailing by the deadline date. If proof cannot be provided, the 
application will not be considered for funding. Private metered 
postmarks will not be accepted as proof of timely mailing. Applications 
which do not meet the deadline will be considered late applications and 
will not be considered or reviewed in the current competition. DHHS 
will send a letter to this effect to each late applicant.

[[Page 22571]]

    DHHS reserves the right to extend the deadline for all applications 
due to: (1) Natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, or 
earthquakes; (2) a widespread disruption of the mail; or, (3) if DHHS 
determines a deadline extension to be in the best interest of the 
federal government. The Department will not waive or extend the 
deadline for any applicant unless the deadline is waived or extended 
for all applicants.

Application Forms

    Application instructions and forms should be requested from and 
submitted to: Adrienne Little, Grants Officer, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human 
Services, Room 405F, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: (202) 690-8794. Requests 
for forms and questions (administrative and technical) will be accepted 
and responded to up to ten (10) working days prior to closing date of 
receipt of applications.
    Copies of this program announcement and all of the required forms 
may also be obtained electronically at the ASPE World Wide Web Page: 
http://aspe.hhs.gov. You may fax your request to the attention of the 
Grants Officer at (202) 690-6518. Grant applications may not be faxed 
or submitted electronically.
    The printed Federal Register notice is the only official program 
announcement. Although reasonable efforts are taken to assure that the 
files on the ASPE World Wide Web Page containing electronic copies of 
this program announcement are accurate and complete, they are provided 
for information only. The applicant bears sole responsibility to assure 
that the copy downloaded and/or printed from any other source is 
accurate and complete.
    Also see section entitled ``Components of a Complete Application.'' 
All of these documents must accompany the application package.

Length of Application

    In no case shall an application for the ASPE grant (excluding the 
resumes, appendices and other appropriate attachments) be longer than 
thirty (30) single-spaced pages with 12 point font and one-inch margins 
on top, bottom, left, and right. Applications should not be unduly 
elaborate, but should fully communicate the applicant's proposed study 
to the reviewers.

Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria

    Selection of successful applicants will be based on the technical 
and financial criteria described in this announcement. Reviewers will 
determine the strengths and weaknesses of each application in terms of 
the evaluation criteria listed below, provide comments, and assign 
numerical scores. The review panel will prepare a summary of all 
applicant scores, strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations and 
submit it to the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for 
final decisions on the award.
    The point value following each criterion heading indicates the 
maximum numerical weight that each section will be given in the review 
process. An unacceptable rating on any individual criterion may render 
the application unacceptable. Consequently, grant applicants should 
take care to ensure that all criteria are fully addressed in the 
applications. Grant applications will be reviewed as follows:
    1. Goals, Objectives, and Potential Usefulness of the Analyses (25 
points). The potential usefulness of the objectives and how the 
anticipated results of the proposed project will advance policy 
knowledge and development. If the proposed project builds on previous 
work, the application should explain how. Applications will be judged 
on the quality, policy relevance and adequate discussion of proposed 
questions to be addressed and proposed analyses, including subgroup 
analyses.
    2. Quality and Soundness of Methodology and Design (30 points). The 
appropriateness, soundness, and cost-effectiveness of the methodology, 
including the research design, selection of existing data sets, 
definition of the study population, plans for survey administration, 
adequacy of sample sizes, statistical techniques, and analytical 
strategies.
    Reviewers will evaluate the methodology proposed to gather survey 
data. In particular, reviewers will evaluate the sampling plan, the 
survey mode, and the steps that will be taken to address any biases 
inherent in each. This will include evaluating steps planned to ensure 
a high response rate, such as in-person follow up to locate those who 
are difficult to contact, and steps planned to analyze differences 
between respondents and non-respondents, such as comparisons based on 
administrative data.
    For planned administrative data analysis, a critical scoring 
element will be the applicant's discussion of the methods used to 
clean, standardize, and link the individual-level or case-level data 
from different sources, including links between administrative data and 
survey data.
    Reviewers also will evaluate the proposed data analysis, the 
planned organization of the applicant's final report, and the 
applicant's discussion of how different data sources (e.g., data from 
administrative sources, survey data collection, other research if 
applicable) will be synthesized to enhance the proposed analyses.
    3. Qualifications of Personnel and Organizational Capability (20 
points). The qualifications of the project personnel for conducting the 
proposed research as evidenced by professional training and experience, 
and the capacity of the organization to provide the infrastructure and 
support necessary for the project. Reviewers will evaluate the 
principal investigator and staff on research experience and 
demonstrated research skills.
    Applications will be evaluated in terms of the applicant's or 
subcontractor's experience in conducting relevant surveys, including 
experience in securing high response rates from welfare recipients or 
other low-income populations. Applications that involve linking of 
administrative data and assembling of large databases will be scored on 
the applicant's or subcontractor's experience with such linking 
efforts. If the applicant plans to contract for any of the work (e.g., 
data-linking or survey administration), applicants will be evaluated on 
any relevant procurement activities and on their experiences in 
providing oversight on similar data projects. In addition, if the 
contractors have not been retained, reviewers will consider the process 
by which they will be selected and the time frame for this selection.
    Reviewers may consider references for work completed on prior 
research projects. Principal investigator and staff time commitments 
also will be a factor in the evaluation. Reviewers will rate the 
applicant's pledge and ability to work in collaboration with other 
scholars or organizations in search of similar goals. Reviewers also 
will evaluate the applicant's demonstrated capacity to work with a 
range of government agencies.
    4. Ability of the Work Plan and Budget to Successfully Achieve the 
Project's Objectives (20 points). Reviewers will examine: (a) Whether 
the work plan and budget are reasonable and sufficient to ensure timely 
implementation and completion of the study; (b) whether the application

[[Page 22572]]

demonstrates an adequate level of understanding by the applicant of the 
practical problems of conducting such a project; (c) the use of any 
additional funding and the role that ASPE funds will play in the total 
project; and (d) whether the applicant has shown how results will be 
disseminated.
    The applicant should also discuss in detail how resulting data will 
be made available to qualified researchers. As noted above, ASPE 
prefers that appropriately documented data files be placed at a 
controlled environment such as the Research Data Center of the National 
Center for Health Statistics or be edited as appropriate for 
confidentiality and issued as a public-use data file. If the grant 
applicant does not plan to provide a public-use file or to place the 
data at a controlled environment, the application should explain why 
and should fully articulate how the applicant will make the data 
available to qualified researchers.
    5. Ability to Sustain Project After Funding (5 points). One of 
ASPE's goals is to help states and large counties build their capacity 
to study the outcomes of welfare reform. Grant applicants should 
identify an ability to continue their studies after the funding period 
closes. To this end, reviewers will consider whether the application 
adequately addresses questions such as the following: To what extent 
could the survey administered and the administrative data linkages 
performed on the cohort under study be duplicated for later cohorts? To 
what extent could additional survey data or data linkages be collected/
performed to follow the initial cohort for additional years? What 
agency(ies) will have responsibility for and jurisdiction over the 
resulting data sets after the project is completed? Are there any 
sources of financial and staff support for maintaining the database?

Disposition of Applications

    1. Approval, Disapproval, or Deferral. On the basis of the review 
of the application, the Assistant Secretary will either (a) approve the 
application as a whole or in part; (b) disapprove the application; or 
(c) defer action on the application for such reasons as lack of funds 
or a need for further review.
    2. Notification of Disposition. The Assistant Secretary for 
Planning and Evaluation will notify the applicants of the disposition 
of their applications. If approved, a signed notification of the award 
will be sent to the business office named in the ASPE checklist.
    3. The Assistant Secretary's Discretion. Nothing in this 
announcement should be construed as to obligate the Assistant Secretary 
for Planning and Evaluation to make any awards whatsoever. Awards and 
the distribution of awards among priority areas are contingent on the 
needs of the Department at any point in time and the quality of the 
applications that are received.

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93-239.

Components of a Complete Application

    A complete application consists of the following items in this 
order:
    1. Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424);
    2. Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (Standard Form 
424A);
    3. Assurances--Non-Construction Programs (Standard Form 424B);
    4. Table of Contents;
    5. Budget Justification for Section B Budget Categories;
    6. Copy of the applicant's Approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, 
if applicable;
    7. Project Narrative Statement, organized in five sections, 
addressing the following topics (limited to thirty (30) single-spaced 
pages):
    (a) Abstract,
    (b) Goals, Objectives and Usefulness of the Project,
    (c) Methodology and Design,
    (d) Background of the Personnel and Organizational Capabilities and
    (e) Work Plan (timetable);
    8. Any appendices or attachments;
    9. Certification Regarding Drug-Free Workplace;
    10. Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, or other 
Responsibility Matters;
    11. Certification and, if necessary, Disclosure Regarding Lobbying;
    12. Supplement to Section II--Key Personnel;
    13. Application for Federal Assistance Checklist.

    Dated: April 26, 2001.
William F. Raub,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 01-11301 Filed 5-3-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4154-05-U