[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 104 (Thursday, May 30, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37811-37818]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-13409]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[Program Announcement No. OCSE 99SIP-02]


Child Support Enforcement Demonstration and Special Projects--
Special Improvement Projects

AGENCY: Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Announcement of the availability of funds and request for 
competitive applications under the Office of Child Support 
Enforcement's Special Improvement Projects.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of 
Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) invites eligible applicants to submit 
competitive grant applications for special improvement projects which 
further the national child support mission, vision, and goals which 
are: all children to have parentage established; all children in IV-D 
cases to have financial and medical orders; and all children in IV-D 
cases to receive financial and medical support. Applications will be 
screened and evaluated as indicated in this program announcement. 
Awards will be contingent on the outcome of the competition and the 
availability of funds.

DATES: The closing date for submission of applications is August 13, 
2002. See Part IV of this announcement for more information on 
submitting applications.

ADDRESSES: Application kits (Forms 424, 424A-B; Certifications; and 
Administration for Children and Families Uniform Project Description 
[UPD]) containing the necessary forms and instructions to apply for a 
grant under this program announcement are available from: 
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support 
Enforcement, Division of State, Tribal and Local Assistance, 370 L 
Enfant Promenade, SW., 4th Floor, East Wing, Washington, DC 20447 (This 
is Not the Mailing Address for Submission of Applications, see Part IV, 
B.); or accessible via OCSE s Web site (www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/) 
under news and announcements; or contact Jean Robinson, Program 
Analyst, phone (202) 401-5330, FAX (202) 205-4315; e-mail, 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF), OCSE, Susan A. Greenblatt at (202) 401-4849, for 
specific questions regarding the application or program concerns 
regarding the announcement.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This program announcement consists of four 
parts:
    Part I: Background-- program purpose and objectives, legislative 
authority, availability of funds, and CFDA number.
    Part II: Applicant and Project Eligibility-- eligible applicants, 
project priorities, design elements in the application, project and 
budget periods, and project budget.
    Part III: The Review Process--intergovernmental review, initial ACF 
screening, competitive review and evaluation criteria, and funding 
reconsideration.
    Part IV: The Application--application development, and application 
submission.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13)

    Public reporting burden for this collection of information is 
estimated to average 20 hours per response, including the time for 
reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed and 
reviewing the collection information. The project description is 
approved under OMB control number 0970-0139 which expires 12/31/2003. 
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

Part I. Background

A. Program Purpose and Objectives

    The purpose of the program is to fund a number of special 
improvement projects which further the national child support mission 
to ensure that all children receive financial and medical support from 
both parents and which advance the provisions of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 
(PRWORA). PRWORA strengthens the ability of the nation's child support 
program to collect support on behalf of children and families. The law 
also enables the testing of child support innovations to improve 
program performance. For FY 2002, we are looking for projects which 
collaborate with new partners, especially community and faith-based 
organizations, which will help the child support community better 
address the needs of harder-to-serve populations, such as low-income 
non-custodial fathers and culturally diverse populations, so we can 
produce greater impacts on child support outcomes (e.g., increasing the 
establishment of child support orders and child support collections.) 
We are looking for grants in the following priority areas:
    [sbull] Helping low-income fathers meet their child support and 
family responsibilities.
    [sbull] Encouraging new ways to approach unwed parents to emphasize 
the importance of healthy marriage to a child's well-being.
    [sbull] Increasing the number of child support cases with medical 
coverage for children.
    [sbull] Expanding use of automation tools and best practices
    [sbull] Improving child support services for ethnic and culturally 
diverse populations, Tribes and the international community.
    [sbull] Furthering the child support mission to ensure all children 
receive financial and medical support from both parents.
    Specific design specifications for each of these priority areas are 
set forth under Part II.
    Applicants should understand that OCSE will not award grants for 
special improvement projects which (a) duplicate automated data 
processing and information retrieval system requirements/enhancements 
and associated tasks which are specified in PRWORA; or (b) which cover 
costs for routine activities which should be

[[Page 37812]]

normally borne by the Federal match for the Child Support Program or by 
other Federal funding sources (e.g. adding staff positions to perform 
routine CSE tasks). Proposals should be developed with these 
considerations in mind. Proposals and their accompanying budgets will 
be reviewed from this perspective.

B. Legislative Authority

    Section 452(j), 42 U.S.C. 652(j) of the Social Security Act 
provides Federal funds for technical assistance, information 
dissemination and training of Federal and State staff, research and 
demonstration programs and special projects of regional or national 
significance relating to the operation of State child support 
enforcement programs.
    Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) of the Social Security Act provides 
Federal funds to cover costs incurred for the operation of the Federal 
Parent Locator Service.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $4 million is available for all priority areas. Refer 
to each priority area for estimated number of projects and funding. All 
grant awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds. A 
non-Federal match is not required.

D. CFDA NUMBER: 93.601--Child Support Enforcement Demonstrations and 
Special Projects.

Part II. Applicant and Project Eligibility

A. Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants for these special improvement project grants 
are State (including District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the 
Virgin Islands) Human Services Umbrella agencies, other State agencies 
(including State IV-D agencies), Tribes and Tribal Organizations, local 
public agencies including IV-D agencies), nonprofit organizations 
(including faith-based organizations and universities such as 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and consortia of State
    and/or local public agencies. The Federal OCSE will provide the 
State CSE agency the opportunity to comment on the merit of local CSE 
agency applications before final award. Given that the purpose of these 
projects is to improve child support enforcement programs, it is 
critical that applicants have the cooperation of IV-D agencies to 
operate these projects. Preferences will be given to applicants 
representing CSE agencies and applicant organizations which have 
letters of commitment or cooperative agreements with CSE agencies. All 
applications developed jointly by more than one agency organization 
must identify a single lead organization as the official applicant. The 
lead organization will be the recipient of the grant award. 
Participating agencies and organizations can be included as co-
participants, subgrantees, or subcontractors with their written 
authorization.

B. Project Priorities

    The following are the specified priority areas for special 
improvement projects for FY 2002.
    Priority Area 1: Helping low-income fathers meet their child 
support and family responsibilities.
    1. Purpose: The purpose of this solicitation is to demonstrate 
effective child support strategies to help low-income fathers meet 
their child support and family responsibilities.
    2. Background and Information: A principal aim of the Child Support 
Enforcement Program has always been to secure payment of child support 
by low-income and welfare related non-custodial parents. This goal is 
more critical than ever due to time limited welfare under Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Accordingly, there have been 
accelerated efforts to try to secure child support payments from low-
income non-custodial parents especially for welfare mothers and 
children. Recent studies by the Urban Institute and National Conference 
of State Legislatures indicate that for many low-income fathers non-
payment may be caused by poverty, job instability, unemployment and/or 
incarceration. A study by the Urban Institute indicates that 60% of 
non-payers have a limited ability to pay child support due to low-
incomes, low education levels, high rates of institutionalization and 
intermittent employment history. In addition, an Office of Inspector 
General study indicates that lower payment rates for low-income cases 
are associated with specific child support measures used in 
establishing orders such as use of imputed incomes (incomes estimated 
where non-custodial parents (NCP) either have no income or do not 
report incomes at child support order hearings); setting minimum orders 
(a child support amount based upon an arbitrary non-income figure or 
the minimum wage); or reluctance by some states to modify orders 
downward even when changes in circumstances warrant. Poor child support 
payment rates have caused high arrearages which are difficult to modify 
or forgive. States generally do not reduce or limit arrearages even 
though a 1999 Federal policy issuance (OCSE-PIQ-99-03) has indicated 
that States can compromise or settle child support debt owed to the 
State as state legislation allows.
    3. Design Elements in the Application: Given that OCSE has funded a 
number of projects addressing the needs of low-income NCPs, for this 
solicitation, OCSE is interested in large scale projects which would 
incorporate a variety of strategies to provide a comprehensive approach 
addressing the special circumstances of low-income NCPs. This 
comprehensive approach should include strategies which would provide a 
fair approach in establishing orders and setting payment levels; 
establishing reasonable repayment or suspension of arrears, as 
appropriate; providing employment services to unemployed low-income 
fathers in partnership with workforce development agencies and/or 
provide a variety of services to incarcerated, or paroled NCPs to help 
them pay child support and encourage reunification with their family, 
as appropriate. Projects should reflect an institutionalized approach 
among state or local child support agencies and community- and faith-
based organizations in providing employment and other services to low-
income NCPs. Design elements for these projects should include at least 
three of the following:
    [sbull] Develop, implement and determine the effectiveness of 
alternative measures to avoid default cases and/or using imputed 
income/minimum order amounts in establishing child support orders which 
can create excessive payment levels for low-income NCPs. These 
alternatives could include adopting more customer friendly approaches 
in establishing orders for low-income fathers, in order to avoid a high 
level of default orders; and/or secure and use more complete income 
information, e.g. from New Hire data, for the NCP and CP in default 
situations or where incomplete income information is given. Order 
amounts should be reasonable for low-income NCPs, taking into account 
their ability to pay when confronted with intermittent unemployment. 
Applicants must provide assurance that under state guidelines, orders 
can be established based upon the NCP's ability to pay. We are looking 
for outcome measures which would demonstrate effective alternatives for 
establishing child support orders in low-income cases, resulting in 
increased payment rates for low-income NCPs.
    [sbull] Design, implement and determine the effectiveness of 
appropriate strategies to permit arrears forgiveness in low-income 
cases. These strategies should include: (a) referral to employment 
services for unemployed or

[[Page 37813]]

under-employed NCPs that would enable them to obtain employment 
(leading to more consistent payment of their child support) and thus, 
permitting arrears forgiveness, after a sustained period of child 
support payments; or (b) referral to family formation/ relationship 
counseling that, if resulting in marriage, would permit the forgiveness 
of arrears or fees owed for birth-related costs. These projects would 
involve a collaborative relationship between State/local CSE agencies, 
workforce development agencies, and other public agencies, and local 
organizations (including community- and faith-based organizations) to 
provide employment services, and/or family formation/relationship 
counseling services. Applicants must provide assurance (including names 
of service providers and letters of commitment) that employment, 
training, or relationship/healthy marriage counseling services are 
available in the community. We are looking for outcome measures, for 
example, which would demonstrate either: (a) that the combination of 
provision of employment services and forgiveness of arrears leads to 
increased child support collections; or (b) the impact of referrals to 
relationship counseling increases positive contact between the NCP and 
his children, increased child support payments or increases in marriage 
rates when combined with the forgiveness of arrears or birth-related 
costs.
    [sbull] Design and implement strategies to provide employment 
services to low-income fathers who are unemployed or under-employed and 
cannot meet their child support obligation. Projects should include 
voluntary and mandatory referral, as appropriate, of NCPs to employment 
and training services, by child support agencies or the courts/
tribunals, to local workforce development agencies or other public 
employment agencies and local organizations, including community- and 
faith-based organizations. These projects would involve a formalized 
partnership [i.e., provide letter(s) of commitment] with the workforce 
development agency, or other local employment organization, to ensure 
that the referring child support enforcement agency or tribunal can 
properly track and monitor NCP's progress, provide intervention if 
needed, and track outcomes. Outcome measures would include increased 
payment rates on orders, as well as increases in employment, job 
retention rates and wages.
    [sbull] Design and implement strategies to prepare an inmate parent 
(via pre-release programs) or ex-offender for reintegration into the 
community that would enable them to obtain employment, successfully 
reunite with their families, provide financial and emotional support 
for their children, and avoid recidivism through the use of community- 
or faith-based support services. These projects would involve a 
collaborative relationship between State/local CSE agencies, 
correctional systems, employment and other public agencies, local 
organizations (including faith-based organizations), or universities 
such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, in order to 
provide the array of services necessary to address the needs of 
incarcerated parents or ex-offenders. A body of research demonstrates 
that the establishment (or regular maintenance) of family ties during a 
parent's incarceration--coupled with employment upon release--are 
important variables that need to be in place in order to keep ex-
offender parents from committing repeat criminal offenses. OCSE is also 
interested in learning the extent to which prison-based parenting 
programs, in conjunction with an increase in contact between children 
and their incarcerated parent, provide enough of an incentive for 
parents to readily support their children and return to their families 
upon release from prison. Applicants must provide assurance (including 
names of service providers and letters of commitment) that employment, 
training, or parenting/healthy marriage counseling services are 
available in the community. We are looking for outcomes which can 
demonstrate results, such as, (a) employment and increased contact with 
their children help incarcerated or ex-offender NCPs pay child support 
and reduce recidivism; or (b) parenting/family counseling programs and 
increased contact with their children while incarcerated results in 
more incarcerated NCPs paying child support or returning to their 
families upon release.
    4. Project and Budget Periods: The project period for this priority 
area is up to 17 months.
    5. Project Budget: It is estimated that there will be up to three 
grants, about $200,000 each, depending on scale of project, for a total 
of about $600,000.
    Priority Area 2: Encouraging new ways to approach unwed parents to 
emphasize the importance of healthy marriage to a child's well-being.
    1. Purpose: The purpose of this solicitation is to demonstrate new 
ways to approach unwed parents, during pregnancy, at paternity 
establishment, or at other opportunities after the birth of the child, 
to encourage healthy marriage while also encouraging paternity 
establishment as part of the process of taking parental responsibility 
and strengthening families.
    2. Background and Information: Research suggests that non-custodial 
fathers may not voluntarily abandon their children. Over 80% percent of 
them show up at the hospital of their child's birth. Many of these 
young, never-married, non-custodial fathers want to be good parents for 
their children, but may face obstacles. Many are unemployed or under-
employed with insufficient incomes to support a marriage and children, 
or provide support payments on a regular basis. Many also lack 
parenting and relationship skills; or lack the knowledge, understanding 
and importance of child support, family stability and marriage in the 
lives of their children. Programs need to create new approaches to 
unwed parents to emphasize the importance of a healthy marriage 
environment to a child's overall healthy and successful development.
    3. Design Elements in the Application: OCSE is looking for projects 
which implement strategies to improve and strengthen family stability 
by offering a combination of services to low-income, non-married, non-
custodial and custodial parents. Services should include, at a minimum, 
referral to marriage and parental skills training and could also be 
combined with job development, enhanced employment opportunities, and 
financial management skills development. The design should include 
collaboration with hospitals, clinics, IV-D agencies, TANF agencies, 
Head Start, child development agencies, community- or faith-based 
organizations, or other agencies that provide voluntary paternity 
acknowledgment services, employment, or marriage and parental skills 
development. These services would be offered to couples throughout the 
mother's pregnancy, at the time of providing information on paternity 
establishment, or at other opportunities after the birth of the child. 
A primary time to offer these services is when the parents are provided 
information on paternity establishment, recognizing that paternity 
establishment is an important component of parental responsibility, and 
that referral of unwed couples to relationship building/marriage skills 
training services should not reduce paternity establishment rates. 
Applicants must provide assurance (including names of service providers 
and letters of commitment)

[[Page 37814]]

that employment, training, or relationship/healthy marriage counseling 
services are available in the community. We are looking for outcomes 
which would demonstrate, for example, that referral to counseling or 
other types of relationship skills training and healthy marriage 
services, results in an increased number of unmarried low-income 
fathers marrying or providing child support to their children, without 
reducing paternity establishment rates.
    4. Project and Budget Periods: The project period for this priority 
area is up to 17 months.
    5. Project Budget: There will be up to two grants (ranging from 
about $100,000 to $200,000, depending on scale of project, for a total 
of about $200,000).
    Priority Area 3: Increasing the number of child support cases with 
medical coverage for children.
    1. Purpose: The purpose of this solicitation is to demonstrate new 
and or more effective strategies to increase the number of children in 
IV-D cases receiving medical support.
    2. Background and Information: Based on OCSE's most recent 
technical assistance and training needs assessment, States indicated a 
need for more effective strategies in the area of medical support. For 
example, States indicated a need for approaches which would provide 
better coordination between CSE agencies and employers regarding health 
insurance providers; and/or improving linkages between CSE agencies and 
Medicaid and SCHIP programs. Improved coordinated processes between CSE 
agencies and employers' insurance providers or medical agencies should 
result in an increased number of child support cases with medical 
coverage for children.
    3. Design Elements in the Application: In order to increase the 
number and accuracy of child support cases with medical coverage for 
children, OCSE is interested in projects which develop effective/
innovative strategies, within Federal law and regulations, to address 
one or more of the following design elements:
    [sbull] Develop and implement approaches, including automation 
enhancements, which would encourage employers to provide CSE agencies 
information about their health insurance providers so CSE agencies 
could better track enrollment and monitor enforcement of medical 
support coverage.
    [sbull] Develop and implement approaches which improve referrals, 
automated data interfaces and other related types of information 
exchange between State/local CSE agencies and agencies administering 
Medicaid and SCHIP programs for Medicaid and SCHIP cases.
    [sbull] Develop and implement innovative strategies to test or 
demonstrate effective approaches for maximizing the enrollment of 
children in IV-D cases in appropriate health care coverage.
    4. Project and Budget Periods: The project period for this priority 
area is up to 17 months.
    5. Project Budget: It is estimated that there will be up three 
grants (ranging from $100,000 to $300,000, depending on scale of 
project, for a total of about $300,000).
    Priority Area 4: Expanding Use of automation tools and best 
practices
    1. Purpose: The purpose of this solicitation is to fund projects 
that continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of various promising 
automation tools, in order to modify them for different environments or 
expand them to involve more child support cases. The ultimate goal is 
to improve child support performance and customer satisfaction.
    2. Background and Information: There have been a number of 
promising projects using automation to identify and/or increase child 
support collections and improve customer service. Given the advances in 
technology and resulting improvement in child support program 
performance, OCSE, under this solicitation, is providing more 
opportunities for more States/Tribes to demonstrate effectiveness of 
automation tools to increase collections, especially for interstate 
cases, and/or improve customer service. OCSE is specifically interested 
in projects which: (a) Can demonstrate increased collections by using 
technology to process interstate cases, provide data matches and attach 
assets; (b) improve interstate customer satisfaction using automated 
tools to provide interstate caseworkers more timely access to case 
information; and (c) help OCSE develop a Common Methodology for 
estimating annual child support collections attributable to Income 
Withholding Orders.
    3. Design Elements in the Application: In order to expand the use 
of promising automation tools that help to increase collections and 
improve customer satisfaction with the child support program, OCSE is 
interested in projects which use automation tools or expand the use of 
automation tools in new ways to significantly impact child support 
program performance. Projects should address one of the following 
design elements:
    [sbull] Design, implement or expand, under Cooperative Agreement, 
the use of automated tools to process intra-state and interstate case 
files, to provide data matching and the attachment of assets (such as 
for financial institutions data matches and levies) in order to 
automatically seize assets and track information on interstate cases. 
Applicants are encouraged to form collaborative partnerships in 
development and implementation of this type of project. Consortia of 
States, with other entities, are encouraged to apply, designating a 
lead entity as the recipient of the grant award. Applicants must 
provide written assurances from any participating agencies and 
organizations involved with this project.
    Grantee(s) selected for the Cooperative Agreement are expected to 
demonstrate an implementation or expansion of projects which take a 
proven enforcement technique to a larger, regional or national, scale 
and produces measurable results (e.g., increasing the numbers of 
interstate cases processed and child support collections obtained).
    The grantee will provide a final report that summarizes the 
baseline data before the grant, the increased child support collections 
due to actions from this grant, demographic information regarding the 
collections, the data specifications used, the lessons learned and best 
practices related to this effort. The grantee must also provide 
assurance that the Federal government reserves the right to reproduce, 
publish or otherwise use and to authorize others to use for Federal 
government purposes, any software, modifications and documentation that 
are produced under this project.
    OCSE will provide the grantee(s) selected for the Cooperative 
Agreement with files or tapes of child support cases that meet a 
designated amount of arrearage from those states that have agreed to 
submit these types of case files or tapes. OCSE will also assist the 
grantee(s) in disseminating the availability of this process and the 
results of this automated match.
    [sbull] Design and implement internet, intranet, or CSENet 
interactive customer service sites to test methods that provide 
interstate customers and caseworkers from other states with [chyph]24/7 
access to their child support case status and payment information. 
Projects would include the design of central web sites and/or private 
networks, and other innovative practices. Projects need to address 
security/privacy considerations. Measurable outcomes could include 
usage, determining needs of interstate customers and addressing those 
needs, common definitions or explanation of data elements (i.e. 
arrearage),

[[Page 37815]]

improvement in interstate client and caseworker satisfaction, and cost-
effectiveness.
    [sbull] Demonstrate and test OCSE s Common Methodology to estimate 
annual child support collections, under a Cooperative Agreement, in 
order to ensure that the best practices identified are applicable in 
other jurisdictions. OCSE has developed a Common Methodology as a set 
of standardized processes and procedures, including an automated 
statistical model, for use by IV-D agencies in estimating annual child 
support collections attributable to Income Withholding Orders issued as 
a result of NDNH matches. The Common Methodology was successfully 
tested in Delaware by OCSE earlier this year. Eligibility in this 
priority area is limited to State IV-D Agencies. The grantees will work 
closely with and report their results once a month, via conference 
calls, to the OCSE Economic Analysis Team.
    OCSE will provide each State selected for the Cooperative Agreement 
with:

--An electronic and paper copy of the Common Methodology, including a 
guidebook or narrative explanation of the tasks to be completed and an 
Excel spreadsheet for entering data for the automated analysis;
--An electronic copy of a random representative sample of 1,000 NDNH 
(W-4) proactive matches from their State to be studied;
--A point of contact person for the OCSE Economic Analysis Team, who 
will be available to respond to questions and to offer additional 
explanations; and
--A written guide for the reports on best practices expected by OCSE by 
the end of the project.

    Each State will provide OCSE with a written final report that (a) 
identifies best practices using the Common Methodology; (b) all 
statistical results and findings generated by the Common Methodology; 
and (c) if appropriate, recommendations for improvement modifications 
in the Common Methodology Guidebook. OCSE expects that the Cooperative 
Agreements will lead to rigorous field tests that will yield an 
optimally user friendly tool and a Guidebook with simple, clear, and 
sufficiently detailed instructions for users who anticipate and respond 
to the most frequently asked questions.
    4. Project and Budget Period: The project period for this priority 
area is up to 17 months but the common methodology cooperative 
agreement projects will be up to six months.
    5. Project Budget: It is estimated that, depending on the scale of 
projects, up to $2 million will be available for cooperative agreement 
projects addressing data matching and attachment of assets; for the 
interactive customer service site projects, it is estimated that there 
will be up to two grants, of approximately $100,000 each, depending on 
scale, for a total of about $200,000; and for the cooperative 
agreements common methodology projects, there will be up to three 
grants, of about $60,000 each, for a total of about $180,000.
    Priority Area 5: Improving child support services for ethnic and 
culturally diverse populations, Tribes and the international community.
    1. Purpose: The purpose of this solicitation is to develop new 
approaches and methods of delivering improved child support enforcement 
services to better address the needs of underserved ethnic and 
culturally diverse populations, Tribes, and the international 
community.
    2. Background and Information: OCSE is looking for projects that 
target underserved ethnic and culturally diverse populations so that 
they may receive child support enforcement services. More is being done 
to develop outreach media campaigns and language appropriate materials 
to better explain the purpose and objectives of the child support 
program to these groups. In fact, OCSE is funding a number of 
relatively small scale Hispanic/Latino outreach projects which are 
developing language appropriate media campaigns, videos, brochures and 
posters, as well as using community and volunteer resources to engage 
this community. Under this solicitation, OCSE is interested in 
collaborations between units of State/local governments and the courts, 
with other entities such as Tribal governments, community-based and 
faith-based organizations, or with other nations, to offer model 
service approaches that will result in larger scale, more systematic, 
institutionalized approaches to service delivery to underserved 
populations. Such approaches should have a greater program impact, 
resulting in measurable improvements (e.g., in rates of paternity 
establishment, child support orders and collections.) This solicitation 
is not designed to provide funding for the development and 
implementation of Tribal CSE programs when these provisions are being 
addressed through federal regulation.
    3. Design Elements in the Application: In order to improve the 
delivery and responsiveness of the child support system to address the 
needs of underserved ethnic and culturally diverse populations 
including, but not limited to, the Hispanic/Latino community, the 
Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, the African-American 
community, Tribes, or the international community, OCSE seeks projects 
which will have a large scale impact on child support outcomes, such as 
increases in the numbers of orders established and collections. Design 
elements for these projects should include one or more of the 
following:
    [sbull] Design and implement new models and methods of making child 
support enforcement services more accessible to underserved ethnic and 
culturally diverse populations, in collaboration with state, local or 
Tribal governments, the tribunal systems, faith-based, community, and 
educational organizations (including Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities). Applicants must provide assurance (i.e., letters or 
agreements) from collaborative partners that they are committed to the 
project. Projects should identify the nature/causes of barriers to 
effective child support enforcement service delivery for customers with 
language and diversity barriers, and develop and implement approaches 
to reduce or eliminate them in the provision of child support services. 
This could include providing bilingual staff, resources, training, etc. 
to judges/attorneys to address the needs of these customers and assure 
judicial fairness (including the establishment of realistic payment 
plans which encourage obligor involvement, and the development of new 
delivery strategies within the community to increase paternity 
establishment, child support orders, and child support collection 
rates.) Such projects should be directly linked to the delivery of 
child support services with a holistic family approach and be large 
enough in scale to have a substantial impact on child support 
performance outcomes for underserved populations.
    [sbull] Design and implement collaborative activities between a 
state, or states, and Tribes or foreign jurisdictions to improve inter-
jurisdictional child support cooperation in ways which will improve 
child support program outcomes. Applicants must provide assurance 
(i.e., letters or agreements) from collaborative partners that they are 
committed to the project. Other sovereign partners should be encouraged 
to adopt additional UIFSA-like procedures which facilitate interstate 
cooperation. Variations in procedures between sovereign systems will 
require additional measures to be developed and implemented to achieve 
the full benefits of interstate cooperation. Projects should

[[Page 37816]]

demonstrate methods leading to improvement of partners' judicial and 
child support agency cooperation, such as procedures not requiring the 
physical presence of a petitioner at hearings, utilizing standardized 
bilingual bi-directional case processing forms, and developing secure 
and efficient electronic communication methods (including currency 
transfer and conversion mechanisms) with one or more states. Projects 
should produce measurable increases in child support enforcement 
program outcomes (e.g., increased rates of paternity establishment, 
child support orders and/or collections) in cases between residents of 
the U.S., Tribes, and other nations.
    4. Project and Budget Period: The project period for this priority 
area is up to 17 months.
    5. Project Budget: It is estimated that there will be up to three 
grants (ranging from about $100,000 to $200,000, depending on scale of 
project, for a total of about $300,000)
    Priority Area 6--Projects which further the child support mission 
to ensure that all children receive financial and medical support from 
both parents.
    1. Purpose: To design and test new models for operating a child 
support program which further the accomplishment of national goals, 
i.e., all children have paternity established; all children in IV-D 
cases have financial and medical support orders; and all children in 
IV-D cases receive financial and medical support.
    2. Background and information: This priority area announcement is 
meant to solicit proposals and ideas for research and demonstration 
projects that are not covered by any of the above priority areas. OCSE 
is looking for projects that will test new interventions and approaches 
to increase paternity establishments, support orders and collections. 
We are particularly interested in projects which identify issues and 
propose/implement solutions to problems that have caused a leveling off 
of child support collection rates over the past couple of years. As 
feasible, OCSE encourages collaborations among State/local governments, 
tribal governments, non-profit, faith-based and community-based 
organizations, and universities (including Historically Black Colleges 
and Universities).
    3. Design Elements in the Application: Applicants would propose new 
ways of doing business, within Federal law and regulations, and put 
them into effect. Applicants are encouraged to apply innovative 
thinking in approaching how to apply and test new interventions. If the 
applicant is proposing to replicate an effective child support or 
social service agency management strategy, the proposal must provide 
supporting documentation of the success of this model within the last 
three years and its applicability to improving child support 
performance. Applicants should not propose using the grant award to 
simply augment IV-D staff or computer resources that State or local 
decision makers have been unwilling to fund. Applicants shall enclose 
letters of commitment from all key entities (e.g., hospitals, courts or 
other public entities, community- and faith-based organizations, etc.) 
whose cooperation will be needed in the project.
    4. Project and Budget Periods: The project period for this priority 
area is up to 17 months.
    5. Project Budget: It is estimated that there will be up to two 
grants (ranging from about $100,000 to $200,000, depending on scale of 
project, for a total of about $200,000).

Part III: The Review Process

A. Intergovernmental Review

    This program is covered under Executive Order 12372, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs,'' and 45 CFR part 100, 
``Intergovernmental Review of Department of Health and Human Services 
Programs and Activities.'' Under the Order, States may design their own 
processes for reviewing and commenting on proposed Federal assistance 
under covered programs. Note: State/territory participation in the 
intergovernmental review process does not signify applicant eligibility 
for financial assistance under a program. A potential applicant must 
meet the eligibility requirements of the program for which it is 
applying prior to submitting an application to its single point of 
contact (SPOC), if applicable, or to ACF. The following jurisdictions 
have elected not to participate in the Executive Order process. 
Applicants from these jurisdictions or for projects administered by 
federally-recognized Indian Tribes need take no action in regard to 
E.O. 12372: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, 
Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, 
Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
    Although the jurisdictions listed above no longer participate in 
the process, entities which have met the eligibility criteria of the 
program may still apply for a grant even if a State, Territory, 
Commonwealth, etc., does not have a SPOC. All remaining jurisdictions 
participate in the Executive Order process and have established SPOCs. 
Applicants from participating jurisdictions should contact their SPOCs 
as soon as possible to alert them of the prospective applications and 
receive instructions. Applicants must submit any required material to 
the SPOCs as soon as possible so that the program office can obtain and 
review SPOC comments as part of the award process. The applicant must 
indicate the date of this submittal (or the date of contact if no 
submittal is required) on the Standard Form 424, item 16a. Under 45 CFR 
100.8(a)(2), a SPOC has 60 days from the application deadline to 
comment on proposed new or competing continuation awards. SPOCs are 
encouraged to eliminate the submission of routine endorsements as 
official recommendations. Additionally, SPOCs are requested to clearly 
differentiate between mere advisory comments and those official State 
process recommendations which may trigger the ``accommodate or 
explain'' rule. When comments are submitted directly to ACF, they 
should be addressed to: Department of Health and Human Services, 
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Grants Management, 
Division of Discretionary Grants, Attention: Alece Morgan, Grants 
Management Officer, 370 L Enfant Promenade, SW., 4th Floor, West Wing, 
Washington, DC 20447. A list of the Single Points of Contact for each 
State and Territory is included with the application materials for this 
program announcement.

B. Initial ACF Screening

    Each application submitted under this program announcement will 
undergo a pre-review to determine that (1) the application was received 
by the closing date and submitted in accordance with the instructions 
in this announcement and (2) the applicant is eligible for funding. It 
is necessary that applicants state specifically which priority area 
they are applying for. Applications will be screened for priority area 
appropriateness. If applications are found to be inappropriate for the 
priority area in which they are submitted, applicants will be contacted 
for verbal approval of redirection to a more appropriate priority area.

C. Competitive Review and Evaluation Criteria

    Applications which pass the initial ACF screening will be evaluated 
and rated by an independent review panel on the basis of specific 
evaluation criteria. The results of these reviews

[[Page 37817]]

will assist the Commissioner and OCSE program staff in considering 
competing applications. Reviewers scores will weigh heavily in funding 
decisions but will not be the only factors considered. Applications 
generally will be considered in order of the average scores assigned by 
reviewers. However, highly ranked applications are not guaranteed 
funding because other factors are taken into consideration. These 
include, but are not limited to, the number of similar types of 
existing grants or projects funded with OCSE funds in the last five 
years; comments of reviewers and government officials; staff evaluation 
and input; geographic distribution; previous program performance of 
applicants; compliance with grant terms under previous DHHS grants; 
audit reports; investigative reports; an applicant's progress in 
resolving any final audit disallowance on previous OCSE or other 
Federal agency grants. OCSE will consider the geographic distribution 
of funds among states and the relative proportion of funding among 
rural and urban areas. The evaluation criteria were designed to assess 
the quality of a proposed project, and to determine the likelihood of 
its success. The evaluation criteria are closely related and are 
considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application. 
Points are awarded only to applications which are responsive to the 
evaluation criteria within the context of this program announcement.
    Proposed projects will be reviewed using the following evaluation 
criteria:
(1) Criterion I: Objectives and Need for Assistance (Maximum 30 points)
    The application should demonstrate a thorough understanding and 
analysis of the problem(s) being addressed in the project, the need for 
assistance and the importance of addressing these problems in improving 
the effectiveness of the child support program. The applicant should 
describe how the project will address this problem(s) through 
implementation of changes, enhancements and innovative efforts and 
specifically, how this project will improve program results. The 
applicant should address one or more of the activities listed under the 
``Design Elements in the Application'' described above for the specific 
priority area they are applying for (refer to Part II.B. Project 
Priorities). The applicant should identify the key goals and objectives 
of the project; describe the conceptual framework of its approach to 
resolve the identified problem(s); and provide a rationale for taking 
this approach as opposed to others.
(2) Criterion II: Approach (Maximum: 30 points)
    A well thought-out and practical management and staffing plan is 
mandatory. The application should include a detailed management plan 
that includes time-lines and detailed budgetary information. The main 
concern in this criterion is that the applicant should demonstrate a 
clear idea of the project's goals, objectives, and tasks to be 
accomplished. The plan to accomplish the goals and tasks should be set 
forth in a logical framework. The plan should identify what tasks are 
required of any contractors and specify their relevant qualifications 
to perform these tasks. Staff to be committed to the project (including 
supervisory and management staff) at the state and/or local levels must 
be identified by their role in the project along with their 
qualifications and areas of particular expertise. In addition, for any 
technical expertise obtained through a contract or subgrant, the 
desired technical expertise and skills of proposed positions should be 
specified in detail. The applicant should demonstrate that the skills 
needed to operate the project are either on board or can be obtained in 
a reasonable time.
(3) Criterion III: Evaluation (Maximum 25 points)
    The application describes how the success of this project can be 
measured and how the success of this project has broader application in 
contributing to child support enforcement policies, practices, and/or 
providing solutions that could be adapted by other states/
jurisdictions. The applicant should describe the specific results/
products that will be achieved; as appropriate, identifies the kinds of 
data to be collected and maintained; describes procedures for informed 
consent of participants, where applicable, and discusses the criteria 
to be used to evaluate the results of the project. The application 
describes the evaluation methodology to be used to determine if the 
process proposed was implemented and if the project goals/objectives 
were achieved. Sound evaluations to determine whether or not project 
goals have been realized are of importance to child support enforcement 
policy makers and administrators. Thus, the proposal should include a 
process evaluation component and comparison of before/and after the 
project site(s) experience, as appropriate, to demonstrate the results 
achieved.
(4) Criterion IV: Budget and Budget Justification (Maximum 10 points)
    The project costs need to be reasonable in relation to the 
identified tasks, including the evaluation component. A detailed budget 
(e.g., the staff required, equipment and facilities that would be 
leased or purchased) should be provided identifying all agency and 
other resources (i.e., state, community, or other programs such as TANF 
or Head Start) that will be committed to the project. Grant funds 
cannot be used for capital improvements or the purchase of land or 
buildings. Explain why this project's resource requirements cannot be 
met by the state/local agency's regular program operating budget.
(5) Criterion V: Preferences (Maximum 5 points)
    Preference will be given to those grant applicants representing IV-
D agencies and applicant organizations who have documented IV-D agency 
commitment to the project, either through a cooperative agreement or 
letter of commitment, which needs to be attached to the application.

D. Funding Reconsideration

    After Federal funds are exhausted for this grant competition, 
applications which have been independently reviewed and ranked but have 
no final disposition (neither approved nor disapproved for funding) may 
again be considered for funding. Reconsideration may occur at any time 
funds become available within twelve (12) months following ranking. ACF 
does not select from multiple ranking lists for a program. Therefore, 
should a new competition be scheduled and applications remain ranked 
without final disposition, applicants are informed of their opportunity 
to reapply for the new competition, to the extent practical.

Part IV. The Application

A. Application Development

    In order to be considered for a grant under this program 
announcement, an application must be submitted on the forms supplied 
and in the manner prescribed by ACF. Application materials including 
forms and instructions are available from the contact named under the 
ADDRESSES section in the preamble of this announcement.
    The length of the application, excluding the application forms, 
certifications, and resumes, should not exceed 20 pages. A page is a 
single-side of an 8 \1/2\'' x 11 sheet of plain white

[[Page 37818]]

paper. The narrative should be typed double-spaced on a single-side of 
an 8 \1/2\'' x 11 plain white paper. Applicants are requested not to 
send pamphlets, maps, brochures or other printed material along with 
their application as these are difficult to photocopy. These materials, 
if submitted, will not be included in the review process. Each page of 
the application will be counted (excluding required forms, 
certifications and resumes) to determine the total length. The project 
description should include all the information requirements described 
in the specific evaluation criteria outlined in the program 
announcement under Part III.C. The Administration for Children and 
Families Uniform Project Description in the application kit provides 
general requirements for these evaluation criteria (i.e., Objectives 
and Need for Assistance; Approach; Evaluation; Budget and Budget 
Justification).

B. Application Submission

    1. Mailed applications postmarked after the closing date will be 
classified as late and will not be considered in the competition.
    2. Deadline. Mailed applications shall be considered as meeting an 
announced deadline, if they are either received on or before the 
deadline date, or sent on or before the deadline date and received by 
ACF in time for the independent review to: U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of 
Grants Management, Division of Discretionary Grants, Attention: SIP 
Application, 370 L Enfant Promenade, SW., 4th Floor West, Washington, 
DC 20447. Applicants must ensure that a legibly dated U.S. Postal 
Service postmark or a legibly dated, machine-produced postmark of a 
commercial mail service is affixed to the envelope/package containing 
the application(s).
    To be acceptable as proof of timely mailing, a postmark from a 
commercial mail service must include the logo/emblem of the commercial 
mail service company and must reflect the date the package was received 
by the commercial mail service company from the applicant. Private 
metered postmarks shall not be acceptable as proof of timely mailing. 
(Applicants are cautioned that express/overnight mail services do not 
always deliver as agreed). Express/overnight mail services should use 
the 901 D Street address instructions as shown below.)
    Applications handcarried by applicants, applicant couriers, or by 
other representatives of the applicant using express/overnight mail 
services, will be considered as meeting an announced deadline if they 
are received on or before the deadline date, between the hours of 8:00 
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., EST, addressed to the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of 
Grants Management, Division of Discretionary Grants, Attention: SIP 
Application, and delivered at ACF Mailroom, 2nd Floor (near loading 
dock), Aerospace Building, 901 D Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024, 
between Monday and Friday (excluding Federal holidays). The address 
must appear on the envelope/package containing the application. ACF 
cannot accommodate transmission of applications by fax or through other 
electronic media.
    Therefore, applications transmitted to ACF electronically will not 
be accepted regardless of date or time of submission and time of 
receipt.
    3. Late applications. Applications that do not meet the criteria 
above are considered late applications. ACF shall notify each late 
applicant that its application will not be considered in the current 
competition.
    4. Extension of deadlines. ACF may extend an application deadline 
when circumstances such as acts of God (floods, hurricanes, etc.) 
occur, or when there is widespread disruption of the mail service, or 
in other rare cases.
    Determinations to extend or waive deadline requirements rest with 
ACF's Chief Grants Management Officer.

    Dated: May 20, 2002.
Sherri Z. Heller,
Commissioner, Office of Child Support Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 02-13409 Filed 5-29-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P