[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25629-25640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11857]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Combating Child Labor Through Education in Brazil; Combating 
Child Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Through Education 
in Cambodia; Combating Child Trafficking Through Education in Benin, 
Burkina Faso and Mali

AGENCY: Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds and solicitation for 
cooperative agreement applications (SGA 03-05).

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SUMMARY: This notice contains all of the necessary information and 
forms needed to apply for cooperative agreement funding. The U.S. 
Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs will award 
up to U.S. $16 million through one or more cooperative agreements to an 
organization or organizations to improve access to quality education 
programs as a means to combat child labor in Brazil ($5 million), 
Cambodia ($3 million), and the West African countries of Benin ($2 
million), Burkina Faso ($3 million) and Mali ($3 million). The 
activities funded will complement and expand upon existing projects and 
programs to improve basic education in these countries, and provide 
access to basic education to children in areas of high incidence of 
exploitative child labor. In Brazil the activities will strengthen the 
quality of existing child labor and education programs. The special 
focus in Cambodia will be to provide education to victims of, and 
children at risk of entering, child trafficking and commercial sexual 
exploitation, and in West Africa to victims of, and children at risk of 
entering, child trafficking.
    Applicants must submit a separate application for each country. If 
applications for countries are combined, they will not be considered.

DATES: The closing date for receipt of application is June 20, 2003. As 
discussed in section II.B and C, applications must be received by 4:45 
p.m. (eastern time) at the address below. No exceptions to the mailing, 
delivery, and hand-delivery conditions set forth in this notice will be 
granted. Applications that do not meet the conditions set forth in this 
notice will not be honored. Telegram, facsimile (FAX), and e-mail 
applications will not be honored.

ADDRESSES: Application forms will not be mailed. They are published as 
part of this Federal Register notice, and in the Federal Register, 
which may be obtained from your nearest U.S. Government office or 
public library or online at http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/index.html. Applications must be delivered to: U.S. Department of 
Labor, Procurement Services Center, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 
N-5416, Attention: Lisa Harvey, Reference: SGA 03-05, Washington, DC 
20210. Applications sent by e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX) will 
not be accepted. Applications sent by other delivery services, such as 
Federal Express, UPS, etc., will be accepted; however, the applicant 
bears the responsibility for timely submission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Harvey. E-mail address: 
[email protected]. All applicants are advised that U.S. mail delivery 
in the Washington DC area has been slow and erratic due to concerns 
involving anthrax contamination. All applicants must take this into 
consideration when preparing to meet the application deadline. It is 
recommended that you confirm receipt of your application with your 
delivery service. See section II.C for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Bureau 
of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), announces the availability of 
funds to be granted by cooperative agreement (hereafter referred to as 
``grant'') to one or more qualifying organizations for the purpose of 
promoting school attendance in areas of high and exploitative child 
labor in Brazil, Cambodia, and the West African countries of Benin, 
Burkina Faso, and Mali. The grant or grants awarded under this 
initiative will be managed by ILAB's International Child Labor Program 
to assure achievement of the stated goals. Applicants are encouraged to 
be creative in proposing cost-effective interventions that will have a 
demonstrable impact in promoting school attendance in areas of those 
countries where children are engaged in or are most at risk of working 
in the worst forms of child labor, and for child victims of 
trafficking.

I. Authority

    ILAB is authorized to award and administer this program by 
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002, Pub.L. No. 107-116, 115 
Stat. 2177 (2002).

II. Application Process

A. Eligible Applicants

    Any commercial, international, educational, or non-profit 
organization capable of successfully developing and

[[Page 25630]]

implementing education programs for child laborers or children at risk 
in the countries of interest is eligible to apply. Partnerships of more 
than one organization are also eligible, and applicants are strongly 
encouraged to work with organizations already undertaking projects in 
the countries of interest, particularly local NGOs and faith based-
organizations. (All applicants are requested to complete the Survey on 
Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants (OMB No. 1225-0083), which is 
available online at http://www.dol.gov / ILAB / grants / education/
sga0305 / bkgrdSGA0305.htm.) In the case of partnerships, a lead 
organization to sign the agreement must be identified. The capability 
of an applicant or applicants to perform necessary aspects of this 
solicitation will be determined under Section V.B Rating Criteria and 
Selection.
    Please note that eligible grant applicants must not be classified 
under the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)(4) entity. See 26 U.S.C. 
501(c)(4). According to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, as amended 
by 2 U.S.C. 1611, an organization, as described in section 501(c)(4) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that engages in lobbying activities 
will not be eligible for the receipt of federal funds constituting an 
award, grant, or loan.

B. Submission of Applications

    One (1) blue ink-signed original, complete application in English 
plus two (2) copies (in English) of the application, must be submitted 
to the U.S. Department of Labor, Procurement Services Center, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5416, Washington, DC 20210, not later 
than 4:45 p.m. eastern time, June 20, 2003. Applicants may submit 
applications for one or more countries. In the case where an applicant 
is interested in applying for a grant in more than one country, a 
separate application must be submitted for each country.
    The application must consist of two (2) separate parts. Part I of 
the application must contain the Standard Form (SF) 424, ``Application 
for Federal Assistance'' and sections A-F of the Budget Information 
Form SF 424A, available from ILAB's Web site at http://www.dol.gov / 
ILAB/grants / education/sga0305 / bkgrdSGA0305.htm. Copies of these 
forms are also available online from the GSA Web site at http://
contacts.gsa.gov / webforms.nsf /0/ B835648D66D1B8 F985256A72004C58C2 / 
$file/sf424.pdf and http://contacts.gsa.gov / webforms.nsf / 0/5AEB1FA6 
FB3B8323852 56A72004C8E77 / $file/Sf424a.pdf. Part II must contain a 
technical application that demonstrates capabilities in accordance with 
the Statement of Work (section IV.A) and Rating Criteria (section V.B).
    To be considered responsive to this solicitation, the application 
must consist of the above-mentioned separate sections not to exceed 45 
single-sided (8-1/2'' x 11''), double-spaced, 10 to 12 pitch typed 
pages for each country, following the format presented in the Statement 
of Work (section V.B Rating Criteria and Selection). This requirement 
includes a project document submitted in the format shown in Appendix 
A. Any applications that do not conform to these standards may be 
deemed non-responsive to this solicitation and may not be evaluated. 
Standard forms and attachments are not included in the page limit. Each 
application must include a table of contents and an abstract 
summarizing the application in not more that two (2) pages. These pages 
are also not included in the page limits.
    The individual signing the SF 424 on behalf of the Applicant must 
be authorized to bind the Applicant.

C. Acceptable Methods of Submission

    The grant application package must be received at the designated 
place by the date and time specified or it will not be considered. Any 
application received at Procurement Services Center after 4:45 p.m. 
eastern time, June 20, 2003, will not be considered unless it is 
received before the award is made and:
    1. It is determined by the government that the late receipt was due 
solely to mishandling by government after receipt at the U.S. 
Department of Labor at the address indicated;
    2. It was sent by registered or certified mail not later than the 
fifth calendar day before June 20, 2003; or
    3. It was sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day 
Service-Post Office to Addressee, not later than 5 p.m. at the place of 
mailing two (2) working days, excluding weekends and Federal holidays, 
prior to June 20, 2003.
    The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a 
late application sent by registered or certified mail is the U.S. 
Postal Service postmark on the envelope or wrapper and on the original 
receipt from the U.S. Postal Service. If the postmark is not legible, 
an application received after the above closing time and date shall be 
processed as if mailed late. ``Postmark'' means a printed, stamped, or 
otherwise placed impression (not a postage meter machine impression) 
that is readily identifiable without further action as having been 
applied and affixed by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service on the 
date of mailing. Therefore, applicants should request that the postal 
clerk place a legible hand cancellation ``bull's-eye'' postmark on both 
the receipt and the envelope or wrapper.
    The only acceptable evidence to establish the date of mailing of a 
late application sent by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail Next Day 
Service-Post Office to Addressee is the date entered by the Post Office 
receiving clerk on the ``Express Mail Next Day Service-Post Office to 
Addressee'' label and the postmark on the envelope or wrapper on the 
original receipt from the U.S. Postal Service. ``Postmark'' has the 
same meaning as defined above. Therefore, applicants should request 
that the postal clerk place a legible hand cancellation ``bull's-eye'' 
postmark on both the receipt and the envelope or wrapper.
    The only acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at 
the U.S. Department of Labor is the date/time stamp of the Procurement 
Service Center on the application wrapper or other documentary evidence 
or receipt maintained by that office.
    Applications sent by e-mail, telegram, or facsimile (FAX) will not 
be accepted. Applications sent by other delivery services, such as 
Federal Express, UPS, etc., will be accepted, however the applicant 
bears the responsibility for timely submission. Confirmation of receipt 
can be made with Lisa Harvey, U.S. Department of Labor, Procurement 
Services Center, telephone (202) 693-4570 (this is not a toll-free-
number) or e-mail: [email protected].

D. Funding Levels

    Up to U.S. $16 million is available under this solicitation, with 
up to $5 million for Brazil, up to $3 million for Cambodia, up to $2 
million for Benin, up to $3 million for Burkina Faso, and up to $3 
million for Mali. USDOL may award one or more grants to one, several, 
or a partnership of more than one organization which may apply to 
implement the program. Any subcontractor must be approved by USDOL.

E. Program Duration

    The duration of the projects funded by this SGA is for four (4) 
years. The start date of program activities will be negotiated upon 
awarding of the grant, but no later than September 30, 2003.

III. Background and Program Scope

A. USDOL Support of Global Elimination of Child Labor

    The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that 211 
million

[[Page 25631]]

children between the ages of five and 14 were working around the world 
in 2000. Full-time child workers are generally unable to attend school, 
and part-time child laborers balance economic survival with schooling 
from an early age, often to the detriment of their education. Since 
1995, the U.S. Congress has provided USDOL with funds to support 
worldwide technical assistance programs implemented by the ILO's 
International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO/IPEC). To 
date, USDOL has contributed U.S. $157 million to ILO/IPEC, making the 
United States the program's largest donor and a leader in global 
efforts to combat child labor.
    Programs funded by USDOL have evolved from targeted action programs 
in specific sectors to more comprehensive efforts that target the worst 
forms of child labor as defined by ILO Convention 182. Convention 182 
lists four categories of the worst forms of child labor, and calls for 
their immediate elimination:
    [sbull] All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such 
as the sale and trafficking of children; debt bondage and serfdom and 
forced or compulsory labor; including forced or compulsory recruitment 
of children for use in armed conflict;
    [sbull] The use, procurement or offering of a child for 
prostitution, production of pornography or pornographic performances;
    [sbull] The use, procurement or offering of a child for illicit 
activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs 
as defined in the relevant international treaties;
    [sbull] Work which by its nature or by the circumstances by which 
it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety, and morals of 
children.
    In determining the types of work likely to harm the health, safety 
and morals of children, Convention 182 considers the following: Work 
which exposes a child to physical, psychological or sexual abuse; work 
underground, underwater, at dangerous heights or in confined 
workplaces; work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools or 
handling or transporting heavy loads; work in an unhealthy environment 
including exposure to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to 
temperatures, noise levels or vibrations damaging to the health; work 
for long hours or night work where the child is unreasonably confined 
to the premises.
    Children who are trafficked are among the most exploited, and 
qualify as victims of the worst forms of child labor equivalent to 
slavery under ILO Convention 182. Trafficked children who work full-
time are generally unable to attend school. Furthermore, children who 
are trafficked have often dropped out of school early or have never 
attended school at all.
    The existence of child labor and the trafficking of children for 
exploitative employment have many implications for a country. In source 
communities from which children are trafficked, sending a child to be 
employed far from home influences others to do likewise. The negative 
effects of trafficking include poorly educated children with low skills 
who return to their communities traumatized, in ill health (e.g., HIV/
AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, drug addiction), and susceptible 
to premature death. It is often challenging to reintegrate these 
children into communities that are already resource-poor and 
overburdened with social problems. Contrary to the belief that 
migration of children is a solution to poverty, it often reproduces it 
and leads to other social problems.
    It is important to undertake education initiatives for children 
involved in child labor and their at-risk siblings. It is also 
important to educate children who are victims of or susceptible to 
trafficking, because their lack of schooling hinders their personal 
development, as well as that of a modern workforce, overall labor 
market reform, poverty reduction and social progress. Education is a 
key investment that has been linked to the acceleration of a nation's 
productivity and socioeconomic development. Poorly educated workers 
tend to earn less, live in poverty, and may in turn send their own 
children to work at a young age. Consequently, it is important to keep 
children in educational settings instead of in workplaces. Further, 
keeping children in school protects them from the abuses of child labor 
and trafficking.
    From FY 2001 to FY 2003, in addition to U.S. $135 million earmarked 
for ILO/IPEC efforts, U.S. $111 million was appropriated to USDOL for a 
Child Labor Education Initiative to fund programs aimed at increasing 
access to quality, basic education in areas with a high incidence of 
abusive and exploitative child labor. The grant(s) awarded under this 
solicitation will be funded through this initiative.
    USDOL's Child Labor Education Initiative seeks to nurture the 
development, health, safety and enhanced future employability of 
children around the world by increasing access to basic education for 
children removed from work or at risk of entering into labor. Child 
labor elimination depends in part on improving access to, quality of, 
and relevance of education.
    The Child Labor Education Initiative has four goals:
    1. Raise awareness of the importance of education for all children 
and mobilize a wide array of actors to improve and expand education 
infrastructures;
    2. Strengthen formal and transitional education systems that 
encourage working children and those at risk of working to attend 
school;
    3. Strengthen national institutions and policies on education and 
child labor; and
    4. Ensure the long-term sustainability of these efforts.

B. Barriers to Education for Working Children and Country Background

1. Child Labor and Barriers of Access to Education
    Throughout the world there are complex causes to child labor as 
well as barriers to education for children engaged in or at risk of 
child labor. These include:
    [sbull] Poverty--when families need children's income for survival, 
there is a high opportunity cost to enrolling a child in school, and 
the direct and indirect costs of schooling are unaffordable.
    [sbull] Education system barriers--which include low quality and 
relevance of education and curricula; low teacher training/preparation 
of school personnel to address education of children with special 
needs, such as child laborers; poor teaching methods; lack of or weak 
systems to address reintegration of dropouts, or to provide equivalency 
and/or bridge programs between non-formal and formal or vocational 
education.
    [sbull] Infrastructure barriers--which include distance to school; 
inadequate school buildings (too small, too few primary, secondary or 
vocational schools); overcrowded schools; lack of open spaces for 
physical activity and related facilities; lack of transportation; lack 
of latrines, water, electricity and other basic infrastructure.
    [sbull] Legal and policy barriers--which include policies that 
discourage school enrollment and retention, weak law enforcement, or 
non-existent, inconsistent or inadequate education policies for working 
children.
    [sbull] Resource gaps--which include either overall low level of 
resources within the country, or a low allocation of existing resources 
relative to the needs of working children, or to child labor 
eradication or education goals set by government policies.
    [sbull] Institutional barriers--which include weaknesses that 
hamper an

[[Page 25632]]

organization's ability to effectively implement programs, and/or 
limited coordination among social partners (various level of 
government, NGOs, private sector) to match existing resources to 
education gaps and needs of working children.
    [sbull] Informational gaps--which include lack of information on 
the education needs of child laborers or their educational performance 
so as to develop relevant and targeted programs; lack of available 
relevant social indicator data to identify, target and map families 
with working children; lack of consistent monitoring and evaluation of 
programs to draw lessons learned, or limited awareness on the part of 
different actors of the benefits of education for working children.
    [sbull] Demographic characteristics of children and/or families--
which include factors that put a child at higher risk of child labor 
and lack of access to education, such as belonging to an ethnic group, 
gender or social class, family composition (e.g., single head of 
household or polygamous household, multiple siblings, etc.), being 
overage relative to grade.
    [sbull] Cultural and traditional practices--which include community 
attitudes that children should work and help the family, and attitudes 
and practices towards gender and social roles.
    [sbull] Weak labor markets and lack of employment for those more 
educated, which diminish the perceived value of an education, and 
increases the value of early entry into the labor market.
    Although these elements and characteristics tend to exist 
throughout the world in areas of high child labor, they manifest 
themselves and/or combine in particular ways in each country of 
interest in this solicitation. In their response to the solicitation, 
applicants should be able to identify the specific barriers to 
education and the education needs of specific children targeted in 
their project (e.g., children withdrawn from work, children at high 
risk of drop out into the labor force, children still working in a 
particular sector, etc.). Short background information on education and 
child labor in each of the countries of interest is provided below. For 
additional information on child labor in these countries, applicants 
are referred to The Department of Labor's 2001 Findings on the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor available at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/overview.htm or in hard copy from Lisa Harvey, 
U.S. Department of Labor, Procurement Services Center, telephone (202) 
693-4570 (this is not a toll-free-number) or e-mail: 
[email protected].
2. Country Background
Brazil
    In 2000, the ILO estimated that 14.4 percent of children of between 
the ages of 10 and 14 in Brazil were working. The major sectors where 
children work are agriculture, mining and charcoal industries, domestic 
service, scavenging in garbage dumps, prostitution, pornography, and 
drug trafficking. Child labor is most frequent in northern and 
northeastern Brazil where it is estimated that there are over 700,000 
children and adolescents working in farming and agriculture alone.
    Most child laborers in Brazil come from families whose per capita 
income is less than one minimum monthly wage. Throughout the 1990s 
improving family income and breaking the cycle of poverty through 
education have been at the core of Brazil's policies to fight child 
labor. At the Federal level, Brazil administers various programs 
implemented by different ministries, and has developed commissions to 
address issues related to child labor. Each state has a group 
designated to report to the Ministry of Labor and Employment on local 
activities and initiatives aimed to eliminate child labor.
    Brazil's most widespread and innovative child labor prevention and 
elimination initiatives are the Bolsa Escola Program (school 
scholarship) and PETI (Child Labor Elimination Program). The Ministry 
of Education oversees the Bolsa Escola program, which benefits over 
eight million children and provides mothers with a monetary stipend in 
return for children's school attendance. The program is the largest of 
its kind in the world. The PETI program, administered by the Ministry 
of Social Assistance and Advancement, gives stipends to families that 
remove children from the worst forms of child labor and keep them in 
school. Approximately 800,000 children under the program attend public 
school and a Jornada Ampliada (extended school day) program, to 
discourage them from working before or after school.
    At the core of these programs is the notion that work has a 
negative effect on the educational development of children and 
adolescents. In Brazil, the illiteracy rate among child workers is 20 
percent compared to 8 percent for children who do not work. Providing 
education to child workers or children at risk of working supports 
objectives of Brazil's Education for All (EFA) Ten-Year Plan (1994-
2003), and implementation of compulsory attendance policies for ages 
seven to 14 (grades one through eight). Basic education through grade 
eight is free. Prompted by the Word Conference on Education for All in 
1990, Brazil set its goals to achieve equity through quality education 
for all by the year 2003. Implementation of Brazil's EFA Plan has 
attempted to address a number of the country's core objectives, which 
are: (1) Universal access to basic education; (2) education expansion; 
(3) valorization of the teaching profession; and (4) improvement of the 
quality of public education.
    Although access to basic education in Brazil has increased 
tremendously in the last ten years, the quality of education, 
particularly in rural areas, has suffered. In many cases, schools do 
not offer classes above the fourth grade, and when they do, curricula 
are often not contextual to students' lives and teachers are poorly 
motivated. In addition, the minimum age for work (16) and the age at 
which compulsory schooling ends (14) are not harmonized. As a result, 
adolescents have few options and, out of economic need, often choose to 
work illegally beginning at age 14. These adolescents often engage in 
hazardous activities without social benefits or legal recourse. All of 
the factors above, combined with real economic needs of students, 
contribute to the high dropout rates of youth who leave school to work.
    As a result of improved education policy and practice, Brazil has 
achieved many educational successes over the past decade, including for 
working children. Yet numerous barriers to the education of working 
children in Brazil, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas in the 
north and northeast regions, still remain. The most important gaps/
needs for improving the education of children removed from child labor 
include: (1) Poor quality of education for both classroom and extended 
day programs; (2) lack of job and skills training for older children; 
(3) need for improved coordination of programs and services between 
federal, state, municipal governments, and civil society in the 
delivery of educational programs at the community level; and (4) gaps 
in data collection, knowledge management and evaluation of educational 
initiatives that allow for improved identification of target 
populations, and performance evaluation and assessment of impact. The 
project funded by this solicitation will contribute to efforts already 
underway to prevent and eliminate hazardous child labor by addressing 
specific barriers to education, and by expanding and improving the 
impact of existing programs.

[[Page 25633]]

Cambodia
    A 2001 child labor study conducted by the Cambodian National 
Institute of Statistics found that over 1.5 million children aged five 
to 14, or about 45 percent of the age group, were working, almost one-
fourth of them more than 35 hours per week. Rates of labor 
participation by gender were relatively equal. Many working children 
appear particularly vulnerable to exploitation, such as the 20,000 
working children under the age of 15 who reported living away from home 
during the survey period. In addition, Cambodian children are engaged 
in some of the worst forms of child labor, such as commercial sexual 
exploitation (CSE). Cambodia is reported to be a country of origin, 
transit and destination for trafficking in persons, including children, 
for the purposes of CSE and various forms of work, including labor and 
begging. Internal trafficking of children also occurs. Children, 
primarily girls, also work as domestic servants, and many of them do 
not attend school.
    In this context, the Government of Cambodia has made significant 
efforts to improve access to quality education for children. In May 
2001, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS) published its 
Education Strategic Plan 2001-2005, which established priorities to 
expand access to quality education opportunities, and to increase the 
institutional capacity of local schools and communities for involvement 
in educational decision-making. The plan includes multiple targets that 
are of relevance to working and/or vulnerable children, including 
efforts to increase enrollment at the primary and secondary levels; 
mainstreaming children back into school; improving gender parity; 
improving educational quality; and increasing persistence and retention 
indicators.
    The government's abolition of start-of-year primary school entry 
fees in 2001 reportedly led to a large increase in gross and net 
enrollment rates. Marked progress has also been made in extending 
access to education through secondary school construction and primary 
school expansion. NGOs are also active in improving access to and 
quality of education, and work at the grassroots level with local 
government officials and communities. Several scholarship programs, 
including a new large-scale effort by the government, target vulnerable 
girls to ensure that they enroll in secondary schools, particularly 
since the dropout rate is disproportionately higher for girls. A Non-
Formal Education (NFE) Department within MOEYS focuses on delivering 
tailored education services to meet the needs of people of all ages, 
including working children and children out of school.
    As a result of these efforts, access to education has improved, as 
have efficiency indicators such as recent reductions in repetition 
rates. However, there are still large educational disparities at the 
provincial and district levels, and serious gender and rural-urban gaps 
remain. Dropout continues to be a problem. Furthermore, significant 
numbers of children are effectively barred from returning to the formal 
school system if they drop out temporarily, as children above the age 
of 12 are unable to enter grades 1-3. The government has developed an 
NFE strategy, but implementation of many aspects of it, including 
providing NFE with a view to mainstreaming recipients, is still in the 
early stages.
    Banteay Meanchey, Otdar Meanchey, Battambang, Siem Reap, Prey Veng, 
Svay Rieng, and Kampong Cham have been identified as provinces 
containing significant numbers of children at risk of the worst forms 
of child labor, particularly trafficking and CSE. Applicants are 
requested to select up to three provinces in which to focus 
interventions in selected areas where there is high risk to children of 
being trafficked and/or becoming engaged in CSE. The areas selected 
should demonstrate the applicant's clear understanding of risk factors 
that constitute barriers to the education of children engaged in or at 
risk of child labor. Applicants are strongly encouraged to focus 
activities on the primary school level and on the transition to 
secondary school for two main populations: children who have dropped 
out of school (or never enrolled) who wish to return and reintegrate 
into the formal school or pursue alternative education, and children in 
primary school who are at risk of dropping out.
    Applicants are also strongly encouraged to demonstrate how project 
activities can inform policies to develop a replicable and sustainable 
strategy that can be brought to scale for larger numbers of working 
children. This approach would include identification of common factors 
causing children to drop out and/or fail to enroll in the formal 
schools, barriers to re-entry for children engaged in or at risk of 
child labor, and successful models for mainstreaming children from NFE 
to the formal education system. In particular, proposals should 
demonstrate how activities will complement, extend and reinforce the 
objectives of existing national and NGO efforts and the plans of the 
government of Cambodia. Proposals may also link with other U.S. 
government-funded or international donor efforts.
West Africa
Benin
    In 2000, the ILO estimated that 26.5 percent of children between 
the ages of 10 and 14 in Benin were working. Children as young as seven 
years old work on family farms, as domestic servants, on urban 
construction sites, in public markets, and in other small enterprise-
based jobs. In addition, children are trafficked within Benin to the 
urban areas of Cotonou, Parakou and Porto Novo. There is also the 
traditional practice of vidomegon, which involves poor rural families 
placing children (typically daughters) in the homes of wealthier 
families, often relatives, so that the children may work and receive an 
education. However, the practice often degenerates into exploitation as 
children are forced to work as domestic servants, for long hours and 
with little or no access to education or wages.
    Benin is also a source, destination and transit country for the 
cross-border trafficking of children. Beninese children are usually 
trafficked into Nigeria, Cameroon, C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire, Gabon, and 
Niger, and the country receives children from Burkina Faso, Niger and 
Togo. Trafficked children are often employed as agricultural workers, 
domestic servants, and commercial sex workers. More than half of 
internally trafficked children are girls, while the majority of 
externally trafficked children are boys. Boys who are trafficked 
internationally often go to work on cocoa, coffee or cotton plantations 
in C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire, or for fishing or manual labor in informal 
workshops. Many girls who are victims of cross-border trafficking are 
brought to Gabon to work as domestic servants.
    Most victims of child labor and child trafficking originate from 
rural areas and tend to have little, if any, education even though 
primary education in Benin is free and compulsory for children between 
the ages of six and 11 years. Indirect and opportunity costs of 
attending school are two major barriers that keep children out of 
school. The gross primary enrollment rate in 1998 was 84.2 percent, 
although there was a significant gap in boys' and girls' enrollment 
rates. There is also a considerable disparity between the genders in 
attendance rates.
    A 1997 conference identified and prioritized weaknesses in the 
education system. Among the top concerns listed were a shortage of 
trained teachers,

[[Page 25634]]

inadequate school infrastructure, and illiteracy (particularly among 
parents), all of which contribute to high dropout rates. Exacerbating 
this problem is the lack of education alternatives for children who 
have returned home or who have been removed from hazardous labor 
situations.
    Furthermore, their communities are not organized to receive them 
and provide them with an education.
    In response to these challenges, in 1999 the Ministry of Family, 
Social Protection and Solidarity established a unit for Family and 
Childhood that works on a variety of programs to combat child 
trafficking, including creating village vigilance committees and 
building crisis centers for children. The Ministry of Family also works 
to provide educational spaces for child laborers, particularly those 
engaged in domestic service and vidomegons.
    The National Commission on Child Rights, an inter-ministerial 
committee headed by the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human 
Rights that includes representatives from NGOs, religious organizations 
and Parent-Teacher Associations, was established in 2000. The 
international media attention attracted in 2001 as a result of the 
Etireno, a ship that was believed to have originated in Benin and was 
reported to be transporting trafficked children, prompted the 
Government of Benin to increase its efforts to combat child trafficking 
and child labor. These efforts included the development of a two-year 
action plan (2001-2003) by the National Commission on Child Rights to 
combat trafficking. Benin is also one of nine countries participating 
in a USDOL-funded project to combat the trafficking of children for 
exploitative labor in West and Central Africa, described at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/education/sga0305/bkgrdSGA0305.htm.
    In October 2002, the government of Benin developed a rapid response 
plan (plan d'urgence) to combat child trafficking, which includes 
activities to improve legislation and strengthen child protection 
efforts. Also in 2002, the National Committee against Child Trafficking 
was formed.
    Benin has already made strides in fighting child trafficking and 
promoting education, particularly within the formal system. In order to 
foster sustainability and build on existing activities and 
achievements, applications should take into account existing programs 
and seek to fill gaps that have not already been addressed. Applicants 
should especially consider the need for and availability of formal 
versus non-formal, transitional or vocational education programs in 
proposed target areas, and tailor approaches accordingly. USDOL would 
also like to ensure that the EI project complements efforts in Benin 
already funded by the U.S. government without duplicating them.
Burkina Faso
    In 2000, the ILO estimated that 43.5 percent of children between 
the ages of 10 and 14 in Burkina Faso were working. Most working 
children in the country are found in agriculture, gold mining and 
washing, and informal sector activities including domestic service. 
Children often start working in the mining sector as part of 
households, at ages as young as six. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has also 
orphaned numerous children, thereby increasing the population of street 
children, an at-risk group for child labor, in Ouagadougou and Bobo-
Dioulasso.
    Due in part to its geographic location, Burkina Faso is a sending, 
receiving and transit country for trafficked children. Yet few 
statistics are available on the phenomenon. Furthermore, there is low 
public recognition of child trafficking as a problem and there is a 
perception that sending a child to work through trafficking increases 
family income. The salaries or promised salaries, albeit small, give 
villagers cause to believe that money is to be made in exodus. In 
reality, the middlemen who recruit, transport, and place children 
generally live off the earnings, each receiving a portion of the money 
promised to the child or family.
    External, or cross-border, trafficking represents roughly one-
quarter of intercepted children, and the countries most believed to 
receive children are C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Mali, with 
smaller numbers going to Gabon and Niger. The majority of externally 
trafficked children tend to be boys whose primary destination is 
C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire. Foreign children working in C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire 
are at greater risk considering the current political unrest in that 
country.
    Seventy-four percent of trafficked children intercepted between 
September 2001 and May 2002 were moving internally. Of these children, 
65 percent were girls. In general, children are trafficked from rural 
areas such as Tougan, Gaoua, and Diebougou into Bobo-Dioulasso, 
Ouagadougou and Ouahigouya where they work as domestic servants, street 
vendors, and in prostitution. An ILO study estimated that more than 
81,000 children in Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou have been internally 
trafficked and placed in work situations by an intermediary.
    Elsewhere children are moved from the northern and central 
villages, especially in the Dedougou and Boromo regions, for 
agricultural work in the regions of Bobo-Dioulasso and Banfora. Both 
boys and girls work in cotton production, an especially arduous and 
dangerous job considering the hours of work, the intensive physical 
labor, and the use of pesticides. Cotton producers in Kompienga and the 
provinces of N'Gourma, Tapoa and Gnagna also hire migrant children. 
Since this work is seasonal, children may return home at the end of the 
season.
    Many codes in the penal system regulate children's work and 
protection, but child trafficking itself is not illegal. The Ministry 
of Social Action and National Solidarity has drafted a National Action 
Plan on Child Trafficking, and is working with the Ministry of Justice 
to revise national legislation to address child trafficking. The 
Ministry of Social Action has also established Vigilance and 
Surveillance Committees that involve representatives from the Ministry 
of Employment, police, local authorities and NGOs, employers and 
transport companies, among others. The government of Burkina Faso has 
drafted an agreement with C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire to address child 
trafficking between the two countries, but the process has stalled due 
to the current political situation in C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire. Burkina Faso 
is one of nine countries participating in a USDOL-funded project to 
combat the trafficking of children for exploitative labor in West and 
Central Africa, described at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/education/sga0305/bkgrdSGA0305.ht_.
    Studies of repatriated children who have been trafficked show that 
most have received little, if any, schooling. Many are from rural, 
illiterate households. Nationwide, adult literacy rates hover around 24 
percent, with less than 15 percent of the adult female population 
qualifying as literate.
    Although education in Burkina Faso is compulsory from ages six to 
16, the minimum age to work is 14. In 1998, the gross primary 
enrollment rate was 42.3 percent, and the gap between boys' and girls' 
enrollment was significant (50 percent for boys and 34.5 percent for 
girls). School enrollment is also lower in rural areas (especially in 
the eastern region of the country), and girls are particularly 
affected. Other problems that plague the education system include a 
shortage of trained teachers, high teacher absenteeism, inadequate 
infrastructure, a French-only system of instruction, and a perception 
that education is not beneficial (especially in the case of girls). 
Inaccessibility of

[[Page 25635]]

schools in rural areas is exacerbated by a predominance of male 
teachers, which also reduces girls' attendance.
    In order to extend the reach of the education system, the Burkinabe 
government has opened bilingual satellite schools in several 
communities where full cycle schools are too far away for younger 
children, or where older children were unable to attend school at the 
appropriate age. Upon completing three years at these schools, children 
can travel longer distances to the nearest primary school. The 
government has also established non-formal basic education centers for 
older children who have not gone to school. Education at these centers 
is bilingual and includes vocational training.
    In September of 2002, the government of Burkina Faso launched a 10-
Year Basic Education Development Plan (2001-2010), which forms part of 
the country's poverty reduction strategy. Among the goals that the plan 
(commonly referred to as PDDEB) to be achieved by 2010 are: 70 percent 
school enrollment, 40 percent literacy, 3000 satellite schools, and 
3000 centers for non-formal basic education. The two primary focus 
areas of PDDEB are to increase educational access and to improve the 
quality and efficiency of schooling. PDDEB also envisions increasing 
girls' enrollment to 65 percent, addressing regional educational 
disparities, and strengthening the capacity of the educational system.
    Given the low rates of literacy and school enrollment in Burkina 
Faso and the widespread extent of child labor and trafficking, 
applicants should be strategic in selecting underserved areas with high 
rates of child labor or trafficking, and inadequate educational 
options. Applications should be as specific as possible in terms of the 
population to be targeted and services to be provided, taking care that 
proposed goals and objectives are realistic and achievable in the given 
timeframe. More importantly, in view of the fact that PDDEB addresses 
many of the concerns outlined above and has the commitment of key 
stakeholders, activities proposed should support PDDEB goals and work 
within its framework. Applications should clearly explain how proposed 
activities fit into the 10-year plan, and the contribution they will 
make to achieving its goals.
Mali
    In 2000, the ILO estimated that 51.1 percent of children between 
the ages of 10 and 14 in Mali were working. Children work in the 
agricultural sector, in gold mining and gold washing, and as domestic 
servants in urban areas. Children who are under the tutelage of 
religious teachers have also been found begging on the streets. 
Although details vary, it is often reported that Malian children, the 
majority of them boys, are trafficked outside of the country, 
predominantly to C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire, to work on coffee, cotton and 
cocoa farms. It is also reported that girls are trafficked to 
C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire to work as domestic servants. Children are 
trafficked by agents from organized networks who promise parents to 
provide the children with paid employment abroad. Commercial farm 
owners reportedly pay traffickers between U.S. $22 and $43 per child.
    Since 1998 Mali has been building its capacity to combat child 
labor at the national and regional levels. It is one of nine countries 
participating in a USDOL-funded project to combat the trafficking of 
children for exploitative labor in West and Central Africa, described 
at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/education/sga0305/bkgrdSGA0305.htm--. 
In collaboration with various private organizations, the president of 
Mali launched an awareness raising campaign on child labor in January 
2002. In March 2002, the Government of Mali ratified ILO Convention 138 
on the Minimum Age for Work. The government also has plans to implement 
a national child labor survey to measure the nature and extent of child 
labor. In addition, the governments of Mali and C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire 
signed a cooperative agreement in 2000 to control cross-border 
trafficking. The strategy includes the monitoring and prevention of 
child trafficking, and the repatriation and rehabilitation of children 
who have been trafficked.
    A large number of returned trafficked children are ethnically 
Dogon. These children come from the impoverished, rural areas of 
Koulikoro and Mopti. Their families traditionally raise petit-millet 
crops, which have short harvests from June until September. Since the 
harvest is managed mostly by women, the Dogon men, well-known for their 
physical labor, tend to migrate to other rural and urban areas in 
search of seasonal work. This tradition extends to Dogon children and 
allows for the early migration of boys, girls and young men to other 
regions in search of work. Some are trafficked externally from Sikasso, 
while others find work in the southern cotton-growing regions, or as 
domestic servants in urban areas.
    The Senoufo, an ethnic group found in southern Mali, have extensive 
family networks that cross into neighboring countries. In addition, the 
Senoufo have a tradition of traveling to find work. It is reported that 
unconfirmed numbers of Malian Senoufo boys are trafficked to work on 
the plantations of C[ocirc]te d'Ivoire.
    In Mali, three kinds of schools exist and they all follow a similar 
basic structure: government public schools, the religious Madrasas, and 
community schools. Many parents in Mali, the majority of whom are 
Muslim, choose to send their children (mostly boys) to Madrasas, or 
schools that offer Arabic and religious study in addition to basic 
subjects. However, Madrasas are either too expensive or do not exist in 
rural areas, so many parents compromise by sending their sons to study 
religion and literacy with the local Imam. Imams, not associated with 
the Madrasas, rely on payments from parents for their livelihood.
    In Mali, primary education is compulsory and free until the age of 
13, however students must pay for their own uniforms and school 
supplies to attend public schools. About 20 percent fewer girls than 
boys attend primary school, despite the overall higher population of 
girls.
    In the public schools, success at the primary level is based on a 
child's ability to use French rather than transferable thinking skills 
in local languages. The government of Mali recognized the community 
school model in 1992 in response to locally identified needs for 
literacy, numeracy, health care, agriculture and other life skills. 
Community schools teach the first few years of primary school in local 
languages and are designed to prevent large masses of children from 
migrating in search of work. To assist community schools, the Malian 
government has equipped and renovated classrooms, recruited teachers 
and produced new teaching materials.
    Obstacles to quality education for child workers and at risk 
children still exist, however, and low enrollment and attendance rates, 
drop outs and failures are partially attributed to parental decisions 
related to family work load, prohibitive school distances, school fees 
and other school-related costs. Rural areas also tend to have fewer 
vocational or literacy programs for working children.
    Applicants interested in working in Mali should design a project 
that addresses the gaps to quality basic education for child workers, 
trafficked children and at risk children, in areas with a high 
incidence or culture of child labor, by complementing, but not 
duplicating, already existing efforts.

[[Page 25636]]

IV. Requirements

A. Statement of Work

    Taking into account the challenges to educating working children in 
each country of interest, the applicant shall propose and implement 
creative and innovative approaches to provide educational opportunities 
to children engaged in or removed from child labor, particularly the 
worst forms. The expected outcomes/results of the project are to: (1) 
increase educational opportunities (enrollment) for children who are 
engaged in, at risk of, and/or removed from child labor, particularly 
its worst forms; (2) encourage retention in, and completion of 
educational programs; and (3) expand the successful transition of 
children in non-formal education into formal schools or vocational 
programs.
    In the course of implementation, each project shall promote the 
goals of USDOL's Child Labor Education Initiative listed in section 
III.A above. Because of the limited available resources under this 
award, applicants should implement programs that complement existing 
efforts and, where appropriate, replicate or enhance successful models 
to serve expanded numbers of children and communities. In order to 
avoid duplication, enhance collaboration, expand impact, and develop 
synergies, the grant awardee (hereafter referred to as ``Grantee'') 
should work cooperatively with national stakeholders in developing 
project interventions.
    Although USDOL is open to all proposals for innovative solutions to 
address the challenges of providing increased access to education to 
the children targeted, the applicant must, at a minimum, prepare 
responses following the outline of a preliminary project document 
presented in Appendix A. This response will be the foundation for the 
final project document that will be approved after award of the grant.
Note to All Applicants
    The Grantee is expected to consult with and work cooperatively with 
stakeholders in the countries, including the Ministries of Education 
and Labor, NGOs, national steering/advisory committees on child labor 
education, faith and community-based organizations, and working 
children and their families. Where practical, there should be efforts 
to collaborate with existing projects, particularly those funded by 
USDOL.

B. Deliverables

    In addition to meeting the above requirements, the Grantee will be 
expected to monitor the implementation of the program, report to USDOL 
on a quarterly basis, and undergo evaluation of program results. 
Guidance on USDOL procedures and management requirements will be 
provided to the Grantee in written Management Procedures and Guidelines 
(MPG) after award. The project budget must include funds to plan, 
implement and evaluate programs and activities, conduct various studies 
pertinent to project implementation, to establish education baselines 
to measure program results, and travel to meet with USDOL officials in 
Washington DC at yearly intervals. Applicants based both within and 
outside the United States should also budget for travel to Washington 
DC at the beginning for a post-award meeting with USDOL. Indicators of 
performance will also be developed by the Grantee and approved by 
USDOL. Unless otherwise indicated, the Grantee must submit copies of 
all required reports to ILAB by the specified due dates. Specific 
deliverables are the following:
1. Project Design Document
    The Grantee will prepare a preliminary project document in the 
format described in Appendix A, with design elements linked to a 
logical framework matrix. See http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/education/sga0305/bkgrdSGA0305.htm for a worked example. The project document 
will include a background/justification section, project strategy 
(goal, purpose, outputs, activities, indicators, means of verification, 
assumptions), project implementation timetable and project budget. The 
narrative will address the criteria/themes described in section V.B.1 
below Program Design/Budget-Cost Effectiveness. The final project 
design document will be based on the application written in response to 
this solicitation, but will include the results of additional 
consultation with stakeholders, partners, and ILAB. The document will 
also include sections that address coordination strategies, project 
management and sustainability. The final project document will be 
delivered three months after the time of the award.
2. Technical and Financial Progress Reports
    The format for the technical progress report will be provided in 
the MPG distributed after the award. The Grantee must furnish a typed 
technical report to ILAB on a quarterly basis by 31 March, 30 June, 30 
September, and 31 December. Technical reports will include:
    a. For each project objective, an accurate account of activities 
carried out under that objective during the reporting period;
    b. A description of current problems that may impede performance, 
and proposed corrective action;
    c. Future actions planned in support of each project objective;
    d. Aggregate amount of costs incurred during the reporting period 
relative to each objective; and
    e. Progress on common Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) 
indicators (to be reported semi-annually) to be provided to Grantees 
after award.
    The Grantee must also furnish separate financial reports (SF 272 
and 269) to ILAB on the quarterly basis mentioned above.
3. Annual Work Plan
    An annual work plan will be developed within three months of 
project award and approved by ILAB so as to ensure coordination with 
other relevant social actors in the country. Subsequent annual work 
plans will be delivered no later than one year after the previous one.
4. Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
    A performance monitoring and evaluation plan will be developed, in 
collaboration with ILAB, including beginning and ending dates for the 
project, planned and actual dates for mid-term review, and final end of 
project evaluations. The performance monitoring plan will be developed 
in conjunction with the logical framework project design and common 
indicators for GPRA reporting selected by ILAB. Baseline data 
collection will be tied to the indicators of the project design 
document and the performance monitoring plan. A draft monitoring and 
evaluation plan will be submitted to ILAB within four months of project 
award.
5. Project Evaluation
    The Grantee and the Grant Officer's Technical Representative (GOTR) 
will determine on a case-by-case basis whether mid-term evaluations 
will be conducted by an internal or external evaluation team. All final 
evaluations will be external in nature. The Grantee must respond in 
writing to any comments and recommendations resulting from the review 
of the mid-term report. The budget must include

[[Page 25637]]

the projected cost of mid-term and final evaluations.

C. Production of Deliverables

1. Materials Prepared Under the Cooperative Agreement
    The Grantee must submit to ILAB all media-related and educational 
materials developed by it or its sub-contractors before they are 
reproduced, published, or used. ILAB considers that education materials 
include brochures, pamphlets, videotapes, slide-tape shows, curricula, 
and any other training materials used in the program. ILAB will review 
materials for technical accuracy. The Grantee must obtain prior 
approval from the Grant's Officer Technical Representative for all 
materials developed or purchased under this grant. All materials 
produced by the Grantee must be provided to ILAB in digital format for 
possible publication by ILAB.
2. Acknowledgement of USDOL Funding
    In all circumstances, the following must be displayed on printed 
materials:
    [sbull] ``Preparation of this item was funded by the United States 
Department of Labor under Cooperative Agreement No. E-9-X-X-XXXX.''
    When issuing statements, press releases, requests for proposals, 
bid solicitations, and other documents describing projects or programs 
funded in whole or in part with Federal money, all Grantees receiving 
Federal funds, including State and local governments and recipients of 
Federal research grants, must clearly state:
    a.The percentage of the total costs of the program or project that 
will be financed with Federal money;
    b. The dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or program; 
and
    c. The percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the 
project or program that will be financed by non-governmental sources.
    In consultation with ILAB, USDOL will be acknowledged in one of the 
following ways:
    a. The USDOL logo may be applied to USDOL-funded material prepared 
for worldwide distribution, including posters, videos, pamphlets, 
research documents, national survey results, impact evaluations, best 
practice reports, and other publications of global interest. The 
Grantee must consult with USDOL on whether the logo may be used on any 
such items prior to final draft or final preparation for distribution. 
In no event will the USDOL logo be placed on any item until USDOL has 
given the Grantee written permission to use the logo on the item.
    b. If ILAB determines that the use of the logo is not appropriate 
and written permission is not given, the following notice must appear 
on the document: ``This document does not necessarily reflect the views 
or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade 
names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the 
U.S. government.''

D. Administrative Requirements

1. General
    Grantee organizations are subject to applicable U.S. Federal laws 
(including provisions of appropriations law) and the applicable Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars. Determinations of allowable 
costs will be made in accordance with the applicable U.S. Federal cost 
principles. The Grantee will also be required to submit to a bi-annual 
independent audit, and costs for such an audit should be included in 
direct or indirect costs, whichever is appropriate.
    The grant awarded under this SGA is subject to the following 
administrative standards and provisions, if applicable:

29 CFR Part 36--Federal Standards for Nondiscrimination on the Basis of 
Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial 
Assistance.

29 CFR Part 93--New Restrictions on Lobbying.
29 CFR Part 95--Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and 
Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other 
Non-Profit Organizations, and with Commercial Organizations, Foreign 
Governments, Organizations Under the Jurisdiction of Foreign 
Governments and International Organizations.
29 CFR Part 96--Federal Standards for Audit of Federally Funded Grants, 
Contracts and Agreements.
29 CFR Part 98--Federal Standards for Government-wide Debarment and 
Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Government-wide Requirements for Drug-
Free Workplace (Grants).
29 CFR Part 99--Federal Standards for Audits of States, Local 
Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations.

    Applicants are reminded to budget for compliance with the 
administrative requirements set forth. This includes the cost of 
performing administrative activities such as financial audit, closeout, 
evaluation, document preparation, as well as compliance with 
procurement and property standards. Copies of all regulations 
referenced in this SGA are available at no cost, on-line, at http://www.dol.gov.
2. Sub-Contracts
    Sub-contracts must be awarded in accordance with 29 CFR 95.40-48. 
In compliance with Executive Orders 12876, as amended, 13230, 12928 and 
13021, as amended, the Grantee is strongly encouraged to provide sub-
contracting opportunities to Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Tribal Colleges and 
Universities.
3. Key Personnel
    The applicant shall list an individual(s) who has been designated 
as having primary responsibility for the conduct and completion of all 
project work. The applicant must submit written proof that key 
personnel will be available to begin work on the project no later than 
three weeks after award. The Grantee agrees to inform the GOTR whenever 
it appears impossible for this individual(s) to continue work on the 
project as planned. The Grantee may nominate substitute personnel and 
submit the nominations to the GOTR; however, the Grantee must obtain 
prior approval from the Grant Officer for all key personnel. If the 
Grant Officer is unable to approve the personnel change, he/she 
reserves the right to terminate the grant.
4. Encumbrance of Grant Funds
    Grant funds may not be encumbered/obligated by the Grantee before 
or after the period of performance. Encumbrances/obligations 
outstanding as of the end of the grant period may be liquidated (paid 
out) after the end of the grant period. Such encumbrances/obligations 
shall involve only specified commitments for which a need existed 
during the grant period and which are supported by approved contracts, 
purchase orders, requisitions, invoices, bills, or other evidence of 
liability consistent with the Grantee's purchasing procedures and 
incurred within the grant period. All encumbrances/obligations incurred 
during the grant period shall be liquidated within 90 days after the 
end of the grant period, if practicable.
5. Site Visits
    USDOL, through its authorized representatives, has the right, at 
all reasonable times, to make site visits to review project 
accomplishments and management control systems and to provide such 
technical assistance as may be required. If USDOL makes any site visit 
on the premises of the Grantee or a sub-contractor(s) under this grant, 
the Grantee shall provide and shall require its sub-contractors to 
provide all reasonable facilities and assistance for

[[Page 25638]]

the safety and convenience of government representatives in the 
performance of their duties. All site visits and evaluations shall be 
performed in a manner that will not unduly delay the work.

V. Review and Selection of Applicants for Award

A. The Review Process

    USDOL will screen all applications to determine whether all 
required elements are present and clearly identifiable. Each complete 
application will be objectively rated by a technical panel against the 
criteria described in this announcement. Applicants are advised that 
panel recommendations to the Grant Officer are advisory in nature. The 
Grant Officer may elect to select a Grantee on the basis of the initial 
application submission; or, the Grant Officer may establish a 
competitive or technically acceptable range for the purpose of 
selecting qualified applicants. If deemed appropriate, following the 
Grant Officer's call for the preparation and receipt of final revisions 
of applications, the evaluations process described above will be 
repeated to consider such revisions. The Grant Officer will make final 
selection determinations based on panel findings and consideration of 
factors that may be most advantageous to the government, such as 
geographic distribution of the competitive applications, cost, the 
availability of funds and other factors. The Grant Officer's 
determinations for awards under this SGA are final.

    Note: Selection of an organization as a grant recipient does not 
constitute approval of the grant application as submitted. Before 
the actual grant is awarded, USDOL may enter into negotiations about 
such items as program components, funding levels, and administrative 
systems in place to support grant implementation. If the 
negotiations do not result in an acceptable submission, the Grant 
Officer reserves the right to terminate the negotiation and decline 
to fund the application. Award is also contingent upon signature of 
a letter of agreement between USDOL and relevant ministries in 
target countries.

B. Rating Criteria and Selection

    The technical panel will review applications written in the 
specified format (see section III.B and Appendix A) against the various 
criteria on the basis of 100 points. Five additional points will be 
given for non-Federal or leveraged resources. Applicants are requested 
to prepare their written response (45 page maximum) on the basis of the 
following rating factors, which are presented in the order of emphasis 
that they will receive.

Program Design/Budget-Cost Effectiveness: 45 points
Organizational Capacity: 30 points
Management Plan/Key Personnel/Staffing: 25 points
Leveraging: 5 extra points
1. Project/Program Design/Budget--Cost Effectiveness (45 points)
    This part of the application constitutes the preliminary project 
document described in section IV.B.1 and outlined in Appendix A. (Note: 
The supporting logical framework matrix will not count in the 45-page 
limit but should be included as an annex to the project document. To 
guide applicants, a sample logical framework matrix for a hypothetical 
child labor education project is available at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/education/sga0305/bkgrdSGA0305.htm.) The applicant should 
describe in detail the proposed approach to comply with each 
requirement in section IV.A of this solicitation.
    This component of the application should demonstrate the 
applicant's thorough knowledge and understanding of the issues, 
barriers and challenges involved in providing education to children 
engaged in or at risk of engaging in child labor, particularly its 
worst forms; best-practice solutions to address their needs; and the 
implementing environment in the selected country. When complying with 
the project document outline, the applicant should at minimum include a 
description of:
    [sbull] Children Targeted--The applicant will identify which and 
how many children will benefit from the project, including the sectors 
in which they work, geographical location, and other relevant 
characteristics.
    [sbull] Needs/Gaps/Barriers--The applicant will describe the 
specific gaps/educational needs of the children targeted that the 
project will address.
    [sbull] Proposed Strategy--The applicant will discuss the proposed 
strategy to address gaps/needs/barriers and its rationale.
    [sbull] Description of Activities--The applicant will provide a 
detailed description of proposed activities that relate to the gaps/
needs/barriers to be addressed including training and technical 
assistance to be provided to project staff, host country nationals, and 
community groups involved in the project. Ideally, the proposed 
approach should build upon existing activities, and government policies 
and plans and avoid needless duplication.
    [sbull] Work Plan--The applicant will provide a detailed work plan 
and timeline for the proposed project, preferably with a visual such as 
a Gantt chart.
    [sbull] Program Management and Performance Assessment--The 
applicant will describe: (1) How management will ensure that the goals 
and objectives will be met; (2) how information and data will be 
collected and used to demonstrate the impacts of the project; and (3) 
what systems will be put in place for self-assessment, evaluation and 
continuous improvement. USDOL has already developed common indicators 
and a database system for monitoring children's educational progress 
that can be used and adapted by Grantees after award so that they do 
not need to set up this type of system from scratch.
    [sbull] Budget/Cost Effectiveness--The applicant will show how the 
budget reflects program goals and design in a cost-effective way so as 
to reflect budget/performance integration. The budget should be linked 
to the activities and outputs of the implementation plan listed above. 
This section of the application should explain the costs for performing 
all of the requirements presented in this solicitation, and for 
producing all required reports and other deliverables. Costs must 
include labor, equipment, travel, audits, evaluations, and other 
related costs. Preference may be given to applicants with low 
administrative costs, and all costs should be reported as they will 
become part of the cooperative agreement upon award. In their cost 
proposal, applicants must reflect a breakdown of the total 
administrative costs into direct administrative costs and indirect 
administrative costs. This section will be evaluated in accordance with 
applicable Federal laws and regulations. The budget must comply with 
Federal cost principles (which can be found in the applicable OMB 
Circulars) and with ILAB budget requirements contained in the 
application instructions in section III of this solicitation. 
Applicants are advised that customs and Value Added Tax (VAT) 
exemptions may not be allowed, and should take into account such costs 
in budget preparation. If major costs are omitted, the Grantee may not 
be allowed to include them later.
2. Organizational Capacity (35 points)
    The applicant should present the qualifications of the 
organization(s) implementing the program/project. The evaluation 
criteria in this category are as follows:

[[Page 25639]]

    a. International Experience--The organization applying for the 
award has international experience implementing basic, transitional, 
non-formal or vocational education programs that address issues of 
access, quality, and policy reform for vulnerable children including 
children engaged in or at risk of child labor, preferably in the 
country of interest or neighboring countries.
    b. Country Presence--An applicant must demonstrate a country 
presence, or the capability to establish a country presence, 
independently or through a relationship with another organization(s) 
with country presence, which gives it the capability to work directly 
with government ministries, educators, civil society leaders, and other 
local faith-based or community organizations. Applicants without 
country presence must provide evidence that legal country presence can 
be established within 90 days of award. For applicants that do not have 
independent country presence, documentation of the relationship with 
the organization(s) with such a presence must be provided, or the 
capacity to establish such a relationship within 90 days of award.
    c. Fiscal Oversight--The organization shows evidence of a sound 
financial system. The results of the most current independent financial 
audit must accompany the application, and applicants without one will 
not be considered.
    d. Coordination--If two or more organizations are applying for the 
award in the form of a partnership, they must demonstrate an approach 
to ensure the successful collaboration including clear delineation of 
respective roles and responsibilities. The applicants must also 
identify the lead organization (Grantee) and submit the partnership 
agreement. Partners of the Grantee will be designated as contractors or 
sub-contractors.
    e. Experience--The application must include information about 
previous grant or contracts of the applicant and partners that are 
relevant to this solicitation including:
    1. The organizations for which the work was done;
    2. A contact person in that organization with their current phone 
number;
    3. The dollar value of the grant, contract, or cooperative 
agreement for the project;
    4. The time frame and professional effort involved in the project;
    5. A brief summary of the work performed; and
    6. A brief summary of accomplishments.
    This information on previous grants and contracts held by the 
applicant and partners shall be provided in appendices and will not 
count in the maximum page requirement.
3. Management/Plan/Key Personnel/Staffing (25 points)
    Successful performance of the proposed work depends heavily on the 
management skills and qualifications of the individuals committed to 
the project. Accordingly, in its evaluation of each application, USDOL 
will place emphasis on the applicant's management approach and 
commitment of personnel qualified for the work involved in 
accomplishing the assigned tasks. This section of the application must 
include sufficient information to judge management and staffing plans, 
and the experience and competence of program staff proposed for the 
project to assure that they meet the required qualifications. 
Information provided on the experience and educational background of 
personnel should include the following:
    a. The identity of key personnel assigned to the project. ``Key 
personnel'' are staff who are essential to the successful operation of 
the project and completion of the proposed work and, therefore, may not 
be replaced or have hours reduced without the approval of the Grant 
Officer.
    b. The educational background and experience of all staff to be 
assigned to the project.
    c. The special capabilities of staff that demonstrate prior 
experience in organizing, managing and performing similar efforts.
    d. The current employment status of staff and availability for this 
project. The applicant must also indicate whether the proposed work 
will be performed by persons currently employed or is dependent upon 
planned recruitment or sub-contracting.
    Note that management and professional technical staff members 
comprising the applicant's proposed team should be individuals who have 
prior experience with organizations working in similar efforts, and are 
fully qualified to perform work specified in the Statement of Work. 
Where sub-contractors or outside assistance are proposed, 
organizational control should be clearly delineated to ensure 
responsiveness to the needs of USDOL. Key personnel must sign letters 
of agreement to serve on the project, and indicate availability to 
commence work within three weeks of grant award.
    In this section, the following information must be furnished:
    a. Key personnel--For each country for which an application is 
submitted, the applicant must designate the key personnel listed below. 
If key personnel are not designated, the application will not be 
considered.
    i. A Project Director (Key Personnel) to oversee the project and be 
responsible for implementation of the requirements of the grant. The 
Program Director must have a minimum of three years of professional 
experience in a leadership role in implementation of complex basic 
education programs in developing countries in areas such as education 
policy; improving educational quality and access; educational 
assessment of disadvantaged students; development of community 
participation in the improvement of basic education for disadvantaged 
children, and monitoring and evaluation of basic education projects. 
Points will be given for candidates with additional years of experience 
including experience working with officials of ministries of education 
and/or labor. Preferred candidates will also have knowledge of child 
labor issues, and experience in the development of transitional, 
formal, and vocational education of children removed from child labor 
and/or victims of the worst forms of child labor. Fluency in English is 
required and working knowledge of the official language(s) spoken in 
the target countries is preferred.
    ii. An Education Specialist (Key Personnel) who will provide 
leadership in developing the technical aspects of this project in 
collaboration with the Project Director. This person must have at least 
three years experience in basic education projects in developing 
countries in areas including student assessment, teacher training, 
educational materials development, educational management, and 
educational monitoring and information systems. This person must have 
experience in working successfully with ministries of education, 
networks of educators, employers' organizations and trade union 
representatives or comparable entities. Additional experience with 
child labor/education policy and monitoring and evaluation is an asset. 
Working knowledge of English preferred, as is a similar knowledge of 
official language(s) spoken in the target country.
    b. Other Personnel--The applicant must identify other program 
personnel proposed to carry out the requirements of this solicitation.
    c. Management Plan--The management plan must include the following:

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    i. A description of the functional relationship between elements of 
the project's management structure;
    ii. The identity of the individual responsible for project 
management and the lines of authority between this individual and other 
elements of the project.
    d. Staff loading Plan--The staff loading plan must identify all key 
tasks and the person-days required to complete each task. Labor 
estimated for each task must be broken down by individuals assigned to 
the task, including sub-contractors and consultants. All key tasks 
should be charted to show time required to perform them by months or 
weeks.
    e. Roles and Responsibilities--The applicant must include a resume 
and description of the roles and responsibilities of all personnel 
proposed. Resumes must be attached in an appendix. At a minimum, each 
resume must include: the individual's current employment status and 
previous work experience, including position title, duties, dates in 
position, employing organizations, and educational background. Duties 
must be clearly defined in terms of role performed, e.g., manager, team 
leader, consultant, etc. Indicate whether the individual is currently 
employed by the applicant, and (if so) for how long.
4. Leverage of Grant Funding (5 points)
    The Department will give up to five (5) additional rating points to 
applications that include non-Federal resources that significantly 
expand the dollar amount, size and scope of the application. These 
programs will not be financed by the project, but can complement and 
enhance project objectives. Applicants are also encouraged to leverage 
activities such as micro-credit or income generation projects for 
adults that are not directly allowable under the grant. To be eligible 
for the additional points, the applicant must list the source(s) of 
funds, the nature, and possible activities anticipated with these funds 
under this grant and any partnerships, linkages or coordination of 
activities, cooperative funding, etc.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 6th day of May, 2003.
Daniel P. Murphy,
Grant Officer.

Appendix A: Project Document Format

Executive Summary

1. Background and Justification

2. Target Groups

3. Program Approach and Strategy

    3.1 Narrative of Approach and Strategy (and linked to Logical 
Framework matrix).
    3.2 Project Implementation Timeline (Gantt Chart of Activities 
linked to Logical Framework).
    3.3 Budget (with cost of Activities linked to Outputs for Budget 
Performance Integration).

4. Project Monitoring and Evaluation

    4.1 Indicators and Means of Verification.\*\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \*\ Initial choice of and justification of indicators and means 
of verification can be refined and/or adapted after baseline 
collection and development of Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4.2 Baseline Data Collection Plan.

5. Institutional and Management Framework

    5.1 Institutional Arrangements for Implementation.
    5.2 Collaborating and Implementing Institutions (Partners) and 
Responsibilities.
    5.3 Other Donor or International Organization Activity and 
Coordination.
    5.4 Project Management Organizational Chart.

6. Inputs

    6.1 Inputs provided by the DOL.
    6.2 Inputs provided by the Grantee.
    6.3 National and/or Other Contributions.

7. Sustainability

    Annex A: Full presentation of the Logical Framework matrix.

(A worked example of a Logical Framework matrix and other background 
documentation for this SGA are available from the ILAB Web site at 
http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/education/sga0305/bkgrdSGA0305.htm.)

[FR Doc. 03-11857 Filed 5-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-28-P