[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 160 (Friday, August 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47787-47791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-13648]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Overview 
Information; Centers for Independent Living; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.132A.

    Dates: Applications Available: August 18, 2006. Deadline for 
Transmittal of Applications: September 18, 2006.
    Eligible Applicants: To be eligible to apply, an applicant must--
    (a) Be a consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability, 
nonresidential, private nonprofit agency;
    (b) Have the power and authority to--
    (1) Carry out the purpose of part C of title VII of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Act) and perform the 
functions listed in section 725(b) and (c) of the Act and subparts F 
and G of 34 CFR part 366 within a community located within a State or 
in a bordering State; and
    (2) Receive and administer--
    (i) Funds under 34 CFR part 366;
    (ii) Funds and contributions from private or public sources that 
may be used in support of a center for independent living (center); and
    (iii) Funds from other public and private programs;
    (c) Be able to plan, conduct, administer, and evaluate a center 
consistent with the standards and assurances in section 725(b) and (c) 
of the Act and subparts F and G of 34 CFR part 366;
    (d) Either--
    (1) Not currently be receiving funds under part C of chapter 1 of 
title VII of the Act; or
    (2) Propose the expansion of an existing center through the 
establishment of a separate and complete center (except that the 
governing board of the existing center may serve as the governing board 
of the new center) at a different geographical location;

[[Page 47788]]

    (e) Propose to serve one or more of the geographic areas that are 
identified as unserved or underserved by the State and territories 
listed under Estimated Number of Awards; and
    (f) Submit appropriate documentation demonstrating that the 
establishment of a new center is consistent with the design for 
establishing a statewide network of centers in the State plan of the 
State or territory whose geographic area or areas the applicant 
proposes to serve.
    Estimated Available Funds: $154,046.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 1, distributed in the following manner:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Estimated
        States and territories             Estimated        number of
                                        available funds       awards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Samoa........................        $154,046                1
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.


    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: This program provides support for planning, 
conducting, administering, and evaluating centers that comply with the 
standards and assurances in section 725 of the Act, consistent with the 
design included in the State plan for establishing a statewide network 
of centers.


    Program Authority:  29 U.S.C. 796f-1.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, and 97. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR 
parts 364 and 366.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $154,046.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 1, distributed in the following manner:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Estimated
        States and territories             Estimated        number of
                                        available funds       awards
------------------------------------------------------------------------
American Samoa........................        $154,046                1
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.


    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: To be eligible to apply, an applicant 
must--
    (a) Be a consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability, 
nonresidential, private nonprofit agency;
    (b) Have the power and authority to--
    (1) Carry out the purpose of part C of title VII of the Act and 
perform the functions listed in section 725(b) and (c) of the Act and 
subparts F and G of 34 CFR part 366 within a community located within a 
State or in a bordering State; and
    (2) Receive and administer--
    (i) Funds under 34 CFR part 366;
    (ii) Funds and contributions from private or public sources that 
may be used in support of a center; and
    (iii) Funds from other public and private programs;
    (c) Be able to plan, conduct, administer, and evaluate a center 
consistent with the standards and assurances in section 725(b) and (c) 
of the Act and subparts F and G of 34 CFR part 366;
    (d) Either--
    (1) Not currently be receiving funds under part C of chapter 1 of 
title VII of the Act; or
    (2) Propose the expansion of an existing center through the 
establishment of a separate and complete center (except that the 
governing board of the existing center may serve as the governing board 
of the new center) at a different geographical location;
    (e) Propose to serve one or more of the geographic areas that are 
identified as unserved or underserved by the States and territories 
listed under Estimated Number of Awards; and
    (f) Submit appropriate documentation demonstrating that the 
establishment of a new center is consistent with the design for 
establishing a statewide network of centers in the State plan of the 
State or territory whose geographic area or areas the applicant 
proposes to serve.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address To Request Application Package: Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll 
free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free): 
1-877-576-7734. You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html or you may contact ED Pubs at its E-mail 
address: [email protected].
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.132A.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the Grants and Contracts 
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Room 5075, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: 
(202) 245-7363. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf 
(TDD), you may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
    3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: August 18, 
2006. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 18, 2006.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (http://www.grants.gov). 
For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify 
for an exception

[[Page 47789]]

to the electronic submission requirement, please refer to section IV. 
6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive 
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. However, in order to 
ensure that these FY 2006 grants are made before September 30, 2006, 
the 60-day intergovernmental review period has been waived.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify 
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the 
instructions in this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications: Applications for grants 
under the Centers for Independent Living program--CFDA Number 84.132A 
must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site at: 
http://www.grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download 
a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload 
and submit your application. You may not E-mail an electronic copy of a 
grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Centers for 
Independent Living program at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search 
for the downloadable application package for this program by the CFDA 
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search.
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application 
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we 
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the 
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that 
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures 
pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps 
include (1) registering your organization, (2) registering yourself as 
an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), and (3) getting 
authorized as an AOR by your organization. Details on these steps are 
outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see http://
www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.gov govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You 
also must provide on your application the same D-U-N-S Number used with 
this registration. Please note that the registration process may take 
five or more business days to complete, and you must have completed all 
registration steps to allow you to submit successfully an application 
via Grants.gov.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information typically included on the following forms: Application 
for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education 
Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurance and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have 
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance). You 
must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in a 
.DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. 
If you upload a file type other than the three file types specified 
above or submit a password protected file, we will not review that 
material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a 
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your 
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying 
number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are prevented from electronically 
submitting your application on the application deadline date because of 
technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an 
extension until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business 
day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by 
hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the 
mailing instructions as described elsewhere in this notice. If you 
submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington DC time, on the 
deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in this 
notice under For Further Information Contact, and provide an 
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, 
along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). We 
will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the

[[Page 47790]]

Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to submit 
your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. The Department will contact you after a determination is 
made on whether your application will be accepted.


    Note: Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the 
unavailability of or technical problems with the Grants.gov system. 
We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register 
to submit your application to Grants.gov before the deadline date 
and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to 
the Grants.gov system.


    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system;
     and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax 
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed 
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: Thomas Kelley, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 5055, Potomac 
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2800. FAX: (202) 245-7593.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
     Submission of Paper Applications By Mail: If you qualify for any 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, you may mail 
(through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), your 
application to the Department. You must mail the original and two 
copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, 
to the Department at the applicable following address:

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.132A), 400 
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260;
     or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.132A), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.

    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service,
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier, or
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark, or
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.


    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.


    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.132A), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays, and Federal holidays.


    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:

    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by 
the Department--in the appropriate place on the SF 424 the CFDA 
number--and suffix letter, if any--of the competition under which 
you are submitting your application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application 
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant 
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition 
are in 34 CFR 366.27.
    2. Review and Selection Process: An additional factor we consider 
in selecting an application for an award is comments regarding the 
application, if any, by the State Independent Living Council in the 
State or territory in which the applicant is located.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a 
final performance report, including financial information, as directed 
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an 
annual performance report that provides the most current performance 
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 
34 CFR 75.118.
    4. Performance Measures: The Government Performance and Results Act 
of 1993 (GPRA) directs Federal departments and agencies to improve the 
effectiveness of their programs by engaging in strategic planning, 
setting outcome-related goals for programs, and measuring program 
results against those goals.

[[Page 47791]]

    The goal of the Centers for Independent Living program is to 
promote and practice the independent living philosophy of consumer 
control of the center regarding decisionmaking, service delivery, 
management, and establishment of the policy and direction of the 
center; self-help and self-advocacy; development of peer relationships 
and peer role models; and the equal access of individuals with 
significant disabilities to society and to all services, programs, 
activities, resources, and facilities, whether public or private and 
regardless of the funding source.
    In order to measure the success of one component of meeting this 
goal, each grantee is required to track the number of individuals who 
leave nursing homes and other institutions for community-based housing 
due to independent living services provided by the center. In annual 
performance reports, centers are required to provide information on the 
number of individuals requesting this service and the number of 
individuals who successfully relocated from institutionalized to 
community-based living.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Thomas Kelley, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 5055, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-2800. Telephone: (202) 245-7404.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this 
section.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: August 14, 2006.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
 [FR Doc. E6-13648 Filed 8-17-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P