[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 235 (Tuesday, December 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76294-76297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30868]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[CFDA Numbers: 93.581, 93.587, 93.612, 93.340]


Request for Public Comment on the Proposed Adoption of 
Administration for Native Americans Program Policies and Procedures

AGENCY: Administration for Native Americans, ACF, HHS.

ACTION: Notice for public comment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 814 of the Native American Programs Act of 
1974 (NAPA), as amended, the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) 
is required to provide members of the public an opportunity to comment 
on proposed changes in interpretive rules and general statements of 
policy, and to give notice of the proposed adoption of such changes at 
least 30 days before the changes become effective. In accordance with 
notice requirements of NAPA, ANA herein describes its proposed 
interpretive rules, general statements of policy, and rules of agency 
procedure or practice as they relate to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 
Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) for the following programs: (1) 
Social and Economic Development Strategies (hereinafter referred to as 
SEDS) (HHS-2014-ACF-ANA-NA-0776); (2) Social and Economic Development 
Strategies- Alaska (hereinafter referred to as SEDS-AK) (HHS-2015-ACF-
ANA-NK-0960); (3) Native Asset Building Initiative (hereinafter 
referred to as NABI) (HHS-2015-ACF-ANA-NO-0954); (4) Sustainable 
Employment and Economic Development Strategies (hereinafter referred to 
as SEEDS) (HHS-2014-ACF-ANA-NE-0779); (5) Native Language Preservation 
and Maintenance (hereinafter referred to as Language Preservation) 
(HHS-2014-ACF-ANA-NL-0778); (6) Native Language Preservation and 
Maintenance--Esther Martinez Immersion (hereinafter referred to as 
Language--EMI) (HHS-2014-ACF-ANA-NB-0780); (7) Environmental Regulatory 
Enhancement (hereinafter referred to as ERE) (HHS-2014-ACF-ANA-NR-
0777); and new FOAs for FY2016--(8) Native Language Community 
Coordination Demonstration Project (hereinafter referred to as NLCC) 
(HHS-2016-ACF-ANA-NS-1168); and (9) Native Youth Initiative for 
Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (hereinafter referred to as 
Native Youth I-LEAD) (HHS-2016-ACF-ANA-NC-1167) . This notice of public 
comment also provides additional information about ANA's plan for 
administering the programs.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of comments is 15 days from the date of 
publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Send comments in response to this notice via email to 
Lillian Sparks Robinson, Commissioner, Administration for Native 
Americans at [email protected]. Comments will be available 
for inspection by members of the public at the Administration for 
Native Americans, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmelia Strickland, Director, 
Division of Program Operations, ANA (877) 922-9262.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 814 of NAPA, as amended, requires 
ANA to provide notice of its proposed interpretive rules and general 
statements of policy. The proposed clarifications, modifications, and 
new text will appear in the eight FY 2016 FOAs: SEDS, SEDS-AK, SEEDS, 
Language Preservation, Language--EMI, ERE, NLCC, and Native Youth I-
LEAD. This notice serves to fulfill this requirement.

A. New Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs)

    ANA will offer two new FOAs in FY 2016. The proposed changes to FOA 
content and policies described in this Notice of Public Comment also 
will be applicable to the new FOAs described here:
    1. Native Youth Initiative for Leadership, Empowerment, and 
Development (I-LEAD) FOA; 42 U.S.C. 2991b (HHS-2016-ACF-ANA-NC-1167): 
ANA plans to publish a new FOA to support projects that will take a 
comprehensive, culturally-appropriate, approach to ensure all young 
Native

[[Page 76295]]

people can thrive and reach their full potential by fostering Native 
youth resilience, capacity building, and leadership. The program will 
be known as Native Youth Initiative for Leadership, Empowerment, and 
Development (I-LEAD).
    While youth development projects are also eligible for funding 
under ANA's SEDS FOA, Native Youth I-LEAD will specifically focus on 
implementation of community programs that promote Native youth 
resiliency and foster protective factors such as connections with 
Native languages and Elders, positive peer groups, culturally-
responsive parenting resources, models of safe sanctuary, and 
reconnection with traditional healing. Projects will also promote 
Native youth leadership development through the establishment of local 
models to instill confidence in Native youth of their value and 
potential, preparation of older youth to be role models for younger 
peers, and activities that foster leadership and skills-building. In 
addition, it is required that Native youth will be actively involved 
during the planning and implementation phases of the projects to ensure 
that they are responsive to the needs of Native youth in the 
communities to be served and to ensure that youth remain engaged 
throughout the project period. Awards made under this FOA will be 
cooperative agreements since ANA anticipates substantial programmatic 
involvement with the recipient during performance of financially-
assisted activities that will include specialized and directed 
technical assistance and support across the cohort of recipients.
    ANA's Administrative Policies that prevent recipients from having 
concurrent or successive grants with the same CFDA Number, 93.612, will 
not apply to recipients under the Native Youth I-LEAD FOA.
    2. Native Language Community Coordination Demonstration Project 
FOA; (HHS-2016-ACF-ANA-NS-1168): ANA plans to publish a new FOA whose 
purpose is to build upon the successes of ANA's short-term, project-
based Native Language funding. This initiative is intended as a place-
based demonstration that will address gaps in community coordination 
across the Native language educational continuum. An essential aspect 
of this initiative is community capacity-building focused on the role 
and influence of Native language on Native students' academic success, 
school attendance, and career readiness. Projects funded under this 
initiative will ensure high-quality Native language instruction from 
early childhood through college and/or career. Projects also will be 
required to provide appropriate and culturally-responsive curricula, 
Native language teacher professional development, and additional 
services and supports that are aligned, implemented, and evaluated to 
create a seamless path for Native language acquisition across 
generations for educational and economic success. Awards made under 
this FOA will be cooperative agreements since ANA anticipates 
substantial programmatic involvement with the recipient during 
performance of financially-assisted activities that will include 
specialized and directed technical assistance and support across the 
cohort of recipients.
    This FOA will be published under ANA's Community Research, 
Demonstration and Pilot Projects CFDA Number, 93.340. Under the NAPA 42 
U.S.C. 2991d, the Commissioner has authority to provide financial 
assistance conducted to public or private agencies for research, 
demonstration, or pilot projects which are designed to test or assist 
in the development of new approaches or methods that will aid in 
overcoming special problems.
    For some time, ANA has heard during tribal consultations and 
language summits that it is difficult to coordinate stand-alone 
language programs into the broader educational system. Also, tribal, 
public, charter, private schools, and colleges and universities that 
use primarily Native American languages to deliver education report 
that students from schools, which have been successful in coordinating 
language programs, have high school graduation rates and college 
attendance rates above the norm for their peers. This initiative will 
address gaps in community coordination; bring together key drivers of 
program effectiveness; test the efficacy of distinctive Native teaching 
materials, methods, and activities; and, contribute to the evidence 
base of Native language student outcomes.
    Since this program will use the CFDA Number 93.340, ANA's 
Administrative Policy that prevents applicants from having concurrent 
grants under the same CFDA Number is not applicable to Native Language 
Community Coordination Demonstration Project FOA (HHS-2016-ACF-ANA-NS-
1168).

a. New Administrative Policy for Native Language Community Coordination 
Demonstration Project

    Applicants for funding under this demonstration project must be 
able to identify existing Native language instruction programs or 
partnerships that are in place and will be developed or expanded during 
the project's implementation. Since one purpose of the demonstration 
project is to facilitate the coordination of Native language 
instruction and services among early childhood development, elementary, 
middle-school, high school, and higher education partners, we require 
third-party agreements from each of the identified partners describing 
or demonstrating their commitment to the 5-year project and to verify 
their role in its implementation. The third-party agreements should be 
included with the applicant's submission to ANA. Without ANA's receipt 
of such signed and dated letters from authorized officials of the 
project's organizational participants prior to the start of the award 
of grant funds, the applicant's project cannot be approved.

B. Changes to Previously-Published FOAs

    1. Native Language Preservation and Maintenance FOA; 42 U.S.C. 
2991b-3(a):
    (a) In Executive Summary and Section I. Program Description, ANA 
intends to:
    i. Modify the Description and program areas of interest for the 
Language Preservation FOA to promote the ability to use Language 
Preservation funding for a broad array of native-language related 
projects, including the establishment of a language program, or the 
improvement of an existing program. Program Areas of Interest will be 
modified to include the development of tools and interactive media to 
teach Native American language, per NAPA Sec.  803C.
    (b) In Section I, Program Description, will include additional 
language to further distinguish Preservation and Maintenance projects 
from the types of projects and immersion activities that are specific 
to the Esther Martinez Immersion (EMI) FOA.
    2. Language Preservation and Language-EMI FOAs; 42 U.S.C. 2991b-
3(a) and (b)(7):
    (a) In Section I. Program Description and Appendix, will remove 
Language Restoration Projects from the areas of interest and 
definitions. Current language specifies that Projects funded under the 
EMI FOA referenced Native American Language Nests, Native American 
Language Survival Schools, and Native American Language Restoration 
programs authorized under the Esther Martinez Native American Languages 
Preservation Act (Pub. L. 109-394), 42 U.S.C. 2991(b)(7).
    (b) This change is intended to clarify the focus of the EMI FOA on 
immersion as the method of instruction for pre-school and school-aged 
children. Language Restoration programs will continue to be funded by 
ANA under

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the Native Language Preservation and Maintenance FOA.
    (c) In Section IV.2. The Project Description, in accordance with 
requirements under the NAPA at 42 U.S.C. 2992B-3, ANA plans to add the 
requirement for a Program Performance Evaluation Plan to the FY 2016 
Preservation and Maintenance and EMI FOAs:
    Applicants must describe the plan for the program performance 
evaluation that will contribute to continuous quality improvement. The 
program performance evaluation should monitor ongoing processes and the 
progress towards the goals and objectives of the project. Include 
descriptions of the inputs (e.g., organizational profile, collaborative 
partners, key staff, budget, and other resources), key processes, and 
expected outcomes of the funded activities. The plan may be supported 
by a logic model and must explain how the inputs, processes and 
outcomes will be measured, and how the resulting information will be 
used to inform improvement of funded activities.
    Applicants must describe the systems and processes that will 
support the organization's performance management requirements through 
effective tracking of performance outcomes, including a description of 
how the organization will collect and manage data (e.g. assigned 
skilled staff, data management software) in a way that allows for 
accurate and timely reporting of performance outcomes. Applicants must 
describe any potential obstacles for implementing the program 
performance evaluation and how those obstacles will be addressed.
    (d) In Section IV.2. The Project Description, Expected Outcomes 
(formerly ``Outcomes Expected''), ANA intends to revise the current 
requirement to provide ``means of measurement'' for the impact 
indicator for language projects, to ``means of measurement/
assessment''. Many language projects use assessment tools and ratings 
as a form of measurement for language proficiency. Therefore, this 
wording change allows for the use of an assessment tool as an impact 
indicator.
    (e) Use of Federal Application Submission Tool (FAST): ANA's 
previously announced intention to pilot the Funding Application 
Submission Tool (F.A.S.T.) form for the Language Preservation and 
Maintenance FOA is on hold. This announcement was published in the 
Federal Register on October 16, 2015 (80 FR 62536-37). For technical 
reasons, ANA no longer intends to pilot the F.A.S.T. for any of the 
2016 FOAs.
    3. SEDS and SEEDS FOAs; 42 U.S.C. 2991b:
    (a) In Section I. Program Description, in order to clearly 
differentiate between ANA's SEDS FOA and the more targeted SEEDS FOA, 
ANA will clarify its description of the SEEDS initiative to reflect 
that SEEDS is designed for new job creation and business development in 
targeted industries or markets while also allowing for the development 
of skills, credentials, and experiences that will lead to attainment of 
new or existing jobs that increase the earned income for the project 
participants by mid-point of the project period. Training must be 
directed towards a specific industry. In addition, the recipient will 
be directly responsible for achieving both of the ANA-required outcomes 
expected and may not act as a pass-through.
    (b) In Section I. Program Description, Professional Development 
will be revised to Preparation for Work under the program area of 
interest for SEEDS to include activities that promote short- and long-
term job creation by supporting targeted training of individuals to 
develop new technical skills, secure new credentials, and gain 
experience that will lead to jobs created and increased earned income.
    (c) In Section II. Federal Award Information, Additional 
Information on Awards, ANA will no longer use funding levels to 
distinguish award amounts in the SEEDS and SEDS FOAs. Funding Level I 
was set for projects with requests of $149,999 and under in SEDS and 
$199,999 and under in SEEDS, to allow competition among projects of 
similar scale. Projects with funding request of $150,000 and over in 
SEDS and $200,000 and over in SEEDS were designated as Funding Level 
II. ANA has not identified a notable difference in the average budget 
request within funding range as a result of the funding level 
designation, and therefore will discontinue the use of funding levels.
    Instead, ANA encourages applicants to request the level of funding 
that best meets the needs of the proposed project without exceeding the 
stated Award Ceiling amount by budget period.
    (d) The Award Ceiling for the SEEDS FOA will be reduced from 
$500,000 to $400,000; however, the project period will remain up to 60 
months with five 12-month budget periods. The lower funding ceiling 
will allow ANA to fund additional projects under this competition. (The 
Award Ceiling level for awards under the SEDS FOA will remain at 
$400,000 as well as the same options for project periods as that 
offered in the FY 2015 FOA.)
    4. Native Asset Building Initiative FOA; 42 U.S.C. 2991b:
    ANA will discontinue the competition for the Native Asset Building 
Initiative. The two grants resulting from the partnership between the 
ANA and the Office of Community Services (OCS) will no longer be 
available as a single application submission. Asset building projects 
will be eligible for funding under the annual SEDS FOA. In addition, 
eligible applicants can participate directly in the OCS's Assets for 
Independence (AFI) Program. Interested applicants may access the OCS-
AFI FOA at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/index.cfm?switch=foa&fon=HHS-2015-ACF-OCS-EI-1005.

C. Changes to Administrative Policies for All FOAs (FOA Section I.)

    1. The following administrative policy will be added to FY 2016 
FOAs; 5 U.S.C. 301:
    Compliance with Background Checks and Applicable Child Safety Laws:
    ``All recipients are expected to comply with applicable federal, 
tribal, or state law with respect to criminal history record checks and 
clearance through child abuse and neglect and sex offender 
registries.''
    This new administrative policy will be added to all of our FOAs to 
ensure that staff hired to implement ANA-funded projects which involve 
children are fully-vetted with background checks and other applicable 
laws within the local jurisdiction in which the project operates to 
help ensure the safety and reduce the risk to participating youth.

D. Changes to Evaluation Criteria for All FOAs (FOA Section V.1. 
Criteria); 45 CFR 75.204

    1. Changes to Evaluation Criteria Maximum Point Values: In all FY 
2016 FOAs, ANA proposes to adjust the maximum point values of 
evaluation criteria to prioritize the elements that are important to 
project monitoring and project success. ANA intends to add five points 
to the value for the Approach Criterion for a maximum point value of 
35. The point value for the Objective Work Plan (OWP) criterion will be 
reduced will be reduced by five points for a maximum point value of 20 
points. ANA proposes to use the following maximum point values for 
criteria in all FY 2016 FOAs:

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            Evaluation criteria                 Maximum point values
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Need for Assistance.......................  10 points.
Outcomes Expected.........................  25 points.
Project Approach..........................  35 points.
Objective Work Plan.......................  20 points.

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Budget and Budget Justification...........  10 points.
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    2. Changes in Sub-criteria: ANA will streamline the evaluation sub-
criteria, and reorganize specific elements, to clarify instructions to 
panel reviewers:
    (a) A new sub-criterion related to the required Problem Statement 
will be included in the Need for Assistance criterion.
    (b) Reference to Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and 
Time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) objectives will be included in the sub-criteria 
for Objectives and not overall for the Outcomes Expected sections in 
the Section IV.2. Project Description. Therefore, project outcomes and 
the impact indicator, which are also elements of the Outcomes Expected 
sub-criteria, are not required to be S.M.A.R.T.
    (c) A new sub-criterion on the Current Status of Language will be 
added to the Approach section Language Preservation and Maintenance and 
the EMI FOAs. The Current Status of the Language is currently a 
requirement in the Approach section of the Project Description. No 
additional information will be required from the applicant.

E. Change to Recipient Reporting Requirements for All FOAs (FOA Section 
VI.3.); 45 CFR 75.342

    1. Annual Data Report: ANA intends to add an Annual Data Report 
(ADR) to the reporting requirements for all funded projects. ANA has 
reduced its reporting requirements to twice--semi-annually and 
annually. ANA recently streamlined the Objective Progress Report (OPR), 
and determined that some information previously collected on the OPR is 
not necessary for project monitoring; however is important when 
analyzing project data. The ADR will capture this project data 
throughout the life of the project, versus just asking at the end of 
the project. The ADR also includes additional program-specific and 
project assessment questions. The report will supplement the annual OPR 
and will not deviate from the annual reporting cycle of the OPR, 
therefore still requiring grantees only report twice annually as stated 
previously. The report will be due 30 days after the end of each budget 
period and 90 days after the end of the project period.

F. Relocation of ANA Offices

    ANA has relocated its offices to the Mary E. Switzer Memorial 
Building, 330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20201. Our phone numbers and 
email addresses will remain the same. Phone: (877) 922-9262 Fax: (202) 
690-7441 Email: [email protected] URL: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ana.
    Contact information in all FY 2016 FOAs will be updated to provide 
mailing and physical location addresses for the new building.

    Statutory Authority:  Section 814 of the Native American 
Programs Act of 1974 (NAPA), as amended.

Lillian Sparks Robinson,
Commissioner, Administration for Native American.
[FR Doc. 2015-30868 Filed 12-7-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-34-P