[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7834-7836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01418]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[CFDA Numbers: 93.581, 93.587, 93.612]


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 final adoption of such changes no less 
than 30 days before such changes become effective. In accordance with 
notice requirements of NAPA, ANA herein describes proposed interpretive 
rules and general statements of policy that relate to ANA's funding 
opportunities beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2017 related to the 
following programs: Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (HHS-2017-ACF-
ANA-NR-1221), Sustainable Employment and Economic Development 
Strategies (HHS-2017-ACF-ANA-NE-1225), Native American Language 
Preservation and Maintenance-Esther Martinez Immersion (HHS-2017-ACF-
ANA-NB-1226), Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance 
(HHS-2017-ACF-ANA-NL-1235), Social and Economic Development Strategies 
(HHS-2017-ACF-ANA-NA-1236), and Economic Development Strategies-Alaska 
(HHS-2015-ACF-ANA-NK-0960), and Native Youth Initiative for Leadership, 
Empowerment, and Development (HHS-2017-ACF-ANA-NC-1263). This notice of 
public comment also provides additional information about ANA's plan 
for administering grant programs.

DATES: The deadline for receipt of comments is 30 days from the date of 
publication in the Federal Register. No Funding Opportunity 
Announcement (FOA) will be published prior to 30 days from publication 
of this Notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments in response to this notice should be addressed to 
Camille Loya, Director of Policy, Administration for Native Americans, 
330 C Street SW., Washington, DC 20201. Delays may occur in mail 
delivery to federal offices; therefore, a copy of comments should be 
emailed to [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: Camille Loya, Director, Division of 
Policy, Administration for Native Americans, (877) 922-9262.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 814 of NAPA, as amended, 
incorporates provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act that 
require ANA to provide notice of its proposed interpretive rules and 
statements of policy and to seek public comment on such proposals. ANA 
has also decided to provide notice and seek comments on proposed new 
rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice. The proposed 
interpretive rules, statements of policy, and rules of ANA procedure 
and practice reflected in clarifications, modifications, and new text 
will appear in the seven FY 2017 FOAs: Environmental Regulatory 
Enhancement (ERE), Sustainable Employment and Economic Development 
Strategies (SEEDS), Native American Language Preservation and 
Maintenance-Esther Martinez Immersion (EMI), Native American Language 
Preservation and Maintenance (P&M), Social and Economic Development 
Strategies (SEDS), Social and Economic Development Strategies-Alaska 
(SEDS-AK), and Native Youth Initiative for Leadership, Empowerment, and 
Development (I-LEAD). This notice serves to fulfill the statutory 
notice and public comment requirement.

A. Funding Opportunity Announcements

    For information on the types of projects funded by ANA, please 
refer to the following for information on current and previously funded 
ANA grants at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/grants.

B. Interpretive Rules, Statements of Policy, Procedures, and Practice

    1. The following is applicable to all ANA FOAs published beginning 
in FY 2017:
    a. Pre-application trainings, teleconferences, or webinars. It is 
government-wide policy and practice that each FOA contain all of the 
detail needed for an applicant to fully understand the funding 
opportunity and submit a complete and compliant application. ANA has 
historically conducted in-person pre-application trainings through its 
Regional Technical Assistance (TA) Centers and now proposes possible 
additional pre-application teleconferences or webinars related to its 
FOAs beginning in FY 2017. Joining and participating in any pre-
application in-person training, teleconference, or webinar is voluntary 
and only information provided in published FOAs will be presented. ACF 
policy requires that no additional information that is not already 
provided in the FOA can be disseminated after FOAs have been published. 
Participation in any of the pre-application training or informational 
opportunities is voluntary and will not affect award selection. 
Participants will remain anonymous and, in the case of in-person 
training, names of participants will not be retained after the 
training. Opting not to participate in a pre-application in-person 
training, teleconference, or webinar will not affect eligibility, 
application scoring, or the selection process. Applicants unable to 
attend pre-application teleconferences or webinars will be able to 
access materials, recordings, or transcripts on the ANA Web site at on 
the Events section of the ANA Web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/events after the teleconference or webinar has concluded and no later 
than 30 days prior to the application due date. ANA has historically 
posted its Pre-Application Guide to Developing and Writing Your ANA 
Application that is used in in-person pre-application meetings and will 
continue to do so. This resource can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/resource/pre-application-training-manual. For the 
dates, times, registration, and other information for scheduled pre-
application in-person trainings applicants should contact the 
appropriate regional Training and Technical Assistance Provider at 
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/t-ta-regions-map. This proposed policy and 
practice will be reflected in Section I. Program Description--Pre-
Application Teleconferences or Webinars of the FOAs.
    b. Application periods. ANA proposes to reduce from 90 to 60 days 
the time period applicants have to respond to all FY 2017 FOAs because 
we have determined, based on experience and feedback provided by prior 
applicants

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and TA providers, that a 60-day period to prepare, finalize, and submit 
applications responsive to the FOAs is a sufficient period of time. In 
addition, a 60-day application period will help ANA to ensure grants 
are awarded timely given the time required for competitive panel 
review, internal review, award decisions, and administrative processing 
of grant awards. This proposed policy and practice will be reflected in 
the Overview Section of the FOAs.
    c. Application Toolkit. ANA proposes to add a link in all FOAs to 
allow applicants to access ANA's newly established ANA Application 
Toolkit. The purpose of the Application Toolkit is to provide examples 
and templates to assist eligible applicants to navigate the application 
requirements detailed in FOAs. As a collection of otherwise available 
tools, use of the ANA Application Toolkit is voluntary. This proposed 
practice will be reflected in Section VIII. Other Information, 
Reference Web sites in the FOAs.
    2. The following is applicable to Social and Economic Development 
Strategies (SEDS) FOA (HHS-2017-ACF-ANA-NA-1236), including Social and 
Economic Development Strategies for Alaska (SEDS-AK) (HHS-2015-ACF-ANA-
NK-0960), beginning in FY 2017:
    New Program Area of Interest. In response to the enactment of the 
Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act (NATIVE 
Act), Public Law 114-221, in September 2016, ANA proposes to include a 
new economic development program area of interest under the SEDS and 
SEDS-AK FOAs. The new program area of interest is proposed as:

    Tourism--Planning or developing resources, services, and 
businesses that promote travel, recreation and tourism, or branding 
to tell the story of Native Americans as the First Peoples of the 
United States. Projects may use the arts or other cultural resources 
to help revitalize Native communities, promote economic development, 
increase livability, and present the uniqueness of the Native 
communities to visitors in a way that celebrates the diversity of 
the United States

    Even though ANA has previously funded economic and social 
development projects broadly falling under tourism, the new program 
area of interest is proposed in response to new specific statutory 
authority under the NATIVE Act. This proposed policy will be reflected 
in Section I. Program Description, Program Areas of Interest in the 
SEDS and SEDS-AK FOAs.
    3. The following is applicable to Native Youth Initiative for 
Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (I-LEAD) (HHS-2017-ACF-ANA-NC-
1263) FOA beginning in FY 2017:
    a. Application due dates. ANA proposes to modify the application 
due dates for I-LEAD applications because ANA anticipates earlier 
publication than in FY 2016. In addition, ANA proposes a 60-day 
application period for all FY 2017 FOAs. These two factors combine to 
result in earlier I-LEAD application deadlines.
    b. Grants as the instruments of I-LEAD financial assistance. In 
2016, ANA awarded I-LEAD financial assistance as cooperative 
agreements. We propose, beginning in FY 2017, to award I-LEAD financial 
assistance as grants instead of cooperative agreements because we do 
not believe the level of substantial federal involvement associated 
with cooperative agreements is necessary for successful future I-LEAD 
projects. Both cooperative agreements and grants are legal instruments 
of financial assistance, but cooperative agreements are distinguished 
from grants in that cooperative agreements provide for substantial 
federal involvement between the federal awarding agency (ANA) and the 
non-federal entity (I-LEAD awardee) in carrying out the activity(ies) 
contemplated by the federal award. In general terms, ``substantial 
federal involvement'' refers to the degree to which federal employees 
(or technical assistance providers) are directly performing, 
implementing, or directing parts of the funded program. In a 
cooperative agreement, federal employees and their agents participate 
more closely in performance under the financial assistance award 
including mandated collaborations and activities with other entities. 
In contrast, with grants, the federal government is limited to an 
oversight and monitoring role but does not direct grant performance. 
ANA has determined that I-LEAD projects do not require the level of 
``substantial federal involvement'' contemplated by cooperative 
agreements. While ANA intends to continue to develop and refine 
technical assistance resources, materials, and opportunities for all 
recipients of I-LEAD awards and to encourage and facilitate communities 
of practice across funded projects serving Native youth, we have 
determined that the oversight and monitoring role is sufficient to 
ensure the purposes of I-LEAD projects are adequately supported while, 
at the same time, allowing I-LEAD grant recipients to determine how to 
implement their grants within the terms and conditions of their grant 
awards.
    c. Length of project periods. ANA proposes to shorten the project 
period for I-LEAD awards beginning in FY 2017 from no more than 60 
months to no more than 48 months because we have determined that 
project periods of up to 48 months better position I-LEAD projects for 
long-term success. Based on ANA's experience with the first recipients 
of I-LEAD financial assistance, we believe slightly more compressed I-
LEAD project periods will facilitate greater emphasis by I-LEAD 
grantees, at the beginning their projects, on the efficient 
implementation of culturally relevant evidence-based programming as 
well as a greater emphasis at end of I-LEAD project periods on 
activities to ensure financial and programmatic sustainability of 
project outcomes. We believe there is an inherent momentum in 48-month 
project periods that will carry I-LEAD projects forward from planning, 
implementation, and continuous quality improvement to long term 
sustainability at the end of 48-month I-LEAD project periods. This 
proposed policy will be reflected in the Executive Summary of the I-
LEAD FOA.
    d. Project Description--
    i. Objective Work Plan. ANA proposes requiring submission of the 
Objective Work Plan (OWP) as part of the initial application submission 
and reflecting the entire project period of up to 48 months. When I-
LEAD projects were funded as cooperative agreements, part of ANA's 
substantial federal involvement included post-award development of the 
OWP in partnership with I-LEAD recipients. Since ANA proposes to award 
I-LEAD financial assistance as grants, without the substantial federal 
involvement entailed by joint development of OWPs, submission of the 
OWP as an application requirement beginning in FY 2017 has been 
determined necessary to support adequate project planning and post-
award monitoring. This proposed policy will be reflected in Section 
IV.2. Content and Form of Application Submission--Project Description--
Objective Work Plan in the I-LEAD FOA.
    ii. Outcome oriented project objectives. ANA proposes outcome 
oriented objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, 
Relevant, and Time-bound (S.M.A.R.T.) be included in funding 
applications because it is our experience that objectives that are 
S.M.A.R.T. are more likely to be achieved and are more likely to be 
useful to gauge project progress. This change for I-LEAD projects would 
also make the requirements for I-LEAD applications consistent with the

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application requirements for ANA's other funding opportunities. This 
proposed policy will be reflected in Section IV.2. Content and Form of 
Application Submission--Project Description--Expected Outcomes--
Objectives and V.1. Criteria--Outcomes Expected in the I-LEAD FOA.
    iii. Impact Indicator. ANA proposes applications for I-LEAD 
financial assistance include at least one impact indicator: a 
qualitative measure that defines factor(s) the project needs to 
benchmark and monitor. Impact indicators also provide the means for 
measuring and evaluating an I-LEAD project's progress and impact. This 
proposed policy will be reflected in the Section IV.2. Content and Form 
of Application Submission--Project Description--Expected Outcomes--
Impact in the I-LEAD FOA.
    e. Project Budget and Budget Justification. I-LEAD applicants are 
required to attend ANA's annual grantee meeting. We propose to add a 
new requirement of attendance for an additional day to convene with I-
LEAD projects funded by ANA and the youth involved in project 
implementation. This proposed policy will be reflected in Section IV.2. 
Content and Form of Application Submission--Project Description--
Project Budget and Budget Justification in the I-LEAD FOA and will also 
reflect suggested travel costs increased by $500 per region for 
additional estimated lodging and per diem.
    f. Review Criteria--
    i. Elimination of Bonus Points. ANA proposes to remove the bonus 
points that were authorized in FY 2016 I-LEAD FOAs because our 
experience with the prior year's application review demonstrated the 
allocation of up to 5 bonus points for letters of support from youth is 
not necessary to ensure applications reflect support from youth 
involved in the development of the project proposal as well as in 
project implementation. The proposed application point allocation 
reflecting the discontinued use of bonus points is found at Section 
V.1. Criteria of the I-LEAD FOA.
    ii. Allocation of points across I-LEAD application evaluation 
criteria. ANA proposes to modify the point allocation across I-LEAD 
application review criteria to account for the proposed elimination of 
bonus points as well as the proposed OWP application requirement. We 
propose, beginning in FY 2017, the following evaluation criteria point 
allocations: Needs for Assistance up to 10 points; Outcomes Expected up 
to 25 points; Approach up to 35 points; OWP up to 20 points; and the 
Budget and Budget Justification up to10 points. The proposed 
modification to the point allocation can be found at Section V.1. 
Criteria for the I-LEAD FOA.

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

Kimberly Romine,
Deputy Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans.
[FR Doc. 2017-01418 Filed 1-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-34-P