[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12025-12028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06073]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Competitive Funding Opportunity: Crime Prevention and Public 
Safety Awareness

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is soliciting 
proposals under the Department of Transportation's Technical Assistance 
and Workforce Development Program to select an eligible project or 
projects for the development and dissemination of technical assistance 
materials supporting public safety awareness campaigns. The technical 
assistance materials will address public safety issues impacting the 
transit industry, including but not limited to human trafficking, 
operator assault, and crime prevention. Technical assistance also may 
include recommended practices, and public and employee training. The 
awarded projects will be referred to as the Crime Prevention and Public 
Safety Awareness projects, and the available funding is $2,000,000 in 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funds.

DATES: Applicants must submit completed proposals for funding 
opportunity FTA-2019-007-TSO through the GRANTS.GOV ``APPLY'' function 
by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 28, 2019. Prospective applicants 
should register as soon as possible on the GRANTS.GOV website to ensure 
they can complete the application process before the submission 
deadline. Application instructions are available on FTA's website at 
http://transit.dot.gov/howtoapply and in the ``FIND'' module of 
GRANTS.GOV. FTA will not accept mail and fax submissions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dakisha Spratling, FTA Office of 
Transit Safety and Oversight; phone: (202) 366-2530; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

A. Program Description
B. Federal Award Information

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C. Eligibility Information
D. Application and Submission Information
E. Application Review Information
F. Federal Award Administration Information
G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts Information

A. Program Description

    The Crime Prevention and Public Safety Awareness projects are 
funded through the Technical Assistance and Workforce Development 
Program (49 U.S.C. 5314), with the goal of developing and disseminating 
technical assistance materials supporting public safety awareness 
campaigns addressing public safety in transit systems, including crime 
prevention, human trafficking, and operator assault.
    Human Trafficking is a crime that involves exploiting a person for 
labor, services, or commercial sex. Section 7102(9), of Title 22, 
U.S.C., defines ``severe forms of trafficking in persons,'' as:
    Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, 
fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act 
has not attained 18 years of age; or

    The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or 
obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of 
force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to 
involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

    The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological. 
Exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking, 
regardless of whether any form or force, fraud, or coercion was used. 
There is no single profile of a trafficking victim. Victims of human 
trafficking can be anyone--regardless of race, color, national origin, 
disability, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, 
socioeconomic status, education level, or citizenship status.
    The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) combats human 
trafficking by working with public and private sector stakeholders to 
empower transportation employees and the traveling public to recognize 
and report possible instances of human trafficking. The Crime 
Prevention and Safety Awareness projects support the DOT's 
Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking initiative, which has 
the following focus areas: Leadership, training and education, policy 
development, public awareness, and information sharing and analysis.
    Eligible projects will support the development, evaluation, 
demonstration, dissemination, and implementation of technical 
assistance materials promoting public safety awareness. Specific 
project eligibility under this competitive allocation is described in 
Section C.

B. Federal Award Information

    The FTA makes available $2,000,000 in FY 2018 funds under the 
Technical Assistance and Workforce Development Program (49 U.S.C. 5314) 
to finance projects that support a public safety awareness campaign 
through the development, evaluation, demonstration, and implementation 
of technical guidance materials that promote practices to improve 
public safety.
    The FTA will award funding through a cooperative agreement. Funds 
are available only for projects that have not incurred costs prior to 
the announcement of project selections. The FTA may supplement the 
total funds currently available with future appropriations.

C. Eligibility Information

(1) Eligible Applicants

    Eligible applicants for awards are national non-profit 
organizations. Organizations must have crime prevention experience, the 
capacity to provide public transportation-related technical assistance, 
and the ability to deliver a national public awareness campaign. A 
single lead organization must be designated in the proposal. Other 
organizations may participate as subcontractors or subrecipients. An 
organization identified as the single lead organization for a proposal 
may be named as a subcontractor or subrecipient in another proposal. 
Eligible subrecipients include public agencies, private nonprofit 
organizations, and private providers engaged in public transportation.
    Eligible applicants may submit consolidated proposals for projects. 
Proposals may contain projects the recipient or its subrecipients will 
implement.

(2) Eligible Projects

    Eligible projects include technical assistance materials, 
development and dissemination projects supporting transit public safety 
awareness campaigns. The technical assistance materials will address 
one or more of the following topics:
    [ssquf] Reducing or eliminating human trafficking occurring at 
transit systems or through the use of transit systems,
    [ssquf] Protecting transit operators from the risk of assault,
    [ssquf] Reducing crime on public transit vehicles and facilities, 
and
    [ssquf] Improving rider and public safety.
    Key focus areas will be education and training, policy development, 
public awareness and outreach, and information sharing and analysis.
    Applicants may each submit one proposal.

D. Application and Submission Information

(1) Address To Request Application Package

    Applications must be submitted through GRANTS.GOV. Applicants can 
find general information for submitting applications through GRANTS.GOV 
at www.fta.dot.gov/howtoapply, along with specific instructions for the 
forms and attachments required for submission. Mail and fax submissions 
will not be accepted.

(2) Content and Form of Application Submission

a. Proposal Submission
    A complete proposal submission will consist of at least two files: 
(1) The SF-424 Mandatory form (downloaded from GRANTS.GOV) and (2) a 
narrative application document in Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat or 
compatible file format. The narrative application should be in the 
format outlined in section B, Application Content. Once completed, the 
narrative application must be placed in the attachments section of the 
SF-424 Mandatory form. Applicants must attach the narrative application 
file to their submission in GRANTS.GOV to successfully complete the 
proposal process. A proposal submission may contain additional 
supplemental materials as attachments.
b. Application Content
    Proposals shall be submitted in a Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat or 
compatible file format, double-spaced using Times New Roman, 12-point 
font. The proposal must contain the following components and adhere to 
the specified maximum lengths:
    1. Cover sheet (1 page): The cover sheet must include: The name of 
the entity submitting the proposal, the principal name, title, and 
contact information (e.g., address, phone, fax, and email), and the 
name and contact information for the key point of contact for all five 
activities if different from principal.
    2. Abstract (not to exceed 4 pages): The abstract must include the 
following sections: Background, purpose, methodology, intended 
outcomes, and plan for evaluation.
    3. Detailed budget proposal and budget narrative (not to exceed 3 
pages).

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    4. Project narrative (not to exceed 25 pages): The project 
narrative must include the following information:
    a. The methodology for addressing the goals and objectives.
    b. Objectives, activities, deliverables, milestones, timeline and 
intended outcomes for achieving the goals outlined in the scope for the 
first year;
    c. The existing and future capacity of the organization to address 
the issues outlined in the proposal and ability to implement goals and 
objectives;
    d. A detailed plan for communication, technical assistance and 
outreach;
    e. A plan to work with stakeholders and build partnerships; and,
    f. Staff qualifications, including: (1) Prior experience providing 
technical assistance, especially related to crime prevention, (2) prior 
experience implementing the other tasks outlined in this solicitation, 
(3) staff members' knowledge of issues related to public safety in the 
transit industry, and (4) a one-page biographical sketch for each staff 
member.
    5. Plan for evaluation of Crime Prevention and Public Safety 
Awareness project and establish performance measures (not to exceed 5 
pages).
    6. Supplemental materials, such as professional biographies, and 
letters of support, can be included in an appendices section (not to 
exceed 15 pages). Supplemental materials will not count against the 25-
page limit for the project narrative.

(3) Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

    Each applicant is required to: (1) Register in SAM before applying; 
(2) provide a valid unique SAM entity identifier in its application; 
and (3) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current 
information at all times during which the applicant has an active 
federal award or an application or plan under consideration by FTA. The 
FTA may not make an award until the applicant has complied with all 
applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements. If an 
applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time FTA 
is ready to make an award, FTA may determine that the applicant is not 
qualified to receive an award and use that determination as a basis for 
making a Federal award to another applicant. Registration in SAM may 
take as little as 3-5 business days, but there can be unexpected steps 
or delays. For example, the applicant may need to obtain an Employer 
Identification Number, which could cause a delay in the SAM 
registration. FTA recommends allowing ample time, up to several weeks, 
for completion of all steps. For additional information on obtaining a 
unique entity identifier, please visit www.sam.gov.

(4) Submission Dates and Times

    Project proposals must be submitted electronically through 
GRANTS.GOV and must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on May 28, 
2019.
    GRANTS.GOV attaches a time stamp to each application at the time of 
submission. Proposals submitted after the deadline will only be 
considered under extraordinary circumstances not within the applicant's 
control. Mail and fax submissions will not be accepted.
    Within 48 hours after submitting an electronic application, the 
applicant should receive two email messages from GRANTS.GOV: (1) 
Confirmation of successful transmission to GRANTS.GOV, and (2) 
confirmation of successful validation by GRANTS.GOV. If the applicant 
does not receive confirmation of successful validation or receives a 
notice of failed validation or incomplete materials, the applicant must 
address the reason for the failed validation, as described in the email 
notice, and resubmit before the submission deadline. If making a 
resubmission for any reason, applicants must include all original 
attachments regardless of which attachments were updated and check the 
box on the supplemental form indicating this is a resubmission.
    The FTA urges applicants to submit proposals at least 72 hours 
prior to the due date to allow time to receive the validation messages 
and to correct any problems that may have caused a rejection 
notification. GRANTS.GOV scheduled maintenance and outage times are 
announced on the GRANTS.GOV website. Deadlines will not be extended due 
to scheduled website maintenance.
    Applicants are encouraged to begin the process of registration on 
the GRANTS.GOV site well in advance of the submission deadline. 
Registration is a multi-step process, which may take several weeks to 
complete before an application can be submitted. Registered applicants 
may still be required to take steps to update their registration before 
submitting an application. Registration in SAM is renewed annually and 
persons making submissions and persons making submissions on behalf of 
the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) must be authorized in 
GRANTS.GOV by the AOR to make submissions.

(5) How To Register To Apply Through GRANTS.GOV.

    To register and for detailed instructions, please see the 
``APPLICANTS'' tab in GRANTS.GOV (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants.html). To be eligible to apply for this opportunity, 
organizations must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 
Number, active System for Award Management (SAM) registration, and an 
established GRANTS.GOV account.
    Creating a GRANTS.GOV account can be completed online in minutes, 
but DUNS and SAM registrations may take several weeks. Therefore, an 
organization's registration should be done in sufficient time to ensure 
it does not impact the entity's ability to meet required application 
submission deadlines.
    Complete organization instructions can be found on GRANTS.GOV: 
https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html.

E. Application Review Information

    Proposals will be evaluated by a review team based on the 
proposals: (1) Ability to meet the goal of the Crime Prevention and 
Public Safety Awareness project; (2) qualifications of key personnel, 
experience and knowledge; (3) communication, technical assistance and 
outreach strategy; (4) research and demonstration capacity; and (5) 
management approach. The criteria are detailed below:
    1. Ability to Meet the Goal of the Crime Prevention and Public 
Safety Awareness project. Proposals will be evaluated based on the 
planned approach and project activities identified that will assist the 
transit industry in making progress towards improved public transit 
safety awareness through the development and dissemination of technical 
assistance materials supporting public safety awareness campaigns.
    2. Qualifications of Key Personnel, Experience and Knowledge: The 
proposal should demonstrate that key personnel have the appropriate 
skills and experience to carry out the project activities. FTA will 
evaluate the qualifications and experience of the key staff detailed in 
the proposal for their:
    a. Knowledge and experience with crime prevention, to include human 
trafficking, operator assault, and transit rider safety;
    b. Knowledge and experience with public transit safety; and
    c. Knowledge and experience with public awareness campaigns.
    3. Communication, Technical Assistance and Outreach Strategy. The

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proposal should demonstrate the ability to execute a technical 
assistance project with a national and local scope, as well as 
strategies for delivering targeted outreach to state, regional, and 
local stakeholders. Proposing organizations are encouraged to think 
innovatively about this technical assistance delivery.
    The proposal should also demonstrate the ability to carry out 
outreach, dissemination and information management activities. These 
activities will include capturing and sharing useful and best practices 
in crime prevention and public safety. The proposal should demonstrate 
innovative approaches, such as the use of social media and other 
information technologies, to accomplish this strategy.
    4. Research and Demonstration Capacity. The proposal should 
demonstrate the applicant's capability and capacity (either internally 
or through external sources) to conduct research, analysis, and 
demonstration projects related to crime prevention, human trafficking, 
operator assault, and rider safety.
    5. Management Approach. The proposal must include an effective 
management plan to administer and manage the Crime Prevention and 
Public Safety Awareness project and must demonstrate that the applicant 
has the technical capacity to carry out the plan. FTA will evaluate the 
applicant's:
    a. Technical capacity to administer and manage the activities 
proposed;
    b. Total budget and staffing;
    c. Evidence of understanding of the Crime Prevention and Public 
Safety Awareness project objective and a comprehensive technical 
approach to delivering the project;
    d. Plan for evaluation and data collection; and,
    e. A plan for coordinating with FTA staff.

F. Federal Award Administration Information

(1) Federal Award Notices

    Final award decisions will be made by the Administrator of the 
Federal Transit Administration. In making these decisions, the 
Administrator will take into consideration:
    a. Recommendations of the review panel;
    b. Past performance of the applicant regarding programmatic and 
grants management compliance;
    c. Whether the project is located in or supports public 
transportation service in a qualified opportunity zone designated 
pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 1400Z-1;
    d. The reasonableness of the estimated cost to the Federal 
Government considering the available funding and anticipated results; 
and
    e. The likelihood that the proposed project will result in the 
transportation outcomes expected.
    FTA will notify any successful applicant and may announce any 
selection on its website https://www.transit.dot.gov. Following 
notification, a successful applicant will be required to submit its 
application through the FTA Transit Award Management System (TrAMS). 
The FTA will work with the successful applicant to develop a detailed 
cooperative agreement. The FTA will award and manage a cooperative 
agreement through TrAMS.

(2) Award Administration

    a. Grant Requirements: A successful applicant will apply for a 
cooperative agreement through TrAMS and adhere to the customary FTA 
grant requirements of Section 5314, Technical Assistance and Workforce 
Development. There is no pre-award authority for this project. 
Discretionary grants and cooperative agreements greater than $500,000 
will go through the Congressional notification and release process. 
Assistance regarding these requirements is available from FTA.
    b. Standard Assurances: The applicant assures that it will comply 
with all applicable Federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, 
FTA circulars, and other Federal administrative requirements in 
carrying out any project supported by the FTA grant. The applicant 
acknowledges that it is under a continuing obligation to comply with 
the terms and conditions of the cooperative agreement issued for its 
project with FTA. The applicant understands that Federal laws, 
regulations, policies, and administrative practices might be modified 
from time to time and that modifications may affect the implementation 
of the project. The applicant agrees that the most recent Federal 
requirements will apply to the project, unless FTA issues a written 
determination otherwise. The applicant must submit the Certifications 
and Assurances before receiving a cooperative agreement if it does not 
have current certifications on file.

(3) Reporting

    Post-award reporting requirements include submission of Federal 
Financial Reports and Milestone Progress Reports in TrAMS on a monthly 
or quarterly basis, as determined by the FTA Project Manager. 
Documentation is required for payment. The Federal Financial 
Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requires data entry at the 
FFATA Sub Award Reporting System (http://www.FSRS.gov) for all sub-
awards and sub-contracts issued for $30,000 or more, as well as 
addressing executive compensation for both grantee and sub-award 
organizations.
    Additionally, FTA is required to report to Congress every year on 
the value of Section 5314 investments. Applicants will be required to 
provide details indicating the need, problem, or opportunity addressed 
by activities of the program. The national significance and relevance 
to the public transportation industry must also be clearly detailed.

(4) Legal Capacity

    Applicants must certify that there are no legal issues which would 
impact their eligibility and authority to apply for FTA funds, or 
prevent their acceptance of FTA funds.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

    For questions about applying, please contact Dakisha Spratling, at 
Federal Transit Administration, Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, 
phone: (202) 366-2530, or email, [email protected]. A TDD is 
available at 1-800-877-8339 (TDDFIRS). To ensure that applicants 
receive accurate information about eligibility or the program, 
applicants are encouraged to contact FTA directly with questions, 
rather than through intermediaries or third parties.
    The FTA staff may also conduct briefings on the competitive grants 
selection and award process upon request.

K. Jane Williams,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-06073 Filed 3-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-57-P