[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6954-6955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02319]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families

[CFDA Number: 93.587]


Notice for Public Comment on Administration for Native Americans' 
Program Policies Relating to the Native American Language Preservation 
and Maintenance--Esther Martinez Immersion Funding Opportunity

AGENCY: Administration for Native Americans (ANA), Administration for 
Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human Services 
(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 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 changes no less than 30 days before such changes become 
effective. In accordance with the notice requirements of NAPA, ANA 
herein describes proposed general statements of policy that relate to 
the Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance--Esther 
Martinez Immersion (EMI) funding opportunity announcement (FOA) in 
fiscal year (FY) 2020.

DATES: Comments are due by March 9, 2020. If ANA does not receive any 
significant comments on the statements of policy within the 30-day 
comment period, ANA will proceed with the proposed changes in the 
published FOA. The FOA will serve as the final notice of these proposed 
changes.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to Carmelia Strickland, Director 
of Program Operations, Administration for Native Americans, 330 C 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20201 or via email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmelia Strickland, Director, 
Division of Program Operations, Administration for Native Americans, 
330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201. Telephone: (877) 922-9262; 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 814 of NAPA, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 
2992b-1) 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 voluntarily provides notices of its rules of practice and procedure 
in an effort to be transparent. ANA published a notice in the Federal 
Register on December 27, 2019, located at 84 FR 71428, pages 71428-
71430, that lays out changes ANA intends to implement in its FOAs for 
FY 2020. This notice provides information on additional changes that 
will be implemented in the FY 2020 EMI FOA.
    ANA's past FOAs can be accessed at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/office/ana or http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/. 
Synopses and application forms will be available on https://www.grants.gov.
    1. On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Esther 
Martinez Native American Languages Programs Reauthorization Act 
(Reauthorization Act). The statute amended NAPA to allow ANA to set the 
project period of EMI grants to up to 60 months. Because of the 
complexity of language grants that provide immersion instruction and 
because Native American communities are most knowledgeable about their 
language programs and the length of time necessary to implement them, 
ANA has determined to use this new authority to give tribes maximum 
flexibility on the length of their grant and allow the project period 
for the FY 2020 EMI grants to be up to 60 months. Previously, awards 
were limited to a 36-month project period. FY 2020 awards will be made 
for a project period of 36 months, 48 months, or 60 months. An initial 
award will be for a 12-month budget period. Non-competing continuation 
(NCC) awards will be awarded on the basis of annual NCC applications, 
availability of funds, satisfactory progress, on-time completion of 
grant reporting requirements, and a determination that continued 
funding would be in the best interest of the government.
    2. ANA had intended to accept applications for the EMI grants for 
90 days, in-line with its other grants. However, because ANA is making 
additional changes to the EMI grant to implement the Reauthorization 
Act, ANA will reduce the period for accepting applications in order to 
issue the EMI awards in a timely manner. The EMI FOA, HHS-2018-ACF-ANA-
NB-1343, will accept applications for 60 days from the date it is 
published on Grants.gov.
    3. ANA plans to change the order of the publication of the FOAs. In 
the Notice of Public Comment published on December 27, 2019, 84 FR 
71428, pages 71428-71430, Supplementary Information, ANA stated that it 
planned to publish the FOAs for the EMI, Native American Language 
Preservation and Maintenance (P&M), and Environmental Regulatory 
Enhancement (ERE) grants first and then allow a 2-week period before 
the Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS) and Social and 
Economic Development Strategies-Alaska (SEDS-AK) FOAs were published. 
However, because of the changes to the EMI grant described above, ANA 
will need additional time to publish the EMI FOA. In order to continue 
to stagger the submission deadlines, ANA has decided it will publish 
the P&M, ERE, and SEDS-AK FOAs first and then allow a 2-week period 
before the SEDS and EMI FOAs are published. As this is a change in

[[Page 6955]]

agency procedure, the change will be made without reviewing comments.
    Statutory Authority: Section 814 of the Native American Programs 
Act of 1974, as amended.

Elizabeth Leo,
Senior Grants Policy Specialist, Division of Grants Policy, Office of 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2020-02319 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4184-34-P