Notice for Public Comment on the Adoption of Program Policies and Procedures for the Native Asset Building Initiative, a Joint Funding Opportunity Announcement Between the Administration for Native Americans and the Office of Community Services, 13060-13062 [2014-04959]
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13060
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 45 / Friday, March 7, 2014 / Notices
3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C.
3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies
to publish a 30-day notice in the
Federal Register concerning each
proposed collection of information,
including each proposed extension or
reinstatement of an existing collection
of information, before submitting the
collection to OMB for approval. To
comply with this requirement, CMS is
publishing this notice that summarizes
the following proposed collection(s) of
information for public comment:
1. Type of Information Collection
Request: Reinstatement without change
of a previously approved collection;
Title of Information Collection:
Medicaid Payment for Prescription
Drugs—Physicians and Hospital
Outpatient Departments Collecting and
Submitting Drug Identifying Information
to State Medicaid Programs; Use: In
accordance with the Deficit Act of 2005,
states are required to provide for the
collection and submission of utilization
data for certain physician-administered
drugs in order to receive federal
financial participation for these drugs.
Physicians, serving as respondents to
states, submit National Drug Code
numbers and utilization information for
‘‘J’’ code physician-administered drugs
so that the states will have sufficient
information to collect drug rebate
dollars. Form Number: CMS–10215
(OCN: 0938–1026); Frequency: Weekly;
Affected Public: Private sector—
Business or other for-profits and Notfor-profit institutions; Number of
Respondents: 20,000; Total Annual
Responses: 3,910,000; Total Annual
Hours: 16,227. (For policy questions
regarding this collection contact
Bernadette Leeds at 410–786–9463).
2. Type of Information Collection
Request: Revision of a currently
approved collection; Title of
Information Collection: Blueprint for
Approval of Affordable Health
Insurance Marketplaces; Use: All states
(including the 50 states, the territories,
and the District of Columbia, herein
referred to as ‘‘states’’) had the
opportunity under Section 1311(b) of
the Affordable Care Act to establish an
Exchange, also known as a
‘‘Marketplace’’, no later than October 1,
2013 (Plan Year 2014). This current
submission reduces the number of
potential respondents due to various
states electing to rely on the Federallyfacilitated Marketplace (FFM). Also, at
the time of the original request, the tool
was partially paper-based. During the
intervening time, we have developed
the on-line implementation of the tool
and will transition all future
applications to that system.
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18:39 Mar 06, 2014
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States seeking to establish a
Marketplace must build one that meets
the requirements set out in Section
1311(d) of the Affordable Care Act and
45 CFR 155.105. In order to ensure that
a State seeking approval as a State-based
Marketplace, State-based SHOP
Marketplace, or State Partnership
Marketplace meet all applicable
requirements, the Secretary will require
a state to submit a Blueprint for
approval and to demonstrate operational
readiness through virtual or on-site
readiness review. Form Number: CMS–
10416 (OCN: 0938–1172); Frequency:
Once; Affected Public: State, Local, or
Tribal governments; Number of
Respondents: 31; Number of Responses:
31; Total Annual Hours: 5,552. (For
policy questions regarding this
collection, contact Sarah Summer 301–
492–4443.)
Dated: March 4, 2014.
Martique Jones,
Deputy Director, Regulations Development
Group, Office of Strategic Operations and
Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2014–05000 Filed 3–6–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4120–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and
Families
[CFDA Numbers: 93.612, 93.602]
Notice for Public Comment on the
Adoption of Program Policies and
Procedures for the Native Asset
Building Initiative, a Joint Funding
Opportunity Announcement Between
the Administration for Native
Americans and the Office of
Community Services
Administration for Native
Americans, ACF, HHS.
ACTION: Notice for Public Comment.
AGENCY:
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 changes in interpretive
rules, general statements of policy, and
rules of agency procedure or practice
that affect programs, projects, and
activities authorized under the NAPA.
In accordance with notice requirements
of NAPA, ANA herein describes its
planned changes to interpretive rules,
general statements of policy, and rules
of agency procedure or practice as they
relate to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014
Funding Opportunity Announcement
SUMMARY:
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(FOA) for the Native Asset Building
Initiative, HHS–2014–ACF–ANA–NO–
0786 (hereinafter referred to as NABI).
Projects funded under this initiative
receive two grant awards from two
Administration for Children and
Families (ACF) Program Offices—ANA
and the Office of Community Services
(OCS). Grantees under the NABI
program implement economic capacity
building projects that are targeted
toward increasing the economic stability
of low-income individuals and families,
through the establishment of Individual
Development Accounts (IDAs) and
related services that motivate
individuals to save, invest, and
accumulate assets. NABI is part of a
national Assets for Independence (AFI)
demonstration project, authorized under
the Assets for Independence Act of
1998, to test, demonstrate, and develop
knowledge about the impact of IDAs
and related services. For additional
information about NABI, please see the
Health and Human Services (HHS)
Grants Forecast at the following link:
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/
hhsgrantsforecast/
index.cfm?switch=grant.view&gff_
grants_forecastInfoID=66481.
DATES: The deadline for receipt of
comments is April 7, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments in response to
this notice should be sent via email to
Lillian Sparks Robinson, Commissioner,
Administration for Native Americans, at
ANACommissioner@acf.hhs.gov.
Comments will be available for
inspection by members of the public at
the Administration for Native
Americans, 901 D Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carmelia Strickland, Director, Division
of Program Operations, ANA, (877) 922–
9262.
A. Administrative Policies: ANA
would make the following changes to
the Administrative Policies in the NABI
FOA.
1. ANA will clarify the conflict of
interest standards to ensure they align
with the rule at 45 CFR 1336.50(f). This
rule authorizes the Office of the Chief
Executive of a federally recognized
Indian tribal government to be paid
salary and expenses with ANA grant
funds provided such costs are related to
a project funded under ANA FOAs and
that the costs exclude any portion of
salaries and expenses that are a cost of
general government. Given this rule
regarding the allowable use of grant
funds, we would adopt a limited
exception to previously published
conflict of interest standards that
previously did not include the
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regulatory exception applicable to the
Office of the Chief Executive of federally
recognized Indian tribes.
2. ANA intends to adopt the following
policy for the NABI FOA:
ACF encourages all eligible applicants
to participate in the Assets for
Independence demonstration project;
therefore awards made under this FOA
will be exempt from the following
Administrative Policies regarding
limitation of ANA awards: ‘‘Limitation
on the Number of Awards under a
Single CFDA Number,’’ and ‘‘Limitation
on the Number of Awards Based on Two
Consecutive Funding Cycles.’’ (Please
see FOA Index for a full statement of
these policies).
Since NABI was developed as a
special initiative between ANA and
OCS to increase Native American
participation in the national Asset for
Independence demonstration project,
ANA also will remove the related
disqualification factor titled ‘‘Only One
Active Award per CFDA.’’ This
disqualification factor had been
included in the FY 2013 version of the
NABI FOA to ensure the ‘‘Limitation on
Number of Awards per CDFA Number’’
Administrative Policy. The exemption
from the Administrative Policy coupled
with the removal of the disqualification
factor is intended to encourage
increased participation in the NABI
program.
B. Federal Evaluation: ANA intends
to include the following language:
ANA and OCS are required by statute
to evaluate the impact of their funding.
To fulfill the evaluation requirements,
ANA and OCS will implement a
federally sponsored evaluation strategy
to assess the success and impact of
approved projects. The federal
evaluation strategy will include granteelevel documentation. In accepting a
grant award, all grantees will agree to
participate fully in the federal
evaluation if selected and to follow all
evaluation protocols established by
ANA and OCS or their designee
contractor.
C. Name Change of a Disqualification
Factor: ANA would change the name of
the disqualification factor titled ‘‘Board
Documentation’’ to ‘‘Assurance of
Community Representation on Board of
Directors’’ in order to further clarify
what is being requested of applicants
regarding demonstration of community
representation. The content of this
requirement will not change, and it still
will not apply to tribes or Alaska Native
Villages. All disqualification factors will
be in Section III.3. Other of the
published FOA.
D. Eligible Applicants: ANA intends
to clarify eligible applicants. Eligible
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applicants will remain the same as those
entities noted in the FY 2013 version of
the NABI FOA (HHS–2013–ACF–ANA–
NO–0587, available at: https://
www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/
index.cfm?switch=foa&fon=HHS-2013ACF-ANA-NO-0587) and will include
Native 501(c)(3) non-profit
organizations, federally recognized
tribal governments and Alaska Native
Villages, Native non-profit organizations
designated by the Secretary of the
Treasury as Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and
Native non-profit credit unions
designated as low-income credit unions
by the National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA). The bulleted
lists of example organizations under
each type of applicant will be removed
and clarifying language will be added
that describes the following eligibility
rules: Native non-profits must have
501(c)(3) status with the Internal
Revenue Service; tribes and Alaska
Native Villages may only apply jointly
with a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status;
Tribal Colleges may apply as either a
non-profit with 501(c)(3) status or
jointly with a non-profit with 501(c)(3)
status.
E. Projects Ineligible for Funding:
ANA would revise language in this
section to provide clarification on two
of the types of projects ANA will not
fund under regulations at 45 CFR
1336.33(b), as follows:
1. Projects for which a grantee would
provide training and technical
assistance to other tribes or Native
American organizations to the extent
such training or technical assistance is
duplicative of ANA-funded training and
technical assistance available to tribes
and other entities that are eligible to
apply for ANA funding. This does not
apply to ‘‘train-the-trainer’’ capacity
building projects.
2. Projects from consortia of tribes
that do not include documentation from
each participating consortium member
specifying their role and support.
Projects from consortia must have goals
and objectives that will encompass the
participating communities. ANA will
not fund projects by a consortium of
tribes that duplicates activities for
which participating member tribes also
receive funding from ANA.
F. Page Limits for NABI Applications:
ANA would change the maximum page
limit for applications submitted in
response to the FY 2014 NABI FOA
from 200 pages to 150 pages. This page
limit excludes business plans (if
applicable) and mandatory grant forms
(Standard Forms and ANA’s Objective
Work Plan form). The 150-page limit is
consistent with ANA’s other FY 2014
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13061
FOAs. Applications that exceed the
page limit will have excess pages
removed from consideration during the
panel review process.
G. Two-File Application Upload
Requirement: ANA would exempt
applicants from the ACF application
two-file upload requirement for
electronically submitted applications
when responding to all FY 2014 ANA
FOAs, including NABI, in order to
reduce the technical burden on such
applicants and to ensure that lack of
technical resources, not otherwise
required of applicants, does not
unintentionally act to disqualify an
applicant, otherwise eligible, from
applying under ANA FOAs.
H. Outcomes Expected for NABI
Applications: ANA intends to
emphasize monitoring of outcomes
specific to the AFI initiative by
requiring applicants to provide annual
targets for the following: The number of
IDAs opened per savings goal (home
ownership, education, and
entrepreneurship); the number of
participants completing financial
education trainings; the number of
individuals completing an asset
purchase; the amount of non-federal
cash contribution deposited in the
Project Reserve Fund; and the
percentage of the 5-year federal AFI
budget that will be drawn down
annually. Target numbers for the entire
5-year project period were requested in
previous FOAs.
I. Protection of Sensitive and/or
Confidential Information: ANA intends
to add the following application
requirement to all FY 2014 FOAs in
order to ensure the protection of
confidential and/or sensitive
information:
If any confidential or sensitive
information will be collected during the
course of the project, whether from staff
(e.g., background investigations) or
project participants and/or project
beneficiaries, then provide a description
of the methods that will be used to
ensure that confidential and/or sensitive
information is properly handled and
safeguarded. Also provide a plan for the
disposition of such information at the
end of the project period.
J. ANA Application Evaluation
Criteria:
1. Changes to Criteria: ANA would
add three additional criteria to the FOA,
titled: Need for Assistance, Objective
Work Plan (OWP), and Organizational
Capacity. The concept of Need for
Assistance was articulated as the
Problem Statement and was evaluated
under the Outcomes Expected criteria in
prior years’ FOAs. The OWP and
Organizational Capacity were
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3. Allows any one community, or
region, to receive a disproportionate
share of the funds available for award.
4. Is essentially identical or similar in
whole, or in part, to previously funded
projects proposed by the same
applicant, or activities or projects
proposed by a consortium that
duplicates activities for which any
consortium member also receives
funding from ANA.
5. Provides couples or family
counseling activities that are medically
based.
6. Originated with and/or was
designed by consultants who provide a
major role for themselves and are not
members of the applicant organization,
tribe, or village.
7. Contains contingent activities that
may impede, or indefinitely delay, the
progress of the project.
8. Has the potential to cause
unintended harm or that could
negatively impact the safety or privacy
of individuals.
9. May be used for the purpose of
providing loan capital. Federal funds
Excellent ...................................
93–100 awarded under this FOA may not be
Very Good ................................
86–92 used for the purpose of providing loan
Good .........................................
78–85 capital. This is not related to loan
Fair ............................................
70–77
Needs Significant Improvement
0–69 capital authorized under Sec. 803A of
NAPA [42 U.S.C. 2991b–1(a)(1)] for the
purpose of the Hawaiian Revolving
K. ANA Internal Review of Proposed
Loan fund.
Projects: ANA proposes to clarify the
language in Section V.2. Review and
10. Includes human subject research
Selection Process of all FY 2014 FOAs
as defined at 45 CFR 45.102(d) and (f).
to clarify the scope of discretion to be
L. Reporting: ANA would change the
exercised in making funding decisions
reporting requirement from quarterly to
as follows:
semi-annual for Objective Progress
Based on the ranked order of
applications, ANA staff will perform an Reports (OPR) and Financial Status
Reports (FSR). Therefore, grantees will
internal review and analysis of the
be required to submit an OPR and an
highest ranked applications in order to
FSR every 6 months instead of every 3
determine their consistency with the
purposes of NAPA, all relevant statutory months. Please note grantees will still
be required to submit a Federal
and regulatory requirements, and the
Financial Report—Federal Cash
requirements of this FOA. ANA’s
Commissioner has discretion to make all Transaction Report to the Division of
Payment Management on a quarterly
final funding decisions. In the exercise
basis.
of such discretion, the Commissioner
would consider whether the project:
Lillian Sparks Robinson,
1. Would further the purpose of this
Commissioner, Administration for Native
funding opportunity as described in
Americans.
Section I. Description, or is likely to be
[FR Doc. 2014–04959 Filed 3–6–14; 8:45 am]
successful or cost effective based on
BILLING CODE 4184–34–P
what is submitted for evaluation in
response to Section IV.2. Project
Description.
2. Fails to provide documented
commitment of non-federal cash
contributions as described in Section
III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching and
Section IV.2. Project Description,
Commitment of Non-Federal Resources.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
previously listed and evaluated as part
of the Approach section. They will be
listed as separate criteria to highlight
the critical nature of these elements to
project success. Bonus Points that
appeared in prior years’ FOAs will be
removed from the evaluation criteria.
2. Titles and Assigned Weight: ANA
would adjust the maximum point values
of the evaluation criteria scores to
further prioritize elements that are
important to project monitoring and
success. ANA proposes to use the
following criteria values for the FY 2014
NABI FOA:
Need for Assistance—15 points;
Outcomes Expected—10 points;
Project Approach—20 points;
Organizational Capacity—25 points;
Objective Work Plan—20 points;
Budget and Budget Justification—10
points.
3. Scoring Guidance: ANA intends to
provide guidance to reviewers to utilize
the table below when allocating points
for applications in order to ensure
consistency and equivalence in scoring
between different panels and panel
reviewers. ANA would add the
following table to all FY 2014 FOAs:
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18:39 Mar 06, 2014
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA–2014–D–0191]
Advancing Regulatory Science for
High Throughput Sequencing Devices
for Microbial Identification and
Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance
Markers
AGENCY:
Food and Drug Administration,
HHS.
ACTION:
Notice of public workshop.
The Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) is announcing the following
public workshop entitled ‘‘Advancing
Regulatory Science for High Throughput
Sequencing Devices for Microbial
Identification and Detection of
Antimicrobial Resistance Markers.’’ The
purpose of the public workshop is to
discuss the clinical and public health
applications and performance validation
of these devices, the quality criteria for
establishing the accuracy of reference
databases for regulatory use and ways to
streamline clinical trials for microbial
identification. This discussion is
essential to establish the safety and
effectiveness of high throughput
sequencing devices when used to test
human specimens or clinical isolates for
the diagnosis of infectious diseases and
detection of antimicrobial resistance
markers.
Date and Time: The public
workshop will be held on April 1, 2014,
from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: The public workshop will
be held at the FDA White Oak Campus,
10903 New Hampshire Ave., Building
31 Conference Center, the Great Room
(Rm. 1503), Silver Spring, MD 20993–
0002. For parking and security
information, please visit the following
Web site: https://www.fda.gov/
AboutFDA/WorkingatFDA/
BuildingsandFacilities/
WhiteOakCampusInformation/
ucm241740.htm.
Contact Person: Heike Sichtig, Center
for Devices and Radiological Health,
Food and Drug Administration, 10903
New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm.
5269, Silver Spring, MD 20993–0002,
email: Heike.Sichtig@fda.hhs.gov.
Registration: Registration is free and
on a first-come, first-served basis.
Persons interested in attending this
public workshop must register online by
5 p.m. on March 25, 2014. Early
registration is recommended because
seating is limited. FDA may limit the
number of participants from each
organization based on space limitations.
DATES:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 45 (Friday, March 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13060-13062]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04959]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
[CFDA Numbers: 93.612, 93.602]
Notice for Public Comment on the Adoption of Program Policies and
Procedures for the Native Asset Building Initiative, a Joint Funding
Opportunity Announcement Between the Administration for Native
Americans and the Office of Community Services
AGENCY: Administration for Native Americans, ACF, HHS.
ACTION: Notice for Public Comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 changes in interpretive rules, general statements of policy, and
rules of agency procedure or practice that affect programs, projects,
and activities authorized under the NAPA. In accordance with notice
requirements of NAPA, ANA herein describes its planned changes to
interpretive rules, general statements of policy, and rules of agency
procedure or practice as they relate to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014
Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Native Asset Building
Initiative, HHS-2014-ACF-ANA-NO-0786 (hereinafter referred to as NABI).
Projects funded under this initiative receive two grant awards from
two Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Program Offices--ANA
and the Office of Community Services (OCS). Grantees under the NABI
program implement economic capacity building projects that are targeted
toward increasing the economic stability of low-income individuals and
families, through the establishment of Individual Development Accounts
(IDAs) and related services that motivate individuals to save, invest,
and accumulate assets. NABI is part of a national Assets for
Independence (AFI) demonstration project, authorized under the Assets
for Independence Act of 1998, to test, demonstrate, and develop
knowledge about the impact of IDAs and related services. For additional
information about NABI, please see the Health and Human Services (HHS)
Grants Forecast at the following link: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/hhsgrantsforecast/index.cfm?switch=grant.view&gff_grants_forecastInfoID=66481.
DATES: The deadline for receipt of comments is April 7, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments in response to this notice should be sent via email
to Lillian Sparks Robinson, Commissioner, Administration for Native
Americans, at ANACommissioner@acf.hhs.gov. Comments will be available
for inspection by members of the public at the Administration for
Native Americans, 901 D Street SW., Washington, DC 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmelia Strickland, Director,
Division of Program Operations, ANA, (877) 922-9262.
A. Administrative Policies: ANA would make the following changes to
the Administrative Policies in the NABI FOA.
1. ANA will clarify the conflict of interest standards to ensure
they align with the rule at 45 CFR 1336.50(f). This rule authorizes the
Office of the Chief Executive of a federally recognized Indian tribal
government to be paid salary and expenses with ANA grant funds provided
such costs are related to a project funded under ANA FOAs and that the
costs exclude any portion of salaries and expenses that are a cost of
general government. Given this rule regarding the allowable use of
grant funds, we would adopt a limited exception to previously published
conflict of interest standards that previously did not include the
[[Page 13061]]
regulatory exception applicable to the Office of the Chief Executive of
federally recognized Indian tribes.
2. ANA intends to adopt the following policy for the NABI FOA:
ACF encourages all eligible applicants to participate in the Assets
for Independence demonstration project; therefore awards made under
this FOA will be exempt from the following Administrative Policies
regarding limitation of ANA awards: ``Limitation on the Number of
Awards under a Single CFDA Number,'' and ``Limitation on the Number of
Awards Based on Two Consecutive Funding Cycles.'' (Please see FOA Index
for a full statement of these policies).
Since NABI was developed as a special initiative between ANA and
OCS to increase Native American participation in the national Asset for
Independence demonstration project, ANA also will remove the related
disqualification factor titled ``Only One Active Award per CFDA.'' This
disqualification factor had been included in the FY 2013 version of the
NABI FOA to ensure the ``Limitation on Number of Awards per CDFA
Number'' Administrative Policy. The exemption from the Administrative
Policy coupled with the removal of the disqualification factor is
intended to encourage increased participation in the NABI program.
B. Federal Evaluation: ANA intends to include the following
language:
ANA and OCS are required by statute to evaluate the impact of their
funding. To fulfill the evaluation requirements, ANA and OCS will
implement a federally sponsored evaluation strategy to assess the
success and impact of approved projects. The federal evaluation
strategy will include grantee-level documentation. In accepting a grant
award, all grantees will agree to participate fully in the federal
evaluation if selected and to follow all evaluation protocols
established by ANA and OCS or their designee contractor.
C. Name Change of a Disqualification Factor: ANA would change the
name of the disqualification factor titled ``Board Documentation'' to
``Assurance of Community Representation on Board of Directors'' in
order to further clarify what is being requested of applicants
regarding demonstration of community representation. The content of
this requirement will not change, and it still will not apply to tribes
or Alaska Native Villages. All disqualification factors will be in
Section III.3. Other of the published FOA.
D. Eligible Applicants: ANA intends to clarify eligible applicants.
Eligible applicants will remain the same as those entities noted in the
FY 2013 version of the NABI FOA (HHS-2013-ACF-ANA-NO-0587, available
at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/index.cfm?switch=foa&fon=HHS-2013-ACF-ANA-NO-0587) and will include
Native 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, federally recognized tribal
governments and Alaska Native Villages, Native non-profit organizations
designated by the Secretary of the Treasury as Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and Native non-profit credit unions
designated as low-income credit unions by the National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA). The bulleted lists of example organizations
under each type of applicant will be removed and clarifying language
will be added that describes the following eligibility rules: Native
non-profits must have 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue
Service; tribes and Alaska Native Villages may only apply jointly with
a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status; Tribal Colleges may apply as either
a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status or jointly with a non-profit with
501(c)(3) status.
E. Projects Ineligible for Funding: ANA would revise language in
this section to provide clarification on two of the types of projects
ANA will not fund under regulations at 45 CFR 1336.33(b), as follows:
1. Projects for which a grantee would provide training and
technical assistance to other tribes or Native American organizations
to the extent such training or technical assistance is duplicative of
ANA-funded training and technical assistance available to tribes and
other entities that are eligible to apply for ANA funding. This does
not apply to ``train-the-trainer'' capacity building projects.
2. Projects from consortia of tribes that do not include
documentation from each participating consortium member specifying
their role and support. Projects from consortia must have goals and
objectives that will encompass the participating communities. ANA will
not fund projects by a consortium of tribes that duplicates activities
for which participating member tribes also receive funding from ANA.
F. Page Limits for NABI Applications: ANA would change the maximum
page limit for applications submitted in response to the FY 2014 NABI
FOA from 200 pages to 150 pages. This page limit excludes business
plans (if applicable) and mandatory grant forms (Standard Forms and
ANA's Objective Work Plan form). The 150-page limit is consistent with
ANA's other FY 2014 FOAs. Applications that exceed the page limit will
have excess pages removed from consideration during the panel review
process.
G. Two-File Application Upload Requirement: ANA would exempt
applicants from the ACF application two-file upload requirement for
electronically submitted applications when responding to all FY 2014
ANA FOAs, including NABI, in order to reduce the technical burden on
such applicants and to ensure that lack of technical resources, not
otherwise required of applicants, does not unintentionally act to
disqualify an applicant, otherwise eligible, from applying under ANA
FOAs.
H. Outcomes Expected for NABI Applications: ANA intends to
emphasize monitoring of outcomes specific to the AFI initiative by
requiring applicants to provide annual targets for the following: The
number of IDAs opened per savings goal (home ownership, education, and
entrepreneurship); the number of participants completing financial
education trainings; the number of individuals completing an asset
purchase; the amount of non-federal cash contribution deposited in the
Project Reserve Fund; and the percentage of the 5-year federal AFI
budget that will be drawn down annually. Target numbers for the entire
5-year project period were requested in previous FOAs.
I. Protection of Sensitive and/or Confidential Information: ANA
intends to add the following application requirement to all FY 2014
FOAs in order to ensure the protection of confidential and/or sensitive
information:
If any confidential or sensitive information will be collected
during the course of the project, whether from staff (e.g., background
investigations) or project participants and/or project beneficiaries,
then provide a description of the methods that will be used to ensure
that confidential and/or sensitive information is properly handled and
safeguarded. Also provide a plan for the disposition of such
information at the end of the project period.
J. ANA Application Evaluation Criteria:
1. Changes to Criteria: ANA would add three additional criteria to
the FOA, titled: Need for Assistance, Objective Work Plan (OWP), and
Organizational Capacity. The concept of Need for Assistance was
articulated as the Problem Statement and was evaluated under the
Outcomes Expected criteria in prior years' FOAs. The OWP and
Organizational Capacity were
[[Page 13062]]
previously listed and evaluated as part of the Approach section. They
will be listed as separate criteria to highlight the critical nature of
these elements to project success. Bonus Points that appeared in prior
years' FOAs will be removed from the evaluation criteria.
2. Titles and Assigned Weight: ANA would adjust the maximum point
values of the evaluation criteria scores to further prioritize elements
that are important to project monitoring and success. ANA proposes to
use the following criteria values for the FY 2014 NABI FOA:
Need for Assistance--15 points;
Outcomes Expected--10 points;
Project Approach--20 points;
Organizational Capacity--25 points;
Objective Work Plan--20 points;
Budget and Budget Justification--10 points.
3. Scoring Guidance: ANA intends to provide guidance to reviewers
to utilize the table below when allocating points for applications in
order to ensure consistency and equivalence in scoring between
different panels and panel reviewers. ANA would add the following table
to all FY 2014 FOAs:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excellent.................................................. 93-100
Very Good.................................................. 86-92
Good....................................................... 78-85
Fair....................................................... 70-77
Needs Significant Improvement.............................. 0-69
------------------------------------------------------------------------
K. ANA Internal Review of Proposed Projects: ANA proposes to
clarify the language in Section V.2. Review and Selection Process of
all FY 2014 FOAs to clarify the scope of discretion to be exercised in
making funding decisions as follows:
Based on the ranked order of applications, ANA staff will perform
an internal review and analysis of the highest ranked applications in
order to determine their consistency with the purposes of NAPA, all
relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, and the requirements of
this FOA. ANA's Commissioner has discretion to make all final funding
decisions. In the exercise of such discretion, the Commissioner would
consider whether the project:
1. Would further the purpose of this funding opportunity as
described in Section I. Description, or is likely to be successful or
cost effective based on what is submitted for evaluation in response to
Section IV.2. Project Description.
2. Fails to provide documented commitment of non-federal cash
contributions as described in Section III.2. Cost Sharing or Matching
and Section IV.2. Project Description, Commitment of Non-Federal
Resources.
3. Allows any one community, or region, to receive a
disproportionate share of the funds available for award.
4. Is essentially identical or similar in whole, or in part, to
previously funded projects proposed by the same applicant, or
activities or projects proposed by a consortium that duplicates
activities for which any consortium member also receives funding from
ANA.
5. Provides couples or family counseling activities that are
medically based.
6. Originated with and/or was designed by consultants who provide a
major role for themselves and are not members of the applicant
organization, tribe, or village.
7. Contains contingent activities that may impede, or indefinitely
delay, the progress of the project.
8. Has the potential to cause unintended harm or that could
negatively impact the safety or privacy of individuals.
9. May be used for the purpose of providing loan capital. Federal
funds awarded under this FOA may not be used for the purpose of
providing loan capital. This is not related to loan capital authorized
under Sec. 803A of NAPA [42 U.S.C. 2991b-1(a)(1)] for the purpose of
the Hawaiian Revolving Loan fund.
10. Includes human subject research as defined at 45 CFR 45.102(d)
and (f).
L. Reporting: ANA would change the reporting requirement from
quarterly to semi-annual for Objective Progress Reports (OPR) and
Financial Status Reports (FSR). Therefore, grantees will be required to
submit an OPR and an FSR every 6 months instead of every 3 months.
Please note grantees will still be required to submit a Federal
Financial Report--Federal Cash Transaction Report to the Division of
Payment Management on a quarterly basis.
Lillian Sparks Robinson,
Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans.
[FR Doc. 2014-04959 Filed 3-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-34-P
