California Home EDD HomePage WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WIA Overview Job Seekers and Training Services Information for Employers Workforce Development Community Workforce Development Solicitations for Proposals Employment  Development  Department     My CA     This site  Workforce Development Workforce Development Community Workforce Development Solicitation for Proposals Governor's Discretionary Funds - Questions and Answers Questions submitted by parties interested in the Governor's Discretionary Funds, and the answers to those questions, are listed below. Questions and answers are organized by general topic area. The final date to submit questions regarding the Governor's Discretionary Funds SFP was December 15, 2004. We are no longer accepting questions related to this SFP. The final questions and answers will be posted by December 23, 2004. Awards Proposal Criteria SFP Terminology Cash Match Program Use of Funds General Project Performance Participant Eligibility Proposal Format Awards Q. What are Wagner-Peyser 10 Percent Funds? A. The Wagner-Peyser Act became law in 1933 establishing the nationwide public employment service. This program is a federally funded labor exchange developed to match employers with qualified workers. The federal Wagner-Peyser Act provides that the Governor may reserve up to 10 percent of the total Wagner-Peyser funds allocated to the state to provide core and intensive services as defined in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). (Refer to SFP, Section 1C - Funding Availability, p. 1) Wagner-Peyser funds may not be used to provide training or support services such as childcare, transportation, etc. However, Wagner-Peyser funds may be used for any of the other core, intensive or follow-up services as described on pages 26 - 28 of the SFP. Q. Will meritorious proposals be considered for funding at amounts less than requested by the applicant? If yes, what will the negotiation process entail? A. It is EDD's intention to maximize the use of available resources and collaboration. After completion of the evaluation process, EDD will use the reviewers' evaluations in conjunction with other factors to make it's final recommendations for funding amounts. (Refer to SFP, Section 7A, Proposal Evaluation and Recommendation for Funding, p. 11) Cash Match Q. With regard to the SFP's 20% requirement of a cash match, would time off allowed by participating/partner employers for incumbent employees to attend training be considered "cash match"? As a side note, in a recent DOL SFP, the Department of Labor definition of cash match include time allowed by employers for incumbent employees to attend an upgrade training program. A. Paid employee release time to attend training will be accepted as cash match if a letter of commitment from the employer is included with the proposal. The letter from the employer must state their commitment to give the employees paid release time to attend training. For the purpose of this SFP, paid employee release time is regular wages only and not overtime, benefits or other costs, for trainees' time spent attending classes during working hours. Q. Could the 20% match requirement be in-kind (i.e., equipment use, staff time, instructor's time, etc.)? A. The SFP does not contain a match requirement. However, if the applicant demonstrates a cash match from a non-WIA fund source equivalent to 20 percent of the project, up to 5 bonus points will be available. A letter of commitment must verify the cash match. (Refer to Section 6, V. Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, page 8.) In-kind contributions are encouraged but will not count toward the bonus points. Q.If our agency has an annual fundraiser that raises enough to use as matching funds for this project, what would be the content of the letter of commitment? Who would be writing it? A. The letter of commitment should provide documentation of prior fund raising efforts. Included in this letter should be an estimated amount of what funds your organization expects to raise as a cash match. The letter of commitment would be written from your agency, and signed by the signatory authority. Q.If our agency plans to use foundation money that has been awarded, is the letter of award sufficient or are there specific details that need to be contained in a letter of commitment? A.In order to qualify for the bonus points available for demonstrating a cash match from non-WIA funds source equivalent to 20 percent of the project, an award letter will not be sufficient. Your organization would need a letter of commitment from the foundation authorizing your organization to use foundation money to supplement this project, if funded. Q. Is "Cash Match" from non-WIA funds the same as "In-Kind Match"? (Request for Proposal (RFP), Page 4 of 10, Question #4) A. No, a cash match and an in-kind-match are not the same. An in-kind match or contribution is a non-cash resource such as donated personnel, services, equipment or space. Q. What would count as a non-WIA "cash" resource? Participants' wages and benefits? Wages and benefits for substitute employees to cover the shifts of trainees? Childcare? Mileage if travel is required? Parking? Books and other supplies needed for the training? A. For purposes of this SFP, a non-WIA cash resource means a contribution of money is made available to the applicant supported by a letter of commitment. However, we have made one exception in that paid employee release time (regular wages) to attend training will be accepted as cash match if a letter of commitment from the employer is included with the proposal. Therefore the other items listed in the question would be considered in-kind contributions. (See Q&A Question # 1 under Cash Match) Q. In terms of a cash match, what qualifies from a community college? Equipment, space, re-assigned time, other non-cash contributions? A. All of those that you have stated are in-kind contributions so none would apply as a cash-match. Q. In terms of the cash match, what qualifies? Can it be foundation money or funding from another government agency (a local one)? A. Foundation money or cash from another government agency would be an acceptable cash match if it is a non-WIA source. A letter of commitment must verify the cash match. Additionally, up to 5 bonus points will be available if the applicant demonstrates a cash match from non-WIA fund source equivalent to 20% of the project (Refer to SFP, Section 6, Subsection 5 - Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, pgs. 7-8). Q. Where should letters of commitment for a cash match be included in the document order, at the very end? A. Letters of commitment for a cash match are to be attached at the end of the proposal. Q. EDD has received a number of questions asking if specific items would qualify as non-WIA cash match. Rather then post each individual question, we have summarized the items below: Could any cash, either wages, stipends, incentive payments, or welfare grant money, given to a project participant, for time spent in: a) project orientations and meetings; b) vocational classroom training; c) work experience; d) on-the-job training and e) travel to and from such activities, be considered cash match for the project? Can non-WIA-funded supportive services that are planned by agencies coordinating services to WIA-15% project participants be counted as cash match for the project? Costs for staff from non-WIA-funded agencies that are collaborating to serve participants enrolled in a 15% project. A check issued by the County to participants for childcare, transportation or book requirements. A. In question Cash Match #6 on the Q&A website, the state has defined non-WIA cash resource as a contribution of money made available to the applicant (organization applying for funds) and supported by a letter of commitment. The only exception to this is the paid employee release time (regular wages) to attend training. (See Cash Match Q.1) A contribution of money available to the applicant implies that the applicant has control and disburses the funds. Therefore all of the other items (excluding paid employee release time) listed above are in-kind contributions and not cash match. Q. If we have a 20% cash match does it count towards the $800,000 maximum award? In other words if we identify $160,000 in cash match does that mean we can only ask for as grant of $640,000 ($800,000- $160,000)? Or would the $160,000 be added to the total value of the grant, making a $800,000 proposal worth $960,000? A. No, the 20% cash match does not count towards the $800,000 maximum award. On the Budget Summary Plan of the SFP, the sum of columns A & B would equal the total request for funds. Column C identifies the non-WIA cash match and does not count towards the total project amount. Therefore, column D is the sum of Columns, A, B and C and can exceed the maximum of $800,000. Q. Does providing a match greater than the 20% required to get the 5 bonus points help the applicant in the review process? A. Up to 5 bonus points will be available if the applicant demonstrates a cash match from non-WIA fund source equivalent to 20% of the project. (Refer to SFP, Section 6, Section V, Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, p. 7) Cash match greater than 20% is encouraged, however, no additional bonus points will be given. General Q. Two different dates are listed for proposal, one is December 29, the other is January 5. Is this the same request for proposal or is the Vet's proposal different from the Governors' Discretionary Funds? A. EDD currently has two separate SFPs as follows: The Veterans' Employment-Related Assistance Program SFP has availability of up to $6,000,000 in Workforce Investment Act (WIA) 15 Percent Governor's Discretionary funds to serve the needs of targeted veterans. The deadline for the receipt of proposals for this SFP is Wednesday, December 29, 2004, no later than 3:00 p.m. The Governor's Discretionary Fund SFP has availability of up to $20 million of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Governors' 15 Percent Discretionary funds and up to $2 million of Wagner-Peyser Act Governor's 10 Percent funds. The deadline for the receipt of this proposal is January 5, 2005, no later than 3:00 p.m. Q. How is an applicant determined to fall under the Non-Demonstration/Non-Research project? Could an organization elect to be considered under this type of project? A. All applications received under this SFP will be considered Non-Demonstration/Non-Research projects. Therefore it is not necessary to request that a proposal be considered for this type of project. Q. Page 15 refers to usworkforce.org for more information on performance goals. The link does not seem to work. A. The corrected link is: wdr.doleta.gov/directives/, and has been corrected in the latest version of the SFP. Q. Where can the Regional Economies Report for Southern California be found? A. You may find the Southern Border Regional Economy Report at www.labor.ca.gov/panel/SouthernBorderReport.pdf. Q. Does a lead agency have to provide the MIS/data reporting or can that be sub-contracted out? A. The MIS/data reporting can be sub-contracted out, however, the lead agency is still responsible for any fiscal and participant reporting requirements. Q. Is any priority given to agencies that have received WIA 15% funding in the past? A. No. The goal of this SFP is to select, through a competitive process, eligible applicants that are qualified and prepared to use the funds in innovative ways that focus on one of the three Governor's funding categories. (Refer to SFP, Section 1A, Purpose, p. 1) Q. Any favor given for serving Veterans? A. No, favor is not given. It Is covered under the law. As quoted from Employment Development Department Information Bulletin WIAB02-94, dated June 3, 2003, "Effective July 1, 2003, Public Law 107-288, the Jobs for Veterans Act, establishes that, among other requirements: Priority of service will be given to veterans, and spouses of certain veterans, for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services in any job-training program directly funded, in whole or in part, by the Department of Labor (DOL), notwithstanding any other provision of law". Q. I was wondering is this RFP open to private colleges? We are Bureau of Post Private Vocational Education (BPPVE) approved. Would the training have to fit into what we have already been approved for? A. Yes, proposals will be accepted from public, private non-profit and private for-profit organizations. It must be part of an approved BPPVE program. Q. Is there any value added in collaborating with another two-year community college in central California and a four-year university in Central California? A. The SFP indicates that 15 points are given to proposals that utilize local, public and private partnerships that provide services that will address unmet needs and does not duplicate services. [Refer to SFP, Section 5, Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, (p. 7)] Q. Our targeted number of students to be trained is close to 1000, is this a sufficient number? Too high or too low? What does the State consider a reasonable number? A. For the purposes of this SFP, the State has not specified a reasonable or expected number of participants to be served. This should be determined and identified by the applicant based on the stated need, design of the program, and the resulting benefits to the participants. Q. How would an agency communicate its interest in being a pilot/demonstration grant within the context of the grant application? What are the basic criteria for meeting pilot/demonstration status? A. EDD will be not be approving any demonstration grants under this SFP. All applications received under this SFP will be considered Non-Demonstration/Non-Research projects. Q. (a) What is the estimated number of grants that you believe will be given out this year? (b) How many grants do you expect to fund and are there geographic considerations attached to your funding decisions? A. Based on past history with SFP's, EDD expects to fund 20 to 30 projects under this SFP. Yes, geographic consideration will be used in our funding decisions to the extent possible. Q. Must applicants have an existing training program run through its Organization or can the training component be provided by a partnering Organization? A. Applicants do not have to have an exiting training program to apply for funds under this SFP. The training component can be provided by a collaborating or partnering organization. Q. Where can I find an exact listing of the WIA Reporting Requirements? The reference on the SFP wasn't clear. Is there a manual stating these? A. The WIA financial reporting requirements are detailed in Directive WIAD03-8. Documents for the participant reporting requirements include the WIA JTA System Client Forms Handbook and the JTA System MIS Guide also posted on EDD's website at www.edd.ca.gov/wiarep/wiaricr.htm. Q. Can you provide definitions of: total planned entered employments, total planned retained employments, and total planned trainees? A. Total planned entered employments are participants that you expect to have entered unsubsidized employment. Total planned retained employments are participants that you expect to have retained their employment for 6 months. Total planned trainees are how many trainees you expect to train. Q. I am contacting you to determine the eligibility of our organization for the Governor's Discretionary Funds-FY 2005. I represent Golden Care Workforce Institute, a San Diego non-profit that operates the Golden Hill Health Careers Academy, a program that is approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education to train economically at risk individuals to become certified nursing assistants. While we are an approved ROP site and ROP pays for instructor and related program costs, ROP does not cover the operating costs of our organization, which includes full time staff salaries. We currently accept 120 students per year, with 30 students accepted in each of four classes. A. You have identified your organization as a non-profit. As specified in the SFP, proposals will be accepted from public, private non-profit and private for-profit organizations. (Refer to SFP, Section 1B - Eligible Applicants, p. 1) Q. The Regional Economy Report for the Southern Border, to which you referred us, only includes Imperial and San Diego Counties. We have not been able to find a report for the other Southern California Counties--Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties. Does a report exist for this region? A. Regional Economies Project reports for the areas you requested are not yet available, however, similar data for industries and occupations are available on the Labor Market Information Web site. To identify high-growth industries, go to the employment projections by industry for counties and county groups. To develop a profile of an occupation in your area with good wages and outlook, use the Occupation Profile. Q. Can an agency apply for both the Workforce Investment Act Veterans' Employment-Related Assistance Program and the Governor's Discretionary Funds, or are they limited to one? A. Yes, application by an Agency to both SFPs is allowed. There are two different SFP's. Q. Can we get copies of previously submitted winning proposals? A. The criteria and emphasis of this SFP are different than other proposals that have been funded in the past. Copies of past funded proposals would not provide any relevance to this SFP. The goal of this SFP is to select eligible applications through a competitive process. Therefore, we will not share copies of previously submitted written proposals. Q. How much was offered for this program in previous years, if there were any? A. This is the first year for this type of solicitation, where there are three Governor's funding Categories. Q. Is it possible to get a list of prior awardees? A. The public notice of the past Governor's 15 Percent Fund grant awardees is available on the Governor's website. Click Press Room and then scroll down to Previous Administration. Q. Are YOUTH considered a special population? A. Youth that have employment barriers would be considered a special population. Your project design must describe in detail how the customized services and training will prepare and transition the special needs population into employment and/or help them attain ongoing career advancement. (Refer to SFP, 3, Section II - Removing Barriers for Special Needs Population, p. 9) Q. What types of applicants are typically most competitive for this program? A. Those applicants whose proposals meet the specific criteria outlined in the SFP, and are qualified and prepared to use the funds in innovative ways that focus on one of the Governor's funding categories listed in the SFP will be the most competitive. Q. (a) A WIB that submits a proposal on behalf of a regional consortium considered the "lead applicant" and therefore prohibited from submitting a separate proposal in a different Governor's funding category? (b) We partner with several organizations to provide well rounded services in the area of employment/training in our community -- each of whom want to submit a proposal for this grant as a lead agency which the other remaining partners as part of their program design. The theory is that one of us might get funded. Is this acceptable? A. An applicant who has submitted a proposal can be a partner in another application as long as the applicant is applying for a different Governor's funding category, and is not the lead agency on the application. Participant Eligibility Q. The Adult client eligibility for the WIA 15% Nurse Workforce Initiative was: Right to work in the United States Selective Service registration compliance Is this the Adult client eligibility for this WIA 15% solicitation? A. Yes, including the age requirement of 18 and older for adults. There are no additional adult eligibility requirements unless the proposal targets special groups of clients that will receive services. The eligibility criteria for these special groups will be described in the subgrant agreement that EDD will establish with the awardees. Q. Do all participants served have to satisfy WIA eligibility requirements e.g. youth WIA eligibility? A. Yes, all participants have to satisfy WIA eligibility requirements. Program Q. What is "Worker Profiling"? (RFP, Appendix B, Core Services, Question #2) A. In November of 1994, all states were required to have in place a "Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services System." The profiling concept is based on the premise that there are certain characteristics (a "profile") that can identify individuals who are likely to exhaust unemployment insurance benefits. These individuals are then referred to comprehensive reemployment services. Q. My local Workforce Administration said that in WIA, youth are not provided with Core or Intensive Services, but only with Training Services. Is this true in this SFP? A. Under WIA regulation 664.400, local Workforce Investment Boards are allowed to define youth activities for their area using their formula allocated funds. Appendix C, of the SFP, describes the WIA 15 percent project requirements. For youths 14-17 years of age, the required services are outlined on pages 30-31. Project Performance Q. The State Performance Goals for 2005 are high. We provide pre-employment services to low-income and homeless clients with multiple barriers to employment. It may be unrealistic to expect a 72% enter employment rate for this population, for example. Are we eligible and encouraged to apply if the agency cannot realistically claim such high performance levels for our clients? If we are unable to meet the employment rate, our retention rate would also be low. If we are still eligible and encouraged to apply, how should we reflect this in the Performance Goals Matrix section? A. All public, private non-profit and private for profit organizations are eligible to apply. Performance levels are only one part of the total proposal evaluation. If an applicant will not meet any of the expected State performance goals, they will need to provide an explanation under IV, #3, (p. 18). If a proposal has other performance goals, these may be detailed in part IV, Goals and Objectives. You will need to answer "I", Other proposed performance goals and related cost per for each goal (p. 18). Q. Please define "Earnings Change" for the Adult population in the context of the state performance level of $3,450. A. The $3,450 goal indicates the average earning increase expected for clients comparing the wages earned between the second and third quarter prior to entering the program and those of the second and third quarter after the client leaves the program. For example, if a client is enrolled in the program on March 1, 2005, and leaves the program on December 1, 2005, the earnings gain for that client is the difference between the client’s earnings from April 2006 through September 2006 minus pre-program earnings from April 2004 through September 2005. For the program as a whole, the goal is to see an average earnings change after program intervention of $3,450. (Updated 12/20/04) Q. The RFP says that "...each proposal should include follow-up services for participants after they are placed in unsubsidized employment and after they have exited from the project." Does that mean that the 18-24 month project timeline must include 6 months of follow up -in other words all participants would need to be exited six months before the end of the project? A. All participants would not necessarily need to be exited six months prior to the end of the project. The WIA states that follow-up services should be available to adult clients, as needed, for 12 months after placement in unsubsidized employment. The State encourages follow-up after a client exits from the program in order to support retention in employment. The Governor has flexibility in implementing these requirements in discretionary projects. If, because of the short duration of these projects, an applicant is unable to provide at least six months of follow-up after placement in unsubsidized employment, the project design should suggest how the program will insure successful employment retention. Some examples include, support through continuing partner services or through employment mentors. Q. If we target incumbent workers what are the expected performance goals? A. For incumbent worker projects the emphasis should be on retention in employment and wage gains. Expected performance goals will be reviewed as part of the final project negotiation. Q. Will this grant pay for training that does not result in a "credential" as defined by WIA? That is, can funds be used for training that results in employment, retention, and earnings increase without a credential being earned. A. Yes. Q. It is understood that each proposal should include follow-up services for participants after they are placed in unsubsidized employment and after they are exited from the project and the final follow-up design will be negotiated with each successful applicant. However, it is also understood that no obligations or commitment of funds will be allowed prior to or beyond the grant period. For applicants who propose projects where placement in employment will not occur until near the end of the 24-month allowable grant period, how should costs associated with follow-up services be addressed? A. It is correct that no funding commitments can be made following the closure of the project. If some clients are not expected to enter unsubsidized employment until the end of the project term, the project design should suggest the steps that will be taken to insure the client has the necessary skills and support to retain employment. Some examples include, support through continuing partner services or through employment mentors. Q. Our agency focuses on pre-employment case management with the hardest to employ population. This population is high risk and requires intensive case management to improve their chances of employment. The focus is more on pre-employment than job placement. Are we eligible to apply? If so, how should we show this in the part IV "Goals and Objectives" section and the performance goals chart of the SFP? A. Yes, your agency is eligible to apply under this SFP. Under part IV, Goals and Objectives, you will need to answer "I", Other proposed performance goals and related cost per for each goal (p. 18). If an applicant will not meet any of the expected State performance goals, they will need to provide an explanation under IV, #3, (p. 18). However, by doing so, your proposal may not be as competitive because proposals will be scored and ranked based on planned goals and objectives. Q. Do our program/project goals have to meet or exceed State Goals to be competitive? A. In order to obtain the maximum amount of points your program must meet or exceed State goals. If an applicant will not meet any of the expected State performance goals, they will need to provide an explanation under IV, #3, (p. 18). Q. After an enrollee becomes employed, when can we start measuring retention? From the definition of retention, it appears that retention does not start counting until the quarter after the quarter the enrollee becomes employed. Is this correct? For example, if the given quarter is Jan 1st- March 31st and a client becomes employed January 5th, what are considered the second and third quarters in which to measure retention? Would the earliest quarter that retention would start counting be the start of the April 1st quarter? A. Retention is measured in the third quarter after the quarter the clients leaves/exits the program, regardless of the date of employment. Using your example, if the client leaves/exits the program between January 1 and March 31, that is the exit quarter. Retention measurement is based on whether that client is employed three quarters later, October through December. Retention is calculated only for those clients employed in the first quarter after their exit quarter. Q. What are the penalties the grantees are faced with if they do not meet the performance levels of the grant? For example, first year we spend $400,000 on curriculum development and lab equipment and installation. Second year, we train and place workers but do not meet the targeted performance level. What are the consequences? A. Although assuring equity across the projects is paramount we must also consider the operating context for each project. If a project is failing to attain its goals the first question is what corrective action can get the project back on track. Next steps will be determined in partnership with the grantee. The consequence for under-performance will be based on the degree of the problem and the identified reasons. The worst-case scenario would entail early termination of the project. Additionally, please be aware that the Workforce Investment Act, Section 129 (b) 4 states that "No funds described in this subsection or section 134 (a) shall be used to develop or implement education curricula for school systems in the State." Q. In the Directive WIAD02-14 (15% Project Requirements), it mentioned on p. 7 that for the purpose of performance measures, follow up services must be made available to adults who enter unsubsidized employment for 12 months after placement. The period of this grant is 18-24 months. Does this mean that if the grant period is for 18 months, the client must have been placed in employment no later than the end of the 6th month (to allow 12 months for follow up); and if the grant period is for 24 months, it would mean the client must have been placed in employment no later than the end of the 12th month of the grant. A. All participants would not necessarily need to be exited six months prior to the end of the project. The WIA states that follow-up services should be available to adult clients, as needed, for 12 months after placement in unsubsidized employment. The State encourages follow-up after a client exits from the program in order to support retention in employment. The Governor has flexibility in implementing these requirements in discretionary projects. If, because of the short duration of these projects, an applicant is unable to provide at least six months of follow-up after placement in unsubsidized employment, the project design should suggest how the program would insure successful employment retention. Some examples include, support through continuing partner services or through employment mentors. Q. In the Administrative Requirements Section, under D, "State Performance Goals" - under "Earnings Change/Earnings Replacement in Six Months": If a client is making $0 per month before our program, is it sufficient for the client to increase his or her biannual earnings by the stated $3,450 after 6 months of work? Does the 6-month period begin upon the clients' entry into the program or at the point of employment? A. The earnings change goal compares wages for the second and third quarter prior to enrollment in the program with wages for the second and third quarter post-exit. If a client enters the program on January 1, 2005, and makes zero wages from April to September 2004, their pre-program wages are zero. Total earnings of $3,450 in the second and third quarter post-exit would equate to an earnings change of $3,450 for that client. The earnings change for the program or project is the average earnings change for all clients leaving the project. For dislocated workers, who are likely to have higher pre-program wages, the earnings measure is the percent of wages replaced. The comparison is total wages in the second and third quarter post-project participation as a percent of wages earned in the second and third quarter before enrollment in the project. Q. In the Administrative Requirements Section, under D, "State Performance Goals" - Under "Credential/Diploma Rate": Do the credential programs have certain specifications designated by the grant that must be followed? Do the programs need to be certified in any way? If so, we have paid apprenticeships wherein clients work for 2-6 months with additional supervision and support, can we get this program certified? A. An effort should be made to attain a credential for all clients in the project receiving training. The Department of Labor defines a valid credential as follows: A nationally recognized degree or certificate or a State or locally recognized credential. Credentials include, but are not limited to, a high school diploma, GED or other recognized equivalents, post-secondary degrees/certificates, recognized skill standards, and licensure or industry-recognized certificates. States should include all State Education Agency recognized credentials. In addition, States should work with local Workforce Investment Boards to encourage certificates to recognize successful completion of training services that are designed to equip individuals to enter or re-enter employment, retain employment, or advance into better employment. If an apprenticeship program has a skill certification that may be considered a credential. Projects may not independently define credentials. However, if the local board operating in their area has defined credentials acceptable to the local workforce investment area, the project may utilize those credential criteria. All reported credentials must be documented in the client's file and may be subject to review. Q. In the Administrative Requirements Section, under D, "State Performance Goals" - Under "Enter Employment Rate" What is the expected time frame for a client to "Enter Employment"? (3-6 months?)- Under "Retention Rate" What period of time must a client retain his/her job, in order to fulfill the retention requirement (1 month, 4 months, etc)? A. The Entered Employment Rate is measured in the quarter following the client's departure from the program. For example, if a client leaves the project/program in July of 2005, the EDD will check to see whether the client is employment from October to December of 2005. Employment is defined as receiving any wages reported by an employer during the evaluation quarter. Retention is evaluated in the third quarter after the client leaves the program. In this example, that would be April to June 2005. The client must have reported wages during that quarter to be counted as having retained employment. It does not have to be the same employer for whom the client was working in the first quarter after leaving the program. Only clients employed in the first quarter after leaving the project are included in the retention measure. Q. We are submitting a proposal for EDD's designation of our project as a research/demonstration project. For those performance outcomes that do not apply to this project, can we state "not applicable?" A. EDD will be not be approving any demonstration grants under this SFP. All applications received under this SFP will be considered Non-Demonstration/Non-Research projects. If an applicant will not meet any of the expected State performance goals, they will need to provide an explanation under IV, #3 (p. 18). However, by doing so, the proposal may not be as competitive because proposals will be scored and ranked in part based on planned goals and objectives. Q. Re: the Performance Goal Matrix: If a program is providing industry-specific job training to adults only, is the expectation that all of the rows under "Planned Adult Goals" be filled with percentages (except D. which is shaded), or can the program choose which performance measures to track (for example, track employment and retention, but not credential rate). A. The expectation is that all boxes on the Performance Goals Matrix under the applicable column heading (Planned Adult Goals, etc.) would be completed even if the amounts were zero. However, if the planned goals are different than the state goals, the applicant must provide an explanation in Section IV 3 Q. Will follow up services be conducted at designated intervals, such as 3 or 6 months? A. The frequency and intensity of follow-up services is determined by the grantee; however, entry in the JTA system is required on participants at quarterly intervals for four quarters after exit. Q. Participant Plan table. Please explain the difference between "Follow up after placement in unsubsidized employment" and "follow-up after exit." Does follow up need to be tracked 12 months after placement or 12 months after exit? A. Follow-up after placement in unsubsidized employment occurs when the client has been placed in an unsubsidized job; they may or may not have exited from the program. Follow-up after exit occurs after the client has exited from the program and they may or may not have entered employment. Both types of follow-up are to ensure that the client has the necessary skills and support to retain employment and gather additional information on employment status and the post-program educational attainment/credentials. The WIA states that follow-up services should be available to adult clients, as needed, for 12 months after placement in unsubsidized employment. The Governor has flexibility in implementing these requirements in discretionary projects. If, because of the short duration of these projects, an applicant is unable to provide at least six months of follow-up after placement in unsubsidized employment, the project design should suggest how the program will insure successful employment retention. Some examples include, support through continuing partner services or through employment mentors. Q. Do we attempt to meet the first performance level beyond the two-year period? In other word, can we continue to fulfill the performance level beyond the two-year period even though the grant funding has terminated? A. Once the project terminates there is a 90-day close out period. During those 90 days, entities can continue to update participant performance information into the State's JTA system. As a rule, access to the JTA system is discontinued after the final close out report is submitted. However, the state will continue to evaluate employment outcomes for clients after the end of the project using wage records reported by employers to the State. Q. If an organization falls under Section II of the Governor's Funding Categories, must it have a formal certification/credential program? I'm wondering about Performance Goal (E), 55% Credential Diploma rate. A. Yes. The Department of Labor defines a valid credential as follows: A nationally recognized degree or certificate or a State or locally recognized credential. Credentials include, but are not limited to, a high school diploma, GED or other recognized equivalents, post-secondary degrees/certificates, recognized skill standards, and licensure or industry-recognized certificates. States should include all State Education Agency recognized credentials. In addition, States should work with local Workforce Investment Boards to encourage certificates to recognize successful completion of training services that are designed to equip individuals to enter or re-enter employment, retain employment, or advance into better employment. If an apprenticeship program has a skill certification that may be considered a credential. Projects may not independently define credentials. However, if the local board operating in their area has defined credentials acceptable to the local workforce investment area, the project may utilize those credential criteria. All reported credentials must be documented in the client's file and may be subject to review. Proposal Criteria Q. Is there a list of specific industries deemed as "High Growth" or do we make this case, which may be specific to our region? A. Your organization will need to demonstrate which industries are considered "High Growth" specific to your region, using labor market information (LMI) and other resource data. Q. Is an organization able to apply more than once under separate funding categories? A. No, an applicant may only submit one proposal for funding which must have six completed copies of the entire proposal, two of which must have original signatures. (Refer to SFP, Section 5A - Minimum Requirements, p.4). Q. Can an applicant who has submitted a proposal be a partner in another application? A. Yes, as long as the applicant is applying for a different Governor's funding category, and the partner entity is not the lead on the application. Q. The SFP specifies that an applicant may only submit one proposal, however, it is my understanding that an applicant may also be a partner in a separate proposal submitted under a different Governor's funding category. How will the scoring process affect applicants who are partnering under separate categories? A. Each proposal will be scored individually based on the scoring criteria outlined in the SFP. (Refer to SFP, Section 6 - Proposal Package Instructions, pgs. 6-10). Q. Does the applicant need to submit proof of board resolution as designated authorized signatory? A. No, a board resolution designating signatory authority does not need to accompany the application. However, if grant funds are awarded a board resolution may be required before funds can be placed into a subgrant. Q. Is there any dollar limit on per participant costs? A. The SFP does not set limits on costs per participant. Each application will be reviewed independently and costs per participant will be considered based on their reasonableness given the target group, services to be provided and additional resources available. Proposals should show that the per participant cost is reasonable, and describes the expected cost effectiveness of the proposal in terms of expected cost per outcomes compared to expected benefits to participants. (Refer to SFP, Section 6, 2, IV - Goal and Objectives, p.7) Q. The solicitation references a "maximum return on investment," and requires estimates of planned enrollments and services to be provided as part of the Participant Plan. Does the proposal evaluation and recommendation for funding criteria include a range for per participant costs that defines whether the services being proposed provide a "maximum return on investment?" A. The proposal evaluation and funding criteria do not include a range for per participant costs. Because of the diversity of local labor markets, target population needs and available resources, "Return on Investment" will be reviewed individually for each application. Proposals should demonstrate that the per participant costs are reasonable and describe the expected cost effectiveness of the proposal in terms of expected cost per outcomes compared to expected benefits to participants. Q. We would like to apply for the grant. Do we need to register or send an e-mail? A. No, you are not required to register or send an e-mail to apply under this SFP. Applicants must use the proposal package format available in Microsoft Word at www.edd.ca.gov/wiarep/wiaspind.htm. (Refer to the SFP, Section 5-A, Minimum Requirements, p. 4) Q. (a) Are you allowed attachments other than commitment letters? (b) In addition to the Letter of Commitment for a cash match from non-WIA sources referenced in Section V, what other letters should be attached? A. As stated in the SFP instructions, attachments that will be accepted include cash match commitment letters, copy of non-profit certification from the federal Internal Revenue Services and copy of non-profit certification from the California Franchise Tax Board. No other attachments will be accepted. Q. In Section V - Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, is participation by a local workforce investment board expected or required? Will such participation result in additional points awarded, or is the intent of this section to list any effective local collaboration, whether or not it involves a local WIB? A. Participation by a Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) is not required. However, coordination and established linkages with the LWIB is one of the SFP proposal criteria and will be considered as part of the proposal scoring and evaluation. Q. Are homeless individuals a "special needs" population? A. Yes, homeless individuals could be considered a "special needs population" and may be targeted under this SFP, if they can benefit from the customized services offered in the proposal. Q. Can State Agencies apply for funding under the WIA15% SFP? A. The SFP is open to public, private non-profit and private for-profit organizations therefore, State agencies can apply. Q. Can EDD apply? A. It would be a possible conflict of interest if EDD applied as the lead entity on a project, since EDD is the administrator and decision maker for the SFP. A joint application with another organization with EDD in a support role would be more appropriate based on the emphasis in the SFP on local collaboration. Q. Under the Governor's Funding Category Description, "Section III - Industries with Statewide Need - Nurses and Other Health Related industries," must the applicant limit services to the health related sector or may it also serve other industries? If so, is there a longer list of Industries with statewide need that applicants may utilize? A. For the purposes of this SFP, Category Three, Industries with a Statewide Need, is restricted to nurses and other health related industries. Q. Your website states that an applicant who has submitted a proposal can be a partner in another application. The grant we are preparing has multiple partners, of which one of them is also applying for funds. We are applying for the "Removing Barriers for Special Need Populations" and our partner is applying for the "Industries with a Statewide Need - Nurses and other health related industries." So this meets your standard as you replied in the answer to #3. In each of the applications, we can leverage resources for each other by utilizing existing programs rather than creating new ones. Is it acceptable to have a segment in our proposal's budget to include our partner to provide us with their existing services (i.e. job placement)? A. Yes, it is acceptable to include your partner's existing resources in your proposal. Q. It is understood that grants will not be available for longer than the 24 month expenditure period and the earliest date for project start-up is February 1, 2005, but what is the latest end date? For example, could a project begin April 1, 2005 and run through March 31, 2007? Could it run through June 30, 2007? (Updated 12/16/04) A. Because of the life of the funds, it is generally EDD's interest to fund projects that operate no later than March 2007. EDD realizes that some projects may need to be tied to school semesters or quarters, and that may be a reason to approve project operations past March 2007. This will, therefore, be evaluated on a case-by-case, basis, based on the design of the project. As indicated on page 17 of the SFP, under Planned Approach, #3, you will need to explain any time constraints within your organization or partners' organization that would influence or affect project startup. Q. If we don't qualify for Wagner-Peyser, will we be penalized 5 points for not requesting it? A. The State encourages proposals to use the Wagner-Peyser funds in conjunction with the WIA 15 percent funds. Up to 5 points will be available for proposals that integrate both funding streams. No penalties are assessed if both funds are not applied for. (Refer to the SFP, Section 1C, Funding Availability, p. 2) Q. Can you provide any direction on what specifically is required from collaborating partners? A. EDD does not stipulate in this SFP any specific requirements by collaborating partners. However, under Section 5, Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, (p. 7) of the SFP, it states that in identifying partnerships, programs should coordinate provided services that will address unmet needs and not duplicate services. Q. Could incumbent workers be served under the third Governor's category (Industries with a Statewide Need - Nurses and other health related industries)? A. Yes, as allowed by the federal laws and regulations. Q. What is considered a reasonable "cost per participant"? A. For the purpose of this SFP, EDD does not define reasonable or set limits on costs per participant. Each application will be reviewed independently and costs per participant will be considered based on their reasonableness. Because applicant costs can vary, reasonableness will be reviewed based on the needs of the target group, the types of training to be provided and the other resources available to the program. Q. In the Proposal Package Instructions under Section V - Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, are "local partnerships" referring to referral agency partners or solely partners that are jointly applying for this grant? A. For the purposes of this SFP, local partnerships are referring to any collaborative relationship that will benefit and augment your organization's proposal. Q. (a.) A description of need is required under the Statement of Need and also under Target Group. Isn't this a repetition, although one is asking about "the unmet need in the geographical area" and the other about "the needs of the target group"? If they are not the same please explain the differences. (b) What are the differences in the descriptions under the Planned Approach and Governor's Funding Category Description, particularly with respect to removing barriers? All that needs to be said will be said in the Planned Approach. In what way should the description under the Governor's Funding Category be different? A. Each section of the application has specific criteria as outlined in the SFP and will be scored independently based on the criteria. Many of the sections are inter-related and may warrant some repetition with the opportunity to include further detail for information provided in another section. Applicants must review each of the criteria carefully and respond accordingly. Some examples of how the SFP sections are related, yet have different criteria, are as follows: Planned Approach: Overall strategy or how services will be delivered to achieve goals and objectives including the types of services and training and who will provide them. Governor's Funding Category - Removing Barriers: Description of how the service plan (described in Planned Approach) will address the barriers. Demonstration of how the services/training (described in Planned Approach) will transition the population into employment. Q. The Budget Summary Plan, for a proposal to serve high-risk youth across a multi-county LWIA, submitted by the LWIA Administrative Office on behalf of it's regularly subcontracted WIA Youth Program operators, should each of the line items in the Budget Summary Plan have the sum of the respective costs for the LWIA Administrative Office and each of the regularly subcontracted WIA Youth Program operators? Or should the WIA Youth Program subcontractors be listed under Contractual Services in Section II of the Supplemental Budget Information Page, with only a total cost given for each? A. In your example, the WIA Youth Program operators' costs should be entered on line N. Contractual Services on the Budget Summary Plan. Each of the providers would be listing separately on the Supplemental Budget Information Page, Section II. Contractual Services. If you are awarded funds, you may be asked to provide further detail on the Contractual Services as part of preparing your final statement of work for your grant. Q. Could the health care industry be included as one of several industries targeted in a proposal that addresses "Growth Industries - - High wage, High Skill Job Training" or Removing Barriers to Employment for Special Needs Populations"? Are applicants that want to work with the health care industry limited to the third of the three listed priorities - "Industries with State Wide Needs - - Nurses and other Health Related Industries"? A. The health care industry is not exclusive to the Governor's Funding Category Industries with a Statewide Need. If applicable, applicants may target the health care industry in one of the other Governor's Funding Categories. Q. Please clarify the restriction on page 4 that "Applicants may submit only one proposal for funding". Can an organization that provides services in several different Workforce Investment Areas in the state submit one proposal, under one funding category, to provide those services in multiple locations, on a regional or statewide basis? A. Yes, an organization that provides services in several different Workforce Investment Areas in the state can submit one proposal, under one funding category, to provide those services in multiple locations, on a regional or statewide basis. Q. In completing the Return on Investment table, should the per head cost be based upon the total program expense, or only the portion of the proposed WIA/WP grant? A. The Return on Investment matrix should be completed only for WIA and Wagner-Peyser funds. Cash match and other resources should not be included in this calculation. Q. What specific criteria will be used to judge "qualified and prepared" applicants in the Statement of Capabilities? Can applicants with little experience with WIA training programs leverage the experience of partner organizations to garner full points in this category? A. An applicant must demonstrate the capability to conduct and administer a federally funded project. (Refer to the SFP, Section 6, Statement of Capabilities, p.8) Applicants can sub-contract with partnering agencies to perform administrative functions. However, the applicant still has responsibility for administering the project and the funds. Q. Where can I find a complete listing of special needs populations? A. For the purpose of this SFP, a list of special needs population has not been compiled. EDD has left the determination of a special needs population up to each program, based on whether that population can benefit from the customized services offered in the proposal. Q. We are interested in proposing a construction trades training program, which will buy and develop affordable housing in our county. Can we count the construction financing as match funds for our training program? A. You may count the construction financing as in-kind services but not as cash match funds. (Refer to #6 of the Q&A website, under Cash Match for a definition of non-WIA cash resource) Q. The website states: "The final date to submit questions regarding the Governor's Discretionary Funds SFP is December 15, 2004." That differs from the SFP I downloaded. Please clarify. A. An Information Bulletin (WIAB04-60) dated December 7, 2004, was sent out updating this information. You may access this Information Bulletin at: www.edd.ca.gov/wiarep/wiainbu.htm. Q. Some of our clients may enter our program as employees even though their wages are minimal. If they enter our program as an employed person even with exceptionally low wages should they be included in the number of "total planned entered employments"? A. No they should not be included as they are already employed. Q. The expenditure and participant plan states that expenditures can go through March 2007 (p. 25). Can our project run from July 1 2005 - June 30, 2007? A. Because of limitations on how long these funds are available to the State, it is EDD's intent to fund projects that end no later than March 31, 2007. Q. It appears that there are two separate needs statements required, one in the narrative (Section I.- Statement of Need) and a separate one in the Appendix A-Governor's Funding Category description: Item III. Industries with a Statewide Need-Nurses and Other Health Related Industries, Questions 1. Please differentiate between the two need statements and how they will be evaluated. A. The Statement of Need in Section I of the Proposal Narrative and the Industries with a Statewide Need-Nurses and Other Health Related Industries under the Governor's Funding Category each have very specific criteria. The Statement of Need is described in the SFP instructions in Section 6, item 2, Section I (page 6). The Industries with a Statewide Need is described in Section 6, item 3, Section III (page 9). Many of the sections are inter-related and may warrant some further detail of information provided in another section. Each section will be scored independently based on the criteria outlined in the SFP. Q. In Section III of the Governor's Funding Category Description - Industries with a Statewide Need- Nurses: The last section asks for a description of how the service plan will transition/upgrade workers. If we are not proposing an "upgrade" program for existing workers but rather training new workers, how should this section be completed? A. This section should be completed based on your project design. If you are not training incumbent workers, you will need to describe how your service plan will transition participants to employment in the healthcare industry in a timely manner. Q. Can a local school district apply for these funds? A. Yes, a local school district is eligible to apply. Q. Is there a minimum number of participants an organization must serve to be competitive in this proposal? A. No, it is up to the applicant to determine the number of participants that will be served. Q. Can "ex-offenders" qualify as a "special needs population" or are they excluded? A. Yes, they can. For the purpose of this SFP, EDD has left the determination of a special needs population up to each program, based on whether that population can benefit from the customized services offered in the proposal. Q. In the proposal narrative section, statement of need you ask the applying agency to describe the unmeet need, the various reasons why our employer is unable to attract and retain workers in light of constraints on supply. What I am uncertain of is the supporting data, specific to the, "local or regional service delivery infrastructure, including the local one stops." Should we be asking the one-stops to provide us with data on why they are unable to supply sufficient workers in this area to meet the demand? What if this analysis has not been done by the one-stops? Would general regional and more specific internal LMI data suffice? A. Use the best information available to you. The following websites may be helpful: Data for industries and occupations are available on the Labor Market Information Web site. To identify high-growth industries, go to the employment projections by industry for counties and county groups. To develop a profile of an occupation in your area with good wages and outlook, use the Occupation Profile. Q. On page 3 of 10 of the application Section lV, 1 Return On Investment item B: Cost per participant and Item H, Cost per Trainee, could you explain the difference between the two in a given scenario of a program design. Given that some of the enrollments would not enter training is the expectation that all enrollee would be trained (trainee)? A. The cost per participant is the average cost for each enrolled participant in your overall project. The cost per trainee is the average cost for each of the participants that you put into a training component within your overall project. Whether or not all enrollees receive training (i.e., become trainees) will be based on your project design. Q. What method of calculation will the state use to calculate each of the cost per measures? What figure will be included in the denominator for each of the calculations? Will the state include the respondent's cash match and in-kind contributions in the calculation of the cost per measures? A. The applicant is responsible for completing the cost per participant measurements on the Return on Investment matrix in Section IV - Goals and Objectives. The costs per each outcome are calculated by dividing the total requested amount by the total number of planned participants; cash match and in-kind contributions are excluded. For example, if you plan to serve 100 participants and have requested total funds of $600,000, your cost per participant would be $6,000. Q. Will collaborating partners (such as training providers - not ETPL; non-profits; colleges) that are written into the grant be required to go through a procurement process once grant is awarded? Will we have to release an RFP in order to sub-contract services to them? A. If a collaborating partner is a co-applicant in the grant, they do not need to go through a procurement process. If an entity is not a co-applicant, then they would be considered a sub-contractor and would need to go through a procurement process. Q. In the Q&A's section on Proposal Criteria, #16, your response suggested that EDD is interested in funding projects that operate no later than July 2006 (only 17 months after the February 2005 start date). Furthermore, the response states that there "may be a reason to approve project operations past July 2005" (only 5 months after the February 2005 start date). Are these dates correct? A. No, these dates have been corrected. Please see Q&A website under Proposal Criteria, #16. Q. What are the beginning and end dates of the grant-funding period? Can funding be requested for more than a 12-month period? Describe in detail how the customized services and training will prepare and transition the special needs population into employment and/or help them attain ongoing career advancement. A. The earliest date for projects to start up is February 1, 2005. It is expected that the planned performance period for projects awarded under this solicitation will be between 18 and 24 months. Grant funds will not be available for longer than the 24-month expenditure period. Because of limits on how long these funds are available to the State, it is EDD's intent to fund projects that operate no later than March 2007. As indicated on page 17 of the SFP, under Planned Approach, #3, you will need to explain any time constraints within your organization or partners' organization that would influence or affect project startup. Proposal Format Q. With regard to the proposal format, are there any margin requirements? A. Though the SPF does not address margin requirements, it does indicate that proposals must follow a certain format, as outlined under Section 5, Required Proposal Content (p. 4). As specified, applicants must use the proposal package format available in Microsoft Word at www.edd.ca.gov/wiarep/wiaspind.htm. Q. The proposal package will not allow for pasting or creating tables and for the use of bold and outlines. Can applicants recreate the proposal package in WORD format without these limitations as long as all other formatting is consistent with the intent of the SFP? A. The required proposal package format available in Microsoft Word has been set up as a protected online form so that users can easily tab through the document to enter information and check boxes. To have more edit capabilities for inserting tables or formatting, the document must be unprotected. To un-protect this document, in Microsoft Word select the Tools menu and click "Unprotect Document". Please use caution when un-protecting this document as the application must be submitted in the format described in the Minimum Requirement in the SFP. Proposals that do not adhere to this format will not be scored or considered for funding. (Refer to the SFP, Section 5A, Minimum Requirements, p. 4) Q. In preparing the printed and electronic application package, may we edit the forms to shorten the question text and/or remove sections to which we are not responding (e.g., 2 out of 3 Governor's Funding Category Descriptions)? A. All proposals must adhere to the required format as specified in the SFP instructions; therefore, the text in the format may not be changed. You may; however, delete the two Governor Funding Categories that you are not applying for. Proposals that do not adhere to this format will not be scored or considered for funding. (Refer to SFP page 4) Q. Why does the format you provide for submission of the proposal include the Proposal Application page as Page 1 of 10? Shouldn't the Proposal Narrative start at Page 1 of 10 instead of Page 2 of 10? How do we fix that, if need be? A. EDD has elected to use this format for this SFP, which must be adhered to. Changes to this format will not be scored or considered for funding. (Refer to SFP, Section 5A, Minimum Requirements, page 4) Q. (a) Are letters of support (from government officials, partner agencies, etc.) permitted as attachments? If not, can we include them in section (5) "Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization"? (b) In Section V applicants are asked to "describe the linkages established with the Local Workforce Investment Board/Area" and other local partnerships that are part of the project. May our organization submit letters of intent or other documents from our local partners as supporting documents with our proposal? (c) Besides Letters of support, what kind of attachments would you like to see? A. As stated in the SFP instructions, attachments that will be accepted include cash match commitment letters, copy of non-profit certification from the federal Internal Revenue Services and copy of non-profit certification from the California Franchise Tax Board. No other attachments will be accepted. Q. Can we add additional line items on the provided budget forms to describe additional budgetary activities that might be relevant? A. No. All proposals must adhere to the required format as specified in the SFP instructions; therefore, the text in the format may not be changed. Proposals that do not adhere to this format will not be scored or considered for funding. (Refer to SFP page 4) Q. Is there a limit to number of pages of attachments? A. The SFP specifies what attachments must be included (See Q&A # 9 under Proposal Criteria), however, does not specify the number of pages for those attachments. No other attachments will be accepted other than those specified in the SFP. Q. Are other letters of support OK to include? (e.g. for in-kind contributions, evidence of program collaboration, etc.). If so, where should they be placed in the document order? A. EDD is not accepting letters of support for this SFP. Please see Q&A #9 under Proposal Criteria for the list of attachments that will be accepted. No other attachments will be accepted. Q. In response to the answer in question 3 of the Proposal Format section of the Governor's Discretionary Fund, we understand that we can delete the two Governor Funding Categories that we are not applying for. Does this mean that we can use this additional space (2 pages) to more completely answer any of the other questions so long as we do not exceed 10 pages or only the one funding category to which we are responding? In other words, if we wanted to expand our answer to page two questions with this additional room, is that appropriate? A. The proposal narrative and the Governor's funding category description are two separate sections of the proposal. The proposal narrative is limited to 10 pages and the Governor's funding category description is limited to 4 pages. If you submit only 2 pages under the Governor's funding category you still cannot exceed the 10-page limit for the proposal narrative. Q. Is a single space narrative within the template appropriate? A. The Minimum Requirements, in Section 5A of the SFP, states that proposals must be single-spaced and in a font no less than 11 point (p. 5). Q. Can letters of support from our partners indicating matching funds be included in the application? A. Letters of commitment for cash match will be accepted. However, support letters for in-kind match will not be accepted. Q. Can we submit the proposal as a word document or must we submit using the state's template? A. Applicants must use the proposal package format available in Microsoft Word at www.edd.ca.gov/wiarep/wiaspind.htm. (Refer to SFP, Section 5A, Minimum Requirements, page 4) SFP Terminology Q. What is "cognizant agency" under indirect costs? Page 23 - Budget summary plan. A. A cognizant agency is the Federal agency responsible for reviewing, negotiating, and approving cost allocation plans or indirect cost proposals that are developed. Ordinarily, the Federal agency providing the bulk of the funding is the cognizant agency. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) publishes a listing of cognizant agencies. Q. Please define un-subsidized employment. A. Un-subsidized employment is any employment, including self-employment, not financed by either funds provided under the ACT or by direct wage subsidies provided by any type of public funds. If the employer is paying the entirety of the wages but the employee is continuing to receive supportive services under the WIA program, then the employee may still be counted as having entered unsubsidized employment. Use of Funds Q. Can these funds be used for incumbent worker upgrade training? A. Yes, if using WIA funds. Incumbent worker training is an allowable statewide activity when conducted with WIA Governor's 15 Percent Funds [(WIA section 134(a)(3)(A)(iv)(l)]. The training must be developed in conjunction with an employer or employee association to upgrade skills, develop better career paths and attain a higher standard of living for the employee. Generally, training occurs in the workplace. Applicants should describe plans for backfilling any vacancies resulting from the upgrade training. For purposes of this SFP, incumbent worker eligibility is defined for each Governor's funding category as follows: Growth Industries High Wage, High Skill Job Training: Employed individual of the targeted growth industry sector and/or cluster, that through upgrade skills training can gain the worker occupational skill sets required to advance to better-paying positions and enhance their career paths. Removing Barriers for Special Need Populations: Employed low-wage earners that through upgrade training will obtain higher-skill and higher-wage occupations. The definition of low-wage earners will be locally determined by using labor market information (LMI) and other resource data. Industries with a Statewide Need - Nurses and other healthcare providers: Employed health-care industry workers including Nurses Aides (NA), Psychiatric Technicians (PT), Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN), Registered Nurses (RN), Medical Assistants (MA) and allied health-care workers that can advance to better-paying nursing positions as a result of the training or other career ladder activities. Wagner-Peyser funds cannot be used to provide training or support services. (SFP, Section 1C, Allowable Uses of Funds, P. 2). Q. Is there any limit on how much of the grant can be used for equipment? A. The SFP does not set a limit on how much of the grant can be used for equipment. However, equipment costs must be necessary, reasonable and allowable in accordance with WIA and the applicable Directives and OMB circulars. Due to the short-term nature of these projects, applicants are encouraged to lease or rent high cost equipment. All equipment with a unit cost of $5,000 or more will be subject to prior approval by EDD and will be negotiated in conjunction with contract completion with successful applicants. (Refer to SFP, Section 6, Budget Summary Plan, p. 10) Q. Do the trainers used on projects submitted under this SFP have to be listed on the state ETPL? A. No, the WIA 15 Percent projects are not bound by all of the same program restrictions that exist for programs funded with WIA formula-allocated funds. WIA Directive WIAD02-14 states, "Discretionary projects are not required to select training providers from the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) or provide Individual Training Accounts." Q. Is there a percentage limit for WIA and Wagner-Peyser Act such as 80-20% split? A. No, there is not a percentage limit with the two fund sources. However, you may not request to be fully funded with Wagner-Peyser funds. (Refer to the SFP, Section 1-C, Funding Availability, p. 1) Q. Will the grant pay for OJT? A. Yes, the grant will pay for on-the-job training (OJT) as defined in the WIA Regulations at 20 CFR 663.700 (Refer to the SFP, Appendix B, Training Services, p. 27) Q. Can Wagner-Peyser funds be used to pay the personnel costs related to staff assigned to development and management of a training program? This would not include actual delivery of training. A. Yes, Wagner-Peyser funds can be used for the development, management and evaluation of training programs. It cannot be used to pay for tuition, books, materials, or other such incidental associated with the training itself. Q.(a) What is the cost reimbursement schedule for the grant? (b). Is the reimbursement contingent on meeting monthly performance benchmarks? A. The grants awarded under this SFP will not have to achieve monthly performance benchmarks in order to draw cash. However, the project operations will be reviewed quarterly for achievement of participant and fiscal plans (Refer to WIA Directive WIAD04-11, Unilateral De-Obligation). Cash will be requested by grantees based on immediate needs. Grantees will be required to maintain a financial management system in accordance with the requirements of 29 CFR 95.21 and have written procedures to ensure that the time elapsing between receipt of funds and disbursement is minimized. Q. Must Wagner-Peyser money be used to pay EDD employees to provide Core and Intensive Services or may it be used to pay the applicant's employees to provide these services? A. For purposes of this SFP, the Wagner-Peyser funds are not restricted to EDD employees. They may be used for any staff associated with providing core and intensive services under this proposal. Q. In submitting an application, we are considering using Wagner Peyser funds for core and intensive services. Are the Wagner Peyser funds and the activities allocated to this funding stream subject to WIA performance standards? A. All participants will be enrolled in the WIA component of the project; therefore, whether their services are through WIA or Wagner-Peyser funds, they will be subject to the same performance goals. Q. What is the distinction between WIA 15% and Wagner-Peyser funds? A. The primary distinction between WIA 15% and Wagner-Peyser funds is that Wagner-Peyser funds may not be used to provide training or support services such as childcare, transportation, etc. Q. Should the split between Wagner/WIA funds be a 50%/50% split? If not, how should Wagner/ WIA requested funds be split? A. The SFP does not indicate a specific split of WIA and Wagner-Peyser funds. However, the SFP does state that requests to be fully funded with Wagner-Peyser funds will not be accepted. (Refer to SFP, Section 1C, Funding Availability, p. 2). The blend of funds requested on an application depends on the program design. Q. Can we include our federally negotiated rate for indirect costs in the budget? A. Yes, if your indirect cost rate has been approved by the applicable federal cognizant agency. (See Q&A question #1 under SFP Terminology, for the definition of a cognizant agency). Q. Regarding use of Wagner-Peyser funds, is mental health care/behavioral therapy considered a legitimate use or would such services be considered a "support service" (see Appendix B)? A. No, this is a supportive service and not within the scope of allowable use of Wagner-Peyser funds. Q. Can we apply under this SFP to fund the training portion of our Career and Education Center only? We have training programs in Culinary Arts and Property Management. A. Yes, training is an allowable WIA activity, however, Wagner-Peyser funds cannot be used for training activities. Q. Can our WIA enrollees for this SFP be only "those who enroll in training?" Or do we need to enroll the clients into WIA at an earlier point in their association with us (i.e., during orientation, assessment, pre-training activities, etc). If yes, would that be the case even if we are not asking EDD for funds other than those to support the training component of our program? A. You can provide services to clients prior to enrolling them if you are using other than WIA funds, however applicants must be deemed eligible and enrolled prior to spending WIA funds on them. Q. In a proposal for services to high-risk youth, age 14 - 21, is it reasonable to request Wagner-Peyser 10% funds be used for "core and intensive services" for this entire age group, or should use of Wagner-Peyser 10% funds be addressed as only being used for 18 - 21 year olds, who, per underlined text on page 29 of the SFP, "will be counted as adults"? A. There is no prohibition against using Wagner-Peyser funds to serve youths ages 14-21. Q. How will the billing process be handled for grantees that get funding from both WIA and Wagner-Peyser funds? A. Applicants awarded funds under this SFP will use the Job Training Automation system for drawing cash and reporting expenditures. The WIA 15 percent and Wagner-Peyser funds will be tracked separately through the use of grant codes. Q. Is this funding source targeting new or existing programs? A. The SFP is targeting both new or existing programs that can meet the criteria specified in the SFP. Q. Can funds be used to develop new training programs? If so, how would these projects score compared to existing training programs? A. Developing new training programs is not prohibited. Each proposal is scored independently based on the criteria outlined in the SFP. New and existing training programs will stand on their own merit. Q. What is the maximum percent of our annual budget can we request from WIA? For example, if it costs $200,000 per year to operate our program can we request 50% of that money to be contributed by WIA? What about 75%? A. The SFP does not have any requirements specific to how much of your total budget you can request. However, applicants should leverage and develop other public and private resources in order to ensure the non-duplication of services and the sustainability of the proposed activities once funding under this grant ceases. (Refer to SFP, Section V, Local Collaboration and Resource Utilization, p. 7) Q. Can the costs to do a Needs Assessment for the health care industry in a given county be submitted as a portion of the grant application? A. In the proposal narrative you are to "describe the unmet need in the geographical area and convey how the proposal activities and outcomes will address that need." Therefore, for purposes of this SFP, you cannot spend the dollars on a needs assessment. Q. Would participant uniforms be under supportive services or operations? A. Uniforms would be a supportive service expense. Q. If my organization does not currently have the JTA system in place, can the funding support installation of the JTA software, etc.? A. Yes, funds provided by this SFP can be used to support purchase and installation of software required to use the JTA system. Q. As an incumbent worker program do we qualify for Wagner-Peyser act funds (assuming they are not providing for training but rather intensive core and follow-up services)? A. Yes, as long as Wagner-Peyser funds are not used to provide training or support services. Q. Our proposed activity will include curriculum development, lab installation and implementation. Will these activities be valid for the funding criteria? A. From the information provided in your question, it appears that at least some of these activities may not be allowable under WIA. The WIA Section 129 (b) 4 states that, "No funds described in the subsection or section 134 9a) shall be used to develop or implement education curricula for school systems in the State". Q. The solicitation states: "Due to the short-term nature of these projects, applicants are encouraged to lease or rent high cost equipment." Can you explain this further? According to Directive 03-9, "The recipient may use the equipment for the program or project for which acquired as long as needed, whether or not [it] continues to be supported by federal funds." If we are looking at purchasing high-cost equipment for a long-term nursing training program for which this project provides the initial funding, is that allowable and would that be considered as reasonable? A. Though the SFP does not set a limit on how much of the grant can be used for equipment, because the term of this grant is short, it would not be cost effective or beneficial to the project to solely use grant funds to purchase high-cost equipment. If the equipment will be used for other programs, an alternative would be to split the costs of the equipment between this grant and another fund source based on the relative share of usage. As indicated in the SFP, equipment costs must be necessary, reasonable and allowable in accordance with WIA and the applicable Directives and OMB circulars. All equipment with a unit cost of $5,000 or more will be subject to prior approval by EDD and will be negotiated in conjunction with contract completion with successful applicants. (Refer to SFP, Section 6, Budget Summary Plan, p. 10) Q. Our county is putting together a juvenile residential drug rehab program with one of the goals being a job training/placement aspect. Would these funds be appropriate for this purpose? A. Job training and placement services are allowable WIA activities. Q. What percentage of the total available funds ($22 million) will be available for youth projects? A. EDD has not specified any percentage of the total available funds for any particular target group under this SFP. The proposals will be selected through a competitive process. (Refer to SFP, Section 1A, Purpose, p. 1) Q. The SFP mentions that Wagner-Peyser funds cannot be used for training. Does this mean that proposals using Wagner-Peyser funds cannot be involved in training at all, or just that the amount of Wagner-Peyser funds they receive must be used for other purposes, while the WIA funds may be used for training activities? A. A proposal that is funded with both Wagner-Peyser and WIA funds can conduct training, however, Wagner-Peyser funds cannot be used to pay for training activities. (Refer to SFP, Section 1C, Allowable Uses of Funds, p. 2) Q. Must an agency have an indirect cost rate? A. No, however to allocate costs as "indirect costs", an organization must have an indirect rate that has been approved by a cognizant agency in compliance with Federal Regulations (See OMB Circulars A-87, A-21 and A-122). Development and use of an indirect cost rate would depend upon whether allowable costs have been incurred for a common or joint purpose, which cannot be readily identified with a particular cost objective. If your organization has indirect costs, some method of allocation must be used to distribute the costs to various cost objectives that would benefit. Additionally, the cost must be distributed equitably and consistently. Q. The proposal Q&A notes that an Indirect Cost Rate is "needed" if the applicant has multiple funding sources, yet the budget forms do not allow for an entry on that line item. Please explain. A. EDD has removed the original response you refer to in your question regarding indirect costs rate and have clarified this in the above Q&A. The budget Summary Plan Line "O" has a space to enter your indirect cost rate and the name of the cognizant agency. Q. Will Wagner-Peyser funds awarded under the Governor's Discretionary Fund SFP be restricted to services provided through the local Job Services Unit of the Employment Development Department? A. No, the only restriction for use of the Wagner-Peyser funds is that they can't be used for training and support services. For assistance, please call (916) 654-7799. TTY users, please call the California Relay Service at 711. EDD HomePage  |  Top of Page  |  Contact Us The Employment Development Department is an equal opportunity employer/program. 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