21st CCLC FY16 TA Questions
1. I haven’t yet received my Center Profile for the most recent year of 14-15. What should I do? Can I just pull the data from Cayen?
Current grantees should include the most recent Center Profile from 13-14 for the required attachment as the 14-15 Center Profiles will not be available far enough in advance to include in the grant data. This was shared during the technical assistance sessions.
2. Where do I find my DUNS number?
Schools do not have a DUNS number; therefore, they must use the district’s DUNS number. Please refer to page 35 of the FY16 RFA for more guidance.
For Community-Based Organizations and Faith-Based Organizations, a DUNS number may be obtained from Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.:
•http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform
•866-705-5711
3. Do I have to use the free and reduced lunch data from the link listed in the RFA even though I know it isn’t accurate for my school?
As described on page 16 of the RFA, eligibility is based upon the school’s December 1, 2015 counts. These numbers represent the official counts accepted by the Kentucky Department of Education in determining eligibility for funding. The counts are posted at the link listed in the RFA – other sources of determining free and reduced lunch rates will not be accepted.
4. Do all partners submit a letter or just the co-applicant?
Per page 66 of the RFA, a mandatory co-applicant agreement must be attached. In addition, the application must include a minimum of 3-5 other partnership agreements that detail the services that will be provided by partners. Note that these are not letters of support. Letters of support will not be accepted.
5. Do we have to keep the same co-applicant for the continuation grants? Can we change our co-applicant if someone else is a better partner?
You must maintain the co-applicant per federal requirements. If the co-applicant is no longer in existence or is in violation of other federal requirements, contact the state 21st Century SEA Administrator for further instructions. Other partners should be reflected in the RFA and their services can and should be used to support the program.
6. Can you change who is the fiscal agent, such as switching the previous co-applicant to become the fiscal agent?
The state 21st Century SEA Administrator must be notified and approve. If approved, a notarized letter with signatures from each party must be submitted to the KDE.
7. If you have only had a federal grant in the past and never a KDE 21st grant, can you apply as a new grant?
If you have never had a state level 21st CCLC grant you would be eligible to apply as a new applicant. If a school has been served by a state 21st CCLC grant and submit an application as a new applicant, the application will be scored but not awarded. Schools served at the state level were posted during the FY16 RFA TA sessions for attendees to check.
8. Do both the applicant and co-applicant have to be new in order to qualify as a new grant?
Eligibility as a new grant is determined based upon prior history of awarded grants to the school(s) served, not based upon the prior history of the fiscal agent or co-applicant.
9. Are the 15 bonus points for continuation points prorated if you have improvement in either reading or math instead of both? How are these points determined for this year?
No – all priority points are “all or nothing” – the applicant must fully meet the criteria for points to be awarded. Continuation points will be determined based upon the APR Center Profiles from 2013-2014 as this is what is most recently available.
10. Are the 15 bonus points for continuation points based upon the whole school performance or just those who attend the program?
The 15 bonus points for continuation applicants is based upon data collected from regular attendees who have attended the program for 30 days or more. The data is reflected on the APR Center profile.
11. How should research be cited in the grant?
It is not required that formal citations be used – consistency is most important. Note that citations do count against the 28 page limit.
12. Do new applicants have a center profile?
No.
13. The RFA states that we should base the program on research. Is this research about the components of the program or to the concept of the program?
Please see the section on the Principles of Effectiveness in the RFA on page 21.
14. Can I count transportation time toward the minimum hours of operation?
No.
15. Can time before school count toward the minimum number of hours?
Yes. However, grantees should be careful to ensure that an adequate number of students participate in all programs and that all students have access to both academic and enrichment programs during both before school and afterschool time.
16. Does snack or meal time count toward the minimum hours of operation?
Yes, but the allocated amount of time should be reasonable. In general, no more than 15 minutes should be allotted for snack; meals should be no more than 30 minutes.
17. Does the number of students served in a new grant have to match the expansion/continuation grant?
The minimum number of students to be served by any grant is outlined on page 28 of the RFA. Programs are required to serve a minimum of 25% of the school’s total enrollment or 50 or more students (whichever number is less) on a Regular Basis.
18. Does the requirement for two certified teachers carry over to summer?
Yes.
19. If I am a K-8 school, do I have to follow the same guidelines for elementary?
Yes.
20. We are working on our budget and do not know how to allocate money for multi-state each year because the location changes and the cost of travel will vary. What do we do?
Pending availability of federal funds, KDE provides $1,000 per grant to cover the cost of the Multi-State conference. Therefore, applicants do not need to include this expense in the budget.
21. What does the reference to district PD mean?
Grant funds cannot be used to pay for PD for the district. However, 21st Century staff should participate in offerings for district staff in order to best align to the school day.
22. Does the requirement for two certified teachers for 8 hours/day include the 21st Century Coordinator if they do tutoring and are certified?
Yes.
23. What does it mean that the applicant cannot be any group directly related to your district?
Per page 31 of the RFA, if a district is the applicant, then a district program such as the Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, Community Education or any other program or entity administered or operated by the district or who draws either direct or in-kind financial support from the district cannot be the co-applicant. It can, however, be a partner.
24. If the applicant has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate that exceeds the 5% indicated in the RFA, can you use that for your budget?
No. The indirect cost rate may not exceed 5%.
25. Do both the applicant and the co-applicant have to be new for the grant to be a new applicant?
The type of grant for which an entity is eligible to apply is based upon whether or not the school to be served has previously been served by a grant, not on the prior experience of the fiscal agent or co-applicant.
26. Being registered in SAM and being active is different. Do you have to be active?
Yes. You must renew or reactivate your registration if it is not active.
27. Which part of the grant will the reviewer score first?
Reviewers are not instructed to score the grant in any particular sequence.
28. Can boards of education charge indirect cost based upon their negotiated rate. Will charging indirect cost be held against us?
Boards of education can charge indirect cost based upon existing negotiated rates, not to exceed 5%. The budget is scored holistically to include consideration for indirect cost rate requests and justification.
29. Will top scoring proposals from last year’s RFA be available online?
No.
30. When will award notifications be made?
The expected date of notification is spring of 2016.
31. Which documents or signatures must be notarized?
Only the original signatures on the cover page should be notarized.
32. What are some examples of accelerated learning opportunities?
Accelerated learning opportunities are those that provide students who are advanced in learning a chance to learn and study topics and materials that are beyond the current curriculum and grade level of study. For example, this could include opportunities for students to study a topic or subject that is from an advanced grade level.
33. Are programs required to use two certified teachers for a minimum of 16 hours per week each in the summer?
Yes.
34. What if there are no private schools in my area?
Private schools include students enrolled in homeschool or other online programs and alternative curricula. The existence of no organized private schools does not preclude the possibility of students who are enrolled in homeschool programs. Therefore, the applicant must demonstrate that participation is open and advertised to these populations.
35. My district’s liability insurance does not allow for students to attend the program from private schools.
This is a local matter that should be addressed through the individual school district. The inclusion of private and homeschool students is a federal mandate that is not optional.
36. How do you fix the budget to show that you will attend the multistate conference when $1,000 is provided from the state to cover it?
Pending availability of federal funds, KDE provides $1,000 per grant to cover the cost of the Multi-State conference. This could be included under “in-kind” or other funding sources.
37. Is the budget narrative separate from the budget summary and budget form?
Yes. The budget portion of the narrative does count against the 28 page limit. The related summary and forms do not.
38. How do we do a blind copy of forms?
You may either black out text or insert black text boxes to represent the blacked out portions of forms. Please ensure any identifying information is not visible.
39. Is a notary stamp required for each signature on the cover page?
The notary’s signature verifies that he/she has witnessed each individual sign the page. If the two parties sign the document at the same time in front of the notary, only one notary stamp is required.
40. Is it necessary to have a separate site coordinator and a separate site teacher?
No.
41. Is a staff member doing data collection (APR/CAYEN/Compliance monitoring) a direct or indirect cost?
If the staff member also performs other duties working with students, it can be considered as a direct cost.
42. Do we have to submit copies of the grant on a CD or flash drive?
No. Please refer to page 44 in the RFA.
43. Are signatures required on the co-applicant and partner agreements on the blinded copies?
Signatures for the blinded copies should be blinded/removed and not visible in any capacity.
44. Can you blind names by just changing them to names such as wonderful school or sunshine school?
No. Any names should be actually removed/covered, not simply changed.
45. How many grants are going to be awarded for each grade level of elementary, middle, and high school?
A set amount of funding is available. Grants are awarded based upon scores. Grants are awarded by highest score and other qualifying factors first until all funds are obligated. Because applicants request varying amounts, it is not possible to determine the number of grants until the process is complete. No consideration is given to the grade level of students to be served.
46. Can you subcontract to another (third) entity to do the fiscal management if neither the applicant nor the co-applicant wants to take this responsibility?
No. The applicant, by definition, is the fiscal agent. These terms are used interchangeably for the purpose of this grant.
47. Is it a requirement that the two certified teachers be employed as school day teachers in the school(s) served? Could a retired teacher do this?
The teacher must hold a current valid certification in Kentucky – it is not required to be employed during the school day at the school served. A retired teacher can meet this qualification.
48. If you have a K-8 grant currently, does the continuation grant also have to serve the same grade levels as before?
Yes.
49. Does the K-3 literacy requirement meet the qualification of providing new programming for an expansion applicant if this is what is added?
Expansion grants are to serve additional students. Not to provide new programming. Please refer to page 12 in the RFA.
50. If we write for a waiver, do we still have to meet the minimum time requirements for providing afterschool services?
Yes.
51. If you apply for the waiver, do you have to add time to the school day for every student?
Yes.
52. How can I find out if my school was a former grantee after the training is over and I cannot look at the posters?
Send questions to
53. We just improved our test scores and are exiting priority status this year. Will we be awarded the points as a priority school?