Attachment B CIL Director Letter without Final Determinations

Attachment B

v. 9.23.2009: Letter to CILs in states without final determinations and where a SPIL amendment is pending

v 10.06.2009

Dear CIL Director:

As you know, the DSU and SILC in your state have either submitted or will be submitting a proposal to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) regarding the distribution of funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to implement the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) Program under title VII, chapter 1, Part C of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, (the Act).

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Federal agencies are required to ensure that:

• ARRA funds are awarded and distributed in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner;

• The recipients of all ARRA funds are made known to the public, and the public benefits of ARRA funds are reported clearly, accurately, and in a timely manner;

• ARRA funds are used for authorized purposes and every step is taken to prevent instances of fraud, waste, error, and abuse;

• Projects funded under the ARRA avoid unnecessary delays and cost overruns; and,

• Programs meet specific goals and targets, and contribute to improved performance on broad economic indicators.

In order for awards of ARRA IL Part C funds to be made to centers in your state, the state must receive a final determination on the distribution of your state’s ARRA IL Part C funds and, if the final determination requires an amendment to your State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL), the state has completed the public hearing process and RSA has approved that amendment. The purpose of this letter is to explain the documentation that RSA will require from your center in order for it to receive ARRA IL part C funds once the above conditions are met for RSA to make an award.

RSA will be awarding IL Part C ARRA funds as a separate grant award because grantees must track and report on the expenditure of these funds separately from any other Federal funds they may also receive. The ARRA requires transparency and enhanced accountability in the award and use of these funds by grant recipients, and centers for independent living receiving ARRA funds under the CILs Program are subject to these ARRA requirements.

Because the IL Part C ARRA funds are part of the FY 2009 appropriation and will be awarded to centers in your State to support the improvement and expansion of independent living services consistent with your approved application, the requirements of the Act, and your state’s SPIL, your center does not need to complete a separate grant application. You will only need to submit a completed U.S. Department of Education Budget Information for Non-Construction (ED 524) form for the IL Part C ARRA funds. You will need to specify the budget amounts for each line item in Section A (Budget Summary) for each project period for which your center receives IL Part C ARRA funds and complete the budget narrative in Section C (Budget Narrative) on the ED 524 form describing the activities for which the funds will be used. Please note that RSA has filled in the amount for each project period in Section A of the ED 524 form that is included in Attachment A.

You can access the form and instructions for completing the ED 524 form at:  http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/ed524.doc

Like all entities receiving funds under the ARRA, you will be subject to additional reporting requirements on your uses of IL Part C ARRA funds and on the number of jobs created or saved using these funds once you receive your grant. In addition to the guidance published on the www.recovery.gov website by the Office of Management and Budget on June 22, 2009, the Department has published additional information on the reporting requirements at:

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/section-1512.html.

Once its determination is complete and your SPIL amendment, if applicable, is approved, RSA will provide to you in a separate communication with the amount of ARRA IL Part C funds awarded to your center, the grant period for which RSA has agreed to award the funds, and the amount of funds awarded for each 12 month project period within the grant period. Even before receiving the RSA email with your center’s specific ARRA IL Part C grant information, you should begin developing your responses to the ED 524 form based on your state’s proposal.

RSA thanks you for your cooperation in this process. If you have any further questions about these instructions, please contact Veronica Hogan at Veronica.Hogan@ed.gov.

Sincerely,

Sue Rankin-White, Acting Chief

Independent Living Unit

Attachment

ATTACHMENT A

	U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION BUDGET INFORMATION NON-CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS						OMB Control Number: 1890-0018 Expiration Date: 02/28/2011
Name of Institution/Organization Grant Number:			Applicants requesting funding for only one year should complete the column under "Project Year 1." Applicants requesting funding for multi-year grants should complete all applicable columns. Please read all instructions before completing form.
SECTION A - BUDGET SUMMARY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FUNDS
Budget Categories	Project Year 1 (a) (FY 09)	Project Year 2 (b)		Project Year 3 (c)	Project Year 4 (d)	Project Year 5 (e)		Total (f)
1. Personnel
2. Fringe Benefits
3. Travel
4. Equipment
5. Supplies
6. Contractual
7. Construction
8. Other
9. Total Direct Costs (lines 1-8)
10. Indirect Costs*
11. Training Stipends
12. Total Costs (lines 9-11)
*Indirect Cost Information (To Be Completed by Your Business Office): If you are requesting reimbursement for indirect costs on line 10, please answer the following questions: Do you have an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement approved by the Federal government? ____Yes ____ No If yes, please provide the following information: Period Covered by the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement: From: ___/___/______ To: ___/___/______ (mm/dd/yyyy) Approving Federal agency: ____ ED ____ Other (please specify): __________________________ For Restricted Rate Programs (check one) -- Are you using a restricted indirect cost rate that: ___ Is included in your approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement? or ___ Complies with 34 CFR 76.564(c)(2)?