The U.S. AbilityOne Commission® has
required participating nonprofit agencies (NPAs) to submit an
Annual Certification, through their respective Central Nonprofit
Agency (CNA) for more than 30 years. This certification has two
purposes, (1) to assure that the NPAs are complying with the
Commission's regulations for maintaining qualification to
participate in the AbilityOne® Program, and (2) to gather Program
level data that the Commission can use to analyze, report on and
further grow the Program. The Representations and Certifications
(hereafter "Reps and Certs") being proposed for use beginning in
2015 are an expansion of the current certification (Forms 403/404)
to more closely match the Commission's regulatory requirements and
gather additional information on Federal procurement requirements
that could affect a nonprofit agency's eligibility to hold
AbilityOne contracts. The requirement of Reps and Certs is drawn
from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and introduces a
well-established Federal practice to the AbilityOne® Program. By
aligning ourselves with other Federal requirements and adapting
proven business practices, we increase the AbilityOne Program's
credibility, accountability and stability. The use of Reps and
Certs for AbilityOne information reporting is the result of a
collaborative and robust effort to improve the Program's critical
business processes.
This is a new form requiring
the submittal of new information and thus requires more time to
complete. In addition, the number of participating nonprofits has
decreased since 2012 when the previous annual certifications were
approved
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Amy Jensen 703 603-2132
Yes
This single form will replace the two current
annual certifications and be used by the Committee to ensure
compliance with the Act and the implementing regulations. Without
this information the Committee would be unable to assure that the
participating nonprofit agencies meet the requirements of the JWOD
Act and the implementing regulations. The data on the form is also
used to collect information so that the Committee can report on the
status and changes in the AbilityOne Program to the President as
required in the Act. Section 6 of the form contains 17 questions
that are directly related to the requirements that the nonprofit
agencies must meet to maintain their qualification to participate
in the Program (41 CFR 51-4.3). Section 7 contains seven questions
that deal with ensuring that the participating nonprofit agencies
are meeting general stewardship requirements and that the Committee
is aware of management changes. Section 8 contains 5 questions that
are identical with questions asked of all Federal contractors via
the System Award Management to ensure that the Committee is aware
of any potential issues that would prevent contracts being issued
to nonprofits.
Agency/Sub Agency
RCF ID
RCF Title
RCF Status
IC Title
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.