Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2019: Adult Education Services

Fund Codes: 340/345/359/285/563

Purpose: * *Note:* Additional language for AECI applicants is highlighted in yellow.	The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will administer the Adult Education and Family Literacy Services grants to Community Adult Learning Centers (CALCs, fund code 340/345/359) and Adult Education in Correctional Institutions (AECI, fund code 285/563), including service options for Integrated Education and Training (IET), Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE), and Outstationing, consistent with Public Law 113-128, Sections 201 through 243, across 16 local workforce development areas for CALCs, and statewide for Adult Education in Correctional Institutions (AECI)¹, as follows: To create a partnership among the Federal Government, States, and localities to provide, on a voluntary basis, adult education² services provided by programs designed to serve a minimum of 50 students on an ongoing basis³, to- assist eligible individuals to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and economic self-sufficiency; assist eligible individuals who are parents or family members to obtain the education and skills that- are necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children, and result in sustainable improvements in the economic opportunities for their family; assist eligible individuals in attaining a secondary school credential and in the transition to postsecondary education and training, including through career pathways; and assist immigrants and other individuals who are English language learners to- improve their- reading, writing, speaking and comprehension skills in English; and mathematical skills; acquire an understanding of the American system of government, individual freedom and responsible citizenship. * assist institutionalized individuals to obtain the education and skills necessary to reduce recidivism and facilitate- re-entry into society; further education and training or employment upon release; economic self-sufficiency; and smooth transitions in their roles as family members and citizens.
Priorities: * *Note:* Additional language for AECI applicants is highlighted in yellow.	To support innovation in the development of adult education (AE) services to effectively serve eligible individuals most in need of education services in the 16 local workforce development areas, particularly in the 26 Gateway Cities⁴, through coordination and collaboration with core partner services. To improve and accelerate participant outcomes, especially educational functioning level completion, high school equivalency credential attainment, and enrollment in post-secondary education or training. To design, implement, and evaluate adult education services guided by the priorities established in the: 13 WIOA Considerations Massachusetts Indicators of Program Quality Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education in Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions, and; WIOA Massachusetts Combined State Plan. To leverage other funding, including other DESE competitive and entitlement grants, in concert with potential funding as requested in this proposal. * To serve individuals who are likely to leave the correctional institution within five years of participation in the program.
Purpose and Priorities for Service Delivery Options: Integrated Education and Training (IET) for ABE Students	The purpose of IET is to accelerate participants' educational and career advancement by providing eligible individuals with pre-ASE and ASE services offered concurrently and contextually with local area workforce preparation and training activities that result in students attaining one or more industry-recognized credentials required for local area employment in high-demand industries. Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate innovation in the design, delivery and evaluation of integrated adult education and workforce training models, consistent with WIOA Consideration 8, through: 1) partnerships between providers of adult education, career/vocational technical education, postsecondary education/training, and/or employers; (2) workforce development and/or private funding for the workforce training component of the program.
Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) for ESOL Students	The purpose of IELCE is to accelerate participants' educational and career advancement by providing eligible individuals with ESOL services including civics education, offered concurrently and contextually with local area workforce preparation and training activities that result in students attaining one or more industry-recognized credentials required for local area employment in high-demand industries. Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate innovation in the design, delivery and evaluation of integrated adult education and workforce training models, consistent with WIOA Considerations 8 and 13, through: 1) partnerships between providers of adult education, career/vocational technical education, postsecondary education/training, and/or employers; (2) workforce development and/or private funding for the workforce training component of the program.
Outstationing:	The purpose of outstationing is to help eligible individuals access adult education services by assisting One-Stop-Career Center (OSCC) staff with intake, assessments, and referrals to adult education programs in the local area and educate current students about OSCC services. Priority will be given to proposals that demonstrate capacity to collaborate and coordinate with local area OSCCs and adult education providers to support student access to services offered by adult education programs and OSCCs.
Eligibility: * *Note:* Additional language for AECI applicants is highlighted in yellow.	Eligible agencies/organizations that have demonstrated effectiveness in providing adult education and literacy services, including agencies that have not previously been funded by ESE, are eligible to apply. Eligible Agency: An organization that has demonstrated effectiveness in providing adult education and literacy activities that may include- a local educational agency; a community-based organization or faith-based organization; a volunteer literacy organization; an institution of higher education; a public or private nonprofit agency; a library; a public housing authority; a nonprofit institution not described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (G) and has the ability to provide literacy activities to eligible providers; a consortium or coalition of the agencies, organizations, institutions, libraries or authorities described in (A) through (H); a partnership between an employer and an entity described in any of (A) through (I); * public entities that are able to demonstrate effectiveness in operating ABE programs in correctional institutions⁵. *Note:* As required by WIOA the applicant must demonstrate past effectiveness by submitting past performance data in serving eligible participants. Applications that do not provide past performance data will not be reviewed and scored.
Funding:	Refer to Table 1 for estimated workforce area and workforce planning region allocations for fund codes 340/345/359/285/563 and for ABE/ESOL program distribution targets in different workforce areas. Funding is subject to state and federal appropriation. As such, all values in this table are primarily designed as estimates for planning purposes and are not binding. When determining each area's estimated allocation and ABE/ESOL program distribution targets, Massachusetts considered the regional educational need, the demand for services, and historical funding. CALC, IET, and IELCE grants will be competed and awarded at the local workforce area level. AECI will be competed statewide. ESE will award funding to meritorious proposals based primarily upon the quality of the responses to these Requests for Proposals and the score and rank of proposals as determined by proposal review teams. Though award amounts will vary, generally proposals with higher scores will receive larger proportions of their requests for funding than proposals with lower scores. Exceptions, however, may exist. Federal law requires competition for grant funding among programs within all local workforce areas. Federal law also requires the distribution of adult education programming that meets students' needs both geographically and programmatically. To accomplish this, DESE reserves the right, prior to finalizing funding awards, to make adjustments that will support fair and equitable access to ABE and ESOL services. First, as necessary, DESE may adjust final funding awards to reflect local area needs and provider capacity within the seven workforce planning regions. DESE will impose no caps on the number of applicants in any local area. DESE reserves the right, however, to adjust funding awards to ensure that programs are appropriately distributed geographically within planning regions and to avoid concentrations of ABE or ESOL programming that do not serve the needs of local communities. Depending on the quality of proposals from different workforce areas, DESE may award excess funding from one workforce area into another workforce area within the same planning region. DESE also reserves the right to re-bid portions of funding that cannot meet goals for geographic and programmatic distribution in WIOA. Similarly, as necessary in individual workforce areas, DESE will award funding based not only the score and rank of proposals in a workforce area but also on the community's needs for a diverse distribution of programs geographically and programmatically. To achieve a needs-based distribution of ABE and ESOL programming in a single workforce area, DESE reserves the right to ensure, in addition to score and rank of proposals, that funding is awarded to programs in a way that meets the minimum ABE/ESOL program distribution targets, described in Table 1 . DESE also reserves the right to re-bid portions of funding that cannot meet goals for geographic and programmatic distribution in WIOA. If DESE closes a program in a local area, DESE reserves the right to reallocate that funding to an existing DESE program in the same local area as appropriate. IET and IELCE grant awards will range from approximately $40,000 to $80,000 per IET/IELCE service option. The maximum AECI grant award will be approximately $700,000. Important: Depending on the services approved for funding, DESE will issue grant awards based on a proposed number of annually active seats in a program (CALC, AECI) with a minimum of 50⁶. *Note:* Historically, the funding requested by successful grantees has exceeded the combined state and federal allocation. DESE can seldom, if ever, provide 100% of the funding requested even by the program that submits the highest scoring proposal statewide or in workforce planning regions. As described above, DESE will base funding decisions on the scores and ranks of proposals, as well as considerations that promote fair and equitable access to ABE and ESOL services. ESE encourages applicants to propose realistic budgets that consider the estimated regional allocation and the program's organizational capacity. Proposed expenditures must be allowable and reasonable to achieve the goals of the proposal, and adhere to the budget requirements outlined in the Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education in Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institution. Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding is to become available it will be distributed under the same guideline as listed in the initial RFP document.
Funding Type:	Fund Code 285, 340, 359 and 563: Federal CFDA 84.002 Fund Code 345 and 563: State
Fund Use:	Funds must be used in accordance with the FY2019 Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education in Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions to provide adult education to eligible students; eligible students are: at least 16 years of age; and not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under state law, and either: do not have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent; are basic skills deficient if they have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent (Note: Students who possess a high school credential are required to assess at or below 10.9 grade level equivalent (GLE) in reading, writing, or mathematics and seek to maintain work certification and/or pursue postsecondary education or training in order to be eligible.); or are English language learners. Not less than 75 percent of funds must be spent on AE direct services; not more than 25 percent may be spent on administrative costs, including indirect costs. Agencies with an approved federal indirect cost rate shall not receive more than an 8% indirect rate for adult education programs. Agencies with an ESE-approved indirect cost rate (IDC) shall not receive more than a 5% indirect rate for adult education programs. The total of direct and indirect costs may not exceed the total grant award. In lieu of charging for indirect costs, grantees that provide an appropriate and detailed allocation of agency-wide costs to their grant programs may receive DESE approval to include them as direct costs. For more information about applying for and calculating indirect, see The Grants Management Procedural Manual.
Project Duration:	Upon approval through June 30, 2019 (State-funded - Fund Code: 345, 563); conditionally renewable for up to an additional four years. Upon approval through August 31, 2019 (Federally-funded - Fund Codes: 340, 359, 285); conditionally renewable for up to an additional four years. Renewals are subject to satisfactory performance, the appropriation of state and federal funds, and the continuance of federal authorizing legislation. Total grant award duration will not exceed five years (initial year plus renewals).
Letter of Intent:	Submit an optional Letter of Intent (for planning purposes only, but strongly encouraged) in the online portal found on the ACLS website by October 6, 2017. * AECI providers are eligible to compete to provide ABE and IET services but are *not* eligible to compete to provide ESOL, IELCE, or Outstationing.
Submission Requirements:	FY19 Funding Instructions and Required Submission Documents Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants) Part II — Class Plan and Budget Workbook Part II — Class Plan and Budget Workbook (Excel 2007) Complete and upload the Class Plan/Budget Workbook. Within the workbook there are tabs for CALC, IET, IELCE, and Outstationing. *Important:* Proposed expenditures must be allowable and reasonable to achieve the goals of the proposal, and adhere to the budget requirements outlined in the FY2019Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education in Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions. If the cost per annualized active seat exceeds the allowable threshold, ensure that compelling justification is provided in the Program Design narrative to warrant a higher level of state investment. Part II Workbook Instructions Part III — Required Program Information Statement of Assurances Required Appendices Past Performance Overview (Appendix A) Partnership Overview (Appendix B) Fiscal Overview (Appendix C) Organizational Chart Resumes and Job Descriptions Partnership Memorandums of Agreement (MOA); if applicable Distance Learning MOA (if applicable) Audit Report - a copy of the applying agency's latest completed audit report, issued by an independent certified public accountant. If an audit report is not included, the proposal will not be considered.
Integrated Education and Training (IET) and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE)	IET/IELCE Overview (Appendix D) Employer Letter of Support Resumes and/or Job Description IET Coordinator Partnership Memorandums of Agreement (MOA)
Resources and Information:	A list of resources with hyperlinks can be found under FY19 RFP Resources and Information at Community Adult Learning Centers RFP page.
DESE Program Unit/Contact:	Adult and Community Learning Services All inquiries must be submitted in writing to ABERFP@doe.mass.edu by November 17; all answers will be posted to the Adult and Community Services webpage. Phone inquiries for assistance utilizing the Q&A mailbox may be directed to the ACLS receptionist at (781) 338-3850.
Date Due:	Proposals are due on December 22, 2017, by 3:00 p.m.
Submission Instructions:	FY19 Funding Instructions and Required Submission Documents Proposals must be submitted electronically via the online portal. Applicants will create an account and be able to enter the portal for the RFP. Once you have created a user account and entered the portal, you will be asked to: Enter basic information Fields marked with an asterisk () are required. You will not be able to submit your grant unless you include data or uploads in all required fields. Please note that you are presented with two choices at the bottom of the submission webpage: <Save Draft> and <Submit>. Once you choose Submit, you are no longer able to make edits or change the files you wish to upload. Save Draft should be used routinely until you have completed the entire process and are certain you are ready to send your materials submission to us. Also, please note that the Part II-Budget is an Excel for PC document. Please do not* work on this document in Excel for Mac, as it will not render properly, even if you subsequently save the document in a PC environment. If problems occur while using the portal anytime, or if you encounter technical difficulties with the Class Plan/Budget workbook after November 17, 2017 contact Wyvonne Stevens-Carter. Submit a response to all narrative prompts, including service options as applicable. (*Note:* The narrative response for the basic grant application may not exceed 40 pages; IET/IELCE may not exceed 20; Outstationing may not exceed 5.) Applicants are required to provide page numbers on every page of the narrative response. All narrative responses must be in a font no smaller than Arial 10 font, with 1" margins on all sides. Important: Pages that exceed the above page limits will not be reviewed and scored. Required forms and the class plan/budget workbook are *not* included in these page limits. Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget and Part I in EdGrants. Once selected, recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process. Note: DESE reserves the right to conduct a site visit prior to award.
Additional Information:	State Director Letter Commissioner Letter Critical Dates Needs Summary Proposal Review Process: Reader teams consisting of staff from ACLS, consultants, and the Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs) will review proposals. Review teams will evaluate proposals according to the criteria described in the posted rubric. Review teams will recommend funding awards based on scoring, need, capacity, and geography. The Commissioner will make final funding award determinations. WIOA requires that LWDBs review all applications submitted by eligible providers⁷ for alignment with local plan packages. The following documents are for reference only: RFP Scorecard It is the responsibility of the applicant to return to this Request for Proposals and the Q&A page for updates and amendments. All updates and amendments supersede previous versions.

¹ * WIOA Title II includes a requirement that states provide corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals (referred to as AECI applicants). Note: In addition to the purpose, priorities, and requirements for CALCs in this RFP, AECI applicants should pay attention to language highlighted in yellow.

² See the Adult Education Glossary under Resources for definitions of adult education and related terms (e.g., adult basic education, adult secondary education, * corrections education and education for other institutionalized individuals)

³ "Service on an ongoing basis" refers to service availability during the typical academic year (September to June). AE providers whose primary mission is to serve homeless populations may submit a letter requesting a waiver of the 50-student minimum.

⁴ Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, and Worcester.

⁵ * Any prison; jail; reformatory; work farm; detention center; halfway house; community-based rehabilitation center; or any other similar institution designed for the confinement or rehabilitation of criminal offenders.

⁶ Homeless programs may submit a letter requesting a waiver of the 50-student minimum.

⁷ This requirement does not apply to applications submitted by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.

* Note: Additional language for AECI applicants is highlighted in yellow.

Last Updated: July 20, 2017