FY2023: Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act (Perkins V) Competitive Grant

Fund Code: 452

Purpose:

The purpose of this competitive federal grant is to

• Assist state and county correctional agencies with education programs that meet the definition of career and technical education¹ as contained in the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act (Perkins V); and
• Support the establishment or substantial improvement of career & technical education programs in correctional institutions that prepare returning citizens to succeed in CORI-neutral, in-demand, career pathways that offer an entry-level sustainable living wage.

Requirements:

Proposed programs of study must

• Offer a sequence of at least two courses² that:
  • Results in an industry-recognized credential (IRC) or certificate³, and
  • Provides justice involved individuals (i.e., criminal offenders in correctional institutions⁴ and those living in the community while under parole or probation supervision) with coherent and rigorous educational activities that develop the academic, technical, and career management knowledge and skills required to secure employment in an identified career pathway or enroll and complete a postsecondary program in the pathway;
• Demonstrate meaningful collaboration between correctional institutions, community corrections, career and technical education (CTE) providers, and local area employers;
• Include a strategic recruitment and cohort determination plan that yields at least one cohort of ten or more students, or two cohorts with a minimum of six students each, who can begin the CTE program while committed and, if necessary, complete it post-release;
• Have the capacity to be delivered fully, or in part, via technology-based distance learning; and
• Include transition support services that are clearly tailored to support success in the career pathway before and after release.

Eligibility:

Massachusetts correctional facilities (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), including the Department of Youth Services.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA: 84.048

Funding:

Approximately $155,000 will be available in FY2023 (maximum award of $60,000) to support one or more competitive implementation grants which can be renewed for another year based on satisfactory program performance.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.

Subject to federal appropriation, the continuation of FY23 awards will be based on: (1) the quality of applicants' mid-year and final reports and (2) a satisfactory on-site monitoring report.

Fund Use:

Perkins V allocation funds must be used in accordance with the Massachusetts Perkins V Transition Manual. Funds shall supplement and shall not supplant non-Federal funds.

Perkins V is a restricted rate program that is subject to a statutory "supplement not supplant" restriction. For this competition, applicants may include indirect cost rates to recover certain business-related expenses necessary to support the proposed services.

• Local Education Agencies (LEA) may apply their district rate .
• A non-LEA that has a current federally approved restricted indirect cost rate may use that rate.
• A non-LEA that has an FY23 approved indirect cost rate may use that rate. However, if awarded a grant, the agency must reapply to DESE for FY24 and annually through the grant cycle (2 CFR 200.332).
• A non-LEA that does not have either a Federal or DESE approved indirect cost rate may budget up to 5% percent of the agency's proposed budget to recover certain business-related expenses. However, if awarded a grant, the agency must apply to DESE for FY24 and that there is no guarantee that the rate will be approved (2 CFR 200.332).

Project Duration:

Upon Approval through 8/31/2023.

Grants may be conditionally renewable for an additional year subject to satisfactory performance and federal appropriation.

Program Unit:

Adult and Community Learning Services

Contact:

All inquiries must be submitted in writing to Perkins Q&A Submission Link.

Responses to inquiries will be posted to ACLS Funding Opportunities on the ACLS website. Requests for assistance with submitting inquiries or locating the Q&A may be directed to the ACLS receptionist at (781) 338-3850.

The deadline for applicant submission of questions is Friday, September 2, 2022.

It is the responsibility of applicants to remain up to date with the posted questions and answers. Any RFP updates or revisions contained in the Q&A will supersede previous versions of the same.

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3850

Date Due:

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Proposals must be received at the Department via the Perkins RFP submission portal by 5:00 p.m. on the date due.

Required Forms:

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

• Part II — Budget Details

• Part III — Required Program Information

• Statement of Assurances

• GEPA Statement

Appendices:

• Appendix A — Letters of Support
• Appendix B — Syllabus (optional)
• Appendix C — Memorandum of Understand or Agreement
• Appendix D — Job Descriptions and Resumes

Additional Information:

• Budget Workbook Instructions

• Scoring Rubric

Submission Instructions:

Proposals must be submitted electronically by 5pm on Tuesday, September 13, 2022 via the Perkins RFP submission 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, contact Paula Jurigian .

Submit a response to all narrative prompts in Part III as applicable. (Note: The narrative response may not exceed 15 pages.) Pages that exceed the above page limits will not be reviewed and scored. Required forms, appendices, and the budget workbook are not included in these page limits. 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.

Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget and Part I in EdGrants. All required forms must be attached in EdGrants in addition to the following based on applicant type:

• FY2024: ISA Crosswalk Federal & State — State Colleges and Universities

Or

• FY2024: ISA Crosswalk Federal & State — State Agencies & Correctional Facilities

State Agencies with ISAs: Waiver filed with ANF to reduce the amount of indirect charged to these grant funds in MMARS. It is the responsibility of the applying entity that is a state agency to file an indirect waiver request with ANF and send a copy of the approved request to CTR. DESE cannot request indirect waivers on behalf of state agencies. (See Fund Use section for more info; See Additional Information for Colleges/State Agencies section for the ANF Waiver Request Form)

Additional Information for Colleges / State Agencies: The information below is intended for state entities that require ISAs as part of their grant award process. Not intended for Private or Community Based Organizations.

• ISA process timeline

• MA Expenditure Classification Handbook

• MA Comptroller's Office Fringe Information

• ISA and EdGrants Amendment Requirements

• Process for waiving indirect costs (state agencies only)

• Indirect Waiver Request form (state agencies only)

• Section 5D: Indirect and fringe benefit costs expended from the General Fund: recovery by the comptroller (state agencies only)

• Federal Grants Cost Allocation

Note: DESE reserves the right to conduct a site visit prior to award.

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Perkins RFP submission portal.

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¹ Defined in the Massachusetts Perkins V Manual.

² ServSafe and OSHA 10 training do not qualify as courses, although OSHA 30 or another 30+ hour credential-focused class may, provided it results is an industry-recognized certification or credential.

³ OSHA 10 (or other credentials earned in such brief trainings) alone will not suffice.

⁴ 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.

Last Updated: May 4, 2022