(a) All funds specifically identified in the Act as reserved for the
benefit of Indian and Native American participants shall be disbursed by
the Department only to Native American grantees designated pursuant to
this subpart. Except for FY 1984, designation will be for a period of
two years.
(b) To be designated as a Native American grantee, an applicant must
have:
(1) A governing body;
(2) For new grantees, an Indian or Native American population within
its designated service area of at least 1,000 persons;
(3) The capability to administer an Indian and Native American
employment and training program. For purposes of this paragraph,
``capability to administer'' means that the applicant can demonstrate
that it possesses, or can acquire the managerial, technical, or
administrative staff with the ability to properly administer government
funds, develop employment and training opportunities, evaluate program
performance and comply with the provisions of the Act and the
regulations. In judging the applicant's request for designation,
consideration shall be given to factors such as:
(i) Previous experience in operating an effective employment and
training program serving Indians or Native Americans;
(ii) The number and kind of activities of similar magnitude and
complexity that the applicant has successfully completed;
(iii) Information from other Federal agencies regarding program
performance or financial and management capability.
(c) The Department will not designate an organization in cases where
it is established that:
(1) The agency's efforts to recover debts (for which three demand
letters have been sent) established by final agency action have been
unsuccessful, or
(2) Fraud or criminal activity has been proven to exist within the
organization, or
(3) The amount under the funding formulas will not total at least
$120,000 in all JTPA funds for the first year of the two-year
designation period. In the event that this amount cannot be determined
at the time of the Department's decision on the request for designation,
the amount shall be estimated in part by reference to the funding levels
for Native American programs for the prior fiscal or program year. An
applicant for designation shall be designated notwithstanding the
limitation in this paragraph of this subsection if it demonstrates that:
(i) It has or expects to receive a combined total of $120,000 in
funds or services for the first year of the 2-year designation period
from JTPA and other human resource development programs, including but
not limited to those providing for employment, education, vocational
education, health, social or similar services; or
(ii) It is recognized and directly funded by Federal agencies, such
as the Indian-serving agencies within the Departments of the Interior,
Health and Human Services or Education as the primary service delivery
organization for the provision of human resource development services to
Indians or Native Americans within the organization's customary service
area. This provision shall be interpreted consistent with the Federal
policy established in Pub. L. 96-638, the Indian Self-Determination Act;
or
(iii) It has demonstrated successful operation of an employment and
training program at a level below $120,000 within the previous two
years. For this purpose, success is the ability to adequately meet
planned goals and stay within the grant's cost limits.
(4) For a consortium to be designated, it must submit the consortium
agreement which meets the requirements of this subpart.
(d) Types of eligible Native American grantees:
(1) Indian tribe, band or group. The Department shall designate as a
Native American grantee an Indian tribe, band or group which meets the
requirements in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
(2) Alaskan Native entity. The Department shall designate as a
Native American grantee an Alaskan Native entity as defined in the
Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act which meets the requirements in
paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
(3) Hawaiian Native grantee. The Department may designate as a
Native American grantee any private nonprofit organization or public
agency representative of the Native Hawaiian community which meets the
requirements in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section and which the
Department determines will best meet the needs of Native Hawaiians.
(4) Public or private agencies. The Department may designate as a
section 401 grantee a private nonprofit organization or public agency
which meets the requirements in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section
to serve areas where there are significant numbers of Indians or Native
Americans, but where there are no Indian tribes, bands or groups,
Alaskan Native entities or Hawaiian sponsors or consortia of such
sponsors eligible for designation.
(5) Consortium grantees. The Department may designate as a Native
American grantee a consortium of any of the types of grantees described
in paragraphs (c), (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this section which may or
may not be independently eligible. All such consortia shall meet the
following requirements, in addition to the requirements in paragraphs
(b) and (c) of this section:
(i) All the members shall be in geographic proximity to one another.
A
consortium may operate in more than one State.
(ii) An administrative unit shall be designated for operating the
program, which may be a member of the consortium or an agency formed by
the members. The administrative unit shall be delegated all powers
necessary to administer the program effectively, including the power to
enter into contracts and subgrants and other necessary agreements, to
receive and expend funds, to employ personnel, to organize and train
staff, to develop procedures for program planning, to monitor financial
and program performance, and to modify the grant agreement through
agreement with the Secretary. The right of reallocating funds within the
consortium area shall be reserved to the consortium's members.
(iii) The consortium shall be the Native American grantee. The
consortium agreement shall be signed by an official or officials of each
member of the consortium authorized to enter into a binding consortium
and shall specify that each member shall be liable jointly or separately
for claims established against the grantee. Additional standardized
requirements for consortium agreements will be communicated to grantees
under separate order.
(e) In the situation where the Department does not designate Indian
tribes, bands or groups or Alaska Native groups to serve such groups,
the Department shall, to the maximum extent feasible, enter into
arrangements for the provision of services to such groups with other
types of section 401 grantees which meet with the approval of the Indian
tribes, bands, groups or Alaska Native groups to be served (section
401(d)). In such cases, the Department shall consult with the governing
body of such Indian tribes, bands, groups or Alaska Native groups prior
to the designation of a Native American grantee.
(f) In designating Native American grantees to serve groups other
than those in paragraph (e) of this section, such as nonreservation
Indians and Native Hawaiians, the Department shall, whenever feasible,
designate grantees which are directly controlled by Indian or Native
American people. Where it is not feasible to designate such types of
grantees, DINAP shall consult with Indian or Native American-controlled
organizations in the area with respect to the designation of a Native
American grantee. Where a private nonprofit organization is designated,
DINAP shall require any such grantees not directly controlled by Indian
or Native American people to establish a Native American Employment and
Training Planning Council and to implement an Indian preference policy
with respect to hiring of staff and contracting for services with regard
to all funds provided pursuant to this part (sec. 7(b) of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act).
