Attachment I (Accessible PDF).pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

I-1 Attachment I Statutory and Regulatory Uniform Guidance Language Related to Outreach This attachment provides citations f rom relevant statutes and regulations including the Unif orm Guidance. The Unif orm Guidance is a set of regulations issued by the Of f ice of Management and Budget that apply to all grants in the Federal government. Accessibility from Rehabilitation Act of 1973 sec. 508 All materials produced with f ederal f unds must be accessible to individuals with disabilities sometimes ref erred to as being 508-compliant in a ref erence to the statutory requirements of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 sec. 508. The f ull text of the statute is available at https www.access-board.gov law ra.html. The Access Board is an independent f ederal agency that promotes equality f or people with disabilities through leadership in accessible design and the development of accessibility guidelines and standards. Created in 1973 to ensure access to f ederally f unded f acilities the Access Board is now a leading source of inf ormation on accessible design. The Access Board develops and maintains design criteria f or among other things inf ormation and communication technology. It also provides technical assistance and training on these requirements and on accessible design. The Americans with Disabilities Act ADA and the WIOA sec. 188 non-discrimination requirements also require that services and inf ormation about services to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The ADA is available at https www.access- board.gov law ada.html and the WIOA sec. 188 nondiscrimination provisions can be f ound at https www.dol.gov agencies oasam centers-of f ices civil-rights-center statutes section-188- workf orce-innovation-opportunity-act. WIOA s implementing regulations also address accessibility requirements and protections f or individuals with disabilities. See 29 C.F.R. 38.5 38.12-17. Acknowledging Federal Funding in Public Communications Stevens Amendment Advertising and public relations outreach activities must adhere to grant terms and conditions including the Stevens Amendment a provision included since 1989 in DOL s annual appropriation. This provision requires DOL recipients to acknowledge f ederal f unding contributions when making public any projects or programs that DOL f unded through its annual appropriation. Recipients should maintain support documentation f or advertising and public relations outreach activities in accordance with record retention requirements where applicable. Grantees are reminded to f ollow the terms of their grant agreement as not all programs have the Stevens Amendment requirement e.g. H-1B Skills Grants f unding . I-2 The Stevens Amendment requires When issuing statements press releases requests f or proposals bid solicitations and other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with Federal money all recipients receiving Federal f unds included in WIOA shall clearly state 1 the percentage of the total costs of the program or project which will be f inanced with Federal money 2 the dollar amount of Federal f unds f or the project or program and 3 percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program that will be f inanced by non-governmental sources. Advertising and Public Relations Costs from 2 CFR 200.421 the Uniform Guidance a The term advertising costs means the costs of advertising media and corollary administrative costs. Advertising media include magazines newspapers radio and television direct mail exhibits electronic or computer transmittals and the like. b The only allowable advertising costs are those which are solely f or 1 The recruitment of personnel required by the non-Federal entity f or performance of a Federal award See also 200.463 2 The procurement of goods and services f or the perf ormance of a Federal award 3 The disposal of scrap or surplus materials acquired in the perf ormance of a Federal award except when non-Federal entities are reimbursed f or disposal costs at a predetermined amount or 4 Program outreach and other specific purposes necessary to meet the requirements of the Federal award. c The term public relations includes community relations and means those activities dedicated to maintaining the image of the non-Federal entity or maintaining or promoting understanding and f avorable relations with the community or public at large or any segment of the public. d The only allowable public relations costs are 1 Costs specif ically required by the Federal award 2 Costs of communicating with the public and press pertaining to specif ic activities or accomplishments which result f rom perf ormance of the Federal award these costs are considered necessary as part of the outreach ef f ort f or the Federal award or 3 Costs of conducting general liaison with news media and government public relations of f icers to the extent that such activities are limited to communication and liaison necessary to keep the public inf ormed on matters of public concern such as notices of f unding opportunities f inancial matters etc. e Unallowable advertising and public relations costs include the f ollowing 1 All advertising and public relations costs other than as specif ied in paragraphs b and d of this section I-3 2 Costs of meetings conventions convocations or other events related to other activities of the entity see also 200.432 including i Costs of displays demonstrations and exhibits ii Costs of meeting rooms hospitality suites and other special f acilities used in conjunction with shows and other special events and iii Salaries and wages of employees engaged in setting up and displaying exhibits making demonstrations and providing brief ings 3 Costs of promotional items and memorabilia including models gif ts and souvenirs 4 Costs of advertising and public relations designed solely to promote the non-Federal entity. Affirmative Outreach from 29 CFR 38.40 Recipients must take appropriate steps to ensure that they are providing equal access to their WIOA Title I-f inancially assisted programs and activities. These steps should involve reasonable ef f orts to include members of the various groups protected by these regulations including but not limited to persons of dif f erent sexes various racial and ethnic national origin groups various religions individuals with limited English prof iciency individuals with disabilities and individuals in dif f erent age groups. Such ef f orts may include but are not limited to a Advertising the recipient s programs and or activities in media such as newspapers or radio programs that specif ically target various populations b Sending notices about openings in the recipient s programs and or activities to schools or community service groups that serve various populations and c Consulting with appropriate community service groups about ways in which the recipient may improve its outreach and service to various populations. Cost Principles from the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200.403 The Cost Principles of the Unif orm Guidance describe general criteria all costs must meet in order to be allowable. Paraphrased below the f ull text can also be f ound at 2 CFR 200.403. Be necessary and reasonable f or the perf ormance of your DOL ETA award and be allocable to the award. Conf orm with Federal law guidelines and grant terms. Be consistent with policies and procedures. Costs must be incurred to support your DOL ETA award consistent with governing statutes regulations and your policies and procedures that apply unif ormly to both Federal and non-Federal awards. Receive consistent treatment. Costs must receive the same accounting treatment as costs that your organization incurred in similar circumstances. Must be in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP . Cannot be included as a cost or used to meet cost-sharing or matching requirements of any other Federal award except as specif ically provided by f ederal law or regulation. Be properly and adequately documented. I-4 Cost must be incurred during the approved budget period. The Federal awarding agency is authorized at its discretion to waive prior written approvals to carry f orward unobligated balances to subsequent budget periods pursuant to 200.308 e 3 . When testing f or reasonableness of a cost consider the prudent person test. In the prudent person test the recipient must consider Would a prudent person use Federal f unds to pay for the advertising or public relations activities Would the recipient have used its own f unds to conduct outreach efforts related to these activities Recipients must be able to demonstrate that advertising and public relations costs meet all the f actors of allowability before it can be charged to a DOL ETA award. Costs of Infrastructure from WIOA sec. 121 h 4 The term costs of inf rastructure used with respect to a one - stop center means the non - personnel costs that are necessary f or the general operation of the one -stop center including the rental costs of t he f acilities the costs of utilities and maintenance equipment including assessment -related products and assistive technology f or individuals with disabilities and technology to f acilitate access to the one -stop center including the center s planning and outreach activities. Language Access from Section 188 of WIOA 29 CFR 38.9 requires that A recipient must take reasonable steps to ensure meaningf ul access to each limited English prof icient LEP individual served or encountered so that LEP individuals are ef f ectively inf ormed about and or able to participate in the program or activity. 1 Reasonable steps generally may include but are not limited to an assessment of an LEP individual to determine language assistance needs providing o ral interpretation or written translation of both hard copy and electronic materials in the appropriate non -English languages to LEP individuals and outreach to LEP communities to improve service delivery in needed languages. A recipient must provide adequate notice to LEP individuals of the existence of interpretation and translation services and that these language assistance services are available f ree of charge. With regard to vital inf ormation 1 For languages spoken by a signif icant number o r portion of the population eligible to be served or likely to be encountered a recipient must translate vital inf ormation in written materials into these languages and make the translations readily available in hard copy upon request or electronically such as on a Web site. Written training materials of f ered or used within employment -related training programs as def ined under 38.4 t are excluded f rom these translation requirements. However recipients must take reasonable steps to ensure meaningf ul access as stated in 38.9 b . I-5 2 For languages not spoken by a signif icant number or portion of the population eligible to be served or likely to be encountered a recipient must take reasonable steps to meet the particularized language needs of LEP in dividuals who seek to learn about participate in and or access the aid benefit service or training that the recipient provides. Vital inf ormation may be conveyed orally if not translated. Noting Equal Opportunity in Public Communications from 29 CFR 38. 38 The WIOA nondiscrimination regulations at 29 CFR 38.38 require that grantee s indicate that the Federally -f unded program or activity in question is an equal opportunity program and that auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities in recruitment brochures and other materials that are ordinarily distributed or communicated in written and or oral f orm electronically and or on paper to staf f clients or the public at large.