[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 25, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 25CFR23.33]



[Page 108-110]

 

                            TITLE 25--INDIANS

 

     CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

 

PART 23_INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT--Table of Contents

 

 Subpart D_Grants to Off-Reservation Indian Organizations for Title II 

                Indian Child and Family Service Programs

 

Sec.  23.33  Competitive off-reservation application contents and 

application selection criteria.



    (a) An application for a competitive multi-year grant under this 

subpart shall be submitted to the appropriate Area Director prior to or 

on the announced deadline date published in the Federal Register. The 

Area Director shall certify the application contents pursuant to Sec.  

23.34 and forward the application within five working days to the area 

review committee, composed of members designated by the Area Director, 

for competitive review and action. Modifications and/or information 

received after the close of the application period, as announced in the 

Federal Register, shall not be reviewed or considered by the area review 

committee in the competitive process.

    (b) Mandatory application requirements for Indian organization 

applicants shall include:

    (1) An official request for an ICWA grant program from the 

organization's board of directors covering the duration of the proposed 

program;

    (2) A completed Application for Federal Assistance form, SF 424;

    (3) Written assurances that the organization meets the definition of 

Indian organization at Sec.  23.2;

    (4) A copy of the organization's current Articles of Incorporation 

for the applicable grant years;

    (5) Proof of the organization's nonprofit status;

    (6) A copy of the organization's IRS tax exemption certificate and 

IRS employer identification number;

    (7) Proof of liability insurance for the applicable grant years; and

    (8) Current written assurances that the requirements of Circular A-

128 for fiscal management, accounting, and recordkeeping are met.

    (9) Pursuant to the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988, all grantees 

under this subpart shall comply with the mandatory Drug-Free Workplace 

Certification, a regulatory requirement for Federal grant recipients.

    (c) Competitive application selection criteria. The Area Director or 

his/her designated representative shall select those proposals which 

will in his/her judgment best promote the proposes of the Act. Selection 

shall be made through the area review committee process in which each 

application will be scored individually and ranked according to score, 

taking into consideration the mandatory requirements as specified above 

and the following selection criteria:

    (1) The degree to which the application reflects an understanding of 

the social problems or issues affecting the resident Indian client 

population which the applicant proposes to serve;

    (2) Whether the applicant presents a narrative needs assessment, 

quantitative data and demographics of the client Indian population to be 

served;

    (3) Estimates of the number of Indian people to receive benefits or 

services from the program based on available data;

    (4) Program goals and objectives to be achieved through the grant;

    (5) A comprehensive developmental multi-year narrative plan 

describing what specific services and/or activities will be provided 

each program year and addressing the above-identified social problems or 

issues. At a minimum, the plan must include a narrative description of 

the program; the program goals and objectives, stated in measurable 

terms, to be achieved through the grant; and the methodology, including 

culturally defined approaches, and procedures by which the grantee will 

accomplish the identified goals and objectives;

    (6) An internal monitoring system the grantee will use to measure 

progress and accomplishments, and to ensure that the quality and 

quantity of actual performance conforms to the requirements of the 

grant;

    (7) Documentation of the relative accessibility which the Indian 

population to be served under a specific proposal already has to 

existing child and family service programs emphasizing the prevention of 

Indian family breakups, such as mandatory state services. Factors to be 

considered in determining accessibility include:

    (i) Cultural barriers;

    (ii) Discrimination against Indians;

    (iii) Inability of potential Indian clientele to pay for services;

    (iv) Technical barriers created by existing public or private 

programs;



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    (v) Availability of transportation to existing programs;

    (vi) Distance between the Indian community to be served under the 

proposal and the nearest existing programs;

    (vii) Quality of services provided to Indian clientele; and

    (viii) Relevance of services provided to specific needs of the 

Indian clientele.

    (8) If the proposed program duplicates existing Federal, state, or 

local child and family service programs emphasizing the prevention of 

Indian family breakups, proper and current documented evidence that 

repeated attempts to obtain services have been unsuccessful;

    (9) Evidence of substantial support from the Indian community or 

communities to be served, including but not limited to:

    (i) Tribal support evidenced by a tribal resolution or cooperative 

service agreements between the administrative bodies of the affected 

tribe(s) and the applicant for the duration of the grant period, or

    (ii) Letters of support from social services organizations familiar 

with the applicant's past work experience;

    (10) A staffing plan that is consistent with the implementation of 

the above-described program plan of operation and the procedures 

necessary for the successful delivery of services. The plan must include 

proposed key personnel, their qualifications, training or experience 

relevant to the services to be provided, responsibilities, Indian 

preference criteria for employment and position descriptions. In 

accordance with 25 U.S.C. 3201 et seq. (Pub. L. 101-630), title IV, the 

Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, grantees 

shall conduct character and background investigations of those personnel 

identified in that statute prior to their actual employment;

    (11) The reasonableness and relevance of the estimated overall costs 

of the proposed program or services and their overall relation to the 

organization's funding base, activities, and mission;

    (12) The degree to which the detailed annual budget and 

justification for the requested funds are consistent with, and clearly 

supported by, the proposed plan and by appropriate program services and 

activities for the applicable grant year;

    (13) The applicant's identification of any consultants and/or 

subgrantees it proposes to employ; description of the services to be 

rendered; the qualifications and experience of said personnel, 

reflecting the requirements for performing the identified services; and 

the basis for the cost and the amount to be paid for such services;

    (14) Certification by a licensed accountant that the bookkeeping and 

accounting procedures that the applicant uses or intends to use meet 

existing Federal standards for grant administration and management 

specified at Sec.  23.46;

    (15) The compliance of property management and recordkeeping systems 

with subpart D of 43 CFR part 2 (the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a), and 

with existing Federal requirements for grants at 25 CFR 276.5 and 

276.11, including the maintenance and safeguarding of direct service 

case records on families and/or individuals served by the grant;

    (16) A description of the proposed facilities, equipment, and 

buildings necessary to carry out the grant activities; and

    (17) Proof of liability insurance coverage for the applicable grant 

year(s).

    (d) Two or more applications receiving the same competitive score 

will be prioritized in accordance with announcements made in the Federal 

Register pursuant to Sec.  23.31 (b) for the applicable year(s).

    (e) Continued annual funding of a multi-year grant award to an off-

reservation ICWA program under this subpart shall be contingent upon the 

availability of appropriated funds and upon the existing grant program 

receiving a satisfactory program evaluation from the area social 

services office for the previous year of operation. A copy of this 

evaluation shall be submitted together with an annual budget and budget 

narrative justification in accordance with paragraph (c)(10) of this 

section. Minimum standards for receiving a satisfactory evaluation shall 

include the timely submission of all fiscal and programmatic reports; a 

narrative program report indicating



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work accomplished in accordance with the initial approved multi-year 

plan; and the implementation of mutually determined corrective action 

measures, if applicable.