Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionSection 243 Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education grant competition
A – For PY 2023-24, the amount allocated to Pennsylvania by the U.S. Department of Education is $2 million, to be distributed among the successful applicants in the competition. For the remaining two years of the grant cycle, PY 2024-25 and 2025-26, PDE anticipates receiving additional funding in similar amounts each year to be distributed among the grantees contingent on passage of the federal budget.
A – No. (There was an error on the IELCE Checklist. We have posted an
updated corrected IELCE Checklist. There is no requirement regarding the
number of IELCE participants that must complete the IET component.)
A – Only Section 243 IELCE participants may participate in an IET that is paid for with Section 243 Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education grant funds, and PDE requires Section 243 grantees to provide at least one IET activity per program year with Section 243 funds. If the grantee offers another IET activity with other funding or with braided funding, IELCE participants and participants from the community may participate together.
Family Literacy Direct Service
A – The signature is not needed to submit a competitive grant for peer review. If your grant application is selected for award, your agency will print out the grant agreement signature page and follow the instructions for manual signatures in the Adult Education and Family Literacy Guidelines.
A – Applicants should provide information that answers the questions. Applicants must decide for themselves if they have the necessary information.
A – Instructions for gaining access to the Family Literacy Direct Service grant are in the Request for Grant Application Guidelines. Please note that being a current grantee under Division of Adult Education does not automatically give agencies approval to apply for a competitive grant.
A – No. Family literacy programs are not required to provide a full range of instruction at all levels of ABE and ESL.
(Full question) If we have a staff person working a percentage of their time on [Family Literacy Direct Service] 054 activities but they are fully paid for by another funding source (not PDE), do we include them on the staff table and put the % of their time on the 054 activities column? Is there a place to indicate that they are paid by another source?
A – All positions working on the Family Literacy Direct Service grant should be included in the Staff section. There are textboxes in each of the budget sections where applicants can provide information. So, if certain roles are not fulfilled by staff paid from the grant, that information should be entered in the textbox in the Salary section.
A – The Division of Adult Education is not requiring applicants to use specific data sources. The specific data elements listed in the Help Button align with the priorities for funding listed in PA Act 143 Section 4(c). Applicants should use data that they believe best addresses those items. Please note that the Help Button states, "Data provided should include, but not be limited to…" Therefore, applicants should not limit themselves to the five specific data elements listed.
Tutoring Program for Adults
Q – If we have also applied for the 064 (i.e., Adult Basic Education Direct Service) grant, would the proposed enrollment for tutoring students be in an addition to the 064 grant or are those students duplicated?
Q – Can the number of students an agency plans to serve in the Tutoring Program for Adults be a subset of the Direct Service number, or would students served in the Tutoring Program for Adults grant be in addition to the number served in the Direct Service grant?
A – Tutoring enrollment is in addition to any other grants the agency has. As noted in the draft 2022-23 Adult Education and Family Literacy Guidelines, Appendix F, "Tutoring programs should prioritize the use of one-on-one tutoring for eligible adults who are at ABE Levels 1-2 and ESL Levels 1-2 or are unable to participate in class-based instruction." Therefore, the Tutoring Program for Adults should serve new students, not students also participating in classroom instruction.
A – No, the Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant and the Tutoring Program for Adults applications are separate. Applicants may apply for one or both.
A – Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant applicants may also apply for the Tutoring Program for Adults and include a subcontractor in their application. The Adult Basic Education Direct Service and Tutoring Program grants are separate contracts and activities. As stated in the definition of a consortium or coalition of agencies in the RGA, the main grantee must be a provider of some of the services proposed in the Tutoring Program for Adults grant application. Therefore, a main grantee cannot subcontract all of the tutor recruitment, training, support, and oversight activities. The main grantee must also provide some of those activities. The main grantee may not be solely the fiscal agent and grant administrator.
A – Yes. A subgrantee on one type of Division of Adult Education grant (e.g., Adult Basic Education Direct Service) can be the main grantee on a different Division of Adult Education grant (e.g., Tutoring Program for Adults).
(Full Question) I am with [an agency] and would like to apply for the Tutoring Program for Adults but I am getting the following message. Does this office grant the permissions for applying for grants? If so, does this email suffice to formally request permission? If not, what is the procedure? Thank you.
A – Instructions for gaining access to the Tutoring Program for Adults grant are in the Request for Grant Application Guidelines.
A – All Tutoring Program for Adults grantees must have one tutor coordinator who works at least 20 hours per week on Tutoring Program for Adults activities. Additional tutor coordinators may work fewer hours. However, the tutoring program activities should be the priority activities for all tutor coordinators, and other duties should not interfere with their ability to complete the required tutor coordinator activities.
(Full question) In the draft guidelines, two types of tutoring programs were listed, one of them to assist institutionalized individuals. Our agency applied for 064 Adult Education funding, but did not propose corrections education as part of that application. Does that make us ineligible for funding to support institutionalized individuals?
A – No. The Tutoring Program for Adults grant is separate from the Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant. Tutoring Program for Adults funds must serve additional students. So, an agency can apply for a peer tutoring program under the Tutoring Program for Adults even if it did not include corrections education in its Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant application.
A – Technically, yes. However, as stated in Appendix F of the guidelines, "Tutoring programs should prioritize the use of one-on-one tutoring for eligible adults who are at ABE Levels 1-2 and ESL Levels 1-2 or are unable to participate in class-based instruction." Therefore, the Tutoring Program for Adults should serve new students, not students also participating in classroom instruction. Tutoring should not be used as a way to increase intensity of instruction for students at ABE Levels 3-6 or ESL Levels 3-6. Grantees should use supplemental distance learning opportunities or offer supplemental classes in specific content areas to provide additional instruction to students attending regular classes who want more intensive instruction.
Also, as stated in 205.2 of the guidelines, "While the division does not prohibit students from being served in more than one grant during a program year, these students will only be counted once when calculating total grant enrollments at the end of the program year. …[T]he determining factor when selecting which grant such students will be placed in will be the grant in which the student had the most contact hours."
Statewide Distance Learning Project
A – Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Function Code 2122 has been added under Benefits.
Adult Basic Education Direct Service Grant Competition
Q – [Our agency] would like to apply for the grants that are listed in the eGrants system. When I try to start an application, I get the following message: Your agency is not approved for this grant. Please contact the program office. Please let me know that the [agency] needs to do to be approved to apply for the grants – thank you.
Q – [Our agency] is experiencing error messages when we try to create the 2022-23 eGrant application for 064. Please let us know what we need to do to resolve this issue.
Q – We are not able to access our 064 grant. It gives us a message "Currently unavailable". Can you please advise?
Q – We went into eGrants to open the Adult Basic Education Direct Service 064 grant applications under the Grant Profile page, and we received a notification on each of the three grant titles that our "agency is not approved for this grant. Please contact the Program Office." Can you please advise on what we need to do to be able to access the grant applications?
Q – [Our agency] has a current 064 State/Federal Grant for Adult Education. I have followed all of the directions to open a new application for the 2022-2023 year on the eGrants system. [Our agency] does have the permission to move forward with this new grant application process. Below is the message that I receive from the system when I attempt to create a new application. The CREATE GRANT APPLICATION does not appear in the wizard as it should. Could you please address this issue so that I can move forward with creating this grant application?
A – Instructions for gaining access to the Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant are in the Request for Grant Application Guidelines (PDF).
Q – For year 20-21 the outcomes for employment are not available yet for agencies that are already working with the Adult Ed grants.
Is there information that can be pulled from the 20-21 eData database.
What does PDE want agencies to use or put in the 20-21 transition to employment fields on the Demonstrated effectiveness Table 1?
Q – The 20-21 final drafts for outcomes do not include the transition to employment figures. What or where are the transition to employment figures for 20-21 to be pulled from?
A – As stated at the top of the Demonstrated Effectiveness tables, in compliance with WIOA regulations, the Division of Adult Education is not dictating the exact data that applicants must provide. Applicants should include data that they believe provide evidence of demonstrated effectiveness.
A – PDE Division of Adult Education will release information about the Family Literacy Direct Service 054 grants when it is available.
A – If you are getting the statement "Your agency is not approved for this grant. Please contact the program office," then your agency has not followed the instructions to request access to the grant. Refer to the answer to FAQ #1.
Q - In the case of a program funded under Title II WIOA that recently merged with another Title II funded agency, how should data on demonstrated effectiveness be reported for the years prior to the merger – in separate tables for each program or combined in a single table?
A – As stated at the top of the Demonstrated Effectiveness tables, in compliance with WIOA regulations, the Division of Adult Education is not dictating the exact data that applicants must provide. Applicants should include data that they believe provide evidence of demonstrated effectiveness for the applicant.
Q - (Full question) This question is in regard to the requirement to data for the Demonstrated Effectiveness table when applying for the 064 Adult Basic Education Direct Service Grant. We are currently a sub-contractor for services for the 064 Adult Education grant with 3 other counties in our region. We had, in years past held the contract for 064 funds and would like to partner with another agency to write the grant for our two counties. With being a sub-contractor these past 5 years, how would we extrapolate our individual county's data for the required three program years to correctly enter in to the Demonstrated Effectiveness table?
A – As stated at the top of the Demonstrated Effectiveness tables, in compliance with WIOA regulations, the Division of Adult Education is not dictating the exact data that applicants must provide. Applicants should include data that they believe provide evidence of demonstrated effectiveness for the applicant.
Q - (Full question) On the 064 Direct Service Grant YouTube video, the recording stated that an eligible provider must show demonstrated effectiveness and the threshold of enrolled students must be greater than 15 students in each program year (18-19, 19-20, and 20-21). The slide says the threshold is at least 15 enrolled students. Which is correct?
A – Thank you for identifying the discrepancy. The correct threshold is "at least 15 enrolled students." The Request for Grant Application Guidelines has been revised to read "A total number of enrolled individuals greater than or equal to 15 in each of the three years."
A – A main grantee with a subgrantee or multiple subgrantees is considered a consortium or coalition of agencies. The applicant is that "consortium/coalition of agencies." The applicant (i.e., consortium/coalition) must provide a full range of services. Each individual agency within the consortium/coalition is not required to provide a full range of services, although some of them may.
A - A main grantee with a subgrantee or multiple subgrantees is considered a consortium or coalition of agencies. The applicant is that "consortium/coalition of agencies." All agencies in the consortium must be deemed eligible providers in order for the grant to be reviewed, scored, and considered for funding. If one agency in the consortium is not an eligible provider, the consortium is not an eligible provider.
Q - (Full question) The 22-23 Guidelines and the YouTube video state that the 10% state funding for Tutor Training should be used for the IHPDS to train and be a PD support for classroom aides as well as time for instructors to work with aides and to prepare them to assist in the classroom. There is no requirement to have a tutor coordinator and the tutor coordinator role is not listed in the guidelines under Program Staffing (204). Is it acceptable to have a tutor coordinator role in the state grant with designated time spent on recruitment, initial intake, classroom aide matching, and record keeping for classroom aides?
A – Adult Basic Education Direct Service grantees are not required to have a tutor coordinator, but they may.
Q - (full question) The RGA mentions a requirement for successful applicants to enter into an MOU with the local workforce board. If a consortium covers more than one workforce area, is it permissible for a sub-grantee to hold the MOU with one of the workforce boards while the main grantee holds the MOU for the other?
A – Refer to Division Policy G.100 Adult Education and the Workforce Development System for information on MOUs. The Division of Adult Education will work with successful applicants after grants are awarded to ensure compliance.
Q - (Full question) After looking over the guidelines regarding professional development, I want to make sure I understand where in the state grant the professional development time should be put. For example, for 2122 staff time would that be put in State 2122 function [code]. The guidelines state in each function [code] that professional development should be in the state grant but don't really clarify if all professional development needs to go into one specific function [code].
Guidelines do not state if the PD [professional development] is to go into the appropriate function on [sic] all to go into one specific function in state grant? Example, PD [professional development] for instructors doing PLC's [professional learning communities], is that to be in 1691 in state grant, case managers PD in 2122, etc.
A – Staff time for participating in professional development should be entered in the function code that corresponds to the employees' work. So, time that instructors spend in professional development to support instruction will be allocated to State Adult Education 064 function code 1691. Time that student support specialists spend in professional development to support their student support work should be entered in 2122 or 2160 as appropriate. And so forth.
A – As stated in the Adult Basic Education Direct Service 064 Grant Competition Information Webinar, the Division of Adult Education will conduct a separate competition for tutoring program funds and will announce the details of that competition when they are available.
A – Per Appendix C of the grant agreement, the Division of Adult Education my impose payment conditions such as those referenced in the question. No decision as been made regarding payment conditions for grants beyond the current program year.
A - Current grantees can download current and past program year data from eData for a specific agency and then import that data into a program year specific eData Access template in order to run reports and queries on that year's data. The templates, and the instructions for their use, are available at the PA Adult Ed Resources website.
A - No. Successful applicants awarded a grant after the review and scoring process complete the FFATA and grant signature as part of the grant agreement review and approval process.
Q - (Full question) According to page 41 of the guidelines, bullet #5 under 609 Local Matching Funds, it states "Indirect costs that are unrecovered as a result of the use of the restricted indirect cost rate (refer to 608.9) may not be used as local match." Can we eliminate charging Indirect Costs in the Federal grant and use that total amount as local match? These funds are not unrecovered, but rather the total Indirect Costs that we could charge to the Federal grant.
A – The Division of Adult Education allows grantees with approved restricted indirect cost rates to use the value of allowable indirect costs not charged to the grant up to the maximum amount allowed by the restricted indirect cost rate as local match. See section 608.8 #2 Object Code 891 for more information.
A - eSignature is not required to submit an application for peer review.
Q - (Full question) In preparing the budget for this 064 grant competition, I am looking to find if the Digital Literacy Specialist is considered to be an "instructor" since many of the components of the job description have to deal with improving instruction. Should digital literacy specialist be coded as 1691? Support Staff services (2200 or 2900) do not allow for placing Digital Literacy Specialist in this category.
A - Applicants should use the function codes they feel most closely align with the work of the digital literacy specialist.
A - Classroom aides may work in any classes funded by Division of Adult Education grant funds.
A - Yes, the in house professional development specialist's time should be allocated only to the State Adult Education 064 sub grant. All in-house professional development specialist time is allocated to function code 2200.
A - Yes. Any additional services would have to be reviewed and approved by the Division at that time.
Q - (Full question) Regarding the information for a budget narrative in this application, are we expected to provide dollar figures? The question asked in the grant application asks us to "Describe how the funds will support the purpose of the ABE Direct Service grant and attainment of program outcomes." My question is are we expected to put proposed budget figures in the narrative? There was no format for budgeting. I wanted to see what information is being requested.
A - Applicants do not enter proposed budget figures in the narrative. Applicants must add the Federal Adult Education 064 and State Adult Education 064 sub grants to the Adult Basic Education Direct Service 064 grant. The sub grants are the budgets.
Q - (Full question) If a staff member holds several positions, do they need to complete 2% of professional development for each of these positions? Depending upon the hours filled for each position, the total amount of each position's 2% time can be quite high. Can you please confirm?
A - All paid staff must spend 2 percent of their time participating in professional development activities. It is 2 percent of their total time working on Division of Adult Education grants, regardless of the different roles a staff member may fill. Regarding the question, it is the same amount of time either way it is calculated.
A - Refer to the Request for Grant Application Guidelines Adult Basic Education Direct Service for information on eligible applicants.
A - Yes. The deadline is April 7, 2022, 2:00 PM.
A – As stated in the grant information webinar, applicants that believe that they have a strong case for a waiver to the 5 percent cap should budget the expected administrative costs. As stated on page 11 in the Request for Grant Application Guidelines, the Division of Adult Education will conduct negotiations regarding administrative costs with successful applicants during the grant contract approval process.
A – Yes. As stated in the Request for Grant Application Guidelines under Minimum Program Requirements, all grant recipients must use at least 10 percent of the state grant funds to recruit, train, and support volunteer classroom aides, except those that are not eligible providers under state law.
A – As stated in the Draft 2022-23 Adult Education and Family Literacy Program Guidelines, "for volunteer classroom aide programs required under the state 064 grant, 1692 expenditures include time for the in-house professional development specialist to provide initial training and ongoing professional development support for volunteer classroom aides." Therefore, in-house professional development specialist time for what the question refers to as "volunteer services" should be allocated to 1692.
(Question) AEFL Guidelines Page 35 for object codes states "Object Code 106 – Adult Education/Other (local match for federal budget only)". However, in the local match section of the federal budget, there is no 106 object in the drop down. What are we to use?
A – Thank you for informing us of the missing Object Code. Object Code 106 has been added to the local match section of the federal budget.
(Question) In the Adult Education Guidelines, Object Code 106 – states "Adult Education/Other (local match for federal budget only) The value of the time volunteer tutors spend planning for or instructing small groups, tutoring one-on-one, or serving as classroom aides." I am not quite understanding this. Since volunteer/tutors come under the STATE grant, why would we include this in the Federal LM?
A – The value of volunteer time supporting any activities under the Adult Basic Education Direct Service may be reported as local match in the Federal Adult Education 064 sub grant.
(Question) If we use this Object Code 106 – is the amount in the STATE Volunteer 10% reduced?
A – No.
A – The Division of Adult Education does not dictate how local providers determine the time and services of the volunteer classroom aides or other volunteer activities. If grantees use the value of volunteers' time as part of local match, grantees must have a documented process for determining the value and documentation to support all claims of local match. Refer to the Adult Education and Family Literacy Guidelines Section 609 and the federal Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards for requirements around local match reporting.
(Full question) I am trying to upload the Evidence of Demonstrated Effectiveness form into eGrants, and it says that there is an internal error occurred and to contact the system administrator. I tried several times this morning and got this same message. Who do I contact about this problem?
A – Applicants must rename the document using the naming convention provided in the Evidence of Demonstrated Effectiveness section prior to uploading the document into eGrants. If the name exceeds 100 characters including spaces, the document will not upload. Try renaming the document. If the applicant still cannot upload the document after renaming it using the naming convention given and with a name with fewer than 100 characters, contact the eGrants Help Desk at ra-egrantshelp@pa.gov.
(Full Question) We have been approached by a few employers to provide ESL classes on-site. The classes would meet the definition of 403.2.1.3 (workplace adult education and literacy activities). Some of these locations are neighboring counties of our existing service area but are located within the same workforce development area. Should the funding request be allocated to the county where the company is located for those specific classes?
A – Current grantees that are submitting applications in the Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant competition are not required to apply for funds to provide services in exactly the same counties in which they are currently providing services. Applicants may propose to provide services in whichever areas they believe there is a need that they can address. The funding should be allocated to the county where the services will be provided. In the case of remote services, the funding should be allocated to the county in which the participants are located. Please note that applicants should not commit to providing any services with Division of Adult Education grant funds until the grant review, award, and approval process is complete.
Q - (Full Question) Can you please confirm that the current RFP [Request for Proposals, also called Request for Grant Application Guidelines] does not apply to tutoring programs and that students tutored by volunteers (not classroom aides) should not be included in the proposed total enrollment.
A – If the agency does not propose to provide any tutoring services under the Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant, then the students served by the tutoring program should not be included in the proposed total enrollment.
Q - (Full Comment) In the State & Federal budgets' Salary charts, the columns are not in the same order for the #Hours and $/Hour. One budget has #Hours in the 6th column. The other budget has $/hour in the 6th column. Be careful when entering figures in the 6th and 7th columns.
A – Thank you for bringing the difference to our attention. The formula in the Amount column will not be impacted. Also, the individual budget sections are not reviewed and scored for the purposes of ranking applications and awarding grants.
Q - Does the 30% of Prep time refer to 30% of instructional time or 30% of entire time on the grant?
Q - Pg 18 402.1 states that "Classroom instructors must receive a minimum of 30% of their total time for preparation." If a 25hr/week staff member only teaches one 4hr class/week and other 21hrs are non-instructional roles (Assessment, Student Support, Orientation), should her prep time be 30% of her 4hrs instructional time?
A – Their time as an instructor.
Q - (Full Question) Our program operates a GED® testing lab as part of our Adult Education program under its own budget and completely separately funded. In section 603.2 Program Income it states that programs may not impose any fees upon students in the program. Is it allowable that our Program continues to offer GED® testing as a separate service with separate funds completely (as it currently operates) under our organization if awarded the Direct Service grant?
A – Section 603.2 means that programs may not impose any fees on students to participate in the grant-funded program. Eligible providers that are awarded Adult Basic Education Direct Service grants may also operate GED® or HiSET® testing centers. Please note that costs associated with high school equivalency testing activities (either GED® test or HiSET® exam) are not allowable costs under Division of Adult Education grants. This includes the GED® and HiSET® test fees. as well as the costs of running a GED® or HiSET® testing center. This means that grantees may not use grant funds to pay GED® or HiSET® test fees (or purchase GED® test or HiSET® exam vouchers) for students, to pay staff who are working at the GED® or HiSET® testing center, or cover any other cost associated with running a GED® or HiSET® testing center.
Q - (Full Question) When entering Position Title, do we list each instructor on a separate line or dictate how many we plan to employ? For example, if we enter Instructor – Full Time, and have 5 Instructors, do we list them 5 times or put the number of instructors in the Role(s) covered by the position?
A - If multiple individuals have the same position with the same roles, status, percentage of time on Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant, and minimum qualifications, only list the position once. If individuals with the same position title have different roles in their position descriptions or spend different percentages of time on the Adult Basic Education Direct Service grant, then each one should be entered separately.
Q - (Full question) We understand that all of the IHPDS time is assigned to the State 064 grant. But should professional development hours for instructors and staff who are paid from the Federal 064 grant be assigned to the State 064 budget?
A – Yes. All costs associated with staff participation in professional development, including salary and related benefits for the time spent in professional development, should be charged to the State Adult Education 064 sub grant.
A – Use the role "Assessment."
A – No, and no. However, all expenditures must be reasonable and necessary.
A – Successful Adult Basic Education Direct Service applicants will be responsible for meeting the local match that is required for the grant amount they receive, regardless of the results of other Division of Adult Education competitive grants. In general, volunteer time in support of the overall adult basic education program may be used to meet local match requirements. Refer to 609 Local Matching Funds of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Guidelines.
A – This question is answered at approximately minute 35:25 in the Adult Basic Education Direct Service Grant Competition Information Webinar.
(Full Questions) Is it ok for applicants to change the headers on the "Table for Demonstrated Effectiveness" form? For example, could the words "with a post-test" be added to the header "Number Enrolled at Level?"
Q - On the Demonstrated Effectiveness Table Excel form, are we permitted to add one or more tabs/worksheets to the Excel file in order to provide more information?
Q - May we add an explanatory note [to the Table for Demonstrated Effectiveness] for clarity?
A – No. Applicants may not change any aspect of the Table for Demonstrated Effectiveness forms and
should not include any information other than what is required on the form. Please note that the Evidence of Demonstrated Effectiveness section is not scored; it is used only to determine if an entity is an eligible applicant. Either the entity meets the demonstrated effectiveness threshold of "A total number of enrolled individuals greater than or equal to 15 in each of the three years," or it does not. If an entity meets the threshold, the application will be reviewed and scored. If an entity does not meet the threshold, the application will not be reviewed and scored. If the Division of Adult Education has questions about the data provided in the "Table for Demonstrated Effectiveness" forms submitted by successful applicants, we will request clarification prior to the grant agreement approval process.
(Full Question) - Our agency will be submitting our grant next week with the electronic signature of our Executive Director. Will he be able to access eGrants as he has in the past to sign electronically, or do we have to submit his name to you prior to him signing so that he has access?
A – Your agency's Agency User Administrator is responsible for ensuring that all users at your agency have the roles necessary to complete their steps in the process. Authorized Agency Sign off is not necessary to submit the competitive application for review.
(Full Question) The instructions to the Demonstrated Effectiveness Tables read, "the Division of Adult Education is not dictating the exact data that applicants must provide. Applicants should include data that they believe provide evidence of demonstrated effectiveness." Is an agency allowed to use Scaled Score increase rather than EFL level gains in the column labelled "Number Completing level"? May we add an explanatory note for clarity?
(Full Question) I am writing to clarify something in the grant guidelines regarding the table for demonstrated effectiveness. The grant guidelines asked each column to address the following:
- The number of individuals in the outcome cohort (i.e., the denominator);
- The number of individuals who achieved the outcomes (i.e., the numerator)
The number of individuals who achieved the outcomes" Does it mean that "individual who achieved EFL GAINS in the exit test?" The table heading for this column says "completed" and I want to make sure what should be in this column. If it means something else, please let me know.
A - The Division of Adult Education is not dictating the exact data that applicants must provide or defining how applicants determine outcomes. Applicants should include data that they believe provide evidence of demonstrated effectiveness for the applicant. Applicants may not change any aspect of the Table for Demonstrated Effectiveness forms and should not include any information other than what is required on the form. If the Division of Adult Education has questions about the data provided in the "Table for Demonstrated Effectiveness" forms submitted by successful applicants, we will request clarification prior to the grant agreement approval process.
Q - Our agency has created an internal position title – "Program Manager" that is not a supervisor role but assists the program director with grant compliance activities. The program manager holds instructor and IHPDS roles as well. Can we use the function code 2300 and object code 105 for this role? Support Services Administration includes performance accountability oversight.
Q - How do we code PDE non-mandatory positions in the grant that support the adult education program? Example, we have an internal position we titled program manager, the position is not a supervisor, but helps the program director with activities that support grant compliance.
A – Applicants should review Section 607 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Guidelines to understand which activities should be allocated to which function codes. Staff time must be distributed across all applicable function codes. If one individual is providing instruction, serving as the IHPDS, and fulfilling administrative duties, then that individual's time and benefits must be split proportionately across the corresponding function codes (1691, 2200, and 2300). Please note that this is not a change from prior years.
(Full Question) I'm entering data in the budget section, and under program related in STATE Adult Education 064, there appears to be a limit on the description that I can enter. In FEDERAL 064, I did not have the same limit. In FEDERAL, there was actually a way for me to expand the description field so I could see everything I had entered, but in STATE, I am not able to do that. Is this something that can be adjusted?
A – This cannot be fixed while the grant application is open for competition. The content of the description column will not impact grant scoring, ranking, and awarding. The Division of Adult Education will work with successful applicants to ensure that information is complete during the grant agreement approval process.
(Full Question) Section 609 in the Adult Education and Family Literacy Guidelines notes "All non-federal contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, that support activities provided under either federal or state funds are accepted as part of the local match…". Does this also apply to using the state grant allocation in calculating the maximum indirect costs that can be claimed as match or is the calculation limited to including only the federal grant allocation? Please see the example calculation below. (Federal + State Allocations) – (Indirect Costs claimed in the grant) – (Subcontractor Allocation & Equipment) x 8% = Maximum Indirect Costs that can be claimed as match.
A - Yes. Please note that all budgets in successful applications will be thoroughly reviewed during the grant agreement approval process. Successful applicants may be required to make changes to the proposed budgets during that process.
(Full Question) According to the draft guidelines budget guide, 110 is an allowable object code for function 2300. When we try to enter information into 2300/110 in the State budget salary section of the grant for our fiscal staff, we are getting an "invalid object code" error message. Is 110 no longer an allowable object code for function 2300 in the State grant?
A – 110 is allowable under 2300. Thank you for identifying the error. It has been fixed.
A – For fully remote classes, the applicant should select the county in which the program is headquartered.
(Full Question) We have 10% of our state grant monies coded correctly under "volunteer" with object code 104. In the past, the 10% monies in the budget for tutors/volunteers appeared in the state budget summary. Even though we entered the right $$ amount, our 10% is not showing on the summary sheet. Should they?
A –The Budget Summary in each of the sub grants reflects the information the applicant entered. If the information is not displaying as expected in the Budget Summary, it was entered incorrectly. Sections 607 and 608 provide the information necessary to correctly allocate all funds.