U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Plan: Indiana PYs 2016-2017
Unified Plan U

Section: WIOA State Plan Common Elements

Narrative: III. b. 5. B. i.

Published
Located in:
  • III. Operational Planning Elements
    The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that support the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II.(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
    • b. State Operating Systems and Policies
      The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the State operating systems and policies that will support the implementation of the State strategy described in Section II Strategic Elements . This includes—

III. b. 5. B. i. Multi-year Grants or Contracts

Describe how the eligible agency will award multi-year grants or contracts on a competitive basis to eligible providers in the State, including how eligible agencies will establish that eligible providers are organizations of demonstrated effectiveness.

Current Narrative:

The Department of Workforce Development is the State’s eligible agency for adult education and literacy programs. DWD is responsible for administering funds and providing program/performance oversight to grantees.

Adult education providers approved under Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) requirements will continue to receive funding through June 30, 2017, as long as they adhere to State and federal grant expectations, as measured through annual applications, financial reports, and program performance reports.

During grant year 2016-17, DWD will implement a new competitive application process for all federal AEFLA funding that will determine the eligible providers that will be awarded funds starting July 1, 2017. The review of proposals will include rating responses to the 13 considerations in Title II of WIOA.

TIMELINE: The following steps will be taken in conducting the AEFLA competition:

  • October -November 2016: DWD will conduct regional meetings to inform potential applicants of upcoming grant opportunity.
  • December 2016: DWD publishes three-year federal AEFLA Request for Proposals (RFP) aligned with the priorities in the approved State Unified Plan.
  • January 2017: DWD provides technical assistance through a bidders conference.
  • February 2017: Due date for AEFLA grant applications.
  • March-April 2017: Reviewers review and score AEFLA grant applications.
  • April 2017: DWD conducts review of budgets and other grant requirements and develops a rank-ordered slate based on applicant scores.
  • April-May 2017: DWD announces AEFLA grant applicants that will receive funding.
  • July 1, 2017: AEFLA grant providers begin grant cycle, programming, and funding.

For the initial year of the new grant award a formula method will be used to determine the amount of funding and will take into consideration the number of individuals lacking a high school diploma or equivalency as well as the number of unemployed or underemployed individuals in each county. In the remaining grant continuation years the formula will be designed to consider the levels of performance in the local programs as compared with established benchmarks as a basis for an increase or decrease in funds.

To determine if an applicant is an organization of demonstrated effectiveness, all applicants will be required to provide data demonstrating their ability to improve skills of low-literate adults in the applicable academic areas related to the RFP. Prior recipients will use data from the Adult Education student data management system to show how they met State-negotiated performance measures for all student levels, as well as for English language learners. New organizations will be provided forms to show demonstrated student learning gain, including low-literacy level and English language learners.

Applicants will also be required to demonstrate its record of improving the knowledge and skills needed to transition successfully to postsecondary education, skills training, or employment. Each application will be reviewed to determine whether it meets the standard of demonstrated effectiveness. Applications that do not provide sufficient evidence of demonstrated effectiveness will be eliminated from the competition.