490.21—What selection criteria does the Secretary use?

The Secretary uses the following criteria to evaluate an application:

(a) Program factors. (15 points) The Secretary reviews the application to determine the quality of the proposed project, including the extent to which the application includes—

(1) A clear description of the services to be offered; and

(2) Life skills education designed to prepare adult offenders to reintegrate successfully into communities, schools and the workplace.

(b) Educational significance. (15 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which the applicant proposes—

(1) Project objectives that contribute to the improvement of life skills;

(2) To use unique and innovative techniques to produce benefits that address life skills problems and needs that are of national significance; and

(3) To demonstrate how well those national needs will be met by the project.

(c) Plan of operation. (15 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of the plan of operation for the project, including—

(1) The quality of the design of the project;

(2) The extent to which the project includes specific intended outcomes that—

(i) Will accomplish the purposes of the program;

(ii) Are attainable within the project period, given the project's budget and other resources;

(iii) Are susceptible to evaluation;

(iv) Are objective and measurable; and

(v) For a multi-year project, include specific objectives to be met, during each budget period, that can be used to determine the progress of the project toward meeting its intended outcomes;

(3) The extent to which the plan of management is effective and ensures proper and efficient administration of the project;

(4) The quality of the applicant's plan to use its resources and personnel to achieve each objective and intended outcome during the period of Federal funding; and

(5) How the applicant will ensure that project participants who are otherwise eligible to participate are selected without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disabling condition.

(d) Evaluation plan. (15 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of the evaluation plan for the project, including the extent to which the applicant's methods of evaluation—

(1) Are clearly explained and appropriate to the project;

(2) Will determine how successful the project is in meeting its intended outcomes, including an assessment of the effectiveness of the project in improving life skills of prisoners. To the extent feasible, the assessment must include a one-year post-release review, during the grant period, to measure the success of the project with respect to those prisoners who received services and were released. The assessment must involve comparison of the project to other existing education and training programs or no treatment for individuals, as appropriate. The evaluation must be designed to produce findings that, if positive and significant, can be used in submission of an application to the Department's Program Effectiveness Panel. To assess program effectiveness, consideration may be given to implementing a random assignment evaluation design. (Review criteria for the Program Effectiveness Panel are provided in 34 CFR 786.12.);

(3) Provide for an assessment of the efficiency of the program's replication efforts, including dissemination activities and technical assistance provided to other projects;

(4) Include formative evaluation activities to help assess program management and improve program operations; and

(5) To the extent possible, are objective and produce data that are quantifiable.

(e) Demonstration and dissemination. (10 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the efficiency of the plan for demonstrating and disseminating information about project activities and results throughout the project period, including—

(1) High quality in the design of the demonstration and dissemination plan;

(2) Identification of target groups and provisions for publicizing the project at the local, State, and national levels by conducting or delivering presentations at conferences, workshops, and other professional meetings and by preparing materials for journal articles, newsletters, and brochures;

(3) Provisions for demonstrating the methods and techniques used by the project to others interested in replicating these methods and techniques, such as by inviting them to observe project activities;

(4) A description of the types of materials the applicant plans to make available to help others replicate project activities and the methods for making the materials available; and

(5) Provisions for assisting others to adopt and successfully implement the project or methods and techniques used by the project.

(f) Key personnel. (5 points) (1) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of key personnel the applicant plans to use on the project, including—

(i) The qualifications, in relation to the objectives and planned outcomes of the project, of the project director;

(ii) The qualifications, in relation to the objectives and planned outcomes of the project, of each of the other key personnel to be used in the project, including any third-party evaluator;

(iii) The time that each person referred to in paragraphs (f)(1) (i) and (ii) of this section will commit to the project; and

(iv) How the applicant, as part of its nondiscriminatory employment practices, will ensure that its personnel are selected for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disabling condition.

(2) To determine personnel qualifications under paragraphs (f)(1) (i) and (ii) of this section, the Secretary considers experience and training in project management and in fields related to the objectives and planned outcomes of the project.

(g) Budget and cost effectiveness. (5 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which the budget—

(1) Is cost effective and adequate to support the project activities;

(2) Contains costs that are reasonable and necessary in relation to the objectives of the project; and

(3) Proposes using non-Federal resources available from appropriate employment, training, and education agencies in the State to provide project services and activities and to acquire project equipment and facilities.

(h) Adequacy of resources and commitment. (5 points)

(1) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which the applicant plans to devote adequate resources to the project. The Secretary considers the extent to which—

(i) Facilities that the applicant plans to use are adequate; and

(ii) Equipment and supplies that the applicant plans to use are adequate.

(2) The Secretary reviews each application to determine the applicant's commitment to the project, including the extent to which—

(i) Non-Federal resources are adequate to provide project services and activities, especially resources of the public and private sectors; and

(ii) The applicant has the capacity to continue, expand, and build upon the project when Federal assistance ends.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1830-0512)

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1211-2 )