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The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, martial status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, services and activities. Portion of any publication designed for distribution can be made available in a variety of formats, including Braille, large print or audiotape, upon request. Inquiries regarding this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 530, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234.

Application Guidance and Instructions

Purpose

To provide funds to assist public school districts to develop or adopt a curriculum and training program designed for K-8 students, parents, teachers and support staff to aid in the prevention of child abduction.

Available Funding

$1,000,000 is available to school districts, consortia of school districts, or BOCES, on a competitive basis. Each applicant may apply for a maximum of $10,000.

Project Period

Date of Award to 6/30/07

Eligible Applicants

Public School Districts, BOCES and consortia thereof.

Application Submission Instructions

Only complete applications will be reviewed. A complete application must include the following and be assembled in the following order. The Project Narrative must not exceed four (4) single-spaced pages, not including the School District Data Form, the Project Activity Plan Form, Budget Category and Narrative Forms and the FS-20 Budget Summary Form. Please keep the FS-20 Budget Summary Form separate from the application pages. DO NOT place applications in binders and DO NOT include any attachments.

1. Application Cover Page

2. Project Narrative

3. School District Data Form(s) (include a separate form for each participating district)

4. Project Activity Plan

5. Budget Category and Narrative Forms

6. Appendix A Assurances

7. FS-20 Budget Form with the original signature of the Superintendent in blue ink

Selection, Development and Implementation of Curriculum

• The curriculum, whether adopted or developed, must provide developmentally appropriate content to meet the diverse needs of students, parents and school personnel.

• If developing a local curriculum, grantees must include a detailed description of the process including participants, resources reviewed, activities planned, and time-frame. A copy of the curriculum must be submitted to the Department upon completion but, prior to implementation of the instructional program.

• If adopting a curriculum, grantees must submit a copy with the application or prior to implementation of the instructional program.

• Grantees are required to implement the curriculum described in their application. Any change in curriculum or training must be approved by the Department prior to implementation.

• All projects must be completed by June 30, 2007.

Expenditures Disallowed

Martial arts programs, fingerprinting, independent evaluations, equipment, conferences, out of state travel and supplementary materials such as buttons, stickers, bookmarks and mousepads are not allowable expenditures.

Budget Category and Narrative Forms and Budget Summary Form (FS-20)

The application must include a Budget Category and Narrative form for each category of expenditure proposed for the grant (Professional Salaries, Support Staff Salaries, Purchased Services, Supplies and Materials, Travel Expenses, and/or BOCES Services) and a separate Budget Summary Form (FS-20). The narrative should include sufficient detail to allow reviewers to understand what the funds will be used for and the relationship between the proposed expenditures and project activities and goals.

Information about the categories of expenditures, general information on allowable costs and applicable federal costs principles and administrative regulations are available in the Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Aided Grants at http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/. Refer to the Application Guidance for additional specific requirements and information about the allowable and non-allowable activities for the program.

The totals from each of the Budget Category and Narrative Forms must correspond to amounts shown on the Budget Summary Form (FS-20). Please be sure to check your math.

An approved copy of the Budget Summary Form (FS-20) will be returned by Grants Finance to the contact person at the address completed on page one. A window envelope will be used for the return mailing; please make sure that the contact information is accurate, legible, and confined to the address field. If any modifications are made to the Budget Category Forms, they will be returned to the contact person by the SED program office.

Review and Rating of Applications

Incomplete proposals and proposals received after the due date will not be reviewed. Each part of the Project Narrative must be addressed. Each application will be reviewed by two reviewers. The scoring rubric will be used to review and score the Project Narrative.

The scores of the two reviewers will be totaled and then averaged to arrive at the final score for each application. If their scores are more than 20 points apart, a third reviewer will rate the application. The two scores closest in numeric value will be averaged to calculate the final average score of the proposal. Budgets will be reviewed and adjusted to eliminate any unallowable or inappropriate expenditures.

In case of a tie score, the higher score in the following parts of the Project Narrative will be used to rank the applications:

• First, the score on the Project Activity Plan;

• Second, the score on the Budget Information;

• Third, the score on the Curriculum and Training Design;

• Fourth, the score on the Evaluation Design.

Applications will then be ranked according to final average score from highest to lowest. An application must receive a final average score of at least 70 points to be considered for funding. Awards will be made to applicants according to rank in the amount of the adjusted budget until funds are insufficient to fund the next ranking applicant in full. If any funds remain, the remaining funds will be offered to the next ranking applicant to operate a smaller project.

Entities’ Responsibility

Programs must operate under the jurisdiction of the local education agency (LEA) and are subject to at least the same degree of accountability as all other expenditures of the local agency. The LEA is responsible for the proper disbursement of, and accounting for, program funds. Written agency policy concerning wages, mileage and travel allowances, overtime compensation, or fringe benefits, as well as State rules pertaining to competitive bidding, safety regulations, and inventory control must be followed. Supporting or source documents are required for all grant related transactions entered into the local agency's recordkeeping system. Source documents that authorize the disbursement of grant funds consist of purchase orders, contracts, time & effort records, delivery receipts, vendor invoices, travel documentation and payment documents, including check stubs.

Supporting documentation for grants and grant contracts must be kept for at least six years after the last payment was made unless otherwise specified by program requirements. Additionally, audit or litigation will "freeze the clock" for records retention purposes until the issue is resolved. All records and documentation must be available for inspection by State Education Department officials or its representatives.

For additional information about grants, please refer to the Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Aided Grants at http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/.

Application and FS-20 Budget Form (Separate Word Documents)

Back to Current Funding Opportunities

12/28/2006