OpportunityTitle: Add Us In
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible Applicants:  Under this announcement only consortia may apply for and receive a cooperative  agreement. Each consortium must, at a minimum, have representation from each of the  22 following four organization types: (1) A an association of targeted businesses,  association of targeted business owners or other similar entity; (2) A disability-serving  organization; (3) A Local Workforce Investment Board (LWIB) or other organization  with demonstrated experience in providing employment and training services and  employment-related support services (e.g., One-Stop center but not limited to); and (4)  youth-serving organization. We encourage the participation of diverse consortia  members including, but not limited to: national disability organizations, LGBT  organizations, women-owned businesses, small business development centers, minority  business development centers, community-based organizations, colleges and universities  (including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving  Institutions (HSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs)), Federally recognized or  state-recognized American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments or American  Indian/Alaska Native tribally designated organizations.  Consortia must be legal entities, or partnerships or joint ventures of legal entities. If a  partnership or joint entity, then each partner will be individually responsible for the  performance of the cooperative agreement, and for the funds awarded there under. All  applications must clearly identify the lead cooperative agreement recipient and fiscal  agent, as well as all other members of the consortium applying for the cooperative  agreement. The fiscal agent must have proof of successful operation of federal or other  grants of this size and scope. In addition, the application must identify the relationship  between all of the members of the consortium, and their respective roles in carrying out  the project.  23  According to section 18 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an organization, as  described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that engages in  lobbying activities will not be eligible for the receipt of Federal funds constituting an  award, grant, or loan. See 2 U.S.C. 1611; 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4). Funding restrictions  apply.
Description: The U.S. Department of Labor (&#147;DOL&#148; or &#147;Department&#148;), Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) announces the availability of approximately $2.3 million to fund up to four cooperative agreements with consortia ranging from $500,000 to $625,000. The objectives of this new initiative, Add Us In, are: 1) to increase the ability of targeted businesses to employ adults and youth with disabilities; 2) to develop and evaluate replicable models, strategies and policies1 that would ensure that youth and adults from targeted populations with disabilities have access to a broader range of employment and mentoring opportunities; and 3) to form and strengthen connections between targeted businesses, diversity-serving organizations, youth-serving organizations and disability-serving organizations, building a national and local network of experts skilled in serving individuals with disabilities. These objectives will be accomplished through the competitive funding of consortia tasked to design, implement, and evaluate innovative systems models that support integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities within targeted businesses. For the purposes of this solicitation, the target population consists of members of the following groups: African American, Asian American (including Asian Americans of West Asian decent, e.g., India, and Asian Americans of East Asian decent, e.g., Japan and Korea), Latino or Hispanic American, federally recognized Tribes and Native American communities (including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Native Pacific Islanders (including American Samoan Natives)), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) individuals, and women. A targeted business is a forprofit enterprise such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or joint venture of any kind, regardless of size, physically located in the United States or its trust territories which is at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled on a daily basis by a United States citizen (or citizens) who are members of a target population. For the purposes of this solicitation, &#147;disability&#148; is defined as set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAA) of 2009. 3 Add Us In addresses ODEP&#146;s goal of building knowledge and advancing disability employment policies in a fast growing area of the American economy. In the United States today, there are approximately 4.1 million minority-owned firms2 accounting for more than $668 billion total annual gross receipts. Between 1997 and 2002 the growth of minority-owned firms outpaced the national rate, as they increased by 30 percent compared to 10 percent for all classifiable firms.3 According to the American Community Survey (ACS) more than 10 million civilian, non-institutionalized Americans from ethnic and racial minorities have long-lasting disabling conditions or impairments.4 According to the ACS in 2008, among racial and ethnic groups, the highest overall estimated disability rate was for American Indians and Alaska Natives at 18.8 percent. Among Blacks or African Americans, the disability rate was 14.3 percent. Among persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, the disability rate was 8.4 percent. Among Asian Americans, the disability rate was 4.6 percent. Among White Americans, the disability rate was 10.2 percent. The Department&#146;s Bureau of Labor Statistics released the first official data on the employment status of people with disabilities on February 6, 2009. As of March 2010, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 35.2 compared with 77.2 for persons with no disability. The March 2010 unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 14.7 percent, compared with 10.2 percent for persons with no disability, not seasonally adjusted.5 Over 20 million people with disabilities ages 16 and over were not even in the labor force.6 For individuals with disabilities, obstacles to employment and participation in the labor market, and the resulting unemployment and underemployment of these individuals are demonstrated by a median household income for working-age people with disabilities of $39,600 compared to $61,200 for workingage people without disabilities.7 When looking at the relationship between disability and employment, researchers have found that minorities with disabilities are often at increased risk for unemployment.8 For people with severe disabilities, the labor force participation rate is about 30 percent for Whites, 21.2 percent for Latinos or Hispanics, and 17.8 percent for Blacks or African Americans. Under this initiative, three consortia will be awarded funding through a competitive process to design and implement innovative models, strategies and policies that will: 1) create replicable models that can be used by targeted businesses and associations of targeted businesses nationwide to reach out to people with disabilities in their communities, and 2) lead to improved employment outcomes for people with disabilities in these communities. This solicitation provides background information, describes the application requirements, outlines the process that eligible entities must use to apply for funds covered by this solicitation, and outlines the evaluation criteria that will be used as a basis for selecting the grantees. There will be a Prospective Applicant Webinar held for this grant competition. The date and access information for this Prospective Applicant Webinar will be posted on ODEP&#146;s Web site at: http://www.dol.gov/odep.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: mitchell.cassandra@dol.gov
GrantorContactText: Cassandra Mitchell &lt;br/&gt;Grants Management Specialist &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-693-4570