FY 2003 Application Procedures for CCDF Grantees

Federal regulations at 45 CFR 98.81 require Tribal Lead Agencies to apply for CCDF funds. For years in which the Tribal Lead Agency submits a biennial CCDF Plan, the Plan itself serves as the application. However, in non-Plan years, the Tribal Lead Agency must apply for funds in accordance with the guidance in this Program Instruction.

A Tribe is eligible to receive CCDF funds if the Tribe is federally recognized and the tribal population includes at least 50 children under age 13.

A Tribe with fewer than 50 children under age 13 may participate in a consortium of eligible Tribes. In order to be eligible to receive CCDF funds on behalf of its member Tribes, a consortium must:

• Consist of Tribes which meet the eligibility requirements for the CCDF program or which would meet the eligibility requirements if the Tribe or tribal organization had at least 50 children under age 13; and

• Adequately demonstrate it has authorization from each participating Tribe to receive CCDF funds on behalf of the Tribe for the duration of the Plan period.

Special Rule for Indian Tribes in Alaska - Only the Metlakatla Indian Community of the Annette Islands Reserve and the 12 Alaska Native Regional Nonprofit Corporations are eligible to receive Tribal Mandatory Funds. New Tribal Applicants in Alaska should contact ACF Region X (Attachment C) with questions about this Special Rule.

Current Tribal CCDF Grantees -Tribal Lead Agencies that received FY 2003 CCDF funds must submit a new Child Count Declaration (Attachment A). By submitting a signed, completed Child Count Declaration, the Tribal Lead Agency is thereby making application for FY 2003 CCDF funds, according to the estimated allocation for the Tribe on the FY 2003 Tribal Estimates Chart (Attachment B).

By applying for FY 2003 CCDF funds, the Tribal Lead Agency: 1) agrees to follow the provisions of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, as amended, and applicable regulations at 45 CFR Parts 98 and 99; and 2) continues to be subject to the assurances and certifications provided in the CCDF Plan for the remainder of the FY 2003-2003 Plan period.

Tribal Child Counts

For funds that become available in FY 2003, ACF will calculate grant awards based on the number of children under age 13. A Tribe must submit a self-certified Child Count Declaration for children under age 13 (not age 13 and under).

The Child Count Declaration must certify the number of Indian children (as defined in Appendix 2, #2 in the Tribal Lead Agency's current CCDF Plan), under age 13, who reside on or near the reservation or service area (as defined in Appendix 2, #3 in the Tribal Lead Agency's current CCDF Plan). The Child Count Declaration is provided at Attachment A. The Child Count Declaration must be signed by the governing body of the Tribe or a person authorized to act for the applicant Tribe or organization.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING CHILD COUNTS: In prior years, ACF had an established procedure to determine the child count for those Tribal Lead Agencies that elected not to include a child count with their CCDF Plan or annual CCDF funding application. Beginning last year, all Tribal Lead Agencies were required to submit a self-certified Child Count Declaration for CCDF funding purposes.

An application submitted without a Child Count Declaration will be treated as an incomplete application. Therefore, to facilitate the approval process, a signed, completed Child Count Declaration (Attachment A) must be submitted to the ACF Regional Office by July 1, 2002 (Attachment C). This new policy was announced in 2000 in ACYF-PI-CC-00-02 and is designed to ensure that funds are equitably distributed based on the most recent data.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: The Tribal Lead Agency may not count any children who are included in the child count of another CCDF Tribal Lead Agency. To ensure unduplicated child counts, a Tribal Lead Agency is required to confer with all other CCDF Tribal Lead Agencies that have overlapping or neighboring service areas.

Tribal Lead Agencies are reminded that CCDF funds are allocated based on child counts of children from Federally recognized Indian Tribes, consistent with the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act's definition of Indian Tribe.

Tribal Lead Agencies are also advised that ACF will not accept declarations based on child counts that were conducted prior to July 1 of the previous year. For FY 2003 funding, the child count of children under age 13 must be completed no later than June 30, 2002 and no earlier than July 1, 2001.

Individual Child Counts Required - A tribal consortium must submit an individual Child Count Declaration, signed by an individual authorized to act for the Tribe, for each Tribal member in a tribal consortium. A tribal consortium must also provide a summary section listing each tribal member's name and child count, and the total child count for all members.

Because of the statutory "Special Rule for Indian Tribes in Alaska" under Tribal Mandatory Funding, some Alaska Native Regional Nonprofit Corporations will have to provide a separate child count certification for Discretionary Funding purposes. This count will consist of its self-certified Tribal Mandatory Funding count, minus the child count number for any Alaska Tribal grantee in its Region which applies directly for Discretionary Funding. In instances where a Regional Corporation has separate child counts for Discretionary and Tribal Mandatory Funds, both counts may be reported on the Child Count Declaration (Attachment A).

Membership Changes - It is the responsibility of a tribal consortium to notify ACF of any changes in its membership for CCDF funding purposes during the approved plan period. If a new Tribe(s) joins a tribal consortium to receive FY 2003 funding, the tribal consortium must submit an amendment to plan section 1.8, adding the new member Tribe(s), and submit a child count for this Tribe(s).

Alternately, if a member Tribe elects not to receive FY 2003 CCDF funds through a tribal consortium, it is the tribal consortium's responsibility to notify ACF of this change through an amendment to plan section 1.8.

Transition Period Moving into Non-Exempt Status

A Tribal Lead Agency that moves from the exempt to non-exempt category has a phase-in period of up to one year to meet the CCDF non-exempt requirements. For example, if a Tribal Lead Agency's FY 2003 allocation moved it into the non-exempt category, the Tribal Lead Agency must describe how it is meeting non-exempt requirements in a plan amendment (due by July 1, 2002 and effective October 1, 2002). Plan amendments may be necessary for Plan sections: 1.4 (quality funds); 3.1 (description of child care services); 3.2 (payment rates); 3.6 (certificate payment system); and 5.1- 5.2 (activities and services to improve the quality of child care). Please contact your ACF Regional Office (Attachment C) if you have any questions about potential plan amendments and non-exempt grantee status.

Grants from Discretionary Funds will include a base amount of $20,000 plus a per child amount (approximately $61 per child in FY 2003) for each Tribe or tribal consortium with a minimum of 50 children. Grants from Tribal Mandatory Funds are calculated solely on a per-child basis (approximately $103 per child in FY 2003) and do not include a base amount.

Since the per-child amount for both Discretionary and Tribal Mandatory Funds depends upon the total number of children in all participating Tribes, ACF cannot calculate in advance the exact per-child amount. However, Tribes and tribal organizations may use the FY 2003 Tribal Estimates Chart (See Attachment B) as a guide. A new applicant should use the base amount plus approximately $61 per child to estimate its allotment for Discretionary funding, and should use approximately $103 per child to estimate its allotment for Tribal Mandatory funding.

A tribal consortium should estimate its allotment for Discretionary funding for each of its members by calculating a portion of the base amount that is equivalent to the ratio of the number of children in each member Tribe to 50, plus the additional per child amount. For example, a Tribe with 49 children is allotted 49/50ths of $20,000, or $19,600. The per child amount is then multiplied by 49 and added to the $19,600 base amount.

Important Note: These amounts are provided for the purpose of estimating the allotments that will become available on October 1, 2002 and may increase or decrease when updated data become available before the final grant awards are issued. The estimates reflect the Administration's FY 2003 budget request.

Note to Non-Exempt Tribal Lead Agencies: The earmarked funds are to be used in addition to the "not less than 4%" required to be spent on activities that improve the quality and availability of child care.

This Program Instruction does not apply to those Tribes and tribal organizations that apply to have CCDF funds consolidated under P.L. 102-477. A separate Program Instruction (ACYF-PI-CC-02-02) contains 102-477 CCDF requirements, and is issued simultaneously and mailed with this Program Instruction.