Model Plan Application for LIHEAP Funding for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 (All Applications due September 1)
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LIHEAP INFORMATION MEMORANDUM TRANSMITTAL
NO. LIHEAP-IM-2006-7, DATED 4/21/06
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT: Model Plan Application for LIHEAP Funding for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 (All Applications due
September 1)
RELATED
REFERENCES: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act, as amended
(Title XXVI of Public Law (P.L.) 97-35, the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, as
amended).
BACKGROUND: States, territories, and Indian Tribes/Tribal
organizations that wish to administer a Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) must
submit an application for funds each year.
Section 2605(c)(3) of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981, as amended, provides
that not later than April 1 of each fiscal year,
the Secretary shall make available a model LIHEAP
plan which may be used, at the option of each
grantee, to prepare the application required under
Sections 2605(a)(1) and (c)(1).
PURPOSE: To provide LIHEAP grantees with a copy of the
model plan format and to remind State and Tribal
grantees that all applications are due September 1.
CONTENT: Attached for your use is the model plan
format for use by States, territories, and Indian
Tribes/Tribal organizations in developing your FY
2007 plans. You are not required to use the model
plan format. You may submit your application in
any format you wish, as long as it includes all of
the information required under the statute and
implementing regulations.
For those grantees that choose not to use the
model plan, we have included a list of reminders
that may be helpful in submitting a complete
application.
Deadlines:
We wish to remind grantees that they must submit
an application each fiscal year in order to
receive LIHEAP funds. Indian Tribes and Tribal
organizations must, as always has been the case,
submit their applications by September 1, unless
the State(s) in which the Tribe or organization is
located agrees to a later submission date. A
Final Rule published on October 15, 1999 in the
Federal Register (64 FR 55843) states in Section
96.10(c)(2) that applications from States and
territories must also be submitted by September 1
unless the Department agrees to a later date.
The final rule also established a due date for the
submission of all information required to complete
the LIHEAP application by Tribes, States, and
territories as December 15 of the fiscal year for
which funds are being requested, unless the
State(s) in which a Tribe is located (in the case
of Tribal grantees) or the Department (in the case
of States and territories) agrees to a later date.
Detailed and Abbreviated Plans:
In FY 1998, we adopted a new application process
in which each grantee must submit a detailed
application every three years. In the alternate
years, grantees may submit an abbreviated
application, consisting of: (1) the statutorily
required assurances signed by the Governor/chief
executive officer or his/her designee; (2) a
description of any changes from the last detailed
application; and (3) a report on applicant and
recipient households for the previous year. In
addition, the applicant must offer an opportunity
for public participation. States must also hold a
public hearing. The Carryover and Reallotment
Report for the previous fiscal year must have been
submitted. The Carryover and Reallotment Report
is due August 1. Lastly, the LIHEAP Household
Report must be submitted with the application as
described below.
A Detailed Model Plan and an Abbreviated Model
Plan are attached to this Information Memorandum.
The detailed model plan is essentially the same as
the model plan that we have used for many years.
The abbreviated model plan is for optional use by
grantees that are not scheduled to file a detailed
application for FY 2007.
Grantees must submit a "detailed application"
every three years, or sooner, if they are making
major changes to their LIHEAP programs. Since
most grantees do not substantially change their
programs in a typical two- to three-year period,
this frequency will assure that we have a full
description of basic plan elements. As part of
the detailed application, a full description of
how grantees will carry out all of the assurances
specified in the statute and the other program-
specific information required in Section 2605(c)
of the statute must be submitted. Grantees that
are making more than two substantive changes
should complete the detailed application.
Some current grantees must submit detailed
applications for FY 2007 while the remaining
portion of grantees will have the option of filing
an abbreviated application for FY 2007. Grantees
that submit an abbreviated application for FY 2007
will be required to submit a detailed application
for FY 2008 or FY 2009. Attached is a schedule
specifying which grantees are required to file
detailed applications in FY 2007 and FY 2008 (See
Attachment 2.)
Generally, Tribes and Tribal organizations must
file a detailed application in the same year as
the States in which they are located. In some
cases, Tribes and States are not on the same three-
year cycle if a Tribe applied with a detailed plan
during a year in which the State submitted an
abbreviated plan.
Assurances:
The assurances printed at the beginning of the
model plan are from the current LIHEAP statute.
Grantees who choose not to use the model plan
still may wish to use these pages. Please be sure
that (1) the Governor or Tribal Chairman signs the
assurances or (2) has specifically delegated
authority to sign the assurances to the person who
signs the assurances. If a grantee has a new
Governor or Tribal Chairman, a new delegation
letter is required.
In applying for LIHEAP funds for FY 2007, please
remember that the statute requires States and
territories receiving more than $200,000 to
describe in their plans how they will carry out
assurance 15 (Section2605(b)(15) of the LIHEAP
statute).
In addition, please note assurance 16, which sets
a 5 percent limit on the amount of LIHEAP funds
that can be used for certain activities designed
to reduce the need for home energy and, thereby,
the need for energy assistance.
Leveraging Activities:
We wish to remind you that the model plan includes
a place to report leveraging activities to take
place during the Federal fiscal year that will be
coordinated with LIHEAP. You should include the
information in your plan that will be necessary
for activities to count for leveraging funds
awarded the next year. Grantees should also
amend their current year's plan to include any
activities that are added during the year but were
not previously included in the plan (e.g. cooling
component).
Under the Final Rule on implementing the
leveraging program that was issued on May 1, 1995,
(60 FR 21322) the plan must include additional
information for those leveraging activities
claimed under criterion 96.87(d)(2)(iii), that is,
those resources that are appropriated or mandated
by the State for distribution under the plan, and
are coordinated/integrated with the grantees'
LIHEAP program, but are not a part of LIHEAP.
The plan must describe not only the
resources/benefits to be counted under criterion
96.87(d)(2)(iii), but the plan must also identify
and describe their sources and the way in which
they are integrated/coordinated with the grantees'
LIHEAP program. See especially the middle column
of page 21339 of the May 1, 1995, Federal Register
(60 FR 21339) for further discussion of these
requirements. These documents can be found on the
LIHEAP website under the "Guidance" section.
If you fully described your leveraging activities
to be claimed under criterion 96.87(d)(2)(iii) in
your most recent detailed plan, you do not need to
describe them again in an abbreviated plan unless
they have changed. If any of the required
information on the resources/benefits has changed,
please be sure to submit new descriptions with
your abbreviated plan.
Households Applying For and Receiving Assistance:
The statute requires that complete LIHEAP
applications MUST include the LIHEAP Household
Report for the previous year on households
applying for and assisted by LIHEAP before grant
awards are made.
The LIHEAP statute requires the Secretary to
collect data on the number and income levels of
households assisted and the following additional
household data:
• number of assisted households with at least
one young child and
• number and income levels of households applying
for LIHEAP assistance and
• the number of assisted households with at least
one or more individuals who are 60 years or
older or disabled.
States, the District of Columbia, and territories
with regular allotments of $200,000 or more (i.e.,
Puerto Rico) will need to collect this data on
their FY 2006 applicant and recipient households
in order to submit the data as part of their FY
2007 grant applications. Tribal grantees and
territories with regular allotments of less than
$200,000 are required to submit only information
on the number of households served in each of its
program components (i.e., heating, cooling,
crisis, and weatherization). We will send a
separate Action Transmittal with forms and
instructions.
Carryover and Reallotment Report:
The required report on the amount of funds each
grantee will carry over from FY 2006 to FY 2007-or
will have available for reallotment-is still due
August 1. Prompt submission of this report allows
grantees and HHS to identify potential under
obligation of funds in time to make adjustments
before the end of the fiscal year.
However, please remember that the statute provides
that no grantee will receive its FY 2007 grant
until it has submitted its Carryover and
Reallotment Report for its FY 2006 funds. In some
cases, we had to delay grant awards to grantees
with otherwise complete applications because they
had not submitted their Carryover and Reallotment
Report.
Other Certifications:
Please remember that all States, whether or not
they use the model plan and whether or not they
file a detailed application, must file the
lobbying certification and, if applicable, Form
LLL, which discloses lobbying payments. Tribes
and Tribal organizations are not required to file
the lobbying certification. All grantees must
file the debarment and suspension certification,
as well as the drug-free workplace certification,
unless a State has submitted a statewide assurance
to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Grantees that do not use the model plan should
remove these certification forms from the back of
the attached model plan and include them with
their applications. Please note that the drug-
free workplace and the debarment and suspension
certifications do not require signatures.
Submission of those forms with the application
indicates agreement to adhere to the specified
certifications.
Timely Application Submittal and Completion by
Tribes, States and Territories:
Early receipt and processing of your application
will help you meet the statutory requirement to
obligate at least 90 percent of your funds in the
fiscal year in which they are appropriated.
We wish to remind grantees that have specific
opening dates established for their LIHEAP
programs that they should allow four to six weeks
for Division of Energy Assistance review of their
applications and issuance of grant awards. A
longer time may be required if we have to request
additional information because an application is
not complete.
The Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 (P.L.
101-453, as amended by P.L. 102-589) is in effect.
This statute, which covers States and territories
but not Tribes, imposes a requirement for timely
transfers of funds between Federal agencies and
States. The Department of the Treasury has issued
a Final Rule (57 FR 60676-606894, published
December 21, 1992) implementing the statute, which
affects the LIHEAP program. It is important that
we receive your application several weeks before
you intend to draw funds from the Payment
Management System so that we may comply with the
intent of this Act and its implementing
regulations.
As noted above, all necessary information must be
included in the application before it can be
accepted as complete and we can issue a grant.
When we have to ask for additional information, it
means that you may not receive the grant award on
the schedule you had planned. We have noticed
that applications often fail to include the kinds
of additional information that we had to request
the previous year in order to make the application
complete. Accordingly, we suggest that you
include in your detailed application answers to
the questions or the information we requested in
previous years.
Another reason the approval process often takes
longer than necessary is the submission of
delegations of the Governor's or Tribal
Chairperson's authority that do not specify
authority to sign the LIHEAP assurances.
LIHEAP regulations at 45 CFR 96.10(b) require that
the grantee's chief executive officer or "an
individual authorized to make such certifications
on behalf of the chief executive officer" must
sign the 16 assurances (15 for Tribes and some
territories) in the LIHEAP statute. A delegation
of authority to administer the LIHEAP program, or
one that delegates authority to sign assurances
but does not specify the LIHEAP program, is not
sufficient.
This model plan can be downloaded from the ACF
website under "Grantee Forms, Funding
Applications" at:
/programs/ocs/liheap/
ATTACHMENTS: (1) LIHEAP Application Reminders
(2) Schedule for Detailed LIHEAP Plans
(3) LIHEAP Detailed Model Plan for FY 2007 and Certifications
(4) LIHEAP Abbreviated Model Plan for FY 2007 and Certifications
INQUIRIES: Trudy Hairston, Program Specialist
Division of Energy Assistance
Telephone: (202) 401-4853
E-mail: thairston@acf.hhs.gov
SUBMISSIONS: Nick St.Angelo, Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services, ACF, HHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
Telephone: (202) 401-9351
Fax: (202) 401-5661
E-mail: nstangelo@acf.hhs.gov
______________/s_____________
Josephine B. Robinson
Director
Office of Community Services
