grant funds, identifying qualifications, responsibilities, and lines of supervi

sion.

rel

(8) The reasonableness and evance of the estimated costs of the proposed program or service.

(b) Two or more grants receiving the same competitive score will be prioritized pursuant to § 23.22.

(c) Selection for grants under this part for "on or near" reservation programs shall be limited to the governing body of the tribe to be served by the grant, or the governing body of a multi-service Indian center. The governing body of the tribe may make a subgrant or subcontract with another organizational entity, including but not limited to an Indian organization, subject to the provisions of § 23.26.

(d) An Indian organization may make a subgrant or subcontract subject to the provisions of § 23.36.

[47 FR 39980, Sept. 10, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 12530, Mar. 29, 1985]

§ 23.26 Request from tribal governing body or Indian organization.

(a) The Bureau shall only make a grant under this part for an "on or near" reservation program when officially requested to do so by a tribal governing body. This request may be in the form of a tribal resolution, an endorsement included in the grant application or such other forms as the tribal constitution or current practice requires.

(b) The Bureau shall only make a grant under this part for an off-reservation program when officially requested to do so by the governing body of an off-reservation Indian organization. This request may be in one of the forms prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) The Bureau shall make a grant under this part for a multi-service Indian center program located off-reservation or in a designated "near" reservation area when officially requested to do so by the governing body of the multi-service Indian center. The request may be in one of the forms prescribed in paragraph (a) of this section.

[47 FR 39980, Sept. 10, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 12530, Mar. 29, 1985]

§ 23.27 Grant approval limitation.

(a) Area Office preliminary approval. Authority for preliminary approval of a grant application under this part shall be with the Area Director when the intent, purpose and scope of the grant proposal pertains solely to an Indian tribe or tribes, or to an Indian organization representing an off-reservation community or multi-service Indian Center located within that Area Director's administrative jurisdiction.

(b) Central Office preliminary approval. Authority for preliminary approval of a grant application under this part shall be with the Commissioner when the intent, purpose and scope of the grant proposal pertains to Indian tribes, off-reservation communities or Indian organizations, or multi-service Indian centers representing more than one Area Office's administrative jurisdiction, but located within the Commissioner's overall jurisdiction.

(c) An application shall not receive a preliminary approval under this section unless a review of the application determines that it:

(1) Contains all the information required in § 23.24 and,

(2) Receives at least the minimum score in a competitive review under the scoring process using the selection criteria explained in § 23.25. The minimum score will be established by the Central office prior to each application period.

(3) If an applicant has been a grantee during the year immediately preceeding the year for which an application is being made, and has made an application to continue essentially the same service program, satisfactory evaluation(s) from the Area office review of the program must be provided in addition to the other materials required in this sub-section.

(d) Approval for funding. Approval for funding of all grant applications under this part shall be with the Commissioner or his/her designated representative.

(e) Actual funding of approved grant applications shall be subject to the availability of funds. These funds will include those which are:

(1) Directly appropriated for implementation of this Act. Distribution of these appropriated and available funds will be based upon a formula designed to ensure insofar as possible that all applicants approved for funding will receive a proportionate share of the available funds. This formula will be published annually as a FEDERAL REGISTER Notice.

(2) Appropriated under other Acts for Bureau programs which are related to the purposes prescribed in § 23.22.

[47 FR 39980, Sept. 10, 1982, as amended at 50 FR 12530, Mar. 29, 1985]

§ 23.28 Submitting application.

(a) Agency office. An application for a grant under this part for an "on or near" reservation program shall be initially submitted to the appropriate Superintendent for review and recommendation as prescribed in § 23.30. Programs encompassing more than one Agency office jurisdiction shall be submitted simultaneously to each affected Agency office, and to the Area office. Each Agency office will review and make a recommendation to the Area office for approval or disapproval.

(b) Area office. An application for a grant under this part for an off-reservation program shall be initially submitted to the appropriate Area Director for review and action as prescribed in § 23.31.

(c) Programs encompassing more than one Area office jurisdiction shall submit applications simultaneously to each affected Area office and the Central office. Each Area office will review and make a preliminary recommendation to the Central office for approval or disapproval.

§ 23.29 Technical assistance.

(a) Technical assistance in the development of the grant proposal may be requested by an applicant from the office to which an applicant will be submitting an application, as prescribed in § 23.28, up to ten (10) days prior to the close of the application period.

(b) Modifications of the grant application received after the close of the application period will not be consid

ered in the review and action on the application as prescribed in §§ 23.30, 23.31 and 23.33.

§ 23.30 Agency office review and recommendation.

(a) Recommendation for approval or disapproval of a grant under this part shall be made by the Superintendent when the intent, purpose and scope of the grant proposal pertains to or involves an Indian tribe or tribes located within that Superintendent's administrative jurisdiction.

(b) Upon receipt of an application for a grant under this part, the Superintendent shall complete and sign the Agency/Area office certification, return it to the applicant and forward the application and a copy of the Agency/Area office certification to the Area office within ten (10) working days of arrival of the application at the Agency office. In completing the certification form the Superintendent shall:

(1) Acknowledge receipt of the application.

(2) Assess the completed application for appropriateness of purpose as prescribed in § 23.22, and for overall feasibility.

(3) Review the application for completeness of information and, if time permits prior to the close of the grant application period, request any additional information which may be required to make a recommendation. The Superintendent must only consider information received prior to the close of the grant application period in making his/her recommendation. (4) Certify on the Agency/Area office certification form as to the completeness of the application.

(5) Recommend approval or disapproval following a review of the completed application with explanation of the recommendation.

(6) In instances where a joint application is made by tribes representing more than one Agency office administrative jurisdiction, each respective Superintendent shall make his/her recommendation for approval or disapproval, and shall forward the application and Agency/Area office certifica

tion form to the Area Director for further action.

§ 23.31 Area office review and action.

(a) Upon receipt of an application for a grant requiring Area office preliminary approval, the Area Director shall:

(1) Acknowledge receipt of the application to the applicant in writing within ten (10) days of its arrival at the Area office.

(2) Review the Agency/Area office certification form which is required in § 23.30 Area Directors will be responsible for the completion of the Agency/ Area office certification for any application initially submitted to the Area office, including off-reservation Indian organizations and multi-Area applications.

(3) Assess the completed application for appropriateness and priority of purpose as prescribed in § 23.22, and for overall feasibility, through a selection committee process.

(4) Give preliminary approval or disapproval of the application following full assessment of the completed application as prescribed in §§ 23.24 and 23.25 and forward grant decisions to the Central office for further action, along with a copy of the Standard Form 424, Request for Federal Assistance, for each grant application and the Agency/Area office certification form.

(b) In instances where a joint application is made by tribes representing more than one Area office administrative jurisdiction, each respective Area Director shall be responsible for completion of the Agency/Area office certification and shall make his/her recommendation for approval or disapproval and shall forward the application and recommendation to the Commissioner for further action.

(c) Upon taking action prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the Area Director shall promptly notify the applicant, in writing, as to the action taken. If the application is disapproved, the Area Director will include in the written notice the specific reasons therefor.

§ 23.32 Deadline for area office action.

Within thirty (30) days of receipt of an application for a grant under this part, the Area Director shall take action as prescribed in § 23.31. Extension of this deadline will require consultation with, and written consent of, the applicant.

§ 23.33 Central office review and decision. (a) Central office preliminary approval. Upon receipt of an application for a grant requiring Central office preliminary approval, the Commissioner shall:

(1) Review the application following the applicable review procedures prescribed in § 23.31.

(2) Review Area office recommendations as they pertain to the application.

(3) Approve or disapprove the application.

(4) Promptly notify the applicant in writing as to the approval or disapproval of the application. If the application is disapproved, the Commissioner will include in the written notice the specific reasons therefor.

(b) Approval for funding. When the Commissioner has received the applications from each Area Director which have been preliminarily approved and scored, pursuant to §§ 23.24 and 23.25, and prioritized in accordance with § 23.22, the Commissioner shall determine which applications shall receive funding, as required in paragraph (d) of § 23.27. The Commissioner may utilize the priority established in § 23.22 when grant applications from different Areas have obtained the same score in the competitive review process and are being considered for funding. Some preliminarily approved applications may not be funded depending on the level of congressional appropriations.

§ 23.34 Deadline for Central office action.

Within thirty (30) days of receipt of an application for a grant under this part requiring Central office preliminary approval the Commissioner shall take action as prescribed in paragraph (a) of § 23.33. Extension of this deadline will require consultation with, and written consent of, the applicant.

§ 23.35 Grant execution and administration.

(a) Grant approved pursuant to § 23.27(a) shall be executed and administered at the Area Office level.

(b) Grants approved pursuant to § 23.27(b) shall be executed and administered at the Central office level provided that the Commissioner may designate an Area Office to execute or administer such a grant.

§ 23.36 Subgrants and subcontracts.

The grantee may make subgrants or subcontracts under this part provided that such subgrants or subcontracts are for the purpose for which the grant was made and that the grantee retains administrative and financial responsibility over the activity and the funds.

§ 23.37 Multi-year developmental projects.

(a) The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs may approve multi-year developmental projects for project periods of three years, subject to:

(1) The availability of funds in accordance with § 23.27(e);

(2) Grantee compliance with the past performance requirements of § 23.27(c)(3); and

(3) The determination by the Bureau that continued funding constitutes the best use of available funds.

(b) Prior to the beginning of the program year in which grants for multiyear projects will be awarded, the Bureau will publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER, an announcement of the grant application process for the year, including priorities, applicant eligibility criteria, the schedule for and required contents of applications, the funding formula and evaluation criteria for multi-year projects.

(c) The formula published in the FEDERAL REGISTER in accordance with § 23.27(e)(1) of this part shall indicate the manner in which the funding shall be established for each year of a multi-year project.

(d) Based on the announcement described in subsection (b) of this section, the applicant shall prepare an application in accordance with §§ 23.24, 23.25 and 23.26 of this part in order to enable the Bureau to make a judgment of the relevance and poten

tial effectiveness of the proposed activities for the duration of the project. The application at a minimum shall:

(1) Specify the proposed length of the project period;

(2) Demonstrate a developmental approach in the delivery of social services;

(3) Provide information on activities for each year of the proposed project;

(4) Comply with § 23.27(c) if the applicant has been a grantee during the preceding year and has made an application to continue essentially the same service program.

(e) The renewal application for the second and third years of a multi-year project shall update the information required in §§ 23.24, 23.25, 23.26 and 23.27(c)(3) of this part. Requests from tribal governing bodies or Indian organizations as required under § 23.26 need not be resubmitted on a yearly basis if such requests were initially written to cover the duration of the multi-year project.

(f) Funding after the first year of a multi-year project will be dependent upon the grantee's progress in achieving project objectives according to the approved work plan submitted in the first year of application.

(g) If, in the judgment of the Assistant Secretary, the grantee's proposed program activity for each year of the multi-year project is acceptable, funding shall be approved in accordance with § 23.27(e)(1) of this part, depending on the appropriation for that grant program year, the grantee's approved funding request, and the grantee's progress in achieving the objectives of the project according to the work plan submitted in the initial year of multi-year project.

(h) In accordance with § 23.29, an applicant may request technical assistance on the application and renewal process from Bureau Area and/or Agency offices.

(i) If multi-year projects are not renewed for a second or third year of funding, the grantee will not be eligible to apply for a multi-year project until the next multi-year project announcement, but may apply in any subsequent annual grant cycle for projects other than those proposed in the original developmental grant.

§ 23.42 Reports and availability of information to Indians.

Any tribal governing body or Indian organization receiving a grant under this part shall make information and reports concerning that grant available to the Indian people which it serves or represents. Access to these data shall be requested in writing and shall be made available within 10 days of receipt of that request, subject to any exceptions provided for in the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended by the Act of November 21, 1974 (Pub. L. 93-502; 88 Stat. 1561).

§ 23.43 Matching share and agreements.

(a) Grant funds provided under this part for "on or near" reservation programs may be used as non-Federal matching share in connection with funds provided under Titles IVB and XX of the Social Security Act or under any other Federal financial assistance programs which contribute to the purposes specified in § 23.22.

(b) Superintendents, Area Directors and their designated representatives will, upon tribal or Indian organization request, assist in obtaining information concerning other Federal agencies with matching fund programs and will, upon request, provide technical assistance in developing applications for submission to those Federal agencies.