DOL-VETS Releases Amendment to SGA for HVRP Grants

DOL-VETS Releases Amendment to SGA for HVRP Grants
$4 million available for Urban and Non-Urban grants, applications due May 12
The Department of Labor has announced that Sections II.C and VI.L.2 of the Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA-15-01) for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) have been amended. The updated language is included below. 
To download the entire updated version of the SGA, visit http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=275845, and click on the Related Documents tab.
Section II.C.  Additional Year Funding
Should Congress appropriate additional funds for this purpose, VETS may consider up to two (2) option years of additional funding for grants awarded under this solicitation. USDOL does not, however, guarantee option year funding for any grantee.
Section VI.L.2  Performance Measures.
For purposes of assessing performance of grantees selected under this SGA, VETS will focus on the following four critical performance measures: enrollments, placements, placement rate, and cost per placement.  However, VETS will require the grantee to fully comply with all planned performance goals by meeting at least 85% of their planned cumulative quarterly goals, see Appendix C  if a grantee does not meet threshold of performance in these categories, then a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) will be required.  VETS will also require grantees to report additional performance information, as explained in the Technical Assistance Guide (TAG) for Competitive Grantees (Appendix F).  There are three (3) outcome measures with established historic and strategic targets for HVRP grants. 
  • The national target for placement rate is 65%.  DOL VETS also expects grantees to meet a rate of 53 percent for entered employment. 
  • The 2nd outcome target is the retention rate at three quarters following placement with a performance target for grantees to meet a minimum rate of retention of 65 percent.  
  • The third outcome target is the cost per placement. Cost per placement should not exceed $3,000 per placement. 
We may consider a higher cost per placement if the applicant can justify that the higher cost per placement is needed to implement a job-driven employment and training strategy that will result in better employment outcomes.  Applicants should consider these historic and strategic targets when proposing the goals submitted within their application.
Additionally, please note that USDOL tracks the entered employment rate (EER).  The EER is determined by dividing the number of participants who obtained and retained employment one quarter after their initial placement or when they “exited” the program by the total number of participants who have exited the program.  In order to determine the EER, the program must track the employment status of their enrollees after they leave the program by contacting them.