Questions Submitted Regarding RfA

New Mexico State University provides a link for the financial statements; will this be acceptable for the grant?

• We will accept links to your institution’s audits. The RFA packet and guidance have been updated to allow you to paste your links into the RFA.

For the data sections in the RFA there are not any tables included. Do we need to create our own tables and select which data to include?

• In the data sections of the RFA, no specific data tables are provided. You may include data in your application either through tables or narrative form. If you choose to use tables, please include them in the appendix. Refer to each section's question to determine which data would best support your answers.

If an applicant does not plan to apply for one or more of the allowable programs, i.e., Corrections/IELCE funding, can the sections be deleted or left blank?

• If your program is only applying for funding under Section 231 of WIOA, you can leave the Section 243 and Section 225 fields blank. You are only required to submit responses for the sections of WIOA in which you intend to apply. 

For Section 9, Financial Statements: a) what if our institution has not conducted an audit or only has an audit for one of the years? Can we submit a combination of one audit, plus one year of monthly statements, or can we submit two years of financial statements? b) Also, if the RFA file is too large to submit via email with the attached financial statements, can we submit the financial files separately, or create a Google Link to share within the RFA document or submission email?

• a) If you have not conducted an audit for one or both years, you may submit a combination of one independent audit plus one year of certified financial statements or two years of certified financial statements.
• b) A link to a published document on your institution's website is preferable; however, if this is not possible, you may submit your financial files separately before the submission deadline or via a shared Google Drive link. If a Google Drive link is shared, please ensure that the "General access" is set to "Anyone with the link" and then paste the link in the appropriate field in the RFA packet. In the event we are unable to access your statements via the Google Drive link, your application will be considered incomplete.

Is this funding separate from adult literacy funding provided by allocation by the NM State legislature?

• Yes, this funding is entirely separate from adult literacy funding provided by the NM State Legislature. The Adult Education grant program and the Adult Literacy grant program are two separate grant programs with different competitions, requirements, and activities.

Will the text boxes on the pdf allow data visualizations, graphics or only data tables?

• The text boxes in the PDF will not allow for data visualizations, graphics, or tables. Please attach all data visualizations, tables, and graphics as appendices when you submit your application. You can combine the RFA and all other documents into one PDF file, or you can attach your appendices to your email at the time of submission. Please make the appropriate citations to your appendices in your narrative. 

On page 13 of the RFA in the text box for demonstrated effectiveness, is there a word limit?

• There is no word limit for Demonstrated Effectiveness; however, your response should be clear and concise. 

On p. 25 of the RFA - Executive Summary. Maximum Words is 1500. If applying for all three sections (231, 243, & 225) is the limit 1500 words/section or 1500 words total - aggregated.

• The word limit applies to each individual section of WIOA. In other words, in the Executive Summary, you are limited to 1500 words in Section 231, 1500 words in Section 243, and 1500 words in Section 225.

If tables, graphs, or visualizations are used in the narrative, how does the word count apply?

• Tables, graphs, and visualizations do not apply to the word count. Please make appropriate citations in your narrative (e.g., Appendix A). Words included in your visuals will not be counted towards the word count in your narrative. 

On page 28 - GEPA statement. It says this applies to applicants for new grant awards under department programs. If a previously funded program is applying for these funds, does new refer to the previously funded program? If so, does the previously funded program skip that section?

• All applicants must complete the GEPA statement, regardless of whether they have been funded in the past. No applicant may skip the GEPA. This is a new competition. 

Would you clarify which two years you need the financial audit or files for? 

• Please submit your independent audit or financial statements for the two prior fiscal years, Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023) and Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024). If your audit cycle is based on calendar years, please submit audits or statements for the calendar year 2022 (January 2022 – December 2022) and calendar year 2023 (January 2023 - December 2023). 

 Is the word limit given for each section the total for the section or for each of the grants within a section?

• The word limit is for each funding source. For example, the word limit for Consideration 1 is 1000 words; therefore, your response for Section 231 could be up to 1000 words, for Section 243 it could be up to 1000 words, and for Section 225 it could be up to 1000 words.

In section Q, it asks to provide details about programming (IELCE specifically) that likely would have been explained in previous sections in the box for Section 243 such as eligibility requirements, research, integration with other WIOA Title 2 programs, etc. Please clarify if the intent is to repeat those kinds of discussions for this section. Having asked that question, the section seems to focus heavily on the integration of IELCE and IET programming. Additional clarification would be helpful regarding if the intent is to focus those discussions about the integration of IELCE and IET in this section only.

• Your narrative in section Q should focus on how your program plans to meet the specific requirements of an IECLE program. IELCE “services” are allowable activities under Section 231 funding and differ from an IELCE “program” in that an IELCE program MUST provide IELCE services in combination with IET. Your response should include how your program plans to meet the specific requirements of an IELCE program including the requirement that IELCE services are provided in combination with IET. Please refer to the NMHED-AE IELCE Policy (linked in section Q) for all federal and state requirements for IELCE programs. A narrative response in Q is only required if your program if applying for funding under Section 243.

Will this grant outline specific geographic areas of service responsibility?

• The Executive Summary section stipulates that applicants must identify the geographic area of service they are applying to serve. The stated Evaluation Criteria for the applications include consideration of the alignment between proposed activtiies with the needs for service in the intended service area. An awardee's application becomes part of the awardee's grant agreement. In sum, the specific geographic areas of service responsibility are identified and are considered in the evaluation of each application. 

On page 88, should we provide a detailed breakdown of each 'explanation' separately for both state and federal? For instance, should we include distinct breakdowns for personnel, employee benefits, purchased services, supplies and materials, etc.?"

• Yes, for the Budget Backup: Section 231, which starts on page 88, you will need to include a distinct breakdown for both Federal and State funds.

Is an application docked any points for going over the word limit?

• Word limits must be adhered to in completion of the RFA and are an essential application requirement which allows reviewers to process and complete evaluation of grant applications. Applications are not docked points for going over the word limit, but reviewers may choose not to consider any content past word limits. A reasonable expectation is that any content past word limit may not be considered.

On Page 73, “Programs for Corrections Education and other Institutionalized Individuals.” If a site is currently serving individuals in a detention center, will this section for funding need to be filled out?

• Grants awarded under Section 225 of AEFLA may only be used for educational programs for criminal offenders in correctional institutions and for other institutionalized individuals. Applicants who wish to serve individuals in correctional settings may do so under Section 231, only if those activities are included in their application.  If their application is successful, the awardee could serve eligible individuals with allowable activities in a detention center with Section 231 funds.  Any applicant is also free to apply under Section 225. Under Section 225, priority must be given to serving individuals who are likely to leave the correctional institution within 5 years of participation in the program.

Deferred during webinar- Does the local WIOA plan in Consideration 4 refer to the state plan or regional plan?

• The local plan referred to in Consideration 4 is the local (i.e., regional) workforce development plan. Each of the four workforce regions in New Mexico has a plan. If you are unable to find or access the local plan through the link provided on page 4 of this RFA, reach out to the relevant local workforce administrator(s) listed on page 4 for their assistance. 

Deferred during webinar- a) What is a certified financial statement? b) Can our board treasurer certify our statements?

• a) A certified financial statement is a financial document, such as an income statement, cash flow statement, or balance sheet that has been audited and signed-off by an accountant. Once an auditor has reviewed the details of a financial statement following GAAP guidelines and is confident the numbers are accurate, they certify the documents.
• b) Yes, your board treasurer can certify your financial statements.

Deferred during webinar- Scrollable PDF boxes are not print-friendly. Will print-friendly applications be available during or after the application process?

• A word version of the RFA is currently under review and will be posted by end of business, Friday  1/24. 

Deferred during webinar- Can we include all the bibliographical information? Can we put it in the dropdown box instead of adding it as a separate section?

• If you have cited any research, you must include the references you have cited. This can be done at the end of your response in the text box, or as a work cited page included in your appendices. References do not count towards the word count in your narrative. 

Deferred during webinar- Regarding administrative costs, how do we define reasonable? 

• Reasonable will be determined within the context of the negotiations. AEFLA emphasizes the importance of instruction and the federal government further requires that expenditures under the grant be "reasonable, necessary, and allocable" to the grant, in keeping with the emphasis on instruction. If a program determines that more than 5% of the federal grant must be used for administrative costs, they should come to the negotiation prepared to demonstrate why this is necessary and that the program is nonetheless emphasizing instruction. 

Do the applications have to use the fillable pdf form?

• A word version of the RFA is currently under review and will be posted by end of business, Friday  1/24/25. However, all applications must be submitted as a PDF. 

Where can we find a link to Section 203(4)?

• https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/hr803/BILLS-113hr803enr.pdf#page=185

If an organization is looking to add an additional aspect to their program (for example adding family literacy activities), how should they show demonstrated effectiveness for this new portion? Should they point to the data for their existing programming and make a connection to how this could inform the family literacy activities?

• The purpose of the demonstrated effectiveness section is to pre-screen programs to ensure that agencies have consistently demonstrated their effectiveness in serving eligible individuals. This track record of success is independent of the specific services that the programs plan to provide under this grant. The focus should be on highlighting the services in different content areas and attained outcomes for participants served in last two years. In other words, your demonstrated effectiveness section does not need to connect to any additional activities you hope to provide if you are funded; it functions as a pre-screening to ensure that applicants are effective in their current work, so that we may consider the rest of their application.

How do you scroll the text boxes or input boxes to review the responses entered?  The pdf I have does not allow me to scroll by responses.  Also, arrow up/down and left/right do not function in the text boxes, was there a recent update to the application pdf?

• From our testing, scroll bars will appear if using Acrobat Adobe (the application) on a Windows 11 computer and a Mac. It was also verified that the arrows work when using the PDF in a browser; Chrome, Edge, and Safari have all been verified to work. A word version will be posted by end of day Friday 1/24/25. Please email adult.education@hed.nm.gov, with the operating system and/or browser you are using, as this will allow us to further investigate this concern for you. 

This question is to gain more clarification from the questions asked and answered in the webinar. Does the 5% threshold apply to state funding or only to federal funding? Specifically, I am referring to allocated state and federal budgets. Deferred during webinar- Regarding administrative costs, how do we define reasonable? Reasonable will be determined within the context of the negotiations. AEFLA emphasizes the importance of instruction and the federal government further requires that expenditures under the grant be "reasonable, necessary, and allocable" to the grant, in keeping with the emphasis on instruction. If a program determines that more than 5% of the federal grant must be used for administrative costs, they should come to the negotiation prepared to demonstrate why this is necessary and that the program is nonetheless emphasizing instruction. "If a program determines that more than 5% of the federal grant"

• Each local program that successfully competes for AEFLA funding will receive a federal sub-award for each of the Sections under which the program has been awarded funding (Section 231, Section 243, and/or Section 225). There is a 5% cap on administrative costs in the budget you submit for any of these three funding sources; 95% of this funding must be used for instructional purposes. If an awardee wishes to use more than 5% of the federal sub-award for administrative purposes, they must negotiate this with the State Adult Education Director.  Successful applicants awarded funding under Section 231 will also receive a state "match" sub-award, in addition to the federal sub-award. The 5% cap on administrative costs does not apply to the state match sub-award; however, awardees should try to emphasize instruction in the state budget budget as well, to the extent possible. 

Is there a specific or preferred way to cite references? MLA, Chicago APA… Can those references be on the same page as the narrative? If yes, will they be included in the word count?

• You may use the citation style that you feel comfortable using; however, we ask that you be consistent in the use of that style (i.e., do not use Chicago style in some parts of the narrative and APA in other parts). If you are not familiar with a style or do not have a preference, we recommend using APA. The references may be on the same page as the narrative or you may choose to put them in an appendix. In both cases, they are not included in the word count.