Section 1520.48  Application and Receipt of other Federal Program Funds

a)         If required by the funding source or if federal program purposes would be furthered by doing so, the Authority shall select funding priorities which shall guide the funding process. Funding priorities may identify the types of eligible implementing agencies, federal program purpose areas, specific project types, or costs that shall be given consideration for funding. Funding priorities shall be selected by the Authority at a public meeting in conformance with the Open Meetings Act [5 ILCS 120] and the Authority's rules (2 Ill. Adm. Code 1750.330), and shall be developed according to the following criteria:

1)         if required by the funding source or if federal program purposes would be furthered by doing so, oral and written comment and testimony received at public meetings conducted in conformance with the Open Meetings Act;

2)         comments from State and local officials, not for profit organizations, or other organizations, entities or persons that have experience and expertise in areas that are relevant to federal program purposes;

3)         information, current research findings and surveys that are relevant to federal program purposes; and

4)         analysis of the needs of eligible implementing agencies, the need to fund projects that cover federal program purposes and the need for items that represent allowable costs, as evidenced by relevant demographic, medical, social science, criminal justice and statistical data, and available resources that already address such needs.

b)         The Authority shall review the purposes of federal program funds, other than those subject to Section 1520.40, 1520.46 or 1520.47, and make a determination, at a public meeting in conformance with the Open Meetings Act, as to whether a needs-based or competitive funding process would best meet the overall goals and objectives of the federal program.  To make that determination, the Authority shall consider:

1)         the requirements of the funding source, including:

A)        the number, and types, of federal program purpose areas;

B)        the number, and types, of implementing agencies eligible for funding;

C)        the number, and types, of costs to which the funds may be applied; and

D)        other conditions and restrictions imposed by the funding source, and State and federal law;

2)         the immediacy of the need to spend the funds, including whether the funds are to be used to serve immediate and vital needs of persons or communities, and whether the length of time during which the funds must be spent is insufficient to allow for a competitive funding process;

3)         the services currently available to meet the needs of the federal program; and

4)         funding priorities as described in subsection (a) above, if it was necessary for the Authority to select such priorities.

c)         If the Authority chooses to distribute the funds on a competitive basis as provided in subsection (b) above, then the Executive Director of the Authority shall develop a request for proposals (RFP) based on the following criteria:

1)         funding priorities as described in subsection (a) above, if it was necessary for the Authority to select such priorities;

2)         requirements imposed on the Authority and potential recipient implementing agencies by the funding source, and State and federal law;

3)         the nature and complexity of federal program purpose areas;

4)         the number and types of implementing agencies eligible to receive funds;

5)         an analysis of need, as described in subsection (a)(4) above;

6)         information, current research findings and surveys that are relevant to federal program purposes; and

7)         demographic, medical, social science, criminal justice and statistical data that is relevant to federal program purposes.

d)         RFPs developed pursuant to the criteria described in subsection (c) above shall include:

1)         the purposes, goals and objectives of the federal program, and the types of projects that will be considered for funding;

2)         requirements that implementing agencies receiving funds must meet, and adhere to, such as eligibility, reporting and fiscal requirements;

3)         certifications required by the funding source, and State and federal law, including, but not limited to, the State of Illinois Drug-Free Workplace certification, State and federal debarment certifications, and State bribery and bid-rigging certifications;

4)         the criteria by which the Budget Committee or, at the Budget Committee's direction, the Executive Director of the Authority will select proposals for funding; such criteria shall be given an associated weight and shall include:

A)        the adequacy with which the proposed project reflects the purposes, goals and objectives of the federal program;

B)        whether the proposer is an eligible implementing agency as defined by federal program requirements;

C)        the technical merit of the project design, as reflected in the proposal received by the Authority;

D)        the qualifications of key personnel, as reflected in the descriptions or resumes that the proposer submitted to the Authority, if the nature of the projects that will be considered for funding calls for an assessment of such criteria;

E)        the sufficiency of the proposal's management plan, which includes an assessment of the methods by which the proposer will administer the project, both fiscally and programmatically, to achieve the goals and objectives of the project;

F)         the proposer's capability to carry out the goals and objectives of the project in the manner reflected by the proposal received by the Authority;

G)        the adequacy of the proposed project budget, which includes an assessment of the reasonableness and allowability of the costs that were estimated and included in the budget;

H)        the proposer's history of administering projects similar to the one proposed and of receiving and managing federal program funds, if applicable; and

I)         any additional criteria required by the funding source or that would further federal program purposes;

5)         the deadline by which, and location where, proposals must be received by the Authority;

6)         the total amount, and sources, of federal funding available for distribution through the RFP process, and the maximum amount of federal funding that eligible implementing agencies may apply for through the submission of an RFP;

7)         any matching contribution requirements that shall be imposed upon implementing agencies that receive federal funds;

8)         the anticipated time period of the projects which may be funded;

9)         funding priorities as described in subsection (a) above, if it was necessary for the Authority to select such priorities; and

10)         any other information required by the funding source or that would further federal program purposes.

e)         The Budget Committee, or, at the Budget Committee's direction, the Executive Director of the Authority, shall make designations as to specific projects, specific implementing agencies and funding amounts, based on the criteria set forth in the RFP, as described in subsection (d) above; Budget Committee designations shall be made, and Executive Director designations shall be reported, at public meetings conducted in conformance with the Open Meetings Act.

f)         If the Authority chooses to distribute the funds using a needs based process, based on the criteria in subsection (b) above, then the Executive Director of the Authority shall make funding recommendations to the Budget Committee, which may include recommendations as to implementing agencies, projects, and costs that should be covered by federal program funds; the Executive Director's recommendations to the Budget Committee shall be based upon:

1)         funding priorities as described in subsection (a) above, if it was necessary for the Authority to select such priorities;

2)         analysis of the needs of types of eligible implementing agencies, the need to fund projects that will cover federal program purposes, and the need for items, such as equipment or services, that represent allowable costs, as evidenced by relevant demographic, medical, social science, criminal justice and statistical data, and available resources that already address such needs;

3)         requirements imposed by the funding source, and State and federal law, on the Authority and potential recipient implementing agencies;

4)         the nature and complexity of federal program purpose areas;

5)         the number and types of implementing agencies eligible to receive funds;

6)         comments from the public, State and local officials, not for profit organizations, or other organizations, entities or persons that have experience and expertise in areas that are relevant to federal program purposes; and

7)         information, current research findings and surveys that are relevant to federal program purposes.

g)         The Budget Committee shall make designations as to specific projects, specific implementing agencies and funding amounts; Budget Committee designations shall be made at public meetings in conformance with the Open Meetings Act and shall be based upon:

1)         funding recommendations made by the Executive Director of the Authority according to subsection (f) above;

2)         analysis of the needs of eligible implementing agencies, the need to fund projects that will cover federal program purposes, and the need for items, such as equipment or services, that represent allowable costs, as evidenced by relevant demographic, medical, social science, criminal justice and statistical data, and available resources that already address such needs;

3)         comments from the public, State and local officials, not for profit organizations, or other organizations, entities or persons that have experience and expertise in areas that are relevant to federal program purposes;

4)         the period of availability of the federal program funds and the immediacy of the need to spend the funds, including whether federal program funds are to be used to serve immediate and vital needs of persons or communities that specific implementing agencies and specific projects could readily address;

5)         the likelihood that a specific project type will achieve the overall goals and objectives of the federal program by: making an assessment of the adequacy with which a specific project type will meet the purposes, goals and objectives of the federal program; examination of the results of evaluations of existing similar projects; and analysis of results of tests or demonstrations that are relevant to the federal program's purposes, goals and objectives;

6)         the effectiveness of a specific project type, by making an assessment of the manner in which a particular problem will be addressed by the project type;

7)         the efficiency with which a specific implementing agency could administer a project and the overall costs of specific project types; and

8)         the ability of a specific entity to secure alternate funding sources for the project once federal program funds are no longer available.

h)         Pursuant to applicable federal legislation and guidelines, the Application to the funding source shall include all information, certifications and assurances that are required by the funding source.

i)          Subsequent to notification by the funding source that an Application has been approved, the Executive Director shall enter into interagency agreements with those implementing agencies designated to receive federal program funds pursuant to subsections (e) and (g) above, specifying the terms and conditions under which the projects are to be conducted and the federal funds are to be received. If the Authority is the designated implementing agency, then the Executive Director shall document such terms and conditions, which, to become effective, must be accepted in writing by the Chairman of the Authority.  The terms and conditions shall include but not be limited to reporting requirements that reflect fiscal expenditures and progress toward program objectives, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, maintenance of financial and program records beyond the expiration of the agreement, the prohibition of subcontracting or assignment of agreements without prior written approval of the Authority, audit procedures as described in the federal laws and regulations listed in Section 1520.50(a), and the status of the implementing agency as an independent contractor.

(Source:  Added at 21 Ill. Reg. 8909, effective June 27, 1997)