STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

NOTICE OF GRANT OPPORTUNITY

Fiscal Year 2022

JUDICIARY OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUILDING SUCCESS

(JOBS) Program

Announcement Date: April 18, 2022

Technical Assistance Workshop: April 25, 2022

Application Due Date: May 16, 2022

Take Notice that, in compliance with NJSA 52:14-34.4 et seq., the Department of Labor (hereinafter "the Department" or "NJDOL") regularly publishes on its website all notices of fund availability pertaining to Federal or State grant funds which may be awarded by the Department. The notices are posted on the following page https://nj.gov/labor/, under the heading "Public Notices" and the subheading "Notice of Availability of Grant Program Funds."

A.       NAME OF THE PROGRAM

The Judiciary Opportunities for Building Success (JOBS) Program is a competitive grant offered by the New Jersey Department of Labor.

B.        PURPOSE FOR WHICH THE FUNDS WILL BE USED

This competitive Notice of Grant Opportunity (NGO) aims to increase employment opportunities for probation clients and significantly reduce the likelihood of recidivism. The NJDOL, in collaboration with the State Division of Probation (SDP), seeks to fund proposals that will provide training that improves employability and job placement services, on a fee-for- service basis, to probation clients of the SDP. There are over 130,000 probation clients throughout New Jersey under the supervision of the SDP. The justice-involved population encounters many unique challenges when attempting to return to the workforce. They often have multiple barriers to employment and require additional services and client-specific approaches to resolving those issues. Research has substantiated that employment is the most effective deterrent to recidivism.

C. Available Funding

The total funding available in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 is estimated to be $3,000,000 in funding from the Workforce Development Partnership Fund and is contingent upon availability. The grantee must provide basic skills and soft skills training, expungement/sealment assistance, job coaching, employment preparation, barrier elimination, job placement, occupation-specific employment training, apprenticeship preparation and referral, training that leads to an industry- recognized credential, and employment retention services. The maximum cost for delivery of services is $3,000 per participant and shall be payable on the fee-for-service schedule. However, an agency may allocate less than the maximum cost per client if it wishes to serve more clients with the funding available. In addition, participants will be eligible to receive training incentive, and support payments capped at $250.00 per week for a maximum of 12 weeks ($3,000); that cost will not be included in the cost per client calculation but will need to be considered in the proposed budget presented by each applicant.

D. Eligible Applicants

Special consideration will be given to organizations that can demonstrate collaboration with

educational institutions and faith-based/community-based organizations to effectuate the grant's purpose and have successfully worked with employers to secure unsubsidized employment for the targeted population. While a lead applicant must be, NJDOL encourages consortium and collaborative partnerships to meet this grant's goals.

This competitive grant program awards funding to lead agencies that provide training and employment placement services to participants referred by the State Division of Probation (SDP).

To be eligible for this NGO, the applicant must satisfy the following requirements:

• Must be a registered non-profit, for-profit, or governmental entity;
• Required to comply with the Affirmative Action Requirements of Public Law 1975,

1. 124 (NJAC 17:27) and the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 (PL 101-336).

The following organizations are eligible to apply as the lead agency:

• Public or private placement agencies;
• Employment and Training Providers
• Faith-based or community-based organizations;
• Public or private non-profit or for-profit agencies; and,
• Trade organizations that represent a particular trade, group of trades, contractors, or employers

Applicants must limit program services to probation clients under supervision of the SDP within the counties listed below for the three identified Primary Regions.

Applicants may apply for one county or several counties within a region; applicants may also apply for more than one region but must make a separate application for each region. An organization that submits an application for one county, set of counties or one region is not precluded from participating as a partner in a different organization's application for a separate region. The proposed grant amount in each application must be based on the projected number of program participants and the corresponding maximum cost per participant ($3,000). The actual award amount is contingent upon NJDOL approval and availability of funding. Only the most well-conceived and cost-effective proposals that meet this NGO's requirements will be funded.

E.       TARGET POPULATION

The JOBS program participants must be referred by probation officers located in the corresponding districts throughout the State of New Jersey.

F. GRANTEE RESPONSIBILITIES

Employment and Training Services: The lead agency will be responsible for providing probation clients referred to the program with case management services, barrier elimination and record expungement/sealment assistance, basic skills and soft skills training in a cohort model, job search and job placement assistance, and job retention support services.

Barrier Elimination Services: The grantee will be tasked with removing barriers to employment specifically associated with the target population. The following list below identifies justice- involved specific barriers to employment:

• Employer discrimination
• Complex expungement practices
• Occupational licensing regulations
• Transportation
• Lack of Identification Documents (Birth Certificates, Drivers Licenses, Social Security Cards)
• Limited Education
• Limited Life Skills and Financial Literacy
• Poor Work History
• Poor Work Credentials
• The stigma of a Criminal Record

Employer Incentives: In an effort to encourage employers to hire participants of the JOBS Program, NJDOL will provide "zero-cost" fidelity bonds through the Federal Bonding Program (FBP) to mitigate risk factors that often preclude justice-involved residents from securing sustainable employment. Additionally, NJDOL may offer on-the-job training (OJT) to provide financial assistance to employers hiring program participants, depending on available funding. The OJT and the FBP program will be administered separately from this NGO process and will not need to be included in your proposed budget.

Workforce Development Board Coordination: Grantees will be required to ensure that all JOBS program participants are registered with the local One-Stop Career Centers (OSCC). The OSCC will ensure that the participant is aware of all the appropriate resources and employer incentives available through the Workforce Development System.

G.      PROCEDURES FOR ELIGIBLE ENTITIES TO APPLY FOR GRANT FUNDS

The grantee serves as the applicant agency of record, the legally recognized fiscal agent for the grant project, and the single point of contact for NJDOL. The grantee will be expected to coordinate all aspects of the grant, i.e., project and spending plan, monitoring and reporting, outreach and recruitment, and fiscal management.

It is essential that the applicant carefully construct results-oriented goals and objectives, together with the program description and budget, to provide a comprehensive plan of action to administer the program successfully. All applicants are considered new applicants for this funding cycle and will be evaluated on the basis of quality, comprehensiveness, completeness, accuracy, and appropriateness of response to the NGO. The standard evaluation criteria (page 10) will be used to review and select applications.

Under this grant program, applicants must provide a narrative description of their organizational capacity, resources, commitment, and any demonstrated employment and training, job retention, and employer relationship successes working with this grant's targeted population. Such information must be included as part of the applicant's "Narrative" section of the application. Please refer to page 10 for additional information.

H.      TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOP AND APPLICATION SUBMISSION

NJDOL will provide a technical assistance workshop via Zoom on April 25, 2022, from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Applicants that wish to attend, please log in using the link displayed below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3243315983?pwd=dDI2cTBibnU3MGFCbk9xRjFCeWpWdz09

Meeting ID: 324 331 5983

Passcode: 1234

The completed and signed original application must be received by 4:00 PM on May 16, 2022 Faxed or mailed copies will not be accepted. All completed applications must be electronically submitted to christopher.mckelvey@dol.nj.gov utilizing MS Word, MS Excel, and PDF only.

I.       AWARD PROCESS

To be eligible for funding, the applicant must have satisfactorily completed the required elements of the NGO. NJDOL reserves the right to reject any application when circumstances indicate it is in the Department's best interest. NJDOL's best interests in this context include but are not limited to loss of funding, the applicant's inability to provide adequate services, an indication of misrepresentation of information, or non-compliance with State/Federal laws and regulations; and any existing NJDOL contracts and procedures.

Panel Review Process - All applications are subject to a Department panel review and final approval by the Commissioner of the Department of Labor. The panel review date is expected to conclude the week of June 3, 2022; following the panel review, applicants will be notified of their application status and any requested revisions. Upon completing all requested revisions and re-submitting completed applications within the required timelines, applicants will be notified of their application's final determination.

J.         REPORTING AND ON-SITE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE VISITS

Grant recipients are required to maintain progress data and submit monthly program and fiscal reports documenting grant-related activities. The reports will be reviewed to ascertain the grantee's progress within the scope of work and its conformance with program regulations and enabling legislation. NJDOL will determine the format of the monthly reports, and the report form will be provided with the contract in a dashboard format.

Monthly financial reports must be submitted as required in the contract and are due by the 10^th of each month. In addition, they must contain the following:

• Status of all expenditures listed in the budget detail and the amount expended each month along with supporting documents; and
• A State of New Jersey payment voucher submission for expenditures incurred during the

All programs will receive a minimum of one on-site technical assistance visit. The purpose of the visit will be to assess progress toward the program goals and objectives and the integrity of the program model. Grantees will be required to submit additional reports as requested by NJDOL.

K.       PROGRAM OUTCOMES:

Tiered Fee for Service/Performance-Based Model: Grantees will receive an initial reimbursement payment for each individual that receives Tier 1 services which include: basic skills and soft skills training, expungement/sealment assistance, job coaching, and barrier elimination services. Grantees will receive a subsequent reimbursement payment for the delivery of Tier 2 services, which include: job placement, occupation-specific employment training, apprenticeship referral and preparation, and training that leads to industry-recognized credentials and employment retention services.

Training Incentive and Support Payments: Each applicant may allocate up to $3,000.00 per client to provide training support payments. This maximum disbursement per client will be $250 per week for 12 weeks; the allotment shall be used to provide monetary support and incentivize the participation of program clients. Examples of allowable services and supports are incentive payment, transportation assistance, training, education, employer-required supplies, obtaining identification, and drivers' license reinstatement. The applicant must detail the specific services and associated costs in the budget summary.

Funds may only be used to support services specific to this award; hence, this funding may not be used to supplant or duplicate existing funding streams. Actual funding levels will depend on the availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

NJDOL reserves the right to rescind any unspent funds due to poor performance throughout the grant period. NJDOL also reserves the right to use this solicitation and competition to extend contracts of successful applicants for up to one year at a time, contingent upon available funding.

The chart below details the maximum amount grantees can expend on grant activities and participant services. Please ensure budget submissions reflect the following funding allocations where appropriate:

L.       PROPOSAL CONTENT AND CHECKLIST

To ensure consistency and fairness of evaluation, NJDOL requires that each applicant seeking funding under this grant program submit an application that includes, at a minimum, the components listed below. All components in the proposal must be in the order as listed. It is important to note that failure to include the required documentation may result in the application being removed from consideration for funding. NJDOL's Standard Assurances and Certification is expected to be read before application submission. A description of each component is listed in this section after the checklist.

The Program Narrative must be produced using the following formatting requirements:

• Font – Times New Roman, 12 points;
• Spacing – double spaced;
• Margins – 1" top and bottom and 1" side margins;
• Pages must be numbered – X of X pages, centered at the bottom of the page;
• Charts and graphs are allowed but must be clearly labeled and described;

• Applicant/Organization's name must be listed on each page;
• Proposals, including attachments, should not exceed 20 pages;
• Standard Assurances and Certifications are excluded from the 20-page

Explanation of Proposal Components

Programmatic:

Applicant Title Page (Attachment A) – Complete all sections of the form and attach them to the front of the application. Ensure that all document sections are complete and all information is accurate on the form. In addition, the Chief Executive Officer must sign and date the form.

Letter(s) of Commitment from Partner(s) – A letter of commitment from the applicant's local Workforce Development Board is required. Letters of commitment from other partners such as training providers, treatment providers, supportive service providers, and employers are encouraged. The letter(s) should indicate the specific activities the partner(s) will be involved in.

Standard Assurances and Certifications (Attachment C) – The applicant must sign and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the "Standard Assurances and Certifications."

Program Narrative

Statement of Need – Demonstrate the need for the project in relation to the NGO. A need is defined as the difference between the current status and the outcomes that the applicant would like to achieve. Documentation may include a demographic description of your targeted area, including employers, jobs, and research relating to employment and training service delivery models for the target population.

Training Curriculum and Schedule – It is required that each applicant submit a curriculum outlining the training modules that focus on basic skills/soft skills instruction and workforce readiness instruction within this section of the NGO. The applicant must indicate the associated hours attributed to the completion of the training component of the proposal. Proposals that include training that leads to industry-recognized certification will be given special consideration.

Participant Employment/Employability Sustainability Strategy – Each grantee will need to provide a narrative summary of their entity's participant employment sustainability strategy, delineating practices, techniques, partnerships, business relationships, and resources that will be leveraged to secure sustainable employment or employability for the participants of the program. Proposals that include business relationships or partnerships that have yielded job opportunities for the justice- involved population specifically or the disadvantaged populations will be given special consideration.

Program Overview – In this section, the applicant is to provide an overview of how the services detailed in the proposal will be implemented and the timeframes involved, explicitly addressing the following:

• How the applicant's approach satisfies the requirements as stated in the NGO;
• The applicant's understanding of the program expectations and outcomes as stated in the NGO;
• All anticipated collaboration with other entities in the course of fulfilling the requirements of the contract resulting from this NGO;
• Resolutions to anticipated barriers and potential problems the applicant foresees itself and the State encountering in the successful realization of the initiative described herein; and
• All other resources needed by the applicant to satisfy the contract requirements resulting from this NGO.
• The best practice(s) that will be used in the design and implementation of the
• Policies on the protection of applicant personal identification information (PII) and medical information per the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HIPAA), a US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients' medical records and other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers confidentiality.

Organizational Commitment and Capacity – Applicants need to describe their commitment to addressing the conditions and needs identified in this NGO, including the existing organizational support for implementing the proposed project. Please include charts of staff names, titles, duties/responsibilities, and time allocation related to this grant. The applicant must also state they have the management information system (MIS), equipment, and capacity needed to properly track and report participant demographic and performance data to NJDOL and demonstrate the ability to complete all required monthly reports and requests for information in accordance with protocol and timelines established by NJDOL. The applicant should also describe their experience in conducting training that has supported justice-involved persons. Additionally, the applicant should focus on how previous experience will be applied to ensure the proposed project's successful implementation. The applicant should describe how they will establish networking, mentoring, and leadership opportunities during and after the project.

Budget Summary and Application Budget

Budget Summary – The budget summary must indicate all sources of funds and include the rationale for the uses of the performance-based award, emphasizing the costs of the methods, staffing, marketing, training, equipment, and supplies needed to achieve the goals of this NGO.

Application Budget (Attachment B) – The Application Budget must be fully supported by information provided in the Budget Summary. The organizational commitment and capacity section must substantiate the projected service numbers. Budgets will be reviewed using the State of New Jersey policies and regulations as a guideline.

M.      EVALUATION CRITERIA

This NGO is competitive and will be reviewed by a selection committee using a pre-established set of requirements, which will include, but not be limited to the following:

K. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERM

The Term of this contract shall be for one (1) year; however, NJDOL reserves the option to extend the contract for a second year. The parties must agree to a second year by a mutual written agreement.