Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
Division of Energy Assistance/OCS/ACF
Submission of FY 1997 LIHEAP Plan Amendments to include leveraging resources or activities and Leveraging Reports on FY 1997 leveraging activities, in order to qualify for FY 1998 leveraging incentive fund grant awards
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NOTE: The attachments are not included in this file. However, the Leveraging Report Form and Instructions are available for downloading as WordPerfect 5.1 files (with soft fonts) on the LIHEAP web site at: http//www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/liheap/ta.htm#FORMS
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES IN LIHEAP ACTION TRANSMITTAL NO. LIHEAP-AT-97-5, DATED 9/10/97
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT: Submission of FY 1997 LIHEAP Plan Amendments to include
leveraging resources or activities and Leveraging Reports
on FY 1997 leveraging activities, in order to qualify for
FY 1998 leveraging incentive fund grant awards
DUE DATES: (1) September 30, 1997 for amendments to FY 1997 plans
for leveraging activities carried out during FY 1997; and
(2) November 30, 1997 for applications for FY 1998
leveraging awards based on FY 1997 leveraging activities.
RELATED Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
REFERENCES: (title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1981, Public Law 97-35, as amended); 45 CFR Part 96,
Block Grant Programs--Final Rule, published in the
Federal Register on May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21322 et seq.)
(included in LIHEAP-IM-95-20)
PURPOSE: To inform LIHEAP grantees that they must submit LIHEAP
plan amendments including and/or revising descriptions of
leveraging activities that took place in fiscal year (FY)
1997 by September 30, 1997. Grantees must also submit
Leveraging Reports covering leveraging activities that
took place in FY 1997 to the Office of Community Services
(OCS) by November 30, 1997, in order to qualify for FY
1998 leveraging incentive fund awards. The required
Leveraging Report forms and instructions for their
completion are attached.
BACKGROUND: The LIHEAP leveraging incentive program rewards LIHEAP
state, tribal, and territorial grantees who have acquired
nonfederal home energy resources for low income
households, expanding the effect of their federal LIHEAP
funding.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued
final implementing regulations for the leveraging
incentive program on May 1, 1995 (60 FR 21332). The May
1995 leveraging final rule replaced the interim final
rule published in 1992, and became effective on October
1, 1995, the first day of FY 1996. It therefore applies
to the leveraging activities that grantees report to HHS
for FY 1996 and following years. Leveraging requirements
in the regulations are based closely on the leveraging
requirements in section 2607A of the Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Act.
Under the leveraging incentive program, leveraging
incentive awards in a fiscal year (the award period) are
based on countable leveraged
resources/benefits that were provided to low income
households during the previous fiscal year (the base
period). For example, FY 1998 incentive awards will be
allocated to grantees based on countable leveraged
resources that were provided to low income households in
FY 1997.
Grantees desiring leveraging incentive funds must submit
an application--the LIHEAP Leveraging Report--that
describes and quantifies the leveraging activities they
carried out during the base period. HHS then determines
whether the reported activities meet the requirements of
the LIHEAP statute and regulations, and therefore are
countable under the program. Leveraging incentive funds
are allocated using a formula that takes into account the
value of each applicant's countable leveraged resources
compared to its regular LIHEAP allotment and to the total
amount leveraged by all applicants.
CONTENT: Amendments to FY 1997 Plans
Grantees must submit FY 1997 LIHEAP plan amendments
containing description of leveraging activities or
revised descriptions of existing leveraging activities to
OCS by September 30, 1997. These amendments should
address questions raised by LIHEAP staff during our
review of FY 1996 leveraging reports. Grantees may wish
to amend their FY 1997 LIHEAP plans to make revisions in
the description of leveraged resources to meet
requirements of section 96.87(d)(2)(iii)(A-H) for those
resources that were integrated and coordinated with the
LIHEAP. Please remember that, under these criteria, the
plan must include a description of each resource, its
source, and a description of how it is integrated and
coordinated with LIHEAP.
Applications for FY 1998 Leveraging Incentive Awards
Grantees that wish to apply for LIHEAP leveraging
incentive funds to be awarded in FY 1998 must submit a
LIHEAP Leveraging Report on their FY 1997 leveraging
activities to OCS by November 30, 1997. The reports must
be postmarked or hand-delivered to OCS by this date, or
they will not be accepted. (Note: Because November 30
is on a Sunday, we will accept leveraging reports
postmarked
December 1, 1997).
The reports should cover only leveraged
resources/benefits that were provided to low income
households in FY 1997. FY 1997 leveraging activities
were to be carried out under 45 CFR 96.87 of the final
rule published May 1, 1995.
The attached Leveraging Report form is the same one that
was used for FY 1996 reports.
The FY 1998 HHS appropriations law includes funding of
$25,000,000 for the LIHEAP leveraging incentive program
and Residential Energy Assistance Challenge (REACH)
program. The LIHEAP statute directs that REACH funding
be "not more than 25 percent" of the amount appropriated
for the leveraging incentive program. We expect that FY
1998 leveraging incentive awards will total $18,750,000
(75% of $25,000,000) and FY 1998 REACH awards will total
$6,250,000 (25% of $25,000,000).
Leveraging Report Forms
The LIHEAP Leveraging Report consists of two parts. Part
1, the Resource/Benefit Description Pages, is a two-page
form that is to be completed for each separate leveraged
resource that a grantee proposes to count for this base
period. It requests information that will enable HHS to
determine whether each resource meets the requirements of
the LIHEAP statute and the May 1995 final rule and is
therefore countable. Part 2 of the Leveraging Report, the
Summary Page, is to show the grand totals for all of the
grantee's proposed leveraged resources; it also is to
include a certifying signature by the grantee's chief
executive officer or designee. (If a designee signs, be
sure that OCS has a copy of the delegation of authority.)
Grantees may use their own versions of Part 1 if they use
the same format and wording as the pre-printed form.
They must use HHS's version of Part 2. The forms are
available on diskette for grantees who have WordPerfect
5.1 and soft fonts.
Grantees also may wish to use the Sample Leveraging
Summary Worksheet, to record the financial information
from item 1 of the Resource/Benefit Description Pages for
each resource and to calculate the grand totals to be
entered on the Summary Page. Completing this worksheet
would help ensure that no amounts are omitted or
double-counted and that the calculations are correct.
Applicants for leveraging incentive funds should
carefully read and follow the Instructions for Completing
LIHEAP Leveraging Report Forms. They also should consult
section 96.87 of the May 1995 final rule and the part of
the final rule's preamble that deals with the leveraging
incentive program.
We ask that grantees ensure that their Leveraging Reports
are complete and accurate before they submit them, in
order to speed up the review and award process for
everyone. Be sure that all submitted resources/benefits
meet the requirements of the LIHEAP statute and
regulations and were provided to low income households
between October 1, 1996, and September 30, 1997.
Re-check the mathematical calculations. Enter the
numbers (other than 0) in items 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E of the
Resource/Benefit Description Pages, and on the Summary
Page, as whole numbers rounded to the nearest whole
dollar, or rounded to the nearest multiple of 10 or 100.
In some of the Leveraging Reports for prior fiscal years,
states' local administering agencies completed the
Resource/Benefit Description Pages for activities taking
place in their areas. The quality of the reporting
varied significantly among the local agencies. If a
state uses this process, it should review the forms
before submitting them to OCS and ensure that all items
are complete and accurate, that the activities took place
during the proper base period and meet the requirements
of the statute and regulations, and that the state (not
the local agency) is shown as the LIHEAP grantee. The
resources should be numbered sequentially for the state
as a whole, rather than starting over with #1 for each
local agency.
Leveraging Requirements
In order to count under the leveraging incentive program,
a resource/benefit must meet all of the requirements of
45 CFR 96.87(d)(1) and at least one of the three
criteria/requirements of 45 CFR 96.87(d)(2) in the May
1995 final rule. To meet criterion (i) of section
96.87(d)(2), the grantee's LIHEAP program, at the central
and/or local agency level, must have a substantive role in
developing and/or acquiring the resource/benefits from
energy vendors through negotiation, regulation, and/or
competitive bid. Only resources obtained from energy
vendors, e.g., utility companies or delivered fuel
vendors, may be counted under criterion (i).
To meet criterion (ii) of section 96.87(d)(2), the
grantee must appropriate or mandate the resource/benefits
for distribution to low income households through (within
or as a part of) its LIHEAP program, in accordance with
the LIHEAP statute and regulations and the grantee's
LIHEAP plan and program policies that were in effect
during this base period. In other words, the benefit
from the resource is a part of a household's LIHEAP
benefit, not an additional benefit that is not part of
the LIHEAP program. Under this criterion, for example, a
grantee could not count assistance with cooling costs or
purchase of fans if the plan did not include these
activities for the regular LIHEAP program. Benefits that
supplement LIHEAP benefits that were inadequate would not
count under criterion (ii). Grantees should look to
criterion (iii) for such resources.
To meet criterion (iii) of section 96.87(d)(2), the
grantee must appropriate or mandate the resource/benefits
for distribution to low income households as described in
its LIHEAP plan, as a supplement and/or alternative to
its LIHEAP program, integrated and coordinated with its
LIHEAP program, but outside (not through, within, or as a
part of) its LIHEAP program. Under this criterion, the
resource must meet at least 1 of 8 listed conditions to
demonstrate that it is integrated and coordinated with
the grantee's LIHEAP program. A single leveraged
resource/benefit cannot be counted under both criterion
(ii) and criterion (iii)--because a single
resource/benefit cannot be provided both through
(criterion (ii)) and outside (criterion (iii)) the
grantee's LIHEAP program.
To be countable under criterion (ii) of section
96.87(d)(2), resources/benefits provided to low income
households in FY 1997 must be covered under the grantee's
FY 1997 LIHEAP plan, although they do not necessarily
have to be mentioned by name in the plan. For
resources/benefits to be countable under criterion (iii)
of section 96.87(d)(2), the grantee's FY 1997 LIHEAP plan
must identify and describe the resources/benefits, their
source(s), and their integration/coordination with the
LIHEAP program. Any amendments to FY 1997 LIHEAP plans
to incorporate leveraged resources/benefits that were
provided to low income households in FY 1997 must be made
by September 30, 1997, the last day of the base period;
these amendments must be post-marked or hand-delivered to
OCS by this date.
Submission of Leveraging Reports
Grantees should submit the original of the completed
LIHEAP Leveraging Report to OCS. We do not need
additional copies. Grantees should be sure to keep
copies for their own files. The completed forms should
be sent to:
Janet M. Fox, Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services, ACF, HHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
HHS may require additional documentation and/or
clarification as it determines necessary to verify
information in a grantee's Leveraging Report, to
determine whether a leveraged resource is countable,
and/or to determine the net valuation of a resource. If
that is the case, your LIHEAP program analyst will
contact you during the review of the leveraging reports
to request that information.
INQUIRIES: Jan Fox (202-401-9351), Linda Hill (202-401-9356), Ann
Bowker (202-401-5308), or your LIHEAP program analyst.
ATTACHMENTS: LIHEAP Leveraging Report Form, Parts 1 and 2 (Form No.
ACF-119, OMB Clearance No. 0970-0121, expiration date
February 28, 2000);
a Sample Leveraging Summary Worksheet; and
Instructions for Completing LIHEAP Leveraging Report
Forms.
_______________/s____________
Janet M. Fox
Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services
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