Language Assistance Demonstration Projects Grant Program

The summary for the Language Assistance Demonstration Projects Grant Program Federal Grant is detailed below. It contains information such as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number, who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, important deadlines, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed in the Grant Announcement Contact section. If these sections are incomplete, please visit the website of the government agency that is offering this grant.


	Federal Grant Title:	Language Assistance Demonstration Projects Grant Program
	CFDA Number:	20.514
	CFDA Description:	Transit Planning and Research
	Federal Agency Name:	DOT Federal Transit Administration
	Category of Funding Activity:	Transportation
	Category Explanation:	Information not provided
	Opportunity Category:	Discretionary
	Funding Opportunity Number:	DOT-FTA-LANG
	Document Type:	Modification to Previous Grants Notice
	Funding Instrument Type:	Grant
	Posted Date:	Jun 02, 2006
	Creation Date:	Jun 05, 2006
	Original Closing Date for Applications:	Aug 07, 2006
	Current Closing Date for Applications:	Information not provided
	Archive Date:	Sep 06, 2006
	Expected Number of Awards:	3
	Estimated Total Program Funding:	$245,000
	Federal Grant Award Ceiling:	$500,000
	Federal Grant Award Floor:	$50,000
	Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:	No

Applicants Eligible for this Grant: Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Additional Information on Eligibility: Transit agencies, State Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations.
Grant Description: SUMMARY:This solicitation is for proposals from transit agencies, State Departments of Transportation (State DOTs), or Metropolitan Transportation Organizations (MPOs) for up to three cooperative agreements to demonstrate lnguage assistance programs for limited English proficient (LEP) Persons under the Transportation Equity Research Program (TERP). The major goal of the TERP is for research and demonstration activities that focus on the impacts that transportation planning, investment, and operations have on low-income and minority populations that are transit dependent. These cooperative agreements are a four-year award. The total available funding for the first year is for $245,000. Subsequent funding is authorized at $250,000 per year in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEAU-LU); actual funding will be based on annual appropriations.BACKGROUNDAccording to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 10 million people reported that they do not speak English at all, or do not speak English well. The number of persons reporting that they do not speak English at all or do not speak English well grew by 65 percent from 1990 to 2000. Among limited English speakers, Spanish is the language most frequently spoken, followed by Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin), Vietnamese, and Korean. For many LEP persons, public transit is a key means of achieving mobility. According to the 2000 Census, more than 11 percent of LEP persons aged 16 years and over, reported use of public transit as their primary means of transportation to work, compared with about four percent of English speakers.Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that "no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." (42 U.S.C § 2000d). The DOT Title VI regulations prohibit intentional discrimination as well as policies and administrative activities that have the effect of discriminating against persons on the basis of race, color, and national origin. While there is not always a direct relationship between an individuals language and national origin, language often serves as an identifier of national origin. Recipients who fail to remove language barriers to LEP persons may deny these persons vital access to programs or activities and risk violating Title VIs provision against national origin discrimination. OBJECTIVES The proposed activities will: . Fulfill the purpose of the transportation equity earmark at Section 3046(a)(3) to conduct "research and demonstration activities that focus on the impacts that transportation planning, investment, and operations have on low-income and minority populations," and to "develop strategies to advance economic and community development in low-income and minority communities." People with LEP may also be members of minority groups and have low-incomes. Language assistance in transportation helps these individuals access to education, employment, health care, and other services that advance economic and community development. . Enforce Title VIs prohibition against national origin discrimination by eliminating barriers to meaningful communication with LEP individuals and providing necessary services equivalent to those provided to people who are fully English proficient.. Provide additional assistance to grantees to implement LEP programs and services and create a better understanding of the effects and costs of language access services.. Increase awareness in LEP communities about services available, which in turn will increase the effectiveness, impact and utilization of the materials and services provided. . Create a more favorable impression of transit and LEP services amongst grantees and transit users, particularly in LEP communities.. Promote the Federal Transit Administrations strategic goal of increasing ridership and making transit the mode of choice in America. TASKSIn the performance of this cooperative agreement, the recipient should accomplish the following tasks to develop model language access programs consistent with the procedures in the DOT LEP guidance. Recipients of the LEP grants will be required to perform the following five activities: 1) Identify LEP Individuals in the recipients jurisdiction that need language assistance. Recipients should conduct an assessment of the number or proportion of LEP individuals eligible to be served or encountered and the frequency of encounters between LEP individuals and the services offered by the recipient. Ways to assess language needs include identifying the non-English languages used in communities affected by the recipient, estimating how many people speak each language, where they live, and how well they are currently accessing services provided to those who are fully English proficient. After identifying LEP communities, recipients should consider any existing barriers to communication with these communities. An approach may be developed to identify geographic areas where LEP communities live using existing resources such as census data, data from local organizations and community groups, faith-based groups that provide services in languages other than English, immigrant aid organizations, state refugee coordinators, non-English media outlets, and school district LEP statistics. 2) Prepare a Language Assistance Plan An effective LEP plan would likely include information about the ways in which language assistance will be provided. For instance, recipients may want to include information on at least the following:. Types of language services available.. How recipient staff can obtain those services.. How to respond to LEP callers.. How to respond to written communications from LEP persons.. How to respond to LEP individuals who have in-person contact with recipient staff. . How to ensure competency of interpreters and translation services.3) Conduct Staff Training Staff members should know their obligations to provide meaningful access to information and services for LEP persons, and all employees in public contact positions should be properly trained. An effective LEP plan would likely include training to ensure that staff know about LEP policies and procedures and that staff having contact with the public (or those in a recipient's custody) is trained to work effectively with in-person and telephone interpreters.Recipients have flexibility in deciding the manner in which the training is provided, and the more frequent the contact with LEP persons, the greater the need will be for in-depth training. However, management staff, even if they do not interact regularly with LEP persons, should be fully aware of and understand the plan so they can reinforce its importance and ensure its implementation by staff.4) Provide Notice to LEP PersonsOnce an agency has determined what language services will be provided, recipients must actually provide the necessary services to LEP persons. It is important that the recipient notify LEP persons of services available free of charge. Recipients should provide this notice in languages LEP persons would understand. Examples of notification that recipients should consider include. Posting signs in intake areas and other entry points.. Stating in outreach documents that language services are available from the agency.. Working with community-based organizations and other stakeholders to inform LEP individuals of the recipients' services, including the availability of language assistance services.. Using an automated telephone voicemail attendant or menu system.. Including notices in local newspapers in languages other than English.. Providing notices on non-English-language radio and television stations about the available language assistance services and how to get them.. Providing presentations and/or notices at schools and religious organizations.Recipients have flexibility in deciding the manner in which notification will be provided.The more frequent the contact with LEP persons, the greater the need will be for community outreach. 5) Monitor and Update the LEP PlanRecipients should, where appropriate, have a process for determining, on an ongoing basis, whether new documents, programs, services, and activities need to be made accessible for LEP individuals, and they may want to provide notice of any changes in services to the LEP public and to employees.In addition, recipients should consider whether changes in demographics, types of services, or other needs require annual reevaluation of their LEP plan. Less frequent reevaluation may be more appropriate where demographics, services, and needs are more static. One good way to evaluate the LEP plan is to seek feedback from the community.In their reviews, recipients may want to consider assessing changes in:. Current LEP populations in the service area or population affected or encountered.. Frequency of encounters with LEP language groups.. Nature and importance of activities to LEP persons.. Availability of resources, including technological advances and sources of additional resources, and the costs imposed.. Whether existing assistance is meeting the needs of LEP persons.. Whether staff knows and understands the LEP plan and how to implement it.. Whether identified sources for assistance are still available and viable.In addition to these five elements, effective plans set clear goals, management accountability, and opportunities for community input and planning throughout the process.AWARD INFORMATIONFTA will fund up to three cooperative agreements for a four-year award. Funding for each cooperative agreement under this program will range from $50,000 to $500,000. The total available funding for the first year is for $245,000. Subsequent funding is authorized at two $250,000 per year in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEAU-LU); actual funding will be based on annual appropriations. FTA grantees with existing FTA projects are eligible to compete for this competitive cooperative agreement. The FTA will participate in activities by attending review meetings, commenting on technical reports, maintaining frequent contact with the project manager and approving key decisions and activities any redirecting activities if needed.Federal transit funds are available for research projects at up to 100 percent of the project cost. However, cost sharing will be an evaluation criterion.
Link to Full Grant Announcement: Announcement
http://www.fta.dot.gov/16734_18357_ENG_HTML.htm
Grant Announcement Contact: Mr. Nick Coates
Equal Opportunity Specialist
FTA Office of Civil Rights
400 7th Street SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-0808
Nicholas.Coates@dot.gov
Nicholas.Coates@dot.gov Program Contact
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