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Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 SAFER OVERVIEW

Civil Rights Requirements

• Entities that receive grants or other types of financial

assistance from DHS/FEMA must comply with

applicable civil rights authorities.

• When a recipient provides programs and services,

and carries out activities, it cannot discriminate

against the program beneficiaries based on race,

color, national origin (including language), disability,

age, sex, or religion.

NEW! DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool

DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool

Purpose:

• To remind recipients of important civil rights

requirements

• To assist recipients in meeting their obligations

• To connect recipients with resources and technical

assistance as needed to ensure compliance


Implementation:

• Primary recipients will complete the form and submit to DHS

within 30 days of award. Subrecipients are not required to

complete the form.

• Recipients will provide the information once every two years,

not every time a grant is awarded.

• DHS will provide technical assistance and resources to

recipients to address gaps and operationalize requirements.


Required Information:

• Overview of Civil Rights Complaints

• Compliance Reviews (if applicable)

• Responsible Staff

• Nondiscrimination Policy

• Discrimination Complaints Process

• Subrecipient Compliance Plan (if applicable)

• Disability Access and Language Acess Policy & Procedures

Contact Us

For questions or technical assistance on meeting your civil rights

obligations, please contact:

• DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL)

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.dhs.gov/resources-recipients-dhs-

financial-assistance

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.dhs.gov/resources-recipients-dhs-financial-assistance

SAFER Goal

The goal of SAFER is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards

FY 2017 SAFER Funding

• Application opened March 26, 2018 at 8:00am ET

• Application will close on April 27, 2018 at 5:00pm ET

• $345 million available

• Approximately 300 awards

• All awards will be announced by September 30, 2018

SAFER Activities

SAFER is composed of two activities:

• Hiring of Firefighters

– Career, combination, and volunteer fire departments are eligible to apply (interest orgs cannot apply)

• Recruitment and Retention (R&R) of Volunteer Firefighters

– Combination fire departments, volunteer fire departments, and national, state, local,or federally recognized tribal organizations that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters are eligible to apply (career fire departments cannot apply)

• If you want to apply for both activities, you will need to submit twoseparate applications

Recruitment & Retention Category

R & R –Priorities

• The highest priority is to assist departments experiencing a high rate of turnover and with staffing levels significantly below the ideal staffing level required to comply with NFPA 1710 or 1720

• Organizations that currently have the lowest recruitment and retention rates are given a higher consideration for funding

• SAFER grant funds may only be used for volunteer firefighters who are involved with, or trained in, the operations of firefightinand emergency response.

• Review pages 34 – 38 of the FY 2017 SAFER Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

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R & R – Period of Performance (POP)

• Between 12 and 48 months

• 90-day recruitment period after grant is approved for award

• POP automatically starts after the recruitment period

• All grant related purchases and activities must be incurred, received, and completed within the period of performance

• You may start the POP early through an amendment

• Extensions to the POP may be granted if there are unavoidable delays/circumstances

R & R – Eligible Activities and Costs

• Activities/costs must correlate to identified recruitment or retention needs

• Costs are categorized as High, Medium, Low, and Non-Prioritized• Examples of High Priority Costs:

– R&R Coordinator and – Marketing Program

• Examples of Medium Priority Costs: – Stipends– LOSAP

• Examples of Low Priority Costs:– Station duty uniforms– Awards program

R & R – Ineligible Activities and Costs

• Activities/costs already covered under the department operating budget

• Video cameras/recording equipment

• Payments for student loans

• Station internet access/user fees and equipment to install internet

• Fire suppression equipment

Refer to pages 44 – 46 of NOFO

R&R – Request Details

R&R – Request Details Instructions

R & R – Standard Operating Procedures

• All funded activities must be governed by formally adopted Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

– On department letterhead– Signed by authorizing official (chief, board of directors, etc.)

• At a minimum, SOPs should specify who qualifies for each of the incentives, specific requirements for earning the incentives, and the disposition of the awarded incentives if an individual fails to fulfill the stipulations

• Copies of SOPs will be required before funds will be reimbursed

R & R – Hiring Policies and Procedures

• If you will be hiring a Recruitment and Retention Coordinator, Program Manager, Grant Administrator, or any employee who will be receiving a salary and/or benefits from SAFER grant funds, the employee must be appointed, or hired, in the same manner in which the department/organization would have hired an employee whose salary is paid with non-federal funds

• You must have documented hiring policies and procedures before hiring the position

• Copies of your hiring policies and procedures will be required before funds will be reimbursed

R & R – Procurement

• You must have a written procurement policy in place

• All procurement activity must be conducted in accordance with Federal Procurement Standards at 2 C.F.R. § 200.317 – 200.326

• You must maintain written standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and actions of employees engaged in the selection, award, and administration of contracts

• You must provide full and open competition

• You must verify that your contractors are not suspended or debarred

• We highly recommend that you do not enter into any contracts prior to the start date of the grant period of performance

• Refer to pages 50 – 54 in the NOFO

R&R - Regional Requests

• Fire departments may act as a “host applicant” and apply for grant that will have a direct regional impact or local benefit beyond the immediate boundaries of the applicant’s first-due response area:– One application can support both the department’s own internal needs

and the regional initiative

– Must include a list of all participating fire departments, including a point of contact and phone number for each department

• Prior to submitting application, host must execute a letter of understanding or MOU with all partners that outlines responsibilities and asset distribution

R & R - Interest Organizations

• National, State, Local, or Federally Recognized Tribal Organizations that Represent the Interests of Volunteer Firefighters:

– Organizations that support or represent the interests of firefighters ifront of legislative bodies at the local, state, tribal, and federal level. organizations include, but are not limited to, state or local firefighter and/or fire chiefs’ associations, volunteer firefighter relief organizatioand associations

• Intended to create an aggregate increase in the number of trained, certified, and competent firefighters capable of safelresponding to emergencies on behalf of the fire departmentsbeing represented

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R&R – Minimum Budget Requirement

• At the time of application, the applicant’s budget for fire-related programs and emergency response must not be below 80 percent of the applicant’s average funding level in the 3 years prior to November 24, 2003– What was your department's operating budget (e.g., personnel,

maintenance of apparatus, equipment, and facilities; utility costs; purchasing expendable items, etc.) for 2001, 2002, and 2003 fiscal years?

Applicants experiencing economic hardship may apply for a waiver of this requirement

•

R & R – Economic Hardship Waiver

• Applicants experiencing economic hardship may apply to waive or reduce the Minimum Budget Requirement

• Must indicate your interest in a waiver within the application and we will provide you with more instructions about how to submit the waiver

• Read the Information Bulletin (IB) 427 posted to: https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/160035

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/160035

Application Scoring

• PHASE 1: Computer will score all complete and eligible applications– Answers to activity-specific questions as well as information submitted

under the Department Characteristics section of the application will determine an application’s standing relative to stated priorities

– Applications most consistent with the SAFER grant funding priorities score higher in the automated (pre-score) evaluation

– Phase 1 is 30% of total score

• PHASE 2: Panel of peer reviewers score the Narrative Statement and make funding recommendations– Establish a link between the activities being requested and your

department’s needs– Phase is 70% of total score

Application Scoring (continued)

• Technical Review

– FEMA conducts technical reviews of the highest-scoring applications, including evaluation of project budgets to determine if costs are reasonable

• Referral for Award

– Applications are rank-ordered starting with the highest-scoring application and combined with the statutory allocation requirements

– Applications are sent to FEMA award administration, which conducts additional review

How to Apply

• Submit the application in the eGrants System at https://portal.fema.gov– Use the same username and password that you used for any Assistance to

Firefighters Grant Programs (AFGP) applications previously submitted• If you are not sure, call the Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960. • Do NOT create a new username.• Passwords cannot contain special characters (@, !, #, etc.)

– You will need to change your password if it contains special characters

• If your username has the @ symbol, you may have issues applying. Contact the help desk if you experience issues

• Access eGrants only through Internet Explorer (IE 6 or higher)

• Have only one browser tab open when entering information

https://portal.fema.gov/

Application Tips

• Do not wait!

• Double and triple check information being submitted

– Work with finance or other departments in your organization to ensure all facts and figures are accurate throughout the entire application

– If you included any "filler" or placeholder text while filling out your application, update the application fields with your final and complete answers

– Once the application has been submitted, it cannot be changed

• Register or update your SAM registration at http://www.sam.gov– SAM registration is only active for one year and must be renewed annually

– Applications cannot be awarded if SAM is not active

http://www.sam.gov/

Application Tips

• Review FY 2017 SAFER Technical Assistance Tools – Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)– Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)– Applicant Checklist– Request Details Instructions

• Use the Self-Evaluation Sheets – Developed to help you understand the criteria that you must address in

your Narrative Statement– The Peer Reviewers will use these to score your application



Application Resources

• SAFER Program Help Desk – 1-866-274-0960 or via email at [email protected]

– Help Desk is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET

• SAFER Program Officers– [email protected] 202-786-0929

– [email protected] 202-212-7314












QUESTIONS?

Questions?

Thank you!

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