What Federal Program Funds Can be Included in the Pilots?

Section 526(b)(2) of the Act states that pilots will “involve Federal programs targeted on disconnected youth, or designed to prevent youth from disconnecting from school or work, that provide education, training, employment, and other related social services.” Because FY 2014 pilots will be chosen at the end of the fiscal year, the Federal programs that can contribute funds (beyond start-up money attached to the solicitation) to pilots may be limited. By the time that pilots are designated, many grants will already have been awarded and funds have made their way down to grantees or the community level.

However, Federal agencies are exploring ways to allow partnerships to include funds that they have already received under the Act in their pilots. In addition to the competitive funds attached to the pilot solicitation, agencies are exploring how to make it possible for pilots to leverage competitive grant awards where FY 2014 solicitations have yet to be released. For competitive grant programs that have already released solicitations, awards are less likely to be eligible for inclusion in FY 2014 pilots. If the specific context or timing of a program prevent it from contributing fiscal year 2014 appropriations to a pilot, it is still possible that the program’s fiscal year 2015 funds could be blended if Congress provides that authority.

If Congress approves the President’s 2015 Budget request to extend the pilot authority in future years, additional programs will be candidates for inclusion in pilots that are approved for 2014 as well as new pilots that would begin in 2015. Federal agencies would design a process for pilots designated in 2014 to propose changes, such as incorporating additional programs.

Specific information on programs that are strong candidates for consideration in a fiscal year 2014 pilot will be released with the solicitation.

Key questions for stakeholders:

• Will the timeline outlined in this paper allow you to effectively utilize fiscal year 2014 funds in your pilots?
• Could you improve the effectiveness of a 2014 pilot by adding additional programs to your pilot in future years?