Grants Part III Managing Subgrants

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Grants Part IIIManaging Subgrants

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Two Areas of Management Responsibility

• Program Management
• Fiscal Management

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Think Your Programs Process Through

• Program Goals, Policies and Issues
• Make sure the project is completed
• Financial Policies, Systems and Processes
• Make sure the funds were spent apropriately

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Know What FEMA Requires

• State HMGP Administrative Plan documents the
  process used to administer the Hazard Mitigation
  Grant Program
• FEMA Grant Management Training
• New guidance from other Department of Homeland
  Security grants

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Know What Your State Wants

• State Hazard Mitigation Plan and other policy
• State financial management policies
• Available resources and systems (state and
  federal)

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Criteria for Administrative Plan

• For the HMGP State Administrative Plan there are
  16 FEMA required elements.
• Reference Table in Guidebook.

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Financial Procedures

• Need to be defined prior to making grant awards
• Tracking and reimbursing costs (project admin)
• Making advance payments
• Identifying and paying for allowable costs
• Withholds and final payments

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Tracking Applications and Grants Whats
important?

• Applications
• Types of Projects
• Types of Applicants
• Contact Information
• Payment Information
• Open and Closed Projects
• Project Status
• Disasters

• Lock-in (HMGP only)
• Obligations by Project
• Federal Payments
• State Payments
• Match Contributions
• Subgrantee Admin
• Grantee Admin
• Management Costs

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Announcing the Program

• Announcing that funds are available
• Local officials?
• Mailing lists?
• Briefings to elected officials and the press?
• Using the web?
• General public briefings?
• Press releases?

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Grant Application

• Your grant application
• Develop with all phases in mind - announcement to
  close-out
• Will other state agencies need information from
  the subgrantee?
• Format - paper or web based?
• Time frame for submitting back to state?
• Penalty for late submissions?

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Help Subgrantees Stay on Track

• Providing Technical Assistance
• Toll free or hot lines?
• Staff with knowledge to assist?
• Field visits?
• E-mails?
• Q and As posted to web site?

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Reviewing Applications

• Reviewing Applications
• Will you create a database to track all
  applications?
• Will a team review all applications or will you
  review and prioritize?
• The Applicant
• Is the applicant eligible?
• Is the applicant capable?

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Reviewing Applications

• The Project
• Whats the scope?
• Is it a state priority?
• Is it cost-effective?
• Is there a budget with a non-federal match?
• Is it reasonable?
• Is it categorically excluded? Will it require an
  EA or EIS?

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Submitting Applications to FEMA

• Will your State Hazard Mitigation Team
  prioritize?
• Submitting to FEMA
• Entering into NEMIS
• Notifying applicants that were not submitted to
  FEMA - dont delay bad news
• FEMA denials? What is your appeal process?
• Notifying applicants who receive a FEMA award?
• Press releases? Individual letters to mayor?

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Monitoring Subgrantees

• Quarterly Reports
• Purpose - monitor progress/report to FEMA
• Incentives - can withhold payment if not
  submitted
• Format - paper or web based?
• Techniques for Collecting Data
• Site visits - purpose, when/how, what if you find
  something?

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Monitoring Subgrantees

• Getting Paid
• How will a subgrantee require reimbursement?
• Standard state form?
• What type of documentation will you require?
• Keeping track of all payments to subgrantee
  including administrative costs

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Monitoring Subgrantees

• Methods of Monitoring
• Periodic or Quarterly Reports
• Site Visits
• Reviewing Reimbursement Requests
• Problems
• Schedule
• Scope of Work
• Budget
• Loss of the non-federal match - what do you do?

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Monitoring Subgrantees

• Making changes
• Review the same as an application
• Budget increases require B/C
• Schedule within agreed limits of program
• Scope cannot constitute a new project

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Monitoring Subgrantees

• Other remedies
• Suspend payments
• Request Audit
• Terminate the grant
• Terminating a Grant
• State initiated
• FEMA initiated

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Close Outs

• What is required?
• Site visit Reviewing progress paperwork
• Can subgrantee account for all funds expended?
• De-obligating unused funds
• Final payment to subgrantee
• Are you the auditor? No.
• Audits
• Single Audit Act
• Special Audits
• Responding to Audit findings

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Review State Administrative Plans, Applications,
Forms, etc.

• Take this time to either
• 1. Review the State Administrative Plans the
  students brought with them, or
• 2. Take excerpts from good State Administrative
  Plans and review them collectively with the
  class, or
• Pass out and review sample grant applications,
  quarterly reports, request for reimbursement,
  etc.
• Reviewing real-life examples will be more
  effective to the students than simply talking
  about it