(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook). The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Cost Allocation Services (CAS), which is one of three primary cognizant agencies that negotiates indirect cost rate agreements for recipients of National Institutes of Health (NIH) biomedical research awards, is developing a plan for its staff to periodically review its rate-setting guidance and make updates whenever changes are made to applicable regulations, in response to a recent recommendation from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The three cognizant agencies each noted that they are taking various measures to improve internal controls pertaining to the rate-negotiation process.

Sometimes we find it necessary to follow up on a blog post from earlier in the year that warrants further mention. Last March, we posted that the Department of Labor (DOL) was making $338 million in grants available for national organizations to provide critical job training and related services to low-income, older American workers through the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). Now we hear that the agency recently awarded more than $140 million in grants to 19 nonprofit organizations in 14 states under this program.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) The Department of Education (ED), Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) has developed standard operating procedures to improve monitoring of school districts participating in the Rural Education Achievement Program, according the agency’s response to a recent ED Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit.

As I look around my neighborhood, there are pumpkins on almost everyone’s front patio and Halloween decorations are in full force. Leaves are now beginning to fall from the trees in abundance, and the football season is getting closer to its halfway point. These are unmistakable signs that it is now late October. Where has the year gone? What’s in store for the remainder of the year? So many questions.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Federal Grants Management Handbook.) The Department of Education (ED) is developing guidance detailing the responsibilities of state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that they comply with the equitable services provisions under federal programs as they apply to students enrolled in private schools under state voucher and education savings account programs, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently issued its Policy on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Training for NIH Awardees Involved in NIH-funded Clinical Trials, but many research universities fear that the implementation date of the policy — Jan. 1, 2017 — is unrealistic. Anthony P. DeCrappeo, president of the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), which represents numerous research universities and medical centers, last week sent a letter to NIH seeking an extension of the policy implementation date to May 1, 2017.

(The following was excerpted from a recent article in the Single Audit Information Service.) The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to reassess its methods for evaluating Head Start awardee performance to ensure that recipients that receive automatic, noncompetitive renewal of their programs actually merit such renewal, in response to a recent HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit.

Transit agencies receiving federal funding should be aware of new guidance recently issued by the Federal Transit Agency (FTA) pertaining to federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines. FTA generally issues its guidance in the form of a circular.