Health Benefits

Grant Providers

Successful grant applicants will receive a Notice of Award (NoA) signed and dated by the VA’s Veterans Transportation Program (VTP) Office. The NoA will include the amount of the award and other information. The award will also include a statement of standard terms and conditions. Special requirements could apply to awards based on the particular circumstances or deficiencies identified in applications by the review panel.

Notice of Award

The NoA is the legal document issued by the VTP Office to notify the awardee that an award has been made, and funds may be requested. The NoA will be sent through the U.S. Postal Service to the awardee as listed on SF424 (Application for Federal Assistance)

These $50,000 grants will support Veterans’ transportation programs in counties with fewer than seven people per square mile. Many highly rural areas are found in the western and southwestern United States, but at least half of the states have one or more highly rural areas. Interested applicants must apply through www.grants.gov once the Notice of Funding Availability is published.

Grant Agreements

After an applicant is selected for a grant in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 17.700-17.730, VA will draft a grant agreement to be executed by VA and the grantee. Upon execution of the grant agreement, VA will obligate the approved amount. The grant agreement will provide that:

• The grantee must operate the program within the provisions of this section and the grant application.
• If a grantee’s application identified a sub-recipient, such sub-recipient must operate the program within the provisions of this section and the grant application.
• If a grantee’s application identified that funds will be used to procure or operate vehicles to directly provide transportation services, the following requirements must be met:
  1. Title to the vehicles must vest solely in the grantee, or with leased vehicles in an identified lender
  2. The grantee must, at a minimum, provide motor vehicle liability insurance for the vehicles to the same extent they would insure vehicles procured with their own funds.
  3. All vehicle operators must be licensed in a U.S. State or Territory to operate such vehicles.
  4. Vehicles must be safe and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
  5. Vehicles must be operated in accordance with applicable Department of Transportation regulations concerning transit requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

 (Authority: Pub. L. 111-163, 38 U.S.C. 501)

Progress Reports

Awardees must agree to cooperate with any federal evaluation of the program and provide required quarterly, semiannual (every six months), annual and final (at the end of the grant) reports in a form prescribed by VTP. Reports will be submitted electronically. These reports will outline how grant funds were used, describe program progress and describe any barriers and measurable outcomes.

Program Monitoring

The Veterans Transportation Program (VTP) staff will monitor the program. All awardees will be required to cooperate in providing the necessary data elements to VTP. Monitoring ensures program requirements are met by tracking performance and providing for early detection of quality problems. Monitoring may include: monitoring personnel, procurement and property; collecting and analyzing data; assessing quality of care; assessing costs and utilization; and assisting with awardee implementation. Site visit monitoring will include the above, in addition to safety assessments and driver’s license and vehicle insurance checks.

Additional Requirements

Applicants selected for awards must agree to comply with additional legal requirements upon accepting the award, as applicable among the bulleted listing provided below. VA strongly encourages applicants to review the information pertaining to these additional requirements before applying.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 38 U.S.C. 501, 2 CFR part 200, and as noted in specific sections.

To deliver on the promise of a 21st-Century government that is more efficient, effective and transparent, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has streamlined the Federal government's guidance on Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal awards.

This final guidance supersedes and streamlines requirements from OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-110, and A-122 (which have been placed in OMB guidances); Circulars A-89, A-102, and A-133; and the guidance in Circular A-50 on Single Audit Act follow-up. Future reform efforts may eventually seek to incorporate the Cost Principles for Hospitals in Department of Health and Human Services regulations. Copies of the OMB Circulars that are superseded by this guidance are available on OMB's Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_default/. The final guidance consolidates the guidance previously contained in the aforementioned citations into a streamlined format that aims to improve both the clarity and accessibility. This final guidance is located in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

OMB Circulars/Code of Federal Regulations

To help facilitate the transition to the new grant requirements, the Council on Financial Assistance Reform has provided training slides for implementation.

Links to the Training Webcast Presentation Slides
COFAR Training Administrative Requirements 1-27-14 Slides
COFAR Training Cost Principles 1-27-14 Slides
COFAR Training Audit Requirements 1-27-14 Slides

All awardees must comply with the below legal requirements, as applicable:

• All grantees and identified subrecipients must operate vehicles in accordance with applicable Department of Transportation regulations concerning transit requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Access to Records (2 CFR Part 215 & A-102)
• Awarding Agency Reporting Requirements (A-102)
• Faith-Based and Other Community Organizations
• Confidentiality
• Davis-Bacon Act (2 CFR Part 215)
• Debarment and Suspension (2 CFR Part 215 & A-102)   
• Equal Employment Opportunity (2 CFR Part 215)
• Energy Policy and Conversation Act (A-102)
• Anti-Lobbying Act
• Financial and Government Audit Requirements
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• VA Information Technology Standards (if applicable)
• Single Point of Contact Review
• Non-Supplanting of State or Local Funds
• Criminal Penalty for False Statements
• Suspension or Termination of Funding
• Nonprofit Organizations
• For-profit Organizations
• Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
• Records Retention Requirements (A-102)
• Rights in Intellectual Property
• Rights to Inventions (2 CFR Part 215 & A-102)
• Termination (A-102)
• Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006
• Awards in Excess of $5,000,000 – Federal Taxes Certification Requirement
• Active SAM Registration (formerly CCR)

*Links may take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the external websites.

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