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    Family Literacy Direct Service

    ​A – Agencies that get the message that they are not approved for the grant have not completed the necessary steps to get access to the Family Literacy Direct Service grant. Agencies must get access to the grant before completing the directions for creating a Family Literacy Direct Service grant application in eGrants. Instructions for gaining access to the Family Literacy Direct Service grant are in the Grant Requirements section of the Request for Grant Application Guidelines.

     

    A – No, the Family Literacy Direct Service grant cannot be used towards the purchase of an outreach vehicle. The Family Literacy Direct Service grant is specifically to provide four-component family literacy services to eligible families.

    (Full question): I’m looking over the most recent (March 2025) RFA For Family Literacy Direct Service, and comparing it to materials from the 2022 cycle. I noticed that the 2025 RFA document, and the corresponding online forms in eGrants, do NOT have the following sections that appeared in 2022:

    • Demonstrated effectiveness to determine eligibility (where in 2022 we entered the applicant full name and uploaded a spreadsheet file)
    • Comprehensive, 2500-charactger Budget Narrative field
    • Table and 1500-character narrative to identify and justify Family Literacy Outcome Targets (e.g. # of families to be enrolled, # adults who have EFL gains, etc.)

    I wanted to confirm that those sections have intentionally been removed from the application in this cycle.  If this is the case, should we plan to…

    1. Thoroughly describe our past success/effectiveness in the “Past effectiveness in providing family literacy services” section narratives
    2. Make full use of the 750-character explanation sections for each budget section
    3. Include enrollment/service targets in the narratives in the “Program Delivery System” section narratives

    I want to make sure that we are providing all the information needed to not only demonstrate [our agency’s] past effectiveness, but to clearly describe how many people we intend to serve and the amount of funding we therefore will request. If there is a different way this information should be presented or highlighted, can you please advise?

    A – The Division of Adult Education knows that the three identified items are not in the 2025 grant application. That was a deliberate decision. Applicants should answer the questions that are in the current application fully addressing the questions and information in the help buttons.

    (Full question): Policy C.330 effective July 1, 2024, states that "The requirement to administer school readiness assessments (PALS Pre-K and PPVT) is suspended for PY 2024-25. Programs may continue to use the assessments below and enter them in eData following the directions in this policy." Is the requirement still suspended for PY 25-26, or should programs return to administering this assessment, as required?

    A – At this time, the Division of Adult Education anticipates that it will continue to suspend the requirement to administer school readiness assessments for PY 2025-26. 

    (Full question): We have reviewed the Family Literacy Direct Service RGA Guidelines, FAQ, webinar, application, and scoring system and had a question regarding the delivery methods. Are there delivery method minimum requirements? Are fully in-person, hybrid, and hyflex classes scored higher than fully remote and blended classes because of the in-person real-time class sessions? In the scoring summary, we recognize the program delivery system is weighted at 20% and there is a maximum 16 points out of 120 total points.

    A – Eligible participants must be Pennsylvania residents, and the four-component family literacy programs activities that successful applicants provide must be available to Pennsylvania residents who do not have the ability to participate in remote instruction. Therefore, family literacy services under this grant may not be fully remote.

    (Full question) [Our agency] intends to apply for a Family Literacy Direct Service grant. … We have entered most of our budget, but I'm getting a message that the indirect allocation is $0.00. I was under the impression that the indirect rate was 8% for community-based organizations. Please let me know if we are mistaken or if the budget section can allow us to enter an indirect expense amount in the budget. 

    A – The restricted indirect cost rates have been added to the eGrants system.

    A – Grant award notification letters are emailed to the individuals who are authorized grant signatories for contracts as described in the Grant Agreement section of the Family Literacy Direct Service Grant RGA.