In addition to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contract responsibilities, award recipients must also observe the following requirements.
Maintain compliance outlined in the assurances.
All project activities must occur within the contract period identified in the contract. Project costs and obligations incurred prior to or beyond the contract period will NOT be reimbursed. This includes subscription costs for months outside of the grant period.
Equipment (2 CFR 200.439) has an acquisition cost that equals or exceeds $5,000 per unit and is an article of nonexpendable, tangible property having a useful life of more than one year. Prior approval must be requested by using the Equipment - $5000 Request for Approval form.
Maintain compliance with the executive order that every worker has a safe and healthy work environment, and the protections afforded them through labor laws.
Be aware of the federal single audit requirement.
A single audit is an entity-wide financial audit consisting of two main parts:
Under provision of the single Audit Act of 1994, as amended, and all rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the Act (2 CFR §200.501[Audit Requirements]), an organization that expends $750,000 or more of federal awards in their fiscal year are required to have a single audit. Pass-through agencies and the recipients of pass-through funds must be especially cognizant of the $750,000 threshold.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requires that information on federal awards (grants and contracts) be available to the public by a single searchable website, www.USASpending.gov.
As required by the FFATA, all federal award recipients must complete an FFATA form. This form requires a UEI number and the reporting of total compensation for each of the applicant’s five most highly compensated staff for the preceding completed fiscal year, if the following criteria are true:
More than 80 percent of the applicant’s annual gross revenues are from the federal government, and those revenues are greater than $25 million annually; and
Compensation information is not already available through reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Make sure you have completed photo release forms from anyone captured in images associated with a grant funded activity. Keep these forms close at hand will make the process pain free. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) photo release form should be used if your organization does not have one.
If applicable to the grant, all public library, library system, and school award recipients must comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (20 U.S.C. § 9134(f)(1) et seq).
Have a plan to inventory and track equipment items purchased under this grant. The records should include the equipment description, date of purchase, serial number, the location of the equipment, and purchase price. Equipment should be tagged to identify the source of funds used for the purchase and cross-referenced on the Record of Equipment form.
Have a written plan to dispose of equipment items in compliance with federal Uniform Administrative Requirements for grants.
Local funds (match) and in-kind donations or services are subject to the same laws, rules, and regulations that govern federal and state funds.
Agree to retain records for three years, which adequately support that the grant funds were properly used. Multi-year contracts must retain records at least five years after the final renewal contract ends. Please note that records may be required for longer periods of time in the event of an audit.
Submit all required reports as outlined on or before posted due dates, in order to stay eligible for future grant opportunities.
Maintain active throughout the award and reporting period. Track the entity information expiration date at SAM.gov.
Agree to share the results of their projects with other libraries and statewide. All grant recipients are expected to conduct an evaluation of their project that includes outcomes. Some grant recipients may be selected for project review by an outside evaluator.
If any subcontractor is employed to execute any part of project activities, the subcontractor shall be informed of and agree to the Office of Commonwealth Libraries’ (OCL) copyright claims.
Administer federal survey questions for activities which require them.
After the contract ends, unexpended or unobligated funds shall be returned by check made payable to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and sent to the Administration and Data Unit at:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Office of Commonwealth Libraries
Attn: Bureau of Library Development
607 South Drive
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0600
The check must accompany the final financial report.