Instructions for the FY24 Uniform Grant Agreement

The Uniform Grant Agreement (UGA) provides State of Illinois (State) grantmaking agencies subject to GATA with a uniform template for grant agreements that complies with the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA). State grantmaking agencies have used a uniform template for grant agreements since state fiscal year 2017. Likewise, the Uniform Grant Amendment provides State agencies with a uniform template for amending grant agreements to continue compliance with GATA. The UGA and the Uniform Grant Amendment are designed to comply with 2 CFR 200, federal Uniform Guidance, and the GATA statute, 30 ILCS 708.

In early fiscal year 2023, a team of attorneys from grantmaking agencies, as well as attorneys from the Governor's Office of Management and Budget and representatives from the grantee community (UGA Workgroup) undertook an extensive rewrite of the agreement with the goal of making the document clearer, more concise, and more in line with other State contract templates. The UGA Workgroup made updates to the Uniform Grant Amendment for consistency.

This guide will walk through each section of the agreement and explain requirements for grantors and grantees. In accordance with GATA Administrative Rules (44 Ill. Admin. Code 7000), all State grantmaking agencies subject to GATA (agencies) are expected to follow these guidelines.

Please contact your agency's Chief Accountability Officer or the Grant Accountability and Transparency Unit (GATU) at OMB.GATA@illinois.gov for UGA technical assistance. Please note, GATU cannot draft or approve draft grant agreements. Per Section 60(b) of GATA, GATU has "no power or authority regarding the approval, disapproval, management, or oversight of grants entered into or awarded by a State agency or by a public institution of higher education." 30 ILCS 708/60.

Introduction

Caption and Introductory Paragraph: Please add the name of the grantor and the grantee in the appropriate blanks.

Table of Contents: This section is new for fiscal year 2024.

Signature Page: The signature page has been moved to the front of the agreement. Please fill in the blank spaces as appropriate. An optional second grantee approver signature block was added for fiscal year 2024 for those grantees that want to use it.

Parts One, Two, and Three

Part One is standard boilerplate applicable to all State-issued Awards. It contains definitions of the words and

phrases used throughout the agreement and the uniform requirements applicable to all State-issued Awards.

State agencies cannot make edits to the boilerplate language in Part One.

Blank Spaces: All blank spaces in Part One should be completed

Amount of Agreement (Paragraph 2.2): Please fill in the amount of the agreement at the time the agreement is executed. Any increase or decrease of the award amount will require an amendment to the agreement, signed by both parties. Similarly, changes in the funding source will require an amendment.

UEI/DUNS Number: On April 4, 2022, the federal government began using the Unique Entity ID (UEI) assigned by Sam.gov in lieu of DUNS numbers. As of fiscal year 2024, the UEI should be used to identify the grantee in Part One of the grant agreement.

Note: The UGA Workgroup made extensive revisions to the format of Part One for fiscal year 2024. These instructions include 2 exhibits: 1) a red-line version of the fiscal year 2023 UGA for comparison to the fiscal year 2024 UGA; and 2) a crosswalk highlighting key changes between the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 UGAs. The crosswalk document also notes provisions that were removed from Part One, which agencies may need to add to Parts Two or Three, as applicable. Agencies are encouraged to review Part One in its entirety and the crosswalk document before providing the agreement to grantees.

Notable changes include:

Part Two should contain agency-specific requirements for grants.

Part Three should contain grant (or program) specific requirements. This section should identify all State and federal rules or regulations applicable to the grant (or program).

Notes:

• Agencies are not required to complete Part Two or Part Three. These parts may be left blank, if an agency considers the information contained elsewhere in the agreement sufficient.
• Agencies can modify or add to the requirements listed in Part One by adding language in Part Two or Part Three. For example, Paragraph 4.3 states:
  • 4.3.  Return of Grant Funds. Grantee must liquidate all Obligations incurred under the Award within forty-five (45) days of the end of the Period of Performance, or in the case of capital improvement Awards, within forty-five (45) days of the end of the time period the Grant Funds are available for expenditure or obligation, unless Grantor permits a longer period in PART TWO or PART THREE. Uniform Grant Agreement, FY23.

If agency policy or federal program regulations require a longer liquidation period, an agency could identify the longer period in Part Two or Part Three, respectively.

Part One Exhibits

Part One includes Exhibits A-E. All Exhibits must be completed for each State-issued Award. Below are general overviews and guidelines for each exhibit. Please note, this guide does not provide an exhaustive list of contents for each exhibit.

1. Exhibit A - Project Description

• Provide a comprehensive description of the core functions, activities, tasks, or products associated with the UGA.
• The language should be clear and specific.
• Do not simply reiterate the program objective or goal without providing further detail.
• Include the Federal Award description, if applicable.

Examples:

The program area is defined as [geographic or county information] and will include the following services:

1. Provide a full-day comprehensive Head Start Child development program to eligible children ages 6 weeks to 6 years from migrant and seasonal farm worker families (program will run for 95 days from July 2, 20XX to October 31, 20XX, and June 8, 20XX to June 30, 20XX)
2. Collection of allowable non-federal share contributions (cash or in-kind donations)
3. Maintain compliance with Illinois Migrant and Seasonal Head Start policies and procedures

2. Exhibit B - Deliverables and Milestones

Deliverables

• All services, goods, products, work product, data, items, materials and property to be created, developed, produced, delivered, performed, or provided by or on behalf of, or made available through, the grantee (or any agent, subgrantee) in connection with the UGA.
• Specific and targeted results expected from the activities outlined in Exhibit A, serves as a checklist of what is to be accomplished throughout the term of the agreement.
• Clear, objective, and measurable to determine whether the grantee has satisfied all obligations.

Milestones

• Important events that must occur at specific points throughout the term to effectively achieve goals.
• Include timelines, dates, or other measurements where appropriate.

Examples:

1. Enroll 56 eligible children ages 6 weeks to 6 years from migrant and seasonal farm-workers families for 95 days from July 2, 20XX to October 31, 20XX, and reopening on June 8, 20XX and June 30, 20XX.
2. Collect $15,000 in allowable non-federal share contributions (cash or in-kind donations) each quarter.
3. Complete developmental assessments for all children enrolled more than 30 days within 60 days of enrollment.
4. Complete medical and dental assessments for all children enrolled more than 30 days within 60 days of enrollment.
5. Hold parent committee meetings on a monthly basis.
6. Hold policy committee meetings on a monthly basis.

3. Exhibit C - Contact Information (Note: The prior UGA's Exhibit C-Payment--has been removed. Payment detail is included in Article II, Paragraph 2.3.)

• Identify and list contact information for: (a) official grant notifications; (b) grantee payment address (if different than the address for official notifications); and (c) grant administration information.
• Official grant notification contacts are the individuals authorized to commit the resources of the organization and take authoritative action when issues of grant compliance occur (e.g., Director/Secretary or General Counsel for the grantor and CEO/CFO/COO/General Counsel for the grantee).
• Grant administration contacts are the individuals responsible for day-to-day work on the grant.
• Grantees should also provide a payment address, as applicable.

Exhibit D - Performance Measures and Standards (Note: Performance Measures and Performance Standards are now combined into a single Exhibit D instead of two separate exhibits.)

Performance Measures

• Outlines performance-related reporting requirements and describes the performance measures to be evaluated throughout the grant term. Identifies data points that the grantee must provide, includes method and timeframe for submitting periodic performance reports. Grantees will use the Periodic Performance Reporting (PPR) template referenced in Part One unless an exception has been authorized.
• When appropriate, include outcome measures, which represent the ultimate impact on the client, and output measures, which measure the grantee's activities.
• If a grant program includes a logic model, outcome metrics must align with the outcomes listed in the logic model.
• State the frequency of reporting (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually), the method for completing and submitting the PPR, and the data fields to be reported for purposes of performance.

Examples:

1. # of children enrolled with associated demographic information.
2. # and % of children with disabilities who are enrolled and received services.
3. # of developmental assessments completed.
4. # of % of medical assessments completed.
5. # and % of parents with partnership agreements.
6. # of parents committee meetings held; % of attendance increase at the parents committee meeting.
7. # of policy committee meetings held.

Performance Standards

• To manage the grantees' delivery of programs or services under the terms of the grant, performance standards may be set for performance measures to establish minimum thresholds for acceptable performance.
• If Performance Standards are specified, they should correlate to specific Performance Measures.
• Based on the grant terms, corrective action or termination of funding may be necessary if standards are not being met:
  • Specify which performance measure and standard will be used to trigger remedial action, if applicable.

Examples:

1. 100% of eligible children in the recruitment area must be enrolled.
2. 100% of eligible children with disabilities must be enrolled and receive services.
3. 98% of developmental assessments must be completed.
4. 95% of dental assessments must be completed for children enrolled >30 days.
5. 90% of parents whose children are enrolled in the program must complete partnership agreements.
6. Example of trigger and remedial action: "XX must be reported by YY date per the terms of the

agreement or the state-issued award may be terminated".

UGA: Exhibit E - Specific Conditions

• Lists specific conditions imposed based on the risk assessment and merit review of the application.
• If applicable, also includes methods to remove the specific conditions.
• Agencies may write "N/A" if no specific conditions have been imposed on the grantee.

Examples:

1. If the Quality of Management System section is medium risk, the specific condition is "Requires more detailed reporting."
2. To remove the specific condition, the grantee must "Implement a new or enhanced system, mitigating controls or a combination of both." The new or enhanced system or controls must be in place and tested to ensure it is operating as designed which will lower the grantee's Quality of Management System risk.

UGA: Exhibit F - Payment

This exhibit addresses the payment process, including schedule of payments, required documentation and method of submission, and criteria for non-payment. Exhibit F is not part of the Statewide UGA but has been approved to be added by IDHS to include required payment information. Exhibit F must:

1. State that The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) payment policy complies with 2 CFR 200.302, 2 CFR 200.305, and 44 Ill. Admin. Code 7000.120 (GOMB Adoption of Supplemental Rules for Grant Payment Methods) and the Cash Management Improvement Act and the Treasury-State Agreement (TSA) default procedures codified at 31 CFR 205. IDHS Payments to grantees will be governed in accordance with the established criteria.
2. Identify the method of payment (i.e., advance payment, working capital advance, and reimbursement) See UGA Payments Language Guidance.
3. State that all requests for authorization to receive advance payment, working capital advance and reimbursement must be submitted on forms prescribed and approved by the Department, and the executed grant agreement (Exhibit F).
4. Include language that informs the grantee that additional data may be requested by the Department.
5. Inform grantees that funding is contingent upon and subject to the availability of funds. Amendments to award amounts may be necessary within the grant cycle.
6. Specify the IDHS Approved forms for submitting financial information.
7. Address the schedule of payments. (i.e., due dates for submitting invoices).
8. Detail the Method of Submission for reporting expenditures (email, mailing or database).
9. Specify any supporting documentation requirements.
10. Specify any additional unique programmatic payment requirements.

Additional Attachments

The grantee's final approved budget must be attached to the agreement.

Agencies may include additional attachments in Part Two or Part Three.