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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 24 / Monday, February 8, 2021 / Notices submit project applications for FY 2021
SAHAT Grant Program funds.
DATES: Applications for the SAHAT
Grant Program must be submitted through the www.Grants.gov website by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 22, 2021. Awards made for the SAHAT Grant Program will fund operations for FY 2021. The SAHAT
Grant Program application package for funding opportunity VA-SAHAT2106
is available through www.Grants.gov and is listed as follows: VA-Specially Adapted Housing Assistive Technology Grant Program. Applications may not be sent by mail, email or facsimile. All application materials must be in a format compatible with the www.Grants.gov application submission tool. Applications must arrive as a complete package. Materials arriving separately will not be included in the application package for consideration and may result in the application being rejected. Technical assistance with the preparation of an initial SAHAT Grant Program application is available by contacting the program official listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jason Latona ChiefSpecially Adapted Housing, Specially Adapted Housing Program 262, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, Jason.Latona@
va.gov, 2026328862. This is not a toll-free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is divided into eight sections.
Section I provides a summary of and background information on the SAHAT
Grant Program; the statutory authority;
the desired outcomes; funding priorities; definitions; and delegation of authority. Section II covers award information, including funding availability, and the anticipated start date of the SAHAT Grant Program.
Section III provides detailed information on eligibility and the threshold criteria for submitting an application. Section IV provides detailed application and submission information, including how to request an application; application content; and submission dates and times. Section V
describes the review process, scoring criteria and the selection process.
Section VI provides award administration information such as award notices and reporting requirements.
Section VII lists agency contact information. Section VIII provides additional information related to the SAHAT Grant Program. This notice includes citations from 38 CFR part 36,
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and VA Financial Policy, Volume X, Grants Management, which applicants and stakeholders are expected to read to increase their knowledge and understanding of the SAHAT Grant Program.
I. Program Description A. Summary Pursuant to the Veterans Benefits Act of 2010 Pub L. 111275, 203, 124 Stat.
2864, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Secretary, through the Loan Guaranty Service LGY of the Veterans Benefits Administration VBA, is authorized to provide grants of financial assistance to develop new assistive technology. The objective of the SAHAT Grant Program is to encourage the development of new assistive technologies for adapted housing.
B. Background LGY currently administers the Specially Adapted Housing SAH Grant Program. Through this program, LGY
provides funds to eligible Veterans and Service members with certain serviceconnected disabilities to help purchase or construct an adapted home, or modify an existing home, to allow them to live more independently. Please see 38 U.S.C. 2101a2B and C and 38
U.S.C. 2101b2 for a list of qualifying service-connected disabilities.
Currently, most SAH adaptations involve structural modifications such as ramps; wider hallways and doorways;
roll-in showers; and other accessible bathroom features, etc. For more information about the SAH Grant Program, please visit: http
www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/
adaptedhousing.asp.
VA acknowledges there are many emerging technologies and improvements in building materials that could improve home adaptions or otherwise enhance a Veterans or Service members ability to live independently. Therefore, in 38 CFR
36.4412b2, has defined new assistive technology as an advancement that the Secretary determines could aid or enhance the ability of an eligible individual, as defined in 38 CFR 36.4401, to live in an adapted home. New assistive technology can include advancements in new-tomarket technologies, as well as new variations on existing technologies.
Examples of the latter might include modifying an existing software application for use with a smart home device; upgrading an existing shower pan design to support wheelchairs;
using existing modular construction methods to improve bathroom
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accessibility; or using existing proximity technology to develop an advanced application tailored to blind users.
Please Note: SAHAT funding does not support the construction or modification of residential dwellings for accessibility. Veterans and Service members interested in receiving assistance to adapt a home are encouraged to review the following fact sheet: https www.prosthetics.va.gov/
factsheet/PSAS-FactSheet-HousingAdaptation-Programs.pdf to identify Home Adaptation programs offered by VA.
C. Statutory Authority Public law 111275, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2010 the Act, was enacted on October 13, 2010. Section 203 of the Act added 38 U.S.C. 2108 to establish the SAHAT Grant Program.
The Act authorized VA to provide grants of up to $200,000 per fiscal year, through September 30, 2016, to a person or entity for the development of specially adapted housing assistive technologies. On October 1, 2020, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021
and Other Extensions Act was enacted Pub. L. 116159, 5201, 134 Stat.
709, 749. Section 5201 of Public Law 116159 extended the authority for VA
to provide grants in the manner listed above through September 30, 2022. See 38 U.S.C. 2108 and 38 CFR 36.4412.
D. Desired Outcomes and Funding Priorities Grantees will be expected to leverage grant funds to develop new assistive technologies for SAH. In 38 CFR
36.4412f2, VA set out the scoring criteria and the maximum points allowed for each criterion. As explained in the preambles to both the proposed and final rules, while the scoring framework is set out in the regulation text, each notice will address the scoring priorities for that particular grant cycle 79 FR 53146, 53148, September 8, 2014; 80 FR 55763, 55764, September 17, 2014. For FY
2021, the Secretary has identified the categories of innovation and unmet needs as top priorities. These categories are further described as scoring criteria 1 and 2 in Section V A of this notice.
Although VA encourages innovation across a wide range of specialties, VA is, in this grant cycle, particularly interested in technologies that could help blind Veterans optimize their independence e.g., mobile applications, safety devices, etc.. VA also has a particular interest in applications that either demonstrate innovative approaches in the design and building of adaptive living spaces or would lead
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