NTIA and RUS will be accepting applications for loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to be awarded by each agency under a single application form. This collaborative approach will ensure that the agencies' activities are complementary and integrated, make the best use of taxpayer funds and make it easier for applicants to apply for funding. This is the first of three rounds of funding the Agriculture and Commerce Departments will provide.

Approximately $4 billion of program level funding has been allocated to the NOFA announced on July 1 by RUS and NTIA. The remaining funds will be made available under subsequent NOFAs. The requirements for subsequent NOFAs may differ from the current NOFA "to better achieve the agencies' priorities."

Commerce and USDA officials will host public workshops in July to share information about the funding availabilities and the application process. Forums will be held in Boston, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Memphis, Tenn.; Lonoke, Ark.; Birmingham, Ala.; Billings, Mont.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Los Angeles, Calif.

Applications will be accepted between July 14, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) 36 until August 14, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Applications must be submitted through the "Broadband America" website.

News Release

Emphasis will be placed on training veterans who are interested in "green jobs" now in the marketplace or expected soon. Fields of employment include energy efficiency and renewable energy, modern electric-power development and clean vehicles.

The VWIP grants will help veterans from targeted groups overcome employment barriers and ease their transition into unsubsidized jobs. Through this program, veterans receive skills assessments; individual job counseling; labor-market information; classroom or on-the-job training; skills upgrading and retraining; and placement assistance and follow-up services. The Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service expects these grants to provide training for more than 3,000 veterans, who may also be eligible for services through other Workforce Investment Act programs for economically disadvantaged or dislocated workers.

News Release / Listing of Grantees

Grants in two of the three categories will provide funding for re-entry planning, as well as training, employment and supportive services for youth who have been involved in the juvenile justice system within the past year but never involved in the adult criminal justice system. Participants served will generally be between the ages of 14 and 18. Recipients of planning grants will focus on plan development in anticipation of community-based direct service delivery efforts.

An intermediary re-entry grant under the third category will support the design and implementation of a model program for serving returning juvenile offenders. The program will operate in four cities that will be chosen through a competition conducted by the grantee.