To be eligible to apply for a WIOA, sec. 166 grant, an entity must have legal status as a government or as an agency of a government, private non-profit corporation, or a consortium whose members all qualify as one of these entities.

A new entity (which is not an incumbent grantee) must have a population within the designated geographic service area which would receive at least $100,000 under the funding formula found at § 684.270(b), including any amounts received for supplemental youth services under the funding formula at § 684.440(a).

Incumbent grantees which do not meet this dollar threshold and were receiving INA funding of less than $100,000 as of October 18, 2016 will be grandfathered into the program and are eligible to be awarded less than $100,000 so long as the grantees have continuously received less than $100,000 since October 18, 2016.

The Department will make an exception to the $100,000 minimum for applicants that apply for WIOA funding through Public Law 102-477, the Indian, Employment, Training, and Related Services demonstration program, if all resources to be consolidated under the Public Law 102-477 plan total at least $100,000, with at least $20,000 derived from sec. 166 funds. However, incumbent Public Law 102-477 grantees that were receiving INA funding of less than $20,000 as of October 18, 2016 will be grandfathered into the program and are eligible to be awarded less than $20,000 so long as the grantees have continuously received less than $20,000 since October 18, 2016.

To be eligible to apply as a consortium, each member of the consortium must meet the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section and must:

Be in close proximity to one another, but may operate in more than one State;

Have an administrative unit legally authorized to run the program and to commit the other members to contracts, grants, and other legally-binding agreements; and

Be jointly and individually responsible for the actions and obligations of the consortium, including debts.

Entities eligible under paragraph (a)(1) of this section are:

Federally recognized Indian tribes;

Tribal organizations, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 450b;

Alaska Native-controlled organizations;

Native Hawaiian-controlled organizations;

Indian-controlled organizations serving INAs; and

A consortium of eligible entities which meets the legal requirements for a consortium described in paragraph (b) of this section.

State-recognized tribal organizations that meet the definition of an Indian-controlled organization are eligible to apply for WIOA sec. 166 grant funds. State-recognized tribes that do not meet this definition but were grantees under WIA as of July 1, 2015 will be grandfathered into WIOA as Indian-controlled organizations provided they meet the definition of Indian-controlled organization in § 684.130.