Suspension on notice and opportunity to show cause.
(a)
After receiving concurrence from the
Commissioner, ACYF, the responsible HHS official may suspend financial
assistance to a grantee in whole or in part for breach or threatened
breach of any requirement stated in§ 1303.10 pursuant to notice and opportunity to show cause why assistance should not be suspended.
(b)
The responsible HHS official will notify the grantee as required by§ 1303.5
or by telegram that ACYF intends to suspend financial assistance, in
whole or in part, unless good cause is shown why such action should not
be taken. The notice will include:
(3)
Information that the grantee has the
opportunity to submit written material in opposition to the intended
suspension and to meet informally with the responsible HHS official
regarding the intended suspension;
(4)
Information that the written material
must be submitted to the responsible HHS official at least seven days
prior to the effective date of the proposed suspension and that a
request for an informal meeting must be made in writing to the
responsible HHS official no later than seven days after the day the
notice of intention to suspend was mailed to the grantee;
(c)
If the grantee requests an informal
meeting, the responsible HHS official will fix a time and place for the
meeting. In no event will such meeting be scheduled less than seven days
after the notice of intention to suspend was sent to the grantee.
(d)
The responsible HHS official may at
his or her discretion extend the period of time or date for making
requests or submitting material by the grantee and will notify the
grantee of any such extension.
(e)
At the time the responsible HHS
official sends the notice of intention to suspend financial assistance
to the grantee, the official will send a copy of it to any delegate
agency whose activities or failures to act are a substantial cause of
the proposed suspension, and will inform such delegate agency that it is
entitled to submit written material in opposition and to participate in
the informal meeting with the responsible HHS official if one is held.
In addition, the responsible HHS official may give such notice to any
other Head Start delegate agency of the grantee.
(f)
Within three days of receipt of the
notice of intention to suspend financial assistance, the grantee shall
send a copy of such notice and a copy of this subpart to all delegate
agencies which would be financially affected by the proposed suspension
action. Any delegate agency that wishes to submit written material may
do so within the time stated in the notice. Any delegate agency that
wishes to participate in the informal meeting regarding the intended
suspension, if not otherwise afforded a right to participate, may
request permission to do so from the responsible HHS official, who may
grant or deny such permission. In acting upon any such request from a
delegate agency, the responsible HHS official will take into account the
effect of the proposed suspension on the particular delegate agency,
the extent to which the meeting would become unduly complicated as a
result of granting such permission, and the extent to which the
interests of the delegate agency requesting such permission appear to be
adequately represented by other participants.
(g)
The responsible HHS official will
consider any timely material presented in writing, any material
presented during the course of the informal meeting as well as any
showing that the grantee has adequately corrected the deficiency which
led to the suspension proceedings. The decision of the responsible HHS
official will be made within five days after the conclusion of the
informal meeting, or, if no informal meeting is held, within five days
of receipt by the responsible HHS official of written material from all
concerned parties. If the responsible HHS official concludes that the
grantee has failed to show cause why financial assistance should not be
suspended, the official may suspend financial assistance in whole or in
part and under such terms and conditions as he or she specifies.
(h)
Notice of such suspension will be promptly transmitted to the grantee as required in§ 1303.5
of this part or by some other means showing the date of receipt, and
shall become effective upon delivery or on the date delivery is refused
or the material is returned. Suspension shall not exceed 30 days unless
the responsible HHS official and the grantee agree to a continuation of
the suspension for an additional period of time. If termination
proceedings are initiated in accordance with § 1303.14, the suspension of financial assistance will be rescinded.
(i)
New obligations incurred by the
grantee during the suspension period will be not be allowed unless the
granting agency expressly authorizes them in the notice of suspension or
an amendment to it. Necessary and otherwise allowable costs which the
grantee could not reasonably avoid during the suspension period will be
allowed if they result from obligations properly incurred by the grantee
before the effective date of the suspension and not in anticipation of
suspension or termination. At the discretion of the granting agency,
third-party in-kind contributions applicable to the suspension period
may be allowed in satisfaction of cost sharing or matching requirements.
(j)
The responsible HHS official may
appoint an agency to serve as an interim grantee to operate the program
until the grantee's suspension is lifted.
(k)
The responsible HHS official may
modify the terms, conditions and nature of the suspension or rescind the
suspension action at any time on his or her own initiative or upon a
satisfactory showing that the grantee has adequately corrected the
deficiency which led to the suspension and that repetition is not
threatened. Suspension partly or fully rescinded may, at the discretion
of the responsible HHS official, be reimposed with or without further
proceedings, except that the total time of suspension may not exceed 30
days unless termination proceedings are initiated in accordance with§ 1303.14
or unless the responsible HHS official and the grantee agree to
continuation of the suspension for an additional period of time. If
termination proceedings are initiated, the suspension of financial
assistance will be rescinded.
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