§59.20. Initial application requirements. — Inbound Citations

For a State to obtain a grant under this part and grant funds, its initial application for the grant must be approved under § 59.20, and the project must be ranked sufficiently high on the priority list for the current fiscal year so that funding is available for the project. It must meet the additional application requirements in § 59.60, and it must meet all other requirements under this part for obtaining a grant and grant funds.

For a State to obtain a grant and grant funds under this part, the State must submit to VA documentation that the site of the project is in reasonable proximity to a sufficient concentration and population of veterans that are 65 years of age and older and that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the facility when complete will be fully occupied. This documentation must be included in the initial application submitted to VA under § 59.20.

(a) The Secretary will make a list prioritizing the applications that were received on or before April 15 and that were approved under § 59.20 of this part. Except as otherwise provided in this section, applications will be prioritized from the highest to the lowest in the following order:

(1) An application from a State that has made sufficient funds available for the project for which the grant is requested so that such project may proceed upon approval of the grant without further action required by the State (such as subsequent issuance of bonds) to make such funds available for the project. To meet this criteria, the State must provide to VA a letter from an authorized State budget official certifying that the State funds are, or will be, available for the project, so that if VA awards the grant, the project may proceed without further State action to make such funds available (such as further action to issue bonds). If the certification is based on an Act authorizing the project and making available the State's matching funds for the project, a copy of the Act must be submitted with the certification.

(i) An application for a life or safety project, which means a project to remedy a condition, or conditions, at an existing facility that have been cited as threatening to the lives or safety of one or more of the residents or program participants in the facility by a VA safety office, VA engineering office, or other VA office with responsibility for life and safety inspections; a State or local government agency (including a Fire Marshal); or an accrediting institution (including the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations). Unless an addition or replacement of building utility systems or features is necessary to remedy a cited threat to the lives or safety of residents and program participants, this priority group does not include applications for the addition or replacement of building utility systems or features; such applications will be prioritized in accordance with the criteria in subpriority group 5 of priority group 1. An application may be included in this subpriority group only if all of the funds requested would be used for a life or safety project; or, if the estimated cost of the life or safety project is under $400,000.00, and the majority of the funds requested would be used for such a project. Projects in this subpriority group will be further prioritized in the following order:

(A) Seismic;

(B) Building construction;

(C) Egress;

(D) Building compartmentalization (e.g., smoke barrier, fire walls);

(E) Fire alarm/detection;

(F) Security;

(G) Asbestos/hazardous materials; and

(H) All other projects (e.g., nurse call systems, patient lifts).

(ii) An application from a State that has not previously applied for a grant under 38 U.S.C. 8131-8137 for construction or acquisition of a State nursing home.

(iii) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that has a great need for the beds that the State, in that application, proposes to establish.

(iv) An application from a State for renovations to a State Home facility other than renovations that would be included in subpriority group 1 of priority group 1. Projects will be further prioritized in the following order:

(A) Adult day health care renovation and construction of a new adult day health care facility that replaces an existing facility;

(B) Nursing home renovation (e.g., patient privacy) and construction of a new nursing home that replaces an existing nursing home;

(C) Code compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(D) Building systems and utilities (e.g., electrical; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); boiler; medical gasses; roof; elevators);

(E) Clinical-support facilities (e.g., for dietetics, laundry, rehabilitation therapy); and

(F) General renovation/upgrade (e.g., warehouse, storage, administration/office, multipurpose).

(v) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that has a significant need for the beds that the State in that application proposes to establish.

(vi) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that has not demonstrated that State funds are being used to protect the lives or safety of the residents and program participants of the facility as required in § 59.50(e).

(vii) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that has a limited need for the beds that the State, in that application, proposes to establish.

(2) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section. Projects within this priority group will be further prioritized the same as in paragraphs (a)(1)(i)(A) through (a)(1)(i)(H) of this section.

(3) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section.

(4) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section.

(5) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of this section. Projects within this priority group will be further prioritized the same as in paragraphs (a)(1)(iv)(A) through (a)(1)(iv)(F) of this section.

(6) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(v) of this section.

(7) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(vi) of this section.

(8) An application not meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1) of this section but meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(1)(vii) of this section.

(1) Award a grant for each application that has been approved under § 59.20, that is sufficiently high on the priority list so that funding is available for the application, that meets the additional application requirements in § 59.60, and that meets all other requirements under this part for obtaining a grant, or

(c) The total cost of a project under this part will not include any costs incurred before the date VA sent the State written notification that the application in § 59.20 was approved.