FAAST Application Instructions

The 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) and After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) application narratives must be submitted online. Please visit the State Water Resources Control Board FAAST web page on or before Tuesday, November 16, 2021, by 4 p.m. Narratives cannot be uploaded after the deadline as the system will no longer be available. Lack of internet access or a loss of connection while submitting an application narrative will not be considered as a viable reason for missing the application deadline and may not be appealed.

Questions and/or technical assistance about the FAAST system can be directed to the State Water Resources Control Board staff by phone at 866-434-1083, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by email at FAAST_ADMIN@waterboards.ca.gov. The California Department of Education (CDE) cannot provide technical assistance for how FAAST operates.

Financial Assistance Application Submittal Tool Instructions

The CDE will not add, delete, or replace items from the application once it has been submitted. If any subsequent changes to an application need to be made, the applicant must contact the FAAST administrators to modify their application prior to the submission deadline.

Only online FAAST application narratives will be accepted and only one narrative per ASSIST application identification number is allowable. Printed or faxed copies of the application submitted to the CDE will not be accepted in lieu of the online application. Applicants will be disqualified if they do not submit an online application through FAAST by the application deadline. Submission of a hard copy application narrative to the CDE is not required.

In FAAST, each question will have a limited space in which to provide an answer. Note that some questions will have one provided text box, while other questions will be provided with multiple text boxes; each text box will only allow between 100 and up to 4,000 text characters, including spaces.

Applicants must create an account using the FAAST system in order to submit an application.

Creating a FAAST Account

1. Please go to the State Water Resources Control Board web page.
   
2. Under Create FAAST Account, click on Create an Account.
   
3. Under Search for Organization, search for your organization’s name and if nothing is found click on Create New Organization.
   • Note: To search for your organization, start by typing just part of your organization’s name at a time. For example:  Madera Unified School District. Instead of typing in Madera Unified School District, the user could type in "Madera", and it would display:  "City of Madera", "Madera USD".
4. Complete your organization’s details and click Next step.
   • Note: In the section ‘Universal Numbering System number’, please type in nine “0s” instead of leaving it blank.
     
5. Complete the User Account Details.
   
6. Select a Username and Password.
   
7. Click on Create User Account.
   
8. Once you have successfully created an account, you will be prompted to return to the main page to log onto FAAST.

Starting a New Application

1. Put in your username and password and select “Log onto FAAST”.
   
2. Click on “Start a New Application” on the applicant main menu.
   
3. Read and then check the boxes for usage recommendations, and select “continue”.
   
4. Under Select Organization, click on “Option 1”.
   
5. Under the Active Request For Proposals, select the “Nita M. Lowey’s 21^st CCLC & After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens Programs.”
6. Confirm the information and then select the “Continue to Application” button.
   
7. Applicants must complete each tab.
   • Under the General Information Tab please insert your ‘Grant Application Identification Number’ in the Project Title section and then ‘The name of the Main Applicant’ in the Project Description section.
     • Longitude and Latitude are not required
     • Note: Grantees can find their ‘Grant Application Identification Numbers’ by going to the After School Support & Information System (ASSIST) website below. After logging on, grantees will select their grant and click on the RFA link at the top. The Application ID is at the top of the page.
     • Login to ASSIST
     • New LEA applicants, please contact the Expanded Learning Division at assist@cde.ca.gov.
     • New non-LEA applicants (including direct-funded charter schools) must register to ASSIST by clicking on the link ‘Non-LEA Registration’.
   • Note: Under the Funding tab, applicants must check the funding category.
     • You May Select 2 categories if you are requesting for Equitable Access for 21st CCLC E/M only.
8. It is recommended that applicants save their work often while moving through each tab of the application.
   • Note: Do not use your back button to move to the previous tab. Save your work first and then click on the next button. You will lose your work if you do not save it. Please be aware of the 90-minute timer. Once 90-minutes have passed, the user will be timed out and any unsaved work will be lost.
   • Note: To upload an attachment, select the attachment category for each attachment. To split a large-size-document, please label it NAME_1of2, NAME_2of2. There is a max 50MBs for each attachment

Submitting the Final Application

Once the applicant has completed the narrative portion and uploaded any supporting documentation, the narratives must be Submitted as Final in order to be considered complete. Applications that are not Submitted as Final will not be considered complete and will be disqualified. To submit an application as final:

1. On the Status Tab it will say Application In Progress (not submitted).
   • Other ways to identify the status of an application include:
     • The upper right in red on each tab will show the PIN - Project Title - Status
     • Check the Status Tab
2. Click the Next button
   
3. Click the Preview/Submit button, then scroll to the bottom and check the Application Completion button. The Preview/Submit button can be found at the bottom of each application tab. The Status tab and Feedback tab are the only tabs that do not include a Preview/Submit button
   
4. If that comes back successfully, then type your initials into the box, then click the Submit button to finalize the application If it will now allow you to submit the application, an error message will appear informing you what required portion is incomplete.
5. After submitting the application, applicants will see a confirmation screen and receive an email confirming they have submitted their application as final. Each application will be assigned an unique Proposal Identification Number (PIN) by FAAST.  Please reference this PIN when contacting the FAAST Help Desk or CDE staff for assistance.The PIN will show up under the Submitted Applications menu section and not the Active Applications menu section.
   • Please be sure to check your junk mailbox for the email confirmation, if you are unable to locate your confirmation email please contact the FAAST Help Desk.
   • Please keep track of your PIN number. If there are any issues or questions you have, you will be asked for your PIN number.
6. If you have submitted your application by mistake and would like to change it to “In Progress” for editing, contact the FAAST Help Desk. FAAST_ADMIN@waterboards.ca.gov.