Administrative and Other Costs
Administrative
Administrative costs are the expenses associated with the management, oversight, and operation of the program itself. This includes salaries and benefits for staff involved in program management, accounting, budgeting, and reporting. Other administrative costs include office supplies, rent, utilities, and equipment needed for program operations. Administrative costs are necessary to ensure that the program operates effectively and efficiently, providing services to eligible individuals who are deaf-blind and low-income. However, administrative costs must be kept reasonable and proportionate to the size and scope of the program to ensure that the majority of program funds are directed towards direct services and equipment for eligible individuals. Administrative costs are capped at 15% of a state’s allocation.
When entering an Administrative item, the following fields are required:
State Program
Date Performed
If an administrative cost spans a period of time, such as for salary or benefits, you should put the last date of the cost. For example, the end of the month would be appropriate for a salary cost.
The following list are specific examples of administrative costs covered in the past:
Accounting
Regular audits
Reporting requirements
Program oversight
Attending monthly national calls
Payments for use of a database
Scheduling of consumer appointments, outreach events and any other scheduling of activities.
Development of program documents for internal use, such as forms for verification of disability and low-income
Interpreters for staff in conjunction with administrative duties
Cost associated with maintaining physical facilities for administration, maintaining an inventory of demonstration equipment to conduct assessments, demonstrate equipment, or provide training
Office supplies specific for use in program operations
Administrative Costs
There is only one category for administrative costs.
Line Item | Description | Hours Required? |
Administrative Costs | Staff time spent on program oversight, interpreters for staff meetings, cost of office supplies, and the percentage of the facilities expenses attributed specifically to the NDBEDP. | N |
Supporting Documentation
Supporting documentation for Administrative Costs must clearly indicate the purpose of the cost.
If you have a document that contains sensitive information, such as salary and benefit information, contact Joy McGrath (jmmcgrath@rolkaloube.com). The Centralized Database has the ability to add administrative only documentation that will only be visible to the Reimbursement Claims Manager and the FCC.
Outreach
Outreach costs are expenses incurred by state entities to promote the program and increase public awareness of the availability of communication equipment for individuals with combined hearing and vision loss.
Outreach has a soft cap of 10% of the total or adjusted annual allocation at time of claim reimbursement , unless approved in advance by the NDBEDP Administrator.
To ensure that all costs are properly attributed to outreach and counted towards the outreach cap, all costs for outreach should be entered under a designated outreach item and not mixed in with other expenses such as Travel or Shipping.
When entering an Outreach item, the following fields are required:
State Program
Date performed
Outreach Costs
Costs can be categorized as one of the following:
Line Item | Description | Hours Required? |
Event Participation | Participating in outreach and education events. This includes workshops, conferences, exhibit booths, and registration fees. Also includes responding to program inquiries. | Y |
Program Information | Development and production of program information such as flyers, application forms, PSAs, advertisements, and press releases. | Y |
Website and digital marketing | Development and maintenance of an accessible program website, social media presence, email marketing and the like. | N |
Auxiliary aid | All costs incurred by interpreters and support personnel including service time, travel time and travel costs. | N |
Other | Other expenses related to Outreach. | N |
Outreach Travel | In-state travel expenses for outreach personnel including travel time, transportation, hired drivers, lodging, and food related to attending outreach events. | Y |
Outreach Auxiliary Aid Travel | Do not use. Use auxiliary aid instead. | N |
Shipping and Tax
Shipping and tax costs related to the distribution of equipment are eligible expenses under the NDBEDP. This includes the cost of shipping the equipment from the manufacturer to the program or from the program to the consumer, as well as any applicable taxes for the purchase of the equipment. These costs must be included as a Shipping/Tax item when submitting reimbursement claims. It is important to note that any other shipping or tax costs not directly related to the distribution of equipment may not be eligible for reimbursement under the program or should be included in the Administrative or Outreach categories.
When entering and Shipping and Tax item, the following fields are required:
State Program
Invoice Date
You must select all pieces of equipment that are included in the shipping invoice. This will correctly attribute the shipping or tax to the proper consumer(s) or inventory.
Shipping and Tax Costs
Costs can be categorized as one of the following:
Line Item | Description | Hours Required? |
Shipping | Equipment shipping expenses | N |
Tax | Equipment sales tax. | N |
Supporting Documentation
Shipping supporting documentation must include the total cost for shipping, indicate which pieces of equipment, and the consumer’s name (where applicable) that were included in the shipping.
A single line item for tax expenses may be used and it is not required to separate each tax for each piece of equipment. You can add up all the applicable taxes and include them in the Shipping/Tax item when submitting reimbursement claims.