technical assistance
(3) to States, units of general local government, Indian tribes, or areawide planning organizations for the purpose of providing technical assistance in planning, developing, and administering assistance under this chapter and section 1706e 1 of title 12; to groups designated by such governmental units to assist them in carrying out assistance under this chapter; to qualified groups for the purpose of assisting more than one such governmental unit to carry out assistance under this chapter; the Secretary may also provide technical assistance, directly or through contracts, to such governmental units and groups; for purposes of this paragraph the term “technical assistance” means the facilitating of skills and knowledge in planning, developing, and administering activities under this chapter in entities that may need but do not possess such skills and knowledge, and includes assessing programs and activities under this chapter; except that any recipient of a grant under this paragraph that provides technical assistance pursuant to this paragraph shall provide for the notification of the availability of such assistance and shall have specific criteria for selection of recipients of such assistance that are published and publicly available;