Grant Applications

The purpose of this solicitation is to seek projects which seek to reduce the prevalence of violent crime, particularly gun-crime, by identifying Significant Violent Offenders and targeting them for federal or state prosecution.

Preference will be given to projects that assist with coordinating Significant Offender Lists (“SOLs”) throughout the district as continued collaboration and intelligence sharing is key to attacking the violent crime problems in our district. As the significant offenders are now traveling throughout not only different parts of a city or county but the entire district now, we believe that focusing on the offenders rather than the  geographic areas or neighborhoods makes the most sense.

Preference will be given to projects which include “gun teams” to follow up on all gun cases and NIBIN hits.

Preference will be given to projects which promote standardized techniques, such as questionnaires, to enhance law enforcement’s capability to interview individuals who unlawfully possess firearms.

PSN East FY19 Funds Solicitation

Intent to Apply due:  8/6/2020

Applications due:  8/24/2020

FAQs

Q:  Is this grant front loaded or reimbursement?

A:  The PSN grant is reimbursement. Your agency will send an invoice to us once a month and we will then send your payment electronically. Expenses are agreed upon on the front end by identifying them on the budget spreadsheet. More information on budgets and how to fill them out is in the solicitation. (See section 6.2).

Q:  Is there any equipment that is not allowed to be purchased with PSN money?

A:  Most any type of equipment can be purchased as long as it can be tied to PSN purposes – in this case reducing violent crime, particularly gun crime, and identifying significant violent offenders and targeting them for prosecution. Examples of equipment that has been approved in the past include: gun serial number restoration kits, computers, surveillance equipment, overtime, and more). The OCJP has a Grants Manual that lists Unallowable Costs. Military style equipment would need to be discussed in advance, but is generally unallowable.

Q:  Who applies for the grant – the Sheriff’s Office/Police Department or the Mayor’s Office?

A:  The Mayor’s Office should be the “Authorizing Official”. Sheriff’s Office/Police Department personnel may fill out the Intent to Apply and submit the final application package on behalf of the County/City Mayor or County Executive. The Mayor/Executive will sign the contract and the related certifications and assurances. The Sheriff’s Office/Police Department will be the “Implementing Agency” and the Project Director should be someone from the SO/PD office. The Fiscal Director should be someone in the finance office that can answer questions related to expenses or banking issues should they arise.

Q (applies to PSN EAST FY19): Can you clarify whether the 21/22 solicitation is a stand-alone grant value of up to $100,000 per single award with a grant total available of $142,319, or whether agencies that have been awarded already can only receive a total grant value of $142,219?

A: The maximum amount that can be applied for under the PSN East FY19 solicitation is $100,000. This amount is in no way contingent upon awards previously made under the PSN East FY18 Solicitation.

Q: My agency will be evaluating its crime data in order to enhance its policing strategies. Does this count as research?

A: No. Internal review of statistics are not considered research.

If program evaluation is used only for these activities then the research stipulations would not apply: 1) Internal improvements to a program or service; or 2) Quality assurance purposes.

Q: We have a current PSN grant that expires June 30, 2021. The FY19 grant that is advertised on the OCJP website goes through June 30, 2022. It is similar to our current PSN funding. Are we allowed to apply for the FY19 funding for the purpose of OT and use the grant starting July 2021?

A: The FY18 grant in East Tennessee runs from February 2020 through June 30, 2021 or October 2020 through June 30, 2021 depending on when the grant was applied for and when the contract was executed.

The FY19 grant starts November 2020 and runs through June 30, 2022. Agencies that receive grant funding from both the FY18 and FY19 funding sources will have an overlap in their budget years for FY21. This effectively means that if over time was requested for this year on both grants your agency would have an overtime budget equaling to both numbers combined.

The purpose of this project is to expand and enhance the quality and quantity of services to victims of child abuse, sexual assault and/or domestic violence among offender populations prior to and upon release from incarceration in local adult correctional facilities. The goal of this priority area is to minimize the long-term effects resulting from the past or recent victimization of individuals who are under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system and who are preparing to re-enter society. It is intended that the program will provide wrap around trauma informed services that allow for a successful transition back into the community to include individual or group therapy (not marriage counseling), housing, substance abuse treatment, transportation, and vocational development and employment.

All applicants except local government entities which manage correctional institutions are required to submit a letter of support from the local correctional institution with their application. Eligible projects must ensure provision of BOTH case management and therapeutic services. Successful applicants will begin providing services prior to release. Therapeutic (therapy) services should begin in the facility and continue post release. After care case management should begin prior to release and continue services for at least six months post release.

Applicants must demonstrate their ability to offer child abuse, sexual assault and/ or domestic violence supportive counseling and therapy; they must be participants in community collaborations and be able to substantiate their need for additional staff through their own program data and concrete examples. Applicants must currently be certified to utilize an evidence-based, comprehensive risk-assessment tool or must be certified by June 30, 2021.

OCJP will not fund projects that provide services to violent adult offenders.

Intent to Apply due: 8/21/2020

Applications due: 8/31/2020

FAQs

Q:  As subrecipients, are we allowed to give subawards?

A:  Yes, Please refer to the Procurement of Professional Services section of the OCJP Grants Manual for further information:

Q:  If our organization does not currently offer case management (or therapy) post release, is it acceptable to partner with another agency who does?

A:  Yes, a subcontract is preferred, but MOUs with partners are acceptable.

Q: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not currently been able to enter the correctional facility to operate our program. What might happen should we be awarded funding, but are unable to enter during a portion of the grant period? Do we need to account for changes due to COVID-19 within our application?

A: Yes. Your project would need a service plan that would account for current circumstances. It is our expectation that when social distancing and other restrictions are lifted your program would function within the corrections setting as described in the solicitation. Prior to that the projects which will score the best will be those who are able to provide services to the individuals who are incarcerated either remotely or through some other means.

Q: The application packet references a letter of support from our local or county correctional facility. Our program operates within a state institution; will a letter of support from our state institution fulfill this requirement?

A: Section 1.3 of the solicitation states in part, “The project purpose is to expand and enhance the quality and quantity of services…in local adult correctional facilities…” The solicitation is seeking responses from programs which will work in local (non-state/non-federal) corrections institutions. A letter from a state institution would not meet the local or county requirement.

Q: The application references providing services within the institution six months prior to release. If we provide services within the institution for longer than six months, are these expenses also eligible for funding or does funding only include services performed within the six months prior to release?

A: The goal of this statement was to demonstrate that ideal projects would begin working with incarcerated individuals at least six months prior to release (as opposed to a few days/weeks before release). Depending upon the need for services to occur prior to six months this could be allowed.

Q: We are a 501c3 organization and have a federal ID (EIN). Do we also need to have the state Edison ID that appears on the intent to apply form, or will our EIN suffice?

A: If approved for funding you would need a Vendor ID prior to invoicing the state. We can provide this information after a contract is generated. You do not need one to apply.

Q: Is there a specific definition/parameters for violent offenders? (According to the FBI, burglary is a violent offense; are we working with that definition)?

A: Violent Crime is an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or prop­erty of another, or any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

Q: Does this mean anyone with a violent offense in their history or is it just the charge they are currently serving time for?

A: The “violent adult offenders” verbiage is referencing an individual’s current charges not all charges throughout their criminal history.

Q: Are there specific parameters for the therapy & case management post release? Can it be done via telehealth?

A: Yes; it can be done via telehealth. The ideal application would have a plan for providing services onsite (absent a pandemic) but also via telehealth or some other means while social distancing restrictions are in place.

The goal of this solicitation is to support restorative justice approaches that engage multiple systems to promote healing for victims. This solicitation is for juvenile restorative justice projects. Project should be victim centered with priority given to programs utilizing evidence-based, trauma informed models. Projects should be voluntary and include both the person harmed (victim) and person who caused the harm (juvenile-offender). Activities must demonstrate a clear understanding of a victim centered and voluntary approach to Restorative Justice. Successful projects will be highly collaborative and include entities from the criminal justice system, victim services, and/or community-based service programs.

Intent to Apply due: 8/21/2020

Applications due: 8/31/2020

An organization will qualify for funding if its primary mission is to address the needs of the racial and ethic minority groups as defined in section 1707(g) of the Public Health Service Act, which states “American Indians (including Alaska Natives, Eskimos, and Aleuts); Asian Americans; Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders; Blacks; and Hispanics.”  The organization must do more than merely provide services to the targeted group; rather, the organization must provide culturally competent services designed to meet the specific needs of the target population.

Eligible organizations must:

• Provide services primarily directed at Black, Hispanic, American Indians (including Alaska Natives, Eskimos, and Aleuts), Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders; and provide services tailored to the unique needs of that population; and
• Have an established specialized culturally specific program that addresses the needs of victims of intimate partner violence/domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking (all or some portion thereof).

Length and Amount of Project Support 

Multi-year contracts will remain contingent, as always, on the availability of U.S. Department of Justice federal appropriations.

This funding will span three (3) fiscal years for a total of $255,000 in funding:

• FY 2021 11.1.2020 to 6.30.2021 for $75,000; and
• FY 2022 and FY 2023 for $90,000 each year.

Intent to Apply due: 9/10/2020

Application due due: 9/10/2020

Eligible organizations must be a school of nursing programs with a demonstrated history of incorporating forensic nursing and the process of conducting sexual assault examinations in their teachings. Membership and/or certification by the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) is preferred.

Projects funded under this solicitation shall be approximately two (2) years and nine (9) months in length beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2023. The maximum liability for each year is as follows.

Year 1: October 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021 for an amount not to exceed $500,000.00.

Year 2: July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022 for an amount not to exceed $250,000.00.

Year 3: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 for an amount not to exceed $250,000.00.

Funding under this program will provide advanced nurse education to increase the number of Registered Nurses (RNs), Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and Forensic Nurses who are trained and certified as sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) in communities on a local, regional and/or state level.  

Ideal applicants will have the infrastructure to recruit eligible nurses, coordinate didactic and clinical training with identified partners, monitor and track experiential learning hours and certification completion, and have demonstrated strategies for creating communities of practice that can retain SANEs in the health workforce.

The program's goal is to train providers to conduct sexual assault forensic examinations which provide better physical and mental health care for survivors, better evidence collection, and higher prosecution rates.

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses can include Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives and Nurse Anesthetists.

Additionally, projects funded under this solicitation are expected to:

1. Maintain a list of all adult and pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) in the state including the geographic locations they serve and what facilities they utilize.
   
2. Hold quarterly stakeholder meetings with SANEs across the state in order to: 1) Identify needs/gaps within the state’s SANE network; 2) Discuss topics relevant to SANEs including but not limited to best practices, barriers or challenges that may exist and how to overcome them, and other relevant literature or innovations.
3. Provide information to the Office of Criminal Justice Programs on the training and equipment needs of SANEs across the state as they are identified.

This project will also provide funding for SANEs to obtain certification through IAFN and purchase forensic nursing training equipment.

Intent to Apply Due:  9/15/2020

Application Due: 10/1/2020