A. Eligibility Requirements

For a detailed description of Grant Specific eligibility requirements please proceed to the specific fund source section.

All nonprofit agencies new to OCJP funding are required to complete the Pre Award Risk Assessment and submit it, along with documents requested via the assessment, prior to going to contract.  The Pre Award Risk Assessment is used to determine the agency’s ability to provide adequate internal controls, sound accounting practices, and sufficient written procedures in order to prevent fraud, waste, abuse and misuse of funds in addition to determining whether or not the agency is fiscally solvent. Additionally, before a non-profit agency engages with a client in services and activities, the agency must have the client complete the following consent form: click here.

Faith-Based Nonprofit Agencies: For faith-based agencies to qualify for grant funds, the agency must comply with the following:

  1. Federal and state funding may not be used to fund any inherently (or explicitly) religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction or proselytizing.  Grantees and their subcontractors may still engage in inherently (or explicitly) religious activities, but such activities must be separate in time or place from the federally funded or state funded program and participation in such activities by individuals receiving services from the Grantee or their subcontractors must be voluntary. 
  2. Faith-based agencies may engage in explicitly religious and/or faith-based services and activities as a part of their regular business, but the organization must take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities/services from the government-funded services that they offer.
  3. Grantees and their subcontractors are not permitted to discriminate in the provision of grant funded services on the basis of a participant's religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice.  
  4. Faith-Based Organizations may, in some circumstances, consider religion as a basis for employment, and Grantees should notify their program manager if their organization or their subcontractors have such policies prior to the contract start date. Subsequently, agencies will be required to submit the following certification: click here. 

Law Enforcement Agencies: In order for law enforcement agencies to qualify for grant funds, the agency must comply with the following:

  1. Fingerprints/UCR Reporting Requirement:  The agency shall ensure that they will comply with Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 38-3-122, and will submit all fingerprints taken to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
  2. TIBRS Reporting Requirement:  The Agency shall ensure that they comply with the rules and regulations of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) as empowered by Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 38-10-101 et seq. with regard to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). The agency will at all times maintain TBI certification of their compliance with those rules and regulations.
  3.  National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Reporting Requirement: The Agency shall ensure that they comply with Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 33-3-1115 with regard to NICS Reporting. The agency will at all times maintain compliance.
  4. Death in Custody Reporting Act (DICRA) Requirement: The Agency shall comply with PUBLIC LAW 113–242 by submitting all deaths in custody to the TBI.
  5. DNA and CODIS Requirements:  The Agency shall ensure that they will comply with Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 40-35-321 regarding the collection of DNA.  
  6. Use of Force Requirement: The Agency shall ensure compliance with Executive Order No. 13929 on Safe Policing for Safe Communities and must have a certification from the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police regarding their Use of Force policies. The Agency must also comply with TCAs 38-3-121, 38-8-101, 38-8-113, 38-8-127:130, and 40-6-105.

Domestic Violence Shelters:  All Family Violence Shelter Programs must comply with the Family Violence Shelter State Standards.

Law enforcement, prosecution, and court projects: Consonant with federal statutes that pertain to firearms and background checks, including 18 U.S.C. 922 and 34 U.S.C. chapter 409, if the recipient (or any subrecipient at any tier) uses an award to fund (in whole or in part) a specific project or program (such as a law enforcement, prosecution, or court program) that results in any court dispositions, information, or other records that are "eligible records" (under federal or State law) relevant to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS), or that has as one of its purposes the establishment or improvement of records systems that contain any court dispositions, information, or other records that are "eligible records" (under federal or State law) relevant to the NICS, the recipient (or subrecipient, if applicable) must ensure that all such court dispositions, information, or other records that are "eligible records" (under federal or State law) relevant to the NICS are promptly made available to the NICS or to the "State" repository/database that is electronically available to (and accessed by) the NICS, and when appropriate promptly must update, correct, modify, or remove such NICS-relevant "eligible records".

All law enforcement, prosecution and court related projects must comply with the above and with State TCA 8-4-115 (revised language effective January 1, 2019) prior to requesting funding and throughout the course of life of a funded contract. Failure to do so could result in termination of funding.

Overdue Audit/Unresolved Audit Findings
OCJP will not make an award to any applicant who has an overdue audit or an open audit report where the subrecipient has not attempted to respond or has taken no action to resolve findings.  Every applicant for funding is on notice that, unless they are in compliance with the audit requirements, their application may be rejected.OCJP shall obtain credit reports on any applicant where there is reason to believe that performance is substandard or there is evidence of financial irregularities.