Title: Faith-Based Counseling for Crime Victims in Indian Country Discretionary Grant Program Series: Solicitation Author: Office for Victims of Crime Published: April 2004 Subject: Grants and funding, funding opportunities, faith-based initiatives, crime victims, victim assistance, American Indian/Alaska Native 10 pages 45,000 bytes Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site. ------------------------------- U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Office of Justice Programs Office for Victims of Crime FAITH-BASED COUNSELING FOR CRIME VICTIMS IN INDIAN COUNTRY DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM FY 2004 APPLICATION GUIDELINES ------------------------------- CONTENTS How To Apply Quick Start Guide to Using the OJP's Online Grants Management System Application Review Checklist Application Information o Eligibility Requirements o Application Requirements ----Budget Detail Worksheet (Attachment 1) ----Project Narrative (Attachment 2) ----Other Program Attachments (Attachment 3) o Due Date o Contact Information ------------------------------- How to Apply The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) requires that funding applications be submitted through the OJP Grants Management System (GMS). Access through the Internet to this online application system will expedite and streamline the receipt, review, and processing of requests for funding. Applications will only be accepted through the GMS online application system. To learn how to begin the online application process, please see the Quick Start Guide to Using the Office of Justice Programs' Online Grants Management System on page 2. A toll-free telephone number (1-888-549- 9901) has been established to provide applicants with technical assistance as they work through the online application process, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (except Federal holidays). ------------------------------- Quick Start Guide to Using the Office of Justice Programs' Online Grants Management System Step 1. Using an established Internet account, go to www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm. An online Applicant Procedures Handbook is available on this page, and applicants may link directly to OJP's Grants Management System (GMS), which provides online help screens. Note: Applicants who need assistance should call the GMS Hotline at 1-888-549-9901. Step 2. Click on "Logon to the Grants Management System (GMS)." Step 3. Follow the on-screen instructions. First-time GMS users should click on "New User? Register Here." Applicants who already have a GMS password should click on "GMS Sign-In." Proceed to the "FY 2004 Faith- based Counseling for Crime Victims in Indian Country Discretionary Grant Program" solicitation and begin. Applicants will receive e-mail confirmation from OVC that they are eligible to submit an application within 7 days. Plan ahead. Applicants can register at any time and are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Applicants must create a separate GMS account for each application being submitted. Please note: Applicants must ensure that the information for the authorizing official and alternate contact is entered correctly. The authorizing official is the individual authorized to accept grant funds in your organization. If the individual applying online is not the signing authority, that individual must list the authorizing official's name and contact information where appropriate. Questions or problems? Applicants who have questions should refer to the online handbook or access applicable help screens. If the questions cannot be addressed by accessing the online GMS reference tools, call the GMS Hotline at 1-888-549-9901. Previous users should contact the GMS Hotline if they are having difficulty with their user ID and password. Step 4. Complete the online Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) by providing the required information in the Overview, Applicant Information, and Project Information screens. Step 5. Complete the application by electronically "accepting" the Assurances and Certifications and submitting the three (3) required file attachments: Budget Detail Worksheet, Program Narrative, and Other Program Attachments. See the Application Checklist and the Solicitation for detailed instructions about the information to include in each of these attachments. Please note that applicants must upload one (1) file per attachment: only the most current file uploaded to the appropriate attachment will be saved as part of the application. All sections of each attachment must be completed for your application to be considered for funding. Submit your completed application online. The GMS system will notify the applicant that the application has been received and sent to OVC. It will also provide an application identification number for future reference. Applicants who have any questions about GMS or need technical assistance with applying online should contact the GMS Hotline at 1-888- 549-9901. ------------------------------- Application Review Checklist FY 2004 Faith-based Counseling for Crime Victims in Indian Country Discretionary Grant Program All applications must be submitted electronically through the Office of Justice Programs' Grants Management System (GMS), which can be accessed at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm. Please use this checklist to make sure your application is complete. Your GMS application must include the following: Online Forms _____ Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424). This form is generated by completing the on-screen Overview, Applicant Information, and Project Information screens in GMS. _____ Assurances and Certifications. The assurances and certifications must be reviewed and accepted electronically by the authorizing official or the designated authorizing official. Assurances and Certifications Applicants are required to review and accept the Assurances and Certifications. Please verify that the name, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the authorizing official on these online forms are correct. 1. Assurances. The applicant must comply with assurances in order to receive federal funds under this program. It is the responsibility of the recipient of the federal funds to fully understand and comply with these requirements. Failure to comply may result in the withholding of funds, termination of the award, or other sanctions. 2. Certifications Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters, and the Drug-Free Workplace Requirement. Applicants are required to review and check off the box on the certification form included in the online application process. This form commits the applicant to compliance with the certification requirements under 28 CFR Part 69, "New Restrictions on Lobbying," and 28 CFR Part 67, "A Government-Wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Government-Wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)." The authorizing official must review the Assurances and Certifications forms in their entirety. To accept the Assurances and Certifications in GMS, click on the Assurances and Certifications link and click the "Accept" button at the bottom of the screen. Attachments (3) _____ Budget Detail Worksheet (Attachment 1). The Budget Detail Worksheet must present a detailed budget that itemizes all proposed costs and must include a budget narrative that provides justification for all proposed costs. _____ Program Narrative (Attachment 2). The Program Narrative must include the following sections: o _____ Problem Statement o _____ Program Strategy o _____ Program Management and Organizational Capability o _____ Evaluation Plan _____ Other Program Attachments (Attachment 3). The Other Program Attachments must include the following elements. Note: All of the materials listed below must be attached in one (1) file. o _____ Tribal or board resolution o _____ Resumes of key personnel/position descriptions (if changes and/or additions from the first year application) o _____ Letters of support/commitment or memorandums of understanding (where appropriate) Please refer to corresponding sections in this announcement to determine the specific contents of each of these attachments. ------------------------------- Application Information FY 2004 Faith-based Counseling for Crime Victims in Indian Country Discretionary Grant Program Award Amount: Up to $250,000 is available in FY 2004. Awards will be made up to a maximum of $25,000 per grant. Award Period: 12 months, with the potential for an additional 12 months of funding. Goal: The goal of this initiative is to link faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers with victim service programs in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities to provide counseling services for victims of crime. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to support the provision of faith- based counseling services to victims of crime and to support the creation of collaborative models for local victim assistance programs to join with faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Background/Problem Statement: The high rate of crime in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and villages is reflected in numerous recent studies, demonstrating the need for victim assistance programs to help victims cope with and heal from crime. Many rural, remote AI/AN communities are impoverished, isolated, and lack victim assistance services. Crime victims, like others in crisis, frequently turn to spiritual leaders for support in times of need. Although members of the clergy, spiritual leaders and traditional healers are often experienced with issues arising from a range of social justice problems, such as poverty, homelessness, and drug abuse, they are frequently not familiar with the particular dynamics of crime victimization. In contrast, victim assistance programs possess the knowledge and practical resources for responding to the immediate needs of victims, but they may not be able to address the profound spiritual crisis brought on by a criminal act. Many American Indians and Alaska Natives look to traditional healers for support in a time of crisis. Compensation for services provided by traditional healers to victims can be difficult to obtain from Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds. Interpretations of the guidelines vary from State to State. Office for Victims of Crime funds have not previously been designated specifically for services provided by traditional healers. These awards are made to encourage collaboration between victim services programs, traditional healers and other faith-based clergy, as well as to recognize traditional healing services as a resource for AI/AN victims of crime. Program Strategy: This solicitation invites applicants to plan and implement an innovative 2-year program to improve the delivery of faith-based counseling services to victims by establishing or improving links between faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers and victim services programs in AI/AN communities. Efforts should be made for counseling services to be available for all victims, regardless of faith. OVC is interested in projects that address the needs of unserved and underserved victims, particularly those victimized by crimes such as child abuse, sexual assault, homicide, elder abuse, drunk driving crashes, and gang violence. The grantee is expected to create a 2-year program development plan in which the program will: o Initiate dialogue between faith-based organizations and victim assistance programs in the community. The grantee will also consider the benefits of collaborating with the U.S. Attorney's office and FBI victim coordinators in their area. o Specifically address efforts which will be made to use OVC's Training and Technical Assistance Center as a resource in building the program. In particular, the program should conduct a needs assessment of existing resources and gaps in counseling services to victims and how faith-based organizations in the community may fill these gaps. Training on victim issues for faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers should clearly be addressed. o Establish or join a local, multidisciplinary advisory committee to direct and guide the activities of the project. Members should include representatives from victim assistance programs and faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers. o Establish a referral system that connects victims with faith-based counseling services. o Create a "best practices" report that summarizes the model developed to connect faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers with tribal victim assistance programs. This report is expected to be disseminated to other AI/AN communities looking to establish similar programs. o Formulate a plan for sustaining project efforts after the funding from OVC ends. o Create a 2-year time line of goals and objectives. o Initiate dialogue and collaborate with your State VOCA Compensation program to address the issue of compensation for traditional healing, spiritual counseling, and other faith-based services to victims. Awards will be made to tribal or nonprofit organizations, including faith- based organizations, that show the capacity to coordinate with other agencies serving crime victims. Programs are encouraged to demonstrate strategies that are specific to their community's faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, and traditional healers, and include collaboration with appropriate local agencies involved in assisting victims. Prior to submission of the application, applicants are encouraged to discuss the proposed program with tribal councils, faith-based organizations, spiritual leaders, traditional healers, victim service programs, and other appropriate victim groups, to solicit their support and approval of the plan. Grantees are expected to submit all Categorical Assistance Progress Reports and Financial Status Reports online, through the Grant Management System (GMS) in a timely manner. Continuation funds will not be granted until all required reports are submitted. An implementation plan, including a 2-year time line (month by month) of goals, objectives and specific activities, should be outlined. The plan should provide evidence that the proposed program will continue to develop and be a permanent program that continues past the federal funding period. Performance Measurement. To ensure compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), Public Law 103-62, this solicitation notifies applicants that they are required to collect and report data that measure the results of the programs implemented with this grant. To ensure accountability of these data, for which the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is responsible, the following performance measures are provided, and should be reported in the semiannual Categorical Assistance Progress Reports: o Number of hours professionals trained o Number of training sessions provided o Number of educational materials developed o Number of professionals trained o Number of services provided The grantee must document completion of these tasks in the semiannual progress reports provided to OVC, with data collected through a data collection mechanism specified in the grant application. Evaluation. The grantee is required to assess its performance in meeting 12-month goals and objectives identified in the application. An evaluation should try to answer at least the following basic questions: o What needs and resources were identified through the community assessment? o Is there an effective network of faith-based and secular victim assistance that can respond to crime victims by providing counseling services and referrals? o What additional or enhanced services were provided? o Were there victims receiving services who had not previously been served? o What successful approaches were undertaken to provide or enhance victim services and to overcome the problems and obstacles? o How were these approaches developed and implemented? o Will the established program be able to sustain their victim services programs after the OVC funding ends? Eligibility Requirements: Eligible applicants are tribal or non-profit organizations, including faith-based organizations, that have knowledge and understanding of AI/AN victimization issues and credible capacity to work with faith-based and tribal organizations. Applicants must identify a total service population in the application. If the applicant is a tribe, applications must be signed by the leader or chief executive of the tribe. In cases where the tribal council serves as the governing body, the application must be signed by the chairperson or other recognized leader of the council. ------------------------------- Application Requirements Budget Detail Worksheet (Attachment 1). See the Budget Detail Worksheet in the online GMS system. You must enter the budgeted items and their costs on this form. A Budget Narrative must also be provided. Applicants must justify the cost of individual items such as personnel, travel, etc., and show how they were computed. Applications containing contracts must include detailed budgets for each organization's expenses. Funds cannot be used for construction costs. o Indirect costs are allowed o Match requirement: 10 percent of grant amount, each year Project Narrative (Attachment 2). Each applicant must submit a narrative of not more than ten (10), single-spaced pages that addresses these areas: 1. Problem Statement 2. Program Strategy 3. Program Management and Organizational Capability. Designate a Project Director of the program. Describe this position's role and activities. 4. Evaluation Plan. Describe how will you evaluate your goals and objectives. Describe how performance measures will be tracked and monitored. Other Program Attachments (Attachment 3). Applicants must submit a tribal or board resolution of support, resumes of key personnel and position descriptions, and letters of support/commitment or memoranda of understanding (where appropriate). Application. All applications must be submitted electronically through the Office of Justice Programs' Grants Management System (GMS), which can be accessed at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm. Application Due Date. Thursday June10, 2004 8:00 PM EST Contact Information. Joel Hall, telephone 202-305-9271 or e-mail halljo@ojp.usdoj.gov.