Section II: Application Kit - Instructions for Program Narrative

Program Abstract

Each application must include a program abstract that highlights the problem addressed, purposes, goals, methods, proposed activities and anticipated benefits and outcomes of the project. The abstract should not exceed one side of one double-spaced, 8½- by-11-inch page.

Program Narrative

Submission Requirements. To justify and describe the proposed program, each applicant must submit a program narrative that may not exceed 20 pages and must be submitted on one side only of 8½ x 11-inch paper using double spacing, a minimum of 1-inch margins on all four sides, and a type no smaller than standard 12-point. Single-spaced and 1½-spaced narratives will not be accepted. Applications that do not conform with these requirements will not be forwarded for competitive review. The 20-page narrative limit does not include forms, the abstract, and appendices.

Position descriptions, qualifications, and individual resumes may be submitted as appendices to the application. OVC strongly discourages numerous and lengthy appendices and attachments not directly related to the project. OVC is unable to copy videotapes and publications that are sent as examples of the grant applicant's work. Consequently, reviewers will not receive these attachments as part of the review process. Do not bind or staple applications. One complete grant application package with original signatures and two additional copies should be submitted.

Required Elements. The program narrative should be numbered "Narrative page 1" and so forth. Applicants are strongly encouraged to address the selection criteria outlined in each of the solicitations as they develop the application narrative. The narrative must include the following items in the sequence listed below

• Problem(s) To Be Addressed. For projects applying for funding under the services solicitation, the problem statement must discuss how the characteristics of trafficking victims and existing resources demonstrate the need for trafficking victim services. Applicants must identify the community or geographic area in which the project will operate and address indicators of community need that are described in the Program Strategy section of the solicitation.
  
  For projects applying for funding under the training and technical assistance solicitation, the applicant must clearly outline the issues and problems related to providing services to trafficking victims and how these relate to the need for training and technical assistance for service providers.
  
  
• Goals and Objectives. For projects applying for funding under the services solicitation, the applicant must provide a clear statement of how the proposed program will be of value in addressing the needs of trafficking victims by meeting stated goals and objectives. The overall goals of the project must be clearly defined and linked to the needs of trafficking victims as set forth in the Problem(s) To Be Addressed section. This section should include a statement of purpose that describes the expected outcomes and achievements for the project.
  

  For projects applying for funding under the training and technical assistance solicitation, the applicant must provide a clear statement of how the proposed program will enhance the ability of service providers to assist trafficking victims by meeting stated goals and objectives. The overall goals of the project must be clearly defined and linked to the need for training and technical assistance for trafficking victim service providers as set forth in the Problem(s) To Be Addressed section. This section should include a statement of purpose that describes the expected outcomes and achievements for the project.

Project goals must be stated in clear and measurable terms so that project staff can track the project's progress. Project objectives must be clearly defined, measurable, and described. Objectives must be stated as a list of quantifiable activities that will assist project staff in understanding and therefore achieving the goals of the project.

• Project Strategy/Design. For both solicitations, the project design must be sound and contain programmatic elements directly linked to the achievement of the project's goal(s) and objectives. The applicant's strategy or design must include a description of project phases, tasks, activities, and clear descriptions of interim deliverables and final outcomes. It must include a time-task plan for the duration of the project that clearly identifies objectives, major activities, and products; the months in which the tasks will be accomplished; and the staff person(s) or entities responsible for completing each task. The time-task plan should be presented in chart form and will not be considered part of the 20-page narrative limitation. In preparing the time-task plan, the Gant chart, or schedule, applicants should make certain that all project activities will occur within the proposed project period. The plan also must provide for the submission of written progress reports. All recipients are required to submit semiannual progress reports.

For projects applying for funding under the services solicitation, specific information must be included about the types of services to be provided, the geographic community(ies) or area(s) to be served, and any restrictions that might limit the provision of specific services to a victim or a certain geographic area. This section of the narrative should describe the service provider's ability to perform, at a minimum, the implementation steps outlined in the selection criteria section of the services solicitation.

For projects applying for funding under the training and technical assistance solicitation, specific information must be provided on the project's intended services and deliverables or products, such as training and technical assistance, training curricula, promising practices compendia, symposia, and videotapes, as well as a detailed plan for packaging and disseminating products to the target audience(s). Applicants should keep in mindOVC's requirement that final drafts of all publications are to be submitted 120 days prior to the end of the grant period. In most instances, the draft publication will undergo an external review by subject matter experts retained by OVC to provide written comments on the publication's accuracy, relevance, and readability and to provide suggestions to enhance the publication. In all instances, the publication will be reviewed internally by OVC and other agencies within DOJ. Refer to the OVC Publishing Guidelines Handbook (March 2002), available online, for further guidance on the publication process. Applicants are advised to review the selection criteria section of the training and technical assistance solicitation to ensure that key criteria are addressed in the narrative.

• Program Management and Organizational Capability. Applications must include a clear description of the applicant's management structure. Applicants must include a description of the proposed professional staff members' unique qualifications that will enable them to fulfill their grant responsibilities. For each staff position, applicants must provide a resume (if specific staff have been identified) or job description (if staff have not yet been identified) in appendices to the narrative. The proposed project director must have both the substantive expertise and experience to perform crucial leadership functions and sufficient time to devote to the project to provide the needed guidance and supervision. In addition to these items, the applicant may add, as attachments or appendices, other information that qualify the staff to work on the project.
  
  For projects applying for funding under the services solicitation, applicants must describe their existing or proposed information management system and how it will support their capability to perform case management and collect data related to trafficking victims and the services provided to them. Applicants should describe the proposed data that will be collected regarding their operations, including capacity to track victims, services provided to victims, and the impact of services on victims.
  
  (1) Applicants for Comprehensive Services awards should describe the projected collaboration with government and nongovernmental organizations that will create a comprehensive, systemic response to trafficking victims and include a copy of the signed Letter of Intent as outlined in the "Comprehensive Services: Coalition Building and Outreach" section of the services solicitation.
  
  (2) Applicants for Supplemental/Specialized Services awards also will be required to work collaboratively with other agencies and organizations to support a comprehensive, systemic response to trafficking victims. These applicants must state their willingness and capacity to do this in their applications for funding.
  
  For projects applying for funding under the training and technical assistance solicitation, applicants must demonstrate how their resources, capabilities, and experience will enable them to achieve their proposed goals and accomplish project tasks. Applicants should describe their experience and expertise in organizing and implementing high-quality training events and in providing technical assistance, particularly for victim service providers and related criminal justice system or community-based personnel. Applicantsare advised to address additional areas of legal, cultural, case management, and coordination expertise outlined in the selection criteria section of the training and technical assistance solicitation.
  
  
• Program Evaluation. Evaluation is critical to ensuring that each OVC project is operating as designed and meeting its goals in terms of both the project's activities and impact. Accordingly, each application must provide a plan for assessing the project's effectiveness and evaluating the accomplishment of project objectives. Applicants should identify challenging, but achievable, outcomes in their proposals and describe how they plan to assess performance in attaining the identified outcomes. In order to develop such a plan, goals and objectives must be clearly stated, linkages established between program activities and objectives, and performance measures identified. Performance measures will include a mix of immediate and intermediate outcomes and, as appropriate and feasible, information on long-term impact.
  
  Accordingly, applicants must describe the criteria and units of measurement that will be used to evaluate the project's effectiveness. Examples of effectiveness measures include (1) units of service provided such as number of individuals and/or agencies trained, number of victims receiving services, the number and type of agencies that received technical assistance, the number and type of products disseminated; and (2) cost-effectiveness of the program, service, or product such as cost per unit or savings achieved. The applicant must also include performance measures that do more than describe the delivered activity, service, or product but measure the impact of the project. Examples of these kinds of measures include: (1) new capacities or improved responses to victims; (2) knowledge gained; (3) user satisfaction data; (4) changes in program development and implementation; (5) new policies and protocols; (6) impact on the victims' well-being; and (7) other measures of the program's benefit to the victims field. For all programs, applicants should develop a mechanism for gathering feedback from both the users and providers of the products and services.
  
  The plan should identify all resources that will be devoted to conducting the assessment including identification of staff members and staff time, use of outside consultants to assist with the assessment, and any other support costs associated with conducting an evaluation. Assessment information will be submitted as part of the semiannual progress report and as part of the final report that is due within 120 days of project completion.
  
  OVC is required to report its programmatic results annually, in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). OVC summarizes the individual results and outcomes of all discretionary grant programs, indicating whether the programs are successfully meeting their objectives. OVC depends on its grantees to provide accurate, timely, and relevant information on grant progress and impact. Increasingly, these findings will provide justification for continuing OVC's discretionary grant program.
  
  
• Program Budget. All applicants must provide a detailed budget and budget narrative for the proposed project. Applicants will enter budgeted items and their costs on a budget detail worksheet with a thorough justification for all costs, including the basis forcomputing the costs. The budget must be complete, reasonable, and directly related to the activities proposed in the application. The Budget Detail Worksheet and a Sample Budget Detail Worksheet are included in the Forms Appendix of the application kit. Applicants must justify the costs of individual items, such as personnel and travel, showing how the costs were computed. A Budget Narrative that justifies all costs must also be included. In addition, applications containing contracts must include detailed budgets for each organization's expenses. Applicants should plan to attend an OVC discretionary grantee meeting or post-award meeting with the OVC program monitor and, with the exception of local grantees, budget this at an annual cost of $1,000. Applicants also must budget costs to attend one Financial Management Training Seminar sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs, Office of the Comptroller. Specific information (such as dates and locations of upcoming training events) to assist grantees in estimating such costs can be found at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/oc/fmts.htm and www.ncja.org/financial_management.html.
  
  The applicant must explain how budget items are computed and why they are vital to the project, clearly relating the items to identified tasks described in the narrative. Applicants must show cost effective and efficient use of grant resources, demonstrating that all grant-related expenses are necessary for project completion. Tasks and activities described in the narrative should parallel the budget. All identified costs should accurately reflect the tasks, staff time, supplies, and (if applicable) travel necessary to accomplish the grant-related work.
  
  For projects applying for funding under the services solicitation, applicants must include the total average projected cost of providing direct services to victims based on a calculation of the number of victims anticipated to be served, the average anticipated number and type of services to be provided, and the average anticipated number of days services would be provided. Please see the sample budget detail worksheet in the Forms Appendix for an example. Applicants for the services solicitation funding must also budget for the travel, lodging, and per diem expenses of project staff to attend one 2-day training event and meeting for all award recipients for each proposed year of the project. For Comprehensive Services sites, this should include the Project Director and one other key staff person; for Supplemental/Specialized Services, this should include one key staff person. For budgeting purposes, applicants from the West Coast and Midwest should budget for these meetings to be held in Washington, D.C. Applicants from the East Coast should budget for these meetings to be held on the West Coast.
  
  In addition to these amounts, all applicants under the services solicitation should set aside 5 percent of budgeted project funds to support a range of ongoing training and technical assistance for program staff and 5 percent of budgeted project funds to support project evaluation. These set asides should be indicated as line-item budget costs to provide flexibility and resources so that award recipients may benefit from training, technical assistance, and evaluation activities to develop, expand, or strengthen trafficking victim services.
  
  By statute, federal funds may be used to pay up to 75 percent of the total cost of a trafficking victim services or training and technical assistance project. The matchingrequirement is 25 percent of the total project cost. Applicants should apply the match requirement over and above the total amount requested. For example, if the grant award is $75,000, the total project cost would be $100,000 or $75,000 divided by 75 percent. The match would therefore be $25,000 or 25 percent of the total project cost. The match requirement can be in cash or in-kind contributions, or a combination of both. In addition, applicants may not budget any amount of these federal funds to support construction costs.

Selection Procedure

OVC staff will review applications for completeness and basic responsiveness to the individual solicitation. Responsive applications will be forwarded to review panels of individuals with expertise in trafficking in persons, program development, or assessment of training and technical assistance related to victimization issues. The review panelists will rate each application using the selection criteria outlined in the two solicitations. The review panel will then, as a group, make recommendations for awards to the Director of OVC. Final selection will incorporate considerations such as the community setting of applicants (urban, suburban, rural), regional balance, and previous performance on federal grants. The OVC Director will make final award selections and OVC will negotiate the specific terms of all awards. The Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs has the ultimate authority to approve awards.

Selection Criteria

Selection criteria for each program is included in the individual program solicitation in Section I.

Quality of Previous Performance

Prior to making final selections for funding specific applicants, the Director of OVC and the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs will consider information about the performance of the applicants on previous grants awarded by OVC, OJP, or other federal agencies. Emphasis will be placed on the delivery of complete, responsive products that produced tangible benefits. Applicants who failed to meet grant deadlines, did not comply with OJP financial requirements, or did not adjust to difficulties by setting revised time/task lines will not be favorably considered for funding.

Administrative Requirements

Single Points of Contact Review

Executive Order No. 12372 requires applicants from state and local units of government or other organizations providing services within a state to submit a copy of the application to the state single point of contact (POC), if one exists, and if this program has been selected for review by the state. The Services for Trafficking Victims Discretionary Grant Program is excluded from coverage under Executive Order No. 12372.

Assurances

This package includes a list of assurances that the applicant must comply with 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.

Prohibition of Supplanting

Federal funds must be used to supplement existing funds for program activities and may not replace (supplant) nonfederal funds that have been appropriated for the same purpose. Potential supplanting will be the subject of monitoring and auditing. Violations can result in a range of penalties, including suspension of future funds under this program, suspension or debarment from federal grants, recoupment of monies provided under this grant, and civil and/or criminal penalties.

List of Federal Efforts

All applicants are requested to provide the following information in their applications:

• Active federal grant awards from OJP bureaus or program offices, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or other federal agencies supporting efforts related to serving trafficking victims. For each active award, the program/project title; the federal grantor agency; the federal award amount; and a very brief description of its purpose must be included.
  
  
• Information on any pending application(s) for federal money supporting efforts related to serving trafficking victims and how these would be coordinated with the funding sought for this application.

The list of federal efforts should be included in attachments or appendixes to the grant application and is not counted as part of the 20-page narrative limit.

Purchase of American-Made Equipment and Products

Congress conveyed through the FY 1997 Appropriation Act that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with grant funds should be American made.

Human Subject Research and Confidentiality Compliance

Generally, OVC does not fund projects that conduct research. DOJ is a signatory to the federal policy on protection of human subjects of research, the "Common Rule." DOJ's incorporation of the Common Rule is set forth in 28 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 46, Protection of Human Subjects, which requires that research involving human subjects be submitted to an independent review board for approval and that informed consent procedures be followed. The policies set forth in 28 CFR Part 46 apply to all research involving human subjects conducted, supported, or otherwise subject to regulation by any federal department or agency that has adopted the Common Rule. Federal funds may not be expended for research involving human subjects unless the requirements of this policy have been satisfied, if the research is not covered by an exemption set forth in 28 CFR section 46.101(b)(1).

The applicant must indicate in its application whether the project or activity includes research that may involve human subjects, as defined in 28 CFR Part 46.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance

All federal grant funds recipients are required to assist the sponsoring federal agency to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and with other related federal environmental impact analysis requirements. Services for Trafficking Victims funds may not be used for construction costs; however, grantees may be planning building construction or renovations with its funds or monies from third parties that relate to the use of the requested funds from OVC. In submitting an application for funding, applicants understand and agree that the assistance they may have to provide includes submitting specific information about any site proposed for construction or renovation and any activities subject to an environmental impact review. OVC and OJP will work with an applicant to meet all assessment requirements. To accomplish this, the applicant is required to inform OVC if the applicant must perform for any of its proposed activities an environmental impact analysis under a state or local requirement, or if a federal agency is conducting an environment impact analysis. Additionally, if the applicant is anticipating any related new construction, renovation, or remodeling of a property that (1) is listed on or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places; (2) is located within a 100-year flood plain; or (3) would undergo a change in its basic prior use or a significant change in size, then the applicant should contact Diane Wells, OVC's NEPA Coordinator at 202-616-1860 or e-mail diane@ojp.usdoj.gov to determine what additional information OVC requires.

Certification Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements

The applicant must agree to the Certification Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements forms. The applicant must agree to comply with the following requirements:

• Lobbying. The applicant and its subgrantees, contractors, and subcontractors will not use federal funds for lobbying and will disclose any lobbying activities.
  
  
• Debarment. The applicant and its principals have not been debarred or suspended fromfederal benefits and/or no such proceedings have been initiated against them; have not been convicted of, indicted for, or criminally or civilly charged by a government entity for fraud, violation of antitrust statutes, embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification, destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property; and, have not had a public transaction terminated for cause or default.
  
  
• Drug-Free Workplace. The applicant will or will continue to provide a drug-free workplace. Signing 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, Government-Wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Government-Wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants). The certification will be treated as a material representation of the fact on which the U.S. Department of Justice will rely in making award.

Civil Rights Compliance

All recipients of federal grant funds are required to comply with nondiscrimination requirements contained in various federal laws. If a court or administrative agency makes a finding of discrimination on grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or age against a recipient of funds after a due process hearing, the recipient must agree to forward a copy of the finding to the Office of Civil Rights, Office of Justice Programs. To understand applicable legal and administrative requirements, all applicants should consult the Assurances contained in the appendix.

Program Access

OVC is committed to ensuring the equal access of diverse and underserved populations to the criminal justice system and to victim services. Underserved victims may be defined not just by the types of crimes experienced, but by their age, gender, level of English proficiency, disability status, sexual orientation, national origin or ethnicity, race, or residence in an inner city, rural, or remote area. OVC requires applicants for discretionary funding to consider victims' individual needs, and design project proposals that ensure that resulting products and services are appropriate, accessible, and respectful of victims' autonomy and dignity.

Publications

OVC has developed an OVC Publishing Guidelines Handbook (March 2002) to guide grantees in developing products for publication through OVC's discretionary grant program. If you are unable to access the electronic file, call Yvonne Jones at 202-616-3566.

Applicants for the training and technical assistance solicitation should note that final drafts of publications developed under grant funding must be submitted to OVC 120 days prior to the end of their grant period. This allows OVC time to submit the publication to an internal review, an external review, and a review by other Department of Justice components. If the grantee fails to provide final drafts within this time period, the OVC Director will consider requests for no-cost extensions to the grant period on a case-by-case basis, but no additional funds will be made available to the grantee if OVC requires the grantee to make substantive changes to the publication.

In most instances final publications will be printed by OVC and disseminated through the OVC Resource Center. Only a small printing budget will be approved for grantees who develop materials that must be "pilot tested" prior to the completion of the grant. Applicants should build the 120 days publication review period deadline into their grant time/task lines.

In cases where grantees disseminate their findings through a variety of media, such as books, professional journals, and conferences, the grantee should send copies of such publications to the OVC grant monitor as they become available, even if they appear well after a project expires. OVC imposes no restriction on these types of publications and their dissemination other than the following mandatory acknowledgment and disclaimer on the product:

This project publication was supported by grant number` ______ from the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Grants Versus Cooperative Agreements

For these Services for Trafficking Victims solicitations, OVC will award cooperative agreements instead of grants. Cooperative agreements are used when substantial collaboration is anticipated between OVC and the award recipient during performance of the proposed activities. For example, OVC's involvement might include participating as advisory group members, identifying and recommending resources to support project goals and objectives, and editing draft materials.

Grantee Responsibilities

Award recipients and project directors assume certain responsibilities as part of their participation in Government-sponsored grant programs. Designed to help grantees meet these responsibilities, OVC's monitoring activities are based on good communication and open dialogue conducted amicably with mutual respect. Some elements of this dialogue follows:

• Frequent, open communication with OVC in the early stages of the grant as the project design develops and becomes operational.
  
  
• Timely communication with OVC regarding developments that might affect the project's compliance with schedules, activities, and products set forth in the proposal.
  
  
• Communication with other OVC grantees who are conducting related training, technical assistance, and demonstration projects. The applicant should anticipate either a postaward meeting with the OVC program monitor or an OVC meeting for discretionary grantee. For these meeting costs, applicants outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area should budget $1,000 for each year of the grant.
  
  
• Compliance with OVC requests for brief descriptions of the project and its activities whenever OVC needs such information to report to Congress. OVC will provide as much advance notification of these requests as possible, but will expect a timely response from grantees. OVC will accept such requested information through electronic media.
  
  
• Provision of project information to OVC at conferences, meetings, and elsewhere.
  
  
• Provide OVC prepublication copies of articles; provide OVC notice of interviews based on the project that will appear in print or other media, either during or after the life of the grant.
  
  
• Meet OVC staff and present up-to-date reports on project activities. If this is anticipated, include relevant travel costs in the budget.

Grantees are expected to complete project activities and deliverables within the time frames agreed upon by OVC and the grantee. OVC recognizes legitimate reasons for project extensions. However, OVC does not consider legitimate time delays that occur because the grantee assumed additional projects that impinge upon previously committed time. Any grantee who anticipates a delay must contact the assigned OVC grant monitor to negotiate a new due date. The grantee must submit a revised time/task line for the extended project. Projects with unreasonable delays may be terminated administratively, which may result in withdrawal of any remaining funds from the grantee. Thereafter, application for funds from the project director or the recipient institution will be subject to strict scrutiny and may be denied based on partial failure to meet minimum standards.

Reporting Requirements

Reports

• The Financial Status Report (SF 269-A) is due quarterly, no later than the 45^th day following the end of each calendar quarter. A report must be submitted every quarter in which the award is active, even if there has been no financial activity during the reporting period. The final report is due 120 days after the end date of the award. Future awards and fund drawdowns will be withheld if the financial status reports are delinquent.
  
  
• The Single Audit Report is an organizationwide financial and compliance audit report that must be filed by recipients who expend $300,000 or more of federal funds during their fiscal year. The audit must be performed in accordance with the U.S. General Accounting Office Government Auditing Standards.
  
  
• The Semiannual Progress Report must be submitted by recipients of funding. The progress reports describe activities during the reporting period and the status or accomplishment of objectives as set forth in the approved application for funding. Progress reports must be submitted within 30 days after the end of the reporting periods, which are January 1 through June 30 and July 1 through December 31 for the life of the award. A final report, which provides a summary of progress toward achieving the goals and objectives of the award, the significant results, and any products developed under the award, is due 120 days after the end date of the award. Report format will be provided to the recipient by the Office of Justice Programs. Future awards and fund drawdowns may be withheld if the progress reports are delinquent.

Suspension or Termination of Funding

The Office of Justice Programs may suspend funding in whole or in part, terminate funding, or impose another sanction on a recipient for the following reasons:

• Failure to comply substantially with the requirements or statutory objectives of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, or other provisions of federal law.
  
  
• Failure to make satisfactory progress toward the goals and strategies set forth in the application.
  
  
• Failure to adhere to the cooperative agreement's requirements, standard conditions, and special conditions.
  
  
• Proposing or implementing substantial plan changes to the extent that, if originally submitted, the application would not have been selected for funding.
  
  
• Filing a false certification in this application or other report or document.
  
  
• Other good cause shown.

Before imposing sanctions, the Office of Justice Programs will provide reasonable notice to the recipient of its intent to impose sanctions and will attempt informally to resolve the problems. Hearing and appeal procedures will follow those in Department of Justice regulations described in 29 CFR Part 18.