| - The
United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims
of Crime has awarded a grant to the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) to assist
rural law enforcement agencies to integrate a strong victim assistance component
into their agencies. This grant will enable NSA to award a sub-grant to 10 rural
law enforcement agencies to plan, implement and evaluate a victim service unit.
The National Grange has agreed to participate on the national advisory panel to
evaluate implementation of this grant across the nation.
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If your county or rural community does not have a program in place to assist rural
victims of crime, this is your chance to have your community Grange help start
one of these programs in your community. Please bring or e-mail the following
solicitation packet to your local police or Sheriffs Department and ask them to
submit all the required documents to apply for the grant! Submission deadline
is June 30, 2003.
GRANT
BACKGROUND The
United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims
of Crime has awarded a grant to the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) for the
purpose of improving the level of services available to victims of crime in rural
communities. This project will competitively select and provide funding to integrate
a strong victim assistance component into rural law enforcement agencies. In all,
ten rural law enforcement agencies will be competitively selected to participate
in this multi-year project. In addition to providing funding to selected rural
law enforcement agencies, grant managers at NSA will offer guidance and technical
assistance, and help to develop networks so that selected rural law enforcement
agencies can share information in an effort to replicate successes and avoid pitfalls
in other rural communities. This grant is a multi-year project. In FYI 2002-2003,
each of the 10 selected sites will be provided $30,000 to develop or significantly
enhance their ability to provide assistance to crime victims, including the first
response to victims by law enforcement. Subsequent year funding will depend on
the availability of Federal funds to NSA and the performance of the sub-grantee
agencies. In FY 2004, each sub grantee organization will receive $75,000 to implement
its victim assistance strategy. In FY 2005, $40,000 will be awarded for continued
implementation and evaluation. Applicant rural law enforcement agencies must demonstrate
both the ability to participate in close collaboration with system and community-based
victim assistance providers and demonstrate baseline knowledge of victimization
issues. SELECTED
AGENCY REQUIREMENTS/EXPECTATIONS
Rural law enforcement agencies selected for participation in this grant must assign
a project coordinator to lead the planning process, manage the project, and be
available to NSA grant team members for consultation as needed. This may consist
of a part-time employee, or as additional duties to a current agency employee.
During the initial phase of the first year award, selected rural law enforcement
agencies will be required to submit a working plan to NSA, which should include
a needs assessment of victim services in the community. Under the guidance of
the NSA grant team, awardees will be required to revisit their proposed budget
(the budget submitted with this proposal) in an effort to ensure the plan and
expenditures are compatible. Rural law enforcement agencies selected for this
project will be required to submit quarterly progress reports to NSA, including
an accounting of budget and program activities. Towards the end of the first year
of the grant, selected rural law enforcement agencies will be required to send
two team members to a cluster meeting at a location yet to be determined (the
travel expenses for this meeting must be included in the project budget as part
of the $30,000 grant). Attendance will be mandatory for this meeting, which will
consist of a gathering of primary contacts from each of the 10 locations in order
to facilitate information sharing. SELECTION
CRITERION Rural
law enforcement agency selection will be based on information submitted in this
proposal, and only complete applications will be considered. An application will
deemed to be complete when all required document are received at NSA. They include:
Letter of Intent, Program Abstract, Application Narrative, Agency Information
Sheet, and the five Federal Application Forms. Rural law enforcement agencies
eligible for this award include sheriffs' offices and police departments that
serve a rural population. Following competition of the review and evaluation process,
applicants will be notified in writing of the committee's decision. Note that
applications are due at the National Sheriffs' Association not later than June
30, 2003. REQUIRED
SUBMISSIONS 1.
Letter of Intent
Applicants must include a Letter of Intent, signed
by the agency head, indicating that the agency is interested in being considered
for this award. The letter does not bind the agency to the award. The letter is
an acknowledgement that the agency desires to compete for the award, and is an
expression of interest in providing, improving, or enhancing assistance to victims
of crime in his/her jurisdiction. 2.
Program Abstract
The application package must include a one-page
program abstract, which discusses the way(s) in which the agency will approach
the program in order to create, enhance and/or improve the delivery of services
to crime victims in your jurisdiction. The abstract is a summary description of
the approach that the agency expects to take to accomplish the goals of the grant.
3.
Application Narrative
You must fully address all five issues.
Limit each response to no more than two, double-spaced pages per issue.
A) Problem Statement/
Statement of Need - The purpose of this section is to provide a clear and
concise picture of the problem the agency hopes to address, to include a clear
description of the need within your community that you hope to improve/alleviate.
Explain issues within your community regarding servicing victims of crime, and/or
describe the kinds/types of services needed. You may also wish to discuss issues
that affects the delivery of victim assistance in your jurisdiction, e.g., demographics,
crime rates, etc. B)
Agency Response - This is an opportunity to describe a tentative program
plan; to indicate how your agency might address the problem/need, and to state
what you believe will be the objectives of activities. You should include such
information concerning the person within the agency who would be the project leader,
whether or not it is likely personnel would be hired, kinds of programs to be
considered, and types of training that might be offered. C)
Partnerships - Discuss how your agency partners with, or intends to partner
with, other agencies/organizations within your community or area, in an effort
to create or improve victim services. Avoid using acronyms so as to be sure an
unfamiliar reader will be able to understand a potential partner's mission or
business, in cases where this information might not be obvious. For example, if
you propose to provide transportation to victims to important events during the
adjudication phase, you may want to the list the agencies that will be contracted
to carry out this activity. D)
Budget Narrative - Discuss in broad, narrative terms how your agency expects
it would spend the award. This information is not binding, and you will have the
opportunity to modify your plan somewhat once the award is made. For instance,
if your agency thinks it could serve victims of crime by establishing a victim
hot line, explain your rationale, and how that might positively affect victims
in your community. Remember, first year funding of up to $30,000 per agency is
to be used to plan ways to create, develop, enhance or improve victim services.
Second year funding will include up to $75,000 for implementation, and third year
funding of up to $40,000 for implementation and evaluation is expected. E)
Evaluation - The applicant must include an evaluation plan that will assess
the project implementation and the extent to which the strategy will achieve the
project's goals and objectives. For example, discuss what is to be measured, how
the measurement will be done, the frequency of data collection, etc. 4.
Agency Information Sheet 5.
Federal Forms
Five
forms must be filled out to be considered for this award. Click on link below
to download. Application
for Federal Assistance (SF 424)
Budget
Detail Worksheet
Assurances
Form
Disclosure
of Lobbying Activities
Financial
Status Report (SF 269A) Completed
applications should be sent by June 30 to: Jim
Wright, Program Director
National Sheriffs' Association
1450 Duke
Street
Alexandria, VA 22314 If
you have any questions or comments please contact Legislative Research Analyst
Chil-Sook Hwang by fax: 202-347-1091
or by phone: 1-888-4GRANGE, ext 109. Thank you for your grassroots participation
in the National Grange Legislative program. Want
to Subscribe To  ? For
all subscription and circulation inquiries, Contact: Jonathan
Hill. |
