FEDERAL AGENCY:

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

AUTHORIZATION:

Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Act of 1996, H.R. 728; Omnibus Fiscal Year 1997 Appropriations Act, Public Law 104- 208; Appropriations Act of 1998, Public Law 105-119; Department of Commerce, Justice, State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1999, Public Law 105-119; Department of Commerce, Justice, State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000, Public Law 106-113; Department of Commerce, Justice, State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001, Public Law 106-553.

To provide funds to units of local government for the purposes of reducing crime and improving public safety. Funds may be used for one or more of seven program purpose areas (See Uses and Use Restrictions). Funds or a portion of funds allocated under this title may also be used to contract with private, nonprofit entities or community-based organizations to carry out the purposes of this Block Grants Program. BJA will also make awards to states based on the allocation formula specified in the legislation.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

Applicant Eligibility: Funding under this program is available to units of local government within a state. A unit of local government is a town or township, village, city, or county or recognized governing body of an Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village that carries out substantial governmental duties and powers. Each unit of local government must report Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data so as to determine amounts of allocation. These data must reflect Part I violent crimes, which are murder, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery, that have been committed in each eligible jurisdiction. Data reported and vetted by the FBI for the three previous years will be averaged and used to compute allocations. The amount of the award is proportionate to each local jurisdiction's average annual amount of Part I violent crimes compared to that for all other local jurisdictions in the State. Further, for the purposes of this Block Grants Program the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be considered a unit of local government as well as a State. In addition, each State will receive a minimum award of 0.25 percent of the total amount available for formula distribution under the Block Grants Program.

Beneficiary Eligibility: States, units of local government, and U.S. Territories.

Credentials/Documentation: Applications for funding under the Block Grants Program must also be submitted to the State Administrative Agency and the State Single Point of Contact for review and comment at the time of application submission to BJA. Each state and unit of local government applicant, by completing the grant application, and by accepting a Block Grants award, agrees to certify: (1) that a trust fund to deposit all Federal payments received under the Block Grants Program has been established; (2) that prior to the obligation of any funds received under the Block Grants Program, an advisory board that includes representatives of groups with recognized interest in criminal justice and crime or substance abuse prevention and treatment has been formed. The advisory board must review the application for funding under the Block Grants Program and it must be authorized to make non-binding recommendations to the unit of local government for the use of funds received under this program; (3) that at least one public hearing has been held regarding the proposed use of block grants funds prior to the obligation of any funds received; (4) that the funds required to pay the non-federal portion of the cost of each program will be made available for expenditure during the grant period. This certification is made by including the total match amount on the application form and providing a certification; (5) that block grant funds and any interest deriving there from within 24 months of the date of the initial payment are obligated and expended. Any funds and interest that remain un-obligated or unexpended at the end of the 24 months from the date of initial payment shall be returned to BJA within 27 months of the initial payment; (6) that they will comply with nondiscrimination requirements contained in various Federal laws. If funded, grantees must acknowledge that failure to submit an acceptable Equal Employment Opportunity Plan approved by the Office for Civil Rights is a violation of its certified assurances and may result in the suspension of funding obligation authority; (7) that persons employed by the recipient are eligible to work in the United States; (8) that funds awarded will not be used to supplant state and/or local funds that would otherwise be available for crime prevention and public safety; (9) that they will provide such accounting, auditing, monitoring and evaluation procedures as may be necessary, and keep such records as the Office of Justice Programs may prescribe, to assure fiscal control, proper management and efficient disbursement of Federal funds; (10) that priority will be given to members of the Armed Forces who were separated or retired involuntarily due to the reductions in the Department of Defense in the employment of persons as additional law enforcement officers or support personnel; (11) that they have a law in place which ensures that public safety officers who retire due to a disability sustained in the line of duty receive the same or better health insurance benefits as such officers received while on active duty. Failure to provide such health benefits will result in the jurisdiction forfeiting 10 percent of their award. (12) that they will submit financial and progress reports concerning the activities carried out with the Federal funds received and will maintain and report such data and information as required; (13) that they will adhere to the audit and financial management requirements set forth in the Single Audit Act of 1984 and OMB Circular No. A-128, "Audits of State and Local Governments"; (14) that the information in the application is correct and that they will comply with all applicable provisions of the Omnibus Fiscal Year 1996 Appropriations Act and other Federal laws, regulations, and circulars. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments; and, (15) that they will comply with requirements under 28 CFR Part 69, "New Restrictions on Lobbying," and 28 CFR Part 67, "Government-Wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-procurement) and Government-Wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)."

Pre-application Coordination: None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure: Applications are submitted by the Chief Executive Officer of an eligible jurisdiction, or formal designee, via the Internet-based Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Grants Management System (GMS) at www.ojp.usdoj.gov. On-line submission of an application represents legal binding acceptance of the terms of the application. For further information about the LLEBG portion of the OJP GMS, call the OJP GMS Hotline at 1-888-549-9901; or access the BJA home page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA. For general information about the LLEBG Program, contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770.

Award Procedure: An award is granted by the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs via the Internet-based Grants Management System. The award must be accepted on-line by the CEO of the state or local applicant with assurance of compliance with standard and special conditions of the grant award. Once the grantee has completed the Request for Drawdown phase of the on-line system, BJA then deposits award funds into recipient trust funds for the purpose specified in the application.

Deadlines: The fiscal year 2000 application period was August 24, 2000, and was extended through October 20, 2000. The fiscal year 2001 application period ended August 22, 2001. BJA processed FY 2001 awards by September 30, 2001.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: Approximately 10 weeks.

Appeals: None.

Renewals: Awards are for 2 years from the date of initial payment. If additional funding for the Block Grants Program is allocated by Congress, applications can be submitted annually.

Formula and Matching Requirements: The Federal funds provided under a grant for the Block Grants Program may not exceed 90 percent of the total costs of a program. The applicant's matching share must be in the form of cash. The amount of the required match can be computed by calculating one-ninth of the Federal portion of program costs. For example, if $90,000 of Federal funds is requested, this amount multiplied by 1/9th requires a local entity to match it with $10,000. The Federal amount ($90,000) plus the match ($10,000) should be combined to equal the total program proposal cost. The matching requirement is only applicable to the amount of the Federal award, not any interest or income derived therefrom. The applicant must certify as part of its application that the funds required to pay the nonfederal portion of the cost of each program will be made available for expenditure during the grant period. This certification is made by including the total match amount on the application form and signing the certified assurances document. Regardless of the source of match, it must be expended during the period of the Block Grant. All grantees must maintain records that clearly show the source, the amount, and the timing of all matching contributions. There is no waiver provision for the match. Allowable sources of the match include funds from the following: (1) States and local units of government; (2) Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; (3) Appalachian Regional Development Act; (4) Equitable Sharing Program (Federal asset forfeiture distributions to State and local officials); and (5) private funds.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: The unit of local government must obligate and expend block grants funds and any interest deriving therefrom within 24 months of the date of the initial payment. The funds are awarded as a lump sum. Any funds and interest that remain unobligated at the end of the 24 months from the date of initial payment shall be returned to BJA within 27 months of the initial payment.

Reports: Recipients of funding are required to submit semi-annual progress reports for the remainder of the grant period. A final report is due 90 days after the end date of the grant. All reports will be completed via the Internet. Required financial status reports (SF 269A) are due quarterly on the 45th day following the end of each calendar quarter. A report must be submitted for every quarter the award is active.

Audits: All organizations that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in any fiscal year must have a single audit for that year in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133, as amended, and as stated in award special conditions. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," non-federal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-federal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records: Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to a grant shall be retained for a period of at least three years after the grant has been closed or until an audit has been conducted that does not show any questionable costs.

Account Identification: 15-0404-0-1-754.

Obligations: (Grants) FY 01 $452,893,141; FY 02 est $423,431,947; and FY 03 est $0.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance: For fiscal year 2001, $406,000,000 in LLEBG program funds was available for direct awards to units of local government and territories. Awards are based on Uniform Crime Report data for each jurisdiction. Direct award amounts range from a minimum of $10,000 upward to over twenty-five million based on formula calculations. The fiscal year 2002 formula awards availability has not been determined.

In fiscal year 2001, more than 3,300 awards were approved by BJA. In addition, this program supports and is supported by a number of technical assistance training and technology development grants and is the subject of a comprehensive evaluation.

Office of Justice Programs Financial Guide, Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Guidance available on-screen at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja.

Regional or Local Office: None.

Headquarters Office: Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Department of Justice, 810 Seventh Street, NW., Washington, DC 20531. Telephone: (202) 305-2088.

Potential projects include, but are not limited to: (A) partnerships between community organizations and local law enforcement agencies to prevent crime in business districts, on school grounds, and around high-risk areas such as abortion clinics; (B) hiring of additional police officers and purchasing of necessary equipment to increase the effectiveness of police departments; partnerships between social agencies and local law enforcement to combat domestic violence and child abuse; and (C) development of computer systems that allow fingerprint identification, the maintenance of criminal history records, etc.

The amounts awarded are proportionate to the State's average annual amount of Part I violent crimes, compared to that for all other States for the three most recent available calendar years of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Awards to units of local government will be proportionate to each local jurisdiction's average annual amount of Part I violent crimes compared to all other local jurisdictions in the State for the three most recent available calendar years.