FEDERAL AGENCY:

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

AUTHORIZATION:

Public Law 105-277.

OBJECTIVES:

To develop a demonstration initiative to prevent and reduce the impact of family and community violence on young children (primarily from birth to six years of age) by helping communities to expand existing partnerships between service providers (such as law enforcement, mental health, health, early childhood education and others) to create a comprehensive service delivery system.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Applicant selected to receive Safe Start cooperative agreements may use funds to establish and enhance a broad range of local prevention, intervention and treatment services for young children who have been exposed and are at risk of being exposed to violence; develop effective multi-agency protocols; coordinate services to develop a community-wide system for responding to the needs of children exposed or at risk of exposure to violence.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   To be eligible for a Safe Start cooperative agreement, an applicant must be a public agency applying on behalf of a collaborative group of agencies working to prevent and address the impact of exposure to violence on children. Private agencies and organizations may apply as co-applicants as long as the lead applicant is a public agency.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Eligible applicants for the Safe Start Demonstration Project are communities that have formed a strong collaborative group (or shown the ability and commitment to expand coordination with key partners such as courts, law enforcement, early childhood development and domestic violence agencies, and mental health services) to prevent and address the impact that exposure to violence has on young children. Only public agencies (including State agencies, units of local government, and tribal governments) may apply as lead applicants. Applicants for the evaluation are public and private agencies (private, for-profit organizations must agree to waive any profit for fee), organizations, institutions, or individuals that have demonstrated experience in evaluating broad-based community initiatives and whose experience includes the design of studies capable of analyzing process and measuring impact across multiple communities and the development and delivery of evaluation-based training and technical assistance.

Credentials/Documentation:   Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments, Circular No. A-21 for educational institutions, and Circular No. A-122 for nonprofit organizations.

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

Application Procedure:   The applicant submits an original and two copies of proposals on Standard Form 424 in response to a specific solicitation published by OJJDP. Applicants are expected to address each concern or requirement in the solicitation as clearly and specifically as possible, giving particular attention to goal and objective statements, methodology and data requirements. A peer review group is established as mandated in Section 262(d)(1)(A) of JJDP Act and applications are rated and ranked in relation to pre-defined selection criteria. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110 and the Common Rule.

Award Procedure:   Cooperative agreements are awarded directly to selected applicants, who are notified of a pending award.

Deadlines:   Published in the program announcement/solicitation for proposals.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   From 1 to 3 months.

Appeals:   None.

Renewals:   Continuation grant and/or supplemental award.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   Grants awarded under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act do not require a cash match; except for construction projects, where the match is 50 percent on community based facilities of 20 beds or less.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   An Initial Award will be made for 18 months, with four subsequent awards of 12 months each, contingent upon grantee performance and availability of funds. Drawdowns are possible under a Letter of Credit.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Biannual progress reports and quarterly financial reports are required.

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, unless the audit condition on the award says otherwise. These audits are due to the cognizant Federal agency not later than 9 months after the end of the grantee's fiscal year. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, nonfederal 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. Nonfederal 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:   Grantee must keep complete records on the disposition of funds, and records related to the grant must be retained for 3 years after the date of the final report.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

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

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 01 $10,592,636; FY 02 est $14,603,793; and FY 03 est $10,000,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   Not available.

In fiscal year 2001, nine demonstration sites continued and completed strategic planning efforts, including sites in Baltimore, MD; Bridgeport, CT; Chatham County, NC; Chicago, IL; Pinellas County, FL; Rochester, NY; San Francisco, CA; Spokane, WA; and Washington County, ME. These sites have completed 5-year strategic plans and are now in early implementation. In addition, three program sites continued to implement programmatic enhancements and service integration. These sites include Newark, NJ; Miami, FL; and New Orleans, LA. Two tribal sites were selected in FY 2001 - Pueblo of Zuni, New Mexico and Sitka Tribe of Alaska.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

The Safe Start solicitation/guideline is published in the Federal Register and awards are governed by the OJP Financial Guide, which is available upon request. Reports and studies developed through the OJJDP National Institute are available and can be secured by contacting OJJDP in Washington, DC.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   None.

Headquarters Office:  
Robin Delany-Shabazz
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
810 7th Street, NW, Washington,
District of Columbia 20531
Phone: (202) 307-9963

Web Site Address:  
https://www.justice.gov/

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

In fiscal year 2001, nine 5-1/2 year demonstration sites and three 2-year program sites continued and completed strategic planning efforts and OJJDP selected an additional two demonstration sites in tribal communities were awarded. The National Center for Children Exposed to Violence continues to provide training and technical assistance to Safe Start communities and serves as a clearinghouse for information about violent traumatization and successful approaches to intervention, while further promoting public and professional awareness of the effects of violence on Children.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

Applications are judged according to their consistency with the policies and program priorities established by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Specific criteria are published in the Federal Register as part of the individual program announcement. Applications undergo a competitive peer review process as outlined in the OJJDP Competition and Peer Review Policy, 28 CFR Part 34.