15tcclafaq.pdf

Tribal Civil and Legal Assistance Grants, Training and Technical Assistance FY 2015 Competitive Grant Announcement

Applications Due: June 9, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. eastern time

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Under categories 1, civil legal assistance, and 2, criminal legal assistance, who is eligible as a non-profit (Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) § 501(c)(3)) entities?”

All non-profits that are registered as a non-profit organization with the Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code are eligible organizations under Categories 1 and 2 of this solicitation. This includes § 501(c)(3) entities that are a component, subsidiary or ancillary of a recognized tribe, a tribal enterprise, and educational institutions (public, private, and tribal colleges and universities). All applicants are nonprofits which provide legal assistance services for members of federally recognized Indian tribes (Category 1) and all individuals (Category 2) pursuant to federal poverty guidelines. Non-profits are required to submit verification that they have 501(c)(3) status, as an attachment to their application. At the time of application, an applicant must hold a 501(c)(3) tax status.

2. Under Category 3, who is eligible to apply?

Applicants in Category 3 are limited to national or regional membership organizations and associations which membership or a membership section consists of judicial system personnel within tribal justice systems. At the time of application, an applicant must be a membership organization or association.

Applicants are encouraged to consider partnering with other organizations to submit joint applications for the required services and deliverables, where appropriate. (See Page 2 of the solicitation for more information on the lead applicant.)

3. May resources be used in non-tribal civil or criminal proceedings?

No. Resources for Categories 1 and 2 are authorized to be used to address civil and criminal causes of action under the jurisdiction of federally recognized Indian tribes and/or other purposes consistent with this Chapter 38A, Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance (beginning at 25 U.S.C. § 3651).

4. Are the tribal criminal legal assistance grants available for entities that provide legal assistance services on juvenile matter for federally recognized Indian tribes, members of federally recognized Indian tribes, or tribal justice systems?

Yes. Under Category 2, criminal legal assistance services grants funded may include adult criminal actions, juvenile delinquency actions, and guardian ad litem appointments arising out of criminal or delinquency acts.

https://www.bja.gov/Funding/15TCCLAsol.pdf

5. All three grant categories have up to a 24-month project period. Does that mean a non-profit must include up to a 24-month budget narrative and budget detail plan?

The applicant must submit a budget and a budget narrative that is consistent with the proposed program period in the application. This can be a period of up to 24 months. The Budget Narrative should thoroughly and clearly describe every category of expense listed in the Budget Detail Worksheet. The narrative should be mathematically sound and correspond with the information and figures provided in the Budget Detail Worksheet. A fillable budget detail worksheet is available on the Office of Justice Programs web site at:

http://ojp.gov/financialguide/index.htm.

6. What are allowable and unallowable costs?

Allowable costs are reasonable costs necessary for the project that are consistent with the solicitation requirements. In addition, the cost must support the strategies and approaches outlined in the project design. Unallowable costs are costs the government is unwilling to pay as a direct charge or through an indirect cost pool applied to the federal grant or contract. An organization is not prohibited from incurring unallowable costs but they cannot be recovered either directly or indirectly under federal grants or contracts. Examples of allowable and unallowable costs can be located in the OJP Financial Guide at http://ojp.gov/financialguide/index.htm.

7. Are consortiums eligible to apply? What is a consortium?

Yes, a consortium is eligible to apply, if the lead applicant meets the eligibility requirements stated in the solicitation. A consortium is two or more organizations or entities that agree to partner together to submit an application; however, one organization must agree to serve as the lead organization for the purpose of submitting the application and for purposes of award administration.

8. Can I submit more than one proposal?

Yes, an organization may submit more than one proposal, but cannot have more than one proposal in one category. For example, an organization can submit two applications - one for Category 1 and one for Category 2, but cannot submit two or more applications under one category. Applicants must coordinate within their community, Indian tribe, and with local service providers such as Indian Legal Services to determine if the application submitted duplicates services for the same Indian tribe(s) and its members.

9. What other resources support legal defense services in the U.S. Department of Justice?

The FY 2015 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), directed to Indian Tribes, provides funding to support legal defense services. Specifically, Indigent defense and or criminal legal defense services is allowable and can be found in “Purpose Area # 3 Justice systems, alcohol and substance abuse” of the CTAS application. The CTAS competition is closed. CTAS information is available at Tribal Justice and Safety web site:

www.justice.gov/tribal/grants.

http://ojp.gov/financialguide/index.htm http://ojp.gov/financialguide/index.htm http://www.justice.gov/tribal/grants

The Departments’ Access to Justice (ATJ) web site provides useful information on resources to support both legal defense services and civil legal aid. For legal defense services, see publications entitled “Federal Resources for Tribal Criminal Defense & Juvenile Delinquency Representation” and “Courts and Indigent Defense Providers Resource Guide” www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atj/legacy/2013/03/15/providers.pdf. For civil legal aid, see “Grant Information” web page at ATJ’s web site www.justice.gov/atj.

One-time funding and, in some instances, an increase in base funding is available from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Tribal Justice Support Directorate (TJSD), as well as individualized training and technical assistance for areas identified within the tribal court assessment conducted by outside contractors and experts in the field of tribal courts. This includes both legal defense services and civil legal aid. For eligibility requirements and other relevant information, contact information for TJSD is found at www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/OJS/ojs-services/ojs-tjs/index.htm.

CONTACTS:

For policy matters: For program and budget matters:

Norena Henry, Senior Policy Advisor Geislia Barnes, Program Manager Bureau of Justice Assistance Bureau of Justice U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice Norena.Henry@ojp.usdoj.gov Geislia.Barnes@ojp.usdoj.gov Phone: 202-616-3205 Phone: 202-514-8516 http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/atj/legacy/2013/03/15/providers.pdf http://www.justice.gov/atj http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/OJS/ojs-services/ojs-tjs/index.htm mailto:Norena.Henry@ojp.usdoj.gov mailto:Geislia.Barnes@ojp.usdoj.gov