oppOVW-2018-13828-cfda16.524-instructions..pdf

U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

OVW Fiscal Year 2018 Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV)

Grant Program Solicitation

OMB Number – 1122-0020 Expiration Date: 12/31/2018

Release Date: o n or about December 5, 2017

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are limited to: private nonprofit entities; publicly funded organizations not acting in a governmental capacity; territorial organizations; Indian tribal governments; and tribal organizations.

(See “Eligibility Information”)

Deadlines

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (E.T.) on February 1, 2018.

(See “Submission Dates and Times”)

Registration Information: To submit an application, all applicants must obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) Number and register online with the System for Award Management (SAM) and with Grants.gov. To ensure sufficient time to complete the registration process, applicants must obtain a DUNS Number and register online with SAM and with Grants.gov immediately, but no later than, January 16, 2018.

(See “Registration”)

Letter of Registration: Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of registration to ovw.lav@usdoj.gov by January 11, 2018. This will ensure that applicants are well-positioned to successfully submit an application by the deadline. Submitting a Letter of Registration will not i http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:ovw.lav@usdoj.gov obligate a potential applicant to submit an application. Interested applicants who do not submit a Letter of Registration are still eligible to apply.

(See “Letter of Registration”)

Pre-Application Information Session: OVW will post a pre-recorded Pre-Application Information Session on its website for entities interested in submitting an application for the LAV Grant Program. Listening to thi s session is optional. Interested applicants who do not listen to the pre-recorded session are still eligible to apply. The session is tentatively scheduled to be available by Wednesday, December 11, 2017 on the OVW website.

(See “Pre-Application Information Session”)

Contact Information

For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, email OVW at ovw.lav@usdoj.gov.

Alternatively, interested parties may call OVW at (202) 307-6026.

Submission and Notification Information

Submission: Applications for the LAV Grant Program will be submitted through Grants.gov. For technical assistance with Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Line at 1-800- 518-4726.

The Grants.gov number assigned to this announcement is OVW-2018-13828.

Notification: OVW anticipates notifying all applicants of funding decisions by October 1, 2018.

ii http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/

Contents A. Program Description Overview

About the OVW Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program

Program Scope

Purpose Areas

OVW Priority Areas

Activities that Compromise Victim Safety and Recovery and Undermine Offender Accountability

Out-of-Scope Activities

Unallowable Activities

B. Federal Award Information Availability of Funds

Award Period

Award Amounts

Types of Applicants

C. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants

Eligible Entities

Nonprofit Organization Requirement – Offshore Accounts

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement

Other Program Eligibility Requirements

Limit on Number of Applications

D. Application and Submission Information Address to Request Application Package

Pre-Application Information Session

Content and Form of Application Submission

Letter of Registration

Application Contents

Formatting and Technical Requirements

Application Requirements

Summary Data Sheet iii

Proposal Abstract (not scored)

Project Narrative

Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Additional Required Information

Unique Entity Identifier (DUNS Number) and System for Award Management (SAM)

Submission Dates and Times

OVW Policy on Duplicate Applications

OVW Policy on Late Submissions

Intergovernmental Review - Single Point of Contact Review

Funding Restrictions

Other Submission Requirements

Submitting a Grant Application

E. Application Review Information Criteria

Review and Selection Process

Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates

F. Federal Award Administration Information Federal Award Notices

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Reporting

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) H. Other Information Application Checklist

APPENDIX A

Budget Guidance

APPENDIX B

Sample Letter of Registration

APPENDIX C

Disclosures of Process Related to Executive Compensation

APPENDIX D

Summary of Current and Recent OVW Projects

APPENDIX E

iv

Summary of Current and Pending Non-OVW Grants to Do the Same or Similar Work

APPENDIX F

Sample Legal Assistance Certification Letter v

OVW LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS (LAV)

GRANT PROGRAM

(CFDA 16.524)

A. Program Description Overview The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a component of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Created in 1995, OVW implements the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership on issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Since its inception, OVW has supported a multifaceted approach to responding to these crimes through implementation of grant programs authorized by VAWA. By forging state, local, and tribal partnerships among police, prosecutors, judges, victim advocates, health care providers, faith leaders, organizations that serve culturally specific and underserved communities, and others, OVW grants help provide victims, across their life span, with the protection and services they need to pursue safe and healthy lives, while improving communities’ capacity to provide justice for victims and hold offenders accountable.

About the OVW Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program This program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. § 20121. The Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance1 needed to effectively aid adult and youth victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by providing funds that may be used to provide direct legal services to victims in legal matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence, at minimal or no cost to the victims.

The LAV Grant Program was created to provide victims access to appropriately trained legal representation designed to meet the broad spectrum of legal issues survivors encounter. 2 Although protection orders play an important role in victim safety, representation in emergency and non-emergency protection order hearings does not address the breadth of legal needs of survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The LAV Grant Program supports the provision of holistic legal services. For example, survivors may also need legal assistance with other legal matters relating to or arising out of the abuse or violence, including family matters such as divorce, child custody or child support, immigration, administrative agency proceedings, housing, and assistance related to human trafficking as described herein. Any services funded under the LAV Grant Program must be linked to legal

1 “Legal assistance” includes assistance to adult and youth victims of sexual assault, intimate partner domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in: a) family, tribal, territorial, immigration, employment, administrative agency, housing matters, campus administrative or protection or stay away order proceedings, and other similar matters; and

b) criminal justice investigations, prosecutions and post-trial matters (including sentencing, parole, and probation) that impact the victim’s safety and privacy.

2 A recent study compared legal outcomes among domestic violence victims who had legal aid attorneys, private attorneys, or were self-represented. The study found that greater protections related to child custody and visitation were awarded to victims with legal aid attorneys who had expertise in handling domestic violence cases, compared to outcomes among pro se victims and victims with privately retained attorneys. Kernic, M. (2015). Final report of the impact of legal representation on child custody decisions among families with a history of intimate partner violence study. (NCJ 248 886). U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248886.pdf.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248886.pdf

LAV Grant Program funds may not be used to provide criminal defense services.

For additional information on the LAV Grant Program, including what past LAV grantees have accomplished with their grant funds, the LAV Grant Program performance measures, and LAV grantee-reported data, see http:muskie.usm.main.edu/vawamei/lavmain.htm.

Program Scope Activities supported by the LAV Grant Program are determined by statute, federal regulations, and OVW policies. If an applicant receives an award, the funded project is bound by the provisions of this solicitation, the DOJ Financial Guide, including updates to the guide after an award is made, and the conditions of the award.

Purpose Areas In FY 2018, funds under the LAV Grant Program may be used for the following statutory purposes:

assistance. Examples of activities beyond direct legal services that may be supported with LAV funds include:

• Advocacy, as long as the advocate is providing services related to the legal assistance, e.g., safety planning, court accompaniment, preparation for court appearances, and assistance with obtaining resources such as housing, employment, and child care;

• Translation services, if related to the legal services;

• Child care directly related to legal assistance, e.g. child care to enable the victim to meet with his/her attorney or go to court; and

• Transportation related to the legal assistance, e.g., travel to meet with the lawyer or to court.

1. To implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects between sexual assault, domestic violence, and dating violence victim service providers and legal assistance providers to provide legal assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

2. To implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to provide legal assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by organizations with a demonstrated history of providing direct legal or advocacy services on behalf of these victims.

3. To implement, expand, and establish efforts and projects to provide competent supervised pro bono legal assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, except that not more than 10 percent of the funds awarded may be used for this purpose.

OVW Priority Areas In FY 2018, OVW is interested in supporting the priority areas identified below. Applications proposing activities in the following areas will be given special consideration.

1. Improve services for and/or the response to victims of sex trafficking and other severe forms of trafficking in persons who have also experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking.

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/file/892031/download http:muskie.usm.main.edu/vawamei/lavmain.htm

2. Increase support for survivors of sexual assault, including services, law enforcement response, and prosecution.

3. Meaningfully increase access to OVW programming for specific marginalized and/or underserved populations (based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, etc.).

4. Increase the use of promising, evidence-based, and evidence-building practices, where available.

Trafficking in Persons Under the definitions and grant conditions applicable to the LAV Grant Program pursuant to VAWA, as amended, legal assistance includes services and assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking who are also victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons 34 U.S.C. § 12291 (b) (14). 3 This means that applicants can apply to serve individuals who are both victims of trafficking and victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Applicants proposing to serve trafficking victims must specify this in their application and must demonstrate capacity to serve this population, either through their own expertise and experience or through partnerships with organizations and/or agencies that have such expertise and experience. Applicants must also partner with federal, state, and/or local law enforcement and prosecution to develop comprehensive response protocols to ensure that trafficking victims are identified and referred for appropriate services.

Applicants should specify the specific group of victims they plan to serve (for example, victims of sexual assault who are also victims of sex trafficking or victims of domestic violence who are also victims of forced labor trafficking). Applicants should also specify any services they plan to provide to meet the unique needs of the population specified, keeping in mind the grant funded activities allowed under this program. OVW will determine whether the applicant’s proposal to address trafficking merits special consideration under this priority area.

Sexual Assault OVW recognizes the need to place increased focus on sexual assault, beyond intimate partner sexual assault, in order to address the lack of available direct legal services for survivors of sexual assault and the unique aspects of sexual assault trauma from which survivors must heal.

To increase legal services for victims of sexual assault, LAV applicants proposing to focus 80% or more of their grant activities on sexual assault legal services, beyond intimate partner sexual assault, may submit applications requesting up to $800,000. Applications submitted under this priority area cannot focus solely or primarily on serving survivors of intimate partner sexual assault. Applicants must demonstrate both an understanding of the range of legal services that a sexual assault survivor of non-intimate partner violence may require, and the capacity and willingness of the applicant and its partners to provide these services. Applicants should articulate the specific legal needs of sexual assault survivors within their communities and how project activities would meet those needs. Applications should also reflect the applicant’s specialized training and experience in legal matters specific to non-intimate partner sexual assault. Meaningful responses to this priority area should demonstrate a commitment to addressing non-intimate partner sexual assault and should clearly show that the applicant has the capacity to address the priority effectively. Applicants who state an intent to address the

3 “Severe forms of trafficking in persons” is defined in 22 U.S.C. §7102 as:

a. Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or

b. The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

sexual assault priority area without a clear demonstration of commitment, capacity and/or expertise to provide sexual assault legal services, beyond intimate partner sexual assault, will not be considered. OVW will determine whether an applicant’s proposal to address sexual assault merits special consideration under this priority area.

Activities that Compromise Victim Safety and Recovery and Undermine Offender Accountability The following activities have been found to jeopardize victim safety, deter or prevent physical or emotional healing for victims, or allow offenders to escape responsibility for their actions:

1. Procedures or policies that exclude victims from receiving safe shelter, advocacy services, counseling, and other assistance based on their actual or perceived sex, age, immigration status, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental health condition, physical health condition, criminal record, work in the sex industry, or the age and/or gender of their children;4

2. Procedures or policies that compromise the confidentiality of information and/or privacy of persons receiving OVW-funded services;

3. Procedures or policies that require victims to take certain actions (e.g., seek an order of protection, receive counseling, participate in couples counseling or mediation, report to law enforcement, seek civil or criminal remedies, etc.) in order to receive services;

4. Procedures or policies that fail to include conducting safety planning with victims;

5. Project designs and budgets that fail to account for the access needs of individuals with disabilities, with limited English proficiency, or who are Deaf or hard of hearing; and

6. Policies or practices that discourage accepting cases that have little or no physical evidence.

This list is not exhaustive. Applications that propose any activities that compromise victim safety and recovery or undermine offender accountability may receive a deduction in points during the review process or may be eliminated from c onsideration entirely.

Out-of-Scope Activities OVW has determined the activities listed below to be out of the program scope, and they will not be supported by LAV Grant Program funding.

1. Research projects (This does not include program assessments conducted only for internal improvement purposes. See “Research and Protection of Human Subjects” in the Solicitation Companion Guide).

2. Tort cases.

3. Child sexual abuse cases (i.e., involving victims under the age of 11).

4. Cases involving the child protection system unless the child dependency hearing involves allegations “relating to or arising out of” abuse of the client (rather than abuse of the children).

5. Criminal representation of victims charged with crimes.

6. Support of law reform initiatives, including but not limited to litigation

4If an award is made, the recipient will also be subject to statutory prohibitions on discrimination. For further information on these civil rights requirements, see the section "Violence Against Women Act Non-Discrimination Provision” under “F. Federal Award Administration Information.”

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1007726/download#Solicitation

7. Providing general training and/or technical assistance to agencies that are not formal or informal LAV project partners.

8. Cases involving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

9. Funds for victim assistance/support unrelated to the provision of legal assistance or legal advocacy (such as transitional housing assistance, therapeutic counseling, and rental assistance).

Applications that propose activities that are deemed to be substantially out-of-scope may receive a deduction in points during the review process or may be eliminated from consideration entirely.

Unallowable Activities OVW has determined the activities listed below to be unallowable, and they will not be supported by LAV Grant Program funding.

1. Lobbying;

2. Fundraising;

3. Purchase of real property;

4. Physical modifications to buildings, including minor renovations (such as painting or carpeting);

5. Construction.

Applications that propose unallowable activities may receive a deduction in points during the review process or may be eliminated from consideration entirely.

An application that is deemed deficient in more than one of the aforementioned categories (activities that compromise victim safety, out-of-scope activities, and unallowable activities) may not be considered for funding.

B. Federal Award Information Availability of Funds All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law. There is no guarantee that funds will be available in the future. Therefore, OVW encourages applicants to develop a plan to sustain project activities if federal funding through this program ceases to be available. Also, OVW may elect to make awards in a future fiscal year for applications submitted under this solicitation but not selected for FY 2018 funding, depending on the merits of the applications and on the availability of funding.

Award Period The grant award period is 36 months. Budgets must reflect 36 months of project activity, and the total “estimated funding” on the SF-424 must reflect 36 months. Generally, the award period will start on October 1, 2018.

Award Amounts Applicants should not exceed the award amounts listed in this solicitation and should carefully consider the resources needed to successfully implement the proposed project.

C. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants It is very important that applicants review this information carefully. Applications that are submitted by ineligible entities or that do not meet all program eligibility requirements will not be considered for funding.

Eligible Entities

Funding levels under the LAV Grant Program for FY 2018 are as follows:

1. New and Continuation LAV Grant Program applications that are proposing to provide primarily domestic violence focused legal services or less than 80% sexual assault focused legal services may request up to $600,000 for the entire 36-month project period.

2. New and Continuation LAV Grant Program applications proposing to provide 80% or more sexual assault focused legal services, beyond intimate partner sexual assault, may request up to $800,000 for the entire 36-month project period.

OVW has the discretion to award grants for greater or lesser amounts than requested and to negotiate the scope of work and budget with applicants prior to awarding a grant.

The LAV Grant Program typically makes awards in the range of $400,000- $800,000. OVW estimates that it will make up to 60 awards for an estimated $35 million.

Awards will be made as grants.

Types of Applicants In FY 2018, OVW will accept applications for the LAV Grant Program from the following:

New: applicants that have never received funding under the LAV Grant Program or whose previous funding expired more than 12 months ago.

Continuation: applicants that have an existing or recently closed (within the last 12 months) award under the LAV Grant Program. Continuation funding is not guaranteed.

LAV Grant Program recipients that received an FY 2016 and 2017 award are NOT eligible to apply.

Additionally, current grantees with a substantial (50%) amount of funds remaining at the time of application submission without adequate justification may not be considered for funding, or may receive a reduced award amount if selected for funding in FY 2018.

1. Private nonprofit entities;

2. Publicly funded organizations not acting in a governmental capacity such as law schools;

3. Territorial organizations: For the purposes of this solicitation, a “territorial organization” is defined as a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking within a United States territory;

4. Indian tribal governments, including Indian tribal consortia;5 and

5. Indian tribal organizations: The term “tribal organization” means the governing body of any Indian tribe; any legally established organization of Indians which is controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by such governing body of a tribe or tribes to be served, or which is democratically elected by the adult members of the Indian community to be served by such organization and which includes the maximum participation of Indians in all phases of its activities; or any tribal nonprofit organization. The term “tribal nonprofit organization” means a victim services provider that has as its primary purpose to assist Native victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking; and that has staff and leadership with a demonstrated history of assisting American Indian or Alaska Native victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking.

Nonprofit Organization Requirement – Offshore Accounts Any nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code is not eligible for a grant from the LAV Grant Program.

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement This program has no match or cost sharing requirement.

Other Program Eligibility Requirements In addition to meeting the eligible entity requirements outlined above, applications for the LAV Grant Program must also meet the requirements below. All certification and other eligibility related documents must be current and developed in accordance with the FY 2018 solicitation.

Applications that do not meet all of the program eligibility requirements below will not be considered for funding under the LAV Grant Program.

Delivery of Legal Assistance Any grantee or sub grantee providing legal assistance with funds awarded under this program shall certify in writing that:

1. any person providing legal assistance with funds through this program

(A) has demonstrated expertise in providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in the targeted population; or (B)

i. is partnered with an entity or person that has demonstrated expertise described in subparagraph (A); and

5 Indian tribal consortia: Any applicant representing a consortium of tribal governments must submit documentation of authority in the form of a resolution or legal equivalent from each tribal consortium member, unless existing consortium bylaws or other tribal governance documents allow action without explicit authorization from the member tribes in the consortium. In that case, the tribal consortium must submit a resolution, a letter, affidavit, or other documentation, as appropriate, that certifies that the tribal consortium has the legal authority to apply for grants under this solicitation on behalf of the consortium. This documentation must be current, be sufficient to demonstrate authority for the application, contain authorizing signature(s), and be submitted by the application’s due date. In addition, a copy of the bylaws or other governance documents that allow the tribal consortium’s action without support from all consortium members must be included with this documentation.

ii. has completed, or will complete, training in connection with domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking and related legal issues, including training on evidence-based risk factors for domestic and dating violence homicide;

2. any training program conducted in satisfaction of the requirement of paragraph (1) has been or will be developed with input from and in collaboration with a tribal, state, territorial, or local domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking victim service provider or coalition, as well as appropriate tribal, state, territorial, and local law enforcement officials;

3. any person or organization providing legal assistance with funds through this program has informed and will continue to inform state, local, or tribal domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking programs and coalitions, as well as appropriate state and local law enforcement officials of their work; and

4. the grantee’s organizational policies do not require mediation or counseling involving offenders and victims physically together, in cases where sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or child sexual abuse is an issue.

This certification shall take the form of a letter, on letterhead, signed and dated by the authorized representative. Failure to provide a letter certifying to these requirements may disqualify an application from further consideration. At a minimum, an application missing the required certification letter will be required to submit a certification letter prior to receiving an award. The signed certification letter must be uploaded as a separate attachment in Grants.gov.

A sample certification letter can be found in Appendix F.

Required Partnerships In general, partners identified in the application as receiving a portion of the award are subrecipients and not contractors because they meet the criteria in 2 C.F.R. § 200.330 for distinguishing between subrecipients and contractors: they will be using federal funds to carry out a program for a public purpose specified in the authorizing statute for this program (as opposed to providing goods or services for the benefit of the applicant), will have their performance measured in relation to whether objectives of the grant program were met, and will have responsibility for programmatic decision making. For more information, see the Solicitation Companion Guide.

Required Partnership with a Domestic Violence and/or Sexual Assault Victim Service Provider All lead applicants that are not domestic violence and/or sexual assault victim service providers are required to enter into a collaborative working relationship with sexual assault and/or domestic violence victim service providers in the community to be served as outlined in a memorandum of understanding.

A victim service provider is a nonprofit, nongovernmental or tribal organization or rape crisis center, including a state or tribal domestic violence and/or sexual assault coalition, that assists or advocates for domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking victims, including a domestic violence shelter, faith-based organization or other organization, with a documented history of effective work concerning domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Victim service providers should meet all of the following criteria: 1) provide direct services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking as one of their primary purposes and have a demonstrated history of effective work in this field; 2) address a demonstrated need in their communities by providing services that promote the dignity and self-sufficiency of victims, improve their access to resources, and create options for https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1007726/download#Solicitation http:Grants.gov victims seeking safety from perpetrator violence; and 3) not engage in or promote activities that compromise victim safety. For purposes of this solicitation, a sexual assault and/or domestic violence victim service provider is a victim service provider that serves victims of sexual assault and/or domestic violence.

The sexual assault and/or domestic violence victim service provider must be involved in the development and implementation of the project. For example, if the lead applicant is an organization with a primary mission to provide services to victims of crime generally, a community action agency, a community-based improvement corporation, a law school, or a legal services program, then the lead applicant must partner with a sexual assault and/or domestic violence service provider. OVW may remove from consideration applicants that require, but do not have, such partnerships.

Government-led Family Justice Centers are not considered victim service providers for purposes of this solicitation. Community-based Family Justice Centers may be considered victim service providers if they are nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations with a documented history of effective assistance to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence or stalking. Colocation with service providers will not, on its own, qualify an organization as a victim service provider; rather, to be eligible as a victim service provider, an organization must actually provide direct victim services. Victim service providers who partner with government-led Family Justice Centers or community-based organization-led Family Justice Centers are also eligible if they meet all other requirements of the solicitation. Nonprofit-led Family Justice Centers that do not meet the definition of victim service provider are eligible to apply if they partner with a victim service provider.

Trafficking Priority Required Partnership Applicants applying under the trafficking priority area must include a local, state, and/or federal law enforcement agency and a local, state, and/or federal prosecutor’s office as project partners as outlined in a memorandum of understanding.

Limit on Number of Applications OVW will consider only one application per organization in response to this solicitation. If an applicant submits multiple versions of the same application, OVW will review only the most recent system-validated version submitted before the deadline.

D. Application and Submission Information Address to Request Application Package The complete application package is available on Grants.gov or the OVW website. Applicants wishing to request a paper copy of the application materials should contact ovw.lav@usdoj.gov.

Pre-Application Information Session

OVW will pre-record a pre-application information session for entities interested in submitting an application for the LAV Grant Program. Listening to this session is optional. Interested applicants who do not participate are still eligible to apply. During this session, OVW staff will review the LAV Grant Program requirements, review the solicitation, and address frequently asked questions. The session is tentatively scheduled to be available by Wednesday, December 19, 2017 on the OVW website.

http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.justice.gov/ovw/open-solicitations

The pre-recorded session will be captioned in English, and English and Spanish language transcripts will be posted on the OVW website. Interested applicants needing additional language assistance should contact the LAV Grant Program at ovw.lav@usdoj.gov or at 202- 307-6026 as soon as possible.

Anyone interested in submitting an application to the LAV Grant Program is encouraged to listen to the recorded Pre-Application Information Session and contact the LAV Grant Program at

(202) 307-6026 or ovw.lav@usdoj.gov with any additional questions. A transcript of the session can be made available upon request.

Content and Form of Application Submission The information below (“Letter of Registration” through “Additional Required Information”) describes the full content and form of application submission.

Letter of Registration Applicants intending to apply for FY 2018 funding under this program ar e strongly encouraged to submit a letter of registration. The letter should state that the applying organization is registered and current with SAM and with Grants.gov. The letter should be submitted to OVW at ovw.lav@usdoj.gov by January 11, 2018. This will ensure that the applicant is well-positioned to successfully submit a proposal by the application deadline. This letter will not obligate the applicant to submit an application. See Appendix B for a sample Letter of Registration.

Application Contents This section describes what is included in a complete application package. Applicants should anticipate that failure to submit an application that contains all of the specified elements will negatively affect the review of the application and may result in the application not being considered for funding. Should a decision be made to make an award, the award may include special conditions that preclude access to or use of award funds pending satisfaction of the conditions. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that a complete application is submitted by the deadline.

Applicants should not submit documents that were not specifically asked for in the solicitation.

Providing information that was not requested will not increase the likelihood that an application will be selected for funding. All materials submitted as part of an application may be released pursuant to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Formatting and Technical Requirements Applications must follow the requirements below. Points may be deducted for applications that do not adhere to the following requirements:

1. Double spaced (Project Abstract, Summary Data Sheet and charts may be single space)

2. 8½ x 11 inch paper

3. One-inch margins

4. Type no smaller than 12 point, Times New Roman font

5. Page numbers

6. No more than 20 pages for the Project Narrative

7. Word documents in the following formats: Microsoft Word (.doc), PDF files (.pdf), or Text

Documents (.txt).

mailto:ovw.lav@usdoj.gov mailto:ovw.lav@usdoj.gov https://sam.gov/

8. Headings and sub-headings that correspond to the sections identified in this section of the solicitation.

Application Requirements Applications must include the following required documents and demonstrate that the program eligibility requirements have been met. OVW will not contact applicants for missing items on the list below. Applications that do not address all of the following components will be considered substantially incomplete and will not be considered for funding:

1. Project Narrative

2. Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative

3. Memorandum of Understanding or Statement of Expertise in providing legal representation for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and/or dating violence.6

In addition to the application being scored on the documents listed above, the Summary Data Sheet will also be scored.

Summary Data Sheet (5 Points Total)

The Summary Data Sheet should be one to four pages in length and may be single or double spaced. The Summary Data Sheet does not count toward the 20 page limit for the Project Narrative. Provide the following information:

1. Name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address of the individual with authority to accept grants on behalf of the applicant.

2. Name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address for the grant point-of-contact.

This person must be an employee of the applicant.

3. Statement as to whether the applicant (i.e., the organization whose DUNS number is being used for the application) will serve as a fiscal agent/sponsor for an entity or entities that will ultimately implement the project, and that the applicant itself will not be involved with implementation of the project beyond issuing a subaward or subawards to other entities. If this is the case, the applicant must include a statement acknowledging that, should an award be made, the applicant will be responsible for all applicable statutory, fiscal, and programmatic requirements, including those of 2 CFR Part 200, as well as all project deliverables. The applicant must also list all of the entities with which it will enter into agreements to implement the project, and should include a description of how these entities intend to accomplish the purposes of the award (if such a description is not already provided in a Memorandum of Understanding submitted as part of the application). Note that, in such situations, the fiscal agent/sponsor must be an eligible applicant for the program.

4. Statement as to whether the applicant has expended $750,000 in federal funds in the applicant’s past fiscal year. If so, specify the end date of the applicant’s fiscal year.

5. Summary of current and recent OVW projects (if applicable). If the applicant has a current grant or cooperative agreement under any OVW grant program or an award that has been closed within the last 12 months from the date this solicitation closes, the information must be provided in a table using the format found in APPENDIX D. Failure to provide the required table will result in a loss of points.

6 Statement of Expertise in providing legal representation for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and/or dating violence replaces the Internal Memorandum of Understanding required in FY 2016.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl

6. A list of other federal grant programs from which the applicant currently receives funding or for which it has applied for funding in FY 2018 to do similar work. Provide this information in a table using the format found in APPENDIX E.

7. Statement as to whether the applicant is a nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

8. Statement as to whether the applicant is a nonprofit organization that uses the Internal Revenue Service's three-step safe-harbor procedure to establish a rebuttable presumption that its executives' compensation is reasonable. If the applicant is not a nonprofit organization or is a nonprofit that does not use the safe-harbor procedure, provide a statement to that effect. For additional information about the safe-harbor procedure, see "Disclosures Related to Executive Compensation" in the Additional Required Information section.

9. The percentage of grant activities, should the application be funded, that will address each of the following issues (the total percentages should not exceed 100%):

• Sexual assault;

• Domestic violence;

• Dating/teen dating violence; and

• Stalking

10. Statement as to whether the application addresses the trafficking priority area.

11. If applicable, the percentage of grant activities, should the application be funded, that will address the trafficking priority area.

12. If applicable, the percentage of grant activities, should the application be funded, that will address immigration.

13. If applicable, the percentage of grant activities, should the application be funded, that will support services to victims on Indian tribal lands.

14. If applicable, the amount of funding, should the application be funded, that will be allocated towards pro bono activities.

Proposal Abstract ( not scored) The Proposal Abstract should provide a short and accurate summary (no more than two pages double-spaced) of the proposed project, including who will be involved with the proposed project, what will be done as primary activities, what products will be produced, the service area where the proposed project will take place and who will be impacted by the proposed project.

Applicants should not summarize past accomplishments in this section.

Project Narrative (55 Points Total) The Project Narrative may not exceed 20 pages in length, double-spaced. The Project Narrative must include the following 3 sections:

Purpose of Application (10 points)

This section must:

1. Describe the communities to be served including the geographic location, the populations in the service area, and any marginalized and/or underserved population;7

7 Applicants should use U.S. Census and other government data, as well as the Limited English Proficient Mapping Tool, available at www.lep.gov/maps/, to obtain this information.

http://www.lep.gov/maps/

2. Describe the problem to be addressed (please include local statistics/data, whenever possible);

3. Identify the target population and state how the target population will benefit from the proposed project (please use current demographic information for the service area in order to be as specific and detailed as possible when describing the population to be served);

4. Describe the current services to prevent or reduce sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking in the jurisdiction, and the gaps in those services in the proposed service area;

5. Describe how the proposed services and activities will meet the need that exists; and

6. For continuation applicants only, explain how the proposed activities will enhance previously received LAV funding.

Applicants proposing to provide 80% sexual assault legal services, beyond intimate partner sexual violence, must also:

1. Describe the problem of non-intimate partner sexual assault in the proposed service area (please include local statistics/data, whenever possible);

2. Describe the existing sexual assault victim and legal services in the proposed service area;

3. Describe the gaps in victim and legal services for victims of non-intimate partner sexual violence in the proposed service area; and

4. Describe the barriers victims of sexual assault experience when attempting to access support and legal services in the proposed service area.

Applicants applying under the trafficking priority area must also:

1. Describe the problem of sex trafficking and other severe forms of trafficking in persons who have also experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking within the proposed service area.

2. Specify the specific group of victims the project plans to serve (for example, victims of sexual assault who are also victims of sex trafficking or victims of domestic violence who are also victims of forced labor trafficking).

What Will Be Done (30 points)

The application must provide a clear link between the proposed activities and the need identified in the “Purpose of Application” section above.

This section must:

1. Describe the extent to which the application will provide holistic and comprehensive legal services to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking victims who cannot afford legal services as determined by the lead applicant or project partner after an intake interview with the prospective client. 8

8 The LAV Grant Program was created to provide victims with access to appropriately trained representation designed to meet the broad spectrum of legal issues survivors encounter. Although protection orders play an important role in victim safety, they do not address the breadth of legal needs of survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Holistic and comprehensive legal services should, as much as possible, include representation for emergency and non-emergency protection order hearings and other legal

2. Describe measurable goals and objectives for the proposed project.

3. Describe specific tasks and activities necessary for accomplishing all stated goals and objectives.

4. Describe how proposed activities would address the need identified.

5. Detail how the proposed activities will protect confidentiality.

6. Include a timeline for the proposed project that identifies when the tasks and activities will be accomplished within the 36 month grant period.

7. Provide a supervision and mentoring plan for attorney staff involved in the project.

8. Include a description of any products that will be generated using grant funds and how these products will be used to address the legal needs of victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Some communities would not benefit from the development of new products. Applicants should provide a brief explanation if their application does not contemplate developing any products.

9. OVW strongly encourages applicants to provide comprehensive legal services to underserved communities. Applications proposing to serve victims of underserved communities must demonstrate both an understanding of the range of legal services that survivors in the identified communities may require and the capacity and willingness of the applicant and its partners to provide these services. Applicants should describe with specificity the legal needs of survivors in the identified communities and how project activities will meet those needs. Applications should also reflect the applicant’s specialized training and experience in legal matters specific to the identified communities.9

10. Applicants proposing to use databases or other information-gathering or sharing technology should explain how they plan to address any victim safety concerns that may arise from the use of the technology, such as confidentiality, safety planning, and informed consent.

11. Describe how the proposed project will be accessible to individuals with disabilities, individuals who are Deaf or hard of hearing, and persons with limited English proficiency.

Applicants proposing to provide 80% sexual assault legal services, beyond intimate partner sexual violence, must also:

1. Describe the legal services that will be provided to victims of non-intimate partner sexual assault with LAV funding.

2. Describe any proposed outreach efforts to victims of non-intimate partner sexual violence regarding the comprehensive legal and/or support sexual assault services that will be provided by the proposed project.

3. Provide (1) the number of survivors of intimate partner sexual violence served in the past 12 months, (2) the number of survivors of non-intimate sexual violence served in the past 12 months, and (3) information on the types of legal and support services provided to survivors of intimate partner and non-intimate partner sexual violence by the lead applicant and project partner(s) in the past 12 months.

matters relating to or arising out of the abuse or violence, including family matters such as divorce, child custody or child support, immigration, administrative agency, consumer or housing matters, and other similar matters.

9 The term “underserved populations” includes populations who face barriers in accessing and using victim services, and includes populations underserved because of geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, underserved racial and ethnic populations, and populations underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age). 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(39).

Applicants applying under the trafficking priority area must also:

1. Describe the legal services that will be provided to victims of trafficking who have also experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking with LAV funding.

2. Describe any proposed outreach efforts to victims of sex trafficking and other severe forms of trafficking in persons who have also experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking regarding the comprehensive legal and/or support services that will be provided by the proposed project.

3. Describe how the applicant will coordinate with local, state, and/or federal law enforcement…