oppOVW-2018-13829-cfda16.589-instructions..pdf

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

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

OVW Fiscal Year 2018 Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and

Stalking Program Solicitation

Release Date: on or about December 14, 2017

Eligibility Eligible applicants are limited to: states, Indian tribes, territories, local governments, and nonprofit (public or private) entities, including tribal nonprofit organizations.

(See “Eligibility Information”)

Deadlines Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (E.T.) on January 31, 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 11, 2018.

(See “Registration”)

Letter of Registration: Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of registration to ovw.rural@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.rural@usdoj.gov mailto:ovw.rural@usdoj.gov http:Grants.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 Sessions: OVW will pre-record a Pre-Application Information Session available on the OVW website, for entities interested in submitting an application for the Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program (Rural Program). Participation in this session is optional. Interested applicants who do not participate are still eligible to apply.

(See “Pre-Application Information Session(s)”)

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

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

Submission and Notification Information Submission: Applications for the Rural 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-2018-13829.

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

ii mailto:ovw.rural@usdoj.gov http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http:Grants.gov http:Grants.gov http:Grants.gov mailto:ovw.rural@usdoj.gov

Contents A. Program Description Overview

About the OVW Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program (Rural Program)

Program Scope

Purpose Areas

Mandatory Program Requirements

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

Budget Guidance & Sample Budget Detail Worksheet

APPENDIX B

Sample Letter of Registration

APPENDIX C

Disclosures of Process Related to Executive Compensation

APPENDIX D

Summary of Current and Recent OVW Project

APPENDIX E

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

APPENDIX F

iv

Sample Certification Letter

APPENDIX G

Rural Eligibility Determination and Documentation Process v

OVW Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program

(CFDA 16.589)

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 Rural Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program (Rural Program) This program is authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (34 U.S.C. § 12341). Victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities face unique challenges and barriers to receiving assistance rarely encountered in urban areas. The geographic isolation, transportation barriers, economic structure, strong social and cultural pressures, and lack of available services in rural jurisdictions significantly compound the problems confronted by those seeking support and services to end the violence in their lives.

These factors also complicate the ability of the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking cases. In addition, socio-cultural, economic, and geographic barriers make it difficult for victim services providers to identify and assist victims of these crimes.

The primary purpose of the Rural Program is to enhance the safety of rural victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking and support projects uniquely designed to address and prevent these crimes in rural areas. OVW welcomes applications that propose innovative solutions to achieving this goal and encourages collaboration among criminal justice agencies, victim services providers, social services agencies, health professionals, and other community organizations to overcome the problems of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities. OVW also recognizes the richness of diversity in rural communities and areas across the country, and encourages applicants to implement innovative approaches, through capacity-building and partnerships, to address the critical needs of victims in a manner that affirms a victim’s culture, effectively addresses language and communication barriers, and ensures accessible services for all victims.

For additional information on the Rural Program, including what past Rural Program grantees have accomplished with their grant funds and to view the Rural Program performance measures and grantee-reported data, see http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/vawamei/ruralgraphs.htm.

http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/vawamei/ruralgraphs.htm

Program Scope Activities supported by the Rural 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 Rural Program may be used for the following statutory purposes:

1. To identify, assess and appropriately respond to child, youth, and adult victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities, by encouraging collaboration among sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking victim service providers; law enforcement agencies; prosecutors; courts; other criminal justice service providers; human and community service providers; educational institutions; and health care providers, including sexual assault forensic examiners;

2. To establish and expand nonprofit, nongovernmental, state, tribal, territorial, and local government victim services in rural communities to child, youth, and adult victims; and/or

3. To increase the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities by:

A. dealing directly and immediately with sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking occurring in rural communities; and B. creating and implementing strategies to increase awareness and prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and/or stalking.

For many applicants, the Rural Program is one of the few sources of funding to support the provision of core services for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. For this reason, OVW will only fund applications that propose projects that implement a collaborative response, support victim services, and/or create a direct response to these crimes in rural communities. Proposed projects must devote at least 70% of their project activities and budget to Rural Program purpose areas 1, 2 and/or 3(A). Applicants may apply to address purpose area 3(B), but no more than 30%1 of the project budget and activities may be dedicated to prevention and awareness activities.

In addition to these purpose areas, Rural Program grantees must implement one or more strategies as outlined in the authorizing statute:

1. Implementing, expanding, and establishing cooperative efforts and projects among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other related parties to investigate and prosecute incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, including developing multidisciplinary teams focusing on high risk cases with the goal of preventing domestic and dating violence homicides;

2. Providing treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other long-term and short-term victim and population specific services to adult and minor victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities, including assistance in immigration matters;

3. Working in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward such issues;

1 OVW may approve project budgets that allocate a higher than 30% for prevention and awareness activities where strong justification is provided by the applicant.

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/file/892031/download

4. Developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing sexual assault, including sexual assault forensic examiner programs, Sexual Assault Response Teams, law enforcement training, and programs addressing rape kit backlogs; and

5. Developing programs and strategies that focus on the specific needs of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking who reside in remote rural and geographically isolated areas, including addressing the challenges posed by the lack of access to shelters and victims services, limited law enforcement resources and training, and providing training and resources to Community Health Aides involved in the delivery of Indian Health Service programs.

Mandatory P rogram Requirements Applicants that receive funding under the Rural Program will be required to engage in the following activities:

1. Provide services within statutorily defined rural areas and communities.

By statute, at least 75% of the total amount of funding made available for this program must be allocated to eligible entities located in “rural states”2 . The term “rural” state means a state that has a population density of 57 or fewer persons per square mile or a state in which the largest county has fewer than 250,000 people, based on the most recent decennial census.3

However, regardless of whether an application is submitted by an entity from a rural state or a non-rural state, all applicants must target services in a rural area or community. The statute defines the terms “rural area” and “rural community” as:

(A) any area or community, respectively, no part of which is within an area designated as a standard metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget;

(B) any area or community, respectively, that is--

(i) within an area designated as a metropolitan statistical area or considered as part of a metropolitan statistical area; and

(ii) located in a rural census tract; or

4 (C) any federally recognized Indian tribe.

2. Document the targeted rural areas and communities to be served.

All applicants, whether from statutorily defined rural states or non-rural states, must submit the eligibility and service area documentation as identified in Appendix G. The only exception is for applicants who are federally recognized Indian tribes and therefore are statutorily rural-eligible, regardless of their location. Documentation is not required for these tribes.

2 34 U.S.C. § 12341(d)(5).

3 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(27). NOTE: The following states and territories are designated as “rural” based on the definition of “rural state” and the 2010 Census: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming and the U.S. Territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands.

4 34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(26).

3. Mandatory Set-Aside.

VAWA also requires that OVW award 25% of appropriated Rural Program funds to meaningfully address sexual assault in rural communities.5 Applicants, however, ar e not required to address sexual assault within their individual applications.

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 domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking.

OVW will give special consideration to Rural Program applications that address services and/or responses to victims of sex trafficking or other forms of trafficking in persons who have also experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Under the definitions and grant conditions applicable to the Rural Grant Program pursuant to VAWA, as amended, victim services and 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) 6 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 must identify how they will engage in outreach to trafficked victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking and tailor services to address the unique needs of these victims. An example of an appropriate project under this priority area could be training judges, advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and others who work with victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking to recognize when those victims may also be victims of sex trafficking or other severe forms of trafficking in persons. Another example might include incorporating education and awareness activities into a community coordinated response. OVW will determine whether the applicant’s proposal to address trafficking merits special consideration under this priority area.

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

5 34 U.S.C. 12341(d)(2)(A).

6 “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.

http:persons.34

OVW will give special consideration to applications that meaningfully address sexual assault such as supporting staff positions of adult or pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) and/or Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFEs) training for these professionals, and programs that serve child sexual abuse/assault victims. Applicants are also encouraged to consider other areas addressing sexual assault, such as counseling for sexual assault survivors; the establishment or enhancement of Sexual Assault Response Teams; specialized personnel or units such as law enforcement or prosecution; specialized training related to responding, investigating or prosecuting sexual assault cases; programs addressing rape kit backlogs; and programs that involve implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards in working with incarcerated victims.

Applications that focus primarily (75% or more of their proposed goals, objectives, activities and budget) on developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing sexual assault in rural communities or areas will be considered to be meaningfully addressing this issue and given special consideration during the recommendation process.

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.).

OVW recognizes the diversity within the population in rural America and the existing gaps among current Rural Program grantees in providing services that fully reflect the rural communities that they serve. OVW encourages applicants to consider projects that would increase services to underserved populations and ensure that services are representative of their community demographics. OVW will give special consideration to applications that propose to increase support for underserved populations, such as African Americans, the elderly, and immigrants. OVW also encourages applicants to consider ways in which they will ensure that organizations and programs focus on incorporating representatives from marginalized communities in their respective coordinated community responses and/or on their multidisciplinary teams.

Applications that focus primarily (75% or more of their proposed goals, objectives, activities and budget) on developing, enlarging, or strengthening programs addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking in African American, elderly or immigrant rural communities or areas will be considered to be meaningfully addressing the issue and given special consideration during the recommendation process.

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;7

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;

6. The use of pre-trial diversion programs without prior OVW review and approval of the program or the automatic placement of offenders in such programs;

7. Offering or ordering anger management programs for offenders as a substitute for batterer’s intervention programs. Effective batterer intervention programs should use court monitoring to hold offenders accountable;

8. Procedures or policies that deny victims and non-abusing parents or caretakers and their children access to services based on their involvement with the perpetrator;

9. Dissemination of information, education, or prevention materials that place blame on the victim or focus primarily on changing victim behavior;

10. Policies or practices that discourage accepting cases when victims do not have physical evidence;

11. Policies and procedures that fail to account for the physical safety of victims;

12. Promoting nuisance abatement ordinances, crime-free housing ordinances, or crime-free lease addenda (often associated with crime-free housing programs) that require or encourage the eviction of tenants or residents who may be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking;8 and/or

13. Policies or procedures that require testing of sexual assault forensic evidence in cases where the victim obtained a medical forensic exam but has not chosen to participate in the criminal justice system.

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 consideration 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 Rural 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. Child abuse or family violence issues such as violence perpetrated by a child against a parent or violence perpetrated by a sibling against another sibling.

7If 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.”

8 See also the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2016 guidance on how such ordinances and addenda may violate the Fair Housing Act.

https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1007726/download#Solicitation http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=FinalNuisanceOrdGdnce.pdf

3. Services to children for anything other than child sexual assault or services beyond ancillary services provided to a victim’s child when there is an inextricable link between a parent’s victimization and the child’s need for services and in connection to providing victim services for the parent. For example, funds may be used to provide services to children of battered clients residing in a shelter.

4. Education and prevention for students not specifically related to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking, such as “bullying” or “character building” educational programs.

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 Rural Program funding.

1. Lobbying;

2. Fundraising;

3. Purchase of real property;

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

5. Construction.

Applicants 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, 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.

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

1. Continuation applications will be limited to $750,000 for the entire 36 months

2. New applications will be limited to $500,000 for the entire 36 months

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 Rural Program typically makes awards in the range of $350,000 - $750,000. The amount of the award varies among current grantees and is largely based upon the needs of the targeted service area as defined by the grantee, the geographic area that is to be served, and the scope of the project. OVW estimates that it will make up to 50 awards for an estimated $35,000,000.

Awards will be made as grants.

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

New: applicants that have never received funding under the Rural 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 Rural Program and/or an applicant that received funding under this program in FY 2015 or earlier that does not qualify as a new applicant as defined above. Continuation funding is not guaranteed.

Rural Program grant recipients that received an FY 2016 or FY 2017 award(s) 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.

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

1. States;

2. Indian tribes;

3. Territories;

4. Local governments; and

5. Nonprofit (public or private) entities, including tribal nonprofit organizations.

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 Rural 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 Rural 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 Rural Program.

Documentation of Eligible Service Area To be eligible to receive Rural Program funding, an applicant must demonstrate that it proposes to serve a rural area or rural community. Every application (other than those submitted by federally recognized Indian tribes) must include the proper printed documentation demonstrating that the proposed service area meets this eligibility requirement. Instructions to complete the documentation process can be found in Appendix G.

1. Applications must propose to serve a rural area or rural community, as defined by 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a)(26) to mean (a) any area or community, respectively, no part of which is within an area designated as a standard metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget; (b) any area or community, respectively, that is (i) within an area designated as a metropolitan statistical area or considered part of a metropolitan statistical area; and (ii) located in a rural census tract; or (c) any federally recognized Indian tribe. Note that all areas outside of this definition cannot be served with funding from this Program.

2. Carefully read the directions outlined in Appendix G and submit documentation for all areas the application proposes to serve, i.e. every county and/or census tract. If proposing to serve a town or city or area within a county, the application must clearly identify which census tract(s) in that county those communities are in and include corresponding documentation that demonstrates they are eligible rural census tracts.

3. The only documentation that will be accepted is described in Appendix G. Other types of documentation (from other sources, showing different information, etc.) will NOT be accepted.

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

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.

1. Eligible applications must include a victim service provider as the lead applicant and/or a formal project partner, as demonstrated through a required Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Letters of Support (for state, tribal, territory or local court applicants only, if applicable). A victim service provider is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, tribal organization, or rape crisis center,9 including a state or tribal domestic violence and/or sexual assault coalition, domestic violence shelter, faith-based organization, or other organization, with a documented history of effective work

9 For the purposes of this grant program, a rape crisis center means a nonprofit, nongovernmental, or tribal organization, or governmental entity in a state other than a territory that provides intervention and related assistance, as specified in 34 U.S.C. § 12511(b)(2)(C), to victims of sexual assault without regard to their age. In the case of a governmental entity, the entity may not be part of the criminal justice system (such as a law enforcement agency) and must be able to offer a comparable level of confidentiality as a nonprofit entity that provides similar victim services. 34 U.S.C. §12291(a)(25) https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1007726/download#Solicitation 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 victims seeking safety from perpetrator violence; and 3) do not engage in or promote activities that compromise victim safety.

2. Eligible applications, including those submitted by a victim service provider, must include at least one project partner, and should include agencies and organizations necessary to implement the proposed project. These partners may include victim service providers addressing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking; law enforcement agencies; prosecutors; courts; other criminal justice service providers;

human and community service providers; educational institutions; and/or health care providers, including sexual assault forensic examiners. See 34 U.S.C. § 12341(a)(1).

3. 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 a project partner 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 at the OVW website. Applicants wishing to request a paper copy of the application materials should contact ovw.rural@usdoj.gov or 202 532-4629.

Pre-Application Information Session OVW will pre-record a pre-application information session for entities interested in submitting an application for the Rural 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 Rural Program requirements, review the solicitation, and address frequently asked questions. The session is tentatively scheduled to be available by Thursday, January 11, 2018 on the OVW website.

The pre-recorded session will be captioned in English. Interested applicants needing additional language assistance should contact the Rural Program at ovw.rural@usdoj.gov or 202 532- 4629 as soon as possible.

Anyone interested in submitting an application to the Rural Program is encouraged to listen to the recorded Pre-Application Information Session and contact the Rural Program at 202 532- 4629 or ovw.rural@usdoj.gov with any additional questions. A transcript of the session can be made available upon request.

http://www.grants.gov/ https://www.justice.gov/ovw/open-solicitations mailto:ovw.rural@usdoj.gov

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 are 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.rural@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).

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 https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1 http://www.grants.gov/

3. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)/Letter of Support (Court applicants, if applicable)

4. Eligible Service Area Documentation

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. 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;

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

• Domestic violence;

• Dating/teen dating violence; and

• Stalking.

10. Identify what, if any, of the FY 2018 Rural Program Priority areas are being addressed:

• Improve services for and/or the response to victims of sex trafficking and other severe forms of trafficking in persons who have also experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking. Please specify if any of the following activities will be addressed: training for professionals to identify and respond to trafficking; building a coordinated community response to trafficked victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; legal assistance for such victims; and emergency shelter for such victims. List any other activities addressed within this priority area.

• Meaningfully increased support for sexual assault, including services, law enforcement response and prosecution. Specify if any of the following activities will be addressed:

1. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners/Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners

2. Sexual Assault service delivery – development or enhancement

3. Sexual Assault Response/Resource Team development or enhancement

4. Investigating and/or prosecuting sexual assault crimes

5. Programs addressing rape kit backlog

6. Programs addressing implementation of PREA standards

7. List any other activities to be addressed within this priority area.

• Meaningfully increase access to OVW programming for specific underserved populations. Specify if any of the following activities will be addressed:

1. Services for African American victims

2. Services for elderly victims

3. Services for immigrant victims

4. Services for people with Limited English Proficiency, including developing or enhancing Language Access Plans

5. List any other activities to be addressed within this priority area.

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

Purpose of Application (15 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;10

2. Describe the targeted service area(s) and population within the rural service area(s), including current and relevant demographic statistics for the targeted service area;

3. Describe the problem to be addressed, including local statistics/data whenever possible;

4. Identify current services available to victims in the targeted rural service area(s);

5. Identify any gaps in services for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and/or stalking within the targeted rural service area(s);

6. Describe how grant funding will address the identified problem and how the proposed project will help alleviate service gaps;

7. If the project is to serve more than one county and/or census tract, specifically describe how services and/or activities will be accessed and/or implemented within each county and/or census tract;

8. Clearly identify where the applicant organization is located in relationship to the service area, and specifically describe where all grant funded positions (for both the applicant and any partner organizations) will be located in terms of the project service area;

9. If the applicant is located in a non-rural area and/or is an agency serving both rural and non-rural areas,…