ovw fiscal year 2011 safe havens - supervised visitation and safe exchange grant program.pdf

OMB Number: 1122-0020

Expiration Date: 6/30/2013

U.S. Department of Justice

Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)

OVW Fiscal Year 2011

Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program

Eligibility

Applicants are limited to States, Indian Tribal governments, and units of local government.

(See “Eligibility,” page 4)

Deadline

To assist OVW in planning for the independent peer review process, letters of intent to apply should be submitted by March 1, 2011. Please note, however, that letters of intent are optional.

Interested applicants who do not submit a letter of intent by the deadline are still eligible to apply. To ensure all applicants have ample time to complete the registration process through

Grants.Gov, applicants should register online with Grants.gov by March 1, 2011.

All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. E.T. on March 15, 2011.

(See “Deadline: Application,” page 4.)

Contact Information

For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact OVW at (202) 307-6026.

In Fiscal Year 2011, OVW applications will be submitted through Grants.gov. For further information and assistance, please see the OVW Grant Program Solicitation Reference Guide at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/resource-guidebook.pdf.

Grants.gov Number assigned to announcement: OVW-2011-2909

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by September 30, 2011.

http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/resource-guidebook.pdf

CONTENTS

Overview of the Supervised Visitation Program

Civil Rights Compliance

Deadline: Letter of Intent

Deadline: Registration

Deadline: Application

Eligibility

OVW Supervised Visitation Program-Specific Information

Types of Applicants

Availability of Funds

Award Period

Award Amounts

Program Scope

Minimum Requirements

How to Apply

What an Application Must Include

I. Summary Data Sheet

II. Project Narrative

III. Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative

IV. Memorandum of Understanding or Letters of Intent to Collaborate

V. Proposal Abstract

VI. Summary of Current OVW Projects

VII. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

VIII. Standard Assurances and Certifications

IX. Financial Accounting Practices

X. Letter of Nonsupplanting

XI. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

XII. Certification Letter

Selection Criteria

Review Process

Performance Measures

Notice of New Post-Award Reporting Requirements

Additional Requirements

Public Reporting Burden

Application Checklist

OVW Safe Havens Supervised Visitation and

Safe Exchange Grant Program

(CFDA 16.527)

Overview of the Supervised Visitation Program This solicitation contains information on how to apply for the Safe Havens: Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program (Supervised Visitation Program). For general information on applying for all OVW grant programs, please see the OVW Fiscal Year 2011 Grant Program Solicitation Reference Guide (Reference Guide) at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/resource guidebook.pdf. All applicants should read carefully both this solicitation and the Reference Guide before beginning the application process.

About the OVW Safe Havens Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Program

The Supervised Visitation Program provides an opportunity for communities to support supervised visitation and safe exchange of children in situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, child abuse, or stalking. Studies have shown that the risk of violence is often greater for victims of domestic violence and their children after separation from an abusive situation.1 Even after separation, batterers often use visitation and exchange of children as an opportunity to inflict additional emotional, physical, and/or psychological abuse on victims and their children. Visitation and exchange services provided through the Supervised Visitation Program should reflect a clear understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; the impact of domestic violence on children; and the importance of holding offenders accountable for their actions.

Civil Rights Compliance All recipients of federal grant funds are required to comply with nondiscrimination requirements contained in various federal laws. In the event that a court or administrative agency makes a finding of discrimination on grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or age against a recipient of funds after a due process hearing, the recipient must agree to forward a copy of the finding to the Office for Civil Rights of OJP. All applicants should consult the Assurances required with the application funds to understand the applicable legal and administrative requirements.

Services to Limited English Proficient (LEP) Persons

National origin discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of limited English proficiency (LEP). To ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, recipients are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to their programs. Meaningful access may entail providing language assistance services, including interpretation and translation services, where necessary. Grantees are encouraged to consider the need for language services for LEP persons served or encountered both in developing their proposals and budgets and in

1 Jaffe, P.G., “Children of Domestic Violence: Special Challenges in Custody and Visitation Dispute Resolution.” In J.

Carter, C. Heisler, & M. Runner (Eds.), Domestic Violence and Children: Resolving Custody and Visitation Disputes, A National Judicial Curriculum (San Francisco: Family Violence Prevention Fund), pp. 22-30.

conducting their programs and activities. Reasonable costs associated with providing meaningful access for LEP individuals are considered allowable program costs. The U.S.

Department of Justice has issued guidance for grantees to assist them in complying with Title VI requirements. The guidance document can be accessed on the Internet at www.lep.gov or by contacting the OJP’s Office for Civil Rights at (202) 307-0690, or by writing to the following address:

Office for Civil Rights Office of Justice Programs U.S. Department of Justice 810 7th Street, N.W., 8th Floor Washington, DC 20531

Deadline: Letter of Intent If you intend to apply for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 funding under this program, we encourage you to submit a letter stating that you intend to apply for funding. The letter will not obligate you to submit an application. Please see http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/sample_letter_of_intent.pdf for a sample letter. The letter should be submitted to OVW by March 1, 2011. You may send the letter to OVW at OVW.SupervisedVisitation@usdoj.gov. OVW will use these letters to predict the number of peer review panels needed to review the applications. You may still submit an application for funding if you do not submit a Letter of Intent.

Deadline: Registration The Grants.gov registration deadline is March 1, 2011. For more information on the process of registering and applying in Grants.gov, please see the Reference Guide at pages 15-19.

Deadline: Application An application submission is complete if: (a) a hard copy of the entire application, with original signatures, has been submitted via overnight delivery on or before the deadline; and (b) the application has been submitted through Grants.gov. Both electronic and hard copy submissions are required.

The deadline for applying for funding under this announcement is March 15, 2011, 11:59 p.m.

E.T. A hard copy must be sent via an overnight delivery method, date stamped by the shipping company on or before March 15, 2011 to:

The Office on Violence Against Women c/o Lockheed Martin Aspen Systems Corporation Supervised Visitation Program Mail Stop 2K 2277 Research Boulevard Rockville, MD 20850

(301) 519-5000

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications well in advance of the deadline to ensure a successful submission through Grants.gov. For information on OVW’s policy for late applications, please see the Reference Guide at pages 17-19.

mailto:OVW.SupervisedVisitation@usdoj.gov http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/sample_letter_of_intent.pdf

Eligibility It is very important that you review this information carefully. Applications that are submitted by non-eligible entities will be screened out during an initial review process and omitted from further review.

By statute, eligible entities for this program are:

States2

Indian Tribal governments Units of local government

All applicants are required to enter into a collaborative working relationship with state, tribal, or local courts and a nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence or sexual assault victim services organization to expand the scope of existing services for supervised visitation and safe exchange of children in situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and child abuse.

Unit of Local Government

For the purposes of this program, a unit of local government is any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general-purpose political subdivision of a state; an Indian tribe that performs law enforcement functions as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or, for the purpose of assistance eligibility, any agency of the District of Columbia government or the United States Government performing law enforcement functions in and for the District of Columbia or any Trust Territory of the United States.3 Local courts, police departments, pre-trial service agencies, district or city attorneys’ offices, sheriffs’ departments, probation and parole departments, shelters, nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services agencies, and universities are not considered units of local government for the purposes of this grant program unless they meet the “unit of local government” definition under 42 U.S.C. § 3791 (see footnote 3).

Applications from typically “non-eligible” entities that want to assert “unit of local government” status under 42 U.S.C. § 3791 must include proof of such status.

Indian Tribe For the purposes of this Program, Indian tribe is defined as any tribe, band, pueblo, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation (as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 43 U.S.C. §1601 et seq.), that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians (25 U.S.C. § 450b(e)). Any applicant representing a consortium of Tribal governments must submit a resolution from the constituent Tribal governments supporting the application.

2 For the purposes of this grant program, a state is defined to include all states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

3 As defined in 42 U.S.C. § 3791, “unit of local government” also includes any law enforcement district or judicial enforcement district that is established under applicable state law and has the authority to, in a manner independent of other state entities, establish a budget and impose taxes.

OVW Supervised Visitation Program-Specific Information Types of Applicants In FY 2011, OVW will accept applications for the Supervised Visitation Program from both development and continuation applicants. For the purposes of this grant program, development applicants are: 1) applicants that have never received Supervised Visitation Program funds; and

2) former Supervised Visitation Program grantees whose awards have expired and who either applied and were not refunded or did not apply for FY 2010 funding. Continuation applicants are: 1) applicants that received 36 months of funding in FY 2008; 2) applicants that received 24 months of funding in FY 2009; and 3) applicants with current awards that expire on or after March 15, 2011. Note: Applicants that received 36 months of funding in FY 2009 and applicants that were funded in FY 2010 are not eligible to apply for FY 2011 funding.

Development Project

A development project is divided into a planning phase and an implementation phase over a 36 month period.

1) Planning Phase: Applicants must limit the first 12 months of the project to planning activities. Jurisdictions selected as development projects (including communities with established visitation centers) will work with OVW and Supervised Visitation Program technical assistance providers to establish the groundwork for developing a supervised visitation program. Proposed activities must include, but are not limited to:

Participating in site visits and technical assistance events;

Funding a coordinator for the grant project;

Coordinating and conducting planning meetings;

Establishing an advisory/consulting committee; and

Developing visitation center policies and protocols.

2) Implementation Phase: Upon successfully completing the planning phase, grantees will begin implementing supervised visitation and exchange services over the remainder of the project period. During this phase, grantees will continue to work with OVW and Supervised Visitation Program technical assistance providers to implement their supervised visitation project.

Continuation Projects

Applicants with awards expiring after March 15, 2011 are eligible to apply for funding to continue and/or enhance their existing visitation and exchange programs. Applications for multi jurisdictional4 projects must demonstrate that each visitation/exchange center involved in the award project meets the statutory and minimum requirements of the Supervised Visitation Program, as outlined on page 8 of the solicitation. In addition, each center must operate as a separate facility for a minimum of 20 hours per week.

4 A multi-jurisdictional project proposes two or more supervised visitation centers in two or more jurisdictions. Multi-jurisdictional projects are limited to three visitation centers and or/jurisdictions

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. Funding is not guaranteed. Requests should be tied to a specific project or proposal.

Applicants should be aware that awards will be made as cooperative agreements and OVW will play a substantial role in shaping and monitoring the award project.

Award Period The award period for these grants will be 36 months. Budgets must reflect 36 months of project activity, and the total “estimated funding” (block 15) on the SF-424 must reflect 36 months.

Award Amounts Applicants should carefully consider the resources needed to successfully implement the project proposed and present a realistic budget that accurately reflects project costs. Supervised Visitation Program funds for FY 2011 will be awarded based on the following guidelines:

Up to $400,000 for a three-year development project;

Up to $350,000 for a three-year continuation project with one visitation site;

Up to $500,000 for a three-year continuation project with two visitation sites; or

Up to $650,000 for a three-year continuation project with three visitation sites.

Program Scope The scope of the Supervised Visitation Program is defined by the following statutory considerations and minimum requirements. Applicants must address these considerations and requirements in the Project Narrative section of the application. During the OVW internal review, applications that are partially out of scope will receive up to a 25-point deduction.

Applications that propose projects that are substantially outside the scope of the Supervised Visitation Program’s statutory purpose areas will be disqualified from further funding consideration.

Statutory Program Purposes

By statute, funds under the Supervised Visitation Program may be used for the following purposes:

Provide supervised visitation and safe exchange of children by and between parents in situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or child abuse;

Protect children from the trauma of witnessing domestic or dating violence or experiencing abduction, injury, or death during parent and child visitation exchanges;

Protect parents or caretakers who are victims of domestic or dating violence from experiencing further violence, abuse, and threats during child visitation exchanges; and

Protect children from the trauma of experiencing sexual assault or other forms of physical assault or abuse during parent and child visitation and exchanges.

Safety for adult victims is the overarching goal of the Supervised Visitation Program. Program funds must be used to provide visitation and exchange services between custodial and non custodial parents in cases in which a parent is the victim of domestic violence and therefore is at risk for further harm. Given the high rate of co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse, grant funds may be used to serve families in which child abuse is a factor. However, visitation and exchange services for the primary purpose of providing access to children in cases of substance abuse, mental illness, child support, foster care, or high conflict divorce (unrelated to domestic violence) are beyond the scope of this grant program and cannot be supported with OVW funds. Activities funded under this grant program must reflect equal regard for the safety of children and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

Funds may be used for, but are not limited to, the following activities:

Strengthening existing program operations;

Expanding services at existing centers;

Increasing center staff;

Enhancing security at existing centers; and

Developing training for center staff and volunteers.

Statutory Considerations

By statute, OVW will take into account the following considerations when awarding cooperative agreements:

The number of families to be served by the proposed visitation programs and services;

The extent to which the proposed supervised visitation programs and services serve underserved populations;5

The extent to which the applicant demonstrates cooperation and collaboration with non profit, nongovernmental entities in the local community served, including the state or tribal domestic violence coalitions, state or tribal sexual assault coalitions, local shelters, and programs for domestic violence and sexual assault victims; and

The extent to which the applicant demonstrates coordination and collaboration with state and local court systems, including mechanisms for communication and referral.

Minimum Requirements

Under U.S.C. § 10420(c), all applicants for the Supervised Visitation Program must:

Demonstrate expertise in the area of family violence, including domestic violence or sexual assault;

Ensure that any fees charged to individuals for use of programs and services are based on the income of those individuals, unless otherwise provided by court order;

Demonstrate that adequate security measures, including adequate facilities, procedures, and personnel capable of preventing violence, are in place for the operation of supervised visitation programs and services or safe visitation exchange;6 and

Prescribe standards by which supervised visitation or safe visitation exchange will occur.

5 The term “underserved populations” includes populations underserved because of geographic location, underserved racial and ethnic populations, populations underserved because of special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and any other population determined to be underserved by the Attorney General.

(42 U.S.C.§ 13925(a)(33))

6 A document describing the criteria used by OVW to determine if a site provides adequate safety and security is forthcoming. At a minimum, the supervised visitation center should ensure the physical, auditory, and visual separation of the custodial and non-custodial parties.

OVW Special Interest Areas

OVW is particularly interested in applications for funding under the FY 2011 Supervised Visitation Program that propose to address one or both of the areas described below.

FY 2011 Supervised Visitation Program Special Interest Area 1: Custody and Visitation. OVW is interested in funding projects addressing the barriers that adult victims of domestic violence face in the court system and in supervised visitation centers. Priority consideration may be given to applicants proposing innovative strategies for engaging their court partner(s) on issues of custody and visitation through activities including but not limited to: 1) training for judges on domestic violence in the context of protection order and custody cases and supervised visitation; 2) modification of court procedures to facilitate more consistent and appropriate decision-making in custody and visitation cases involving domestic violence; and 3) hiring designated staff (e.g., court liaison) to better meet the needs of adult and child victims of domestic violence in visitation and/or custody cases.

FY 2011 Supervised Visitation Program Special Interest Area 2: Underserved Populations. OVW is interested in funding projects that propose to broaden access to supervised visitation and exchange services for underserved populations. This includes populations that are underserved due to geographic location, race, ethnicity, special needs (such as language barriers, disabilities, alienage status, or age), and/or any other population determined to be underserved by the Attorney General, as appropriate.

Underserved populations may also include low-income persons, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons, and others in the applicant’s community who are underserved by visitation centers and their MOU partners. Any applicant addressing this special interest area must include in their application narrative: a) a description of the underserved population(s) that will be targeted; b) a description of current efforts in the community to reach adult and child victims of domestic violence who are traditionally underserved; and c) a description of how OVW funding will be used to broaden access to supervised visitation and exchange services for underserved populations.

Unallowable Activities

Grant funds under the Supervised Visitation Program may not be used for any unauthorized purposes, including but not limited to the following activities:

Lobbying;

Fundraising;

Research projects;

Purchase of real property;

Construction;

Physical modifications to buildings, including minor renovations;

Therapeutic visitation;

Parent education/batterer intervention programs; and

Individual, group, and family counseling.

Activities That May Compromise Victim Safety and Recovery

The following is a list of activities that have been found to jeopardize victim safety, deter or prevent physical and emotional healing for victims, or allow offenders to escape responsibility for their actions. OVW strongly discourages applicants from including these activities in their applications:

Requiring adult victims to participate in mediation or family counseling;7

Requiring a court order to access visitation and/or exchange services; and

Providing custody evaluations or court reports based on subjective information and opinions of center staff and volunteers.

Activities that compromise victim safety and recovery will be a factor reviewed during OVW internal review, and OVW reserves the right to deduct points if these activities are included in an application. Applications may be considered out of scope if substantial activities are included that could compromise victim safety and recovery.

Confidentiality

Applicants should be cognizant of victims’ confidentiality. Please see Reference Guide at page 7 for more information.

How to Apply See the Reference Guide at pages 15-19 for instructions on how to apply.

What an Application Must Include Applicants must complete each of the following sections as part of their response to this solicitation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that its application is complete by the deadline. OVW may remove an application from consideration prior to peer review if the application is substantially incomplete or received after the deadline without prior permission as described in the Reference Guide at pages 17-19. For each section listed below, please note the corresponding maximum point value that may be assigned during the peer review scoring process. The application should use headings and subheadings in the order below for ease of review. Peer reviewers may not receive any additional materials submitted beyond those required. For example, if an application includes a narrative that is 25 pages long, the last five pages may be removed prior to peer review.

Applications must follow the following page format requirements:

Double spaced (except that any included graphs and charts may be single-spaced)

8½ x 11 inch paper

One inch margins

Type no smaller than 12 point, Times New Roman font

Include a brief Summary Data Sheet

Include a Project Abstract (please limit to one page)

Include a list of all current OVW projects as described below (if applicable)

No more than 20 pages for the Project Narrative (item VII below)

7 OVW funds cannot be used to support individual, group, and family counseling. Furthermore, grantees are strongly discouraged from requiring adult victims to participate in mediation or family counseling.

Word processing documents must be in the following formats: Microsoft Word (.doc), PDF files (.pdf), or Text Documents (.txt).

Your application will be scored on the following sections:

Summary Data Sheet

Project Narrative

Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Letters of Intent to Collaborate

OVW reserves the right to deduct points if the following materials are missing:

Proposal Abstract

Summary of Current OVW Projects

Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

Standard Assurances and Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (Form 4061/6)

Letter of Nonsupplanting

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)

Sections I through XII below describe the specific elements of a complete application.

I. Summary Data Sheet (5 Points)

Please list the following information on a single page. The Summary Data Sheet should be a separate attachment to the application in Grants.gov and a separate section in the hard copy.

Name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address for the authorized representative. (Please see the Reference Guide at page 8 for more information on who can be an authorized representative.)

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

Statement as to whether the agency has expended $500,000 in federal funds in the past fiscal year for the applicant. Please specify the end date of the fiscal year.

The non-profit, nongovernmental victim services program(s) collaborating on this project.

Name, address, phone number, and fax number for the visitation center(s) involved in this project (for jurisdictions in which centers are being proposed but are not yet in existence, provide the name of each jurisdiction in which a center is being proposed).

Whether the application is proposing a development or continuation project.

If the application is proposing to address either or both of the special interest areas described on page 9 of this solicitation, the special interest area(s) should be specified.

II. Project Narrative (Total 60 Points)

The following narrative should be a separate attachment to the application in Grants.gov and a separate section in the hard copy. The Project Narrative may not exceed 20 pages in length, double-spaced. Please number the pages of your narrative.

A. Purpose of Application (10 points)

This section should briefly:

Describe the problem to be addressed and how funding would alleviate it;

Identify the target population and state how the target population would 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);

Describe the community's service area in which the project would be implemented, including location, population, and demographic information;

Describe current services and gaps; and

If the applicant has applied or is applying for multiple OVW grants, describe how this project complements such other projects without duplicating efforts.

This section will be rated on the detail with which you provide the above information as well as the quality of the proposed activities plus the following criteria:

The impact of current or prior efforts to prevent and reduce domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and/or stalking in the jurisdiction;

The need or continued need for the project;

The description of the community to be served, including diverse, traditionally, underserved populations of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking and how the proposed project will address their needs; and

Current services and gaps in available services.

B. What Will Be Done (30 points)

Development Projects

Development applicants should submit a statement describing how the proposed project would assist the jurisdiction(s) in addressing the identified need, the issues to be addressed during the planning process, and the anticipated project activities. Applicants for development projects should provide detailed information on the project goals and objectives, describe the specific tasks and activities necessary for accomplishing each goal and objective, and include a timeline that identifies when those activities will be accomplished. Development applicants should also include a letter, signed by the authorized representative, certifying that the development project will meet the statutory and minimum requirements of the grant program (see Certification Letter on pages 20 – 21) as project activities are implemented.

Continuation Projects

Continuation applicants should submit a statement describing how the proposed project would assist the jurisdiction(s) in addressing the identified needs. Continuation applicants should also provide detailed information on the project goals and objectives, mechanisms for referral to the visitation and exchange center, the specific tasks and activities of each collaborative partner, and a timeline that identifies when the project activities will be accomplished. Continuation applicants should also include a description of how OVW Supervised Visitation Program funds have been used in the past, the services currently offered, and a statement as to how these services will be enhanced by the proposed project.

Applications for continuation projects must demonstrate that center operating policies are in compliance with the Guiding Principles of the Supervised Visitation Program and have been specifically tailored to meet the unique safety needs and concerns of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and child abuse.

As part of their application, continuation applicants should submit a detailed description of the existing visitation and exchange center(s) to be funded under the award project. This description should include information on the following program specifications:

Scope of proposed visitation and/or exchange services;

Capacity of the center (maximum number of families that can be served by the center) and the proposed number of families that will be served each month;

Information on the number of families served, each month, during the current project period;

Available services to meet the needs of underserved populations;

Demographics of families to be served by the project;

Hours of operation;

Program security;

Record keeping and confidentiality;

Referral process;

Intake procedures;

Fee protocols;

Information regarding center staff (i.e. number of staff, job titles and qualifications);

Training requirements for staff and volunteers; and

Composition and role of existing or proposed Consulting Committee (see description of Consulting Committee on page 14).

Continuation and Development Projects

In addition to the above information, applicants for development and continuation projects will also be rated on the following criteria:

The extent to which the application clearly demonstrates development and/or implementation of a program to increase supervised visitation and exchange options for families with a history of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or child abuse;

The extent to which the application addresses the minimum requirements of the

Supervised Visitation Program;

The extent to which the application clearly describes the community to be served, including the diverse, traditionally underserved populations of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or child abuse;

The extent to which the proposed project activities reflect sound development and thoughtful innovation;

The extent to which the application clearly describes project implementation, organization and staff capability (including training for staff), the project components, and the general timeline; and

The extent to which the existing or proposed visitation project addresses the Guiding Principles of the Supervised Visitation Program (the Guiding Principles can be downloaded from http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants/htm).

C. Who Will Implement the Project (Development and Continuation Projects) (15 points)

Applicant and Mandatory Partners

All applicants are required to enter into formal collaborations with state, tribal, or local courts and non-profit, nongovernmental organizations serving victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. A nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services organization must be involved in the development and implementation of the project. Applicants must identify the court and victim services program(s) partnering on the proposed project and all other project partners, and specify their respective roles and responsibilities.

Victim service organizations should meet all of the following criteria:

Provide services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking as one of their primary purposes and have a demonstrated history of effective work concerning such issues;

Address a demonstrated need in their communities by providing services that promote the dignity and autonomy of victims, improve their access to resources, and create options for victims seeking safety from violence; and

Do not engage in activities that compromise victim safety.

State, tribal, or local court systems should designate a judicial officer (i.e., judge or magistrate) to serve on the project consulting committee and be able to refer cases directly to the proposed visitation and exchange center(s).

All applicants must identify an individual to serve as the coordinator for the grant project.

The coordinator will be responsible for coordinating the financial and programmatic aspects of the project. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following activities: 1) serving as the point of contact with OVW and technical assistance providers; 2) convening Consulting Committee meetings; 3) coordinating site visits and on-site technical assistance events; 4) participating in mandatory OVW meetings and trainings; and 5) ensuring that the project is developed and implemented in compliance with the statutory and minimum requirements of the Supervised Visitation Program. The person selected for this position should be an employee of the applicant agency; i.e. the government or tribal agency.

Applicants should ensure that the project budget includes sufficient funds to cover salary and travel for this position.

Consulting Committee

Visitation programs that serve families with a history of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and child abuse are required to develop formal affiliations with organizations that will be available to provide services and consultation to programs that work with children and parents. All applicants are required to establish a Consulting Committee. The committee should include, but is not limited to, experts in the fields of child abuse and neglect, advocacy for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, services for underserved and diverse communities, and civil legal service providers. Mandatory MOU partners (i.e., the victim services organization and the court partner) must also serve as members of the Consulting Committee.

http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants/htm

This section will be rated on the following criteria:

The extent to which all partner agencies or offices responsible for implementing the project are identified, and how the partnerships will function throughout the project is described;

The extent to which the application demonstrates a strong, meaningful commitment to collaborate to develop and/or implement the project;

The extent to which the application demonstrates that the partners are engaged in a working collaboration, or are in the process of developing such relationships;

The extent to which the expertise or experience of all key staff are detailed;

The extent to which the application demonstrates collaboration with a state, tribal or local court system;

The extent to which the application demonstrates collaboration with a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization (community and/or faith-based) serving victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault;

The extent to which the proposed consulting committee reflects the collaboration, diversity, and expertise needed to increase safety for adult victims and children within the community;

The extent to which the proposal clearly specifies the roles and responsibilities for all project partners; and

For applicants proposing to address the FY 2011 special interest area focused on underserved populations, the extent to which organizations and/or individuals representing the targeted underserved communities are involved in the project.

D. Sustainability Plan (5 points)

As this is a competitive, discretionary program, there is no guarantee of continuation funding. Applicants are required to include a plan describing their commitment and capacity to continue the project if federal funding through the Supervised Visitation Program were no longer available. Applicants must also describe at least one locally, privately, state, or federally funded project that the applicant has sustained in the past.

Note: Continuation or supplemental funding is not guaranteed and applicants are always encouraged to seek additional means of support to sustain their current projects.

This section will be rated on the feasibility of the plan and the demonstration of commitment to continue the project if funds are no longer available.

III. Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative (Total 15 Points)

For more information and samples, please see the Reference Guide at pages 11-14. The

Budget Worksheet and Narrative should be one attachment to the application in Grants.gov and a separate section in the hard copy.

In developing the budget, applicants should financially compensate all project partners for their participation in any project-related activities, including, but not limited to, compensation for time and travel expenses to participate in project development, training, and implementation. The budget must include compensation for all services rendered by project partners, including nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence and/or sexual assault victim services programs and state and tribal sexual assault and/or domestic violence coalitions. If a partner is a state or local governmental agency and the partnership duties are conducted within the course of the agency’s “regular” scope of work, the applicant does not need to compensate the partner if the partner a) offers this arrangement; and b) an explanation of this arrangement is included in the application.

Budget Limits

The following award limits are firm and apply even to applications for funding. Under no circumstances should the proposed budget exceed the following limits:

Development projects $400,000

Continuation projects with one site $350,000

Continuation projects with two sites $500,000

Continuation projects with three sites $650,000

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 award of a grant.

Budget Requirements

For budget guidelines, see the Reference Guide at pages 11-14. Additional guidance specific to this program is below.

Type of application Budget period

Year 1 - Planning

Travel/TA funds*

Operational budget

Total budget

Development 36 mo. $50,000 $50,000 $300,000 $400,000

Continuation–One site 36 mo. N/A $10,000 $340,000 $350,000

Continuation–Two sites 36 mo. N/A $10,000 $490,000 $500,000

Continuation–Three sites 36 mo. N/A $10,000 $640,000 $650,000

*Applicants from Alaska, Hawaii, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands must set aside $60,000 for development projects and $20,000 for continuation projects, to account for higher travel costs.

Development Projects

Applications for development projects must limit the first 12 months to planning phase activities.

The proposed budget for planning phase activities (excluding OVW training and technical assistance) must not exceed $50,000.

All development applicants are required to allocate funds in the amount of $50,000 (applicants from Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories should allocate $60,000 to account for higher travel costs) to support travel costs associated with technical assistance and capacity-building activities sponsored by OVW-designated technical assistance providers. Please see the Reference Guide on pages 11-12 for more information on this requirement.

Continuation Projects

All continuation applicants are required to allocate funds in the amount of $10,000 for continuation projects (continuation applicants from Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories should allocate $20,000 to account for higher travel costs) to support travel costs associated with technical assistance and capacity-building activities sponsored by OVW-designated technical assistance providers. Please see the Reference Guide on pages 11-12 for more information on this requirement.

Development and Continuation Projects

A Sample Budget Detail Worksheet is available at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm.

When preparing the Worksheet and Narrative, please use the Sample Budget Detail Worksheet as a guide and be sure to include all necessary budget categories as outlined in the Worksheet.

The budget should clearly describe the proposed amounts and uses of grant funds for the duration of the grant period and how the amounts of the specific budget items were determined.

The budget should demonstrate a clear link between the specific project activities and the proposed budget items. Specifically, the budget should not contain any items that are not detailed in the project narrative.

The budget narrative should support all costs included in the budget and justify the purpose of the costs in relationship to fulfilling the overall objective of the project. The narrative should also include a description of services being performed and how the cost is determined.

Applicants may allocate grant funds to support activities that help to ensure that LEP persons have meaningful access to their programs. For example, grant funds can be used to support interpretation and translation services.

The budget detail worksheet and budget narrative will be rated on the following criteria:

The extent to which the budget is reasonable and within established limits;

The extent to which the application includes a detailed budget and budget narrative;

The extent to which the application clearly links the proposed activities and proposed budget items;

The extent to which all project partners are fairly compensated for project related activities;

The budget is consistent and adheres to the OVW Financial Grants Management Guide;

The extent to which the application allocates sufficient funds to support mandatory OVW training and technical assistance ($50,000 for development projects or $10,000 for continuation projects, or $60,000 and $20,000, respectively, for applicants in Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. territories); and

The budget reflects 36 months of project activity and provides the basis for the computation of all project-related costs.

IV. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Letters of Intent to Collaborate (Total 20 points)

Applicants are required to submit an MOU that demonstrates they have consulted and coordinated in a meaningful way with a state, tribal, or local court system and a non-profit, nongovernmental domestic violence and/or sexual assault victim services organization. The MOU should be a single attachment to the application in Grants.gov and a separate section in the hard copy. (Applicants for development projects may submit Letters of Intent to Collaborate, from each collaborating partner, in lieu of an MOU).

http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm

Each applicant must include a current (i.e., signed and dated during the development of the application) MOU, or Letters of Intent to Collaborate, created and signed by the chief executive officers and/or directors of all relevant agencies participating in the project’s development and implementation.

Applicants that have previously been funded under this program must develop a new MOU that reflects the continuation of project activities and include current dates and signatures from all relevant project partners.

Memorandum of Understanding

The MOU must do the following:

Identify the partners and provide a brief history of the collaborative relationship among those partners, including when and under what circumstances the relationship began and when each partner entered into the relationship;

Specify the extent of each partner’s participation in developing the application;

Clearly state the roles and responsibilities each organization or agency would assume to ensure the success of the proposed project;

Identify the representatives of the planning and development team who will be responsible for developing and implementing project activities and describe how they will work together and with project staff;

Demonstrate a commitment on the part of all project partners to work together to achieve stated project goals;

Indicate approval of the proposed project budget by all signing parties;

Describe the resources each partner would contribute to the project, either through time, in-kind contributions, or grant funds (e.g., office space, project staff, and training); and

Be a single document that includes signatures and dates from all partners and identifies titles and agencies of all signatories under their signatures.

The MOU will be rated according to the criteria listed above, as well as on the extent to which the MOU demonstrates a meaningful partnership among all agencies.

Letters of Intent to Collaborate

Applicants for development projects may submit Letters of Intent to Collaborate in lieu of an MOU. A signed Letter of Intent to Collaborate must be submitted from each collaborative partner. Each Letter of Intent to Collaborate must:

Identify the agency/organization and provide a brief history of the collaborative relationship with the other project partners;

Specify the extent of the partner’s participation in developing the application;

Identify the representative of the agency/organization that will participate in project planning and development;

Demonstrate a commitment to participate in the planning and development process;

Demonstrate a willingness to participate in OVW technical assistance trainings and events; and

Indicate approval of the proposed project budget.

Letters of Intent to Collaborate will be rated on the criteria listed above. Note: If an applicant for a development project submits both an MOU and Letters of Intent to Collaborate, only the MOU will be scored.

V. Proposal Abstract The Proposal Abstract should provide a short and accurate summary of your proposed project including its goals and objectives. Please do not summarize past accomplishments in this section. The Proposal Abstract should be a single page and should be a separate attachment to the application in Grants.gov and a separate section in the hard copy.

The Proposal Abstract must not be submitted on the same page as the Summary Data Sheet.

VI. Summary of Current OVW Projects For each current OVW Project, as defined in the OVW Reference Guide at page 9, please provide the following information:

Identify grant by program, award number, and project period.

Specify the total funds remaining in each grant as of the date of application.

Provide the total funds remaining in each grant in the Personnel, Contracts/Consultants and Travel categories as of the date of application.

List the names, dates, and locations of all OVW-sponsored training and technical assistance events in which project staff or project partners participated during the current grant award period.

List the number and titles of all full-time and/or part-time positions.

This section should be clear and succinct. This should be a separate attachment to the application in Grants.gov and a separate section in the hard copy.

In addition to this information, OVW will evaluate the performance of the applicant in all current grants when considering this application. Please note that applicants that are OVW grantees and have failed to meet grant deadlines, failed to comply with financial requirements, or failed to comply with special conditions from current or previous grants may not be considered for funding.

VII. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Please see the Reference Guide at page 8 for additional information.