Who is eligible to apply...
Funding under this program is available to units of local government within a state. A unit of local government is a town or township, village, city, or county or recognized governing body of an Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village that carries out substantial governmental duties and powers. Each unit of local government must report Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data so as to determine amounts of allocation. These data must reflect Part I violent crimes, which are murder, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery, that have been reported in each eligible jurisdiction. Data for the three most recent available years reported to the FBI will be averaged and used to compute allocations. The amount of the award is proportionate to each local jurisdiction's average annual amount of Part I violent crimes compared to that for all other local jurisdictions in the State. Jurisdictions whose reported crime rates would yield an award of less than $10,000 will not receive a grant. Further, for the purposes of this Block Grants Program the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be considered a unit of local government as well as a State. In addition, each State will receive a minimum award of 0.25 percent of the total amount available for formula distribution under the Block Grants Program.
Credentials/Documentation
Applications for funding under the Block Grants Program must also be submitted to the State Administrative Agency and the State Single Point of Contact for review and comment at the time of application submission to BJA. Each state and unit of local government applicant, by completing the grant application, and by accepting a Block Grants award, agrees to certify: (1) that a trust fund to deposit all Federal payments received under the Block Grants Program has been established; (2) that prior to the obligation of any funds received under the Block Grants Program, an advisory board that includes representatives of groups with recognized interest in criminal justice and crime or substance abuse prevention and treatment has been formed. The advisory board must review the application for funding under the Block Grants Program and it must be authorized to make non-binding recommendations to the unit of local government for the use of funds received under this program; (3) that at least one public hearing has been held regarding the proposed use of block grants funds prior to the obligation of any funds received; (4) that the funds required to pay the non-federal portion of the cost of each program will be made available for expenditure during the grant period. This certification is made by including the total match amount on the application form and providing a certification; (5) that block grant funds and any interest deriving therefrom within 24 months of the date of the payment are obligated and expended for expenditures allowed under the LLEBG program. Any funds and interest that remain unobligated or unexpended at the end of the 24 months from the date of initial payment shall be returned to BJA within 27 months of the initial payment; (6) that they will comply with nondiscrimination requirements contained in various Federal laws. If funded, grantees must acknowledge that failure to submit an acceptable Equal Employment Opportunity Plan approved by the Office for Civil Rights is a violation of its certified assurances and may result in the suspension of funding obligation authority; (7) that persons employed by the recipient are eligible to work in the United States; (8) that funds awarded will not be used to supplant state and/or local funds that would otherwise be available for crime prevention and public safety; (9) that they will provide such accounting, auditing, monitoring and evaluation procedures as may be necessary, and keep such records as the Office of Justice Programs may prescribe, to assure fiscal control, proper management and efficient disbursement of Federal funds; (10) that priority will be given to members of the Armed Forces who were separated or retired involuntarily due to the reductions in the Department of Defense in the employment of persons as additional law enforcement officers or support personnel; (11) that they have a law in place which ensures that public safety officers who retire due to a disability sustained in the line of duty receive the same or better health insurance benefits as such officers received while on active duty. Failure to provide such health benefits will result in the jurisdiction forfeiting 10 percent of their award. (12) that they will submit financial and progress reports concerning the activities carried out with the Federal funds received and will maintain and report such data and information as required; (13) that they will adhere to the audit and financial management requirements set forth in the Single Audit Act of 1984 and OMB Circular No. A-128, "Audits of State and Local Governments"; (14) that the information in the application is correct and that they will comply with all applicable provisions of the Omnibus Fiscal Year 1996 Appropriations Act and other Federal laws, regulations, and circulars. Costs will be determined in accordance
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.