Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program
Published on AidPage by
IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To provide funds to units of local government for the purposes of reducing crime and improving public safety. Funds may be used for one or more of seven program purpose areas (See Uses and Use Restrictions). Funds or a portion of funds allocated under this title may also be used to contract with private, nonprofit entities or community-based organizations to carry out the purposes of this Block Grants Program. BJA will also make awards to states based on the allocation formula specified in the legislation.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
Funds may be used for one or more of the following purpose areas: (1) Law enforcement support for hiring, training, and employing on a continuing basis new, additional law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel; paying overtime to presently employed law enforcement officers and necessary support personnel; and procuring equipment, technology, and other material directly related to basic law enforcement functions; (2) Enhancing security measures in and around schools, and in and around any other facility or location that the unit of local government considers a special risk for incidents of crime; (3) Establishing or supporting drug courts; (4) Enhancing the adjudication of cases involving violent offenders, including cases involving violent juvenile offenders. For the purposes of this program, violent offender means a person charged with committing a Part I violent crime under the Uniform Crime Reports; (5) Establishing a multijurisdictional task force, particularly in rural areas, composed of law enforcement officials representing units of local government; this task force will work with Federal law enforcement officials to prevent and control crime; (6) Establishing crime prevention programs involving cooperation between community residents and law enforcement personnel to control, detect, or investigate crime or the prosecution of criminals; and (7) Defraying the cost of indemnification insurance for law enforcement officers. Recipients may not expend funds provided under the Block Grants Program to purchase, lease, rent, or acquire any of the following: tanks or armored vehicles; fixed-wing aircraft; limousines; real estate; yachts; consultants; and vehicles not primarily used for law enforcement. In addition, Federal funds cannot be used to supplant State or local funds, but instead to increase the amount of funds that would be available otherwise from State and local sources.
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.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
Applications are submitted by the Chief Executive Officer of an eligible jurisdiction, or formal designee, via the Internet-based Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Grants Management System (GMS) at www.ojp.usdoj.gov. On-line submission of an application represents legal binding acceptance of the terms of the application. For further information about the LLEBG portion of the OJP GMS, call the OJP GMS Hotline at 1-888-549-9901; or access the BJA home page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA. For general information about the LLEBG Program, contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
An award is granted by the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs via the Internet-based Grants Management System. The award must be accepted on-line by the CEO of the state or local applicant with assurance of compliance with standard and special conditions of the grant award. Once the grantee has completed the Request for Drawdown phase of the on-line system, BJA then deposits 100 percent of the award funds into recipient trust funds for the purpose specified in the application. This is the only drawdown of funds during the term of the grant.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
The application period depends upon annual enactment of appropriations and spending authority to laws. The fiscal year 2000 application period was August 24, 2000, and was extended through October 20, 2000. The fiscal year 2001 application period ended August 22, 2001. BJA processed FY 2001 awards by September 30, 2001. For Fiscal Year 2002, the application period was June 5 to July 17, 2002.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Approximately 10 weeks.
Preapplication Coordination
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
None.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
Awards are for 2 years from the date of payment. If additional funding for the Block Grants Program is appropriated by Congress, applications can be submitted annually.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
States, units of local government, and U.S. Territories.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Formula Grants
Allocations of money to States or their subdivisions in accordance with distribution formulas prescribed by law or administrative regulation, for activities of a continuing nature not confined to a specific project.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
For fiscal year 2001, $406,000,000 in LLEBG program funds was available for direct awards to units of local government and territories. Awards are based on Uniform Crime Report data for each jurisdiction. Direct award amounts range from a minimum of $10,000 upward to over twenty-five million based on formula calculations. The fiscal year 2002 formula awards availability has not been determined.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(Grants) FY 03 $406,897,351; FY 04 est $218,914,000; and FY 05 est $219,587,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
15-0404-0-1-754.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Potential projects include, but are not limited to: (A) partnerships between community organizations and local law enforcement agencies to prevent crime in business districts, on school grounds, and around high-risk areas such as abortion clinics; (B) hiring of additional police officers and purchasing of necessary equipment to increase the effectiveness of police departments; partnerships between social agencies and local law enforcement to combat domestic violence and child abuse; and (C) development of computer systems that allow fingerprint identification, the maintenance of criminal history records, etc.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
In fiscal year 2001, more than 3,300 awards were approved by BJA. In addition, this program supports and is supported by a number of technical assistance training and technology development grants and is the subject of a comprehensive evaluation.
Criteria for selecting proposals...
The reported amounts awarded are proportionate to the State's average annual amount of Part I violent crimes, compared to that for all other States for the three most recent available calendar years of data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Awards to units of local government will be proportionate to each local jurisdiction's average annual amount of Part I violent crimes compared to all other local jurisdictions in the State for the three most recent available calendar years.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
The unit of local government must obligate and expend block grants funds and any interest deriving therefrom within 24 months of the date of the initial payment. The funds are awarded as a lump sum. Any funds and interest that remain unobligated 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.
Formula and Matching Requirements
The Federal funds provided under a grant for the Block Grants Program may not exceed 90 percent of the total costs of a program. The applicant's matching share must be in the form of cash. The amount of the required match can be computed by calculating one-ninth of the Federal portion of program costs. For example, if $90,000 of Federal funds is requested, this amount multiplied by 1/9th requires a local entity to match it with $10,000. The Federal amount ($90,000) plus the match ($10,000) should be combined to equal the total program proposal cost. The matching requirement is only applicable to the amount of the Federal award, not any interest or income derived therefrom. The applicant must certify as part of its application that the funds required to pay the nonfederal 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 signing the certified assurances document. Regardless of the source of match, it must be expended during the period of the Block Grant. All grantees must maintain records that clearly show the source, the amount, and the timing of all matching contributions. There is no waiver provision for the match. Allowable sources of the match include funds from the following: (1) States and local units of government; (2) Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; (3) Appalachian Regional Development Act; (4) Equitable Sharing Program (Federal asset forfeiture distributions to State and local officials); and (5) private funds.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
A final report is due 90 days after the end date of the grant. All reports will be completed via the Internet. Required financial status reports (SF 269A) are due quarterly on the 45th day following the end of each calendar quarter. A report must be submitted for every quarter the award is active.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
All organizations that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in any fiscal year must have a single audit for that year in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133, as amended, and as stated in award special conditions. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," non-federal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-federal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to a grant shall be retained for a period of at least three years after the grant has been closed or until an audit has been conducted that does not show any questionable costs.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Act of 1996, H.R. 728; Omnibus Fiscal Year 1997 Appropriations Act, Public Law 104- 208; Appropriations Act of 1998, Public Law 105-119; Department of Commerce, Justice, State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1999, Public Law 105-119; Department of Commerce, Justice, State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2000, Public Law 106-113; Department of Commerce, Justice, State, The Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001, Public Law 106-553.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Office of Justice Programs Financial Guide, Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Guidance available on-screen at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja.