US Department of JusticeOffice of Justice Programs810 Seventh Street N - PDF document

1 U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Just
U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice Programs810 Seventh Street N.W.Washington, DC 20531Raymond C. FisherAssociate Attorney GeneralLaurie RobinsonNoël BrennanJeremy TravisFor grant and funding information contact:Department of Justice Response Center:Office of Justice ProgramsNational Institute of Justice NIJ is streamlining its process to accommodatecan help in a significant way by sending NIJ anonbinding letter of intent by May 31, 1999.The Institute will use these letters to forecastidentify conflicts of interest among potentialreviewers. There are two ways to send theseletters. You can reach NIJ by Internet bysending e-mail to tellnij@ncjrs.orgidentifying the solicitation and section(s) forwhich you expect to apply. You can write aletter with the same information to: NationalInstitute of Justice, Evaluation of the CivilLegal Assistance Program, 810 Seventh StreetN.W., Washington, DC 20531. Please help ushelp you. I.IntroductionThe National Institute of Justice (NIJ), incollaboration with the Office of Justice Programs’Violence Against Women Grants Office (VAWO),is soliciting proposals for a national evaluation ofthe Civil Legal Assistance Program. One researchproject will be funded for up to $200,000 for up to24 months.Additional funds may be madeII.Background by Congress. Other VAWA programs orprovisions include: a National domestic violencehotline that opened in February 1996 and penaltiesunder Federal law for sex crimes.There are a variety of programs

2 that are a part ofNIJ’s overall Vio
that are a part ofNIJ’s overall Violence Against Women and FamilyViolence Program. These programs include manyresearch and evaluation projects undertaken incollaboration with the VAWO.This solicitation is aimed at research to evaluatethe effectiveness of the programs funded under theCivil Legal Assistance Program. The purpose ofthe Domestic Violence Victims’ Civil LegalAssistance Discretionary Grant Program is to strengthen direct civil legal assistance available todomestic violence victims.The program is designed to strengthen civil legalassistance through innovative, collaborativestrategies that reach more battered women than arecurrently being served. Training, mentoring, andcollaborative relationships are core components ofprojects supported by this grant program. LawyersLegal service providers seeking funding throughthis grant program are strongly encouraged to enterinto a collaborative relationship with non-profit,non-governmental domestic violence victimadvocacy organizations. Such collaborativerelationships will ensure that there is ongoingtraining and mentoring on issues related todomestic violence and will strengthencommunication on domestic violence victimadvocacy issues between the legal and advocacycommunities.In Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, Congress appropriated$12 million specifically to provide civil legalassistance to victims of domestic violence. Thisamount was increased to $23 million for FY 1999. The Civil Legal Assistance Program awards grants

3 to non-profit organizations, either publ
to non-profit organizations, either public or private,that provide legal services to victims of domesticviolence or that work with victims of domesticviolence who have civil legal needs. In FY 1998,VAWO awarded 57 grants, and up to 100 newgrants will be awarded in FY 1999. Grantstypically cover 12 to 24 months. Additionalinformation on the Civil Legal Assistance programcan be found on the Internet at:http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawgoIII.Areas of Research RequiredThe purpose of a National evaluation is to providefeedback by (1) documenting the range of activitiesand programs supported by the FY98 and FY99grants; (2) documenting programs funded by othersources of assistance, the gaps these programs fill,who they serve, and how VAWO funded programsfit into the larger funding picture in a jurisdiction;(3) assessing the accomplishments of grantees; (4)examining grantee planning and implementationefforts; (5) evaluating the adequacy of and need forspecial conditions imposed on grantees in order topreserve victim safety and confidentiality, whilesimultaneously enhancing the professional servicesoffered by grantees; and (6) developing a strategyfor documenting long-term effects.A multi-method evaluation including bothquantitative and qualitative approaches is required.The evaluation project may involve the followingsteps:Analyzing grantee implementation plans, Conducting case studies of the jurisdictionand programs to understand the structure ofthe social service system and the dyna

4 micsof planning, implementation, andperf
micsof planning, implementation, andperformance;Interviewing all grantees after their firstyear of funding to assess progress,implementation, and performance issues asseen from the field; Defining and collecting data on essentialstudies to assess the long-term impact ofthe programs; Developing plans for future evaluations ofthe ultimate impact and effectiveness of thegrant program; andConducting a process evaluation ofselected sites that will involve a thoroughdescriptive analysis of the problems beingaddressed and the projects being supportedby the Civil Legal Assistance Program.Questions to be addressed in assessing the CivilLegal Assistance Program may include:Were projects implemented as planned?What problems did jurisdictions encounter?How were they addressed? And how canthey be resolved?How have project designs addressed safetyTo what extent have projects attained thegoals of the program?Do grantees require a certain minimumamount of training in order to carry out thegoals of their programs, and what types oftraining programs would satisfy theseneeds?In developing a strategy for documenting long-termeffects, the following questions may be considered:Has the project had an impact on the largercommunity? What was the baseline levelof need in the jurisdiction and how much ofthe need was unmet?How have victims been served and havetheir lives been affected by the servicesprovided by the program?Have the criminal and civil justice systemsDid the project initiate or lead to

5 improvedcoordination between the releva
improvedcoordination between the relevantcommunity agencies and organizations?Have there been any unintendedconsequences resulting from the projects?What was the nature of the collaborativeefforts between grantees and local domesticviolence service programs? To what extentdid local domestic violence serviceprograms find the grantees’ services to beuseful for their clients?The above examples are not exhaustive or intendedto limit the applicant. Other techniques ofevaluating the Civil Legal Assistance Program anddeveloping a strategy for documenting long-termeffects will be considered. It is anticipated that funding would be madeavailable in subsequent years to carry out thestrategy for determining long term effects of theprogram. This funding is contingent onCongressional appropriations for the program andconcurrence of the VAWO for continuation of theevaluation.Applicants should include plans to submit toNIJ detailed annual reports on the status of theNational evaluation. In anticipation of these an outline of their contents along with theirMethodological Considerations. The need forinnovation, particularly on qualitative measures,culturally sensitive measures, and the need formany different levels of data is acknowledged. Victims, advocates, and knowledgeable criminaljustice practitioners should be brought into thevarious stages of the research and evaluationprocess, wherever appropriate.Dissemination of Results. NIJ is interested inexpeditious and innovative

6 methods to disseminatethe results from a
methods to disseminatethe results from all projects supported under themore traditional forms of dissemination areencouraged. Results of projects are expected to bereported to NIJ as they become available, and at aminimum, through semi-annual progress reports. Applicants should provide a discussion of the typesof reports or products that would become availableover the course of the project.An annual NIJ grantee meeting in Washington,to participate in these grantee meetings.IV. How to Apply Those interested in submitting proposals inrequired application forms and submit relatedrequired documents. (See below for how to obtainapplication forms and guides for completingproposals.) Applicants must include the followinginformation/forms to qualify for consideration:Standard Form (SF) 424—application forFederal assistance. The budget amount forthe entire length of the project must beplaced in box 15 of the SF 424.Certifications Regarding Lobbying,Responsibility Matters; and Drug-FreeWorkplace Requirements (one form)Disclosure of Lobbying ActivitiesBudget Detail WorksheetBudget Narrative costs of the entire project)Negotiated indirect rate agreement (ifNames and affiliations of all key persons fromapplicant and subcontractor(s), advisors,consultants, and advisory board members.Include name of principal investigator, title,organizational affiliation (if any), department(if institution of higher education), address,phone, and fax Table of contentsProgram narrative or technical

7 proposalPrivacy certificateReferencesLe
proposalPrivacy certificateReferencesLetters of cooperation from organizationscollaborating in the research projectAppendixes, if any (e.g., list of previous NIJawards, their status, and products [in NIJ orProposal abstract. read separately from the rest of the application, ismeant to serve as a succinct and accurate descriptionof the proposed work. Applicants must conciselydescribe the research goals and objectives, researchdesign, and methods for achieving the goals andobjectives. Summaries of past accomplishmentsare to be avoided, and proprietary/confidentialinformation is not to be included. Length is not toexceed 400 words. Use the following two headers:Page limit. The number of pages in the “ProgramNarrative” part of the proposal must not exceed 30(double-spaced pages). must be receivedat the National Institute of Justice by the close ofbusiness on June 28, 1999. Extensions of thisdeadline will not be permitted. Award period. In general, NIJ limits its grants andcooperative agreements to a maximum period of 12to 24 months. However, longer budget periods mayNumber of awards. NIJ anticipates supportingone grant under this solicitation. Award amount. One award of up to $200,000 willbe made available for this NIJ solicitation.application forms (including a sample budgetworksheet) and (2) guidelines for submittingproposals (including requirements for proposalwriters and requirements for grant recipients). Toreceive them, applicants can:Access the Justice Inform

8 ation Center on thehttp://www.ncjrs.org/
ation Center on thehttp://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#NIJ or the NIJ web site:http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/NIJ/funding.htm These web sites offer the NIJ applicationforms and guidelines as electronic files thatmay be downloaded to a personal computer.Request hard copies of the forms andguidelines by mail from the National CriminalJustice Reference Service at 800–851–3420 orfrom the Department of Justice ResponseCenter at 800–421–6770 (in the Washington,Request copies by fax. Call 800–851–3420and select option 1, then option 1 again forNIJ. Code is 1023.Guidance and information.to receive additional guidance and informationmay contact the U.S. Department of JusticeResponse Center at 800–421–6770. Center staffcan provide assistance or refer applicants to anappropriate NIJ professional. Applicants may, forexample, wish to discuss their prospective researchtopics with the NIJ professional staff.Send 3 copies (one with original signature) ofcompleted forms to:Evaluation of the Civil Legal Assistance ProgramNational Institute of Justice810 Seventh Street N.W.Washington, DC 20531[overnight courier ZIP code 20001] SL 000355 To find out more information about the National Institute of Justice, please contact:National Criminal Justice Reference ServiceRockville, MD 20849–6000e-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.orgTo obtain an electronic version of this document, access the NIJ web site (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij).If you have any questions, call or e-mail