Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Frequency. An Oregon Domestic and Sexual
Violence Services Fund grant application packet shall be issued by the
Department and grant awards shall be made at least once in each biennium, so
long as sufficient funds are appropriated to the Fund.
(2) Eligibility to Be Awarded Grant Funds.
Eligible applicants for grant awards include public and private entities that
are recommended by the Advisory Council and approved by the Attorney General or
designee as part of the allocation plan. In addition to other criteria
established by the Advisory Council, in order to be considered eligible for a
grant award an applicant must be current in its financial and other reporting
for all previous Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund awards to
that applicant. An applicant's ability to successfully manage any previous Fund
awards, and a demonstrated history of program stability of two years will be
included in the criteria used for making Fund awards. A demonstration of
program stability must include:
(a) An
applicant's history of providing cost-effective direct services to victims of
domestic violence and/or sexual assault;
(b) A clear indication of support for
applicant's services from one or more community agencies or organizations
familiar with the needs of victims to be served, as well as the caliber of
services provided by the applicant; and
(c) Financial support of at least 10% from at
least one other revenue source. If an applicant cannot demonstrate stability as
required by paragraphs a through c of this section, in order to be eligible for
an Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund award, the applicant must
demonstrate that at least 25% of its financial support comes from sources other
than the Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund.
(3) Content of the Application
Packet. Each application packet issued shall describe:
(a) The total grant funds
available;
(b) The categories in
which awards will be made, and whether each category is competitive or
non-competitive;
(c) The total
funds available for award in each category;
(d) The amount of individual awards, if such
amount is part of the allocation plan;
(e) Instructions specifying the requirements
for a successful application in each category;
(f) The last date by which applications must
be submitted and/or received by DOJ;
(g) The manner in which the application must
be submitted;
(h) All necessary
application forms and materials;
(i) All other information required for
application preparation and submission;
(j) A description of the application review
process, including review criteria;
(k) A description of grant reporting
requirements; and
(l) A description
of the grievance process for unsuccessful applicants.
(4) Review:
(a) Review Criteria. The Department staff and
the Advisory Council shall review applications according to objective criteria
described in the application packet. Non-competitive applications may be
reviewed solely by Department staff, so long as the review is made according to
a methodology recommended by the Advisory Council and approved by the
Department. Competitive applications may be reviewed by Department staff with
regard to satisfaction of minimum qualifications for eligibility, but shall be
reviewed by the Advisory Council with regard to content. While numeric scoring
will be used for any competitive award process, the Department reserves the
right to award funds to agencies based upon criteria other than highest ranking
numerical score.
(b) Award Amounts
& Formulae. As part of the application review process, the Advisory Council
may consider factors including: total amount of funds available overall, or in
a specific category; the number of applications submitted by an applicant;
geographic distribution; and feasibility of awarding one or more applicants an
amount less than that requested. Such factors may be considered only to the
extent that they are in keeping with the allocation plan.
(c) Record of Process. A complete record of
the review process, including any numerical scoring, shall be kept during the
process and shall be retained by the Department during the term of the grant
awards. This information shall be available to grantees, upon request,
excluding the identity of individual scorers.
(d) Conflict of Interest. A conflict of
interest policy shall be part of the Advisory Council bylaws, and conflicts of
interest that arise during the review process shall be declared and become part
of the review process record.
(e)
Final Decision. The Advisory Council shall make recommendations of grant awards
to the Attorney General or his designee, who will have the final decision as to
awards.
(5) Transfer of
Funds. Upon approval of an application, the Department will enter into a
contractual grant agreement with the applicant. The Department will disburse
funds in accordance with this agreement.
(6) Completion of Required Grant Award
Documents. Funds are not considered obligated and will not be transferred until
all required grant award documents have been signed by an applicant and by the
Department designee. If grant award documents are not completed by an applicant
within three months of the notice to the applicant of the intended award, the
Department has the authority to reallocate the funds awarded, pursuant to
paragraph 11 of this section on Reallocation of Funds Not Applied For or Used,
below.
(7) Conditional Awards:
(a) The Advisory Council may recommend and
Attorney General or his designee may approve an award subject to specific
conditions if an applicant:
(A) Is not
current in reporting for any previous Fund grant award;
(B) Has fewer than two full years of
operational history in providing services to victims of domestic violence and
sexual assault;
(C) Has not fully
demonstrated the ability to successfully manage any previous Fund
awards;
(D) Has not demonstrated at
least two prior years of program stability as described in section (2) above;
or
(E) When other circumstances
exist that require a further showing of applicant's ability to successfully
manage a Fund award.
(b)
The Department shall notify the applicant that a conditional award has been
approved, and shall specify the conditions to be satisfied by the applicant and
the date by which the conditions must be satisfied. Applicants who do not
satisfy conditions of funding by the date specified shall be notified in
writing by the Department that the conditions have not been satisfied and the
conditional award has been withdrawn. When a conditional award is withdrawn any
unexpended dollars already distributed to the applicant are to be returned to
the Department and any contractual obligations undertaken by the Department to
the applicant are thereupon terminated.
(8) Grievance Procedure:
(a) An applicant has a right to a review of
the award decision with regard to its application.
(b) Each applicant will be informed of this
review procedure at the time a decision is made regarding its
application.
(c) No applicant will
be subject to reprisal for seeking a review of an award decision.
(d) An applicant may request a review by
making a written request to the Fund Coordinator within 30 days after receiving
notification of the award decision.
(e) When the Department is notified that an
applicant has requested a review, a meeting will be scheduled for the applicant
to meet with the Fund Coordinator and with as many as five members of the
Advisory Council. Every effort will be made to have this meeting occur within
30 days of the receipt of the request. The Fund Coordinator will notify
applicant of the result of the meeting within 5 days after the meeting has been
held.
(f) If the matter is not
resolved through the above-described procedure, the applicant can request a
review of the issue by the Attorney General or his designee. The applicant
should make a written request for such a review to the Director of the Crime
Victims' Assistance Section within 30 days following notification of the
results of the meeting described in the preceding paragraph.
(g) The decision of the Attorney General is
final.
(h) This grievance procedure
shall be included in the grant application packet described above.
(9) Grantee Reporting. No less
frequently than once during each year of the grant term each grantee shall
submit a report to the Department. The form and content report shall be
specified by the Department. The report must document how the funds were used
and the extent to which the grantee was able to meet anticipated outcomes, as
well as such other information with regard to fund requirements as is requested
by the Department. This information may be used to determine eligibility for
future funding. Failure of a grantee to report the required information in an
accurate and timely manner may also be used to determine eligibility for future
funding.
(10) Department of
Justice Reporting. No less frequently than once during each biennium, the
Department shall prepare a report describing the funds awarded for the grant
period and summarizing the outcomes and other information reported by
grantees.
(11) Reallocation of
Funds Not Applied for or Used.
(a) Funds
Remaining After Award Process. When a portion of the grant funds available are
not initially awarded, either fully or conditionally, the Department, after
duly considering the advice of the Advisory Council, may make a subsequent
award that is in keeping with the goals of the allocation plan approved for the
current biennium.
(b) Funds
Awarded but not Expended. Applicants who do not anticipate using the entirety
of their awarded funding by the grant term end date shall notify the Department
prior to the grant term end date that the funds will not be used. The
Department, at its discretion, shall either request that the unused funds be
returned in accordance with the contract agreement, or shall execute an
amendment to the contractual grant agreement to extend the grant term end date.
When unused funds are returned, the Department, after duly considering the
advice of the Advisory Council, shall consider using the returned funds to make
up any involuntary award reductions resulting from interim reductions to the
Fund, described in paragraph 12 of this section, below. If no interim
reductions have occurred, the Department shall consider distributing the funds
among other applicants, depending upon the amount of the funds returned and the
time of their return. When possible, returned funds shall be distributed in the
same geographical area in which the original award was made and within the same
service category of the allocation plan under which they were
granted.
(c) Funds Conditionally
Awarded When Conditions Are Not Satisfied. Any funds remaining after a
conditional award has been withdrawn, pursuant to section 7, above, shall be
treated in the same manner as funds awarded but not expended, described in
paragraph b of this section, above.
(12) Interim Reductions to the Fund. When
funds appropriated to the Fund are reduced or otherwise not available for
expenditure during a grant award period, so that some or all current awards
cannot be fully funded, the Department, after duly considering input from the
Advisory Council, shall formulate a plan for how the interim reduction shall
affect current awards. In this process every effort will be made to minimize
the impact of such reduction on services to victims supported by grant funds.
Considerations in the formulation of such a plan will include: the intent of
the allocation plan under which the awards were made, requirements of ORS
147.462, progress towards
desired outcomes, and other relevant issues of equity, such as geography and
populations served.
(13) Issuing
Applications Jointly with Other Agencies. The Department may conduct the
application process jointly with other agencies of the State of Oregon who also
award grants or provide financial assistance to eligible programs of domestic
and sexual violence services. The joint application process shall satisfy all
the requirements of ORS
147.450 et seq. and this
division of administrative rules.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
147.465(3),
2001 OL Ch. 870 (HB 2918)
Stats. Implemented: ORS
147.450-
147.471, 2001 OL Ch. 870 (HB
2918)
