The ASAP process and timeline for payment transactions is as follows:

• Recipients access ASAP via the web to request payment of funds.
• Once a request has been made, ASAP disburses the funds either the same day or next day (based on the option selected on the payment request.
• Payment is electronically deposited into the recipient's bank account the same day (if requested before 2:30 pm and selected during the payment request, or next day).

In order to timely close out financial records at the end of each month, DOJ will temporarily suspend all open ASAP accounts in order to meet the federal financial statement reporting requirements for the Office of Management and Budget. For each month except September, access will not be available for the last 3 business days. For September (fiscal year end) access will not be available for the last 5 business days. All DOJ recipients should withdraw necessary funds prior to the cutoff day each month.

Prior to using ASAP award recipients will need to register by completing the following steps as outlined in the ASAP Registration Checklist.

Organizations should request funds based upon immediate disbursement/reimbursement requirements. Funds will not be paid in a lump sum, but rather disbursed over time as project costs are incurred or anticipated.

Draw down requests should be timed to ensure that Federal cash on hand is the minimum needed for disbursements/reimbursements to be made immediately or within 10 days. If not spent or disbursed within 10 days, funds must be returned to the awarding agency.

Fund requests from subrecipients create a continuing cash demand on award balances of the recipient. Recipients should keep in mind that idle funds in the hands of subrecipients will impair the goals of effective cash management.

Develop written procedures for cash management of funds to ensure that Federal cash on hand is kept at or near zero. DOJ periodically conducts financial reviews to ensure that this requirement is met.

The Cash Management Improvement Act of 1990 (Public Law No. 101-453) was an amendment to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968 (31 USC § 6503). Under the CMIA, States are no longer exempt from returning interest to the Federal Government for drawing down funds prior to the need to pay off obligations incurred. Rather, States are required to pay interest in the event that the State draws down funds before the funds are needed to pay for program expenses.

Both recipients and subrecipients should minimize the time elapsed between receiving Federal funds and the disbursement of those funds to pay for program expenses. Various laws and regulations affect how interest income earned on Federal funds should be accounted for, used, and returned to the Federal Government.

Interest earned amounts up to $500 per year may be retained by the non-Federal entity for administrative expense. Any additional interest earned on Federal advance payments deposited in interest-bearing accounts must be remitted annually to the Department of Health and Human Services Payment Management System (PMS) through an electronic medium using either the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network or a Fedwire Funds Service payment.

Please refer to the How to Manage Interest Income table on the next page.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) makes awards for a specified period of time, usually referred to as the “Period of performance”, also known as “award period” or “project period”. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1. The period of performance is established for each award and is included in the award package.

Periods of performance generally range from 12 to 36 months (the period can be shorter or longer depending on the specific program). Review the award document in detail and pay particular attention to the project start and end dates. In some cases, periods of performance may be extended if specific criteria are met. See the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section for more information.

Financial obligations, when referencing a recipient's or subrecipient's use of funds under a Federal award, means orders placed for property and services, contracts and subawards made, and similar transactions that require payment.

Financial obligations must occur during the period of performance stated on the award document. A financial obligation occurs when there is a binding agreement, such as in a valid purchase order or requisition, that covers the cost of purchasing an authorized item on or after the begin date and up to the last day of the period of performance. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of “Period of Performance”).

If the funds are not used within statutory or other time limits, or any funds not obligated and expended by the recipient by the end of the period of performance will lapse and revert to the awarding agency. The financial obligation deadline is the last day of the period of performance unless otherwise stipulated. No additional financial obligations can be incurred after the end of the period of performance. For example, if the period of performance is October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2023, the financial obligation deadline is September 30, 2023.

An expenditure is a charge made by a recipient or subrecipient to a project or program for which a Federal award was received. Expenditures may be reported on a cash or accrual basis as long as the methodology is disclosed and consistently used. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of “Expenditures”).

All financial obligations properly incurred by the end of the period of performance for the Federal award must be liquidated no later than 120 days after the end date of the award. If the award has been properly obligated, the full liquidation period is available for remaining expenditures. Any funds not liquidated at the end of the 120-day period will revert to the awarding agency. See 2. C.F.R. §200.344.

The liquidation period exists to allow projects time to receive ordered goods and make final payments. No new financial obligations may be made during the liquidation period.

Disbursements made by recipients or subrecipients after the end of the period of performance but within the liquidation period MUST have documentation to demonstrate that the financial obligation was incurred BEFORE the end of the period of performance. For example, an invoice paid 25 days after the end of the period of performance must have an invoice date, purchase order date, or other documentation showing the date services were rendered prior to the end of the period of performance.

Requests for a no-cost extension of a period of performance must be submitted through JustGrants. Recipients are to use the Grant Award Modification (GAM) to request the extension.

Recipients may request an extension to receive additional time to achieve the goals and objectives of the grant program. These extensions do not provide additional funding. All extension requests will be evaluated on a case- by-case basis.

The criteria for extending the period of performance include the following:

• All applicable Federal Financial Reports and Performance Reports must be on file and current.
• All award conditions attached to the award must be satisfied. This also includes the performance and resolution of audits in a timely manner.
• A narrative justification must be submitted with the extension request. Complete details must be provided, including the justification and the circumstances which require the proposed extension. The recipient must explain the effect a denial of the request will have on the project.

Generally, the following shall apply to all grants and cooperative agreements:

• no more than one no-cost extension may be made to an award;
• a no-cost extension may not exceed 12 months;
• a no-cost extension may be made only if the period of performance has not expired;
• a no-cost extension may be made only for award recipients that have no significant performance or compliance issues;
• a no-cost extension may be made only if supported by a robust narrative justification establishing that the extension is for the benefit of the Federal government, and contains a plan and timeline for completion within the period of the no-cost extension;
• a no-cost extension may not be made merely for the benefit of the recipient or for the purpose of the enabling the recipient to use unobligated balances; and
• any provisions of the DOJ Grants Financial Guide relating to no-cost extensions shall be complied with (e.g., a no-cost extension must be requested via a Grant Award Modification (GAM) in the grant system of records at least 30 calendar days before the project end date); and
• extension of the liquidation period may be allowable for awards if approved by the awarding agency (this includes the OVC State Victim Assistance Formula Grant Program and State Victim Compensation Formula Grant Program).

Periods of Performance for Research, Evaluation, and Statistics Awards

Due to the nature of the work to be carried out by the recipient, the usual periods of performance may not routinely be appropriate for research, evaluation, and statistics awards. (For example, long-term research or data collection efforts require sufficient time for activities such as institutional review board and Office of Management and Budget reviews (as appropriate), staff training, field work, data collection and analysis, presentation of findings, archiving of data, and dissemination of findings.) Accordingly, a research, evaluation, or statistics award may exceed a 3-year initial period of performance (and/or a 5-year total period of performance, and more than two continuations awards), when appropriate under the particular circumstances of that project.

*Note: not applicable to COPS Office and OVW awards.

Matching or cost sharing means the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by Federal statute). See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of “cost sharing or matching”). Matching requirements vary across the different Department of Justice (DOJ) programs. Recipients should read the award announcement and award notice carefully to understand the specific match requirements applicable to their award. Recipients unclear about the match requirements for their awards should contact their grant manager.

For general government-wide rules regarding match, see 2 C.F.R. § 200.306.

Any departure from the program guidelines must receive prior written approval from the DOJ grant-making component.

Match requirements are typically stated as a percentage of the total project costs for an award. For example, a 20 percent (20%) match on a $100,000 project would be $20,000, where $80,000 is provided by the Federal Government and $20,000 is provided by the recipient.

There are two kinds of match:

• Cash match (hard) includes cash spent for project-related costs. An allowable cash match must include costs which are allowable with Federal funds, except acquisition of land, when applicable.
• Third party in-kind match (soft) includes, but is not limited to, the valuation of non-cash contributions. “In- kind” may be in the form of services, supplies, real property, and equipment.

For example, if in-kind match is permitted by law, then the value of donated services can be used to comply with the match requirement. Also, third party in-kind contributions may count toward satisfying match requirements, provided the recipient of the contributions expends them as allowable costs.

Documentation supporting the market value of in-kind match must be maintained in the award recipient files. Valuation of in-kind match may take one of the following forms:

• Valuation of donated services. Volunteer services furnished by third-party professional and technical personnel, consultants, and other skilled and unskilled labor may be counted as cost sharing or matching if the service is an integral and necessary part of an approved project or program.
  • Volunteer services. Recipient or subrecipient rates for third-party volunteer services must be consistent with those rates ordinarily paid for similar work in the recipient’s or subrecipient’s organization. If the recipient or subrecipient does not have employees performing similar work, the rates will be consistent with those ordinarily paid by other employers for similar work in the same labor market. In either case, a reasonable amount for fringe benefits may be included in the valuation.
  • Employees of other organizations. When an employer other than a recipient or subrecipient furnishes free of charge the services of an employee in the employee’s normal line of work, the services will be valued at the employee’s regular rate of pay plus an amount of fringe benefits, but exclusive of overhead costs. For additional guidance on cost sharing or matching, please review 2 C.F.R. § 200.306.
• Valuation of third party donated supplies, equipment, or space.
  • If a third party donates supplies, equipment, or space, the value must not exceed the fair market value of the property at the time of donation.
• Valuation of third party donated equipment, buildings, and land.
  • If a third party donates equipment, buildings, or land, and title passes to a recipient or subrecipient, the treatment of the donated property will depend upon the purpose of the Federal award.
  • Awards for capital expenditures. If the purpose of the award is to assist the recipient or subrecipient in the acquisition of equipment, buildings or land, the aggregate value of the donated property may be counted as cost sharing or matching.
  • If the purpose of the award is to support activities that require the use of the property, normally only depreciation can be charged. However, the fair market value may be allowed, provided that the grant- making component has approved the charges.

Please refer to 2 C.F.R. § 200.306 for more information about types of match and match requirements.

Cash match (hard) may be applied from the following sources:

• Funds from States and units of local government that have a binding commitment of matching funds for programs or projects (meaning the State or unit of local government has legally appropriated and obligated the funds).
• Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. 5301, et seq. (subject to the applicable policies and restrictions of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development).
• Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, 40 U.S.C. 214.
• Equitable Sharing Program, 21 U.S.C. §881(e) (current guidelines developed by the U.S. Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Office apply). Forfeited assets used as match from the Equitable Sharing Program would be adjudicated by a Federal court.
• Program income funds earned from assets forfeitures (adjudicated by a State court, as State law permits).
• Funds contributed from private sources.
• Program income generated from projects and the related interest earned on that program income, provided these projects are identified and approved as part of the budget and award application.
• Funds appropriated by Federal law for the activities of any agency of a tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs for performing law enforcement functions on tribal lands
• Sources otherwise authorized by law.

Matching contributions do not need to be applied at the exact time or in proportion to the obligation of the Federal funds. However, the full matching share must be contributed by the end of the period of performance.

Recipients and subrecipients must maintain records which clearly show the source, amount, and timing for all matched contributions.

• In addition, if a recipient or subrecipient has included a match that exceeds the required matching portion within the approved budget, the records of those additional amounts must be included and maintained as if they are a part of the regular match amount.
• The award recipient has primary responsibility for meeting the match requirement and for ensuring subrecipient compliance with the match requirements.
• Recipients must maintain records that clearly demonstrate the amount, source, and when the funds were contributed.
• Recipients are required to report match on the quarterly Federal Financial Report (SF-425/line i)
• Supporting documentation does not have to be provided to DOJ, but such records must be available in the event of an audit or site visit.

• The grant-making component will waive any requirement for matching funds (including in-kind) under $200,000 for all awards made to American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands unless otherwise required by law to be provided; and may waive any requirement for matching funds equal to or over $200,000 for all awards made to those territories, or to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The $200,000 amount is determined on a grant-by-grant basis, not by the aggregate total of all matching requirements applicable to an insular area (48 U.S.C. § 1469a [PDF - 116 Kb]).

Waivers specific to COPS Office awards: To maximize the number of communities that will be able to take advantage of COPS Office funding only a limited number of waiver requests (if any) will be granted to applicants who are able to demonstrate severe fiscal distress.

The COPS Office utilizes the “Fiscal Health” data provided in the application with other applicant’s waiver request to make a final decision.

Waivers specific to OVW STOP Formula grant awards: Match may be waived based on demonstration of financial hardship. In addition, awards to victim service providers for victim services or to tribes are subtracted from the Federal award amount for purposes of calculating required match. States may not require tribes or victim service providers to provide matching funds for their projects.

Program income means gross income earned by the non-Federal entity that is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a result of the Federal award during the period of performance. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of “Program Income”). Non-Federal entities are encouraged to earn income to defray program costs where appropriate. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.307(a).

• Depending on guidance provided by the DOJ grant-making component, award recipients can either use program income to advance program objectives or refund program income to the awarding agency. Most types of recipients, absent specific authorization from the DOJ grant-making component, must use program income to offset total allowable costs, and reduce the Federal award and non-Federal entity contributions (i.e., the deduction method). Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) and non-profit research institutions, absent specific guidance, must use program income to add to the total allowable costs for the project (i.e., the addition method). See 2 C.F.R. § 200.307(e).
• Program income may only be used for allowable program costs and must be spent prior to draw downs. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(5).

If program income is earned, it must be accounted for up to the same ratio of Federal participation as funded in the project or program. For example:

• A discretionary award project funded with 100% Federal funds must account for and report on 100% of the total program income earned. If the total program income earned was $20,000, the recipient must account for and report the $20,000 as program income on the Federal Financial Report (FFR), SF-425.
• If a recipient was funded by an award at 75% Federal funds and 25% non-Federal (match) funds, and the total program income earned by the grant was $100,000, then $75,000 must be accounted for and reported by the recipient as program income on the FFR.

Unless otherwise stipulated in the award, any program income earned during the project period but not utilized for the project must be refunded to the awarding agency. If authorized by the DOJ grant-making component, costs incidental to the generation of program income that have not been charged to the Federal award may be deducted from gross income to determine program income. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.307(b).

Program income that the non-Federal entity did not anticipate at the time of the Federal award must be used to reduce the Federal award and non-Federal entity contributions rather than to increase the funds committed to the project, unless otherwise specified in the agency regulations or the terms and conditions of the Federal award. (This does not apply to Institutions of Higher Education or non-profit research institutions, unless specified in other guidance or conditions). See 2 C.F.R. § 200.307(e).

Unless otherwise instructed by the DOJ grant-making component, there are no requirements on the disposition of program income earned after the end of the period of performance of the award.

Royalties

All royalties received from copyrights or other works developed under projects or from patents and inventions may be kept by the recipient unless the terms and conditions of the project provide otherwise, or a specific agreement governing such royalties has been negotiated between the awarding agency and the recipient. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of “Program income”); 2 C.F.R. §200.307(g).

Attorney's Fees and Costs

Income received after completion of the project related to a court-ordered award of attorney’s fees or costs, is considered program income to the extent that it represents a reimbursement for attorney’s fees and costs originally paid under the award. This type of program income is subject to the restrictions stated in the award. See 2 C.F.R.§ 200.1 (definition of “Program income”).

Registration/Tuition Fees

These types of program income must be treated in accordance with the instructions stated in the project’s terms and conditions. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of “Program income”).

Asset Forfeitures

A. U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of the Treasury Equitable Sharing Programs

Equitable sharing funds transferred to state and local law enforcement agencies from the U.S. Department of Justice ( Justice) or U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) Equitable Sharing Programs are not considered program income. For guidance on the use and accounting of equitable sharing funds, including the use of shared funds as a local match to certain types of federal grant programs, please refer to the Justice and Treasury Guide to Equitable Sharing for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-afmls/file/794696/download.

B. State Asset Forfeiture Programs

A recipient earns program income through a state asset forfeiture program when the forfeiture is directly generated as a result of the Federal award activities, excluding federal equitable sharing, during the period of performance and the asset has been adjudicated to the benefit of the recipient law enforcement entity. Program income generated from the sale of personal property, real property or currency forfeited under state law must follow the “Addition Method” of handling program income unless an alternative method is designated in the recipient’s award document.

Recipients may use the non-federal share of program income generated from state asset forfeiture programs as match funding as state law permits.

In some instances, a State or local law enforcement agency provides information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that substantially contributes to the recovery of Federal taxes owed, with respect to illegal drug-related activities (or money laundering in connection with such activities).

• In these cases, the IRS may reimburse the State or local law enforcement agency for costs incurred in the investigation (including but not limited to reasonable expenses, per diem, salary, and overtime). The total reimbursement will not exceed 10% of the amount recovered.
• State or local law enforcement agencies that provide such information to the IRS will receive notification from the IRS when monies have been recovered as a result of the information supplied. Following such notification, and based on documentation, the agency will be required to submit a statement detailing the investigative costs it incurred.
• If more than one State or local agency has provided information, the IRS shall equitably allocate investigative costs among the agencies not to exceed an aggregate amount of 10% of the taxes recovered.
• No State or local agency may receive reimbursement for investigative expenses under Internal Revenue Code Section 7624 if reimbursement has been received from another source, such as a Federal or State forfeiture program or under State revenue laws.
• If the information/investigation is performed with awarding agency funds, the reimbursement received from the IRS is considered to be program income and subject to the aforementioned guidelines.

A Grant Award Modification (GAM) is a request to modify a key fact or detail of the award. There are three types of GAMs; project period extension, programmatic, and financial GAMs--that may be submitted by the recipient, or grant manager, or DOJ financial staff. All GAMs must be submitted electronically through JustGrants .

Once the DOJ grant making component has made a decision on the proposed award modification, the recipient is sent a notification via JustGrants and that becomes a permanent part of their award file, and the record is updated as appropriate.

Recipients are limited to specific grant award modification(s). The following sections describe situations in which recipients must or may initiate a GAM.

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.308.

Changes to the Award Necessitating a GAM

Recipients must initiate a GAM for changes in scope, duration, activities, or other significant areas of non- construction awards. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.308(c). For the requirements associated with changes to construction awards see 2 C.F.R. § 200.308(h).

These changes generally include but are not limited to:

• Altering programmatic activities
• Changing the scope or the objective of the project or program.
• Changing the project site
• Changing a key person specified in the application or the Federal award.
• The disengagement from the project for more than three months, or a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project, by the approved project director or principal investigator.
• Inclusion of costs requiring prior approval under 2 C.F.R. § 200.407 that had not previously been approved by the awarding agency.
• The transfer of funds budgeted for participant support costs as defined in §200.1 participant support costs to other categories of expense.
• Subawarding or contracting out of work that was not described in the application and approved by the Federal awarding agency.
• Changes in the approved cost-sharing or matching provided by the non-Federal entity.

To determine if a change would be considered a change in scope, contact the grant manager.

Budget Modifications

A GAM may be initiated for a budget modification if the request is to modify an approved budget to reallocate funds among the budget categories. This type of GAM can also be used to de-obligate a portion of the award amount; however, the original award amount may not be increased by this procedure.

Award recipients must initiate a GAM for budget modification if:

• The proposed cumulative change is greater than 10% of the total award amount. The 10% rule does not apply to an award of less than $250,000. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.308(f ).
• A proposed budget change affects a cost category that was not included in the original budget. For example, if the direct cost category “Travel” did not exist in the original budget, the adjustment to transfer funds from Equipment to Travel requires a GAM.

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.308.

For COPS Office awards, recipients may request a no-cost extension by submitting a GAM prior to the last day of the award period of performance. To request an extension at least 30 calendar days prior to the end of the award, the recipient submits the request in JustGrants. For extension requests in the final 30 days of the award, the recipient must request the extension via email to their COPS Office Grant Manager.

For additional information on this topic, please refer to Project Extension Guidance section in Chapter 3.2.

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.309.

Sole Source Approval

A GAM must be initiated to request to enter into a non-competitive contractual relationship with a contractor under a grant where the contracted cost exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold. Please see Chapter 3.8: Procurement Under Awards of Federal Assistance for more information.

Written prior approval must be obtained for some costs, as specified in 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (specifically in 2 C.F.R.§ 200.407) and as discussed in Chapter 3.6: Costs Requiring Prior Approval.

For general information concerning the online processing for GAMs, please contact the appropriate grant- making agency.

• OJP – email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-833-872-5175
• OVW – email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-866-655-4482
• COPS Office – email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-421-6770

2 C.F.R. § 200.407 sets out costs that require prior, written approval. A list of the most common of these costs for DOJ recipients is also included below. Award recipients must obtain prior written approval for any of these costs. Recipients must also receive prior written approval for costs that contain special limitations (such as expenditure ceilings).

The DOJ grant-making component reviews all costs requiring prior approval before the recipient incurs the cost. The direct recipient (or pass-through entity) reviews all costs requiring prior approval before the subrecipient incurs the cost.

In general, requests for costs requiring prior approval must be in writing and must include an explanation justifying the expenditure. Contact the DOJ grant-making component for specific guidance.

Equipment and Other Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures for improvements to land, buildings, or equipment which materially increase their value or useful life are unallowable as a direct cost except with the prior written approval of the Federal awarding agency, or pass-through entity. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.439(b3).

• Expenditures for equipment must be fully justified in the budget and budget narrative; otherwise the grant- making component may require that the type, quantity estimated, unit, or other information be provided before the final budget can be issued.
• In reviewing equipment acquisition budgets and proposals, the following principles should be followed:
  • No other equipment owned by the recipient/subrecipient is suitable for the project;
  • Federal funds are not used to provide reimbursement for the purchase of equipment already owned by the recipient/subrecipient; and
  • Equipment purchased and used commonly for two or more programs should be appropriately divided among each activity.
• An expenditure for equipment purchased for a common pool is generally allowable as a charge to the award at cost value.
• Equipment that has already been purchased and charged to other activities of the organization is not an allowable expense to the award.
• A request to purchase a vehicle must be fully justified in the budget and budget narrative; otherwise the grant- making component may require that a vehicle be rented instead of a purchase:
  • No luxury vehicles will be approved;
  • If the vehicle request is approved, the vehicle should be reasonable and the recipient must follow the Internal Revenue Service guidelines; and
  • If the vehicle(s) was purchased as part of a unit of government fleet by the State local central procurement activities, it is generally accepted as reasonable.

Computing Devices and Software, and Information Technology Systems

The costs of computing devices, software, and information technology systems that are characterized as equipment (typically a per-unit acquisition cost of $5000 or more) require prior written approval; those that are characterized as supplies typically do not. See 2 C.F.R. Part 200.1 definitions, and 2 C.F.R. 200.439 and 200.453. Computing devices, software, and information technology systems must be procured in a manner providing full and open competition, consistent with the standards in 2 C.F.R. 200.319 and 2 C.F.R. 200.320.

Brand names should not be specified in most cases (see Chapter 3.8 Procurement Standards and 2. C.F.R. § 200.319(b)(6)) for more information).

Pre-Award Costs

Pre-award costs are costs incurred prior to the start date of the period of performance and in anticipation of the award where such costs are necessary for efficient and timely performance of the scope of the work. Such costs are allowable only to the extent that they would be allowable if incurred after the start date of the Federal award and only with prior written approval of the DOJ awarding agency. Direct recipients may approve pre-award costs for subrecipients if incurred after the start date of the Federal award. If charged to the award, these costs must be charged to the initial budget period of the award, unless otherwise specified by the DOJ awarding agency. See 2 CFR §§ 200.210 and 200.458.

Any and all pre-award costs are incurred at the sole risk of an applicant, and will be reimbursed only to the extent that the costs were approved before they were incurred and provided that an award ultimately is made.

Proposal Costs

Proposal costs are the costs of preparing bids, proposals, or applications on potential Federal and non-Federal awards or projects including the development of data necessary to support the non-Federal entity’s bids or proposals. Proposal costs of the current accounting period of both successful and unsuccessful bids and proposals normally should be treated as indirect (F&A) costs, and allocated currently to all activities of the non-Federal entity. Such cost, where proposed as direct costs, require written prior approval from the grant- making component. No proposal costs of a past accounting period will be allocable to the current period. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.460.

Consultant Rates

Compensation for individual consultant services is to be reasonable and consistent with that paid for similar services in the marketplace.

• Each grant-making component periodically establishes a prior approval threshold consultant rate. The current rate for each grant-making component is $650 per day or $81.25 per hour.
• This limit is specified in the terms and special conditions of the award.
• When the rate exceeds the limit for an 8-hour day, or a proportionate hourly rate (excluding travel and subsistence costs), a written prior approval is required from the grant-making component. Prior approval requests require additional justification.
• An 8-hour day may include preparation, evaluation, and travel time in addition to the time required for actual performance.
• Please note, however, that this does not mean that the rate can or should be the maximum limit for all consultants.
• Rates above the established maximum threshold rate will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Justification for exceeding the established maximum rate may include where a rate is established through a competitive bidding process.
• In order to calculate a rate of compensation for consultants associated with and employed by institutions of higher learning, divide the total compensation projected for 12 months by 260.
  • If the resulting rate of compensation exceeds the maximum consultant rate established by the grant-making component, written prior approval must be obtained.
• Compensation for consultants employed by State and local government will only be allowed when the unit of government will not provide these services without cost.
  • If a State or local government employee has been contracted to provide services that are related to his or her employment with the State or local government, the rate of compensation is not to exceed the daily salary rate for the employee paid by the unit of government.
  • If the State or local government employee has been contracted to provide services that are unrelated to his or her employment with the State or local government, then the rate of compensation is based on the necessary and reasonable cost principles which cannot exceed the maximum rate allowed by the awarding agency without prior written approval.

Conference Costs

All conferences (defined broadly to include meetings, retreats, seminars, symposiums, events, and group training activity) conducted by Cooperative Agreement recipients or contractors funded by DOJ must receive written prior approval. An approved award budget is not a prior approval. All prior approval requests must be submitted within the required number of days (90 or 120) in advance of the start date. See Chapter 3.10: Conference Approval, Planning, and Reporting for more information.

Foreign Travel

Foreign travel is defined as any travel outside of the United States and its Territories and possessions. However, for organizations located in foreign countries, foreign travel means travel outside of the organization’s country. Some requirements for foreign travel:

• Each separate foreign trip must be pre-approved.
• Direct charges for foreign travel costs are not allowable unless the travel has prior approval from the awarding agency.
• Indirect charges for foreign travel are allowable without prior approval from the awarding agency when they are included as part of a federally approved indirect cost rate and have a beneficial relationship to the project.

Travel (see Ch. 3.9 Allowable Costs, for more details)

Moving Money between Categories

Moving monies into any budget category with a zero dollar amount is not allowable without prior approval from the grant-making component. A budget modification is required. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.308(e).

Confidential Funds

Confidential funds are subject to prior approval. See section 3.12, OJP’s Confidential Funds.

Property includes both real property and personal property. Real property typically includes things like land and buildings. Personal property includes both tangible personal property, which is classified as either equipment or supplies; and intangible personal property, which includes things having no physical existence, like trademarks, copyrights, and patents. See definitions in 2 C.F.R. § 200.1. Each of these is addressed in further detail below.

DOJ expects recipients and subrecipients of Federal funds to use good judgment when purchasing, managing, and disposing of property paid for by Federal funds. If a recipient or subrecipient uses award funds to purchase new property when suitable property is already available within the relevant organization, this use will be considered an unnecessary expenditure.

Careful screening should take place before purchasing property to ensure that it is needed. Organizations should establish and maintain an effective property management system to avoid incurring property acquisition costs that are later disallowed by the awarding agency (e.g., acquiring unreasonable, duplicative, or unnecessary property). Recommended screening practices include:

• Take stock of the equipment that recipient or subrecipient already has and see if it meets the identified needs.
• Consider establishing a screening committee to make decisions about purchases.
• Utilize effective management techniques as a basis for determining that property/equipment is needed.
• Initiate a screening process to ensure that effective controls are in place for property management.

DOJ recipients must follow the standards and procedures for ownership (title), use, management, and disposition of equipment set out below, with the exception of recipients and subrecipients of Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program formula grant funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. JAG award recipients must follow slightly different standards and procedures set out in 34 U.S.C. 10227. (See the “Equipment and Supplies Acquired With Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Funds” below).

Ownership of Equipment

Unless more specific rules are identified for a particular grant program, title to equipment acquired under a Federal award will vest in the recipient organization (or, in the case of a subaward, in the subrecipient’s organization). The legal right of ownership and conditions for use, management, and disposal of equipment are set forth in 2 C.F.R. § 200.313, and are described below.

Use of Equipment

A State must use equipment acquired under a Federal award in accordance with State laws and procedures. DOJ encourages the States to follow the procedures that are in this Guide.

Recipients and subrecipients other than States must use equipment acquired under an award (or subaward) for the authorized program or project purposes for which it was acquired as long as needed, whether or not the project or program continues to be supported by Federal funds. When no longer needed for the original program or project, the equipment may be used in other activities currently or previously supported by a Federal agency.

• Use for other Federal projects. Equipment must be made available for use on other projects or programs currently or previously supported by the Federal government, provided the use does not interfere with the work on the projects or programs for which it was originally acquired. First preference for other use should be given to other programs or projects supported by the awarding agency.
• User fees. User fees should be considered and treated as program income to the project, when appropriate. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.307 (Program Income). During the time the Federal government retains an interest in the equipment the non-Federal entities must not use equipment acquired with a Federal award to provide services for a fee that is less than private companies charge for equivalent services, unless doing so is specifically authorized by law. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.313(c)(3).
• Replacement equipment. When acquiring replacement equipment, recipients or subrecipients may use the equipment to be replaced as a trade-in, or may sell the equipment and use the proceeds to offset the cost of the replacement equipment, subject to the written approval of the awarding agency.
• Encumbrances. A non-federal entity must not encumber equipment acquired under a Federal award without approval of the awarding agency or pass-through entity.

Management of Equipment

A State should ensure equipment acquired under a Federal award to the State is managed in accordance with State laws and procedures for property.

Recipients and subrecipients other than States must use procedures for managing equipment (including replacement equipment) acquired in whole or in part under a Federal award, until disposition takes place, that, at a minimum, meet the following requirements:

• Property records. Property records must be maintained to include all of the following information:
  • Description of the property
  • Serial number or other identification number
  • Source of the property, including the federal award identification number
  • Identification of the title holder
  • Acquisition date
  • Cost of the property
  • Percentage of Federal participation in the cost of the property
  • Location of the property
  • Use and condition of the property
  • Disposition data, including the date of disposal and sale price
• Inventory. A physical inventory of the property must be taken and the results reconciled with the property records at least once every 2 years.
• Maintenance procedures. Adequate maintenance procedures must be established and used to keep the property in good condition.
• Control system. A control system must be in place with adequate safeguards to prevent loss, damage, and theft.
  • Promptly and properly investigate and fully document any loss, damage, or theft, and make the documentation part of the official project records. 2 C.F.R. § 200.313 (d)(3).
  • Provide at a minimum, the equivalent insurance coverage for equipment acquired with Federal funds that the non-Federal entity owns. Federally-owned equipment need not be insured unless required by the award. 2.C.F.R. § 200.310.
  • Non-federal entities are responsible for replacing or repairing property that is willfully or negligently lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed.
• Proper sales procedures. If authorized or required to sell the property, the recipient or subrecipient must establish proper sales procedures to ensure the highest possible return.

Disposition of Equipment

A State recipient must dispose of equipment acquired under the award in accordance with State laws and procedures.

Recipients and subrecipients other than States must dispose of the equipment when original or replacement equipment acquired under the award or subaward is no longer needed for the original project, or for other activities currently or previously supported by a Federal awarding agency, as follows:

• If the item to be disposed of has a current per-unit fair market value of $5,000 or less, the item may be retained, sold, or otherwise disposed of with no further obligation to the awarding agency.
• If the item has a current per-unit fair market value of more than $5,000, the item may be retained or sold, but the awarding agency will have a right to a specific dollar amount. Calculate this amount by multiplying the current market value or proceeds from the item sale by the awarding agency’s share of the equipment (i.e, the agency’s percentage of participation in the cost of the original purchase). The seller is also eligible for limited sale and handling costs of $500 or 10% of the proceeds, whichever is less.
• In cases where the recipient or subrecipient fails to take appropriate disposition actions, the awarding agency may direct other disposition actions.

Special rules, set out in 34 U.S.C. 10227 (a provision of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968), apply to the ownership, use, and disposition of equipment and supplies purchased with Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne JAG) funds awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). These rules supersede any conflicting provision of 2 C.F.R. Part 200. See 2 C.F.R. Part 2800.

• Title to all equipment and supplies purchased with Byrne JAG funds vests in the criminal justice agency or non-profit organization that purchased the property, if it certifies to the State Office that it will use the property for criminal justice purposes.
• If such certification is not made, title to the property shall vest in the State Office, which shall seek to have the property used for criminal justice purposes elsewhere in the State prior to using it or disposing of it in any other manner.
• When equipment is no longer needed for criminal justice purposes, a State should dispose of equipment (for both the State and subrecipients) in accordance with State procedures, with no further obligation to the awarding agency.
• The procedures on use and management of equipment set out above apply to the extent that they do not conflict with 34 U.S.C. 10227.

When federally owned equipment is provided, the following requirements apply:

• Title remains vested in the Federal Government.
• The equipment must be managed in accordance with the grant-making component’s rules and procedures and an annual inventory listing must be submitted.
• When the equipment is no longer needed, disposition instructions must be requested from the grant-making component.

When an item of property is no longer efficient or serviceable but continues to be needed in the program or project for which it was acquired, or other programs permitted under 2 C.F.R. § 200.313(c), the property may be replaced through trade-in or sale and subsequent purchase of new property. In this case, the following conditions must be met:

• Same function and character. Replacement property must serve the same function as the original property and be of the same nature or character, although not necessarily of the same grade or quality.
• Timing. Purchase of replacement property must take place soon enough after the sale of the property to show that the sale and the purchase are related.
• Trade-ins. When acquiring replacement property, the recipient or subrecipient may use the property to be replaced as a trade-in. Value credited for the property, if the property is traded in, must be related to its fair market value. The recipient or subrecipient also may use the proceeds from the sale of the property to offset the cost of the new property.
• Subrecipients of States. State subrecipients must obtain the written permission of the State to use the provisions of this section prior to entering into negotiation for the replacement or trade-in of property.

For supplies acquired under an award, the title to the supplies vests with the recipient upon acquisition. For supplies acquired under a subaward, the title vests with the subrecipient upon acquisition.

• Recipients and subrecipients must compensate the grant-making component for its share of residual inventory of unused supplies if both of the following apply:
  • The residual inventory of unused supplies exceeds $5,000 in total aggregate fair market value upon termination or completion of the funding support.
  • The supplies are not needed for any other federally sponsored programs or projects.
    • Compute the compensation amount in the same manner as for nonexpendable personal property or equipment.

Note: Special rules apply for supplies purchased with Byrne JAG funds – see previous discussion.

Real property means land, including land improvements, structures and appurtenances thereto, but excludes moveable machinery and equipment. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1. DOJ funds generally cannot be used for land acquisition unless specifically permitted under the awarding program or terms of the award.

Title. Subject to the obligations and conditions in the award, title to real property acquired or improved under an award or subaward vests upon acquisition in the recipient or subrecipient, as applicable.

Use. Recipients and subrecipients are to use real property acquired, in whole or in part, with Federal funds for the authorized purposes of the original award or subaward as long as needed for that purpose. In some cases, a recipient or subrecipient may receive approval from the awarding agency for a change in use, if the property is no longer needed for its originally funded purpose.

• An inventory report should be maintained which identifies real property acquired, in whole or in part, with Federal funds.
• Do not dispose of or encumber its title or other interests.

Disposition. When real property is no longer needed for the original award purposes (or another awarding agency-approved purpose), the non-Federal entity should obtain disposition instructions from the grant-making component or pass-through entity, as appropriate. The instructions may allow one of the following:

• Retain title after compensating the Federal awarding agency. The amount paid to the Federal awarding agency will be computed by applying the Federal awarding agency’s percentage of participation in the cost of the original purchase (and costs of any improvements) to the fair market value of the property. However, in those situations where the non-Federal entity is disposing of real property acquired or improved with a Federal award and acquiring replacement real property under the same Federal award, the net proceeds from the disposition may be used as an offset to the cost of the replacement property.
• Sell the property and compensate the Federal awarding agency. The amount due to the Federal awarding agency will be calculated by applying the Federal awarding agency’s percentage of participation in the cost of the original purchase (and cost of any improvements) to the proceeds of the sale after deduction of any actual and reasonable selling and fixing-up expenses. If the Federal award has not been closed out, the net proceeds from sale may be offset against the original cost of the property. When the non-Federal entity is directed to sell property, sales procedures must be followed that provide for competition to the extent practicable and result in the highest possible return.
• Transfer title to the Federal awarding agency or to a third party designated/approved by the Federal awarding agency. The non-Federal entity is entitled to be paid an amount calculated by applying the non-Federal entity’s percentage of participation in the purchase of the real property (and cost of any improvements) to the current fair market value of the property.

Records for equipment, nonexpendable personal property, and real property must be retained for a period of 3 years from the date of disposition, replacement, or transfer at the discretion of the grant-making component.

• If any litigation, claim, or audit is started before the expiration of the 3-year period, records must be retained until all litigation, claims, or audit findings involving the records have been resolved.
• The grant record retention period is typically for 3 years, but the reporting rules affecting real property acquired or improved with federal funds continue throughout the useful life of the property. See Chapter 3.15 Reporting Requirements.

Intangible property means property having no physical existence, such as trademarks, copyrights, patents and patent applications and property, such as loans, notes and other debt instruments, lease agreements, stock and other instruments of property ownership (whether the property is tangible or intangible). 2 C.F.R. § 200.1.

Title. Intangible property acquired under a Federal award vests upon acquisition in the non-Federal entity.

Use. The non-Federal entity must use that property for the originally-authorized purpose, and must not encumber the property without approval of the Federal awarding agency.

Disposition. When no longer needed for the originally authorized purpose, intangible property is treated similarly to equipment for disposition purposes. Disposition must occur in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.313(e). In general, intangible property (e.g., a securities instrument or a patent) with a fair market value of $5,000 or less may be retained, sold, or otherwise disposed of with no further obligation to the grant-making component; while intangible property valued above $5,000 may be retained or sold, but the grant-making component is entitled to compensation for its share of participation in the cost of the original purchase, minus some selling and handling expenses. See the provisions for disposition of equipment (above) for a summary of these requirements.

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.315 for additional detailed rules regarding intangible property.

The award recipient may copyright any work that is subject to copyright and was developed, or for which ownership was acquired, under a Federal award.

The grant-making component reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, for Federal Government purposes (and to authorize others to do so), the following:

• Any work subject to copyright that was developed under an award or subaward; and
• Any work for which ownership was acquired under an award or subaward.

With respect to data produced under a Federal award and/or subaward, the grant-making component has the right to do the following:

• Obtain, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the data produced under an award; and
• Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for Federal purposes.

The non-Federal entity is subject to applicable regulations governing patents and inventions, including government-wide regulations issued by the Department of Commerce at 37 C.F.R. 401, “Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms Under Government Awards, Contracts and Cooperative Agreements.” 2 C.F.R. § 200.315(c).

The Procurement Standards in the Uniform Guidance at 2 C.F.R. § 200.317 through 2 C.F.R. § 200.327 detail requirements and restrictions imposed on States and non-Federal entities (i.e., recipients and subrecipients) that use Federal assistance funds to procure property or services needed to carry out the grant-funded project.

Procurements by States (2 C.F.R. §200.317)

When procuring property and services under a Federal award, a State must follow the same policies and procedures it uses for procurements from its non-Federal funds. When procuring “recovered materials,” states must comply with 2 C.F.R. § 200.323. States must also ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes any clauses required by 2 C.F.R. § 200.327 (which points to 2 C.F.R. Part 200 to 2 C.F.R. § Appendix II (“Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards”). Other than these three provisions of the Uniform Guidance (§ 200.317, § 200.323, and § 200.327), the State’s procurement policies also will govern procurements with Federal award funds.

Procurements by All Other Non-Federal Entity Recipients (2 C.F.R. §200.318-327)

For procurement transactions using Federal award funds, the non-Federal entity must use its own documented procurement procedures consistent with applicable State, local, and tribal laws and regulations, and with the procurement standards in 2 C.F.R. Part 200. Procurement procedures must be formally documented by the non- Federal entity and periodically reviewed to ensure compliance with applicable regulations. 

Non-Federal entities must maintain written standards of conduct covering conflict of interest and employee participation in selection, award and administration of contracts. Recipients or subrecipients must also ensure that contractors perform in accordance with the terms, conditions and specifications of their awards. Contracts should only be awarded to responsible contractors possessing the ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of proposed procurements. Records that detail the history of all procurements must be maintained and should include, but not limited to:

• Rationale for the method of procurement;
• Selection of contract type;
• Contractor selection and/or rejection process; and
• Basis for the contract prices.

Non-Federal entities are responsible, in accordance with good administrative practice and sound business judgment, for the settlement of all contractual and administrative issues arising out of the procurement.

Award recipients and subrecipients must:

• Have a documented process to check for organizational conflict of interest with potential contractors;
• Have a process in place to ensure that contracts are not awarded to contractors or individuals on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-procurement Programs;
• Perform a System for Award Management (SAM) review of potential contractors or individuals; and
• Not award or permit any award at any level to any party which is debarred or suspended.

For details regarding debarment procedures, see the government-wide guidelines for debarment and suspension codified in 2 C.F.R. Part 180, and 2 C.F.R. Part 2867, which adopts the OMB guidance in subparts A through I of Title 2 CFR Part 180, as supplemented by Title 2 Part 2867, as the DOJ policies and procedures for non- procurement debarment and suspension.

Non-Federal entities’ procedures must avoid acquisition of unnecessary or duplicative items. Where appropriate, lease versus purchase analysis should be performed as well as other appropriate analysis for determining the most economical method for obtaining items or services. Recipients are encouraged to use Federal excess and surplus property when possible and to enter into inter-agency or inter-governmental agreements where appropriate to procure common or shared goods and services.

Non-Federal entities must include any applicable provisions found at 2 C.F.R. § 200 Appendix II (“Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards”) in all contracts made by non-Federal entities (i.e., recipients and subrecipients) under the Federal grant award.

For additional guidance please see the DOJ Guide to Procurement Procedures [PDF - 700 Kb].

Methods of Procurement

There are several methods of procurement that may be used by recipients and subrecipients including:

• Informal procurement methods:
  • Micro-purchases (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.320(a)(1));
  • Small purchases (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.320(a)(2));
• Formal procurement methods;
  • Sealed bids (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.320(b)(1));
  • Proposals (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.320(b)(2)); and
• Noncompetitive procurement (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.320(c)).

Competition

Recipients and subrecipients must conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with the Procurement Standards in the Uniform Guidance. In order to avoid unfair competitive advantage, contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, and invitations for bids or requests for proposals must be excluded from competing for such procurements.

Some of the situations considered to be restrictive of competition include but are not limited to:

• Placing unreasonable requirements on firms in order for them to qualify to do business;
• Requiring unnecessary experience or excessive bonding;
• Noncompetitive pricing practices between firms or between affiliated companies;
• Noncompetitive contracts to consultants that are on retainer contracts;
• Organizational conflicts of interest;
• Specifying a “brand name” product instead of allowing “an equal” product to be offered; and
• Any arbitrary action in the procurement process.

Written procedures for procurement transactions must ensure that all solicitations incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements of the material, product or service to be procured. Solicitations should also identify all requirements which offerors must fulfill and all other factors to be used in evaluating bids and proposals.

Noncompetitive Procurement

Non-Federal entities may use noncompetitive procurement when one or more of the following circumstances apply:

• The aggregate dollar amount of the property or services to be acquired does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold.
• The item or service is available only from a single source;
• The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from publicizing a competitive solicitation;
• DOJ or the pass-through entity expressly authorizes a noncompetitive procurement in response to a written request from the non-Federal entity; or
• After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined to be inadequate.

Noncompetitive procurement should be used only when use of competitive solicitation procedures like sealed bids, or competitive proposals are not applicable to the requirement or is impracticable.

All noncompetitive procurements in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold must receive prior approval from the grant-making component before entering into the contract. 2 C.F.R. § 200.325(b)(2).

The following “Do’s and Don’ts” lists are non-exhaustive and highlight a few elements from the Procurement Standards. To help ensure that recipients conduct procurement transactions in full compliance with the Procurement Standards and other applicable law, the use of these highlights are considered as a starting point only, and should not be relied upon as though they fully cover all aspects of the law, rules, policies, or procurement procedures that may apply to procurement transactions conducted using Federal award funds.

Contracting Do's

1. Provide for full and open competition consistent with the Procurement Standards.
2. Develop and incorporate clear and accurate descriptions for technical requirements, specifications, statements of work, or other required documents used in procurement transactions.
3. Ensure any prequalified lists of persons, firms, or products used in acquiring goods and services are current and include enough qualified sources to ensure maximum open and free competition consistent with the Procurement Standards.
4. Only make procurement contracts to responsible contractors that can perform successfully in accordance with contract terms and conditions.
5. Maintain records sufficient to detail the history of any procurement action.

Contracting Don'ts

1. Don’t include unreasonable (or otherwise unjustifiable) requirements that would be restrictive of competition.
2. Don’t require unnecessary experience or other unnecessary criteria or elements that cannot be justified or supported with procurement procedures and the Procurement Standards.
3. Don’t allow for, engage in, or facilitate noncompetitive pricing between firms or affiliated companies.
4. Don’t forget to include all applicable contract provisions described in Appendix II to Part 200 in any procurement contracts.
5. Don’t require unreasonable time frames or performance.

Consistent with the national goal of expanding the opportunities for women-owned and minority-owned business enterprises, recipients must take all necessary affirmative steps to ensure that women's business enterprises, minority businesses and labor surplus area firms are used when possible. For more information see 2 C.F.R. § 200.321.

Qualifications

Recipients or subrecipients considering the use of federal grant award funds for construction must be aware of the following qualifications:

• Costs incurred as an incidental and necessary part of a program for renovation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair costs that do not constitute capital expenditures are generally allowable, but may be subject to provisions, including restrictions or limitations, contained in program-authorizing legislation.
• The total cost of a construction project includes the cost of site preparation and demolition of existing structures. Any proceeds (program income) realized for site preparation activities (e.g., salvage value of structures demolished or proceeds from the sale of timber) must be applied to the project. These proceeds should be used to reduce the total cost of the construction project.
• Relocation costs are paid in accordance with the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, 42 U.S.C. § 4601-4655.
• Funds will not be obligated for construction until OJP has been contacted and assisted in satisfactorily completing any applicable OJP procedures by complying with the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and other related Federal environmental impact analysis requirements.

Special Fiscal Conditions for Construction Projects

The DOJ grant-making component or recipients (e.g., pass-through entities such as States) may accept the bonding policy and requirements of recipients or subrecipients, respectively, if they adequately protect the Federal interest. If DOJ or the pass-through entity determines that a recipient or subrecipient, as applicable, does not have adequate bonding policies and requirements that protect the Federal interest, the DOJ grant- making component or pass-through entity must require all of the following, consistent with 2 C.F.R. § 200.326:

• A bid guarantee equivalent to 5 percent of the bid price.
  • The bid guarantee must consist of a firm commitment—such as bid bond, certified check, or other negotiable instrument accompanying a bid—as assurance that the bidder will, upon bid acceptance, execute such contractual documents as may be required within the time specified after the forms are presented.
• A performance bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent of the contract price.
  • A performance bond is a bond executed in connection with a contract to secure fulfillment of all the contractor’s requirements under such a contract.
• A payment bond on the part of the contractor for 100 percent of the contract price.
  • A payment bond is a bond executed in connection with a contract to ensure payment as required by law of all persons supplying labor and material in the execution of the work provided for in the contract.

Guarantee of Payment of Money

In situations where the Federal Government guarantees the payment of money borrowed by a recipient or subrecipient, the State may, at its discretion, require bonding and insurance to protect the interest of the Federal Government.

• If a project is considering construction of facility improvements for less than $100,000 and the subrecipient does not have any requirements for bid guarantees, performance bonds, and payments bonds, the subrecipient must meet the requirements of the State.

Costs are allowable when they are reasonable, allocable to, and necessary for the performance of the federal award, and when they comply with the funding statute and agency requirements (to include the conditions of the award), including the cost principles set out in the Uniform Requirements 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Subpart E.

This chapter highlights selected costs that are often allowable under DOJ awards. For more information about specific factors that affect whether costs are allowable, refer to 2 C.F.R. § 200, Subpart E, including the list of specific items of cost in 2 C.F.R. § 200.420 through 200.476. Mentioning, or failing to mention, a cost is not intended to imply that a cost is either allowable or unallowable in the performance of a specific federal award.

Salaries, Wages, and Fringe Benefits

Compensation for personal services “includes all remuneration, paid currently or accrued, for services of employees rendered during the period of performance under the Federal award, including but not necessarily limited to wages and salaries [and] fringe benefits” 2 C.F.R. 200.430.

Subject to the requirement of the specific award, costs of compensation for personal services generally are allowable where they —

• are reasonable for the services rendered;
• conform to the established written policy of the non-Federal entity consistently applied to both Federal and non-Federal activities;
• follow an appointment made in accordance with a non-Federal entity’s laws and/or rules or written policies and meet the requirements of the Federal statute, where applicable; and
• are adequately supported under 2 C.F.R. 200.430(i).

DOJ agencies disallow the use of award funds to compensate for personal services where such compensation exceeds certain amounts.

Support of Salaries, Wages, and Fringe Benefits

Charges made to Federal awards for salaries, wages, and fringe benefits must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed and comply with the established policies and practices of the organization. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.430 and § 200.431.

• Charges must be supported by a system of internal controls that provides reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated.
• Documentation for charges must be incorporated into the official records of the organization.
• Support must reasonably reflect the total activity for which the employee is compensated by the organization and cover both federally funded and all other activities. The records may include the use of subsidiary records as defined in the organization’s written policies.
• Where grant recipients work on multiple grant programs or cost activities, documentation must support a reasonable allocation or distribution of costs among specific activities or cost objectives.
• In cases where two or more grants constitute one identified activity or program, salary charges to one grant may be allowable after written permission is obtained from the awarding agency.
• The recipient must complete and keep on file, as appropriate in accordance with Federal law, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for individuals working under the award. This form is to be used by recipients (and any subrecipients) of Federal funds to verify that persons hired under the award are eligible to work in the United States.

Limit on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation

DOJ grant funds may not be used to pay cash compensation (salary plus bonuses) to any employee at a rate that exceeds 110 percent of the annual maximum salary payable to a member of the Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service (SES) at an agency with a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System for that year.

The latest salary table for SES employees is available on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Salaries & Wages (opm.gov).

A recipient may compensate an employee at a higher rate, provided the amount in excess of the limitation is paid with non-Federal funds. For employees who charge only a portion of their time to an award, the allowable amount to be charged to that award is equal to the percentage of time worked on the grant times the maximum salary limit (110% of SES salary).

Overtime Compensation

Unless specifically exempted under the Fair Labor Standards Act, recipient and subrecipient employees should be compensated with overtime payments for work performed in excess of the established work week (usually 40 hours).

• Payment of more than occasional overtime is subject to periodic review by the awarding agency.
• In addition, overtime compensation is typically reviewed during programmatic, financial monitoring and audits.

Executive, administrative and professional employees who meet the criteria for an exemption from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act may not be reimbursed for overtime under grants and cooperative agreements. More information on overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act is available on the Department of Labor’s website at https://www.dol.gov/whd/overtime_pay.htm.

Compensation of Federal Employees (Generally unallowable, see Ch. 13 Unallowable Costs)

Bonuses (see Ch. 13 Unallowable Costs, for more details)

Post-Employment Benefits

Post-employment benefits are allowable costs if funded in accordance with actuarial requirements.

Please refer to Ch. 3.6 (Prior Approval), Consultant Rates, for a more complete discussion of the requirements and restrictions for these costs.

All recipients should see Chapter 3.10: Conference Approval, Planning, and Reporting for more information.

All conferences (defined broadly to include meetings, retreats, seminars, symposiums, events, and group training activity) conducted by Cooperative Agreement recipients or contractors funded by DOJ must receive written prior approval. An approved award budget is not a prior approval. All prior approval requests must be submitted within the required number of days (90 or 120) in advance of the start date. See Chapter 3.10.

Travel expenses are allowable costs for employees who are in travel status on official business related to the award. These costs must be reasonable and in accordance with the organization’s established travel policy. In the absence of an established travel policy, the organization must comply with the Federal travel regulations (48 C.F.R. 31.205-46(a), most easily accessible via the U.S. General Services Administration website). See 2 C.F.R. § 200.475.

• The DOJ awarding agency reserves the right to determine the reasonableness of an organization’s travel policy.
• Recipients and subrecipients must follow their own established travel policies.
• If a recipient or subrecipient does not have an established travel policy, they must abide by the Federal travel policy including per diem rates.
• The current per diem rate information is available at the Per Diem rates section of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) website.

Cost for tips (for example, tips paid to taxi or shuttle services) are allowable. Tips typically must be within the applicable per diem rate for incidental expenses, unless a different organizational travel policy applies.

Tribal organizations carrying out a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement are eligible to have access to Federal sources of supply, including lodging providers, airlines, and other transportation providers.

Section 201(a) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, 40 U.S.C. 481(a), indicates that employees of tribal organizations are eligible to have access to sources of supply on the same basis as employees of an executive agency if a request is made by the tribal organization.

Federal Agency Employee Travel

• DOJ employee travel is not an allowable use of award funds. (See Ch. 13 Unallowable Costs)
• DOJ does consider to be allowable the travel expenses of other Federal employees, such as those persons serving on advisory committees or other program or project duties or assistance, if travel expenses have been:
  • Approved by the Federal employee’s department or agency; and
  • Included as an identifiable item in the funds budgeted approved budget for the project or subsequently approved by the awarding agency.

Rental costs. The rental cost of space in privately or publicly owned buildings used for the benefit of the project is allowable subject to the conditions stated below:

• The total cost of space does not exceed the rental cost of comparable space and facilities in a privately-owned building in the same locality. See 2 C.F.R. 200.465(a).
• The cost of space procured for project usage is not charged to the program for periods of non-occupancy without authorization of the grant making component. See 2 C.F.R. 200.446 Idle facilities and idle capacity.
• Rental costs may not be charged to the grant if the recipient owns the building or has a financial interest in the property. See 2 C.F.R. 200.465(b) and (c). (However, the cost of ownership (i.e., depreciation) is an allowable expense – see below and 2 C.F.R. 200.436 Depreciation.)
• Rental costs may not be charged for building purchases or construction originally financed by the Federal Government, during the pendency of the federal interest.
• Costs for rental of any property (to include commercial or residential real estate) owned by individuals or entities affiliated with the recipient or subrecipient, for purposes such as the home office workspace are unallowable. The cost of related utilities is also unallowable. 2 C.F.R. 200.465(c)(6), (f ).

The cost of space procured under rental-purchase or a lease-with-option to purchase agreement is allowable with prior written approval by the awarding agency. See 2 C.F.R. 200.439(b)(1); 200.1 (definitions of capital expenditures and capital assets.) This type of arrangement may require application of special matching share requirements under construction programs.

• Where the organization owns the facility, the cost of ownership (e.g. depreciation) is an allowable expense.
• Ownership expenses must be determined on the basis of actual cost (including depreciation based on the useful life of the building, operation and maintenance, and other allowable costs). Where these costs are charged elsewhere such as rental costs, they cannot be charged to the federal award.
• Cost of ownership expenses for a publicly owned building are allowable where “rental rate” systems, or equivalent systems that adequately reflect actual costs, are employed.
• Depreciation or use allowance on idle or excess facilities is not allowable, except when specifically authorized by the Federal awarding agency. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.446.
• Recipients may not use an accelerated method to calculate depreciation without clear evidence indicating that the expected consumption of the asset will be significantly greater in the early portion than in the later portion of its useful life.

• The cost of utilities, insurance, security, janitorial services, elevator service, upkeep of grounds, ordinary repairs and maintenance, and the like are allowable to the extent they are not otherwise included in rental or other charges for space. See 2 C.F.R. 200.452.

Costs incurred for rearrangement and alteration of facilities required specifically for the award program, or that materially increase the value or useful life of the facility (i.e., capital improvements), are allowable with prior written approval by the awarding agency. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.462 and § 200.439(b)(3). (NEPA requirements may also be applicable; contact the awarding agency for additional information.)

Land Acquisition (generally unallowable – see Ch. 3.13 Unallowable Costs).

State and local state taxes are generally allowable, subject to the restrictions in 2 C.F.R. 200.470(a)(1).

Project costs for publication and printing, including distribution, promotion, and general handling of electronic or print media are allowable. If these costs are not identifiable with a particular project or cost activity, the costs should be allocated as indirect costs to all benefiting activities of the organization. To be considered allowable, publication costs must be incurred in accordance with the terms of the project. Additional guidance for publication and printing costs is set out in 2 C.F.R. § 200.461.

Recipients publicizing project activities and results must follow applicable conditions on their awards, including those related to required publication disclaimers and to the reservation on the part of the federal awarding agency under 2 C.F.R. 200.315(b) of a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.

All publication and distribution agreements with a publisher must include provisions giving the Federal Government a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use and to authorize others to use the publication for Federal Government purposes (see Chapter 3.7). The agreements with a publisher should contain also information on any additional awarding agency requirements specific to the project.

Unless otherwise specified in the award, recipients/subrecipients may copyright any books, publications, films, or other copyrightable material developed or purchased as a result of award activities. Copyrighted material will be subject to the same provisions giving the Federal Government a license as described above. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.315 and Chapter 3.7.

Pursuant to the Government Printing and Binding Regulations, no project may be awarded primarily or substantially for the purpose of having material printed for the awarding agency. The Government Printing and Binding Regulations allow:

• The issuance of a project for the support of non-Government publications, provided such projects were issued pursuant to an authorization of law, and were not made primarily or substantially for the purpose of having material printed for the awarding agency.
• The publication of findings by recipients/subrecipients within the terms of their project provided such publication is not primarily or substantially for the purpose of having such findings printed for the awarding agency.
  • If recipients/subrecipients need to duplicate less than 5,000 units of only one (1) page, or less than 25,000 units in the aggregate of multiple pages, of its findings for the awarding agency, DOJ will not consider this duplication to constitute printing primarily or substantially for the awarding agency (e.g., 5,000 copies of 5 pages, etc.).
  • Duplicated pages may not exceed a maximum image size of 10¾ by 14¼ inches.

Equipment and other capital expenditures are allowable with the prior written approval of the awarding agency or pass-through entity. Please refer to Ch. 3.6 (Prior Approval), Equipment and Other Capital Expenditures, Ch. 3.7 (Property Standards), and Ch. 3.8 (Procurement) for a more complete discussion of the requirements and restrictions for these costs.

Recipients can expense costs associated with software development in the period the costs are incurred, subject to the limits outlined in the budget and budget narrative. See 2 C.F.R. 200.439(b)(4).

Please refer to Ch. 3.6 (Prior Approval), Equipment and Other Capital Expenditures, Ch. 3.7 (Property Standards), and Ch. 3.8 (Procurement) for a more complete discussion of the requirements and restrictions for these costs.

In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.428, costs incurred by a non-Federal entity to recover improper payments are allowable as either direct or indirect cost, as appropriate.

The purpose of this section is to provide guidance to OJP/COPS Office recipients (including cooperative agreement recipients and subrecipients) and contractors that conduct training sessions, meetings, or conferences.

For purposes of this chapter (OJP/COPS Office Conference Approval, Planning, and Reporting) references to “contractor” means a Federal contractor, unless context indicates otherwise. To sign up for email notifications for any changes to the Conference Cost Policy Email Notification (Click to Subscribe).

Cooperative Agreements and Federal Procurement Contracts

All conferences (see definition below) conducted by cooperative agreement recipients or federal procurement contractors funded by OJP/COPS Office must receive written prior approval. An approved award budget is not a prior approval. All prior approval requests for conferences costing $100,000 or less and not exceeding any cost thresholds must be submitted a minimum of 90 days in advance of the start date. All conferences costing more than $100,000 or exceeding any one cost threshold must be submitted a minimum of 120 days in advance of the start date. See the Prior Approval Required section for more information.

Cooperative agreement recipients must comply with the approval process regarding logistical conference planning (see section on logistical conference planning), and must keep their program manager informed of all decisions being made during the conference planning process.

In addition, cooperative agreement recipients and federal procurement contractors conducting conferences that cost more than $20,000 must report actual conference expenses within 45 days after the last day of the event. See the Post-Event Reporting section for more information.

No hotel/venue or audio-visual contracts may be entered into before such prior approval has been obtained in writing from OJP/COPS Office.

Grants

Conferences conducted by grant recipients do not require prior approval. However, grant recipients must ensure compliance with the food/beverage, meeting room/audio-visual, logistical planner, and programmatic planner limitations and cost thresholds.

Cost Thresholds

Cost thresholds and limitations are in place for the following items:

• Meeting room/audio-visual services (lesser of $31.25 per day per attendee or $25,000)
• Logistical planners (lesser of $62.50 per attendee or $11,000)
• Programmatic planners (lesser of $250 per attendee or $43,750)
• Food and beverage (generally not allowed)
• Refreshments (generally not allowed)

While there are exceptions to these thresholds and limitations, they are rare and require extraordinary justification as well as approval outside and above OJP/COPS Office. See the Conference Costs and Prior Approval Required sections for more information.

Prior approval is not required for the following types of award recipients and/or activities.

Recipients That Do NOT Have a Cooperative Agreement Type of Award

Reasonable conference-related activity costs are allowable uses of OJP/COPS Office funding as long as the grant budget has been approved by OJP/COPS Office. Meals, refreshments, and trinkets generally are not allowable.

• OJP/COPS Office does not require non-cooperative agreement recipients to obtain additional prior approval from OJP/COPS Office for specific conference costs.
• Cost limits apply. Even though prior approval of most conference costs by OJP/COPS Office is not required, OJP/COPS Office expects grantees to make every effort to stay within the cost limitation thresholds on meeting space, audio-visual equipment/services, and conference planning, as set out in this guidance. Where recipients plan to exceed (or do exceed) these cost limitations, they must maintain adequate documentation that such costs were reviewed by the recipient through some internal process, and that the costs were determined to be justified by the grantee. This documentation will be subject to review during monitoring and audits.

Note: Providing multiple speakers to a conference (generally exceeding $20,000 in total costs) or providing other types of direct or indirect support (e.g., sponsoring an exhibit booth using federal funding) that offsets the costs of the non-DOJ sponsored conference hosted by a third-party may be considered a federally-funded “sponsor,” which some may construe as OJP/COPS Office-sponsorship of the overall conference. For these reasons, OJP/ COPS Office may require these types of situations be approved as a “DOJ-sponsored” event, on a case by case basis.

Testing Activity

The primary purpose is to evaluate an individual’s qualifications to perform certain duties necessary to his or her job. The majority of the event must be devoted to the administration and taking of the test. The most common examples include events held for firearms and weaponry proficiency testing and certification. An event that includes testing that is merely incidental to the event, or where such testing is given upon the completion of the event to evaluate the event or determine participation in the event, is not a testing activity.

Video Conferences and Webinars

Webinars and video conferences do not require prior approval if there are no costs for logistical conference planning or for Government-provided food or beverages.

Prior approval is required for the following types of award recipients and/or activities.

Recipients That Have a Cooperative Agreement Type of Award

Cooperative agreement recipients must seek and obtain OJP’s/COPS Office’s prior written approval for each event held with OJP/COPS Office funds, and for all conference costs associated with that event that are paid by OJP/COPS Office funds.

• No conference (regardless of the number of attendees) can proceed, nor can conference-related contracts (e.g., hotel contracts and travel arrangements/reservations) be signed, or conference implementation funding be obligated/work authorized (whether performed by cooperative agreement staff or outside staff ), until the cooperative agreement recipient has obtained DOJ’s approval in writing.
• Approval of the overall cooperative agreement proposal or budget does not grant prior approval to use federal funds for events anticipated in the budget.
• The reasonable minimal costs of identifying conference locations and developing the itemized cost estimates required to assemble and submit a conference cost approval request are allowable without prior approval by OJP/COPS Office. However, cooperative agreement recipients should work with the relevant program office to ensure that any costs authorized are reasonable and minimal.
• Those entities with conference planning contracts providing support for planning as well as implementation logistics should only authorize the tasks absolutely necessary to identify the most cost-effective conference locations/services, and to prepare and negotiate cost proposals for submission to DOJ.

Federal Procurement Contracts

Federal procurement contractors must seek and obtain OJP’s/COPS Office’s prior written approval for each event held with OJP/COPS Office funds, and for all conference costs associated with that event that are paid with OJP/ COPS Office funds.

Timing of Requests for Prior Approval

Submitting an Event Request

All cooperative agreement and contract recipients must complete the Conference & Events Submission Form and obtain OJP’s/COPS Office’s prior written approval for each event held with OJP/COPS Office funds. Each submission must contain all the applicable information (e.g., start date, end date, conference planner, M&IE) to assist in a thorough review. The recipient must provide justification where required by the form. If additional space is needed, please add a tab to the form. All supporting documentation should be embedded and included within the spreadsheet file. This ensures one file per submission, reduces the number of questions, and reduces the possibility of necessary information getting lost or separated from the main submission file. Note: Supporting calculations and agendas (submitted on a separate tab) must be included in all submissions.

To obtain a blank copy of the form click here.

Submitting a Blanket Request

A Conference & Events Submission Form may be completed to host a series of the same or similar pre-arranged events containing multiple delivery dates scheduled to take place within the same fiscal year. The recipient must first estimate the average cost of each event and select the highest cost from each event to complete the submission form. Click here to obtain instructions for submitting a blanket request.

Submit completed prior approval requests on the Conference & Events Submission Form to the following email addresses:

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA): [email protected]
All other OJP Bureaus and Offices: [email protected]
COPS Office: [email protected]

Conference Fees

Grant and cooperative agreement recipients may charge fees to cover part or all conference costs if prior approval from the awarding agency is obtained. Such fees are considered program income and are subject to the rules applicable to program income (see Chapter 3.4 Program Income).

Conference Planning Services and Staff Time

All cooperative agreement and federal procurement contract recipients (but not grant recipients) must obtain prior written approval from OJP/COPS Office before incurring conference planning costs in accordance with the previously described approval process, except for such costs that are the reasonable minimal costs of identifying conference locations and developing the itemized cost estimates required to assemble and submit a conference cost approval request. This requirement applies whether the work is performed by the recipient’s staff or contracted out.

• In-house versus contracted planning.
  • Recipients often provide conference planning services either through their own staff and resources, or through contracted external conference planners. Minimizing costs must be a critical consideration in this decision.
  • Recipients often are selected based on their ability to provide programmatic conference planning services (e.g., developing the conference agenda), but may also need to undertake logistical planning functions as well. In some cases, such logistical planning functions (e.g., negotiating hotel contracts, sending invitations, managing registration) may be performed at lower cost by a logistical planning service, which may be able to charge lower rates than the funding recipient for staff time, and may be more experienced in negotiating hotel and other necessary conference-related contracts.
  • Generally, a recipient should consider procuring logistical conference planning services when it does not have in-house expertise in such logistical planning, and when such services would result in lower overall costs to the Federal Government.
• Cost limits.
  • All conference planner costs must be reasonable for the scale of the conference. Cooperative agreement and contract recipients providing conference planning, either in-house, or through sub contracted planning services, must adhere to the following cost limits:
    • Logistical conference planners perform the logistical planning necessary to hold a conference, which may include: recommending venues, advertising, setting the stage and audio-visual equipment, securing hotel rooms, interacting with caterers, and other non-programmatic functions. The cost of logistical conference planners may not exceed $62.50 per attendee, not to exceed $11,000. For example, if the number of attendees at a 2-day conference is 100, the maximum cost allowed for a logistical planner is $6,250 ($62.50 x 100 attendees). Logistical planning costs anticipated to exceed this amount require additional justification and approval prior to incurring the costs.
    • Programmatic conference planners develop the conference agenda, content, and written materials. They may also identify and/or provide appropriate subject matter experts and conference participants. The cost of programmatic conference planners may not exceed $250 per attendee, not to exceed $43,750. For example, if the number of attendees at a 2-day conference is 100, the maximum cost allowed for a logistical planner is $25,000 ($250 x 100 attendees). Programmatic planning costs anticipated to exceed this amount require additional justification and approval prior to incurring the costs.

Lodging

• Federal per diem rates preferred.
  • OJP and COPS recipients must use either the Federal per diem rate (preferred) or the recipient’s organizational per diem rate (if applicable). Per diem rates for DOJ Federal personnel must not exceed the Federal per diem rate.
  • See Chapter 3.9 Allowable Costs for more guidance on travel costs.

Conference Facilitator/Trainer/Instructor/Presenter

Include all trainer and speaker fees. If the fee exceeds the maximum consultant rate, please include a copy of the consultant rate approval with the Conference & Events Submission Form on one of the available extra tabs. Also include a copy of the agenda (a draft version is acceptable) in one of the available tabs with the prior approval submission.

Other

All “Other” costs must be itemized on the Conference & Events Submission Form. Detailed descriptions and justification of the Other cost line items must be provided in the additional tabs.

Indirect Rate Costs

Indirect costs associated with the direct costs necessary to plan and hold a conference must be included in all conference cost reporting. The submission form contains a column allowing for the allocation of indirect rate cost to each category.

Cooperative agreement recipients should pay particular attention to the two areas listed below to ensure that the application of indirect cost rate is in compliance with the existing requirements of the Government-wide grant rules set out by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

$25,000 Contract Under the Award/Subaward Limitation. Indirect cost rates negotiated on the basis of modified total direct costs may only be applied against the first $25,000 of any contract under the award or subaward under the agreement. This limitation must be applied to all conference-related contract under the award and subawards. For purposes of this chapter, a contract under the award or subaward is any agreement under which the awardee outsources work, goods, or services related to the conference, including those with hotels and travel agents. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of Modified Total Direct Cost); 2 C.F.R. § 200 Appendix III C.2 (IHE); 2 C.F.R. § 200 Appendix IV. B.2.c (non-profits); and 2 C.F.R. § 200 Appendix VII C.2.c (State and local).

Participant Support Costs. Participant support costs are generally excluded from the distribution base. Therefore, indirect costs may not be applied against participant support costs. Participant support costs are direct costs for items such as stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances, and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with meetings, conferences, symposia, or training projects. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (definition of Participant support costs). This exclusion applies to the entirety of any contract under the award for the lodging and travel of conference participants or trainees (but not employees).

Costs related to contractors of the recipient who are acting in the capacity of a “Conference Trainer/Instructor/ Presenter/Facilitator” are considered participant support costs.

Gifts/Trinkets/Memorabilia/Commemorative Items

Trinkets (items such as hats, mugs, portfolios, t-shirts, coins, gift bags, etc., regardless of whether they include the conference name or OJP/COPS Office logo) must not be purchased with DOJ funds as giveaways for conferences. Basic supplies that are necessary for use during the conference (e.g., folders, name tags) may be purchased.

All conference costs for events held by cooperative agreement recipients or contractors costing more than $20,000, or where more than 50% of attendees are DOJ employees, must be reported within 45 calendar days after the last day of the event.

Cooperative agreement recipients and contractors must submit the completed Conference & Events Submission Form showing the prior approval amounts compared to the actual costs and explain all variances greater than 10% and $1,000. Completed reports for OJP recipients should be emailed to [email protected], and completed reports for the COPS Office should be emailed to [email protected].

If the pre-approved costs were exceeded by more than 10% and $1,000, the contractor or cooperative agreement recipient should submit a detailed explanation with their post event Conference & Events Submission Form to support the additional costs.

The following situations and costs require additional explanation and will be considered unauthorized until OJP/COPS Office has reviewed the additional documentation:

• If the prior approval cost category contains no cost, but the post event report contains costs in that category.
• If the prior approval audio-visual/meeting room, logistical, and programmatic planner costs are less than the thresholds, but actual costs exceed the thresholds.
• If the prior approval total cost is less than $100,000, but the actual costs exceed $100,000.
• If the prior approval total cost is less than $500,000, but the actual costs exceed $500,000.

Grant recipients are not required to file post event reports, but should maintain documentation for purposes of monitoring and audit.

Deadlines

All conference costs must be reported no later than 45 calendar days after the end of any event that meets the following criteria:

• Total cost of the event exceeds $20,000, or
• More than 50% of attendees are DOJ employees.

The conference report should include the purpose of the conference, number of participants in attendance, a detailed breakout of all cost categories, etc. Other costs must be detailed on the form. If extra lines are needed, please list in one of the additional spreadsheet tabs.

When a prior approval amount exceeds $20,000, OJP/COPS Office expects a post event report. If the actual costs are less than $20,000, please either file the report with the actual costs or notify the program manager or OJP/COPS Office point of contact that a report is not required. Note: After the prior approval portion of the submission form has been approved, a copy of the submission form which contains the OJP/COPS Office event identifier will be returned to the submitter. It is important to use this form for the post event report.

Delinquent Submissions and Non-Reporters

The Conference & Events Submission Form must be emailed to either [email protected] or [email protected] within 45 calendar days after the last day of the event. If the Conference & Events Form is not submitted by the due date, the report is considered to be delinquent and, for cooperative agreement recipients, drawing down funds through the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) may not be permitted. An automatic email notification will be sent if this occurs. For non- reporters, a hold may be placed on the remaining funds associated with the award and any future payment requests will be denied. For contractors, remedies for non-compliance are outlined in the contract.

Reporting Exemption

If any item(s) are paid for with registration fees or other non-award funds, then that portion of expenses does not need to be reported on the Conference & Events Submission Form. Federal procurement contractors may not charge registration fees.

Determining Costs

When determining the total cost of a DOJ-funded conference, all costs incurred by the recipient under the award must be included (see specific categories below).

• Actual. Post event reports must contain actual costs.
• Fees/program income. Post event conference reporting should exclude costs covered by other non-DOJ funding (e.g., non-DOJ co-sponsors) or program income.
• Logistical and programmatic planner costs. These costs should include cooperative agreement staff time spent on these activities and any contracted planner costs.
• Attendee costs. For post event reporting purposes, a cooperative agreement recipient or contractor must report all costs of attendance supported by the contract or award, or by DOJ-funded conference scholarships where that recipient administers the scholarships. (When determining overall conference costs, OJP/COPS Office may supplement the recipient’s data with available data on attendance costs related to DOJ employees, and non-DOJ attendees whose attendance is supported by scholarships administered by an entity other than that primarily responsible for planning and/or hosting the conference.)
• Indirect costs. Recipients are required to include indirect costs when determining how much was spent in each conference cost category. For example, where a recipient has a 10% indirect cost rate, the reported cost of each conference item against which this indirect cost rate is charged should be augmented by 10% to take into account the rate charged.

Public Reporting

• All post event reports for conferences costing more than $100,000 in Federal funding will be posted publicly on the DOJ website.
• If the pre-event Conference & Events Submission Form was approved for less than $100,000, the actual costs reported on the post event report cannot exceed $100,000 without additional review and approval.

Prior Approval

1. Approximately how long should it take to adequately complete the Conference & Events Submission form?
2. Which types of events DO NOT require prior approval?
3. Where should staff time working on the conference, which is not related to planning, be captured?
4. If a cooperative agreement recipient/federal procurement contractor is able to obtain a no-cost site for the event, are we still required to look into other facilities and provide justification for not selecting the other facilities?
5. Is there a timeframe after OJP/COPS Office accepts a conference request that a recipient/ federal procurement contractor can expect notification of approval?
6. Once an event is approved, how do we handle any increases and/or decreases in the amount of attendees originally proposed on the cost analysis spreadsheet submitted to DOJ for approval?
7. Does the $31.25 per person per day limit for meeting rooms and audio-visual costs also include service fees and taxes?
8. What if there are multiple meetings occurring within the larger event offered to all the attendees? Is the $31.25 per day per attendee limit applicable to each meeting? Example: A general session meeting contains all attendees and later breakout sessions are offered to the groups. Can each breakout/meeting have its own $31.25 per person per day limit?
9. Can we accept complimentary food and beverage?
10. Are the thresholds ($11,000 for logistical planner, $43,750 for programmatic planner, and $25,000 for conference space and audio-visual equipment) a cumulative cost for the entire event or a per day cost?
11. To whom should I submit event requests?
12. How far in advance do I have to submit an event for review and approval?
13. What are the most common mistakes made on the forms, so that I can avoid them in the future and increase the likelihood of a quick review and approval decision for my event?
14. Should I continue to exclude all food and beverage costs in my event submissions?
15. Can you summarize what I can do to prevent follow-up questions about my submitted event(s) that delay the review and approval process?
16. What events qualify for the expedited review process?

Reporting

17. Where can I find the most updated version of the conference reporting form to use for my submissions?
18. If I have a question about conference reporting, to whom should I send it?
19. Are we expected to have our staff track their time hour for hour for time spent on the event for planning, etc., or are reasonable estimates adequate for cost reporting purposes?
20. With conference cost reports now being due 30 days after the event, how should we handle costs for invoices that have not been received yet? Many invoices (such as hotels) are not received within 30 days of the end of the event. Should estimates be included on the cost report?
21. On the DOJ Conference & Events Submission Form, Item #19 Reporting Period under A. General Conference Information — is this the period in which the actual cost of the event is being reported or should this be based on the end date of the event?

Question 8: What if there are multiple meetings occurring within the larger event offered to all the attendees? Is the $31.25 per day per attendee limit applicable to each meeting? Example: A general session meeting contains all attendees and later breakout sessions are offered to the groups. Can each breakout/meeting have its own $31.25 per person per day limit?

Answer: No. Despite the multiple meetings offered within the larger event, DOJ/OJP/COPS Office considers and approves this type of event as a single event.

Question 9: Can we accept complimentary food and beverage?

Answer: Yes. Complimentary food and beverages may be accepted if offered to everyone. Example: Hotel W offers a complimentary continental breakfast to all its overnight customers regardless of any status they may have with the hotel chain. This type of complimentary offer is considered a business strategy of the hotel to promote an increase in overnight stays. You are not required to reduce your M&IE by the value of the food and beverage if offered to all customers as noted in this example.

Question 10: Are the thresholds ($11,000 for logistical planner, $43,750 for programmatic planner, and $25,000 for conference space and audio-visual equipment/services) a cumulative cost for the entire event or a per day cost?

Answer: The cost allowed for conference space and audio-visual equipment and services (fees and taxes) is limited to $31.25 per day per attendee not to exceed a cumulative total cost of $25,000. The cost allowed for a logistical planner is the lesser of $62.50 per attendee or $11,000 per event. The cost allowed for a programmatic planner is the lesser of $250 per attendee or $43,750 per event.

Question 11: To whom should I submit event requests?

Answer: For all BJA events, the forms should be sent to: [email protected]. All other OJP event forms should be sent to: [email protected]. For all COPS Office events, the form should be sent to: [email protected]. Please do not send questions or other correspondence to these email addresses. These mailboxes should be used only for the submission of conference forms and supporting documentation (e.g., hotel contracts).

Question 12: How far in advance do I have to submit an event for review and approval?

Answer: Requests for conferences costing $100,000 or less, and not exceeding any cost thresholds (conference space and audio-visual equipment and services, logistical conference planner, and programmatic conference planner) must be submitted to OJP/COPS Office 90 calendar days in advance of the earliest of the following:

• Start date of the conference;
• Deadline for signing conference-related contracts, or
• Obligation of funds for conference costs (except for minimal costs required to assemble and submit the approval request).

Requests for conferences costing more than $100,000, or exceeding any one cost threshold (conference space and audio-visual equipment and services, logistical conference planner, or programmatic conference planner), must be submitted to OJP/COPS Office 120 calendar days in advance of the earliest of the following:

• Start date of the conference;
• Deadline for signing conference-related contracts, or
• Obligation of funds for conference costs (except for minimal costs required to assemble and submit the approval request).

Question 14: Should I continue to exclude all food and beverage costs in my event submissions?

Answer: Yes. The inclusion of food and beverage costs will delay the review process and these costs are not likely to be approved. The only exception is when the location of the conference does not allow attendees to obtain food or beverages on their own, or when this restriction would greatly disrupt the conference schedule. If you believe your event qualifies for such a rare exception, please contact your program manager to discuss it before completing and submitting your form. If meals are included in your event submission, please remember that attendees must subtract the meal costs from the M&IE reimbursement for the days on which the meals will occur.

Question 15: Can you summarize what I can do to prevent follow-up questions about my submitted event(s) that delay the review and approval process?

Answer: As a general rule, please explain how you derived every cost that you include in the conference submission form. The form can be challenging to complete and there are lines where it is not possible to add descriptive narrative. Please include your explanations and specific cost breakdowns in a separate tab, or in a separate document that is submitted with the form. In addition, please include the cooperative agreement or federal procurement contract number on the form.

Question 16: What events qualify for the expedited review process?

Answer: There is no “expedited review process.” Every effort is made to review all events as quickly as possible.

Most delays result from a need for additional information. Events are prioritized for review by balancing the following three criteria:

• The start date of the event;
• The date the event submission was received by OJP/COPS Office; AND
• The overall cost and complexity of the conference. For example, conferences requiring Assistant Attorney General for Administration approval (over $100,000–$250,000) and Deputy Attorney General typically take longer to process as they have to go through OJP/COPS Office and DOJ reviews, result in more questions, and are more likely to have issues related to cost thresholds.

Reporting

Question 17: Where can I find the most updated version of the conference reporting form to use for my submissions?

Answer: The most updated version of the conference reporting form can be found under the Resources section at the end of this chapter.

Question 18: If I have a question about conference reporting, to whom should I send it?

Answer: Please send your questions to your designated Program Manager. They are great resources and will be happy to assist you. You may also direct your question to [email protected]. 

Question 19: Are we expected to have our staff track their time hour for hour for time spent on the event for planning, etc., or are reasonable estimates adequate for cost reporting purposes?

Answer: Post event reports must contain actual costs. These costs should include logistical and programmatic planner staff time spent on these activities and any contracted planner costs.

Question 20: With conference cost reports now being due 30 days after the event, how should we handle costs for invoices that have not been received yet? Many invoices (such as hotels) are not received within 30 days of the end of the event. Should estimates be included on the cost report?

Answer: All conference costs for events held by cooperative agreement recipients or federal procurement contractors costing over $20,000, or where more than 50% of attendees are DOJ employees, must be reported within 45 calendar days after the last day of the event.

Question 21: On the DOJ Conference & Events Submission Form, Item #19 Reporting Period under A. General Conference Information — is this the period in which the actual cost of the event is being reported or should this be based on the end date of the event?

Answer: This reporting requirement is based on the end date of the event. All conference costs for events held by cooperative agreement recipients or federal procurement contractors costing over $20,000, or where more than 50% of attendees are DOJ employees, must be reported within 45 calendar days after the last day of the event. Example: An OJP/COPS Office-approved conference/event was conducted from 3/16/20XX through 3/20/20XX. A completed Conference & Events Submission Form must be submitted showing the prior approval amounts compared to the actual costs and explain all variances greater than 10% and $1,000. Reports should be emailed to the appropriate conference cost email address.

• Conference & Events Submission Instructions
• Conference & Events Submission Form
• Federal Facilities List 1
• Food and Beverage Policy

Indirect costs are costs of an organization that are not readily assignable to a particular project, but are necessary to the operation of the organization and the performance of the project. Examples of costs usually treated as indirect include those incurred for facility operation and maintenance, depreciation, and administrative salaries.

If a Federal awarding agency has approved an indirect cost rate or allocation plan, then another awarding agency must accept the same indirect cost rate or allocation plan, provided the rate or plan is current and based on allocation methods substantially in accord with those set forth in the OMB Uniform Guidance for grant requirements. There are limited circumstances where a Federal agency may deviate from negotiated rates as discussed in 2 C.F.R. § 200.414 (Indirect (F&A) costs).

A non-Federal entity that has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, which has expired during the funding period cannot drawdown funds budgeted for indirect costs until a new rate is approved and a copy is submitted to the awarding agency.

Any non-Federal entity that has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate may request a one-time extension of a current negotiated rate for a period of up to four years. This extension request is subject to approval from the cognizant agency for indirect costs. If the extension is granted then the non-Federal entity may not request a rate review until the extension period ends. At the end of the extension period, the non-Federal entity must re- apply to negotiate a new indirect cost rate. Subsequent one-time extensions (up to four years) are permitted if a renegotiation is completed between each extension request.

If a recipient determines that OJP is their cognizant agency for indirect cost negotiation, refer to Indirect Costs resource document [PDF – 88Kb] for instructions on how to prepare an indirect cost proposal for submission to OJP. If it is determined that OVW is the cognizant agency for indirect costs, instructions on how to prepare and submit an indirect cost proposal may be found at https://www.justice.gov/ovw/grantees.

• To support the indirect cost proposal, recipients are responsible for ensuring that independent organizational audits are conducted in accordance with existing Federal auditing and reporting standards set forth in the applicable audit requirements. A copy of the audit report must be submitted to the cognizant Federal agency to support the indirect cost proposal.
• As part of requesting an indirect cost rate, a signed certification stating that the plan only includes allowable costs must be submitted with the proposal.
• Additional guidance for completing an indirect cost proposal as an award recipient, as well as examples of how certain information should be provided, is available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Program Support Center website. https://www.cfo.gov/assets/files/2CRF-FrequentlyAsked
  Questions_2021050321.pdf.

After negotiations, the cognizant Federal agency will establish either a provisional, final, or fixed-with-carry- forward indirect cost rate.

Regardless of the allocation method used by the organization, the following “direct cost” bases may be used as a distribution base:

• Modified Total Direct Cost, or MTDC. This base includes all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs, and with the approval of the cognizant agency.
• Direct Salaries and Wages. This base includes only the costs of direct salaries and wages incurred by the organization.
• Direct Salaries and Wages plus Fringe Benefits. This base includes the costs of direct salary and wages and the direct fringe benefits incurred by the organization.

• State agencies and units of local government may charge to an award the cost of central support services supplied by the State or units of local government, pursuant to a cost allocation plan approved by HHS (for States), or the cognizant agency (for major local governments), or retained on file (for non-major local governments). The rate to be applied may be on a fixed rate with carry forward provision.
• Additional information can be found in 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Appendix V.

When a non-Federal entity seeks reimbursement for indirect costs, total lobbying costs must be separately identified in the indirect cost rate proposal and thereafter treated as other unallowable activity costs in accordance with the procedures in 2 C.F.R. § 200.413 (Direct Costs).

Requirements for recipient organizations:

• Unallowable costs associated with the indirect cost pool (e.g., lobbying) must be added to the direct cost base.
• Non-Federal entities must submit, as part of their annual indirect cost rate proposal, a certification that they are in compliance with all the requirements and standards under 2 C.F.R. § 200.450 (Lobbying).

If a subrecipient has negotiated an indirect cost rate with the Federal government, then that rate applies. (E.g., some subrecipients also are direct recipients of Federal awards.)

If no approved Federally negotiated rate exists, the pass-through entity must determine the appropriate rate in collaboration with the subrecipient. Such rates must be consistent with the requirements of 2 C.F.R. Part 200, and are either a rate negotiated between the pass-through entity and the subrecipient (the pass-through entity may rely on a prior negotiated rate between the subrecipient and another pass-through entity), or the de minimis indirect cost rate. See 2 C.F.R. 200.332(a)(4).

The Federal awarding agency will not approve indirect cost rates beyond the direct recipient.

The provisions outlined in this chapter apply to all awarding agency professional personnel, recipients, and subrecipients involved in the administration of grants containing confidential funds. Confidential funds are those monies allocated to:

• Purchase of Services (P/S). This category includes travel or transportation of a non-Federal officer or an informant; the lease of an apartment, business front, luxury-type automobile, aircraft or boat, or similar effects to create or establish the appearance of affluence; and/or meals, beverages, entertainment, and similar expenses (including buy money, flash rolls, etc.) for undercover purposes, within reasonable limits.
• Purchase of Evidence (P/E). This category is for purchase of evidence and/or contraband, such as narcotics and dangerous drugs, firearms, stolen property, counterfeit tax stamps, and so forth, required to determine the existence of a crime or to establish the identity of a participant in a crime.
• Purchase of Specific Information (P/I). This category includes the payment of monies to an informant for specific information. All other informant expenses would be classified under P/S and charged accordingly.

Confidential funds are subject to prior approval.

• Approval for confidential fund expenditures will be provided if it is found that the requested expenditures are reasonable and necessary elements of project operations.
• The approving agency must also ensure that the controls over disbursement of confidential funds are adequate to safeguard against the misuse of such funds.

The approval authority for the allocation of confidential funds is the awarding agency. (This includes Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program projects).

The approval authority for subrecipients is the original recipient agency.

For all projects involved with confidential funds from either Federal or matching funds, DOJ requires signed certification that the Project Director has read, understands, and agrees to abide by the conditions described below. The signed certification must be submitted at the time of grant application. A sample Confidential Funds Certification form for use is included here.

Download sample Confidential Funds Certification form [PDF - 116 Kb].

• The reconciliation report must include the assumed name of each informant given and to what extent each informant contributed to the investigation.
• The recipient should retain the reconciliation report in its files and have it available for review.
• Subrecipients should retain the reconciliation report in their files and have it available for review unless the State agency requests that the report be submitted to them on a quarterly basis.

Each Project Director and member agency must maintain specific records of each confidential fund transaction. At a minimum, these records must consist of all documentation concerning the request for funds, processing (including the review and approval/disapproval), modifications, closure or impact material, and receipts and/or other documentation necessary to justify and track all expenditures.

• Refer to the documentation in the Informant Files section of this chapter for a list of documents which should be included in the informant files.
• In projects where award funds are used for confidential expenditures, please note that all of the above records are subject to the record retention and audit requirements of the awarding agency and program legislation.
• However, only under extraordinary and rare circumstances would such access include a review of the true name of confidential informants.
• When access to the true name of confidential informants is necessary, appropriate steps to protect this sensitive information must and will be taken by the organization, the awarding agency, and the auditing agency.
• Any such access, other than under a court order or subpoena pursuant to a bona fide confidential investigation, must be approved by both the OJP Program Office Head and the OJP Chief Financial Officer.

Each file should include the following documentation:

• Informant Payment Record easily accessible on top of the file. This record provides a summary of informant payments.
• Informant Establishment Record, including complete identifying and locating data, plus any other documents connected with the informant’s establishment.
• Current photograph and fingerprint card (or Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]/State criminal identification number).
• Agreement with cooperating individual.
• Receipt for P/I.
• Copies of all debriefing reports (except for the headquarters case file).
• Copies of case initiation reports showing the use of an informant (except for the headquarters case file).
• Copies of statements signed by the informant (unsigned copies will be placed in appropriate investigative files).
• Any administrative correspondence pertaining to the informant, including documentation of any representations made on his behalf or any other nonmonetary considerations furnished.
• Any deactivation report or declaration of an unsatisfactory informant.

RISS is a national federally funded program of regionally oriented services designed to enhance the ability of local, State, Federal, and tribal criminal justice agencies to:

• Identify, target, and remove criminal conspiracies and activities spanning multijurisdictional, multistate, and sometimes international boundaries.
• Facilitate rapid exchange and sharing of information among the agencies pertaining to known suspected criminals or criminal activity.
• Enhance coordination and communication among agencies that are in pursuit of criminal conspiracies determined to be interjurisdictional in nature.

The Project Director, or his/her designee when appropriate, will approve or disapprove the request in writing.

• If approved, the request will be forwarded to the project cashier, who will record the request and transmit the monies, along with a receipt form, to the member agency.
• Upon receipt of the monies, the member agency will immediately sign and return the receipt form to the cashier.

Each Project Director must record and maintain on file the assumed name and signature of all informants to whom member agencies make payments from project funds for all transactions involving P/I.

• The original signed informant payee receipt, with a summary of the information received, will be forwarded to the Project Director by the member agency.
• The Project Director will then verify the receipt by comparing the signature of the informant payee on the receipt with the signature maintained by the project in a secure and confidential file.
• If discrepancies exist, the Project Director, or his/her designee, will take immediate steps to notify the member agency and find out the reason(s) for the discrepancies.
• The member agency must forward written justification to deal with discrepancies identified by the Project Director. If the justification is sufficient, it will be attached to the informant payee receipt.

Anyone who receives payments charged against P/E or P/I funds should be established as an informant.

• This includes anyone who may otherwise be categorized as a source of information or an informant under the control of another agency.
• The amount of payment should match the value of services and/or information provided and should be based on the following factors:
  • The level of the targeted individual, organization, or operation.
  • The amount of the actual or potential seizure.
  • The significance of the contribution made by the informant to the desired objectives.
• Payments to informants may be made under various circumstances:
  • When an informant assists in developing an investigation, either through supplying information or actively participating in it, they may be paid for their service either in a lump sum or in staggered payments. Payments for information leading to a seizure, with no defendants, should be on a minimum basis.
  • When an informant needs protection, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) may absorb the expenses of relocation. These expenses may include travel for the informant and their immediate family, movement and/or storage of household goods, and living expenses at the new location for a specific period of time (not to exceed 6 months). Payments for these expenses may be either lump-sum or as they occur and should not exceed the amounts authorized by law enforcement employees for these activities.
  • To use or pay another agency’s informant, the person should be identified as an informant. These payments should not be a duplication of a payment from another agency; however, sharing a payment is acceptable.
• Documentation of payments to informants is critical and must be noted on a receipt for P/I.
  • Payment should be made and witnessed by two law enforcement officers and authorized payment amounts should be established and reviewed by at least the first-line supervisory level.
  • In unusual circumstances, a non-officer employee or an officer of another LEA may serve as a witness.
  • In all instances, the original signed receipt must be submitted to the Project Director for review and recordkeeping.

Special accounting and control procedures should direct the use and handling of confidential expenditures. We describe these procedures below:

• It is important that expenditures identified as P/E, P/I, and P/S expenses are in fact allocated and charged to the proper category. This is the only way that these funds may be properly managed at all levels and accurate projections of future needs be made.
• Each law enforcement entity should apportion its P/E, P/I, or P/S allowance throughout its jurisdiction and delegate authority to approve P/E, P/I, and P/S expenditures to those offices as necessary.
• Headquarters management should establish guidelines authorizing offices to spend up to a predetermined limit of their total allowance on any one investigation.
• In exercising their authority to approve these expenditures, the supervisor should consider:
  • The significance of the investigation;
  • The need for this expenditure to further that investigation; and
  • Anticipated expenditures in other investigations.
• Funds for P/E, P/I, and P/S expenditures should be advanced to the officer for a specific purpose. If they are not expended for that purpose, they should be returned to the cashier. The funds should not be used for another purpose (including another category) without first returning them and repeating the authorization and advance process based on the new purpose.
• Funds for P/E, P/I, or P/S expenditures should be advanced to the officer on a suitable receipt form. A receipt for P/I or a voucher for P/E should be completed to document funds used in P/E or funds paid or advanced to an informant.
• For security purposes, there should be a 48-hour limit on the amount of time for which funds advanced for P/E, P/I, or P/S expenditure may be held outstanding.
  • If it becomes apparent at any point within the 48-hour period that the funds will not be used, then the funds should be returned to the advancing cashier as soon as possible. An extension to the 48-hour limit may be granted by the level of management that approved the advance.
  • Factors to consider in granting an extension are the amount of funds involved, safeguarding of funds, length of extension required, and importance of the expenditure.
  • Extensions are generally limited to no more than an additional 48 hours. Recipients should consult with the program office prior to determining the final course of action. Beyond this time period, the funds should be returned and re-advanced, if necessary.
  • Regardless of circumstances, within 48 hours of the advance, the fund cashier should be presented with either the unexpended funds, an executed receipt for P/I or P/E, or written notification by management that an extension has been granted.
• P/S expenditures, when not endangering the safety of the officer or informant, need to be supported by cancelled tickets, receipts, lease agreements, and any other relevant documentation. If supporting documents are unavailable, the Project Director or his or her immediate subordinate must certify that the expenditures were necessary and justify why supporting materials were not obtained.

Federal awards generally provide recipients and/or subrecipients with the funds necessary to cover costs associated with the award program. There are other costs, however, categorized as unallowable costs, that will not be reimbursed. Non-Federal entities must not use award or match funding for unallowable costs. Also within the category of unallowable costs are any costs considered inappropriate by the awarding agency. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (Disallowed Costs).

The allowability of certain costs is discussed in 2 C.F.R. § 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles. (For-profit entities and hospitals follow different cost principles – see FAR 31.2, and 2 C.F.R. Part 200b Appendix. IX, respectively; and certain nonprofit organizations are exempted from the cost principles in Subpart E, see 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Appendix VIII).

Unallowable cost items that may be of particular relevance for DOJ-funded programs are highlighted below.

Land Acquisition

DOJ grant funds may not be used for land acquisition. See, e.g., 34 U.S.C. 10233.

Compensation of Federal Employees

This category of unallowable costs includes salary payments, consulting fees, or other compensation to full-time Federal employees.

Travel of Department of Justice (DOJ) Employees

Award funds may not be spent on transportation, lodging, subsistence, and related travel expenses of DOJ employees.

Bonuses or Commissions

Recipients and subrecipients cannot pay any bonus or commission to any individual or organization to obtain approval of an application for award assistance.

Distribution of earnings in excess of costs, such as when used for bonuses and commissions for certain positions for non-profit organizations, may be unallowable. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.430(g).

Fundraising

The costs of organized fundraising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses incurred solely to raise capital or obtain contributions may not be charged as direct or indirect costs against awards. However, certain fundraising costs for the purposes of meeting the Federal program objectives may be allowable with prior approval of the DOJ awarding agency. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.442 for more details.

• The portion of a person’s salary that covers time spent engaged in unallowable fundraising, and any indirect costs associated with those salaries, may not be charged to the award.
• An organization may accept donations (e.g., goods, space, services) towards fundraising, as long as the value of the donations is not charged as a direct or indirect cost to the award.
• Nothing in this section should be read to prohibit a recipient from engaging in fundraising activities, as long as such activities are not financed by Federal or matching funds.

Corporate Formation

The cost for corporate formation (startup costs) may not be charged as either direct or indirect costs against the award except with prior approval from the awarding agency. See 2 C.F.R. 200.455.

Costs Incurred Outside the Project Period

Any costs that are incurred either before the start of the project period or after the expiration of the project period are not allowable, unless written approval covering these costs is granted by the awarding agency. See Section 3.2, Period of Availability of Funds.

A subaward is an award made by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the purpose of carrying out a portion of the work funded by the pass-through entity’s Federal award. The pass-through entity may use any form of legal agreement for making a subaward, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract. A subaward is not a contract by which the non-federal entity (i.e., the recipient or a subrecipient) enters into an agreement with an entity to purchase property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award. A subaward also does not include payments to an individual who is a beneficiary of a Federal program. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.1 (“Definition”).

Under 2 C.F.R. § 200.331 (Subrecipient and Contractor Determinations), the following circumstance support classification of a non-federal entity as a subrecipient of the pass-through entity:

• The non-federal entity determines who is eligible to receive what Federal assistance;
• The non-federal entity’s performance is measured in relation to whether objectives of the Federal program were met;
• The non-federal entity has responsibility for programmatic decision-making;
• The non-federal entity has responsibility for adhering to applicable program requirements under the Federal award; and
• The non-federal entity uses the Federal funds to carry out a program for a public purpose specified in the authorizing statute, as opposed to providing goods or services for the benefit of the pass-through entity.

In contrast, a contract for the purpose of obtaining goods and services for the pass-through entity’s own use creates a procurement relationship with the contractor. Circumstances supporting this type of relationship include:

• The non-federal entity provides the goods and services within normal business operations;
• The non-federal entity provides similar goods or services to many different purchasers;
• The non-federal entity normally operates in a competitive environment;
• The non-federal entity provides goods or services that are ancillary to the operation of the Federal program; and
• The non-federal entity is not subject to the compliance requirements of the Federal program as a result of the agreement, though similar requirements may apply for other reasons.

However, when no site visit is conducted, the pass-through entity should be familiar with the subrecipient’s financial operations and procedures, as well as their maintenance of current financial data such as timesheets, invoices, contracts, and ledgers that tie back to financial reports.

Subrecipient monitoring by the pass-through entity must include:

• Reviewing financial and performance reports submitted by the subrecipient;
• Following-up and ensuring the subrecipient takes action to address deficiencies found through audits, onsite reviews, and other means, and
• Issuing a management decision for audit findings pertaining to the award (see below, and 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.332(d) and 200.521(c)).

The purpose of these monitoring activities is to provide reasonable assurance that the subrecipient has administered the pass-through funding in compliance with the laws, regulations, and the provisions of the award and that the required performance goals are being achieved.

Subrecipient Audits

The pass-through entity needs to develop procedures to ensure that subrecipients expending $750,000 or more in Federal awards during the subrecipient’s fiscal year submit the required completed audit within the earlier of 9 months after the end of the audit period or 30 calendar days after receipt of the audit report. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.512. Upon receipt of the subrecipient audit, the pass- through entity needs to:

• Evaluate the impact of subrecipient activities on the recipient organization’s ability to comply with applicable Federal regulations,
• Issue a management decision on audit findings pertaining to their subrecipient’s subaward within 6 months after receipt of the subrecipient’s audit report, and
• Ensure that the subrecipient takes timely and appropriate corrective action on all audit findings.

In cases of continued inability or unwillingness of a subrecipient to have the required audits conducted, the pass- through entity shall take appropriate action as provided in 2 C.F.R. § 200.339 (Remedies for Noncompliance). See 2 C.F.R. § 200.505. It is important to have policies and procedures in place to properly exercise the fiduciary responsibility in executing the award requirements should a subrecipient not comply with requirements, laws, and regulations.

As prescribed in 2 C.F.R. § 200 Subpart F, subrecipients are not required to submit a copy of the reporting package when there are “no audit findings,” i.e., when the schedule of findings and questioned costs does not disclose audit findings relating to the Federal award requirements that was provided in the agreement with the subrecipient, and the summary schedule of prior audit findings does not report the status of audit findings relating to Federal awards.

Listed below are best practices that pass-through entities may consider in developing policies and procedures around making subawards and monitoring subrecipients.

Subrecipient Pre-Award and Monitoring Procedures

• Develop a request for applications (proposals) that clearly defines the work to be accomplished in furtherance of the Federal award purpose(s).
• Require subrecipients to include in their applications a time-phased milestone plan of action based on clearly- stated accomplishments defined in the proposal.
• Integrate budget line items into the performance plan.
• Require performance reports and supporting documentation with monthly invoices. Performance reports should discuss:
  • Milestones achieved/to be achieved;
  • Any significant problem, issues, or concerns;
  • Timely accomplishments and delays, and
  • Actual cost incurred compared to each budget line item with variances explained.

Remedies for Subrecipient Noncompliance

If a subrecipient fails to comply with Federal statutes, regulations, or the terms and conditions of a Federal award, the pass-through entity may impose additional conditions. However, if it is determined that noncompliance cannot be remedied by imposing additional conditions, the pass-through entity may take one or more actions set forth in Section 3.17 [Remedies for Noncompliance].

Recipients and subrecipients must not award or permit any award at any level to any party which is debarred or suspended from participation in Federal assistance programs.

For details regarding debarment procedures, see the government-wide guidelines for debarment and suspension codified in 2 C.F.R. Part 180, and 2 C.F.R. Part 2867, which adopts the OMB guidance in subparts A through I of Title 2 CFR Part 180, as supplemented by Title 2 Part 2867, as the DOJ policies and procedures for non- procurement debarment and suspension.

Reviewing Financial Operations

• Direct recipients should be familiar with, and periodically monitor, their subrecipients' financial operations, records, systems, and procedures.
• Recipients should direct particular attention to the subrecipient's maintenance of current financial data.

Recording Financial Activities

• The recipient should record in its financial records in summary form the subrecipient's award or contract obligation, as well as cash advances and other financial activities.
• The recipient should record in its records the expenditures of its subrecipients. Alternatively the subrecipient may file report forms for tracking of its financial activities.
• Non-Federal contributions applied to programs or projects by subrecipients should likewise be recorded, as should any program income resulting from program operations.

Budgeting and Budget Review

• The recipient should ensure that each subrecipient prepares an adequate budget on which its award commitment will be based.
• The detail of each project budget should be kept on file by the recipient.

Accounting for Non-Federal Contributions

• Non-Federal contributions may include in-kind services (donated services such as volunteered time) or cash.
• Recipients should ensure that the requirements, limitations, and regulations pertinent to non-Federal contributions are applied.

Ensuring Subrecipients Meet All Award Requirements

• Recipients must ensure that subrecipients have met the necessary audit requirements contained in this Guide

(see Chapter 3.19: Audit Requirements). For additional information, see 2 C.F.R. § 200.332(f ).

The Department of Justice (DOJ) requires award recipients to submit both financial and performance reports. These reports describe the status of the funds or the project, compare actual accomplishments to objectives, and provide other pertinent information. The specific requirements, reporting periods, and submission deadlines are identified below. The award documents may also include information regarding reporting requirements specific to the particular award.

The SF-425 Federal Financial Report (FFR) must show the actual funds that have been spent (expenditures) and any bills that will be paid (unliquidated obligations incurred) at the recipient/subrecipient level for each award.

Recipients will report on a quarterly basis the cumulative information on expenditures on line 10e, 10f, 10j, 10m, and 10n of the FFR. However, the expenditures for indirect costs will be reported on a quarterly basis. Also the FFR should indicate whether the recipient’s accounting system operates on a cash or accrual-basis for accounting.

All DOJ award recipients must submit their FFR online in JustGrants. This system will allow authorized users to view current and past FFRs and file or amend the FFR for the current quarter.

The quarterly FFR must be submitted online no later than 30 days after the last day of each quarter. If the FFR is not submitted by the due date, JustGrants will automatically consider it to be delinquent and draw down of funds through the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) will not be permitted. An automatic email notification will be sent if this occurs.

The final FFR is due within 120 days after the end date of the period of performance, but may be submitted as soon as all outstanding expenditures have been completed.

Important Reminders

• Report actual funds spent, NOT the draw down amounts from the Federal Government.
• Report all allowable costs incurred, both at the recipient and subrecipient level.
• Report the cumulative expenditures.
• Report program income as the cumulative amount, NOT the quarterly amount.
• Report correct indirect cost rate and base approved by the cognizant Federal agency.
• Report correct indirect cost rate type (provisional, final, de minimus, or fixed).

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.328.

Performance reports provide information relevant to the performance and activities of a plan, program, or project. Performance reports are submitted by recipients annually or semi-annually, depending on the award type. Semi-annual performance reports must be submitted within 30 days after the end of the reporting periods, which are June 30 and December 31, for the life of the award. Unless otherwise indicated, the final report is due within 120 days after the end date of the period of performance. Reporting requirements are specified in the solicitation and in the award conditions specified in the award. Performance Reports must be submitted via JustGrants. Questions concerning performance reporting should be directed to the Program Manager for the award.

Special Reporting Requirements

In the review and approval process for plans and applications, it is sometimes necessary for the awarding agency to impose special or unique reporting requirements. These requirements may vary from award to award.

Award recipients must agree to collect data appropriate for facilitating reporting requirements established by the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act.

• Ensure that valid and auditable source documentation is available to support all data collected for each performance measure required by the program including those specified in the program solicitation or award.

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (referred to as FFATA or The Transparency Act) requires the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a single, searchable website that provides the public with information about how tax dollars are spent and gives them the ability to hold the Federal Government accountable for each spending decision. That site is http://www.usaspending.gov.

Effective November 12, 2020, pass-through entities that award $30,000 or more to subrecipients are required to submit data in the FFATA Subaward Reporting System. Pursuant to 2 C.F.R. Part 170, Appendix A (Reporting Subaward and Executive Compensation Information), prime award - recipients awarded a new Federal award greater than or equal to $30,000 are subject to FFATA subaward reporting requirements. The prime awardee is required to file a FFATA subaward report through the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS), located at https://www.fsrs.gov, by the end of the month following the month in which the direct recipient awards any subgrant greater than or equal to $30,000. Pass-through entities should also review and carefully consider 2 C.F.R. § 200.331 (Subrecipient and Contractor Determinations), as it includes guidance in making an appropriate determination that is relevant not only with regard to subrecipient reporting under FFATA, but also is key to the proper financial and programmatic administration and management of federal award funds.

The reporting requirements for Federal award recipients of both formula and discretionary grants are:

• All subaward information must be reported by the Federal recipient.
• If the initial subaward is at least $30,000, the award recipient must report the subawards and the names and annual compensation of the subawardee’s five highest paid executives.
• If the initial award is below $30,000 but subsequent award modifications result in a total award equal to or over $30,000, the award will be subject to the reporting requirements as of the date the award reaches $30,000.
• If the initial award is equal to or greater than $30,000 but de-obligation of funding causes the total award amount to fall below $30,000, recipients will continue to be subject to the reporting requirements.

The reporting requirements do NOT apply to the following:

• Awards to individuals
• Recipients that had a gross income of $300,000 or less in their previous tax year
• Classified information

Retain all financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to the award for a period of 3 years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report (Federal Financial Report/SF-425). For more information, see 2 C.F.R. §200.334.

• Retention is required for purposes of Federal examination and audit.
• Records may be retained in an electronic format.

Coverage

The retention requirement includes, if applicable, books of original entry, source documents, supporting accounting transactions, the general ledger, subsidiary ledgers, personnel and payroll records, cancelled checks, and related documents and records.

• Source documents may include copies of all awards, applications, and required recipient financial and narrative reports.
• Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed.
• Time and effort reports are also required for consultants.

Exception to the 3-Year Retention Period

The 3-year retention period starts from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. The following are exceptions to the standard record retention period:

• If any litigation, claim, audit, or other action involving the records has started before the expiration of the 3-year period, the records must be retained until all issues involving the records have been resolved and final action taken.
• When notified by the DOJ grant-making component, cognizant agency for audit, oversight agency for audit, cognizant agency for indirect costs, or pass-through entity to extend the retention period.
• Records for real property and equipment acquired with Federal funds must be retained for 3 years after the final disposition.
• When records are transferred to or maintained by the DOJ grant-making component or pass-through entity, the 3-year retention period requirement is not applicable to the non-Federal entity.
• When required for program income earned after the period of performance, the retention period starts from the end of the non-Federal entity’s fiscal year in which the program income is earned.
• Indirect cost proposals submitted for negotiation must be retained for 3 years from the date of submission.
• Indirect cost proposals not required to be submitted for negotiation must be maintained for 3 years from the end of the fiscal year covered by the proposal.

Maintain and separately identify all records for each Federal fiscal period so that information desired may be readily located. See 2 C.F.R. §200.336.

• Protect the records adequately against fire or other damage.
• Whenever practicable, information should be collected, transmitted and stored in open and machine- readable formats rather than in closed formats or on paper.

The DOJ grant-making component, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General, the Comptroller General of the United States, and the pass-through entity, or any of their authorized representatives, must have access to any documents, papers, or other records of recipients which are pertinent to the award, in order to make audits, examinations, excerpts, and transcripts. See 2 C.F.R. §200.337.

• The right of access is not limited to the required retention period; it will last as long as the records are retained.
• However, only under extraordinary and rare circumstances would such access include review of information that would personally identify victims of crime. Routine monitoring cannot be considered extraordinary and rare circumstances that would necessitate access to this information. When access to the information that could personally identify victims of a crime is determined to be necessary, appropriate steps to protect this sensitive information must be taken by both the non-Federal entity and the DOJ grant-making component.
• Any such access, other than under a court order or subpoena pursuant to a bona fide confidential investigation, must be approved by the head of the DOJ grant-making component.

If the Department of Justice (DOJ) grant-making component or pass-through entity finds that the award recipient or subrecipient has failed to comply with the U.S. Constitution, Federal statutes, regulations, or the terms and conditions of an award, additional conditions may be imposed as described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.208. However, if it is determined that noncompliance cannot be remedied by imposing additional conditions, the DOJ grant-making component or pass- through entity may take one or more of the following actions under 2 C.F.R. § 200.339:

• Temporarily withhold cash payments pending correction of the deficiency or more severe action by the grant- making component or pass-through entity;
• Disallow all or part of the cost of activities or actions not in compliance;
• Wholly or partly suspend or terminate the Federal award;
• Initiate suspension or debarment proceedings as authorized under 2 C.F.R. Part 180 and DOJ’s implementing regulations at 2 C.F.R. Part 2867 (or in the case of a pass-through entity, recommend such a proceeding be initiated by the grant-making component);
• Designate the award recipient as a high-risk recipient under the DOJ high-risk policy;
• Withhold future awards for the project or program; or
• Take other remedies that may be legally available.

When an award is terminated or partially terminated, the awarding agency or pass-through entity and the recipient or subrecipient remain responsible for compliance with the requirements in 2 C.F.R. § 200.344 (Closeout) and 2 C.F.R. § 200.345 (Post-closeout adjustments and continuing responsibilities).

Upon taking a remedy for noncompliance, the DOJ awarding agency will provide the recipient with an opportunity to object and provide information and documentation challenging the suspension or termination action (2 C.F.R. § 200.342). Refer to Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Hearing and Appeal Procedures for appeal rights in event of termination (Title 28 C.F.R. Part 18).

Costs incurred during a suspension or after termination of a Federal award or subaward are not allowable unless the DOJ awarding agency or pass-through entity expressly authorizes them in the notice of suspension or termination, or subsequently. However, costs during suspension or after termination are allowable if:

• The costs result from financial obligations which were properly incurred before the effective date of suspension or termination, are not in anticipation of it; and
• The costs would be allowable if the Federal award was not suspended or expired normally at the end of the period of performance in which the termination takes effect.

Closeout means the process that takes place when the DOJ grant-making component or pass-through entity determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the Federal award have been completed by the recipient or subrecipient. See 2. C.F.R. § 200.344 (Closeout) for the actions to be taken as part of the closeout process. The following chapter provides guidance on closeout procedures applicable to DOJ awards.

The Grant Award Administrator will initiate the closeout process once programmatic and financial requirements have been met by using the JustGrants Module. All award recipients have 120 calendar days after the end of the period of performance to close out the award.

• A subrecipient must submit to the pass-through entity, no later than 90 calendar days (or an earlier date as agreed upon by the pass-through entity and subrecipient) after the end date of the period of performance, all financial, performance, and other reports as required by the terms and conditions of the Federal award. See 2. C.F.R. § 200.344(a).
• If the award recipient does not submit all required reports within 120 calendar days of the end of the period of performance, the DOJ grant-making component will begin the closeout process.

See 2 C.F.R. § 200.344

Failure to Remit Funds Owed

Any funds paid to the recipient that exceeds the amount to which the organization is finally determined to be entitled under the Federal award constitutes a debt to the Federal government. If this debt is not paid within 90 calendar days after the demand for payment, DOJ may take a range of actions, including administratively offsetting the debt against other requests for reimbursement, withholding of advance payments otherwise due to the recipient, or other action permitted by Federal laws. To the extent permitted under Federal law, DOJ will charge interest on an overdue debt, in accordance with the Federal Claim Collection Standards (31 C.F.R. parts 900 through 904). The date from which interest is computed is not extended by litigation or the filing of any form of appeal. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.346

If the recipient does not pay funds owed to DOJ, the debt may be referred to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection, as provided by Federal laws.

• Treasury may add fees, fines, and penalties to the original amount of the debt owed to the Federal agency.
• Failure to return any funds due to DOJ may result in a high-risk designation for future awards, withholding or freezing of funds, or award conditions on all other awards to the organization. It may also impact future financial integrity reviews, which in turn will affect future grant awards.

For fiscal years beginning on or after December 26, 2014. Non-Federal entities that expend $750,000 or more in Federal funds (from all sources including pass-through subawards) in the organization’s fiscal year are required to arrange for a single organization-wide audit conducted in accordance with the provisions of 2 C.F.R. Subpart F.

For fiscal years beginning before December 26, 2014. Non-Federal entities (other than a for-profit/ commercial entity) that expend $500,000 or more in Federal funds (from all sources including pass-through subawards) in the organization’s fiscal year are required to arrange for a single organization-wide audit conducted in accordance with the provisions of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement.

Non-Federal entities that expend less than the applicable audit threshold a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year. However, non-Federal entities must keep records that are available for review or audit by appropriate officials including the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Awards are subject to conditions of fiscal, program, and general administration to which the recipient expressly agrees upon acceptance of the award. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.514.

• The audit objective is to review the recipient’s accountability of funds and required non-Federal contributions to determine whether the recipient has done all of the following:
  • Established an accounting system with adequate internal controls that provide full accountability for revenues, expenditures, assets, and liabilities.
  • Prepared financial statements which are presented fairly and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
  • Submitted financial reports (including Federal Finance Reports (FFRs/SF-425s); cash reports; and claims for advances and reimbursements that contain accurate and reliable financial data and are presented in accordance with the terms of applicable agreements.
  • Expended Federal funds in accordance with the terms of award agreements and those provisions of Federal law or regulations that could have a material effect on the financial statements or on the awards tested.

Audit reports must be submitted within the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor's report(s), or nine months after the end of the audit period. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.512(a). Federal agencies can no longer grant due date extensions for submission of single audit reports.

The Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) requires all grant award recipients to use the Internet Data Entry System (IDES) to submit Standard Form-Single Audit Component (SF-SAC) and the Single Audit Reporting package online.

• To review the submission requirements and create an online report ID, visit FAC’s website at https://harvester.census.gov/facweb/.

  FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TIP

  Completed audit reports for State and local governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit institutions, should not be mailed to DOJ unless requested by an agency official.

• Commercial organizations and individuals should mail one copy of all completed audit reports to:
  U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs
  Office of the Chief Financial Officer ATTN: Control Desk
  810 Seventh Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20531

When an independent audit is being conducted, on OJP/COPS Office awards, audit confirmation requests should be emailed to [email protected].

Audit confirmation requests for OVW awards should be emailed to [email protected].

For an audit to be effective, it is important for a recipient to have policies and procedures in place to ensure timely corrective action on audit recommendations.

Each recipient must designate officials responsible for the following tasks:

• Following up on audit recommendations.
• Maintaining a record of the corrective action taken on recommendations, including time schedules for completing corrective action, such as those stated in a Corrective Action Plan (CAP).
  • Typically, the CAP letter will include a description of the finding, specific steps to take to implement the recommendation, including written formal procedures; a timetable for performance of each corrective action; and a description of monitoring to be performed to ensure implementation of the CAP.
  • The recipient must generate a response to the CAP letter within the specified timeframe, usually within 30 days after receipt of the letter.
• Implementing audit recommendations.

Below are the most common findings from audits of DOJ awards in Fiscal Year 2021, the most recent year for which this information is available. These findings are provided to make recipients aware of some areas to monitor closely in managing their award so that they are in compliance with all requirements and their audits go smoothly.

When subawards are made by the pass-through entity to another organization or organizations, the pass- through entity is responsible for making sure that subrecipients comply with the audit requirements set forth in this chapter. See 2 C.F.R. § 200.332(f ).

• It is the pass-through entity responsibility to ensure that subrecipient audit reports are received and that corrective actions on all audit findings have been implemented.
• The pass-through entity must require the subrecipient to convey to the pass-through entity any known or suspected violations of law encountered during audits, including fraud, theft, embezzlement, forgery, or other serious irregularities.
• The pass-through entity must include all audit requirements in each subaward.

In addition to arranging and providing for the organizational, financial, and compliance audits required by 2 C.F.R. Subpart F, direct recipients and subrecipients are encouraged to provide for additional audit coverage, as deemed appropriate.

• The additional audit coverage to be provided should be determined based on the circumstances surrounding the particular organization, function, program, or activity to be audited; management needs; and available audit capability.
• Direct recipients and subrecipients can determine the need for additional audit coverage by considering answers to the following questions about the organization that may need the coverage:
  • Are resources managed and used economically and efficiently?
  • Are desired results and objectives achieved effectively?
  • Are the accounting system and system of internal controls acceptable prior to the receipt of awarding agency funds? At a minimum, internal controls should include documented written procedures of the direct recipient or subrecipient.
  • Are the systems and controls adequate to detect fraud, waste, and abuse?

These organizations must have financial and compliance audits conducted by qualified individuals who are organizationally, personally, and externally independent from those who authorize the expenditure of Federal funds.

• This audit must be performed in accordance with the Government Auditing Standards ( July 2018 Revision) [PDF - 867 Kb], as found on the GAO website.
• The purpose of this audit is to ascertain the effectiveness of the financial management systems and internal procedures that have been established to meet the terms and conditions of the award.
• Usually, these audits must be conducted annually. They must be conducted no less frequently than every 2 years. The dollar threshold that is established for audit reports in 2 C.F.R. § 200.501 applies, as amended.

Failure to have audits performed as required will result in the awarding agency taking remedial action, as allowed under law. This may include, but not be limited to, the withholding of new discretionary awards and/or withholding of funds, or a change in the method of payment on active awards.

As mentioned previously, if DOJ is the assigned cognizant agency or has oversight responsibilities because it has provided the preponderance of direct Federal funding to an organization, then the organization is eligible to receive technical assistance from the DOJ OIG. Direct the request to the Chicago regional audit office of the DOJ OIG in the table in this section.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) awards Federal funds to recipients for specific purposes and requires them to use the funds within established guidelines. Unfortunately, some recipients and subrecipients have misused award funds in multiple ways ranging from award mismanagement to intentional criminal fraud. With this chapter, DOJ aims to help recipients avoid the misuse of award funds and the resulting penalties.

Non-Federal entities are encouraged to:

• Be aware of common grant fraud schemes. This knowledge is the best way to reduce or even eliminate the risk of fraud.
• Adopt effective fraud risk-management efforts within the organization, and encourage subrecipients to do the same in order to prevent and detect fraud as early as possible.

• Recipients and their subrecipients are responsible for promptly notifying the awarding agency and the Federal cognizant audit agency of any illegal acts, irregularities, and/or proposed or actual actions (see 2 C.F.R. § 200.112 and 200.113).
• Illegal acts and irregularities include conflicts of interest, falsification of records or reports, and misappropriation of funds or other assets.
• Please notify the appropriate DOJ awarding agency of any irregularities that occur.

If found guilty of grant fraud, recipients may be subject to various remedies available under Federal law, including any or all of the following:

• A ban from receiving future Federal funding;
• Administrative recoveries of funds;
• Civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution; or
• A combination of all or some of these remedies.

The indicators or markers of fraud, waste, and/or abuse of award funds are varied and can be due to a range of causes. Follow-up on all such concerns is important.

Most misuse of funds falls into one or more of three general categories:

• Conflicts of Interest
• Misapplication of Award Funds
• Theft/Embezzlement

Each of these categories will be examined in the sections that follow.

Typical conflict-of-interest issues may include:

• Less-than-arm’s-length transactions—the act of purchasing goods or services or hiring an individual from a related party such as a family member or a business associate of the recipient.
• Not using fair and transparent processes for subrecipient decisions and vendor selection. These processes must be free of undue influence, and fair and transparent. Most procurement requires full and open competition.
• Consultants can play an important role in award programs; however, recipients and subrecipients must ensure that their work conforms to all applicable regulations governing the selection process, reasonable pay rates, and specific verifiable work product.

Failure to Properly Support the Use of Award Funds

A Federal award agreement creates a legal and binding obligation. Recipients and subrecipients are obligated to:

• Use the award as outlined in the agreement.
• Act with integrity when applying for and reporting the actual use of funds.
• Properly track the use of funds and maintain adequate supporting documentation.

Typical issues involving failure to properly support the use of award funds include:

• Deliberate redirection of the use of funds in a manner different from the purpose outlined in the award agreement.
• Failure to adequately account for, track, or support transactions such as personnel costs, contracts, indirect cost rates, matching funds, program income, or other sources of revenue.

Theft/Embezzlement

Theft/Embezzlement is a potential risk in almost all organizations—including those that receive Federal awards. Non- federal entities are encouraged to keep the following in mind:

• People who embezzle funds can be extremely creative, while often appearing very trustworthy. These abilities are precisely why they can do so much damage to an organization and remain undetected for extended periods of time.
• Poor or no internal controls provide an opening for theft. A lack of proper separation of duties is one of the most common weaknesses.

There are several things that can be done to reduce or even eliminate the risk of fraudulent use of the Federal award:

• Examine operations and internal controls to identify fraud vulnerabilities.
• Implement specific fraud prevention strategies including educating others about the risks. The more people are aware of the issues, the more they can help prevent problems or detect them as early as possible.
• Maintain a well-designed and tested system of internal controls.
• Ensure all financial or other certifications and performance reports are adequately supported with appropriate documentation and evidence.
• Identify any potential conflict-of-interest issues and disclose them to the awarding agency for specific guidance and advice.
• Follow a fair and transparent procurement process. Ensure that the rate of pay for professional services is reasonable and justifiable, and that the work product is well-defined and documented.

Contact the DOJ Office of the Inspector General for more information.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has several payment or reimbursement programs that are available to eligible applicants: the Bulletproof Vest Partnership (BVP), the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative (NBPI), and the Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative (SWBPI). This section briefly introduces each of these programs; please visit the related websites for recently updated information and each program’s specific guidelines.

Through SCAAP, the U.S. Government provides payments to States and localities that incurred correctional officer salary costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens who had at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for violations of State or local law, and were incarcerated for at least 4 consecutive days during a reporting period. BJA administers SCAAP in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Eligibility and Guidelines

Beginning with Federal fiscal year 2007, SCAAP awards must be used for correctional purposes only. To be considered for SCAAP funding, States and localities must prove that inmate records, convictions, and length of custody to meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Inmate records. For the purposes of SCAAP, an inmate is defined as a person who did one of the following things or was in one of the following situations:
  • Entered the United States without inspection or at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General.
  • Was in deportation or exclusion proceedings at the time he or she was taken into custody.
  • Is a nonimmigrant who failed to maintain his or her nonimmigrant status at the time he or she was taken into custody.
  • Is part of a subset of Mariel Cubans who otherwise meet these requirements.
• Convictions and custody information. To apply for SCAAP funds, an entity must be a State or unit of government with authority over correctional facilities that incarcerate or detain undocumented criminal aliens for terms of 4 or more consecutive days. Applicants may submit records of eligible inmates in their custody during the reporting period who meet all of the following criteria:
  • Were born outside the United States or one of its Territories and have no reported or documented claim to
  • U.S. citizenship;
  • Were in the applicant’s custody for 4 or more consecutive days during the reporting period;
  • Were convicted of a felony or second misdemeanor for violations of State or local law; and
  • Were identified and reported using due diligence.
• DHS makes the final determination on whether the documentation submitted supports the status of the inmate as an undocumented alien.

Application and Funding Process

• The application and payment process for SCAAP is managed using the JustGrants.
• The SCAAP system is available through the main JustGrants log-in page.
• SCAAP payments must go directly to eligible States and localities.
• Authorized jurisdiction employees for SCAAP purposes must be listed as either the Authorized Representative or Alternate Contact in the JustGrants user profile.
• The chief executive officer (CEO) of an eligible jurisdiction may apply directly or delegate authority to another jurisdiction official. The CEO is generally considered the highest ranking elected or appointed official of a unit of government.

Application and Funding Process

• The annual application-through-payment processes for the NBPI and SWBPI programs are managed via online systems.
• The NBPI program is available at https://www.ojp.gov/nbpi, and guidelines are available in the document Northern Border Prosecution Initiative 2013 Guidelines (PDF).
• The SWBPI program can be found at https://www.ojp.gov/swbpi, and guidelines are available in the document Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative 2013 Guidelines (PDF).

Both the Grant Award Administrator and the Financial Manager for OJP awards must complete the required DOJ Grants Financial Management Trainings within 120 calendar days after the date of the recipient's acceptance of the award. New recipients, recipients with a "high" pre-award risk, and DOJ high-risk recipients will receive a withholding of funds special condition until the Grant Award Administrator and Financial Manager have completed the training.

OVW and COPS Office recipients are not required, but highly encouraged, to complete the DOJ Grants Financial Management Online Training. In some cases, a high-risk recipient may be required to complete the online training.

Successful completion of the required DOJ Grants Financial Management Trainings every three (3) years is required.

In the event that either the Grant Award Administrator or the Financial Manager for an award changes during the period of performance, the new Grant Award Administrator or Financial Manager must successfully complete a financial management training by 120 calendar days after the date the Entity Administrator enters updated Grant Award Administrator or Financial Manager information in JustGrants.

Non-compliance with the training requirements will result in placing a withholding of funds on all applicable awards.

Grant Award Administrator and the Financial Manager for the award will be required to re-certify their compliance with the financial management training requirement by successfully completing required Financial Management Training every (3) three years.

Award recipients can register for financial management trainings at the following website: https://www.ojp.gov/training/financial-management-training-webinars.