Manage Awards

Quarterly Reporting

You must complete a Federal Financial Report (FFR), also known as the SF-425, in JustGrants within 30 days after each quarter ends. Late FFRs will automatically freeze your access to funds until the delinquent report is submitted.

The table below shows reporting periods and due dates, which apply to all awards and all years.

Reporting Process

Financial reports must provide details on how you allocated award funds. These should align with your project’s approved scope, budget, timeline, and programmatic progress.

You may be asked to provide documentation supporting your grant expenditures. Be sure to keep up-to-date records for everything charged to the grant in a centralized grant file and be prepared to share those when requested.

For more details on financial reports: 

• Check the DOJ Grants Financial Guide for requirements.
• Visit the JustGrants Financial Reporting Training page for help completing and updating FFRs.

Collect Data and Track Progress

From the start of your award, you’ll need to track your progress of meeting the goals and objectives of your grant program. Established OJP performance measures help to demonstrate how your project is progressing.

These tips will help set you up for success: 

• Know your measures and reporting expectations. Example performance measures and anticipated reporting periods are referenced in the original notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) to give applicants a sense of reporting requirements. After you receive a grant award, the program office will send your final performance reporting requirements, including performance measures and reporting timeframes.
• Establish team responsibility. Review the reporting requirements as a team to ensure project staff understand the performance measures, how the measures apply to your project, and each person's role in tracking progress. Put your team's plan in writing and be sure project staff know what to do and when.
• Follow your project plan. Routinely communicate with project staff to be sure everyone is following the plan. Adapt the plan over time as project needs change.
• Assess the data. Routinely review the data that you’re collecting. Use it to help determine whether your project is progressing as planned, aligns with financial reports, or needs to be modified.
• Ask for help. Your project has a public benefit, and everyone wants it to succeed. Your DOJ grant manager can help you navigate changes and manage your award.

Note: If your entity passes funds through to a subrecipient (i.e., another entity that will assist in carrying out the goals and objectives of the award), you need to determine how they will collect, assess, and report data for the same performance measures.

Complete Reports and Submit Deliverables

You must complete routine performance reports. These reports are automatically created in JustGrants for each award at the start of each reporting period. Reporting frequency varies by program but is typically every six months. Check your NOFO and award conditions for your specific schedule. Once submitted, the report is routed to the DOJ grant manager, who either approves or requests changes to the report.

Some grant programs require deliverables, such as training materials or memorandums of agreement. These deliverables are submitted in JustGrants and then reviewed by DOJ staff.

For reporting and deliverable requirements, refer to your NOFO.

For assistance completing performance management requirements, visit the JustGrants Performance Reporting Training page.

How OJP Uses Your Data

OJP reviews your reports and uses the data to:

• Understand how federal funds are being used.
• Track progress of individual grant projects.
• Consider the progress of the larger grant program (i.e., a group of projects that are completing similar work).
• Identify emerging themes, lessons learned, and areas of success.
• Find areas of need and match those with training and support.
• Fulfill requests for information from the public, media, and auditors.
• Comply with rules and laws.

Grant Award Modifications (GAMs)

A lot can change from the time you accept the award. At some point, you may need to request to make changes to your project scope, timeline, or budget.

If these changes alter the original award, you must receive DOJ’s advance written approval via JustGrants. Request a grant award modification (GAM) to make any changes to your award.

There are three types of GAMs: (1) Project Period Extension, (2) Programmatic, and (3) Financial. Your DOJ grant manager can help you determine which type(s) of GAM is needed for your project.

• Project Period Extension GAM: Request to extend a project end date.
• Programmatic:
  • Programmatic Cost GAM: Request prior approval for certain costs as outlined in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide.
  • Scope Change GAM: Change the purpose of the project, programmatic activities, project site, or primary personnel.
• Financial:
  • Budget Modification GAM: Redistribute funds between budget categories or modify the budget for reasons detailed in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide.
  • Sole Source GAM: Enter into a contract without competitive bidding.

For more information on GAMs, visit the JustGrants Grant Award Modifications Training page.

Monitoring 

All awards require monitoring, a combination of recipient internal checks, OJP reviews, and external oversight. Together these strategies and resources help to safeguard federal funds and maximize the impact of these funds in communities.

Recipient Internal Monitoring

It’s important to establish compliance checks throughout the life of your award. Staff and circumstances may change over time, but you are still bound to the original award agreement and conditions. Internal monitoring can help you find and correct issues early and ensure your award achieves maximum benefit to the American people.

Some questions to consider as part of internal monitoring include:

• Are we carrying out the project as it was approved by OJP? If we modified the project, did we receive written OJP approval?
• Are we submitting all reports and deliverables?
• Do our policies and procedures meet OJP’s administrative, financial, and programmatic requirements? Is there anything we need to update?
• Are we documenting and tracking all award-related expenditures? Do those align with our progress and financial reports?
• Are we passing award funding through to another entity? If so, are we meeting our oversight requirements?
• Are there areas in which we need additional guidance and assistance? If so, have we contacted our grant manager?

OJP Monitoring

OJP carries out ongoing activities, such as grant reviews and in-depth monitoring, to better understand your grant operations and, if needed, provide support and training.

OJP staff routinely review all awards to assess:

• Financial progress
• Compliance with administrative requirements
• Program progress and reported activities

Additionally, OJP staff conduct in-depth monitoring with a subset of awards. When your award is selected for this activity, OJP staff will work directly with you to get additional grant documentation and interview key project staff.   

Learn more about monitoring activities on the JustGrants Monitoring Training page.

External Oversight

As an award recipient, you may also encounter external oversight. Both OJP and grant recipients are expected to participate in these external oversight activities and must work together to resolve any issues identified.

DOJ's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducts audits and reviews of DOJ programs and grant recipients to ensure compliance with statutes and grant award terms. When concerns arise, OIG may investigate claims of recipient waste, fraud, or abuse. OIG then issues public reports on its findings and recommendations to improve grant operations and, in some cases, pursues criminal charges and repayment of grant funds. If OIG identifies areas of concern, OJP and grant recipients will work together to correct these issues.

The Single Audit Requirements (2 CFR 200, Subpart F) provides a standardized audit process requirement for recipients that spend more than a certain threshold of federal funds per year. As of October 1, 2024, this threshold is $1 million in federal funds spent per fiscal year. Check current requirements as this threshold may change. Recipients must complete the requirements and submit audit reports to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse then publishes these audit reports online and refers audit findings to the federal awarding agency, such as DOJ. DOJ then works with grantees to resolve issues and improve business processes. If you pass funds to subrecipients, you are responsible for monitoring their Single Audit compliance and resolving any findings related to the award.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) may also review OJP grant programs and recommend improved practices and operations.

More details about audit requirements are provided in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide.

Closeout

Once your project concludes, you must complete closeout requirements within 120 days of the project end date.

You will:

• Submit the final Programmatic Progress Report.
• Submit all required deliverables.
• Ensure your project’s compliance with all special award conditions.
• Submit the final Federal Financial Report.
• Request final payment for financial reconciliation.

OJP will review all programmatic and financial documents to ensure your project is complete and all conditions have been met. Once the closeout is verified, OJP staff will close the award in JustGrants.

Help With Award Closeout 

• Check the DOJ Grants Financial Guide for closeout requirements.
• Visit the JustGrants Closeout Training page for help completing your closeout.