Forensics Training and Technical Assistance Program

 

The goal of the Forensic Science Federal, State, and Local Projects is to strengthen the quality and practice of forensic science through training and technical assistance, research and development, testing and evaluation, technology adoption, and information exchange. Objective(s): Support and strengthen the capabilities of forensic science service providers through a range of dedicated training and technical services. Support and enhance the capacity and program outcomes of active OJP forensic science program grantees. Foster the development of new knowledge, methods, and scientific tools to enhance investigations and the forensic analysis of evidence. Test and evaluate programs and practices relevant to forensic and investigative sciences or the application and outcomes of those sciences in a court of law. Performance Measures are dependent on project and can include: Number of total visits to the site; Number of individuals who completed the training; Number of Fellowships; Number of Forensic Investigations; Number of scholarly products that result in whole or in part from work funded, such as published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (as appropriate for the funded project) law review journal articles, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, technological prototypes, patented inventions, or similar scientific products.

Active 16.044 Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2022 Please visit https://bja.ojp.gov/program/forensics-tta/overview.
Fiscal Year 2023 Please visit https://bja.ojp.gov/program/forensics-tta/overview Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022
Any awards under this solicitation would be made under statutory authority provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022. Eligible applications are dependent on the Federal, State, and Local forensic science project solicited by the program and may be limited to State (includes District of Columbia, public institutions of higher education and hospitals), Local (includes State-designated Indian Tribes, excludes institutions of higher education and hospitals, U.S. Territories and possessions (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Profit organization, Private nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), and consortiums with demonstrated experience providing national and local-level TTA. For-profit organizations must agree to waive any profit or fees for services. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is authorized to make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with States, units of local government, for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, and qualified individuals. Applicants from the Territories of the United States, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments that perform law enforcement functions, are also eligible to participate in this program. Certain qualified individuals may be eligible to apply in response to some solicitations under this program, as described in the solicitation document. Federal agencies may be eligible to apply for funding in response to a solicitation under this program, if the solicitation specifies that Federal agencies are eligible. If an award is made to a Federal agency, it will be through an Interagency Agreement (IAA) with the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice. Not applicable. Not applicable. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. See the current fiscal year's solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site at (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm and http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PreawardRequirements/index.htm for additional information. Upon approval by the Assistant Attorney General (for science offices, would be the Director of the applicable Office), successful applicants are notified via the JustGrants System. One copy of the grant award must be signed by the authorized official and returned to the Office of Justice Programs within 45 days of award date. For further information, please see http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PreawardRequirements/chapter2.2a.htm. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines From 60 to 90 days. Note - It is anticipated that the solicitation will be posted for a minimum of 60 Days. Not applicable. In some cases, award periods may be extended if specific criteria are met. For details, please review the discussion of no-cost extensions in the Criteria for Award Extension section of the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide available at http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.2d.htm. Proposals are evaluated according to the criteria specified in the program solicitation. See current funding opportunities at Grants.gov and the Office of Justice Programs web site at http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm. With few exceptions, all proposals are reviewed competitively by a peer review panel consisting of outside experts in the field for technical quality and the general merits of the problems addressed. OJP uses the peer review process to ensure fair and knowledgeable evaluation of pre-applications and proposals. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, applies to this program. Effective FY 2021, applications are submitted to DOJ in a two-step process. Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. To register in Grants.gov, applicants will need to obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and System for Award Management (SAM) registration or renewal. Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application, including attachments, in JustGrants at https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/. To be considered timely, an application must be submitted by the application deadline using Grants.gov, and the applicant must have received a validation message from Grants.gov that indicates successful and timely submission. OJP urges applicants to submit applications at least 72 hours prior to the application due date to allow time for the applicant to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov and to correct in a timely fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection notification. Designations Higher Education (includes Research), Law, Justice, and Legal Services B - Project Grants, B – Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements), L - Dissemination of Technical Information The funds may be used to conduct training and technical assistance or research and development pertaining to the above objectives, including the development of new or improved approaches, techniques, systems, and technologies and to carry out programs in support of forensic science. Performance Reports: To assist in fulfilling the Departments responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Public Law 103-62, and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, Public Law 111–352, recipients must provide data that measures the results of their work. Not applicable. In accordance with the requirement set forth in 2 CFR 200, Subpart F, grantees must maintain all financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to the award for at least 3 years following the close of the most recent audit. For additional guidance, please visit http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.16a.htm. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Award periods for Office of Justice programs generally range from 12 to 36 months. For specifics pertaining to this program, please see the current fiscal year’s program solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm). For additional information, see the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide section on “Period of Availability of Funds" at http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.2a.htm. Period of Performance Duration (Months) = 36 Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. None/Not specified. Thurston Bryant
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531 USA
Thurston.Bryant@usdoj.gov
Phone: (202) 598-0379 https://bja.ojp.gov/program/forensics-tta/overview 15-0404-0-1-754 (Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)) FY 22$22,970,952.00; FY 23 est $0.00; FY 24 est $5,000,000.00; FY 21$0.00; - o Award Type = 1 Cooperative Agreement Award o Award Amount = $5,000,000 See the current fiscal years' program solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm. For additional guidance, please reference the Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide (http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm) and Post award Instructions (http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/index.htm). Applicable administrative requirements and Department of Justice regulations applicable to specific types of grantees can be found in title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 C.F.R.). Fiscal Year 2021 The BJA Forensics TTA Program will be modeled and based on the exemplary success of BJA’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) TTA Program, which provides direct assistance to SAKI grantees to establish evidence-based and sustainable practices. The National SAKI TTA Program provides funding through a competitive grant program to support the jurisdictional reform of approaches to sexual assault cases resulting from evidence found in sexual assault kits (SAKs) that have never been submitted to a crime laboratory. SAKI is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and aims to create a coordinated community response that ensures just resolution to sexual assault cases through (1) a comprehensive and victim-centered approach, (2) jurisdictional capacity building to prevent high numbers of unsubmitted SAKs in the future, and (3) supporting the investigation and prosecution of cases for which SAKs were previously unsubmitted. SAKI sites, both currently and previously funded, represent approximately 57% of the U.S. population (328.2 million).
Fiscal Year 2022 Please visit https://bja.ojp.gov/program/forensics-tta/overview