Court Appointed Special Advocates (16.756)

Program

16.756 Court Appointed Special Advocates

Federal Agency

Agency: Department of Justice
Office: Office Of Juvenile Justice And Delinquency Prevention

Authorization

Victims of Child Abuse Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 13001, et seq.

Program Number

16.756

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program ensures that abused and neglected children receive high quality, timely representation in dependency court hearings. Under this program, OJJDP provides grant support and training and technical assistance to local and state programs to support existing and new CASA programs across the nation and CASA services in communities where representation rates are low, the numbers of abused and neglect children are high, and service systems do not meet the needs of families and children.

Types of Assistance

Cooperative Agreements

Uses and Use Restrictions

Funds are available specifically to achieve the objectives of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program as described in the Victims of Child Abuse Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 13001, et seq.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

None

Beneficiary Eligibility

None

Credentials/Documentation

Cost will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments, A-21 for educational institutions, and A-122 for nonprofit organizations. OMB Circular No. A-87 applies to this program.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

OMB Circular No. A-102 applies to this program. OMB Circular No. A-110 applies to this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Award Procedure

The Office of Justice Programs utilizes a Grants Management System (GMS). GMS downloads applications from Grants.gov and is the system in which OJP reviews applications and manages awarded grants. Registration with www.grants.gov is required. Detailed instructions can be found at www.grants.gov. The Office of Management and Budget requires that all businesses and nonprofit applicants for federal funds include a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in their application for a new award or renewal of an award. Detailed information about this requirement can be found at www.dunandbradstreet.com. OJP requires that all applicants for federal financial assistance, other than individuals, maintain current registrations in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. Information about registration procedures can be accessed at www.ccr.gov.

Deadlines

Contact the headquarters or regional office, as appropriate, for application deadlines.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Not Applicable.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

The award will be renewable for a period not to exceed 5 years.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

This program has no statutory formula.

This program has no matching requirements.

This program does not have MOE requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Length and time phasing of assistance vary by project and are posted on the OJP web site as solicitations are released. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Contact program office for more details.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Program reports are not applicable. Cash reports are not applicable. Final financial reports and semi-annual and final program performance reports and performance measure data submission will be required as stipulated in the effective edition of the OJP Financial Guide and in award documents. Grantees submit performance measure data via the DCTAT reporting system bi-annually. see above. Performance measures are required, as specified in the solicitation.

Audits

In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133. All organizations that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in any fiscal year must have a single audit for that year in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133, as amended, unless the audit condition on the award says otherwise. These audits are due to the cognizant Federal agency not later than 9 months after the end of the grantee's fiscal year.

Records

Grantee must keep complete records on the disposition of funds.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: �Children with a CASA volunteer are substantially less likely to spend time in long-term foster care, defined as more than 3 years in care: 13.3 percent for CASA cases versus 27.0 percent of all children in foster care.

�When a CASA volunteer was involved, both children and their parents were ordered by the courts to receive more services. The audit concluded that this was an indication that �CASA is effective in identifying the needs of children and parents.�

�Cases involving a CASA volunteer are more likely to be �permanently closed� (i.e., the children are less likely to reenter the child welfare system) than cases where a CASA volunteer is not involved. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Financial Information

Account Identification

15-0404-0-1-754; 15-0404-0-1-754.

Obligations

(Cooperative Agreements) FY 08 $12,397,800; FY 09 est $15,000,000; FY 10 est $15,000,000

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

Funding for the Training and Technical Assistance Program is approximately $3 Million per year. Funding for the State Grants program is approximately $9 Million per year.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

The current edition of the OJP Financial Guide is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/finguide08/index.htm.

Related Programs

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

Cecilia Duquela Fuentes Child Protection Division, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, , Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia 20531 Phone: (202) 514-9372

Web Site Address

http://www.usdoj.gov; http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org

Examples of Funded Projects

Fiscal Year 2008: The National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association�s (NCASAA) Training and Technical Assistance and Grants Programs. Fiscal Year 2009: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2010: No Current Data Available

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

The successful applicant will be selected through a competitive solicitation process.