Office of Grants and Training 

Preparedness Directorate 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

Washington, DC 20531 

1

Office of Grants and Training Information Bulletin 

No. 199 December 20, 2005 

TO: All State Administrative Agency Heads 

 All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact 

 All State Homeland Security Directors 

 All Urban Area Core City/Core County Points of Contact 

 

FROM: Matt A. Mayer 

 Acting Assistant Secretary 

SUBJECT: Responding to Inquiries about Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Homeland Security Grant 

Program (HSGP) Application Submissions 

Under the FY 2006 HSGP, State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), Law Enforcement 

Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP), and Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) funds will 

be awarded through a competitive process. To promote fairness and equity among applicants, 

the Office of Grants and Training (G&T) (formerly the Office of State and Local Government 

Coordination and Preparedness) has provided guidelines to staff on responding to inquiries about 

two key application submissions required as part of the FY 2006 HSGP process: the Program 

and Capability Enhancement Plan and the Investment Justification. This Information Bulletin 

serves to communicate that guidance formally to grantees. 

As a general rule with regard to both the Enhancement Plan and Investment Justification, G&T 

staff can share and discuss the collection of issues that every State should be considering during 

the development process. The related guidance documents themselves—including the FY 2006 

HSGP Guidance and Application Kit and the State Homeland Security Program and Capability 

Review Guidebook Volumes I and II—and the Program and Capability Review Technical 

Assistance materials represent the core of that collective body of knowledge. Under no 

circumstances can G&T staff offer any advice or support that could be viewed as providing a 

competitive advantage to one State or Urban Area over another. 

Enhancement Plan: The Enhancement Plan is the key building block in the process States will 

use to develop an Investment Justification to request FY 2006 HSGP funds. The Enhancement 

Plan is intended to serve as an enterprise-wide, multi-year, program management plan for the 

State homeland security program. It is not linked to or associated with one particular grant 

program or funding stream. Rather, it is intended to look globally at the prioritized needs of the 

State homeland security program across jurisdictions and disciplines. The Enhancement Plan 
will be reviewed to provide context for the specific Investments States and Urban Areas are 

proposing. 

In communicating with grantees, G&T staff may address the following issues with grantees 

related to the Enhancement Plan: 

• Provide clarification on the Enhancement Plan guidance or the process for developing the 

Plan based on content in existing guidance documentation; 

• Discuss general themes that should be considered in developing an Enhancement Plan as 

outlined throughout the guidance documents (e.g. multi-jurisdictional approach, multidisciplinary stakeholders, and other recurring issues included in the technical assistance 

materials); and, 

• Attend Enhancement Plan working group meetings in the State as an observer or to 

discuss procedural issues outlined above. 

In communicating with grantees, G&T staff may not address the following issues with grantees 

related to the Enhancement Plan: 

• Provide judgments on State-specific content within the Enhancement Plan; 

• Provide State-specific recommendations or examples for the Enhancement Plan, 

including suggestions about which identified needs are of highest priority or about how to 

word specific Initiatives in the Plan; 

• Review and comment on drafts of the Enhancement Plan prior to the March 2, 2006 

application deadline; or, 

• Recommend any action with regard to lobbying State legislatures or changing State laws. 

Investment Justification: States must develop an Investment Justification to request FY 2006 

HSGP funds for those areas from the Enhancement Plan they have identified as priorities in the 

near-term. The Investment Justification will be formally reviewed and scored through a peer 

review process. 

In communicating with grantees, G&T staff may address the following issues with grantees 

related to the Investment Justification: 

• Provide clarification on the Investment Justification guidance based on content in 

existing guidance documentation; 

• Field or refer technical questions about the functionality of the Investment Justification 

template itself; and, 

• Advise States/Urban Areas to follow the instructions on completing the template and to 

formulate clear, concise responses. 

In communicating with grantees, G&T staff may not address the following issues with grantees 

related to the Investment Justification: 

• Provide judgment on State/Urban Area-specific content within the Investment 

Justification; 
• Provide State/Urban Area-specific recommendations or examples on any aspect of an 

Investment being included in the submission; 

• Make specific suggestions on how to word responses to questions in the Investment 

Justification; 

• Discuss specifics of how sections within the Investment Justification will be weighted 

and/or scored; 

• Review and comment on drafts of the Investment Justification submission prior to the 

March 2, 2006 application deadline; or, 

• Recommend any action with regard to lobbying State legislatures or changing State laws. 

Further questions regarding this Information Bulletin can be directed to your Preparedness 

Officer.