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U.S. Department of Justice

Office on Violence Against Women 

The United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) 

(www.ovw.usdoj.gov) is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for the Grants to 

Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program. This program 

furthers the Department of Justice’s mission by encouraging state, local, and tribal governments 

and state, local, and tribal courts to treat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

stalking as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire 

criminal justice system. 

OVW FY 2009 

Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies 

and Enforcement of Protection Orders 

Program 

Eligibility 

Applicants are limited to States, units of local government, Indian tribal governments, and state, 

local, tribal, and territorial courts. 

(See ―Who is Eligible to Apply,‖ page 4) 

Deadline 

Letters of intent to apply should be submitted by December 18, 2008.

All applicants should register online with Grants.gov by January 6, 2009. 

All applications are due by 8:00 p.m. e.t. on January 15, 2009.

(See ―Deadline For Applications,‖ page 4)

Contact Information 

For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact OVW at (202) 307-6026. 

This application must be submitted through Grants.gov. For technical assistance with 

submitting the application, call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 1-800-518-4726. 

Grants.gov Number assigned to announcement OVW-2009-1927
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CONTENTS 

Overview of OVW Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders 

Program p.3 

Deadline: Letter of Intent p.4 

Deadline: Registration p.4 

Deadline: Application p.4 

Eligibility p.4 

 Faith-Based and Other Community Organizations p.7 

OVW Arrest Program Specific Information p.8 

 Types of Applicants p.8 

 Availability of Funds p.8 

 Award Period p.8 

 Award Amounts p.8 

 Program Scope p.9 

 

Performance Measures p.13

How to Apply p.13 

What An Application Must Include p.14

 Standard Form 424 p.14

 Standard Assurances and Certifications p.15

 Narrative p.15

 Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative p.19

 Budget Caps p.19

 Budget Requirements p.20

 MOU p.21

 Letter of Nonsupplanting p.22

 Financial Capability Questionnaire p.22

 Indirect Cost Rate Agreement p.22

Selection Criteria p.22 

 

Review Process p.24 

Additional Requirements p.25 

Application Checklist p.25

 
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OVW Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and 

Enforcement of Protection Orders Program

(CFDA # 16.590) 

Overview 

About the Office on Violence Against Women 

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a component of the United States Department 

of Justice (DOJ). Created in 1995, OVW implements the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 

and subsequent legislation and provides national leadership against domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault and stalking. Since its inception, OVW has launched a multifaceted 

approach to responding to these crimes. By forging State, local and tribal partnerships among 

police, prosecutors, the judiciary, victim advocates, health care providers, faith leaders, and 

others, OVW grants help provide victims with the protection and services they need to pursue 

safe and healthy lives and enable communities to hold offenders accountable. 

About the OVW Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection 

Orders Program 

The Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program 

(hereinafter referred to as the Arrest Program) recognizes that domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault and stalking1

are crimes that require the criminal justice system to hold 

offenders accountable for their actions through investigation, arrest, and prosecution of violent 

offenders, and through close judicial scrutiny and management of offender behavior. 

At each juncture in the criminal justice process, concerns for victim safety should guide the 

actions of all partners in the system. Criminal justice agencies must collaborate among 

themselves and in meaningful partnership with nonprofit, nongovernmental sexual assault and 

domestic violence programs, including local shelters, rape crisis centers, victim service 

organizations and domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, to ensure that victim safety 

is a paramount consideration in the development of any strategy to address these crimes. 

Additionally, representatives from criminal justice agencies working to prevent and reduce 

domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking must have a clear understanding 

of the roles of governmental and nongovernmental victim assistance programs. 

This discretionary grant program is designed to encourage state, local, and tribal governments 

and state, local, and tribal courts to treat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and 

stalking as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire 

criminal justice system. This program challenges the entire community to listen, communicate, 

identify problems, and share ideas that will result in new responses to ensure victim safety and 

offender accountability. 

Please read the Arrest Program Solicitation in its entirety before beginning your 

application. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete 

and that all eligibility requirements have been met at the time of application submission. OVW 

will remove an application from consideration, prior to peer review, if the application is 

incomplete. Final award decisions are not appealable. 

 

1

 The terms domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking are defined in 42 U.S.C. § 13925 (a), 

which can be found on the Office on Violence Against Women website at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/ovw-fs.htm. 
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Deadline: Letter of Intent

All applicants who intend to apply for FY 2009 funding under this program are encouraged to 

submit a non-binding letter of intent to OVW’s Director by December 18, 2008. Applicants 

may send the letter to OVW at ovw.arrest@usdoj.gov. For a sample letter, please see 

http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm. OVW will use these letters to forecast the number of 

peer review panels needed to review competitive applications. 

Deadline: Registration 

The Grants.gov registration deadline is January 6, 2009. Registering with Grants.gov is a onetime process; however, if an applicant is a first-time registrant, it could take up to five business 

days to have the registration validated and confirmed and to receive the user password. OVW 

strongly recommends that applicants start the registration process as early as possible to 

prevent delays in submitting their application package to OVW by the deadline specified. There 

are three steps that applicants must complete before they are able to register: 1) register with 

Central Contractor Registry (CCR), 2) be authorized as an Authorized Grantee/Recipient Official 

(AGO) in the organization, and 3) register as an AGO. For more information, go to 

www.Grants.gov. Note: The CCR registration must be renewed once a year. Failure to 

renew the CCR registration will prohibit submission of a grant application through 

Grants.gov. 

Deadline: Application 

The due date for applying for funding under this announcement is 8:00 p.m. e.t. on January 15, 

2009. In addition, applicants must send a hard copy via an overnight delivery method, dated by 

January 15, 2009. See page 25 for further instructions on this. 

Eligibility 

It is very important that applicants review this information carefully. Applications that 

are submitted by non-eligible entities will be removed from further consideration during 

an initial review process. 

By statute, eligible entities for this program are:

 States2; 

 Units of local government3; 

 Indian tribal governments; and 

 State, tribal, territorial, and local courts (including juvenile courts). 

 

2

 As defined in 42 U.S.C. § 13925, ―State‖ means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana 

Islands. 

3

 As defined in 42 U.S.C. § 3791, ―unit of local government‖ includes any law enforcement district or 

judicial enforcement district that is established under applicable State law and has the authority to, in a 

manner of independent of other State entities, establish a budget and impose taxes. 
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For the purpose of this Program, a unit of local government is any city, county, township, 

town, borough, parish, village, or other general-purpose political subdivision of a State; an 

Indian tribe that performs law enforcement functions as determined by the Secretary of Interior; 

or, for the purpose of assistance eligibility, any agency of the District of Columbia government or 

the United States Government performing law enforcement functions in and for the District of 

Columbia, or any Trust Territory of the United States. 

Non-eligible entities generally include, but are not limited to: 

 

 Police departments; 

 Pre-trial service agencies; 

 District or city attorneys’ offices; 

 Sheriffs’ departments; 

 Probation and parole departments; 

 Shelters; 

 Nonprofit, nongovernmental victim service agencies; and 

 Universities. 

The above entities are typically not units of local government for the purposes of this grant 

unless they meet the ―unit of local government‖ definition provided in 42 U.S.C. § 3791 (see 

footnote three above). Applications from typically ―non-eligible‖ entities that want to assert ―unit 

of local government‖ status under 42 U.S.C. § 3791 must include proof of such status. The

aforementioned agencies or organizations are not eligible to apply directly for funding, but may 

assume responsibility for the development and implementation of the project. However, they 

must apply through a State; state, local, territorial or tribal court; Indian tribal government; or a 

unit of local government. Nonprofit, nongovernmental victim service agencies may include faithbased or community organizations. 

Notice to Tribal Applicants 

The Violence Against Women and the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 

(VAWA 2005) created a new program, the Grants to Indian Tribal Governments Program, 

tailored to the needs of tribal governments in responding to domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault, and stalking. This program combines the purpose areas from several existing 

programs including this one. While tribal governments are still eligible applicants within the 

Arrest Program, there is no longer a tribal set-aside within the Arrest Program. VAWA 2005 

requires funds set-aside for tribal governments to be transferred to the new tribal program. 

Tribes will no longer need to submit several applications for multiple purposes. They will now 

be able to apply for all of the purpose areas within one application through the new program. 

The FY 2009 solicitation for the Grants to Tribal Governments Program is expected to be 

available in January 2009. Notwithstanding the new grant program, all eligible applications from 

Indian Tribal governments submitted under this solicitation will be considered for funding. 

Certification of Eligibility

According to 42 U.S.C. § 3796hh(c), to be eligible to receive funding through this Program, 

applicants must:

 

 (1) certify that their laws or official policies–

(A) encourage or mandate arrests of domestic violence offenders based on 

probable cause that an offense has been committed; and 
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(B) encourage or mandate arrest of domestic violence offenders who violate the 

terms of a valid and outstanding protection order; 

 (2) demonstrate that their laws, policies, or practices and their training programs 

discourage dual arrests of offender and victim; 

 (3) certify that their laws, policies, or practices prohibit issuance of mutual restraining 

orders of protection except in cases where both spouses file a claim and the court makes 

detailed findings of fact indicating that both spouses acted primarily as aggressors and that 

neither spouse acted primarily in self-defense; and 

 (4) certify that their laws, policies, and practices do not require, in connection with the 

prosecution of any misdemeanor or felony domestic violence offense, or in connection with the 

filing, issuance, registration, or service of a protection order, or a petition for a protection order, 

to protect a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault, that the 

victim bear the costs associated with the filing of criminal charges against the offender, or the 

costs associated with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a warrant, protection order, 

petition for a protection order, or witness subpoena, whether issued inside or outside the State, 

tribal or local jurisdiction; and 

 (5) certify that their laws, policies, or practices ensure that—

(A) no law enforcement officer, prosecuting officer or other government official shall 

ask or require an adult, youth, or child victim of a sex offense as defined under 

Federal, tribal, State, territorial, or local law to submit to a polygraph examination or 

other truth telling device as a condition for proceeding with the investigation of such 

an offense; and

(B) the refusal of a victim to submit to an examination described in subparagraph (A) 

shall not prevent the investigation of the offense. 

By statute, 42 U.S.C. § 3796hh-1(a)(1), all applications must include a certification by the chief 

executive officer of the State, Indian tribal government or local government entity that 

conditions listed above are met or will be met by the statutory deadline. Current grantees that 

do not meet all eligibility requirements at the time of application will not be considered 

for funding. All other applicants have until the end of their next legislative session to 

fulfill the certification provisions. 

In addition to the certifications listed above, under 42 U.S.C. § 3796hh(d), all State and units of 

local government which receive Arrest Program funding shall not be entitled to 5 percent of their 

total funds allocated under their Arrest Program grant unless the State or unit of local 

government: 

(1) certifies that it has a law or regulation that requires: 

(A) The State or unit of local government at the request of a victim to 

 administer to a defendant, against whom an information or 

 indictment is presented for a crime in which by force or threat of force 

 the perpetrator compels the victim to engage in sexual activity, 

 testing for the immunodeficiency virus (HIV) not later than 48 hours 

 after the date on which the information or indictment is presented; 

 (B) as soon as practicable notification of the victim, or parent and 

 guardian of the victim, and defendant of the testing results; and 

 (C) follow-up tests for HIV as may be medically appropriate, and that as 

 soon as practicable after each such test the results be made 

 available in accordance with subparagraph (B); or

 (2) gives the Attorney General assurances that its laws and regulations will 
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be in compliance with requirements of paragraph (1) by the period ending on the date on 

which the next session of the State legislature ends. 

A Special Condition will be added to all Arrest Program grants to States and units of 

local government that are funded in Federal Fiscal Year 2009 to ensure compliance with 

the new certification listed above. It is not necessary to address this in your certification 

letter signed by your Authorizing Official; however you may do so if you are already 

compliant. 

Submission of State, tribal and/or local statutes, laws and policies in lieu of a letter with 

proper certifications signed by the chief executive officer will not satisfy these statutory 

requirements. Applicants will not be contacted by OVW to correct certification letters. 

Sample Letters of Certification of Eligibility and quick tips for completing the Certification of 

Eligibility are included in Appendix B. Please review carefully the letter to be included prior to 

the completion and submission of the application. 

Funding to Faith-Based and Community Organizations 

Consistent with President George W. Bush's Executive Order 13279, dated December 12, 

2002, and 28 C.F.R. Part 38, it is DOJ policy that faith-based and community organizations that 

statutorily qualify as eligible applicants under DOJ programs are invited and encouraged to 

apply for assistance awards to fund eligible grant activities. Faith-based and community 

organizations will be considered for awards on the same basis as other eligible applicants and, 

if they receive assistance awards, will be treated on an equal basis with all other grantees in the 

administration of such awards. No eligible applicant or grantee will be discriminated for or 

against on the basis of its religious character or affiliation, religious name, or the religious 

composition of its board of directors or persons working in the organization. 

Faith-based organizations receiving DOJ assistance awards retain their independence and do 

not lose or have to modify their religious identity (e.g., removing religious symbols) to receive 

assistance awards. DOJ grant funds, however, may not be used to fund any inherently religious 

activity, such as prayer or worship. Inherently religious activity is permissible, although it cannot 

occur during an activity funded with DOJ grant funds; rather, such religious activity must be 

separate in time or place from the DOJ-funded program. Further, participation in such activity 

by individuals receiving services must be voluntary. Programs funded by DOJ are not permitted 

to discriminate in the provision of services on the basis of a beneficiary’s religion.

If the applicant organization is a faith-based organization that makes hiring decisions on the 

basis of religious belief, it may be entitled, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 

42 U.S.C. § 2000bb, to receive Federal funds and yet maintain that hiring practice, even if the 

law creating the funding program contains a general ban on religious discrimination in 

employment. For the circumstances under which this may occur, and the certifications that may 

be required, please see http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/other_requirements.htm. 

Applicants are encouraged to review the Civil Rights Compliance section at 

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/other_requirements.htm. 
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OVW Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement 

of Protection Orders Program – Specific Information 

Types of Applicants 

In Federal Fiscal Year 2009, OVW will accept applications for the Arrest Program from current 

grantees and new applicants. 

New applicants include applicants who are not currently receiving funds through the Arrest 

Program and current grantees whose projects will expire on or before the Federal Fiscal Year 

2009 Arrest Program application due date of January 15, 2009. 

Current grantees include States, state, local and tribal courts, Indian tribal governments or 

units of local government that are currently implementing awards under the Arrest Program and 

whose grant award period ends after the Federal Fiscal Year 2009 Arrest Program application 

due date of January 15, 2009. Current grantees are eligible to apply for continuation or 

supplemental funding to support on-going activities or to enhance their project for an extended 

period of time. OVW has the discretion to make a supplemental or new award to a current 

grantee based on the project end date of the current award. For instance, funding under this 

solicitation may not be available before August 1, 2009. If selected for funding, a current 

grantee whose grant funds will be fully expended by April 1, 2009 may receive a new rather 

than a supplemental award. Applicants who may fall into this category should mention this in 

their application under the ―status of the current project‖ section of the application. Current 

grantees who received new or supplemental funding for 24 months in Federal Fiscal Year 2008 

are not eligible to apply. Current grantees should note that continuation or supplemental 

funding is not guaranteed. All applications will be subject to internal review by OVW staff and 

external peer review and will be scored according to the criteria set forth in this solicitation. 

Applications with the highest composite scores will be eligible to be considered for funding. 

Availability of Funds 

All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any modifications or 

additional requirements that may be imposed by law.

Award Period 

The award period for these grants will be 24 months All budgets must reflect 24 months of 

project activity, and the total “estimated funding” (block 15) on the SF-424 must reflect 

24 months.

Award Amounts 

Applicants should carefully consider the resources needed to successfully implement the project 

proposed and present a realistic budget that accurately reflects project activities and costs. 

Arrest Program funds for Federal Fiscal Year 2009 will be awarded based on the following 

guidelines: 

Budget caps will be considered based on the following service area population formula: 

 Service Area Population* Budget Cap

 Up to 500,000 $ 400,000 

 500,001 to 900,000 $ 750,000 

 Over 900,000 $1,000,000 
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*Applications should include a service area map identifying the area to be served. 

Notwithstanding the aforementioned budgetary caps, OVW may negotiate the scope of work 

with applicants and adjust budgets accordingly prior to granting an award. Additionally, OVW 

may remove from further consideration applications that exceed the solicitation’s budgetary 

caps. Continuation grant award amounts may also be reduced to reflect the spending pattern 

on the applicant’s prior awards. 

Program Scope

The scope of the Arrest Program is defined by the following statutory program purpose areas 

and program priority areas. Proposed projects must implement activities consistent with the 

statutory program purpose areas. Applicants are reminded that any activities, whether they are 

domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking related, must fall within one of the 

following purpose areas. 

During the OVW internal review, applications that are partially out of scope will receive up to a 

25-point deduction. Applications that propose projects that are substantially outside the 

scope of the Arrest Program statutory purpose areas will be disqualified from further 

funding consideration. 

Statutory Program Purposes

By statute, funds under the Arrest Program may be used for the following purposes: 

 Implement pro-arrest programs and policies in police departments, including policies for 

protection order violations; 

 Develop policies, educational programs, protection order registries, and training in police 

departments to improve tracking of cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault and stalking. Policies, educational programs, protection order registries, 

and training described in the application shall incorporate confidentiality, and privacy 

protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking; 

 Centralize and coordinate police enforcement, prosecution, or judicial responsibility for 

domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking cases in teams or units 

of police officers, prosecutors, parole and probation officers, or judges; 

 Coordinate computer tracking systems to ensure communication between police, 

prosecutors, parole and probation officers, and both criminal and family courts; 

 Strengthen legal advocacy service programs for victims of domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault and stalking, including strengthening assistance to such victims 

in immigration matters; 

 Educate judges in criminal and civil courts (including juvenile courts) about domestic 

violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking and improve judicial handling of 

such cases; 
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 Provide technical assistance and computer and other equipment to police departments, 

prosecutors, courts, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the widespread enforcement of 

protection orders, including interstate enforcement, enforcement between States and 

tribal jurisdictions, and enforcement between tribal jurisdictions; 

 Develop or strengthen policies and training for police, prosecutors, and the judiciary in 

recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of domestic violence and sexual 

assault against older individuals4 and individuals with disabilities;5

 Develop State, tribal, territorial, or local policies, procedures, and protocols for 

preventing dual arrests and prosecutions in cases of domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault and stalking, and develop effective methods for identifying the pattern 

and history of abuse that indicates which party is the actual perpetrator of abuse; 

 Plan, develop and establish comprehensive victim service and support centers, such as 

family justice centers, designed to bring together victim advocates from non-profit, nongovernmental victim services organizations, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, 

probation officers, governmental victim assistants, forensic medical professionals, civil 

legal attorneys, chaplains, legal advocates, representatives from community-based 

organizations and other relevant public or private agencies or organizations into one 

centralized location, in order to improve safety, access to services, and confidentiality for 

victims and families. Although funds may be used to support co-location of project 

partners under this purpose area, funds may not support construction or major 

renovation expenses or activities that fall outside of the scope of the other 

statutory purpose areas; 

 Develop and implement policies and training for police, prosecutors, probation, and 

parole officers, and the judiciary in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances 

of sexual assault, with an emphasis on recognizing the threat to the community for 

repeat crime perpetration by such individuals;

 Develop, enhance and maintain protection order registries. Please note that funds can 

not be used to create sex offender registries; and 

 Develop human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing programs for sexual assault 

perpetrators and notification and counseling protocols6

. 

Program Priority Areas

By statute, 42 U.S.C. §3796hh-1(b), priority will be given to applicants that: 

 Do not currently provide for centralized handling of cases involving domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault and stalking by police, prosecutors, and courts; 

 

4

 As defined in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 3002). 

5

 As defined in section 3(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)).

6

 Applicants wishing to address this purpose area must do so in conjunction with one of the other 

purpose areas listed above. Proposals focusing only on this purpose area may be removed from 

consideration. 
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 Demonstrate a commitment to strong enforcement of laws, and prosecution of cases, 

involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking including the 

enforcement of protection orders from other States and jurisdictions (including tribal 

jurisdictions); 

 Have established cooperative agreements or can demonstrate effective ongoing 

collaborative arrangements with neighboring jurisdictions to facilitate the enforcement of 

protection orders from other States and jurisdictions, including tribal jurisdictions; and 

 Intend to utilize grant funds to develop and install data collection and communication 

systems, including computerized systems, and training on how to use these systems 

effectively to link police, prosecutors, courts and tribal jurisdictions for the purpose of 

identifying and tracking protection orders and violations of protection orders, in those 

jurisdictions where such systems do not exist or are not fully effective. 

Also, OVW has an interest in projects that: 

 Develop Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART) and support Sexual Assault Nurse 

Examiners (SANE/SAFE) to actively respond to sexual assault victims; 

 Involve faith-based and/or community-driven initiatives to address violence against 

women among diverse and traditionally underserved populations. If this interest area is 

included in your application, you must illustrate capacity and expertise in the budget and 

MOU sections; 

 Develop innovative programs to improve judicial handling of domestic violence, sexual 

assault, or dating violence cases (e.g., specialized courts or dockets for domestic 

violence cases, enhanced judicial monitoring of domestic violence offenders, or the 

creation or enhancement of technology to provide prosecutors and judge’s access to 

case information on prior arrests);

 Develop a specialized unit to provide intense supervision and monitoring of domestic 

violence and sexual assault offenders. This must include a team member from the nonprofit entity. 

Program Guidelines

Applicants should also consider the following guidelines in response to this Solicitation: 

Direct Legal Representation

Grant funds may not be used to provide legal representation in civil and criminal matters, such 

as family law cases (divorce, custody, visitation and child support), housing cases, consumer 

law cases and others. Grant funds may be used to provide legal representation to victims of 

domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking only in the limited context of 

protection order proceedings. 

Prevention Activities 

All applicants addressing prevention activities (e.g., implementation of educational programs 

regarding domestic violence or dating violence intervention and public awareness campaigns) 

will be considered out of scope and removed from consideration of funding. Grantees are only 
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permitted to engage in outreach activities to inform potential victims about the availability of 

services.

Family Violence

Grant funds may not be used to directly address child abuse, or other family violence issues 

such as violence perpetrated by a child against a parent, or violence perpetrated by a sibling 

against another sibling. 

Children 

Applicants may not use grant funds to provide direct services to children, including children who 

are witnesses or victims of violence, except where such services are an ancillary part of 

providing services to the child’s parent who is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault or stalking (such as providing child care services while the victim receives 

services). In addition, funds may not be used to investigate or prosecute child abuse or 

child sexual abuse cases.

Activities That May Compromise Victim Safety

Ensuring victim safety is a guiding principle underlying this Program. Experience has shown 

that certain practices may compromise victim safety rather than enhance it. Certain responses 

by the authorities may have the effect of minimizing or trivializing the offender’s criminal 

behavior. Accordingly, consistent with the goals of ensuring victim safety while holding 

perpetrators accountable for their criminal conduct, applicants are strongly discouraged from 

proposing projects that include any activities that may compromise victim safety, such as the 

following: 

 Automatic pre-trial diversion programs; 

 Mediation or counseling for couples as a systemic response to domestic violence; 

 Operating domestic violence batterer intervention programs that are not court-ordered or 

court-monitored; 

 Utilizing anger management classes instead of batterer intervention programs; 

 Requiring victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking to file for a 

protection order or file criminal charges against their abuser as a condition of receiving 

services; 

 Using practices or procedures that fail to protect the confidentiality of victims; 

 Referring victims to Child Protection Services solely for failure to protect their minor child 

when witnessing domestic violence; and 

 Procedures that would penalize victims of violence for failure to testify against their abusers 

or impose other sanctions on victims. Rather, procedures that provide victims with the 

opportunity to make an informed choice about whether to testify are encouraged. 

Unallowable Activities

Grant funds under the Arrest Program may not be used for any unauthorized purposes, 

including but not limited to the following activities: 

 Lobbying; 

 Fundraising; 

 Research projects; 

 Prevention and public awareness; and 

 Physical modifications to buildings including minor renovations. 
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Performance Measures

To assist in fulfilling DOJ’s responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act 

(GPRA), Pub. L. No. 103-62, applicants who receive funding under this solicitation must provide 

data that measures the results of their work. Performance measures for this solicitation are as 

follows: 

Objective Performance 

Measures

Data Grantee Provides

Strengthen 

partnerships for 

safer communities 

and enhance the 

Nation’s capacity 

to prevent, solve, 

and control crime

1) the number and percentage 

of arrests relative to the 

number of police responses to 

domestic violence incidents;

2) the number of protection 

orders issued; and 

3) the number of victim 

advocates supported by grant 

funding.

This information will be provided to 

OVW through semi-annual progress 

report forms. Please see 

http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/vawamei

/attachments/pdf/forms/gtea/GMS_Arr

est_form_2008Sample.pdf for a 

sample form.

How to Apply 

DOJ is participating in the e-Government initiative, one of 25 initiatives included in the 

President’s Management Agenda. Part of this initiative – Grants.gov – is a ―one-stop storefront‖ 

that provides a unified process for all customers of Federal grants to find funding opportunities 

and apply for funding. 

Grants.gov Instructions 

Complete instructions can be found at www.Grants.gov. Please note that Grants.gov is not the 

Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Grants Management System (GMS) through which OVW 

applicants have submitted applications in previous years. If applicants experience difficulties at 

any point during this process, they may call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 1-800-

518-4726. 

Note: Grants.gov does not support the Microsoft Vista Operating system. The PureEdge 

software used by Grants.gov for forms is not compatible with Vista. Also, Grants.gov cannot yet 

process Microsoft Word 2007 documents saved in the new default format with the extension 

".DOCX." Please ensure the document is saved using "Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)" 

format. 

Note: The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Grants Management System (GMS) does not 

accept executable file types as application attachments. GMS downloads applications from 

Grants.gov and is the system in which OVW reviews applications and manages awarded grants. 

These disallowed file types include, but are not limited to, the following extensions: 

".com",".bat",".exe", ".vbs",".cfg",".dat", ".db",".dbf",".dll", ".ini",".log",".ora", ".sys", and ".zip". 
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In addition, applicants must send via overnight delivery a complete hard copy of the original 

application, dated by January 15, 2009 to: 

The Office on Violence Against Women 

c/o Lockheed Martin Corporation 

OVW Arrest Program 

Mail Stop 2K 

2277 Research Boulevard 

Rockville, MD 20850 

(301) 519-5000

Certain assurances are agreed to electronically on Grants.gov. These do not need to be 

included in the hard copy submitted for consideration. 

CFDA Number

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program is 16.590, titled ―Grants to 

Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program,‖ and the funding 

opportunity number is OVW-2009-1927. 

A DUNS number is required 

The Office of Management and Budget requires that all business and nonprofit applicants for 

Federal funds include a DUNS (Data Universal Numeric System) number in their application for 

a new award or renewal of an award. Applications without a DUNS number are incomplete. A 

DUNS number is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for 

identifying and keeping track of entities receiving Federal funds. The identifier is used for 

tracking purposes and to validate address and point of contact information. The DUNS number 

will be used throughout the grant life cycle. Obtaining a DUNS number is a free, simple, onetime activity. Obtain one by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by applying online at 

https://eupdate.dnb.com/requestoptions.asp?cm_re=HomepageB*TopNav*DUNSNumberTab. 

Individuals are exempt from this requirement. 

What an Application Must Include 

Applicants must complete each of the following sections as part of their response to this 

solicitation. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is 

complete. OVW will remove an application from further consideration prior to peer 

review if the application is incomplete. For each section listed below, please note the 

corresponding maximum point value that may be assigned during the review process. The 

proposal should follow the order below for easy reading. Please be sure to number each 

page of the application. Peer reviewers will not receive materials submitted beyond those 

required by this solicitation. 

Applications must use the following page format requirements: 

 Double spaced 

 81⁄2 x 11 inch paper 

 One inch margins 

 Type no smaller than 12 point, Times New Roman font 

 No more than two pages each for Summary Data Sheet and Abstract 

 No more than 5 pages for Status of the Project (if applicable) 

 No more than 20 pages for the Program Narrative (Items D through G below) 
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Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

The SF-424 will be filled out online through Grants.gov. However, it should also be printed out 

and included in the hard copy that is submitted for consideration. The Catalog of Federal 

Domestic Assistance number for this program is 16.590 (block 10). Please be sure that the 

Federal amount requested on the SF-424 matches the amount in the submitted budget. Also, in 

block 7 (Type of Applicant), please do not select ―other.‖

Applicants must ensure that the contact information for the authorizing official and alternate 

contact is filled out correctly. The authorizing official is an individual authorized to accept grant 

funds on behalf of the jurisdiction or nongovernmental private entity applying. Please do not 

type in all capital letters. 

Standard Assurances and Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension, 

and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (Form 4061/6)

Review the assurances and certification forms. To successfully submit an application, 

applicants must agree to all of these assurances and certifications without exception. 

Agreement to these assurances and certifications will be assumed upon receipt of an 

application received through Grants.gov. 

OMB Tracking Form “Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for Applicants” (DOJ Form 

560) All OVW applicants that are nonprofit private organizations are requested to fill out DOJ 

Form 560. This form will assist DOJ in ensuring that all qualified applicants, small or large, nonreligious or faith-based, be provided equal opportunity to compete for Federal funding. This 

form will be completed online through Grants.gov. You should not print it out for the hard 

copy original. 

Narrative (Total 65 Points) 

The following narrative will be submitted as an attachment in Grants.gov. Note that the 

Program Narrative (Items D through G below) may not exceed 20 pages in total. 

A. Summary Data Sheet 

Please identify the following:

 Name, title, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address for the 

authorized official and point of contact; 

 A list of other Federal grant programs from which the applicant agency currently 

receives funding or for which it has applied in Federal Fiscal Year 2009; 

 Current grantees applying for continuation funding must provide the balance 

remaining in the grant as of the date of the application and the original award 

amount; 

 The agency and type of agency (i.e., local government, state government, tribal 

 government, state, or local court) applying for funding; 

 The nonprofit, non-governmental victim services program collaborating on this 

project; 

 Whether this is a new or continuation application; 

 Whether this project is a local, tribal, multi-jurisdiction (involving 10 or more 

counties), statewide, regional (multiple states), tribal consortium, or court project; 
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 The regional area(s) (city, town, tribal area, county, parish) where this project will be 

implemented; and 

 The Arrest Program Statutory Purpose Areas and Priority Areas, if any, addressed 

by this proposal. Applicants are not required to address a Priority Area. 

B. Abstract/Proposal Summary 

The proposal abstract, when read separately from the rest of the application, is meant to 

serve as a succinct and accurate description of the proposed project and should 

concisely describe proposed project goals and objectives. Summaries of past 

accomplishments should be avoided in the abstract. 

C. Status of the Current Project 

Only applicants for continuation funding need to complete this section. 

Applications that do not meet the criteria below may receive a deduction in points. 

This section should be provided on a separate page as it is a separate section from the 

program narrative and does not count toward the page limits of the narrative. State what 

has been accomplished with previous funding under the Arrest Program, including the 

following: 

 A description of the goals and objectives from the prior grant period and a brief 

discussion of the status of the existing project; 

 The status of any project products; 

 Any unanticipated obstacles to project implementation; 

 The approximate unobligated amount of award funds remaining as of January 15, 

2009, the anticipated timeline for expenditure of all remaining funds within the grant 

award period, whether the grantee anticipates requesting a no-cost extension of the 

award, and the likely timeline for such a request; 

 A description of the grantee’s efforts to sustain part or all of the current project 

without Federal funds; and 

 A list of all OVW-sponsored technical assistance events attended during the most 

recent project period of the current award, including the title, location and date(s) of 

each. 

This section should be as clear and succinct as possible. 

Additionally, current projects will be rated by OVW using the following criteria: 

 Whether progress reports submitted by the applicant, in conjunction with monitoring 

conducted by OVW, demonstrate the effectiveness of the current project, indicating 

progress toward meeting project goals and objectives, and demonstrate that the 

current project has progressed in a timely manner as outlined in the original 

proposal; 

 Whether the grantee has demonstrated that past activities supported with Arrest 

Program funds have been limited to program Purpose Areas; 

 Whether the grantee has complied with all special conditions of its existing grant 

award from OVW; 

 Whether the grantee has adhered to programmatic and financial reporting 

requirements; 
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 Whether the grantee has demonstrated a commitment to sustaining the project after 

Federal funds are no longer available; 

 Whether the grantee has closed prior awards in a timely manner; 

 Whether the grantee appropriately utilized and actively participated in OVWsponsored workshops and other technical assistance events as required by a special 

condition of the current award; 

 Whether the grantee has received financial clearances on all current grants from 

DOJ; 

 Whether the grantee has complied with the Office of Management and Budget audit 

requirement; 

 Whether grant funds have been spent in a timely manner. 

Applicants that currently receive funding under other OVW programs will also be 

evaluated for their performance under those programs. 

Note: applicants with an OVW grant history that failed to meet grant deadlines, did 

not comply with financial requirements, or did not comply with special conditions 

from previous grants may not be considered for funding. 

D. Purpose of Application (10 points) 

 This section should briefly: 

 Describe the problem to be addressed and how funding would alleviate it; 

 Describe the community's service area in which the project would be implemented, 

including location, population, and demographic information; 

 Identify the target population and state how the target population would benefit from 

the proposed project (please use current demographic information for the service 

area in order to be as specific and detailed as possible when describing the 

population to be served); 

 Describe current services and gaps; 

 Describe how the proposed project complements the State’s STOP Violence Against 

Women Implementation Plan; and 

 If the applicant has applied or is applying for multiple OVW grants, describe how this 

project compliments such other projects without duplicating efforts. 

E. What Will Be Done (40 points) 

 This section should briefly: 

 Detail the project goals and objectives, describing the specific tasks and activities 

necessary to accomplish each; 

 Include a time frame that demonstrates how the activities will be accomplished within 

the 24 month grant cycle; 

 Describe how additional funding will enhance any existing projects;

 Describe tangible products that will be generated (e.g., a video, a brochure, a 

curriculum and how they could be used to assist other jurisdictions that wish to 

implement mandatory or pro-arrest policies to address domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault or stalking). Products are not required; not all jurisdictions 

would benefit from developing new products 
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In addition, if applicants are proposing to use any technology (including, but not limited 

to, security systems, GPS, hotlines, and databases) they should explain how they plan 

to address any victim safety concerns that may arise from the use of the technology, 

such as confidentiality, safety planning, and informed consent. 

F. Who Will Implement the Project (10 points) 

Applicants must identify the agency(ies) or office(s) responsible for implementing the 

project. Applicants must also identify all of the intended project partners, specifying their 

respective roles and responsibilities, and the collaborative relationship to be developed 

or enhanced. A description of the expertise or experience of key staff should also be 

included. Position descriptions and resumes that are available should be appended to 

the application. Applicants under this program may not issue a Solicitation/RFP

redistributing these funds after receiving an award.

In addition, all applicants are required to enter into a formal collaboration with nonprofit, 

nongovernmental organizations serving victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault, and/or stalking. This may include faith-based or community 

organizations. Nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, or stalking victim service organizations must be involved in the development 

and implementation of the project. 

Victim service organizations should meet all of the following criteria: 

 Provide services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

and/or stalking as one of their primary purposes and have demonstrated history of 

effective work concerning such issues; 

 Address a demonstrated need in their communities by providing services that create 

options for victims seeking accountability and safety from perpetrator violence, 

promote the dignity and self sufficiency of victims, and improve their access to 

resources; and 

 Avoid activities that compromise victim safety. 

In developing an application for the Arrest Program, applicants are encouraged to 

consider some important distinctions among the following: 

 Victim assistants who work for government agencies (e.g., the police department or 

 the district or city attorney’s office); 

 Victim advocates who represent nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking programs (e.g., shelters, rape crisis 

centers, advocacy groups or coalitions); and

 Legal representatives and advocates (e.g., students from law school clinics, 

paralegals, attorneys working for legal service agencies or independent attorneys). 

While there is an important role for all victim advocates to play in the creation of a 

coordinated community response/multidisciplinary response to domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault, and stalking, the participation of nonprofit nongovernmental 

domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking programs, whether faithbased or community organizations, is required in development and implementation of 
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the project. This does not preclude applicants from requesting support for government 

agency victim services, but the budget and budget narrative must distinguish between 

the two and should include compensation for the contributions of nonprofit, victim service 

agencies. In addition, if funding is requested for both governmental and victim 

assistance and advocacy, the project narrative must explain how these different entities 

will collaborate. 

Victim service providers can provide varying degrees of confidentiality, often depending 

on state, tribal, and Federal laws. This may affect what information about victims they 

can share with partners. Other partners may have legal limitations as well. Applicants 

should explain information sharing between partners, including how they will protect 

information that is confidential or privileged. 

G. Sustainability Plan (5 points) 

As this is a competitive, discretionary program, there is no guarantee of continuation 

funding. Applicants are required to include a plan describing their commitment and 

capacity to continue the project if Federal funding through the Arrest Program were no 

longer available. 

Note: Continuation or supplemental funding is not guaranteed and applicants are 

always encouraged to seek additional means of support to sustain their current 

projects. 

Budget Detail Worksheet and Narrative (Total 15 Points) 

Each application must include a detailed budget and budget narrative for the project. This will 

be submitted as an attachment in Grants.gov. The budget must be complete, reasonable, and 

cost-effective in relation to the proposed project. The budget should provide the basis for the 

computation of all project-related costs. It should cover the cost of all components of the 

project. There must be a clear link between the proposed activities and the proposed budget 

items. The budget should include only those activities, products, and resources that are 

necessary for project implementation and discussed in the project narrative. 

In developing the budget, applicants should fairly compensate all project partners for their 

participation in any project-related activities, including but not limited to, compensation for time 

and travel expenses to attend meetings or provide project development, training, and 

implementation. The budget must include compensation for all services rendered by project 

partners, including nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, and/or stalking victim services programs and State and tribal domestic violence and/or 

sexual assault coalitions. 

Budget Caps

Since funds are limited, applicants should carefully consider the resources needed to implement 

a community-wide project and present a realistic budget that accurately reflects the costs 

involved, for a 24-month budget. Current grantees should conduct a thorough assessment of 

their continuation needs. Budget caps will be considered based on the following service area 

population formula: 

 
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Service Area Population Budget Cap

 Up to 500,000 $ 400,000 

 500,001 to 900,000 $ 750,000 

 Over 900,000 $1,000,000 

Applications should include a service area map identifying the area to be served. 

OVW has the discretion to make grants for greater or lesser amounts than requested and 

to negotiate the scope of work and budget with applicants prior to award of a grant. 

Budget Requirements

The following is a short list of budgetary guidelines: 

 Applicants are strongly discouraged from requesting consultant rates in excess of $450 per 

day. 

 Applicants may not allocate any grant funds for building renovations. This includes such 

seemingly minor activities as painting or carpeting. 

 Applicants may not use any OVW funds for conducting research. However, up to 1% of the 

budget may be allocated for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of funded activities. 

For example, funds may be used to conduct pre- and post-testing of training recipients or 

victim satisfaction surveys. In conducting such testing or surveys, grantees may not collect, 

analyze, or disseminate any information identifiable to a private person during the course of 

assessing the effectiveness of funded activities. 

 A contribution of non-Federal dollars (―match‖) is not required for this program, but 

applicants are encouraged to maximize the impact of Federal dollars by contributing to the 

costs of their projects. Supplemental contributions may be cash, in-kind services, or a 

combination of both. Any non-Federal contributions can be discussed in the project 

narrative; however, these supplemental contributions should not be included in the budget 

or budget narrative. 

 Access to current research and practice on violence against women through training and 

technical assistance can reduce staff burnout, improve project performance, and impact 

project sustainability. Therefore, OVW offers a wide range of training and technical 

assistance opportunities to all of its grantees. These offerings are specifically designed to 

assist grantees in meeting their goals and objectives and in complying with all relevant 

statutory and programmatic requirements. All applicants are required to allocate funds in 

the amount of $15,000 for the project period for local, individual tribal projects, and state or 

local courts and $30,000 for the project period for statewide, multi-jurisdictional, regional and 

tribal consortium projects to support travel costs associated with technical assistance and 

capacity-building activities sponsored by OVW-designated technical assistance providers. 

Applications selected for funding that do not include the entire recommended amount will 

not receive additional funds for this purpose, but will be required to adjust their budgets to 

cover these costs prior to final approval of the proposal. If the person attending the 

technical assistance offering is an employee of the applicant, the amount should be included 

in the “Travel” category; if the attendee is a partner of the applicant, the amount should be 

included in the ―Consultants/Contracts‖ category. Be sure to label costs for this purpose as 
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―OVW Technical Assistance.‖ Please provide an estimated breakdown for this amount 

(include the number of trips, number of travelers, airfare or mileage, lodging, per diem, etc.). 

OVW technical assistance is provided free of charge to grantees, so applicants do not need 

to include funds for registration fees. These funds are to be used only for OVW-designated 

technical assistance unless otherwise approved by OVW. Any training and technical 

assistance funds not used by the end of the grant period may not be reprogrammed and 

must be returned to OVW. Travel funds should be used to support travel by all partners, 

including nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services providers. 

 Applicants are also encouraged to include funds in their budgets to attend Financial 

Management Training Seminars sponsored by the OJP’s Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer. These seminars instruct participants in the financial administration of OJP and OVW 

formula and discretionary grant programs. A schedule listing the financial training seminars 

is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/training/fmts_general.htm. 

 Applicants may not allocate any funds for the following unallowable costs: uniforms, 

weapons, automobiles, and security systems. 

 Applicants should include only salary and fringe costs for staff if they work directly for the 

eligible applicant in the ―Personnel‖ category. Otherwise, the salary and fringe benefits 

should be included in the ―Consultants/Contracts‖ category. 

A Sample Budget Detail Worksheet is available at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm. 

The budget and budget narrative should be submitted online as one attachment. When 

preparing these items, please use the Budget Detail Worksheet as a guide and be sure to 

include all necessary budget categories. The budget narrative should clearly describe the 

proposed amounts and uses of grant funds for the duration of the grant period and how the 

amounts of the specific budget items were determined. A sample of a completed budget is 

available at http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm. However, it is not specific to this program 

so be sure to pay attention to the requirements of this solicitation including budget caps, length 

of awards, and unallowable activities. 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (Total 20 points) 

Applicants are required to provide documentation that demonstrates they have consulted and 

coordinated in a meaningful way with nonprofit, private sexual assault and domestic violence 

programs. OVW requires this to be done by the submission of an MOU. 

Each applicant must include, as an attachment, a current (i.e., signed and dated during the 

development of the proposal) MOU created and signed by the chief executive officers and/or 

directors of: 

 Nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and/or 

stalking programs, or other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that adequately 

demonstrate history and expertise in working with victims of domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking. Additionally, the organization should appropriately 

correspond with the proposed project. For example, if an application focuses mainly on 

sexual assault, then the nonprofit partner should have demonstrated expertise in sexual 

assault. Applicants must illustrate this correlation in their MOUs. 

 Relevant criminal justice agencies participating in project development or implementation 

(e.g., law enforcement, prosecution, the courts and probation. 
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 Other community agencies or organizations that will collaborate to implement the project. 

Continuation applicants must develop a new MOU that reflects the continuation of project 

activities and include current dates and signatures from all relevant project partners. 

The MOU must do the following: 

 Identify the partners and provide a brief history of the collaborative relationship among those 

partners, including when and under what circumstances the relationship began and when 

each partner entered into the relationship; 

 Specify the extent of each partner’s participation in developing the application; 

 Clearly state the roles and responsibilities each organization or agency would assume to 

ensure the success of the proposed project; 

 Identify the representatives of the planning and development team who will be responsible 

for developing and implementing project activities and describe how they will work together 

and with project staff; 

 Demonstrate a commitment on the part of all project partners to work together to achieve 

stated project goals; 

 Indicate approval of the proposed project budget by all signing parties; and 

 Describe the resources each partner would contribute to the project, either through time, inkind contributions, or grant funds (e.g., office space, project staff, and training). 

In addition, OVW requires all grantees to complete a Semi-Annual Progress Report which may 

involve input from some or all project partners. In developing the MOU, applicants are 

encouraged to include a statement of the roles and responsibilities each organization would 

assume in meeting grant report requirements. For more information on these requirements, 

please refer to the section titled ―Performance Measurement‖ at page 13 

The MOU should be a single document that includes signatures and dates from all partners. 

Separate signature pages for partners are not acceptable. Signatories should be sure to 

include their titles and agencies under their signatures. A sample MOU is available at 

http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm. 

Letters of support may not be submitted in lieu of the MOU. 

Letter of Nonsupplanting

Applicants must submit a letter to OVW’s Director, certifying that Federal funds will not be used 

to supplant State or local funds should a grant award be made. Please refer to 

http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/applicants.htm for a sample letter. 

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement 

If the applicant organization is requesting indirect costs for this project, please include a copy of 

the organization’s current, signed indirect cost rate agreement. For additional information on 

this requirement, please visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/financialguide/part3/part3chap17.htm. 

Letter of Certification 

All applicants are required to certify to a list of conditions. The certification requirements can be 

found on pages 5-6 of the Solicitation. Two sample letters have also been included in the 

appendices. 
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Selection Criteria 

A. Purpose of the Application (10 points) 

 The impact of current or prior efforts to prevent and reduce domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking in the jurisdiction; 

 The need or continued need for the project; 

 The description of the community to be served, including diverse, traditionally, 

underserved populations of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

and stalking and how the proposed project will address their needs. This description 

should also include location, population, and demographic information. 

B. What Will be Done (40 points) 

 The extent to which all project activities fall within the statutory scope of the program; 

 The extent to which the proposal details the project goals and objectives, describing the 

specific tasks and activities necessary to accomplish each; 

 The extent to which activities seem feasible and are likely to succeed; 

 The extent to which proposed activities will enhance existing community projects; 

 The extent to which project activities can realistically be completed within the grant 

cycle; 

 The extent to which the proposal does not include activities that compromise victim 

safety; 

 The extent to which project activities are clearly described and reflect sound and/or 

innovative strategies to improve victim safety and offender accountability. 

C. Who Will Implement the Project (10 points) 

 The extent to which the proposal clearly identifies all project partners, specifies their 

 respective roles and responsibilities, and describes the collaborative relationship to 

 be developed; 

 The extent to which the proposal describes expertise or experience of key staff; and 

 The extent to which the applicant has collaborated with a nonprofit, nongovernmental 

organization serving victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. 

D. Sustainability Plan (5 points) 

 The extent to which the applicant proposes a feasible plan describing the 

 commitment and capacity to continue the project if federal funding through the Arrest 

 program were no longer available. 

E. Budget (15 points) 

 The extent to which the budget is complete, reasonable, and cost effective in relation 

 to the project and does not exceed the budget cap for service population; 

 The extent to which the budget reflects the 24 months of project activity and provides 

 basis of computation of all project-related costs; 

 The extent to which there is a clear link between proposed budget activities and 

 proposed budget items; 

 The extent to which all partners are fairly compensated for their participation in any 
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 project-related activities; and

 The extent to which the budget allocated funds to support travel costs associated 

 with technical assistance and capacity-building activities sponsored by OVW 

 technical assistance providers. 

F. Memorandum of Understanding (20 points) 

 The extent to which the MOU demonstrates a meaningful partnership among the 

 relevant agencies; 

In addition to the criteria above, all applications will be rated on the extent to which they provide 

all of the information set out in the solicitation and meet all of the criteria specified. In reviewing 

applications, reviewers will evaluate the application as a whole. 

Review Process 

All applications will be subject to internal review by OVW staff and peer review and will be 

scored according to the criteria set forth in this solicitation. If the application fails to meet the 

criteria listed below for the initial internal review, the application will not receive further 

consideration. If applications that are partially beyond the scope of the program are 

forwarded to external peer review, only those sections of the application that are within 

scope will be reviewed. Criteria for the initial internal review follow: 

 Whether the application is complete; 

 Whether the proposed activities are within the scope of the program (see page 9);

 Whether all statutory eligibility criteria are met (see page 4);

 Whether the certification requirements for the program are met (see page 5-7); 

 Whether the application proposes significant activities that may compromise victim safety 

(see page12); and

 Whether the proposed budget is within the established limits (see page 8).

In addition, applications will be reviewed for prior compliance with Program and Office 

requirements and the status of current grant-funded activities. (See page 16 for further details 

on criteria for this review.) Applicants with an OVW grant history that failed to meet grant 

deadlines, did not comply with financial requirements, or did not comply with special conditions 

from previous grants may not be considered for funding. 

OVW is committed to ensuring a competitive and standardized process for awarding 

grants. External peer reviewers will be reviewing the applications submitted under this 

solicitation. An external reviewer is an expert in the field of the subject matter of a given 

solicitation who is NOT a DOJ employee. Applications will be screened initially to determine 

whether the applicant meets all eligibility requirements. Only applications submitted by eligible 

applicants that meet all other requirements will be evaluated, scored, and rated by a peer review 

panel. Peer reviewers’ ratings and any resulting recommendations are advisory only. In 

addition to peer review ratings, considerations may include past performance, geographic 

distribution, regional balance, policy and statutory priorities, and available funding. 

After the peer review is finalized, a financial review of all potential discretionary awards and 

cooperative agreements is conducted to evaluate the fiscal integrity and financial capability of 

applicants; examine proposed costs to determine if the budget and budget narrative accurately 
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explain project costs; and determine whether costs are reasonable, necessary, and allowable 

under applicable Federal cost principles and agency regulations. 

All final grant award decisions will be made by the OVW Director, who may also give 

consideration to past performance, geographic distribution, regional balance, policy priorities, 

and funding availability when making awards. 

 

Additional Requirements 

 Civil Rights Compliance; 

 Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protections regulations; 

 Anti-Lobbying Act; 

 Financial and Government Audit Requirements; 

 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance; 

 DOJ Information Technology Standards; 

 Single Point of Contact Review; 

 Non-Supplanting of State or Local Funds; 

 Criminal Penalty for False Statements; 

 Compliance with OJP’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer Financial Guide;

 Suspension or Termination of Funding; 

 Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA); 

 Rights in Intellectual Property; and 

 Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006. 

We strongly encourage applicants to review the information pertaining to these additional 

requirements prior to submitting their applications. Additional information for each can be 

found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/other_requirements.htm. References to OJP and its 

components are deemed to refer to the OVW, as applicable. 
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OVW Application Checklist

Applicants must submit a fully executed application to OVW via overnight delivery, 

including all required supporting documentation. Applications will not be accepted via facsimile. 

Although most parts of the application need to be submitted through Grants.gov as well 

as in hard copy form, it is the hard copy that will be reviewed. Applications submitted via 

Grants.gov must be in the following word processing formats: Microsoft Word (.doc), PDF files 

(.pdf), or Text Documents (.txt). Please use logical titles when saving and uploading 

documents. For example, the narrative section of the application could be saved as 

―narrative.txt.‖ 

Complete applications should include the following: 

 The SF-424;

 Standard Assurances and Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and 

Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug Free Workplace Requirements; 

 The summary data sheet, project abstract, project narrative, and for continuation applicants, 

the status of the project; 

 The budget, budget summary, and budget narrative; 

 Letter of nonsupplanting; 

 An MOU ; 

 A current Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable); 

 Letter of Certification of Eligibility; and 

 A Jurisdiction – Service Area Map. 

Detailed instructions on how to use the Grants.gov system to submit applications online are 

available at www.Grants.gov. Also, a toll-free telephone number has been established for 

applicants to receive technical assistance as they work through the online application process, 

1-800-518-4726. 

To help expedite the review process, applicants must send via overnight delivery a complete 

hard copy original of the application, dated by January 15, 2009 to: 

The Office on Violence Against Women 

c/o Lockheed Martin Corporation 

OVW Arrest Program 

Mail Stop 2K 

2277 Research Boulevard 

Rockville, MD 20850 

(301) 519-5000
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Appendix B – Letter of Certification of Eligibility 

Quick Tips to Certification of Eligibility Letter 

 Current grantees that do not meet all eligibility requirements at the time of application will 

not be considered for funding. While all other applicants have until the end of their next 

legislative session to fulfill the certification provisions, applicants must certify that these 

will be met by such date.

o If your jurisdiction is compliant with all statutory eligibility requirements, please 

refer to ―Sample Letter of Certification of Eligibility #1 on page 28. 

 

o If your jurisdiction is a new applicant as defined on page 10 and not currently 

compliant with one or more of the certification requirements, please refer to 

―Sample Letter of Certification of Eligibility #2‖ on page 30. For the purpose of 

this letter, the ―next legislative session‖ is the first legislative session that begins 

after notice of an award. 

 Ensure all language in the letter reflects what is outlined in the Solicitation and 

highlighted in the following sample letter. Note: an “and” or an “or” in the incorrect place 

or missing can make the letter deficient, therefore making the application ineligible for 

funding; and 

 Have the Chief Executive Officer sign the letter. Examples: Governor for a state 

applicant, Chief Judge or Court Administrator for a court applicant and Mayor, County 

Executive or Tribal Chairman for unit of local government or Indian Tribal government 

applicant. 
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Appendix B - Sample Letter of Certification of Eligibility #1: For applicants that have met 

all certification requirements. 

[Applicant Letterhead] 

[date] 

Office on Violence Against Women 

Department of Justice 

800 K Street, NW, Suite 920 

Washington, DC 20530 

Re: Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program 

Dear Director: 

As Chief Executive Officer of [enter jurisdiction name], I submit this letter to certify to the 

following: 

1) the laws or official policies of [the jurisdiction] encourage or mandate arrests of domestic 

violence offenders based on probable cause that an offense has been committed; 

2) the laws or official policies of [the jurisdiction] encourage or mandate arrests of domestic 

violence offenders who violate the terms of a valid and outstanding protection order; 

 

3) the laws, policies, or practices and the training programs of [the jurisdiction] discourage 

dual arrests of offender and victim; 

4) the laws, policies, or practices of [the jurisdiction] prohibit issuance of mutual restraining 

orders of protection except in cases where both spouses file a claim and the court 

makes detailed findings of fact indicating that both spouses acted primarily as 

aggressors and that neither spouse acted primarily in self-defense; and 

5) the laws, policies, and practices of [the jurisdiction] do not require, in connection with the 

prosecution of any misdemeanor or felony domestic violence offense, or in connection 

with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a protection order, or a petition for a 

protection order, to protect a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, that 

the victim bear the costs associated with the filing of criminal charges against the 

offender, or the costs associated with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a 

warrant, protection order, petition for a protection order, or witness subpoena, whether 

issued inside or outside the State, tribal, or local jurisdiction; 
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6) the laws, policies or practices of [the jurisdiction] ensure that: 

(A) no law enforcement officer, prosecuting officer or other government official shall 

 ask or require an adult, youth, or child victim of a sex offense as defined under 

 Federal, tribal, State, territorial, or local law to submit to a polygraph examination 

 or other truth telling device as a condition for proceeding with the investigation of 

 such an offense; and 

(B) the refusal of a victim to submit to an examination described in subparagraph (A) 

 shall not prevent the investigation of the offense. 

Sincerely,

[Chief Executive Officer] 
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Appendix B - Sample Letter of Certification of Eligibility #2: For new applicants that have 

not met all of the certification requirements and will certify to meeting them by the end of 

their next legislative session.

[Applicant Letterhead]

[date]

Office on Violence Against Women

Department of Justice

800 K Street, NW, Suite 920

Washington, DC 20530

Re: Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program

Dear Director:

As Chief Executive Officer of [enter jurisdiction name], I submit this letter to certify that the

(enter jurisdiction name) is not a current grantee as defined by the FY 09 Arrest Program 

Solicitation and certify to the following:

[A list of all statutory eligibility requirements are provided below the signature line. 

Please insert all of the eligibility requirements which your jurisdiction currently meets.]

I further certify that the (enter jurisdiction name) will fulfill the following certification requirements 

by the end of our next legislative session:

[Please insert any of the requirements which your jurisdiction does not currently meet.]

Sincerely,

[Chief Executive Officer]

The following is a list of certifications that should be included in the jurisdiction’s letter:

1) the laws or official policies of [the jurisdiction] encourage or mandate arrests of domestic 

violence offenders based on probable cause that an offense has been committed; 

2) the laws or official policies of [the jurisdiction] encourage or mandate arrests of domestic 

violence offenders who violate the terms of a valid and outstanding protection order; 

 

3) the laws, policies, or practices and the training programs of [the jurisdiction] discourage 

dual arrests of offender and victim; 

4) the laws, policies, or practices of [the jurisdiction] prohibit issuance of mutual restraining 

orders of protection except in cases where both spouses file a claim and the court 

makes detailed findings of fact indicating that both spouses acted primarily as 

aggressors and that neither spouse acted primarily in self-defense; 
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5) the laws, policies, and practices of [the jurisdiction] do not require, in connection with the 

 prosecution of any misdemeanor or felony domestic violence offense, or in connection 

 with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a protection order, or a petition for a 

 protection order, to protect a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, that 

 the victim bear the costs associated with the filing of criminal charges against the 

 offender, or the costs associated with the filing, issuance, registration, or service of a 

 warrant, protection order, petition for a protection order, or witness subpoena, whether 

 issued inside or outside the State, tribal, or local jurisdiction; and 

 6) the laws, policies, or practices ensure that (A) no law enforcement officer, prosecuting 

officer or other government official shall ask or require an adult, youth, or child victim of a 

sex offense as defined under Federal, tribal, State, territorial, or local law to submit to a 

polygraph examination or other truth telling device as a condition for proceeding with the 

investigation of such an offense; and (B) the refusal of a victim to submit to an 

examination described in subparagraph (A) shall not prevent the investigation of the 

offense.