Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 71623 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

• Title of Information Collection: 

Affidavit of Relationship for Minors 

who are Nationals of El Salvador, 

Guatemala, or Honduras. 

• OMB Control Number: 1405–0217. 

• Type of Request: Notice of request 

for public comment. 

• Originating Office: PRM/A. 

• Form Number: DS–7699. 

• Respondents: Those seeking 

qualified family members to access the 

U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. 

• Estimated Number of Respondents: 

3,000. 

• Estimated Number of Responses: 

3,000. 

• Average Time per Response: One 

hour. 

• Total Estimated Burden Time: 3,000 

hours. 

• Frequency: On occasion. 

• Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department to: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department. 

• Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the time and cost burden for 

this proposed collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used. 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected. 

• Minimize the reporting burden on 

those who are to respond, including the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Please note that comments submitted 

in response to this Notice are public 

record. Before including any detailed 

personal information, you should be 

aware that your comments as submitted, 

including your personal information, 

will be available for public review. 

Abstract of Proposed Collection 

To obtain biographical information 

about children overseas who intend to 

seek access to the USRAP, as well as 

other eligible family members or 

caregivers, for verification by the U.S. 

government. This form also assists 

DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services to verify parent-child 

relationships during refugee case 

adjudication. This form is necessary for 

implementation of this program. 

Methodology 

Working with a State Department 

contracted Resettlement Agencies (RA), 

qualifying individuals in the United 

States must complete the AOR and 

submit supporting documentation to: (a) 

establish that they meet the 

requirements for being a qualifying 

individual who currently falls into one 

of the aforementioned categories; (b) 

provide a list of qualifying family 

members who may seek access to 

refugee resettlement in the United 

States. Once completed, the form is sent 

by the RA to the Refugee Processing 

Center (RPC) for case creation and 

processing. The information is used by 

the RPC for case management; by USCIS 

to determine that the qualifying 

individual falls into one of the 

aforementioned categories; and by the 

Resettlement Support Center (RSC) for 

case prescreening and further 

processing after DHS interview. The 

International Organization for Migration 

(IOM) administers the RSC in Latin 

America under a Memorandum of 

Understanding with the Department to 

conduct case prescreening and assist in 

the processing of refugee applicants. 

Sarah R. Cross, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of 

Population, Refugees and Migration, 

Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22853 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–33–P 

STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE 

Grant Guideline; Notice 

AGENCY: State Justice Institute. 

ACTION: Grant guideline for fiscal year 

(FY) 2024. 

SUMMARY: This guideline sets forth the 

administrative, programmatic, and 

financial requirements attendant to FY 

2024 State Justice Institute grants. 

DATES: October 6, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: State Justice Institute, 12700 

Fair Lakes Circle, Suite 340, Fairfax, VA 

22033. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jonathan Mattiello, Executive Director, 

State Justice Institute, 703–660–4979, 

jonathan.mattiello@sji.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 

(42 U.S.C. 10701 et seq.), the State 

Justice Institute is authorized to award 

grants, cooperative agreements, and 

contracts to state and local courts, 

nonprofit organizations, and others for 

the purpose of improving the quality of 

justice in the state courts of the United 

States. 

The following Grant Guideline is 

adopted by the State Justice Institute for 

FY 2024. 

Table of Contents 

I. Eligibility 

II. Grant Application Deadlines 

III. The Mission of the State Justice Institute 

IV. Grant Types 

V. Application and Submission Information 

VI. How To Apply 

VII. Post-Award Reporting Requirements 

VIII. Compliance Requirements 

IX. Financial Requirements 

X. Grant Adjustments 

I. Eligibility 

Pursuant to the State Justice Institute 

Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10701 et seq.), 

the State Justice Institute (SJI) is 

authorized to award grants, cooperative 

agreements, and contracts to state and 

local courts, national nonprofit 

organizations, and others for the 

purpose of improving the quality of 

justice in the state courts of the United 

States. 

SJI is authorized by Congress to award 

grants, cooperative agreements, and 

contracts to the following entities and 

types of organizations: 

• State and local courts and their 

agencies (42 U.S.C. 10705(b)(1)(A)). 

• National nonprofit organizations 

controlled by, operating in conjunction 

with, and serving the judicial branches 

of state governments (42 U.S.C. 

10705(b)(1)(B)). 

• National nonprofit organizations for 

the education and training of judges and 

support personnel of the judicial branch 

of state governments (42 U.S.C. 

10705(b)(1)(C)). An applicant is 

considered a national education and 

training applicant under section 

10705(b)(1)(C) if: 

D the principal purpose or activity of 

the applicant is to provide education 

and training to state and local judges 

and court personnel; and 

D the applicant demonstrates a record 

of substantial experience in the field of 

judicial education and training. 

• Other eligible grant recipients (42 

U.S.C. 10705 (b)(2)(A) through (D)). 

D Provided that the objectives of the 

project can be served better, SJI is also 

authorized to make awards to: 

Æ Nonprofit organizations with 

expertise in judicial administration. 

Æ Institutions of higher education. 

Æ Individuals, partnerships, firms, 

corporations (for-profit organizations 

must waive their fees). 

Æ Private agencies with expertise in 

judicial administration. 

D SJI may also make awards to state 

or local agencies and institutions other 


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than courts for services that cannot be 

adequately provided through 

nongovernmental arrangements (42 

U.S.C. 10705(b)(3)). 

SJI is prohibited from awarding grants 

to federal, tribal, and international 

courts. 

II. Grant Application Deadlines 

The SJI Board of Directors makes 

awards on a federal fiscal year quarterly 

basis. Applications may be submitted at 

any time but will be considered for 

award based only on the timetable 

below. 

TABLE 1—APPLICATION DEADLINES BY

FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR QUARTER

Federal fiscal year quarter Application 

due date 

1 ............................................. November 1. 

2 ............................................. February 1. 

3 ............................................. May 1. 

4 ............................................. August 1. 

To be considered timely, an 

application must be submitted by the 

application deadline noted above. 

Applicants must use the SJI Grants 

Management System (GMS) to submit 

all applications and post-award 

documents. The SJI GMS is accessible at 

https://gms.sji.gov. SJI urges applicants 

to submit applications at least 72 hours 

prior to the application due date to 

allow time for the applicant to receive 

an application acceptance message and 

to correct in a timely fashion any 

problems that may arise, such as 

missing or incomplete forms. 

Questions related to the SJI Grant 

Program or the SJI GMS should be 

directed to contact@sji.gov. 

III. The Mission of the State Justice 

Institute 

The State Justice Institute 

Authorization Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 

10701 et seq.) established SJI to improve 

the administration of justice in the state 

courts of the United States. Incorporated 

in the state of Virginia as a private, 

nonprofit corporation, SJI is charged, by 

statute, with the responsibility to: 

• direct a national program of 

financial assistance designed to ensure 

that each citizen of the United States is 

provided ready access to a fair and 

effective system of justice; 

• foster coordination and cooperation 

with the federal judiciary; 

• promote recognition of the 

importance of the separation of powers 

doctrine to an independent judiciary; 

and 

• encourage education for judges and 

support personnel of state court systems 

through national and state 

organizations. 

To accomplish these broad objectives, 

SJI is authorized to provide funding to 

state courts, national organizations that 

support and are supported by state 

courts, national judicial education 

organizations, and other organizations 

that can assist in improving the quality 

of justice in the state courts. 

Through the award of grants, 

contracts, and cooperative agreements, 

SJI is authorized to perform the 

following activities: 

• support technical assistance, 

demonstrations, special projects, 

research, and training to improve the 

administration of justice in the state 

courts; 

• provide for the preparation, 

publication, and dissemination of 

information regarding State judicial 

systems; 

• participate in joint projects with 

Federal agencies and other private 

grantors; 

• evaluate or provide for the 

evaluation of programs and projects to 

determine their impact upon the quality 

of criminal, civil, and juvenile justice 

and the extent to which they have 

contributed to improving the quality of 

justice in the state courts; 

• encourage and assist in furthering 

judicial education; and 

• encourage, assist, and serve in a 

consulting capacity state and local 

courts in the development, 

maintenance, and coordination of 

criminal, civil, and juvenile justice 

programs and services. 

SJI is supervised by a board of 

directors appointed by the U.S. 

President, with the advice and consent 

of the U.S. Senate. The SJI Board of 

Directors is statutorily composed of six 

judges; a State court administrator; and 

four members of the public, no more 

than two of the same political party. 

Additional information about SJI, 

including a list of members of the SJI 

Board of Directors, is available at 

https://www.sji.gov. 

a. Priority Investment Areas 

The SJI Board of Directors has 

established Priority Investment Areas 

for grant funding. SJI will allocate 

significant financial resources through 

grant-making for these Priority 

Investment Areas. The Priority 

Investment Areas are applicable to all 

grant types. SJI strongly encourages 

potential grant applicants to consider 

projects addressing one or more of these 

Priority Investment Areas and to 

integrate the following factors into each 

proposed project: 

• evidence-based, data-driven 

decision-making; 

• cross-sector collaboration; 

• systemic approaches (as opposed to 

standalone programs); 

• institutionalization of new court 

processes and procedures; 

• ease of replication; and 

• sustainability. 

For FY 2024, the Priority Investment 

Areas are listed below in no specific 

order. 

1. Opioids and Other Dangerous Drugs 

and Behavioral Health Responses 

• Behavioral Health Disparities— 

Research indicates that justice-involved 

persons have significantly greater 

proportions of mental, substance use, 

and co-occurring disorders than are 

found in the public. SJI supports crosssector collaboration and information 

sharing that emphasizes policies and 

practices designed to improve court 

responses to justice-involved persons 

with behavioral health and other cooccurring needs. 

• Trauma-Informed Approaches— 

Judges, court staff, system stakeholders, 

and court-involved persons (e.g., 

defendants, respondents, and victims) 

alike may be impacted by prior trauma. 

This is particularly, but not exclusively, 

true for those with mental illness and/ 

or substance use disorders. SJI supports 

trauma-informed training, policies, and 

practices in all aspects of the judicial 

process. 

2. Promoting Access to Justice and 

Procedural Fairness 

• Self-Represented Litigation—SJI 

promotes court-based solutions to 

address increases in self-represented 

litigants; helps make courts more userfriendly by simplifying court forms; 

provides one-on-one assistance; 

develops guides, handbooks, and 

instructions on how to proceed; 

develops court-based self-help centers; 

and uses internet technologies to 

increase access. These projects are 

improving outcomes for litigants and 

saving valuable court resources. 

• Language Access—SJI supports 

language access in the state courts 

through remote interpretation (i.e., 

outside the courtroom), interpreter 

training and certification, courtroom 

services (plain language forms, websites, 

etc.), and addressing the requirements of 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

(42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) and the 

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.). 

• Procedural Fairness—A 

fundamental role of courts is to ensure 

fair processes and just outcomes for 

litigants. SJI promotes the integration of 


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research-based procedural fairness 

principles, policies, and practices into 

state court operations to increase public 

trust and confidence in the court 

system, reduce recidivism, and increase 

compliance with court orders. 

3. Reducing Disparities and Protecting 

Victims, Underserved, and Vulnerable 

Populations 

• Disparities in Justice—SJI supports 

research and data-driven approaches 

that examine statutory requirements, 

policies, and practices that result in 

disparities for justice-involved persons. 

These disparities can be because of 

inequities in socioeconomic, racial, 

ethnic, gender, age, health, or other 

factors. In addition to identifying 

disparities, SJI promotes systemic 

approaches to reducing disparities. 

• Human Trafficking—SJI addresses 

the impact of federal and state humantrafficking laws on the state courts and 

the challenges faced by state courts in 

dealing with cases involving trafficking 

victims and their families. These efforts 

are intended to empower state courts to 

identify victims, link them with vital 

services, and hold traffickers 

accountable. 

• Rural Justice—Rural areas and their 

justice systems routinely have fewer 

resources and more barriers—such as 

unavailability of services, lack of 

transportation, and smaller 

workforces—than their urban 

counterparts. Programs and practices 

that are effective in urban areas are often 

inappropriate and/or lack supported 

research for implementation in rural 

areas. SJI supports rural courts by 

identifying promising and best practices 

and promoting resources, education, 

and training opportunities that are 

uniquely designed for rural courts and 

court users. 

• Guardianship, Conservatorship, 

and Elder Issues—SJI assists courts in 

improving court oversight of guardians 

and conservators for the elderly and 

incapacitated adults through visitor 

programs, electronic reporting, and 

training. 

4. Advancing Justice Reform 

• Criminal Justice Reform—SJI assists 

state courts in taking a leadership role 

in reviewing fines, fees, and bail 

practices to ensure processes are fair 

and access to justice is assured; 

implements alternative forms of 

sanction; develops processes for 

indigency review; promotes 

transparency, governance, and 

structural reforms that promote access 

to justice, accountability, and oversight; 

and implements innovative diversion 

and reentry programs that serve to 

improve outcomes for justice-involved 

persons and the justice system. 

• Juvenile Justice Reform—SJI 

supports innovative projects that 

advance best practices in handling 

dependency and delinquency cases, 

promote effective court oversight of 

juveniles in the justice system, address 

the impact of trauma on juvenile 

behavior, assist the courts in 

identification of appropriate provision 

of services for juveniles, and address 

juvenile reentry. 

• Family and Civil Justice Reform— 

SJI promotes court-based solutions for 

the myriad of civil case types, such as 

domestic relations, housing, 

employment, and debt collection, which 

are overwhelming court dockets. 

5. Transforming Courts 

• Emergency Response and 

Recovery—Courts must be prepared for 

natural disasters and public health 

emergencies and institutionalize the 

most effective and efficient practices 

and processes that evolve during 

response and recovery. SJI supports 

projects that look to the future of 

judicial service delivery by identifying 

and replicating innovations and 

alternate means of conducting court 

business due to public health 

emergencies, such as pandemics and 

natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, 

earthquakes, and wildfires). 

• Cybersecurity—Courts must also be 

prepared for cyberattacks on court 

systems, such as denial of service and 

ransomware attacks on court case 

management systems, websites, and 

other critical information technology 

infrastructure. SJI supports projects that 

assist courts in preparing for and 

responding to these attacks and shares 

lessons learned to courts across the 

United States. 

• Technology—Courts must integrate 

technological advances into daily 

judicial processes and proceedings. SJI 

supports projects that institutionalize 

the innovative technology that has 

successfully advanced the use of 

electronic filing and payment systems, 

online dispute resolution, remote work, 

and virtual court proceedings. SJI 

promotes projects that streamline case 

filing and management processes, 

thereby reducing time and costs to 

litigants and the courts; provide online 

access to courts to litigants so that 

disputes can be resolved more 

efficiently; and make structural changes 

to court services that enable them to 

evolve into an online environment. 

Additionally, SJI supports the 

examination of potential integration of 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) into court 

processes, including identification of 

positive outcomes and potential 

limitations of AI. 

• Strategic Planning—Courts must 

rely on a deliberate process to determine 

organizational values, mission, vision, 

goals, and objectives. SJI promotes 

structured planning processes and 

organizational assessments to assist 

courts in setting priorities, allocating 

resources, and identifying areas for 

ongoing improvements in efficiency and 

effectiveness. Strategic planning 

includes elements of court governance, 

data collection, management, analysis, 

sharing, and sustainable court 

governance models that drive decisionmaking. Strategic plans and outcomes 

must be communicated to judges, court 

staff, justice partners, and the public. 

• Training, Education, and Workforce 

Development—State courts require a 

workforce that is adaptable to public 

demands for services. SJI supports 

projects that focus on the tools needed 

to enable judges, court managers, and 

staff to be innovative, forward-thinking 

court leaders. 

IV. Grant Types 

SJI supports five types of grants: 

Project, Technical Assistance (TA), 

Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

(CAT), Strategic Initiatives Grants (SIG) 

Program, and the Education Support 

Program (ESP). A brief description of 

each type of grant is below. 

a. Project Grant 

Project grants are intended to support 

innovative education and training, 

research and evaluation, demonstration, 

and TA projects that can improve the 

administration of justice in state courts 

locally or nationwide. State court and 

national nonprofit applicants may 

request up to $300,000 for 36 months. 

Local court applicants may request up 

to $200,000 for 24 months. Examples of 

expenses not covered by project grants 

include the salaries, benefits, or travel of 

full- or part-time court employees. 

Funding may not be used for the 

ordinary, routine operations of court 

systems. 

All applicants for project grants must 

contribute a cash match greater than or 

equal to the SJI award amount. This 

means that grant awards by SJI must be 

matched at least dollar for dollar by 

grant applicants. For example, an 

applicant seeking a $300,000 Project 

Grant must provide a cash match of at 

least $300,000. Applicants may 

contribute the required cash match 

directly or in cooperation with third 

parties. Funding from other federal 

departments or agencies may not be 

used for a cash match. 


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b. TA Grant 

TA grants are intended to provide 

state or local courts—or regional court 

associations—with sufficient support to 

obtain expert assistance to diagnose a 

problem, develop a response to that 

problem, and implement any needed 

changes. TA grants may not exceed 

$75,000 or 12 months in duration. In 

calculating project duration, applicants 

are cautioned to fully consider the time 

required to issue a request for proposals, 

negotiate a contract with the selected 

provider, and execute the project. Funds 

may not be used for salaries, benefits, or 

travel of full- or part-time court 

employees. 

Applicants for TA grants are required 

to contribute a total match (cash and inkind) of no less than 50 percent of the 

SJI award amount, of which 20 percent 

must be cash. For example, an applicant 

seeking a $75,000 TA Grant must 

provide a $37,500 match, of which up 

to $30,000 can be in-kind and not less 

than $7,500 must be cash. Funding from 

other federal departments and agencies 

may not be used for a cash match. 

c. CAT Grant 

CAT grants are intended to: (1) enable 

courts or national court associations to 

modify and adapt model curricula, 

course modules, or conference programs 

to meet states’ or local jurisdictions’ 

educational needs; train instructors to 

present portions or all of the curricula; 

and pilot-test them to determine their 

appropriateness, quality, and 

effectiveness; or (2) conduct judicial 

branch education and training 

programs, led by either expert or inhouse personnel, designed to prepare 

judges and court personnel for 

innovations, reforms, and/or new 

technologies recently adopted by 

grantee courts. CAT grants may not 

exceed $40,000 or 12 months in 

duration. Examples of expenses not 

covered by CAT grants include the 

salaries, benefits, or travel of full- or 

part-time court employees. 

Applicants for CAT grants are 

required to contribute a total match 

(cash and in-kind) of not less than 50 

percent of the SJI award amount, of 

which 20 percent must be cash. For 

example, an applicant seeking a $40,000 

CAT grant must provide a $20,000 

match, of which up to $16,000 can be 

in-kind and not less than $4,000 must 

be cash. Funding from other federal 

departments and agencies may not be 

used for a cash match. 

d. SIG Program 

The SIG Program provides SJI with 

the flexibility to address national court 

issues as they occur and develop 

solutions to those problems. This is an 

innovative approach where SJI uses its 

expertise and the expertise and 

knowledge of its grantees to address key 

issues facing state courts across the 

United States. 

The funding is used for grants or 

contractual services and is handled at 

the discretion of the SJI Board of 

Directors and staff. SJI requires the 

submission of a concept paper prior to 

the full application process. Only 

applicants that submit an approved 

concept paper will be invited to submit 

a full application for funding. Potential 

applicants are strongly encouraged to 

contact SJI prior to submitting a concept 

paper for guidance on this initial step. 

e. ESP for Judges and Court Managers 

The ESP is intended to enhance the 

skills, knowledge, and abilities of state 

court judges and court managers by 

enabling them to attend out-of-state or 

enroll in online educational and 

training programs sponsored by national 

and state providers they could not 

otherwise attend or take online because 

of limited state, local, and personal 

budgets. The program covers only the 

cost of tuition up to a maximum of 

$1,000 per course. 

The ESP is administered by the 

National Judicial College (NJC) and the 

National Center for State Courts (NCSC)/ 

Institute for Court Management (ICM), 

in partnership with SJI. For NJC courses, 

register online at https://

www.judges.org/courses. For ICM 

courses, register online at https://

www.ncsc.org/education-and-careers/ 

icm-courses. During the respective 

registration processes, each website will 

ask whether a scholarship is needed to 

participate. Follow the online 

instructions to request tuition 

assistance. 

V. Application and Submission 

Information 

This section describes in detail what 

an application must include. An 

applicant should anticipate that if he or 

she fails to submit an application that 

contains all the specified project 

components, it may negatively affect the 

review of the application. Applicants 

must use the SJI GMS to submit all 

applications and post-award documents. 

The SJI GMS is accessible at https://

gms.sji.gov. 

a. Application Components 

Applicants for SJI grants must submit 

the following forms and/or documents 

via the SJI GMS: 

1. Application Form (Form A) 

The application form requests basic 

information regarding the proposed 

project, the applicant, and the total 

amount of funding requested from SJI. It 

also requires the signature of an 

individual authorized to certify on 

behalf of the applicant that the 

information contained in the 

application is true and complete; 

submission of the application has been 

authorized by the applicant; and, if 

funding for the proposed project is 

approved, the applicant will comply 

with the requirements and conditions of 

the award, including the assurances set 

forth in Form D in section V.A.4, 

Assurances (Form D) of this guideline. 

2. Certificate of State Approval (Form B) 

An application from a state or local 

court must include a copy of Form B 

signed by the state’s chief justice or state 

court administrator. The signature 

denotes that the proposed project has 

been approved by the state’s highest 

court or the agency or council it has 

designated. Further, the signature 

denotes, if applicable, a cash match 

reduction has been requested, and that 

if SJI approves funding for the project, 

the court or the specified designee will 

receive, administer, and be accountable 

for the awarded funds. 

3. Budget Form (Form C) 

Applicants must provide a detailed 

budget and a budget narrative providing 

an explanation of the basis for the 

amounts in each budget category. If 

funds from other sources are required to 

conduct the project, either as a match or 

to support other aspects of the project, 

the source, current status of the request, 

and anticipated decision date must be 

provided. 

4. Assurances (Form D) 

Form D lists the statutory, regulatory, 

and policy requirements with which 

recipients of SJI funds must comply. 

5. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities 

(Form E) 

Applicants other than units of state or 

local government are required to 

disclose whether they, or another entity 

that is part of the same organization as 

the applicant, have advocated a position 

before Congress on any issue, and to 

identify the specific subjects of their 

lobbying efforts. 

6. Project Abstract 

The abstract must highlight the 

purposes, goals, methods, and 

anticipated benefits of the proposed 

project. It must not exceed one singleVerDate Sep<11>2014 17:02 Oct 16, 2023 Jkt 262001 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\17OCN1.SGM 17OCN1

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spaced page and must be uploaded on 

the ‘‘Attachments’’ tab in the SJI GMS. 

7. Program Narrative 

The program narrative for an 

application may not exceed 25 doublespaced pages on 81⁄2- by 11-inch paper 

with 1-inch margins, using a standard 

12-point font. The pages must be 

numbered. This page limit does not 

include the forms, the abstract, the 

budget narrative, or any additional 

attachments. The program narrative 

must address the following, noting any 

specific areas to address by grant type: 

i. Statement of Need. Applicants must 

explain the critical need they are facing 

and how SJI funds will enable them to 

meet this critical need. The applicants 

must also explain why state or local 

resources are not sufficient to fully 

support the costs of the project. 

Applicants must provide a verified 

source for the data (i.e., federal, state, 

and local databases) that supports the 

problem statement. The discussion must 

include specific references to the 

relevant literature and to the experience 

in the field. SJI continues to make all 

grant reports and most grant products 

available online through the NCSC 

Library and Digital Archive. Applicants 

are required to conduct a search of the 

NCSC Library and Digital Archive on 

the topic areas they are addressing. This 

search must include SJI-funded grants 

and previous projects not supported by 

SJI. Searches for SJI grant reports and 

other state court resources begin with 

the NCSC Library section. Applicants 

must discuss the results of their 

research, how they plan to incorporate 

the previous work into their proposed 

project, and if the project will differ 

from prior work. 

ii. Project Grants. If the project is to 

be conducted in any specific location(s), 

applicants must discuss the particular 

needs of the project site(s) the project 

would address and why existing 

programs, procedures, services, or other 

resources do not meet those needs. 

If the project is not site-specific, the 

applicants must discuss the problems 

that the proposed project would address 

and why existing programs, procedures, 

services, or other resources cannot 

adequately resolve those problems. In 

addition, applicants must describe how, 

if applicable, the project will be 

sustained in the future through existing 

resources. 

iii. TA Grants. Applicants must 

explain why state or local resources are 

unable to fully support the modification 

and presentation of the model 

curriculum. The applicants must also 

describe the potential for replicating or 

integrating the adapted curriculum in 

the future using state or local funds 

once it has been successfully adapted 

and tested. In addition, applicants must 

describe how, if applicable, the project 

will be sustained in the future through 

existing resources. 

iv. CAT Grants (curriculum 

adaptation). Applicants must explain 

why state or local resources are unable 

to fully support the modification and 

presentation of the model curriculum. 

The applicants must also describe the 

potential for replicating or integrating 

the adapted curriculum in the future 

using state or local funds once it has 

been successfully adapted and tested. 

v. CAT Grants (training). Applicants 

must describe the court reform or 

initiative prompting the need for 

training. Applicants must also discuss 

how the proposed training will help 

them implement planned changes at the 

court and why state or local resources 

are not sufficient to fully support the 

costs of the required training. 

vi. SIGs. Applicants must detail the 

origin of the project (i.e., requested by 

SJI or a request to SJI) and provide a 

detailed description of the issue of 

national impact the proposed project 

will address, including any evaluations, 

reports, resolutions, or other data to 

support the need statement. 

b. Project Description and Objectives 

The applicants must include a clear, 

concise statement of what the proposed 

project is intended to accomplish and 

how those objectives will be met. 

Applicants must delineate the tasks to 

be performed in achieving the project 

objectives and the methods to be used 

for accomplishing each task. 

Applicants must describe how the 

proposed project addresses one or more 

Priority Investment Areas. If the project 

does not address one or more Priority 

Investment Areas, the applicants must 

provide an explanation as to the reason. 

1. Application Details by Project Type 

i. Project Grants. The applicants must 

include detailed descriptions of tasks, 

methods, and evaluations. For example: 

• Research and evaluation projects. 

The applicants must include the data 

sources, data collection strategies, 

variables to be examined, and analytic 

procedures to be used for conducting 

the research or evaluation and ensuring 

the validity and general applicability of 

the results. For projects involving 

human subjects, the discussion of 

methods must address the procedures 

for obtaining respondents’ informed 

consent, ensuring the respondents’ 

privacy and freedom from risk or harm, 

and protecting others who are not the 

subjects of research but would be 

affected by the research. If the potential 

exists for risk or harm to human 

subjects, a discussion must be included 

that explains the value of the proposed 

research and the methods to be used to 

minimize or eliminate such risk. Refer 

to section VIII.R.3, Human Subject 

Protection of this guideline for 

additional information. 

• Education and training projects. 

The applicants must include the adult 

education techniques to be used in 

designing and presenting the program, 

including the teaching and learning 

objectives of the educational design, the 

teaching methods to be used, and the 

opportunities for structured interaction 

among the participants. The 

opportunities applicants must include 

are: how faculty would be recruited, 

selected, and trained; the proposed 

number and length of the conferences, 

courses, seminars, or workshops to be 

conducted and the estimated number of 

persons who would attend them; the 

materials to be provided and how they 

would be developed; and the cost to 

participants. 

• Demonstration projects. The 

applicants must include the 

demonstration sites and the reasons 

they were selected or, if the sites have 

not been chosen, how they would be 

identified; how the applicants would 

obtain the cooperation of demonstration 

sites; and how the program or 

procedures would be implemented and 

monitored. 

• TA projects. The applicants must 

explain the types of assistance that 

would be provided, the particular issues 

and problems for which assistance 

would be provided, the type of 

assistance determined, how suitable 

providers would be selected and 

briefed, and how reports would be 

reviewed. 

ii. TA Grants. Applicants must 

identify which organization or 

individual will be hired to provide the 

assistance and how the consultant was 

selected. The applicants must describe 

the tasks the consultant will perform 

and how the tasks will be accomplished. 

If a consultant has not yet been 

identified, the applicants must describe 

the procedures and criteria that will be 

used to select the consultant (applicants 

are expected to follow their 

jurisdictions’ normal procedures for 

procuring consultant services). 

If the consultant has been identified, 

the applicants must provide a letter 

from that individual or organization 

documenting interest in and availability 

for the project, as well as the 

consultant’s ability to complete the 

assignment within the proposed 

timeframe and for the proposed cost. 


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The consultant must agree to submit a 

detailed written report to the court and 

SJI upon completion of the TA. 

Applicants must then describe the steps 

that have been or will be taken to 

facilitate implementation of the 

consultant’s recommendations upon 

completion of the technical assistance. 

The applicants must then address the 

following questions: 

• What specific tasks will the 

consultant and court staff undertake? 

• What is the schedule for completion 

of each required task and the entire 

project? 

• How will the applicant oversee the 

project and provide guidance to the 

consultant, and who at the court or 

regional court association would be 

responsible for coordinating all project 

tasks and submitting Quarterly Progress 

and Financial Status Reports? 

iii. CAT Grants (curriculum 

adaptation). The applicants must 

provide the title of the curriculum that 

will be adapted and identify the entity 

that originally developed the 

curriculum. Applicants must allow at 

least 90 days between the potential 

award date and the date of the proposed 

program to allow sufficient time for 

planning. This period of time should be 

reflected in the project timeline. The 

applicants must also address the 

following questions: 

• Why is this education program 

needed at the present time? 

• What are the project’s goals? 

• What are the learning objectives of 

the adapted curriculum? 

• What program components would 

be implemented, and what types of 

modifications, if any, are anticipated in 

length, format, learning objectives, 

teaching methods, or content? 

• Who would be responsible for 

adapting the model curriculum? 

• Who would the participants be, 

how many would there be, how would 

they be recruited, and from where 

would they come (e.g., from a single 

local jurisdiction, from across the state, 

from a multistate region, from across the 

nation, etc.)? 

The applicants must also provide the 

proposed timeline, including the project 

start and end dates, the date(s) the 

judicial branch education program will 

be presented, and the process that will 

be used to modify and present the 

program. Applicants must also identify 

who will serve as faculty, and how they 

will be selected, in addition to the 

measures taken to facilitate subsequent 

presentations of the program. 

iv. CAT Grants (training). The 

applicants must identify the tasks the 

trainer will be expected to perform, 

which organization or individual will be 

hired, and, if in-house personnel are not 

the trainer, how the trainer will be 

selected. 

If a trainer has not yet been identified, 

the applicants must describe the 

procedures and criteria that will be used 

to select the trainer. 

If the trainer has been identified, the 

applicants must provide a letter from 

that individual or organization 

documenting interest in and availability 

for the project, as well as the trainer’s 

ability to complete the assignment 

within the proposed timeframe and for 

the proposed cost. 

In addition, the applicants must 

address the following questions: 

• What specific tasks would the 

trainer and court staff or regional court 

association members undertake? 

• What presentation methods will be 

used? 

• What is the schedule for completion 

of each required task and the entire 

project? 

• How will the applicant oversee the 

project and provide guidance to the 

trainer, and who at the court or 

affiliated with the regional court 

association would be responsible for 

coordinating all project tasks and 

submitting Quarterly Progress and 

Financial Status Reports? 

• The applicant must explain what 

steps have been or will be taken to 

coordinate the implementation of the 

training. For example, if the support or 

cooperation of specific court, regional 

court association officials, committees, 

other agencies, funding bodies, 

organizations, or a court other than the 

applicant will be needed to adopt the 

reform and initiate the proposed 

training, how will the applicant secure 

their involvement in the development 

and implementation of the training? 

v. SIGs. The applicants should expand 

upon the project description and 

objectives described in the approved 

concept paper. Any and all feedback 

and questions submitted by the SJI 

Board of Directors and staff during the 

review of the concept paper should also 

be incorporated into the project design. 

2. Dissemination Plan 

The application must: (1) explain how 

and to whom the products would be 

disseminated; describe how they would 

benefit the state courts, including how 

they could be used by judges and court 

personnel; (2) identify development, 

production, and dissemination costs 

covered by the project budget; and (3) 

present the basis on which products and 

services developed or provided under 

the grant would be offered to the court 

community and the public at large (i.e., 

whether products would be distributed 

at no cost to recipients, or if costs are 

involved, the reason for charging 

recipients and the estimated price of the 

product). Ordinarily, applicants must 

schedule all product preparation and 

distribution activities within the project 

period. 

The type of product to be prepared 

depends on the nature of the project. 

For example, in most instances, the 

products of a research, evaluation, or 

demonstration project must include: (1) 

an article summarizing the project 

findings that is publishable in a journal 

serving the courts community 

nationally, (2) an executive summary 

that would be disseminated to the 

project’s primary audience, or (3) both 

an article and executive summary. 

Applicants proposing to conduct 

empirical research or evaluation 

projects with national import must 

describe how they would make their 

data available for secondary analysis 

after the grant period. 

The curricula and other products 

developed through education and 

training projects must be designed for 

use by others and again by the original 

participants in the course of their 

duties. Applicants proposing to develop 

web-based products must provide, for 

sending, a notice and description of the 

document (i.e., a written report with a 

reference to the website) to the 

appropriate audiences to alert them to 

the availability of the website or 

electronic product. 

Applicants must submit a final draft 

of all written grant products to SJI for 

review and approval at least 30 days 

before the products are submitted for 

publication or reproduction. Applicants 

must provide multimedia products for 

SJI review at the treatment, script, 

rough-cut, and final stages of 

development, or their equivalents. No 

grant funds may be obligated for 

publication or reproduction of a final 

grant product without the written 

approval of SJI. Project products should 

be submitted to SJI electronically in 

HTML or PDF format. 

Applicants must also include in all 

project products a prominent 

acknowledgment that SJI provided 

support and a disclaimer paragraph 

such as, ‘‘This [document, film, 

videotape, etc.] was developed under 

[grant/cooperative agreement] number 

SJI–[insert number] from the State 

Justice Institute. The points of view 

expressed are those of the [author(s), 

filmmaker(s), etc.] and do not 

necessarily represent the official 

position or policies of the State Justice 

Institute.’’ The ‘‘SJI’’ logo must appear 

on the front cover of a written product 

or in the opening frames of a website or 


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other multimedia products, unless SJI 

approves another placement. The SJI 

logo can be downloaded from SJI’s 

website (https://www.sji.gov) at the 

bottom of the ‘‘Grants’’ page. 

3. Staff Capability and Organizational 

Capacity 

An applicant that is not a state or 

local court and has not received a grant 

from SJI within the past 3 years must 

indicate whether it is either: (1) a 

national nonprofit organization 

controlled by, operating in conjunction 

with, and serving the judicial branches 

of state governments, or (2) a national 

nonprofit organization for the education 

and training of state court judges and 

support personnel. If the applicant is a 

nonjudicial unit of Federal, State, or 

local government, it must explain 

whether the proposed services could be 

adequately provided by 

nongovernmental entities. 

Applicants that have not received a 

grant from SJI within the past 3 years 

must include a statement describing 

their capacity to administer grant funds, 

including the financial systems used to 

monitor project expenditures (and 

income, if any), a summary of their past 

experience in administering grants, and 

any resources or capabilities they have 

that would particularly assist in the 

successful completion of the project. 

Unless requested otherwise, an 

applicant that has received a grant from 

SJI within the past 3 years must describe 

only the changes in its organizational 

capacity, tax status, or financial 

capability that may affect its capacity to 

administer a grant. If the applicant is a 

nonprofit organization (other than a 

university), it must also provide 

documentation of its 501(c)(3) taxexempt status as determined by the 

Internal Revenue Service and a copy of 

a current certified audit report. For the 

purpose of this requirement, ‘‘current’’ 

means no earlier than 2 years prior to 

the present calendar year. 

The applicant must include a 

summary of key staff members’ and 

consultants’ training and experience 

that qualify them to conduct and 

manage the proposed project. Resumes 

of identified staff should be attached to 

the application. If one or more key staff 

members and consultants are not known 

at the time of the application, a 

description of the criteria that would be 

used to select persons for these 

positions should be included. The 

applicant must also identify the person 

who would be responsible for managing 

and reporting on the financial aspects of 

the proposed project. 

4. Evaluation 

Projects must include an evaluation 

plan to determine whether the project 

has met its objectives. The evaluation 

must be designed to provide an 

objective and independent assessment 

of the effectiveness or usefulness of the 

training or services provided; the impact 

of the procedures, technology, or 

services tested; or the validity and 

applicability of the research conducted. 

The evaluation plan must be 

appropriate to the type of project 

proposed, considering the nature, scope, 

and magnitude of the project. 

5. Sustainability 

Describe how the project will be 

sustained after SJI assistance ends. The 

sustainability plan must describe how 

current collaborations and evaluations 

will be used to leverage ongoing 

resources. SJI encourages applicants to 

ensure sustainability by coordinating 

with local, state, and other federal 

resources. 

c. Budget and Matching State 

Contribution 

Applicants must complete a budget in 

the SJI GMS and upload a budget 

narrative. The budget narrative must 

provide the basis for all project-related 

costs and the sources of any match, as 

required. The budget narrative must 

thoroughly and clearly describe every 

category of expense listed. SJI expects 

proposed budgets to be complete, cost 

effective, and allowable (i.e., reasonable, 

allocable, and necessary for project 

activities). 

1. Prohibited Uses of SJI Funds. To 

ensure that funds made available are 

used to supplement and improve the 

operation of state courts, rather than to 

support basic court services, funds shall 

not be used: 

• To supplant state or local funds 

supporting a program or activity (e.g., 

paying the salary of court employees 

who would be performing their normal 

duties as part of the project or paying 

rent for space that is part of the court’s 

normal operations). 

• To construct court facilities or 

structures. 

• Solely to purchase equipment. 

Examples of basic court services 

include: 

• Hiring of personnel 

• Purchase and/or maintenance of 

equipment 

• Purchase of software and/or licenses 

• Purchase of internet access or service 

• Supplies to support the day-to-day 

operations of courts 

The final determination of what 

constitutes basic court services is made 

by SJI and is not negotiable. 

Meals and refreshments are generally 

not allowable costs unless the applicant 

or grantee obtains prior written approval 

from SJI. This applies to all awards, 

including contracts, grants, and 

cooperative agreements. In general, SJI 

may approve such costs only in very 

rare instances where: 

• sustenance is not otherwise 

available (e.g., in extremely remote 

areas); 

• the size of the event and nearby 

food and/or beverage vendors would 

make it impractical to not provide meals 

and/or refreshments; and/or 

• a special presentation at a 

conference requires a plenary address 

where there is no other time for 

sustenance to be obtained. 

Trinkets (e.g., items such as hats, 

mugs, portfolios, t-shirts, coins, gift 

bags, gift cards, etc.) may not be 

purchased with SJI grant funding. 

2. Justification of Personnel 

Compensation. The applicants must set 

forth the amount of time the individuals 

who would staff the proposed project 

would devote, the annual salary of each 

of those persons, and the number of 

workdays per year used to calculate the 

amount of time or daily rates of those 

individuals. The applicants must 

explain any deviations from current 

rates or established written 

organizational policies. No grant funds 

or cash match may be used to pay the 

salary and related costs for a current or 

new employee of a court or other unit 

of government because such funds 

would constitute a supplantation of 

state or local funds in violation of 42 

U.S.C. 10706(d)(1); this includes new 

employees hired specifically for the 

project. The salary and any related costs 

for a current or new employee of a court 

or other unit of government may only be 

accepted as an in-kind match. 

3. Fringe Benefit Computation. For 

nongovernmental entities, applicants 

must provide a description of the fringe 

benefits provided to employees. If 

percentages are used, the authority for 

such use should be presented, as well as 

a description of the elements included 

in the determination of the percentage 

rate. 

4. Consultant/Contractual Services 

and Honoraria. The applicants must 

describe the tasks each consultant 

would perform, the estimated total 

amount to be paid to each consultant, 

the basis for compensation rates (e.g., 

the number of days multiplied by the 

daily consultant rates), and the method 

for selection. Prior written SJI approval 

is required for any consultant rate in 

excess of $800 per day; SJI funds may 

not be used to pay a consultant more 

than $1,100 per day. Honorarium 


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payments must be justified in the same 

manner as consultant payments. 

5. Travel. Transportation costs and 

per diem rates must comply with the 

policies of the applicant organization. If 

the applicant does not have an 

established travel policy, then travel 

rates must be consistent with those 

established by the Federal Government. 

The budget narrative must include an 

explanation of the rate used, including 

the components of the per diem rate and 

the basis for the estimated 

transportation expenses. The purpose of 

the travel must also be included in the 

narrative. 

6. Equipment. Grant funds may be 

used to purchase only the equipment 

necessary to demonstrate a new 

technological application in a court or 

that is otherwise essential to 

accomplishing the objectives of the 

project. In other words, grant funds 

cannot be used strictly for the purpose 

of purchasing equipment. Equipment 

purchases to support basic court 

operations will not be approved. 

Applicants must describe the equipment 

to be purchased or leased and explain 

why the acquisition of that equipment is 

essential to accomplish the project’s 

goals and objectives. The narrative must 

clearly identify which equipment is to 

be leased and which is to be purchased. 

The method of procurement must also 

be described. 

7. Supplies. Applicants must provide 

a general description of the supplies 

necessary to accomplish the goals and 

objectives of the grant. In addition, the 

applicants must provide the basis for 

the amount requested for this 

expenditure category. 

8. Construction. Construction 

expenses are prohibited. 

9. Postage. Anticipated postage costs 

for project-related mailings, including 

distribution of the final product(s), 

should be described in the budget 

narrative. The cost of special mailings, 

such as for a survey or for announcing 

a workshop, should be distinguished 

from routine mailing costs. The bases 

for all postage estimates should be 

included in the budget narrative. 

10. Printing/Photocopying. 

Anticipated costs for printing or 

photocopying project documents, 

reports, and publications must be 

included in the budget narrative, along 

with the bases used to calculate these 

estimates. 

11. Indirect Costs. Indirect costs are 

only applicable to organizations that are 

not state courts or government agencies. 

Recoverable indirect costs are limited to 

no more than 75 percent of a grantee’s 

direct personnel costs (i.e., salaries plus 

fringe benefits). Applicants must 

describe the indirect cost rates 

applicable to the grant in detail. If costs 

often included within an indirect cost 

rate are charged directly (e.g., a 

percentage of the time of senior 

managers to supervise project activities), 

the applicants should specify that these 

costs are not included within their 

approved indirect cost rate. If an 

applicant has an indirect cost rate or 

allocation plan approved by any federal 

granting agency, a copy of the approved 

rate agreement must be attached to the 

application. 

12. Matching Requirements. SJI grants 

require a match, which is the portion of 

project costs not borne by SJI and 

includes both cash and in-kind matches 

as outlined in this paragraph. A cash 

match is the direct outlay of funds by 

the grantee or a third party to support 

the project. Other federal department 

and agency funding may not be used for 

a cash match. An in-kind match consists 

of contributions of time and/or services 

of current staff members, new 

employees, space, supplies, etc., that are 

made to the project by the grantee or 

others (e.g., advisory board members) 

working directly on the project. An inkind match can also consist of that 

portion of the grantee’s federally 

approved indirect cost rate that exceeds 

the limit of permitted charges (75 

percent of salaries and benefits). 

The grantee is responsible for 

ensuring that the total amount of the 

match proposed is contributed. If a 

proposed contribution is not fully met, 

SJI may reduce the award amount 

accordingly, to maintain the ratio 

originally provided for in the award 

agreement. The match should be 

expended at the same rate as SJI 

funding. 

i. Project Grants. Applicants for 

Project grants must contribute a cash 

match greater than or equal to the SJI 

award amount. This means that grant 

awards by SJI must be matched at least 

dollar for dollar by grant applicants. For 

example, an applicant seeking a 

$300,000 Project grant must provide a 

cash match of at least $300,000. 

Applicants may contribute the required 

cash match directly or in cooperation 

with third parties. 

ii. TA Grants. Applicants for TA 

grants are required to contribute a total 

match (cash and in-kind) of no less than 

50 percent of the SJI award amount, of 

which 20 percent must be cash. For 

example, an applicant seeking a $75,000 

TA grant must provide a $37,500 match, 

of which up to $30,000 can be in-kind 

and not less than $7,500 must be cash. 

iii. CAT Grants. Applicants for CAT 

grants are required to contribute a total 

match (cash and in-kind) of not less 

than 50 percent of the SJI award 

amount, of which 20 percent must be 

cash. For example, an applicant seeking 

a $40,000 CAT grant must provide a 

$20,000 match, of which up to $16,000 

can be in-kind and not less than $4,000 

must be cash. Funding from other 

federal departments and agencies may 

not be used for a cash match. 

iv. SIGs. State and local courts and 

non-court units of government must 

provide a dollar-for-dollar cash match 

for SIG projects. Matching funds may 

not be required for SIG projects that are 

awarded to non-court or 

nongovernmental entities. 

13. Letters of Support. Written 

assurances of support or cooperation 

should accompany the application letter 

if the support or cooperation of 

agencies, funding bodies, organizations, 

or courts other than the applicant would 

be needed in order for the consultant to 

perform the required tasks. Applicants 

may also submit memorandums of 

agreement or understanding, as 

appropriate. 

14. Project Timeline. A project 

timeline detailing each project objective, 

activity, expected completion date, and 

responsible person or organization 

should be included. The plan should 

include the starting and completion date 

for each task; the time commitments to 

the project of key staff and their 

responsibilities regarding each project 

task; and the procedures that would 

ensure that all tasks are performed on 

time, within budget, and at the highest 

level of quality. In preparing the project 

timeline, applicants must make certain 

that all project activities, including 

publication or reproduction of project 

products and their initial dissemination, 

would occur within the proposed 

project period. The project timeline 

must also provide for the submission of 

Quarterly Progress and Financial Status 

Reports within 30 days after the close of 

each calendar quarter, as well as 

submission of all final closeout 

documents. The project timeline may be 

included in the program narrative or 

provided as a separate attachment. 

15. Other Attachments. Resumes of 

key project staff may also be included. 

Additional background material should 

be attached only if it is essential to 

impart a clear understanding of the 

proposed project. Numerous and 

lengthy appendices are strongly 

discouraged. 

d. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria. In addition to the 

criteria detailed below, SJI will consider 

whether the applicant is a state or local 

court, a national court support or 

education organization, a non-court unit 


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of government, or other type of entity 

eligible to receive grants under SJI’s 

enabling legislation; the availability of 

financial assistance from other sources 

for the project; the diversity of subject 

matter; geographic diversity; the level 

and nature of the match that would be 

provided; reasonableness of the 

proposed budget; the extent to which 

the proposed project would also benefit 

the federal courts or help state or local 

courts enforce federal constitutional and 

legislative requirements; and the level of 

appropriations available to SJI in the 

current year and the amount expected to 

be available in succeeding fiscal years, 

when determining which projects to 

support. 

2. Project Grant Applications. Project 

grant applications will be rated based on 

the criteria set forth below: 

• Soundness of the methodology. 

• Demonstration of need for the 

project. 

• Appropriateness of the proposed 

evaluation design. 

• If applicable, the key findings and 

recommendations of the most recent 

evaluation and the proposed responses 

to those findings and recommendations. 

• Applicant’s management plan and 

organizational capabilities. 

• Qualifications of the project’s staff. 

• Products and benefits resulting 

from the project, including the extent to 

which the project will have long-term 

benefits for State courts across the 

nation. 

• Degree to which the findings, 

procedures, training, technology, or 

other results of the project can be 

transferred to other jurisdictions. 

• Reasonableness of the proposed 

budget. 

• Demonstration of cooperation and 

support of other agencies that may be 

affected by the project. 

3. TA Grant Applications. TA grant 

applications will be rated based on the 

following criteria: 

• Whether the assistance would 

address a critical need of the applicant. 

• Soundness of the technical 

assistance approach to the problem. 

• Qualifications of the consultant(s) 

to be hired or the specific criteria that 

will be used to select the consultant(s). 

• Commitment of the court or 

association to act on the consultant’s 

recommendations. 

• Reasonableness of the proposed 

budget. 

4. CAT Grant Applications. CAT grant 

applications will be rated based on the 

following criteria: 

• Goals and objectives of the 

proposed project. 

• How the training would address a 

critical need of the court or association. 

• Need for outside funding to support 

the program. 

• Soundness of the approach in 

achieving the project’s educational or 

training objectives. 

• Integration of distance learning and 

technology in project design and 

delivery. 

• Qualifications of the trainer(s) to be 

hired or the specific criteria that will be 

used to select the trainer(s) (training 

project only). 

• Likelihood of effective 

implementation and integration of the 

modified curriculum into the state or 

local jurisdiction’s ongoing educational 

programming (curriculum adaptation 

project only). 

• Commitment of the court or 

association to the training program 

(training project only). 

• Expressions of interest by judges 

and/or court personnel, as demonstrated 

by letters of support. 

5. SIG Applications. SIG applications 

will be rated based on the following 

criteria: 

• Goals and objectives of the 

proposed project. 

• Demonstration of need for the 

project. 

• Degree to which the project 

addresses a current national court issue. 

• Level of innovation in addressing 

the identified need. 

• Potential impact on the court 

community. 

• Qualifications of the consultant(s) 

engaged to manage the project. 

6. Review Process. SJI reviews the 

application to make sure that the 

information presented is reasonable, 

understandable, measurable, and 

achievable, as well as consistent with 

this guideline. Applications must meet 

basic minimum requirements. Although 

specific requirements may vary by grant 

type, the following are common 

requirements applicable to all SJI grant 

applications: 

• Must be submitted by an eligible 

type of applicant. 

• Must request funding within 

funding constraints of each grant type (if 

applicable). 

• Must be within statutorily 

allowable expenditures. 

• Must include all required forms and 

documents. 

• The SJI Board of Directors reviews 

all applications and makes final funding 

decisions. The decision to fund a project 

is solely that of the SJI Board of 

Directors. 

7. Notification of SJI Board of 

Directors Decision. The Chairman of the 

Board signs grant awards on behalf of 

SJI. SJI will notify applicants regarding 

the SJI Board of Directors’ decisions to 

award, defer, or deny their respective 

applications. If requested, SJI conveys 

the key issues and questions that arose 

during the review process. A decision 

by the SJI Board of Directors to deny an 

application may not be appealed, but it 

does not prohibit resubmission of a 

proposal in a subsequent funding cycle. 

8. Response to Notification of Award. 

Grantees have 30 days from the date 

they were notified about their award to 

respond to any revisions requested by 

the SJI Board of Directors. If the 

requested revisions (or a reasonable 

schedule for submitting such revisions) 

have not been submitted to SJI within 

30 days after notification, the award 

may be rescinded, and the application 

presented to the SJI Board of Directors 

for reconsideration. Special conditions, 

in the form of incentives or sanctions, 

may also be used in other situations. 

VI. How To Apply 

Applicants must use the SJI GMS to 

submit all applications and post-award 

documents. SJI urges applicants to 

submit applications at least 72 hours 

prior to the application due date in 

order to allow time for the applicant to 

receive an application acceptance 

message and to correct, in a timely 

fashion, any problems that may arise, 

such as missing or incomplete forms. 

Files must be in .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, 

.pdf, .jpg, or .png format. Individual file 

size cannot exceed 5 MB. 

a. Submission Steps 

Applicants (except for ESP) must 

register with the SJI GMS to submit 

applications for funding consideration. 

Below are the basic steps for 

submission: 

1. Access the SJI GMS and complete 

the information required to create an 

account. 

2. If you already have an account, log 

in and create a new application. 

3. Complete all required forms and 

upload all required documents: 

• Application Form. 

• Certificate of State Approval. 

• Budget and Budget Narrative. 

• Assurances. 

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. 

• Project Abstract. 

• Program Narrative. 

• Attachments. 

D Letters of Support. 

D Project Timeline. 

D Resumes. 

D Indirect Cost Approval. 

D Other Attachments. 

4. Certify and submit the application 

to SJI for review. 


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VII. Post-Award Reporting 

Requirements 

All required reports and documents 

must be submitted via the SJI GMS. 

a. Quarterly Reporting Requirements 

Recipients of SJI funds must submit 

Quarterly Progress and Financial Status 

Reports within 30 days after the close of 

each calendar quarter (i.e., no later than 

January 30, April 30, July 30, and 

October 30). 

1. Program Progress Reports. Program 

Progress Reports must include a 

narrative description of project activities 

during the calendar quarter; the 

relationship between those activities, 

the task schedule, and objectives set 

forth in the approved application or an 

approved adjustment thereto; any 

significant problem areas that have 

developed and how they will be 

resolved; and the activities scheduled 

during the next reporting period. Failure 

to comply with the requirements of this 

provision could result in the 

termination of a grantee’s award. 

2. Financial Reporting. A Financial 

Status Report is required from all 

grantees for each active quarter on a 

calendar-quarter basis. This report is 

due within 30 days after the close of the 

calendar quarter. It is designed to 

provide financial information relating to 

SJI funds, state and local matching 

shares, project income, and any other 

sources of funds for the project, as well 

as information on obligations and 

outlays. 

b. Request for Reimbursement of Funds 

Awardees will receive funds on a 

reimbursable, U.S. Department of the 

Treasury check-issued or electronic 

funds transfer (EFT) basis. Upon receipt, 

review, and approval of a Request for 

Reimbursement by SJI, payment will be 

issued directly to the grantee or its 

designated fiscal agent. Requests for 

reimbursements, along with the 

instructions for their preparation, and 

the SF 3881 Automated Clearing House 

(ACH/Miscellaneous Payment 

Enrollment Form for EFT) are available 

in the SJI GMS. 

1. Accounting System. Awardees are 

responsible for establishing and 

maintaining an adequate system of 

accounting and internal controls. 

Awardees are also responsible for 

ensuring an adequate system exists for 

each of their subgrantees and 

contractors. An acceptable and adequate 

accounting system: 

• Properly accounts for receipt of 

funds under each grant awarded and the 

expenditure of funds for each grant by 

category of expenditure (including 

matching contributions and project 

income). 

• Assures that expended funds are 

applied to the appropriate budget 

category included within the approved 

grant. 

• Presents and classifies historical 

costs of the grant as required for 

budgetary and evaluation purposes. 

• Provides cost and property controls 

to assure optimal use of grant funds. 

• Is integrated with a system of 

internal controls adequate to safeguard 

the funds and assets covered, check the 

accuracy and reliability of the 

accounting data, promote operational 

efficiency, and assure conformance with 

any general or special conditions of the 

grant. 

• Meets the prescribed requirements 

for periodic financial reporting of 

operations. 

• Provides financial data for 

planning, control, measurement, and 

evaluation of direct and indirect costs. 

c. Final Progress Report 

The Final Progress Report must 

describe the project activities during the 

final calendar quarter of the project and 

the close-out period, including to whom 

project products have been 

disseminated; provide a summary of 

activities during the entire project; 

specify whether all the objectives set 

forth in the approved application or an 

approved adjustment have been met 

and, if any of the objectives have not 

been met, explain why not; and discuss 

what, if anything, could have been done 

differently that might have enhanced 

the impact of the project or improved its 

operation. In addition, grantees are 

required to submit electronic copies of 

the final products related to the project 

(e.g., reports, curriculum, etc.). These 

reporting requirements apply at the 

conclusion of every grant. 

VIII. Compliance Requirements 

a. Advocacy 

No funds made available by SJI may 

be used to support or conduct training 

programs for the purpose of advocating 

particular nonjudicial public policies or 

encouraging nonjudicial political 

activities (42 U.S.C. 10706(b)). 

b. Approval of Key Staff 

If the qualifications of an employee or 

consultant assigned to a key project staff 

position are not adequately described in 

the application or if there is a change of 

a person assigned to such a position, the 

recipient must submit a description of 

the qualifications of the newly assigned 

person to SJI. Prior written approval of 

the qualifications of the new person 

assigned to a key staff position must be 

received from SJI before the salary or 

consulting fee of that person and 

associated costs may be paid or 

reimbursed from grant funds. 

c. Audit 

Recipients of SJI grants must provide 

for an annual fiscal audit, which 

includes an opinion on whether the 

financial statements of the grantee fairly 

present its financial position and its 

financial operations in accordance with 

generally accepted accounting 

principles. If requested, a copy of the 

audit report must be made available 

electronically to SJI. 

d. Budget Revisions 

Budget revisions among direct cost 

categories that: (1) transfer grant funds 

to an unbudgeted cost category, or (2) 

individually or cumulatively exceed 5 

percent of the approved original budget 

or the most recently approved revised 

budget require prior SJI approval. Refer 

to section X, Grant Adjustments, of this 

guideline for additional details about 

the process for modifying the project 

budget. 

e. Conflict of Interest 

Personnel and other officials 

connected with SJI-funded programs 

must adhere to the following 

requirements: 

• Officials or employees of a recipient 

court or organization must not 

participate personally through decision, 

approval, disapproval, recommendation, 

the rendering of advice, investigation, or 

otherwise, in any proceeding, 

application, request for a ruling or other 

determination, contract, grant, 

cooperative agreement, claim, 

controversy, or other particular matter 

in which SJI funds are used, where, to 

their knowledge, they or their 

immediate family; partners; 

organization other than a public agency 

in which they are serving as officer, 

director, trustee, partner, or employee; 

or any person or organization with 

whom they are negotiating or have any 

arrangement concerning prospective 

employment have a financial interest. 

• In the use of SJI project funds, an 

official or employee of a recipient court 

or organization must avoid any action 

that might result in or create the 

appearance of: 

D using an official position for private 

gain; or 

D adversely affecting the confidence 

of the public in the integrity of the SJI 

program. 

• Requests for proposals (RFPs) or 

invitations for bids issued by a recipient 

of SJI funds or a subgrantee or 


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subcontractor will provide notice to 

prospective bidders that the contractors 

who develop or draft specifications, 

requirements, statements of work, and/ 

or RFPs for a proposed procurement 

will be excluded from bidding on or 

submitting a proposal to compete for the 

award of such procurement. 

f. Inventions and Patents 

If any patentable items, patent rights, 

processes, or inventions are produced 

during the course of SJI-sponsored 

work, such fact must be promptly and 

fully reported to SJI. Unless there is a 

prior agreement between the grantee 

and SJI on the disposition of such items, 

SJI will determine whether protection of 

the invention or discovery may be 

sought should the grantee choose to 

pursue such protection. 

g. Lobbying 

Funds awarded to recipients by SJI 

must not be used—directly or 

indirectly—to influence Executive 

Orders or similar promulgations by 

federal, state, or local agencies; or to 

influence the passage or defeat of any 

legislation by federal, state, or local 

legislative bodies (42 U.S.C. 10706(a)). 

It is the policy of the SJI Board of 

Directors to award funds only to support 

applications submitted by organizations 

that would carry out the objectives of 

their applications in an unbiased 

manner. Consistent with this policy and 

the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 10706, SJI 

will not knowingly award a grant to an 

applicant that has, directly or through 

an entity that is part of the same 

organization as the applicant, advocated 

a position before Congress on the 

specific subject matter of the 

application. 

h. Matching Requirements 

All grant recipients are required to 

provide a match. A match is the portion 

of project costs not borne by SJI. A 

match includes both cash and in-kind 

contributions. A cash match is the direct 

outlay of funds by the grantee or a third 

party to support the project. An in-kind 

match for state and local courts or other 

units of government consists of 

contributions of time and/or services of 

current staff members, new employees, 

space, supplies, etc., made to the project 

by the grantee or others (e.g., advisory 

board members) working directly on the 

project. Generally, these same items are 

considered cash matches for 

nongovernmental entities. For 

nongovernmental entities, a federally 

approved indirect cost rate may be used 

as an in-kind match for that portion of 

the rate that exceeds the limit of 

permitted charges for indirect costs (75 

percent of salaries and benefits). 

Under normal circumstances, an 

allowable match may be incurred only 

during the project period. The amount 

and nature of the required match 

depends on the type of grant. Refer to 

section V.C.12, Matching Requirements, 

of this guideline for details by grant 

type. 

The grantee is responsible for 

ensuring that the total amount of the 

match proposed is contributed. If a 

proposed contribution is not fully met, 

SJI may reduce the award amount 

accordingly to maintain the ratio 

originally provided for in the award 

agreement. The match should be 

expended at the same rate as SJI 

funding. 

The SJI Board of Directors looks 

favorably upon any unrequired match 

contributed by applicants when making 

grant decisions. The match requirement 

may be waived in exceptionally rare 

circumstances upon the request of the 

chief justice of the highest court in the 

state or the highest ranking official in 

the requesting organization, and 

approval by the SJI Board of Directors 

(42 U.S.C. 10705(d)). The SJI Board of 

Directors encourages all applicants to 

provide the maximum amount of cash 

and in-kind match possible, even if a 

waiver is approved. The amount and 

nature of the match are criteria in the 

grant selection process. 

Other federal department and agency 

funding may not be used for a cash 

match. 

i. Nondiscrimination 

No person may, on the basis of race, 

sex, national origin, disability, color, or 

creed, be excluded from participation 

in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise 

subjected to discrimination under any 

program or activity supported by SJI 

funds. Recipients of SJI funds must take 

any measures necessary to effectuate 

this provision immediately. 

j. Political Activities 

No recipient may contribute or make 

available SJI funds, program personnel, 

or equipment to any political party or 

association or the campaign of any 

candidate for public or party office. 

Recipients are also prohibited from 

using funds in advocating or opposing 

any ballot measure, initiative, or 

referendum. Officers and employees of 

recipients must not intentionally 

identify SJI or recipients with any 

partisan or nonpartisan political activity 

associated with a political party or 

association or the campaign of any 

candidate for public or party office (42 

U.S.C. 10706(a)). 

k. Products 

1. Acknowledgment, Logo, and 

Disclaimer. Recipients of SJI funds must 

acknowledge prominently on all 

products that were developed with grant 

funds that support was received from 

SJI. The SJI logo must appear on the 

front cover of a written product, or in 

the opening frames of a multimedia 

product, unless another placement is 

approved in writing by SJI. This 

includes final products printed or 

otherwise reproduced during the grant 

period as well as reprintings or 

reproductions of those materials 

following the end of the grant period. 

The SJI logo can be downloaded from 

SJI’s website (https://www.sji.gov) at the 

bottom of the ‘‘Grants’’ page. 

Recipients also must display the 

following disclaimer on all grant 

products: ‘‘This [document, film, 

videotape, etc.] was developed under 

[grant/cooperative agreement] number 

SJI-[insert number] from the State 

Justice Institute. The points of view 

expressed are those of the [author(s), 

filmmaker(s), etc.] and do not 

necessarily represent the official 

position or policies of the State Justice 

Institute.’’ 

i. Project Grants. In addition to other 

required grant products and reports, 

recipients must provide a one-page 

executive summary of the project. The 

summary should include a background 

on the project, the tasks undertaken, and 

the outcome. In addition, the summary 

should provide the performance metrics 

that were used during the project, and 

how performance will be measured in 

the future. 

ii. TA Grants. Grantees must submit a 

final report that explains how they 

intend to act on the consultant’s 

recommendations as well as a copy of 

the consultant’s written report. Both 

should be submitted in electronic 

format. 

iii. CAT Grants. Grantees must submit 

an electronic version of the agenda or 

schedule, an outline of presentations 

and/or relevant instructor’s notes; 

copies of overhead transparencies, 

Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, or 

other visual aids; exercises, case studies, 

and other background materials; 

hypotheticals, quizzes, and other 

materials involving the participants; 

manuals, handbooks, conference 

packets, and evaluation forms; and 

suggestions for replicating the program, 

including possible faculty or the 

preferred qualifications or experience of 

those selected as faculty, developed 

under the grant after the grant period, 

along with a final report that includes 

any evaluation results and explains how 


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the grantee intends to present the 

educational program in the future, as 

well as the consultant’s or trainer’s 

report. All items should be submitted in 

electronic format. 

2. Charges for Grant-Related 

Products/Recovery of Costs. SJI’s 

mission is to support improvements in 

the quality of justice and foster 

innovative, efficient solutions to 

common issues faced by all courts. SJI 

has recognized and established 

procedures for supporting research and 

development of grant products (e.g., a 

report, curriculum, video, software, 

database, or website) through 

competitive grant awards based on the 

merit reviews of proposed projects. To 

ensure that all grants benefit the entire 

court community, projects SJI considers 

worthy of support (in whole or in part) 

are required to be disseminated widely 

and to be available for public 

consumption. This includes opensource software and interfaces. Costs for 

development, production, and 

dissemination are allowable as direct 

costs to SJI. 

Applicants must disclose their intent 

to sell grant-related products in the 

application. Grantees must obtain SJI’s 

prior written approval of their plans to 

recover project costs through the sale of 

grant products. Written requests to 

recover costs ordinarily should be 

received during the grant period and 

should specify the nature and extent of 

the costs to be recouped, the reason that 

such costs were not budgeted (if the 

rationale was not disclosed in the 

approved application), the number of 

copies to be sold, the intended audience 

for the products to be sold, and the 

proposed sale price. If the product is to 

be sold for more than $25, the written 

request should also include a detailed 

itemization of costs that will be 

recovered and a certification that the 

costs were not supported by either SJI 

grant funds or grantee matching 

contributions. 

In the event that the sale of grant 

products results in revenues that exceed 

the costs to develop, produce, and 

disseminate the product, the revenue 

must continue to be used for the 

authorized purposes of the SJI-funded 

project or other purposes consistent 

with the State Justice Institute Act that 

have been approved by SJI. 

l. Copyrights 

Except as otherwise provided in the 

terms and conditions of an SJI award, a 

recipient is free to copyright any books, 

publications, or other copyrightable 

materials developed in the course of an 

SJI-supported project. SJI must reserve a 

royalty-free, nonexclusive, and 

irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, 

or otherwise use, and to authorize 

others to use, the materials for purposes 

consistent with the State Justice 

Institute Act. 

m. Due Date 

All products and, for TA and CAT 

grants, consultant and/or trainer reports 

are to be completed and distributed not 

later than the end of the award period, 

not the 90-day closeout period. The 90- 

day closeout period is intended only for 

grantee final reporting and to liquidate 

obligations. 

n. Distribution 

In addition to the distribution 

specified in the grant application, 

grantees must send an electronic version 

of all products in HTML or PDF format 

to SJI. 

o. Original Material 

All products prepared as the result of 

SJI-supported projects must be 

originally developed material unless 

otherwise specified in the award 

documents. Material not originally 

developed that is included in such 

products must be properly identified, 

whether the material is in a verbatim or 

extensive paraphrase format. 

p. Prohibition Against Litigation 

Support 

No funds made available by SJI may 

be used directly or indirectly to support 

legal assistance for parties in litigation, 

including cases involving capital 

punishment. 

q. Reporting Requirements 

All reports must be submitted via the 

SJI GMS as detailed below: 

1. Quarterly Progress and Financial 

Status Reports. Recipients of SJI funds 

must submit Quarterly Progress and 

Financial Status Reports within 30 days 

after the close of each calendar quarter 

(i.e., no later than January 30, April 30, 

July 30, and October 30). The Quarterly 

Progress Reports must include a 

narrative description of project activities 

during the calendar quarter; the 

relationship between those activities, 

the task schedule, and objectives set 

forth in the approved application or an 

approved adjustment thereto; any 

significant problem areas that have 

developed and how they will be 

resolved; and the activities scheduled 

during the next reporting period. Failure 

to comply with the requirements of this 

provision could result in the 

termination of a grantee’s award. 

2. Quarterly Financial Reporting. The 

Quarterly Financial Report must be 

submitted in accordance with section 

VII.A.2, Financial Reporting, of this 

guideline. A Final Progress Report and 

Financial Status Report must be 

submitted within 90 days after the end 

of the grant period. 

r. Research 

1. Availability of Research Data for 

Secondary Analysis. Upon request, 

grantees must make available for 

secondary analysis backup files 

containing research and evaluation data 

collected under an SJI grant and the 

accompanying code manual. Grantees 

may recover the actual cost of 

duplicating and mailing, or otherwise 

transmitting, the dataset and manual 

from the person or organization 

requesting the data. Grantees may 

provide the requested dataset in the 

format in which it was created and 

analyzed. 

2. Confidentiality of Information. 

Except as provided by federal law other 

than the State Justice Institute Act, no 

recipient of financial assistance from SJI 

may use or reveal any research or 

statistical information furnished under 

the Act by any person and identifiable 

to any specific private person for any 

purpose other than the purpose for 

which the information was obtained. 

Such information and copies thereof 

will be immune from legal process and 

must not, without the consent of the 

person furnishing such information, be 

admitted as evidence or used for any 

purpose in any action; suit; or other 

judicial, legislative, or administrative 

proceedings. 

3. Human Subject Protection. Human 

subjects are defined as individuals who 

are participants in an experimental 

procedure or who are asked to provide 

information about themselves, their 

attitudes, feelings, opinions, and/or 

experiences through an interview, 

questionnaire, or other data collection 

technique. All research involving 

human subjects must be conducted with 

the informed consent of those subjects 

and in a manner that will ensure their 

privacy and freedom from risk or harm 

and the protection of persons who are 

not subjects of the research but would 

be affected by it—unless such 

procedures and safeguards would make 

the research impractical. In such 

instances, SJI must approve procedures 

designed by the grantee to provide 

human subjects with relevant 

information about the research after 

their involvement and minimize or 

eliminate risk or harm to those subjects 

due to their participation. 

4. Prohibited Uses of SJI Funds. To 

ensure SJI funds are used to supplement 

and improve the operation of state 

courts, rather than to support basic 


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court services, SJI funds must not be 

used for the following purposes: 

• To supplant state or local funds 

supporting a program or activity (e.g., 

paying the salary of court employees 

who would be performing their normal 

duties as part of the project or paying 

rent for space which is part of the 

court’s normal operations). 

• To construct court facilities or 

structures. 

• Solely to purchase equipment. 

Examples of basic court services 

include: 

• Hiring of personnel 

• Purchase and/or maintenance of 

equipment 

• Purchase of software and/or licenses 

• Purchase of internet access or service 

• Supplies to support the day-to-day 

operations of courts 

The final determination of what 

constitutes basic court services is made 

by SJI and is not negotiable. 

Meals and refreshments are generally 

not allowable costs unless the applicant 

or grantee obtains prior written approval 

from SJI. This applies to all awards, 

including contracts, grants, and 

cooperative agreements. In general, SJI 

may approve such costs only in very 

rare instances in which: 

• sustenance is not otherwise 

available (e.g., in extremely remote 

areas); 

• the size of the event and nearby 

food and/or beverage vendors would 

make it impractical to not provide meals 

and/or refreshments; and/or 

• a special presentation at a 

conference requires a plenary address 

where there is no other time for 

sustenance to be obtained. 

Trinkets (e.g., hats, mugs, portfolios, tshirts, coins, gift bags, gift cards, etc.) 

may not be purchased with SJI grant 

funding. 

5. Suspension or Termination of 

Funding. After providing a recipient 

reasonable notice and opportunity to 

submit written documentation 

demonstrating why fund termination or 

suspension should not occur, SJI may 

terminate or suspend funding of a 

project that fails to substantially comply 

with the Act, the Grant Guideline, or the 

terms and conditions of the award (42 

U.S.C. 10708(a)). 

6. Title to Property. At the conclusion 

of the project, title to all expendable and 

nonexpendable personal property 

purchased with SJI funds must vest in 

the recipient court, organization, or 

individual that purchased the property 

if certification is made to and approved 

by SJI that the property will continue to 

be used for the authorized purposes of 

the SJI-funded project or other purposes 

consistent with the State Justice 

Institute Act. If such certification is not 

made or SJI disapproves of such 

certification, title to all such property 

with an aggregate or individual value of 

$1,000 or more must vest in SJI, which 

will direct the disposition of the 

property. 

IX. Financial Requirements 

The purpose of this section is to 

establish accounting system 

requirements and offer guidance on 

procedures to assist all grantees, 

subgrantees, contractors, and other 

organizations in: 

• Complying with the statutory 

requirements for the award, 

disbursement, and accounting of funds. 

• Complying with regulatory 

requirements of SJI for the financial 

management and disposition of funds. 

• Generating financial data to be used 

in planning, managing, and controlling 

projects. 

• Facilitating an effective audit of 

funded programs and projects. 

a. Supervision and Monitoring 

Responsibilities 

All grantees receiving awards from SJI 

are responsible for the management and 

fiscal control of all funds. 

Responsibilities include accounting for 

receipts and expenditures, maintaining 

adequate financial records, and 

refunding expenditures disallowed by 

audits. If the project includes 

subawards, the grantees’ responsibilities 

also include: 

1. Reviewing Financial Operations. 

The grantee or its designee must be 

familiar with, and periodically monitor, 

its subgrantee’s financial operations, 

records system, and procedures. 

Particular attention should be directed 

to the maintenance of current financial 

data. 

2. Recording Financial Activities. The 

subgrantee’s grant award or contract 

obligation as well as cash advances and 

other financial activities must be 

recorded in the financial records of the 

grantee or its designee in summary 

form. Subgrantee expenditures must be 

recorded on the books of the state 

supreme court or evidenced by report 

forms duly filed by the subgrantee. 

Matching contributions provided by 

subgrantees must likewise be recorded, 

as should any project income resulting 

from program operations. 

3. Budgeting and Budget Review. The 

grantee or its designee must ensure that 

each subgrantee prepares an adequate 

budget as the basis for its award 

commitment. The state supreme court 

must maintain the details of each 

project budget on file. 

4. Accounting for Match. The grantee 

or its designee will ensure that 

subgrantees comply with the match 

requirements specified in this guideline. 

5. Audit Requirement. The grantee or 

its designee is required to ensure that 

subgrantees meet the necessary audit 

requirements set forth by SJI. 

6. Reporting Irregularities. The 

grantee, its designees, and its 

subgrantees are responsible for 

promptly reporting to SJI the nature and 

circumstances surrounding any 

financial irregularities discovered. 

b. Accounting System 

The grantee is responsible for 

establishing and maintaining an 

adequate system of accounting and 

internal controls and for ensuring that 

an adequate system exists for each of its 

subgrantees and contractors. An 

acceptable and adequate accounting 

system: 

• Properly accounts for receipt of 

funds under each grant awarded and the 

expenditure of funds for each grant by 

category of expenditure, including 

matching contributions and project 

income. 

• Assures that expended funds are 

applied to the appropriate budget 

category included within the approved 

grant. 

• Presents and classifies historical 

costs of the grant as required for 

budgetary and evaluation purposes. 

• Provides cost and property controls 

to assure optimal use of grant funds. 

• Is integrated with a system of 

internal controls adequate to safeguard 

the funds and assets covered, check the 

accuracy and reliability of the 

accounting data, promote operational 

efficiency, and assure conformance with 

any general or special conditions of the 

grant. 

• Meets the prescribed requirements 

for periodic financial reporting of 

operations. 

• Provides financial data for 

planning, control, measurement, and 

evaluation of direct and indirect costs. 

c. Total Cost Budgeting and Accounting 

Accounting for all funds awarded by 

SJI must be structured and executed on 

a total-project-cost basis. That is, total 

project costs, including SJI funds, State 

and local matching shares, and any 

other fund sources included in the 

approved project budget, serve as the 

foundation for fiscal administration and 

accounting. Grant applications and 

financial reports require budget and cost 

estimates based on total costs. 

1. Timing of Matching Contributions. 

Matching contributions should be 

applied at the same time as the 


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obligation of SJI funds. Ordinarily, the 

full matching share must be obligated 

during the award period; however, with 

the written permission of SJI, 

contributions made following approval 

of the grant by the SJI Board of Directors 

but before the beginning of the grant 

may be counted as a match. If a 

proposed cash or in-kind match is not 

fully met, SJI may reduce the award 

amount accordingly to maintain the 

ratio of grant funds to matching funds 

stated in the award agreement. 

2. Records for Match. All grantees 

must maintain records that clearly show 

the source, amount, and timing of all 

matching contributions. In addition, if a 

project has included, within its 

approved budget, contributions that 

exceed the required matching portion, 

the grantee must maintain records of 

those contributions in the same manner 

as it does SJI funds and required 

matching shares. For all grants made to 

state and local courts, the state supreme 

court has primary responsibility for 

grantee/subgrantee compliance with the 

requirements of this section. 

3. Maintenance and Retention of 

Records. All financial records— 

including supporting documents; 

statistical records; and all other 

information pertinent to grants, 

subgrants, cooperative agreements, or 

contracts under grants—must be 

retained by each organization 

participating in a project for at least 3 

years for purposes of examination and 

audit. State supreme courts may impose 

record retention and maintenance 

requirements in addition to those 

prescribed in this section. 

4. Coverage. The retention 

requirement extends to books of original 

entry, source documents supporting 

accounting transactions, the general 

ledger, subsidiary ledgers, personnel 

and payroll records, canceled checks, 

and related documents and records. 

Source documents include copies of all 

grant and subgrant awards, applications, 

and required grantee/subgrantee 

financial and narrative reports. 

Personnel and payroll records must 

include the time and attendance reports 

for all individuals reimbursed under a 

grant, subgrant, or contract, whether 

they are employed full-time or parttime. Time and effort reports are 

required for consultants. 

5. Retention Period. The 3-year 

retention period starts from the date of 

the submission of the final expenditure 

report. 

6. Maintenance. Grantees and 

subgrantees are expected to see that 

records of different fiscal years are 

separately identified and maintained so 

that requested information can be 

readily located. Grantees and 

subgrantees are also obligated to protect 

records adequately against fire or other 

damage. When records are stored away 

from the grantee’s or subgrantee’s 

principal office, a written index of the 

location of stored records should be on 

hand, and ready access should be 

assured. 

7. Access. Grantees and subgrantees 

must give any authorized representative 

of SJI access to and the right to examine 

all records, books, papers, and 

documents related to an SJI grant. 

8. Project-Related Income. Records of 

the receipt and disposition of projectrelated income must be maintained by 

the grantee in the same manner as 

required for the project funds that gave 

rise to the income and must be reported 

to SJI (see section VII.A.2, Financial 

Reporting, of this guideline). The 

policies governing the disposition of the 

various types of project-related income 

are listed below. 

i. Interest. A state and any agency or 

instrumentality of a state, including 

institutions of higher education and 

hospitals, will not be held accountable 

for interest earned on advances of 

project funds. When funds are awarded 

to subgrantees through a state, the 

subgrantees are not held accountable for 

interest earned on advances of project 

funds. Local units of government and 

nonprofit organizations that are grantees 

must refund any interest earned. 

Grantees must ensure minimum 

balances in their respective grant cash 

accounts. 

ii. Royalties. The grantee or 

subgrantee may retain all royalties 

received from copyrights or other works 

developed under projects or from 

patents and inventions unless the terms 

and conditions of the grant provide 

otherwise. 

iii. Registration and Tuition Fees. 

Registration and tuition fees may be 

considered as a cash match with prior 

written approval from SJI. Estimates of 

registration and tuition fees and any 

expenses to be offset by the fees should 

be included in the application budget 

forms and narrative. 

iv. Income From the Sale of Grant 

Products. If the sale of products occurs 

during the project period, the income 

may be treated as a cash match with the 

prior written approval of SJI. The costs 

and income generated by the sales must 

be reported on the Quarterly Progress 

and Financial Status Reports and 

documented in an auditable manner. 

Whenever possible, the intent to sell a 

product should be disclosed in the 

application or reported to SJI in writing 

once a decision to sell products has 

been made. The grantee must request 

approval to recover its product 

development, reproduction, and 

dissemination costs (see section 

VIII.K.2, Charges for Grant-Related 

Products/Recovery of Costs, of this 

guideline). 

v. Other. Other project income will be 

treated in accordance with disposition 

instructions set forth in the grant’s terms 

and conditions. 

d. Payments and Financial Reporting 

Requirements 

The procedures and regulations set 

forth below are applicable to all SJI 

grant funds and grantees. 

1. Request for Reimbursement of 

Funds. Grantees will receive funds on a 

reimbursable, U.S. Department of the 

Treasury check-issued or EFT basis. 

Upon receipt, review, and approval of a 

Request for Reimbursement (Form R) by 

SJI, payment will be issued directly to 

the grantee or its designated fiscal agent. 

The Form R, along with the instructions 

for its preparation and the SF 3881 

Automated Clearing House (ACH/ 

Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment 

Form for EFT), are available for 

download and submission in the SJI 

GMS. 

2. Financial Reporting. 

i. General Requirements. To obtain 

financial information concerning the 

use of funds, SJI requires that grantees/ 

subgrantees submit timely reports for 

review. 

ii. Due Dates and Contents. A 

Financial Status Report is required from 

all grantees for each active quarter on a 

calendar-quarter basis. This report is 

due within 30 days after the close of the 

calendar quarter. It is designed to 

provide financial information relating to 

SJI funds, state and local matching 

shares, project income, and any other 

sources of funds for the project, as well 

as information on obligations and 

outlays. The Financial Status Report 

(Form F), along with instructions, is 

accessible in the SJI GMS. If a grantee 

requests substantial payment for a 

project prior to the completion of a 

given quarter, SJI may request a brief 

summary of the amount requested, by 

object class, to support the Request for 

Reimbursement. 

iii. Consequences of Noncompliance 

With Submission Requirement. Failure 

of the grantee to submit required 

Progress and Financial Status Reports 

may result in suspension or termination 

of grant reimbursement. 

e. Allowability of Costs 

1. Costs Requiring Prior Approval. 

i. Pre-Agreement Costs. The written 

prior approval of SJI is required for costs 

that are considered necessary but that 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 71637 

occur prior to the start date of the 

project period. 

ii. Equipment. Grant funds may be 

used to purchase or lease only that 

equipment essential to accomplishing 

the goals and objectives of the project. 

The written prior approval of SJI is 

required when: (1) the amount of 

automated data processing equipment to 

be purchased or leased exceeds $10,000 

or (2) the amount of software to be 

purchased exceeds $3,000. 

iii. Consultants. The written prior 

approval of SJI is required when the rate 

of compensation to be paid to a 

consultant exceeds $800 a day. SJI funds 

may not be used to pay a consultant 

more than $1,100 per day. 

iv. Budget Revisions. Budget revisions 

among direct-cost categories that: (1) 

transfer grant funds to an unbudgeted 

cost category or (2) individually or 

cumulatively exceed 5 percent of the 

approved original budget or the most 

recently approved revised budget 

require prior SJI approval. 

2. Travel Costs. Transportation and 

per diem rates must comply with the 

policies of the grantee. If the grantee 

does not have an established written 

travel policy, then travel rates must be 

consistent with those established by the 

U.S. General Services Administration. 

Grant funds may not be used to cover 

the transportation or per diem costs for 

a member of a national organization to 

attend an annual or other regular 

meeting, or conference of that 

organization. 

3. Indirect Costs. Indirect costs are 

only applicable to organizations that are 

not state courts or government agencies. 

These are costs of an organization that 

are not readily assignable to a particular 

project but are necessary to the 

operation of the organization and the 

performance of the project. The costs of 

operating and maintaining facilities, 

depreciation, and administrative 

salaries are examples of the types of 

costs that are usually treated as indirect 

costs. Although SJI’s policy requires all 

costs to be budgeted directly, it will 

accept indirect costs if a grantee has an 

indirect cost rate approved by a federal 

agency; however, recoverable indirect 

costs are limited to no more than 75 

percent of a grantee’s direct personnel 

costs (salaries plus fringe benefits). 

i. Approved Plan Available. 

• A copy of an indirect cost rate 

agreement or allocation plan approved 

for a grantee during the preceding 2 

years by any federal granting agency on 

the basis of allocation methods 

substantially in accord with those set 

forth in the applicable cost circulars 

must be submitted to SJI. 

• Where flat rates are accepted in lieu 

of actual, indirect costs, grantees may 

not also charge expenses normally 

included in overhead pools (e.g., 

accounting services, legal services, 

building occupancy and maintenance, 

etc.) as direct costs. 

f. Audit Requirements 

1. Implementation. Grantees must 

provide for an annual fiscal audit. This 

requirement also applies to a state or 

local court receiving a subgrant from the 

state supreme court. Audits conducted 

using generally accepted auditing 

standards in the United States will 

satisfy the requirement for an annual 

fiscal audit. The audit must be 

conducted by an independent Certified 

Public Accountant or a state or local 

agency authorized to audit government 

agencies. The audit report must be made 

available to SJI electronically, if 

requested. 

2. Resolution and Clearance of Audit 

Reports. Timely action on 

recommendations by responsible 

management officials is an integral part 

of the effectiveness of an audit. Each 

grantee must have policies and 

procedures for acting on audit 

recommendations by designating 

officials responsible for: 

• Following up. 

• Maintaining a record of the actions 

taken on recommendations and time 

schedules. 

• Responding to and acting on audit 

recommendations. 

• Submitting periodic reports to SJI 

on recommendations and actions taken. 

3. Consequences of Non-Resolution of 

Audit Issues. Ordinarily, SJI will not 

make a subsequent grant award to an 

applicant that has an unresolved audit 

report involving SJI awards. Failure of 

the grantee to resolve audit questions 

may also result in the suspension or 

termination of payments for active SJI 

grants to that organization. 

g. Closeout of Grants 

1. Grantee Closeout Requirements. 

Within 90 days of the end date of the 

grant or any approved extension thereof, 

the following documents must be 

submitted to SJI by grantees: 

i. Financial Status Report. The final 

report of expenditures must have no 

unliquidated obligations and must 

indicate the exact balance of 

unobligated funds. Any unobligated or 

unexpended funds will be de-obligated 

from the award by SJI. Final payment 

requests for obligations incurred during 

the award period must be submitted to 

SJI prior to the end of the 90-day 

closeout period. 

ii. Final Progress Report. This report 

should describe the project activities 

during the final calendar quarter of the 

project and the closeout period, 

including to whom project products 

have been disseminated; provide a 

summary of activities during the entire 

project; specify whether all the 

objectives set forth in the approved 

application or an approved adjustment 

have been met and, if any of the 

objectives have not been met, explain 

why not; and discuss what, if anything, 

could have been done differently that 

might have enhanced the impact of the 

project or improved its operation. These 

reporting requirements apply at the 

conclusion of every grant. 

2. Extension of Closeout Period. Upon 

the written request of the grantee, SJI 

may extend the closeout period to 

assure completion of the grantee’s 

closeout requirements. Requests for an 

extension must be submitted at least 14 

days before the end of the closeout 

period and must explain why the 

extension is necessary and what steps 

will be taken to assure that all the 

grantee’s responsibilities will be met by 

the end of the extension period. 

Extensions must be submitted via the 

SJI GMS as Grant Adjustments. 

X. Grant Adjustments 

All requests for programmatic or 

budgetary adjustments requiring SJI 

approval must be submitted by the 

project director in a timely manner 

(ordinarily 30 days prior to the 

implementation of the adjustment being 

requested). All requests for changes 

from the approved application will be 

carefully reviewed for both consistency 

with this guideline and the 

enhancement of grant goals and 

objectives. Failure to submit 

adjustments in a timely manner may 

result in the termination of a grantee’s 

award. 

a. Grant Adjustments Requiring Prior 

Written Approval 

The following Grant Adjustments 

require the prior written approval of SJI: 

• Budget revisions among direct cost 

categories that (1) transfer grant funds to 

an unbudgeted cost category or (2) 

individually or cumulatively exceed 5 

percent of the approved original budget 

or the most recently approved revised 

budget. 

• A change in the scope of work to be 

performed or the objectives of the 

project. 

• A change in the project site. 

• A change in the project period, such 

as an extension of the grant period or 

extension of the Final Financial Report 

or Final Progress Report deadline. 


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71638 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 17, 2023 / Notices 

• Satisfaction of special conditions, if 

required. 

• A change in or temporary absence 

of the project director. 

• The assignment of an employee or 

consultant to a key staff position whose 

qualifications were not described in the 

application, or a change in a person 

assigned to a key project staff position. 

• A change in or temporary absence 

of the person responsible for managing 

and reporting on the grant’s finances. 

• A change in the name of the grantee 

organization. 

• A transfer or contracting out of 

grant-supported activities. 

• A transfer of the grant to another 

recipient. 

• Pre-agreement costs. 

• The purchase of Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA) equipment and 

software. 

• Consultant rates. 

• A change in the nature or number 

of the products to be prepared or the 

way a product would be distributed. 

b. Requests for Grant Adjustments 

All grantees must promptly notify SJI, 

in writing, of events or proposed 

changes that may require adjustments to 

the approved project design. In 

requesting an adjustment, the grantee 

must set forth the reasons and basis for 

the proposed adjustment and any other 

information the program manager 

determines would help SJI’s review. All 

requests for Grant Adjustments must be 

submitted via the SJI GMS. 

c. Notification of Approval or 

Disapproval 

If the request is approved, the grantee 

will be sent a Grant Adjustment signed 

by the SJI Executive Director. If the 

request is denied, the grantee will be 

sent a written explanation of the reasons 

for the denial. 

d. Changes in the Scope of the Grant 

Major changes in scope, duration, 

training methodology, or other 

significant areas must be approved in 

advance by SJI. A grantee may make 

minor changes to methodology, 

approach, or other aspects of the grant 

to expedite achievement of the grant’s 

objectives with subsequent notification 

to SJI. 

e. Date Changes 

A request to change or extend the 

grant period must be made at least 30 

days in advance of the end date of the 

grant. A revised task plan must 

accompany a request for an extension of 

the grant period, along with a revised 

budget if shifts among budget categories 

will be needed. A request to change or 

extend the deadline for the Final 

Financial Report or Final Progress 

Report must be made at least 14 days in 

advance of the report deadline. 

f. Temporary Absence of the Project 

Director 

Whenever an absence of the project 

director is expected to exceed a 

continuous period of 1 month, the plans 

for the conduct of the project director’s 

duties during such absence must be 

approved in advance by SJI. This 

information must be provided in a letter 

signed by an authorized representative 

of the grantee or subgrantee at least 30 

days before the departure of the project 

director or as soon as it is known that 

the project director will be absent. The 

grant may be terminated if arrangements 

are not approved in advance by SJI. 

g. Withdrawal of or Change in Project 

Director 

If the project director relinquishes or 

expects to relinquish active direction of 

the project, SJI must be notified 

immediately. In such cases, if the 

grantee or subgrantee wishes to 

terminate the project, SJI will forward 

procedural instructions upon 

notification of such intent. If the grantee 

wishes to continue the project under the 

direction of another individual, a 

statement of the candidate’s 

qualifications should be sent to SJI for 

review and approval. The grant may be 

terminated if the qualifications of the 

proposed individual are not approved in 

advance by SJI. 

h. Transferring or Contracting Out of 

Grant-Supported Activities 

No principal activity of a grantsupported project may be transferred or 

contracted out to another organization 

without specific prior approval by SJI. 

All such arrangements must be 

formalized in a contract or other written 

agreement between the parties involved. 

Copies of the proposed contract or 

agreement must be submitted for prior 

approval to SJI at the earliest possible 

time. The contract or agreement must 

state, at a minimum, the activities to be 

performed, the time schedule, the 

policies and procedures to be followed, 

the dollar limitation of the agreement, 

and the cost principles to be followed in 

determining what costs, both direct and 

indirect, will be allowed. The contract 

or other written agreement must not 

affect the grantee’s overall responsibility 

for the direction of the project and 

accountability to SJI. 

State Justice Institute Board of 

Directors 

Hon. John Minton (Chair), Chief Justice, 

Supreme Court of Kentucky, Frankfort, KY 

Daniel Becker (Vice Chair), State Court 

Administrator (ret.), Utah Administrative 

Office of the Courts, Salt Lake City, UT 

Hon. Gayle A. Nachtigal (Secretary), Circuit 

Court Judge (ret.), Washington County 

Circuit Court, Hillsboro, OR 

Hon. David Brewer (Treasurer), Justice (ret.), 

Supreme Court of Oregon, Salem, OR 

Hon. Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the 

State of New York (ret.); Of Counsel, 

Latham & Watkins, LLP, New York, NY 

Hon. Chase Rogers, Chief Justice (ret.), 

Supreme Court of Connecticut; Partner, 

Day Pitney, LLP, Hartford, CT 

Hon. Wilfredo Martinez, Senior Judge, Ninth 

Judicial Circuit of Florida, Orlando, FL 

Marsha J. Rabiteau, President & CEO, Center 

for Human Trafficking Court Solutions, 

Bloomfield, CT 

Isabel Framer, President, Language Access 

Consultants LLC, Copley, OH 

Jonathan D. Mattiello, Executive Director (ex 

officio) 

Jonathan D. Mattiello, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22802 Filed 10–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–SC–P 

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE 

Notice of Establishment and Request 

for Nominations for the Seasonal and 

Perishable Agricultural Products 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Office of the United States 

Trade Representative. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

applications. 

SUMMARY: The Office of the United 

States Trade Representative (USTR) and 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) have established a new trade 

advisory committee known as the 

Seasonal and Perishable Agricultural 

Products Advisory Committee 

(Committee) to provide advice and 

recommendations to the U.S. Trade 

Representative and the Secretary of 

Agriculture in connection with U.S. 

trade policy that concerns 

administrative actions and legislation 

that would promote the competitiveness 

of Southeastern U.S. producers of 

seasonal and perishable agricultural 

products. USTR is accepting 

applications from qualified individuals 

interested in serving a four-year term as 

a Committee member. 

DATES: USTR will accept nominations 

on a rolling basis for Committee 

membership for an initial four-year 

charter term. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1