Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 200 / Monday, October 16, 2000 / Notices 61189

renewal has been sent to the Denver

Office for review/approval by the

Commissioner’s Office.

14. P–SMBP, Kansas: Anticipate

initiating negotiations for renewal of

long-term water service contracts with

the Kirwin and Webster IDs in the

Solomon River Basin in Kansas which

were extended for a period of 4 years in

accordance with Public Law 104–326

enacted October 19, 1996. Water service

contracts will be renewed prior to

expiration.

Completed contract actions:

11. P–SMBP, Kansas and Nebraska:

Long-term water supply renewal

contracts with Kansas-Bostwick,

Bostwick ID in Nebraska, Frenchman

Valley, Frenchman-Cambridge, and

Almena IDs were executed on July 25,

2000. The renewed long-term water

service contracts will take effect January

1, 2001.

34. Tom Green County Water Control

and Improvement District No. 1, San

Angelo Project, Texas: The District

requested deferment of its 2000

construction payment. The deferment

has been approved by the Secretary of

the Interior. A public notice for this

action was printed in the San Angelo

Times. The 60-day comment period

ended July 3, 2000. The deferment of

the 2000 construction payment was

signed on July 11, 2000.

Dated: October 6, 2000.

Wayne O. Deason,

Associate Director,, Office of Policy.

[FR Doc. 00–26452 Filed 10–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Parole Commission

Sunshine Act Meeting

Public Announcement

Pursuant To The Government In the

Sunshine Act (Public Law 94–409) [5

U.S.C. Section 522b].

Agency Holding Meeting: Department

of Justice, United States Parole

Commission.

Time and Date: 9:30 a.m., Tuesday,

October 17, 2000.

Place: 5550 Friendship Blvd., Fourth

Floor, Chevy Chase, MD 20815.

Status: Open.

Matters to be Considered: The

following matters have been placed on

the agenda for the open Parole

Commission meeting:

1. Approval of minutes of previous

Commission meeting.

2. Reports from the Chairman,

Commissioners, Legal, Chief of Staff,

Case Operations, and Administrative

Sections.

3. Discussion of the proposed Interim

Rules for District of Columbia

Supervised Release.

Agency Contact: Sam Robertson, Case

Operations, United States parole

Commission, (301) 492–5962.

Dated: October 10, 2000.

Michael A. Stover,

General Counsel, U.S. Parole Commission.

[FR Doc. 00–26564 Filed 10–12–00; 11:04

am]

BILLING CODE 4410–31–M

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Parole Commission

Sunshine Act Meeting

Public Announcement

Pursuant To The Government In the

Sunshine Act (Public Law 94–409) [5

U.S.C. Section 552b].

Agency Holding Meeting: Department

of Justice, United States Parole

Commission.

Date and Time: 12 p.m., Tuesday,

October 17, 2000.

Place: U.S. Parole Commission, 5550

Friendship Boulevard, 4th Floor, Chevy

Chase, Maryland 20815.

Status: Closed—Meeting.

Matters Considered: The following

matter will be considered during the

closed portion of the Commission’s

Business Meeting:

Appeals to the Commission involving

approximately three cases decided by

the National Commissioners pursuant to

a reference under 28 CFR 2.27. These

cases were originally heard by an

examiner panel wherein inmates of

Federal prisons have applied for parole

or are contesting revocation of parole or

mandatory release.

Agency Contact: Sam Robertson, Case

Operations, United States Parole

Commission, (301) 492–5962.

Dated: October 10, 2000.

Michael A. Stover,

General Counsel, U.S. Parole Commission.

[FR Doc. 00–26565 Filed 10–12–00; 11:05

am]

BILLING CODE 4410–31–M

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office for Victims of Crime

[OJP(OVC)–1300]

Children’s Justice Act Partnerships for

Indian Communities

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs,

Office for Victims of Crime, Justice.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

SUMMARY: The Office for Victims of

Crime (OVC) is publishing this notice to

announce a $500,000 discretionary grant

program for federally recognized Indian

tribal governments and tribal

organizations designed to improve the

handling of severe child abuse cases,

particularly cases of child sexual abuse,

in a manner which limits additional

trauma to the child while improving the

investigation and prosecution of these

cases.

DATES: Applications must be received

by 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, November

30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All application packages

should be sent to the Office for Victims

of Crime, Federal Crime Victims

Division, 810 Seventh Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20531. If sending

applications by express mail, the zip

code should be 20001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

a copy of the solicitation or for

information about application

procedures, please call Cathy Sanders at

(202) 616–3578 or e-mail at

<cathy@ojp.usdoj.gov>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory Authority

This action is authorized by the

Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA),

as amended, 42 U.S.C. 10601 et seq. The

Act established a Crime Victims Fund in

the Department of the Treasury made up

of monies received from federal

criminal fines; special penalty

assessments; forfeited appearance

bonds, bail bonds and collateral

security; and literary profits due

convicted federal defendants. Under the

provisions of 42 U.S.C. 10601 (d)(2), the

first $20,000,000 deposited in the Fund

in a particular year shall be available for

grants as provided in 42 U.S.C.

10603(a). Under 42 U.S.C. 10601 (g)(1)

the Attorney General, acting through the

Director of OVC, is authorized to use 15

percent of these funds for the purposes

of assisting Indian tribes in developing,

establishing, and operating programs

designed to improve the handling,

investigation, and prosecution of child

abuse cases, especially child sexual

abuse cases. OVC has labeled this

program as the Children’s Justice Act

Partnerships for Indian Communities

Discretionary Grant Program (CJA).

Background

The Children’s Justice and Assistance

Act was passed in 1986 to provide funds

to states to establish programs to

effectively handle child abuse cases. In

1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act amended

61190 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 200 / Monday, October 16, 2000 / Notices

the Victims of Crime Act of 1984,

authorizing the use of a portion of the

State CJA funds to assist Indian Tribes

in developing, establishing and

operating programs to improve the

handling, investigation, and prosecution

of child abuse cases, particularly child

sexual abuse cases.

Since 1989, OVC has provided CJA

funding to approximately 45 tribes. The

tribal programs have made a number of

systemic improvements in the handling

of child abuse cases. They have

established, expanded, and trained

multidisciplinary and child protection

teams; revised tribal codes and

procedures to address child sexual

abuse; provided child advocacy services

for children involved in court

proceedings; created protocols for

reporting, investigating, and prosecuting

cases of child sexual abuse; developed

working agreements that minimize the

number of child interviews; enhanced

case management and treatment

services; offered specialized training for

prosecutors, judges, investigators and

other professionals who handle child

sexual abuse cases; created special

child-centered interview rooms; and

hired specialized staff to handle child

victim cases.

Goal

The goal of the program is to improve

tribal criminal justice systems for

handling cases of severe physical abuse

and/or child sexual abuse in Indian

communities.

Purpose

The purpose of the program is to

assist Indian communities in

developing, establishing, and operating

partnership programs to improve the

investigation, prosecution, and overall

handling of cases of child sexual abuse

and severe physical abuse, in a manner

that increases support for and lessens

trauma to child victims.

Program Strategy

This solicitation invites applicants to

conceptualize, develop, and implement

a CJA partnership program which will

improve the investigation and

prosecution of child abuse cases,

particularly child sexual abuse cases.

However, the partnership program is not

intended to fund separate programs

within tribal governments. Rather, it is

intended to improve the capacity of

existing tribal systems to handle severe

child abuse cases by developing

specialized services and procedures to

address the needs of American Indian

child victims. The program focuses on

developing strategies to handle cases of

child sexual abuse from the initial

disclosure, through the investigation

and prosecution, to the resolution of the

case in an effective and timely manner.

The organizational structure and

staffing pattern described in the

application must be implemented as

soon as possible after award of grant

funds. Applicants are, therefore,

encouraged to discuss the proposed

partnership with their Tribal Chairman,

Tribal Council, and other tribal agencies

prior to submission of the application,

and to solicit their support and approval

of the partnership for the life of the

program.

A Tribal Resolution must be included

with the application, which approves

commitments and activities for the first

year of the grant. For years two and

three, the activities or implementation

plan should be outlined in sufficient

detail to show that the proposed

program will contribute to the

development of a strong partnership.

The strategy for establishing a fully

functioning partnership program

consists of three stages of project

implementation over a three year grant

period. An in-kind or hard match is

required each year. (See ‘‘Award

Amount’’ for an explanation of the inkind match requirements.) The three

stages of implementation are:

1. Stage I—Assessment and

Partnership Development. During Stage

I, the grantee is expected to assess its

current tribal system and its resources

for implementing a partnership program

and determine what additional

resources and system changes are

needed to deal effectively with child

abuse cases. The assessment should

examine the current procedures for

responding to child abuse, procedures

for interviewing child victims, the

delivery of services to victims and their

non-offending family members, training

for social service, criminal justice, and

medical and mental health personnel,

and community awareness efforts. The

grantee should hire and train key staff

to handle and process cases through the

tribal system. Training for

multidisciplinary teams, prosecutors,

law enforcement personnel, judges,

advocates, medical, mental health and

social service professionals may be

required. There may also be a need to

revise existing procedures for handling

child abuse cases, interviewing child

victims, providing court advocacy, and

providing treatment services.

The products of this stage include the

following: (a) Job descriptions and

resume ́s for key staff hired or contracted

under the grant; (b) a report of the

findings and recommendations from the

assessment, which describes the

additional changes and resources

needed to implement an efficient

project; (c) activity reports that

summarize major activities and

accomplishments of the grant to be

submitted to OVC semi-annually during

this stage; and (d) a service delivery

plan and agendas for the training of

personnel involved in handling serious

child abuse cases, if appropriate at this

stage.

2. Stage II—Implementation of

Partnership Program and Development

of Training and Resource Materials. In

implementing the project, the grantee

should revise existing materials or

develop new ones, such as interagency

protocols, reporting procedures,

partnership agreements with federal,

state, and/or other tribal agencies, and

tribal codes that address child sexual

abuse (including definitions, sentencing

guidelines, and maximum penalties for

offenders). Other materials might

include descriptions of training

curricula and practices that assist and

support children who must participate

in tribal judicial proceedings. These

materials can be used by the grantee and

may be of value to other tribes seeking

culturally appropriate materials to assist

them in following similar practices on

behalf of child victims.

The grantee may find it useful to

obtain materials from other tribal

agencies, organizations, and current CJA

programs that will help them improve

their response to child sexual abuse

cases. The grantee should integrate

these practices into its current system

and develop its capacity to provide

training and technical assistance to

other tribes.

The products of this stage would

include the following: (a) A compilation

of the materials gathered by the grantee

from within the tribe and from other

sources; (b) training curricula; (c) a

brochure and/or resource directory,

which advertises the availability of the

tribe’s resources, services, and training

opportunities that can be distributed to

the tribal community; and (d) progress

reports that summarize major activities

and accomplishments of the grant. The

progress reports must be submitted to

OVC semi-annually during this stage of

program activities.

3. Stage III—Delivery of Services.

During the third stage, the partnership

program is expected to be fully

functional and capable of providing

effective services to sexually abused

child victims. The program can serve as

a model for: (a) Illustrating effective

approaches to handling serious child

abuse cases; (b) coordinating with

various tribal, state and federal agencies;

(c) meeting the needs of American

Indian child abuse victims and their

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 200 / Monday, October 16, 2000 / Notices 61191

families; and (d) communicating with

tribal councils and other bodies in

responding effectively to child abuse.

Materials such as diagrams, flow charts,

and descriptions of program models can

be shared with other tribes to

demonstrate how to make similar

changes on behalf of abused child

victims. The materials and descriptions

should include information on

developing proper interviewing

procedures, providing court advocacy,

and making other improvements that

adapt investigative and judicial

procedures to address the needs and

abilities of abused child victims.

The products of this stage could

include the following: (a) illustrative

materials on program implementation

and training; (b) reports describing the

training provided by the tribe; (c)

recommendations for and descriptions

of training workshops that might be

offered in OVC-sponsored conferences

for assisting abused child victims in

Indian communities; (d) semi-annual

progress reports that summarize major

activities and accomplishments of the

grant; and (e) a final narrative report.

From time to time, partnership

program staff may be asked to

participate in OVC-sponsored

conferences and training sessions to

demonstrate model practices, provide

program materials and handouts, serve

as trainers, or participate on discussion

groups and panels. Consequently,

applicants should include travel

expenses for two key staff to attend at

a minimum one OVC-sponsored

national conference and one postawards planning conference.

OVC recognizes that jurisdictional

authority over child sexual abuse cases

varies greatly among tribes. Hence, we

seek innovative projects based on the

unique jurisdictional characteristics of a

particular tribal criminal justice and

service delivery system. OVC expects

tribes that receive these grants to be

actively involved in determining the

manner in which these cases are

administratively and judicially

processed at the tribal, state and federal

levels. Tribes should coordinate child

sexual abuse case referrals with the

appropriate state and federal authorities

for prosectuion and follow-up with

tribal prosecution when appropriate.

In addition, OVC encourages the use

of multidisciplinary teams (known in

many Indian communities as Child

Protection Teams) to respond to cases of

child sexual abuse. This could also

include specialized prosecutorial units

for the investigation, referral, and

prosecution of child abuse cases.

Mulitdisciplinary teams which are

developed or expanded as a result of

this grant must include representatives

from the tribal, state and federal

agencies that provide services to the

tribe. These multidisciplinary teams

should assist in clarifying roles and

responsibilities of all authorities

involved in these cases, including social

and medical services, law enforcement

officials, and prosecutors. Project funds

shall not be used to replace or serve as

a substitute for funds already used for

existing multidisciplinary teams or

child protective agencies, (known as

supplanting).

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible applicants are federally

recognized Indian tribes and tribal

organizations. Grant awards will be

limited to tribal organizations as defined

in the Indian Self-Determination and

Education Assistance Act, P.L. 93–638,

25 U.S.C., Section 450(b). Under this

provision, the definition of ‘‘tribal

organization’’ is the recognized

governing body of any Indian tribe, to

include any legally established

organization of Indians which is

controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by

such governing body or which is

democratically elected by the adult

members of the Indian community to be

served by such organization and which

includes the maximum participation of

Indians in all phases of its activities.

Applications must be signed by the

leader or chief executive of the tribe. In

cases where the Tribal Council serves as

the governing body, the application

must be signed by the Chairman or other

recognized leader of the Council.

Selection Criteria

Applications that are determined to

be in compliance with this

announcement will be reviewed by

panels of experts in criminal justice

procedures, social services, victim

assistance, and related disciplines.

Panels will be composed of staff from

federal, state, tribal, or local agencies;

colleges; national organizations; and

other nongovernmental agencies.

Applications will be reviewed and

evaluated competitively against the

following criteria:

1. The Problem to be Addressed (15

points) This criterion addresses how

well the applicant described the need

for such a program, including the

problems experienced and the issues

related to severe child physical abuse

and sexual abuse in the community. The

application must include a description

of the agencies involved (tribal, local,

state and federal) and where possible,

statistics on the number of cases

reported, investigated and substantiated,

referred for services, and prosecuted in

tribal or federal court.

2. Partnership Strategy/Design (35

points) This criterion measures how

well the project design supports the

purpose and goals of the partnership.

The applicant’s strategy or design must

clearly address the identified problem,

and provide a clear description of how

the project will achieve the stated goals

and objectives (15 points). The

applicant must demonstrate that the

proposed partnership program has been

discussed with and approved by the

Chairman and Tribal Council, including

a Tribal Resolution and allocation of the

in-kind match (15 points). If an

applicant proposes using employees or

other professionals, (i.e., forensic

interviewer, law enforcement officer,

IHS doctor), who will be detailed or

loaned to the partnership as in-kind

match, letters of support or other

documentation must be included to

support the detail. All in-kind match

must be described in the project

narrative and budget narrative. A Tribal

Resolution is a strong indicator of Tribal

Council approval and will be used by

OVC as an assurance of tribal support

for the partnership.

The project strategy must include a

description of project stages, tasks,

activities, timelines, and a clear

description of interim deliverables and

final products (5 points).

3. Organizational Capability (20

points): This criterion will demonstrate

the applicant’s capability for developing

and packaging a comprehensive

program that addresses the

investigation, prosecution, case

handling and treatment of child

physical and sexual abuse. The

organizational capability will be

assessed on the basis of: (a) the

applicant’s described management

structure and partnership management

plan (10 points); and (b) the applicant’s

discussion and documentation of key

staff members’ qualifications to perform

the assigned tasks and responsibilities

(10 points). In instances where the

applicant has previously received CJA

funds, the progress made under the

previous grant must be discussed.

4. Budget (15 points): Points will be

assigned based on the applicant’s

demonstration that sufficient staff and

time have been allocated to the project

to accomplish the proposed tasks and

that the budgeted costs are reasonable,

cost-effective, and accurately reflect

how grant funds will be used. All inkind or hard match must be described

in the budget narrative.

5. Plan for Measuring Progress and

Outcome (15 points): This criterion will

evaluate the applicant’s plan for

61192 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 200 / Monday, October 16, 2000 / Notices

assessing the impact of the project in

improving the investigation,

prosecution and overall handling of

child sexual abuse cases. Applicants

should describe the criteria and units of

measurement which will be used to

assess the partnership’s effectiveness,

such as number of abused victims

served, number of individuals trained,

positive changes that the child

protection team has made as a result of

having been trained, any new capacity

or improved response to child victims

that was developed as a result of the

training or the partnership program, the

number and type of products

disseminated, user satisfaction data, and

the number of community awareness

programs presented. Requests for

materials and for repeat training are also

strong indicators of success.

Application Submission

Applicants should submit an original

and two (2) copies of the proposal to the

Office for Victims of Crime, Federal

Crime Victims Division, 810 Seventh

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20531;

phone: (202) 616–3578. All submissions

must include:

1. A completed and signed

Application for Federal Assistance,

Standard Form 424, (SF–424 Rev. 4/88),

including the Certified Assurances.

2. OJP Form 4061/6 (Certification

Regarding Lobbying; Debarment,

Suspension and Other Responsibility

Matters; and Drug-Free Work Place

Requirements).

3. A proposed budget outlining all

costs for personnel, fringe benefits,

travel, equipment, supplies, other (e.g.,

telephone, postage) and the in-kind

match. See the section on Dollar

Amounts for an explanation of In-kind

Match. Funds should also be budgeted

for travel to at least two OVC sponsored

cluster meetings or conferences. For

planning purposes, travel should be

estimated for one trip to Washington,

D.C. for 3 days and one trip to San

Diego, CA or the National Indian

Nations Conference for 5 days. Federal

per diem rates will be used.

4. An abstract of the full proposal, not

to exceed one page.

5. A program narrative of not more

than 20 double-spaced typed pages. The

narrative should include the following

information:

(a) A clear, concise statement of the

problems experienced by the tribe in

handling, investigating and prosecuting

cases of serious child abuse.

(b) A description of how child abuse

and child sexual abuse cases are

currently handled, by law enforcement,

social services, etc. and the Child

Protection Team (CPT), if it is

operational. This description should

depict the system currently in place and

include the role of all tribal, federal and

state agencies in investigating, referring,

treating and prosecuting serious child

abuse cases.

(c) The data and statistics required by

the selection criteria.

(d) A clear statement of the project

objectives, including a listing of the

major events, activities, products and a

timetable for completion.

(e) A clear explanation of how this

project will result in systemic

improvement in the investigation and

prosecution of child sexual abuse cases

while limiting trauma to child victims.

(f) The proposed management and

staffing plan.

(g) The method of evaluating the

proposed program.

6. Attachments to the narrative should

include:

(a) Letters of support from agencies at

the Federal, state and local levels that

are also involved in handling,

investigating and/or prosecuting child

abuse cases.

(b) A brief history of all grants the

tribe has received over the past 2 years

related to: domestic violence, child

abuse, family violence, sexual assault,

law enforcement and/or victimization.

(c) Copies of resumes for the proposed

professional staff which summarize

education and professional experience.

Special Instructions: In order to

facilitate handling, please do not bind

the applications at the spine, use spiral

binders, or tabs. Please number the

pages.

Application forms may be obtained by

writing or telephoning: Federal Crime

Victims Division, OVC, 810 Seventh

Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20531;

phone: (202) 616–3578.

Award Amounts

Grants will be awarded at $60,000 for

the first year with continuation funding

in the second and third year, contingent

upon the grantee’s performance, the

success of the project, and the

availability of federal funds.

OVC has allocated up to $500,000 for

this initiative in FY2001, and

anticipates supporting up to 10 grant

awards. Funding support will be

provided for up to three years with an

‘‘in-kind’’ match requirement each year.

The purpose of the ‘‘in-kind’’ match is

to obtain tribal investment into the

partnership from the beginning of the

grant award, thereby enhancing the

tribe’s ability to institutionalize the

program after OVC funding ends. The

in-kind match must be in the form of

staff time, facilities, office space and

utilities, employee details/loans, and

agency partnerships. Hard match is

allowable in lieu of in-kind match.

Volunteer time cannot be used as match.

The first year award will be limited to

$60,000 per grantee and will require a

10% in-kind match. The second year of

funding will be $75,000 with a 15% inkind match, and the third year of

funding will be $75,000 with a 25% inkind match.

Award Period

The grants will be for 12 months, with

potential continuations for two

additional years.

Dated: October 11, 2000.

Carolyn Hightower,

Deputy Director, Office for Victims of Crime.

[FR Doc. 00–26467 Filed 10–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4410–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration

Agency Information Collection

Activities; Announcement of OMB

Approval; Corrected Notice Published

in Full

AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Pension and Welfare

Benefits Administration (PWBA) is

announcing that a collection of

information has been approved by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (PRA) for the Application

for EFAST Electronic Signature and

Codes for EFAST Transmitters and

Software Developers (Form EFAST–1).

This notice announces the OMB

approval number and expiration date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Address requests for copies of the

information collection request (ICR) to

Gerald B. Lindrew, U.S. Department of

Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW., Room N–5647,

Washington, DC 20210. Telephone:

(202) 219–4782. This is not a toll-free

number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March

9, 2000, PWBA published a notice in the

Federal Register (65 FR 12577)

announcing its intent to request renewal

of approval under the PRA for the

Application for EFAST Electronic

Signature and Codes for EFAST

Transmitters and Software Developers

(Form EFAST–1). On September 25,

2000, OMB renewed its approval of the