63462 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 205 / Thursday, October 23, 2014 / Notices 

and organizations. The Council follows 

the procedures prescribed by the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) (Pub. Law 92–463). Meetings 

will be open to the public unless a 

determination is made in accordance 

with Section 10(d) of the FACA and 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c)(4), that a meeting or a 

portion of the meeting should be closed 

to the public. Notice of each meeting 

will be provided in the Federal Register 

at least 15 days prior to the meeting. 

For more information contact Marsha 

Thurman, Overseas Security Advisory 

Council, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, 

U.S. Department of State, Washington, 

DC 20522–2008, phone: 571–345–2214. 

Dated: September 26, 2014. 

Bill A. Miller, 

Director of the Diplomatic, Security Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25262 Filed 10–22–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 8929] 

U.S. Department of State Advisory 

Committee on Private International 

Law (ACPIL): Public Meeting on the 

Judgments Project 

The Office of the Assistant Legal 

Adviser for Private International Law, 

Department of State, gives notice of a 

public meeting to discuss the judgments 

project. The public meeting will take 

place on Monday, November 10, 2014, 

from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. EST. 

This is not a meeting of the full 

Advisory Committee. 

A Working Group of the Hague 

Conference has met three times thus far 

to discuss the structure and provisions 

of a convention on the recognition and 

enforcement of foreign judgments. 

The purpose of the public meeting is 

to obtain the views of concerned 

stakeholders on the different approaches 

to a convention that have been 

proposed, and to discuss the relative 

advantages and disadvantages of the 

different approaches. Among other 

things, we would like to receive views 

and thoughts on the use of jurisdictional 

criteria or filters in determining which 

judgments should be recognized and 

enforced. 

Time and Place: The meeting will 

take place from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 

p.m. EST on November 10th, in Room 

240, South Building, State Department 

Annex 4, Washington, DC 20037. 

Participants should plan to arrive at the 

Navy Hill gate on the west side of 23rd 

Street NW., at the intersection of 23rd 

Street NW., and D Street NW., by 9:30 

a.m. for visitor screening. If you are 

unable to attend the public meeting and 

would like to participate from a remote 

location, teleconferencing will be 

available. Those who cannot attend but 

wish to comment are welcome to do so 

by email to John Kim at kimmjj@

state.gov. 

Public Participation: This meeting is 

open to the public, subject to the 

capacity of the meeting room. Access to 

the building is strictly controlled. For 

pre-clearance purposes, those planning 

to attend should email pil@state.gov 

providing full name, address, date of 

birth, citizenship, driver’s license or 

passport number, and email address. 

This information will greatly facilitate 

entry into the building. A member of the 

public needing reasonable 

accommodation should email pil@

state.gov not later than November 3, 

2014. Requests made after that date will 

be considered, but might not be able to 

be fulfilled. If you would like to 

participate by telephone, please email 

pil@state.gov to obtain the call-in 

number and other information. 

Data from the public is requested 

pursuant to Public Law 99–399 

(Omnibus Diplomatic Security and 

Antiterrorism Act of 1986), as amended; 

Public Law 107–56 (USA PATRIOT 

Act); and Executive Order 13356. The 

purpose of the collection is to validate 

the identity of individuals who enter 

Department facilities. 

The data will be entered into the 

Visitor Access Control System (VACS– 

D) database. Please see the Security 

Records System of Records Notice 

(State-36) at http://www.state.gov/

documents/organization/103419.pdf for 

additional information. 

Dated: October 17, 2014. 

John J. Kim, 

Assistant Legal Adviser, Office of Private 

International Law, Office of the Legal Adviser, 

U.S. Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25260 Filed 10–22–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7410–08–P 

STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE 

Grant Guideline; Notice 

AGENCY: State Justice Institute. 

ACTION: Grant Guideline for FY 2015. 

SUMMARY: This Guideline sets forth the 

administrative, programmatic, and 

financial requirements attendant to 

Fiscal Year 2015 State Justice Institute 

grants, cooperative agreements, and 

contracts. 

DATES: October 23, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jonathan Mattiello, Executive Director, 

State Justice Institute, 11951 Freedom 

Drive, Suite 1020, Reston, VA 20190, 

571–313–8843, jonathan.mattiello@

sji.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 

(42 U.S.C. 10701, et seq.), SJI 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 2015. 

Table of Contents 

I. The Mission of the State Justice Institute 

II. Eligibility for Award 

III. Scope of the Program 

IV. Grant Applications 

V. Grant Application Review Procedures 

VI. Compliance Requirements 

VII. Financial Requirements 

VIII. Grant Adjustments 

I. The Mission of the State Justice 

Institute 

SJI was established by State Justice 

Institute Authorization Act of 1984 (42 

U.S.C. 10701 et seq.) 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 assure 

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 

which 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. SJI is 

supervised by a Board of Directors 

appointed by the President, with the 

advice and consent of the Senate. The 

Board 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. 

Through the award of grants, 

contracts, and cooperative agreements, 

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SJI is authorized to perform the 

following activities: 

A. Support technical assistance, 

demonstrations, special projects, 

research and training to improve the 

administration of justice in the state 

courts; 

B. Provide for the preparation, 

publication, and dissemination of 

information regarding state judicial 

systems; 

C. Participate in joint projects with 

federal agencies and other private 

grantors; 

D. 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; 

E. Encourage and assist in furthering 

judicial education; and, 

F. Encourage, assist, and serve in a 

consulting capacity to state and local 

justice system agencies in the 

development, maintenance, and 

coordination of criminal, civil, and 

juvenile justice programs and services. 

II. Eligibility for Award 

SJI is authorized by Congress to award 

grants, cooperative agreements, and 

contracts to the following entities and 

types of organizations: 

A. State and local courts and their 

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

B. 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)). 

C. 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: 

1. The principal purpose or activity of 

the applicant is to provide education 

and training to state and local judges 

and court personnel; and 

2. The applicant demonstrates a 

record of substantial experience in the 

field of judicial education and training. 

D. Other eligible grant recipients (42 

U.S.C. 10705(b)(2)(A)–(D)). 

1. Provided that the objectives of the 

project can be served better, the Institute 

is also authorized to make awards to: 

a. Nonprofit organizations with 

expertise in judicial administration; 

b. Institutions of higher education; 

c. Individuals, partnerships, firms, 

corporations (for-profit organizations 

must waive their fees); and 

d. Private agencies with expertise in 

judicial administration. 

2. SJI may also make awards to state 

or local agencies and institutions other 

than courts for services that cannot be 

adequately provided through 

nongovernmental arrangements (42 

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

E. Inter-agency Agreements. SJI may 

enter into inter-agency agreements with 

federal agencies (42 U.S.C. 10705(b)(4)) 

and private funders to support projects 

consistent with the purposes of the State 

Justice Institute Act. 

SJI is prohibited from awarding grants 

to federal, tribal, and international 

courts. 

III. Scope of the Program 

SJI is offering six types of grants in FY 

2015: Project Grants, Technical 

Assistance (TA) Grants, Curriculum 

Adaptation and Training (CAT) Grants, 

Partner Grants, Strategic Initiatives 

Grants (SIG) Program, and the Education 

Support Program (ESP). 

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 (in no ranking order): 

• Language Access and the State 

Courts—improving language access in 

the state courts through remote 

interpretation (outside the courtroom), 

interpreter certification, and courtroom 

services (plain language forms, Web 

sites, etc.). 

• Self-Represented Litigation— 

promoting court-based self-help centers, 

online services, and increasing the use 

of court-based volunteer attorney 

programs. 

• Reengineering in Response to 

Budget Reductions—assisting courts 

with the process of reengineering, 

regionalization or centralization of 

services, structural changes, and 

reducing costs to taxpayers while 

providing access to justice. 

• Remote Technology—supporting 

the innovative use of technology to 

improve the business operations of 

courts and enhance services outside the 

courtroom. This includes 

videoconferencing, online access, 

educational services, and remote court 

proceedings. 

• Human Trafficking and the State 

Courts—addressing the impact of 

federal and state human trafficking laws 

on the state courts, and the challenges 

faced by state courts in dealing with 

cases involving trafficking victims and 

their families. 

• Immigration Issues and the State 

Courts—addressing the impact of 

federal and state immigration law and 

policies on the state courts. 

• Guardianship, Conservatorship, and 

Elder Issues—assisting courts in 

improving and increasing use of courtbased volunteer attorney programs. 

• Juvenile Justice—innovative 

projects that have no other existing or 

potential funding sources (federal, state, 

or private) that will 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 re-entry. 

A. Project Grants 

Project Grants are intended to support 

innovative education and training, 

research and evaluation, demonstration, 

and technical assistance projects that 

can improve the administration of 

justice in state courts locally or 

nationwide. Project Grants may 

ordinarily not exceed $300,000. 

Examples of expenses not covered by 

Project Grants include the salaries, 

benefits, or travel of full-or part-time 

court employees. Grant periods for 

Project Grants ordinarily may not 

exceed 36 months. 

Applicants for Project Grants will be 

required to contribute a cash match of 

not less than 50 percent of the total cost 

of the proposed project. In other words, 

grant awards by SJI must be matched at 

least dollar for dollar by grant 

applicants. Applicants may contribute 

the required cash match directly or in 

cooperation with third parties. 

Prospective applicants should carefully 

review Section VI.8. (matching 

requirements) and Section VI.16.a. (nonsupplantation) of the Guideline prior to 

beginning the application process. 

Funding from other federal departments 

or agencies may not be used for cash 

match. If questions arise, applicants are 

strongly encouraged to consult SJI. 

A temporary reduced cash match 

process is available for state courts 

submitting Project Grant applications. 

The use of this cash match reduction 

authority is intended to help the state 

courts in this climate of severe budget 

reductions. The process requires the 

state court to formally request a reduced 

cash match, and that the request be 

certified by the chief justice of that state. 

The state court must explain in detail 

how it is facing budgetary cutbacks that 

will result in significant reductions in 

other services, and why it will be unable 

to undertake the project without a cash 

match reduction. This must be 

described in detail in the application 

and verified by the chief justice of that 

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state. Only state courts may apply for a 

cash match reduction. 

Applicants should examine their 

projected project costs closely, and if 

they are unable to cover half the costs 

of the project, they may apply for a 

reduction in cash match. Applicants are 

strongly encouraged to provide as much 

cash match as possible in their 

application, as some cash match 

contribution is still required. 

Applicants are also encouraged to 

provide the percentage of budget 

reductions in their court(s), and the 

measures that have been taken by the 

jurisdiction/state to handle the budget 

shortfalls. This may include staff 

reductions, as well as reductions in 

services and programs. Some cash 

contribution is still required for Project 

Grants, and should be reflected in the 

budget proposal for the project. For 

example, if the total cost of the 

proposed project is $100,000, the 

normal cash match would be $50,000. 

However, if the applicant is unable to 

provide $50,000 for the activities, but is 

able to contribute $25,000, the budget 

should show the request to SJI totaling 

$75,000, with the cash match of 

$25,000. 

As set forth in Section I., SJI is 

authorized to fund projects addressing a 

broad range of program areas. Funding 

will not be made available for the 

ordinary, routine operations of court 

systems. 

B. Technical Assistance (TA) Grants 

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 

$50,000. Examples of expenses not 

covered by TA Grants include the 

salaries, benefits, or travel of full-or 

part-time court employees. Grant 

periods for TA Grants ordinarily may 

not exceed 24 months. 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. 

Applicants for TA Grants will be 

required to contribute a total match of 

not less than 50 percent of the grant 

amount requested, of which 20 percent 

must be cash. In other words, an 

applicant seeking a $50,000 TA grant 

must provide a $25,000 match, of which 

up to $20,000 can be in-kind and not 

less than $5,000 must be cash. Funding 

from other federal departments and 

agencies may not be used for cash 

match. TA Grant application procedures 

can be found in section IV.B. 

C. Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

(CAT) Grants 

CAT Grants are intended to: 1) Enable 

courts and regional 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 $30,000. Examples of expenses 

not covered by CAT Grants include the 

salaries, benefits, or travel of full-or 

part-time court employees. Grant 

periods for CAT Grants ordinarily may 

not exceed 12 months. 

Applicants for CAT Grants will be 

required to contribute a match of not 

less than 50 percent of the grant amount 

requested, of which 20 percent must be 

cash. In other words, an applicant 

seeking a $30,000 CAT grant must 

provide a $15,000 match, of which up 

to $12,000 can be in-kind and not less 

than $3,000 must be cash. Funding from 

other federal departments and agencies 

may not be used for cash match. CAT 

Grant application procedures can be 

found in section IV.C. 

D. Partner Grants 

Partner Grants are intended to allow 

SJI and federal, state, or local agencies 

or foundations, trusts, or other private 

entities to combine financial resources 

in pursuit of common interests. SJI and 

its financial partners may set any level 

for Partner Grants, subject to the entire 

amount of the grant being available at 

the time of the award. Grant periods for 

Partner Grants ordinarily may not 

exceed 36 months. 

Partner Grants are subject to the same 

cash match requirement as Project 

Grants. In other words, grant awards by 

SJI must be matched at least dollar-fordollar. Partner Grants are initiated and 

coordinated by the funding 

organizations. More information on 

Partner Grants can be found in section 

IV.D. 

E. Strategic Initiatives Grants 

The Strategic Initiatives Grants (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 any remaining 

balance not used for the SIG program 

will become available for SJI’s other 

grant programs. The program is handled 

at the discretion of the SJI Board of 

Directors and staff outside the normal 

grant application process (i.e., SJI will 

initiate the project). 

F. Education Support Program (ESP) for 

Judges and Court Managers 

The Education Support Program (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 to enroll 

in online, educational and training 

programs sponsored by national and 

state providers that they could not 

otherwise attend or take online because 

of limited state, local, and personal 

budgets. An ESP award only covers the 

cost of tuition up to a maximum of 

$1,000 per award. ESP application 

procedures can be found in section IV.E. 

IV. Grant Applications 

A. Project Grants 

An application for a Project Grant 

must include an application form; 

budget forms (with appropriate 

documentation); a project abstract and 

program narrative; a disclosure of 

lobbying form, when applicable; and 

certain certifications and assurances 

(see below). See www.sji.gov/forms for 

Project Grant application forms. 

1. Forms 

a. 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; that 

submission of the application has been 

authorized by the applicant; and that 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. 

b. 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 

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denotes that the proposed project has 

been approved by the state’s highest 

court or the agency or council it has 

designated. It denotes further that, 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. 

c. Budget Form (Form C) 

Applicants must submit a Form C. In 

addition, applicants must provide a 

detailed budget narrative providing an 

explanation of the basis for the 

estimates in each budget category (see 

subsection A.4. below). 

If funds from other sources are 

required to conduct the project, either as 

match or to support other aspects of the 

project, the source, current status of the 

request, and anticipated decision date 

must be provided. 

d. Assurances (Form D) 

This form lists the statutory, 

regulatory, and policy requirements 

with which recipients of Institute funds 

must comply. 

e. 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 (see section VI.A.7.). 

2. Project Abstract 

The abstract should highlight the 

purposes, goals, methods, and 

anticipated benefits of the proposed 

project. It should not exceed 1 singlespaced page. 

3. Program Narrative 

The program narrative for an 

application may not exceed 25 doublespaced pages. The pages should be 

numbered. This page limit does not 

include the forms, the abstract, the 

budget narrative, and any appendices 

containing resumes and letters of 

cooperation or endorsement. 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. 

The program narrative should address 

the following topics: 

a. Project Objectives 

The applicant should include a clear, 

concise statement of what the proposed 

project is intended to accomplish. In 

stating the objectives of the project, 

applicants should focus on the overall 

programmatic objective (e.g., to enhance 

understanding and skills regarding a 

specific subject, or to determine how a 

certain procedure affects the court and 

litigants) rather than on operational 

objectives. 

The applicant 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 applicant must 

provide an explanation why not. 

b. Need for the Project 

If the project is to be conducted in any 

specific location(s), the applicant 

should discuss the particular needs of 

the project site(s) to be addressed by the 

project and why those needs are not 

being met through the use of existing 

programs, procedures, services, or other 

resources. 

If the project is not site-specific, the 

applicant should 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, the applicant 

should describe how, if applicable, the 

project will be sustained in the future 

through existing resources. 

The discussion should 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 National 

Center for State Courts (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 should 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 

differentiate from prior work. 

c. Tasks, Methods and Evaluations 

(1) Tasks and Methods. The applicant 

should delineate the tasks to be 

performed in achieving the project 

objectives and the methods to be used 

for accomplishing each task. For 

example: 

(a) For research and evaluation 

projects, the applicant should 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 should 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 should be 

included that explains the value of the 

proposed research and the methods to 

be used to minimize or eliminate such 

risk. 

(b) For education and training 

projects, the applicant should include 

the adult education techniques to be 

used in designing and presenting the 

program, including the teaching/

learning objectives of the educational 

design, the teaching methods to be used, 

and the opportunities for structured 

interaction among the participants; 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. 

(c) For demonstration projects, the 

applicant should include the 

demonstration sites and the reasons 

they were selected, or if the sites have 

not been chosen, how they would be 

identified and their cooperation 

obtained; and how the program or 

procedures would be implemented and 

monitored. 

(d) For technical assistance projects, 

the applicant should 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. 

(2) Evaluation. Projects should 

include an evaluation plan to determine 

whether the project met its objectives. 

The evaluation should 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 should 

be appropriate to the type of project 

proposed. 

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d. Project Management 

The applicant should present a 

detailed management plan, including 

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 

time line, Gantt Chart, or schedule, 

applicants should 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 

management plan must also provide for 

the submission of Quarterly Progress 

and Financial 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), per section 

VI.A.13. 

Applicants should be aware that SJI is 

unlikely to approve a limited extension 

of the grant period without strong 

justification. Therefore, the management 

plan should be as realistic as possible 

and fully reflect the time commitments 

of the proposed project staff and 

consultants. 

e. Products 

The program narrative in the 

application should contain a description 

of the product(s) to be developed (e.g., 

training curricula and materials, Web 

sites or other electronic multimedia, 

articles, guidelines, manuals, reports, 

handbooks, benchbooks, or books), 

including when they would be 

submitted to SJI. The budget should 

include the cost of producing and 

disseminating the product to the state 

chief justice, state court administrator, 

and other appropriate judges or court 

personnel. If final products involve 

electronic formats, the applicant should 

indicate how the product would be 

made available to other courts. 

Discussion of this dissemination process 

should occur between the grantee and 

SJI prior to the final selection of the 

dissemination process to be used. 

(1) Dissemination Plan. The 

application must 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; identify development, 

production, and dissemination costs 

covered by the project budget; and 

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) (see section VI.A.11.b.). 

Ordinarily, applicants should schedule 

all product preparation and distribution 

activities within the project period. 

Applicants proposing to develop webbased products should provide for 

sending a notice and description of the 

document to the appropriate audiences 

to alert them to the availability of the 

Web site or electronic product (i.e., a 

written report with a reference to the 

Web site). 

Three (3) copies of all project 

products should be submitted to SJI, 

along with an electronic version in 

HTML or PDF format. Discussions of 

final product dissemination should be 

conducted with SJI prior to the end of 

the grant period. 

(2) Types of Products. 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 should include an article 

summarizing the project findings that is 

publishable in a journal serving the 

courts community nationally, an 

executive summary that would be 

disseminated to the project’s primary 

audience, or both. Applicants proposing 

to conduct empirical research or 

evaluation projects with national import 

should describe how they would make 

their data available for secondary 

analysis after the grant period (see 

section VI.A.14.a.). 

The curricula and other products 

developed through education and 

training projects should be designed for 

use by others and again by the original 

participants in the course of their 

duties. 

(3) SJI Review. 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. For products in Web site 

or multimedia format, applicants must 

provide for SJI review of the product 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 (see 

section VI.A.11.f.). 

(4) Acknowledgment, Disclaimer, and 

Logo. Applicants must also include in 

all project products a prominent 

acknowledgment that support was 

received from SJI and a disclaimer 

paragraph based on the example 

provided in section VI.A.11.a.2. in the 

Grant Guideline. The ‘‘SJI’’ logo must 

appear on the front cover of a written 

product, or in the opening frames of a 

Web site or other multimedia product, 

unless SJI approves another placement. 

The SJI logo can be downloaded from 

SJI’s Web site: www.sji.gov. 

f. Applicant Status 

An applicant that is not a state or 

local court and has not received a grant 

from SJI within the past three years 

should indicate whether it is either a 

national non-profit organization 

controlled by, operating in conjunction 

with, and serving the judicial branches 

of state governments, or a national nonprofit organization for the education and 

training of state court judges and 

support personnel (see section II). If the 

applicant is a non-judicial unit of 

federal, state, or local government, it 

must explain whether the proposed 

services could be adequately provided 

by non-governmental entities. 

g. Staff Capability 

The applicant should include a 

summary of the training and experience 

of the key staff members and 

consultants that qualify them for 

conducting and managing 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 also should 

identify the person who would be 

responsible for managing and reporting 

on the financial aspects of the proposed 

project. 

h. Organizational Capacity 

Applicants that have not received a 

grant from SJI within the past three 

years should include a statement 

describing their capacity to administer 

grant funds, including the financial 

systems used to monitor project 

expenditures (and income, if any), and 

a summary of their past experience in 

administering grants, as well as any 

resources or capabilities that 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 three years should 

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 non-profit 

organization (other than a university), it 

must also provide documentation of its 

501(c) tax-exempt status as determined 

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by the Internal Revenue Service and a 

copy of a current certified audit report. 

For purposes of this requirement, 

‘‘current’’ means no earlier than two 

years prior to the present calendar year. 

If a current audit report is not 

available, SJI will require the 

organization to complete a financial 

capability questionnaire, which must be 

signed by a certified public accountant. 

Other applicants may be required to 

provide a current audit report, a 

financial capability questionnaire, or 

both, if specifically requested to do so 

by the Institute. 

i. Statement of Lobbying Activities 

Non-governmental applicants must 

submit SJI’s Disclosure of Lobbying 

Activities Form E, which documents 

whether they, or another entity that is 

a part of the same organization as the 

applicant, have advocated a position 

before Congress on any issue, and 

identifies the specific subjects of their 

lobbying efforts. 

j. Letters of Cooperation or Support 

If the cooperation of courts, 

organizations, agencies, or individuals 

other than the applicant is required to 

conduct the project, the applicant 

should attach written assurances of 

cooperation and availability to the 

application, or send them under 

separate cover. Letters of general 

support for a project are also 

encouraged. 

4. Budget Narrative 

In addition to Project Grant 

applications, the following section also 

applies to Technical Assistance and 

Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

grant applications. 

The budget narrative should provide 

the basis for the computation of all 

project-related costs. When the 

proposed project would be partially 

supported by grants from other funding 

sources, applicants should make clear 

what costs would be covered by those 

other grants. Additional background 

information or schedules may be 

attached if they are essential to 

obtaining a clear understanding of the 

proposed budget. Numerous and 

lengthy appendices are strongly 

discouraged. 

The budget narrative should cover the 

costs of all components of the project 

and clearly identify costs attributable to 

the project evaluation. 

a. Justification of Personnel 

Compensation 

The applicant should set forth the 

percentages of time to be devoted by the 

individuals who would staff the 

proposed project, the annual salary of 

each of those persons, and the number 

of work days per year used for 

calculating the percentages of time or 

daily rates of those individuals. The 

applicant should 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 in-kind match. 

b. Fringe Benefit Computation 

For non-governmental entities, the 

applicant should 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. 

c. Consultant/Contractual Services and 

Honoraria 

The applicant should 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. 

Rates for consultant services must be set 

in accordance with section VII.I.2.c. 

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 payments must be justified 

in the same manner as consultant 

payments. 

d. 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 should 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 

should also be included in the narrative. 

e. 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 ordinarily will not be 

approved. The applicant should 

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 

should clearly identify which 

equipment is to be leased and which is 

to be purchased. The method of 

procurement should also be described. 

Purchases of automated data processing 

equipment must comply with section 

VII.I.2.b. 

f. Supplies 

The applicant should provide a 

general description of the supplies 

necessary to accomplish the goals and 

objectives of the grant. In addition, the 

applicant should provide the basis for 

the amount requested for this 

expenditure category. 

g. Construction 

Construction expenses are prohibited 

except for the limited purposes set forth 

in section VI.A.16.b. Any allowable 

construction or renovation expense 

should be described in detail in the 

budget narrative. 

h. Postage 

Anticipated postage costs for projectrelated 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 

operational mailing costs. The bases for 

all postage estimates should be included 

in the budget narrative. 

i. Printing/Photocopying 

Anticipated costs for printing or 

photocopying project documents, 

reports, and publications should be 

included in the budget narrative, along 

with the bases used to calculate these 

estimates. 

j. 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 (see section VII.I.4.). 

Applicants should describe the 

indirect cost rates applicable to the 

grant in detail. If costs often included 

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within an indirect cost rate are charged 

directly (e.g., a percentage of the time of 

senior managers to supervise project 

activities), the applicant should specify 

that these costs are not included within 

its approved indirect cost rate. These 

rates must be established in accordance 

with section VII.I.4. If the 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. 

5. Submission Requirements 

a. Every applicant must submit an 

original and three copies of the 

application package consisting of Form 

A; Form B, if the application is from a 

state or local court, or a Disclosure of 

Lobbying Form (Form E), if the 

applicant is not a unit of state or local 

government; Form C; the Application 

Abstract; the Program Narrative; the 

Budget Narrative; and any necessary 

appendices. 

Letters of application may be 

submitted at any time. However, 

applicants are encouraged to review the 

grant deadlines available on the SJI Web 

site. Receipt of each application will be 

acknowledged by letter or email. 

b. Applicants submitting more than 

one application may include material 

that would be identical in each 

application in a cover letter. This 

material will be incorporated by 

reference into each application and 

counted against the 25-page limit for the 

program narrative. A copy of the cover 

letter should be attached to each copy 

of the application. 

B. Technical Assistance (TA) Grants 

1. Application Procedures 

Applicants for TA Grants may submit 

an original and three copies of a 

detailed letter describing the proposed 

project, as well as a Form A—State 

Justice Institute Application; Form B— 

Certificate of State Approval from the 

State Supreme Court, or its designated 

agency; and Form C—Project Budget in 

Tabular Format (see www.sji.gov/forms). 

2. Application Format 

Although there is no prescribed form 

for the letter, or a minimum or 

maximum page limit, letters of 

application should include the 

following information: 

a. Need for Funding. The applicant 

must explain the critical need facing the 

applicant, and the proposed technical 

assistance that will enable the applicant 

meet this critical need. The applicant 

must also explain why state or local 

resources are not sufficient to fully 

support the costs of the project. In 

addition, the applicant should describe 

how, if applicable, the project will be 

sustained in the future through existing 

resources. 

The discussion should 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 National 

Center for State Courts (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 should 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 

differentiate from prior work. 

b. Project Description. The applicant 

must describe how the proposed project 

addressed one or more Priority 

Investment Areas. If the project does not 

address one or more Priority Investment 

Areas, the applicant must provide an 

explanation why not. 

The applicant must describe the tasks 

the consultant will perform, and how 

would they be accomplished. In 

addition, the applicant must identify 

which organization or individual will be 

hired to provide the assistance, and how 

the consultant was selected. If a 

consultant has not yet been identified, 

what procedures and criteria would be 

used to select the consultant (applicants 

are expected to follow their 

jurisdictions’ normal procedures for 

procuring consultant services)? What 

specific tasks would the consultant(s) 

and court staff undertake? What is the 

schedule for completion of each 

required task and the entire project? 

How would 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? 

If the consultant has been identified, 

the applicant should 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 time 

frame and for the proposed cost. The 

consultant must agree to submit a 

detailed written report to the court and 

SJI upon completion of the technical 

assistance. 

c. Likelihood of Implementation. 

What steps have been or would be taken 

to facilitate implementation of the 

consultant’s recommendations upon 

completion of the technical assistance? 

For example, if the support or 

cooperation of specific court officials or 

committees, other agencies, funding 

bodies, organizations, or a court other 

than the applicant would be needed to 

adopt the changes recommended by the 

consultant and approved by the court, 

how would they be involved in the 

review of the recommendations and 

development of the implementation 

plan? 

3. Budget and Matching State 

Contribution 

Applicants must follow the same 

guidelines provided under Section 

IV.A.4. A completed Form C—Project 

Budget, Tabular Format and budget 

narrative must be included with the 

letter requesting technical assistance. 

The budget narrative should provide 

the basis for all project-related costs, 

including the basis for determining the 

estimated consultant costs, if 

compensation of the consultant is 

required (e.g., the number of days per 

task times the requested daily 

consultant rate). Applicants should be 

aware that consultant rates above $800 

per day must be approved in advance by 

SJI, and that no consultant will be paid 

more than $1,100 per day from SJI 

funds. In addition, the budget should 

provide for submission of two copies of 

the consultant’s final report to the SJI. 

Recipients of TA Grants do not have 

to submit an audit report but must 

maintain appropriate documentation to 

support expenditures (see section 

VI.A.3.). 

4. Submission Requirements 

Letters of application should be 

submitted according to the grant 

deadlines provided on the SJI Web site. 

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, written 

assurances of such support or 

cooperation should accompany the 

application letter. Letters of general 

support for the project are also 

encouraged. Support letters may be 

submitted under separate cover; 

however, they should be received by the 

same date as the application. 

C. Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

(CAT) Grants 

1. Application Procedures 

In lieu of formal applications, 

applicants should submit an original 

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and three photocopies of a detailed 

letter as well as a Form A—State Justice 

Institute Application; Form B— 

Certificate of State Approval; and Form 

C—Project Budget, Tabular Format (see 

www.sji.gov/forms). 

2. Application Format 

Although there is no prescribed 

format for the letter, or a minimum or 

maximum page limit, letters of 

application should include the 

following information. 

a. For adaptation of a curriculum: 

(1) Project Description. The applicant 

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 applicant must provide an 

explanation why not. Due to the high 

costs of travel to attend training events, 

the innovative use of distance learning 

is highly encouraged. 

The applicant must provide the title 

of the curriculum that will be adapted, 

and identify the entity that originally 

developed the curriculum. The 

applicant 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 multi-state region, from 

across the nation)? 

(2) Need for Funding. The discussion 

should 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 National 

Center for State Courts (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 should 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 

differentiate from prior work. 

The applicant should explain why 

state or local resources are unable to 

fully support the modification and 

presentation of the model curriculum. 

The applicant should 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, the applicant should describe 

how, if applicable, the project will be 

sustained in the future through existing 

resources. 

(3) Likelihood of Implementation. The 

applicant should 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. The 

applicant should also identify who will 

serve as faculty, and how they were 

selected, in addition to the measures 

taken to facilitate subsequent 

presentations of the program. 

Ordinarily, an independent evaluation 

of a curriculum adaptation project is not 

required; however, the results of any 

evaluation should be included in the 

final report. 

(4) Expressions of Interest by Judges 

and/or Court Personnel. Does the 

proposed program have the support of 

the court system or association 

leadership, and of judges, court 

managers, and judicial branch education 

personnel who are expected to attend? 

Applicants may demonstrate this by 

attaching letters of support. 

b. For training assistance: 

(1) Need for Funding. The applicant 

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 applicant must provide an 

explanation why not. 

The discussion should 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 National 

Center for State Courts (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 should 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 

differentiate from prior work. 

The applicant should describe the 

court reform or initiative prompting the 

need for training. The applicant should 

also discuss how the proposed training 

will help the applicant implement 

planned changes at the court, and why 

state or local resources are not sufficient 

to fully support the costs of the required 

training. In addition, the applicant 

should describe how, if applicable, the 

project will be sustained in the future 

through existing resources. 

(2) Project Description. The applicant 

must identify the tasks the trainer(s) 

will be expected to perform, which 

organization or individual will be hired, 

and, if in-house personnel are not the 

trainers, how the trainer will be 

selected. If a trainer has not yet been 

identified, the applicant must describe 

the procedures and criteria that will be 

used to select the trainer. In addition, 

the applicant should 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? 

If the trainer has been identified, the 

applicant should 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 time frame and for 

the proposed cost. 

(3) Likelihood of Implementation. The 

applicant should 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 or regional court 

association officials or committees, 

other agencies, funding bodies, 

organizations, or a court other than the 

applicant will be needed to adopt the 

reform and initiate the training 

proposed, how will the applicant secure 

their involvement in the development 

and implementation of the training? 

3. Budget and Matching State 

Contribution 

Applicants must also follow the same 

guidelines provided under Section 

IV.A.4. Applicants should attach a copy 

of budget Form C and a budget narrative 

(see subsection A.4. above) that 

describes the basis for the computation 

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of all project-related costs and the 

source of the match offered. 

4. Submission Requirements 

For curriculum adaptation requests, 

applicants should allow at least 90 days 

between the Board meeting and the date 

of the proposed program to allow 

sufficient time for needed planning. 

Letters of support for the project are also 

encouraged. Applicants are encouraged 

to call SJI to discuss concerns about 

timing of submissions. 

D. Partner Grants 

SJI and its funding partners may 

meld, pick and choose, or waive their 

application procedures, grant cycles, or 

grant requirements to expedite the 

award of jointly-funded grants targeted 

at emerging or high priority problems 

confronting state and local courts. SJI 

may solicit brief proposals from 

potential grantees to fellow financial 

partners as a first step. Should SJI be 

chosen as the lead grant manager, 

Project Grant application procedures 

will apply to the proposed Partner 

Grant. 

E. Education Support Program (ESP) 

1. Limitations 

Applicants may not receive more than 

one ESP award in a two-year fiscal year 

period unless the course specifically 

assumes multi-year participation, such 

as a certification program or a graduate 

degree program in judicial studies in 

which the applicant is currently 

enrolled (neither exception should be 

taken as a commitment on the part of 

the SJI Board of Directors to approve 

serial ESP awards). If the course 

assumes multi-year participation, 

awards will be limited to one per fiscal 

year. Attendance at annual or mid-year 

meetings or conferences of a state or 

national organization does not qualify as 

an out-of-state educational program for 

the ESP, even though it may include 

workshops or other training sessions. 

The ESP only covers the cost of 

tuition up to a maximum of $1,000 per 

award, per course. Awards will be made 

for the exact amount requested for 

tuition. Funds to pay tuition in excess 

of $1,000, and other cost of attending 

the program such as travel, lodging, 

meals, materials, transportation to and 

from airports (including rental cars) 

must be obtained from other sources or 

borne by the ESP award recipient. 

Applicants are encouraged to check 

other sources of financial assistance and 

to combine aid from various sources 

whenever possible. An ESP award is not 

transferable to another individual. It 

may be used only for the course 

specified in the application unless the 

applicant’s request to attend a different 

course that meets the eligibility 

requirements is approved in writing by 

SJI. 

2. Eligibility Requirements 

a. Recipients. Because of the limited 

amount of funding available, only fulltime judges of state or local trial and 

appellate courts; full-time professional, 

state, or local court personnel with 

management and supervisory 

responsibilities; and supervisory and 

management probation personnel in 

judicial branch probation offices are 

eligible for the program. Senior judges, 

part-time judges, quasi-judicial hearing 

officers including referees and 

commissioners, administrative law 

judges, staff attorneys, law clerks, line 

staff, law enforcement officers, and 

other executive branch personnel are 

not eligible. 

b. Courses. An ESP award is only for: 

(1) A course presented in a state other 

than the one in which the applicant 

resides or works, or (2) an online course. 

The course must be designed to enhance 

the skills of new or experienced judges 

and court managers; or be offered by a 

recognized graduate program for judges 

or court managers. 

Applicants are encouraged not to wait 

for the decision on an ESP application 

to register for an educational program 

they wish to attend. SJI does not submit 

the names of ESP award recipients to 

educational organizations, nor provide 

the funds to the educational 

organization. ESP funds are provided as 

reimbursements directly to the 

recipient. 

3. Forms 

a. Education Support Program 

Application—Form ESP–1 (see 

www.sji.gov/forms). The application 

requests basic information about the 

applicant and the educational program 

the applicant would like to attend. It 

also addresses the applicant’s 

commitment to share the skills and 

knowledge gained with state and local 

court colleagues. The application must 

bear the original signature of the 

applicant. Faxed or photocopied 

signatures will not be accepted. SJI will 

not supplant state funds with these 

awards. 

b. Education Support Program 

Concurrence—Form ESP–2. Judges and 

court managers applying for the 

program must submit the original 

written concurrence of the chief justice 

of the state’s supreme court (or the chief 

justice’s designee) on Form ESP–2. The 

signature of the presiding judge of the 

applicant’s court may not be substituted 

for that of the state’s chief justice or the 

chief justice’s designee. The chief 

justice or state court administrator must 

notify SJI of the designees within the 

state for ESP purposes. 

4. Submission Requirements 

Applications may be submitted at any 

time but will be reviewed on a quarterly 

basis. This means ESP awards will be on 

a ‘‘first-come, first-considered’’ basis. 

The dates for applications to be received 

by SJI for consideration in FY 2015 are 

November 1, February 1, May 1, and 

August 1. These are not mailing 

deadlines. The applications must be 

received by SJI on or before each of 

these dates. No exceptions or extensions 

will be granted. All the required items 

must be received for an application to 

be considered. If the Concurrence form 

or letter of support is sent separately 

from the application, the postmark date 

of the last item sent will be used in 

determining the review date. All 

applications should be sent by mail or 

courier (not fax or email). 

V. Application Review Procedures 

A. Preliminary Inquiries 

SJI staff will answer inquiries 

concerning application procedures. 

B. Selection Criteria 

1. Project Grant Applications 

a. Project Grant applications will be 

rated on the basis of the criteria set forth 

below. SJI will accord the greatest 

weight to the following criteria: 

(1) The soundness of the 

methodology; 

(2) The demonstration of need for the 

project; 

(3) The appropriateness of the 

proposed evaluation design; 

(4) If applicable, the key findings and 

recommendations of the most recent 

evaluation and the proposed responses 

to those findings and recommendations; 

(5) The applicant’s management plan 

and organizational capabilities; 

(6) The qualifications of the project’s 

staff; 

(7) The 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; 

(8) The degree to which the findings, 

procedures, training, technology, or 

other results of the project can be 

transferred to other jurisdictions; 

(9) The reasonableness of the 

proposed budget; and, 

(10) The demonstration of cooperation 

and support of other agencies that may 

be affected by the project. 

b. In determining which projects to 

support, SJI will also consider whether 

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the applicant is a state court, a national 

court support or education organization, 

a non-court unit of government, or other 

type of entity eligible to receive grants 

under SJI’s enabling legislation (see 

section II.); the availability of financial 

assistance from other sources for the 

project; the amount of the applicant’s 

match; the extent to which the proposed 

project would also benefit the federal 

courts or help state 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. 

2. Technical Assistance (TA) Grant 

Applications 

TA Grant applications will be rated 

on the basis of the following criteria: 

a. Whether the assistance would 

address a critical need of the applicant; 

b. The soundness of the technical 

assistance approach to the problem; 

c. The qualifications of the 

consultant(s) to be hired or the specific 

criteria that will be used to select the 

consultant(s); 

d. The commitment of the court or 

association to act on the consultant’s 

recommendations; and, 

e. The reasonableness of the proposed 

budget. 

SJI also will consider factors such as 

the level and nature of the match that 

would be provided, diversity of subject 

matter, geographic diversity, the level of 

appropriations available to SJI in the 

current year, and the amount expected 

to be available in succeeding fiscal 

years. 

3. Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

(CAT) Grant Applications 

CAT Grant applications will be rated 

on the basis of the following criteria: 

a. For curriculum adaptation projects: 

(1) The goals and objectives of the 

proposed project; 

(2) The need for outside funding to 

support the program; 

(3) The appropriateness of the 

approach in achieving the project’s 

educational objectives; 

(4) The likelihood of effective 

implementation and integration of the 

modified curriculum into ongoing 

educational programming; and, 

(5) Expressions of interest by the 

judges and/or court personnel who 

would be directly involved in or 

affected by the project. 

b. For training assistance: 

(1) Whether the training would 

address a critical need of the court or 

association; 

(2) The soundness of the training 

approach to the problem; 

(3) The qualifications of the trainer(s) 

to be hired or the specific criteria that 

will be used to select the trainer(s); 

(4) The commitment of the court or 

association to the training program; and 

(5) The reasonableness of the 

proposed budget. 

SJI will also consider factors such as 

the reasonableness of the amount 

requested; compliance with match 

requirements; diversity of subject 

matter, geographic diversity; the level of 

appropriations available to SJI in the 

current year; and the amount expected 

to be available in succeeding fiscal 

years. 

4. Partner Grants 

The selection criteria for Partner 

Grants will be driven by the collective 

priorities of SJI and other organizations 

and their collective assessments 

regarding the needs and capabilities of 

court and court-related organizations. 

Having settled on priorities, SJI and its 

financial partners will likely contact the 

courts or court-related organizations 

most acceptable as pilots, laboratories, 

consultants, or the like. 

5. Education Support Program (ESP) 

ESP awards are only for programs that 

either: (1) Enhance the skills of judges 

and court managers; or (2) are part of a 

graduate degree program for judges or 

court personnel. Awards are provided 

on the basis of: 

a. The date on which the application 

and concurrence (and support letter, if 

required) were sent (‘‘first-come, firstconsidered’’); 

b. The unavailability of state or local 

funds, or funding from another source to 

cover the costs of attending the program, 

or participating online; 

c. The absence of educational 

programs in the applicant’s state 

addressing the topic(s) covered by the 

educational program for which the 

award is being sought; 

d. Geographic balance among the 

recipients; 

e. The balance of ESP awards among 

educational providers and programs; 

f. The balance of ESP awards among 

the types of courts and court personnel 

(trial judge, appellate judge, trial court 

administrator) represented; and 

g. The level of appropriations 

available to SJI in the current year and 

the amount expected to be available in 

succeeding fiscal years. 

The postmark or courier receipt will 

be used to determine the date on which 

the application form and other required 

items were sent. 

C. Review and Approval Process 

1. Project Grant Applications 

SJI’s Board of Directors will review 

the applications competitively. The 

Board will review all applications and 

decide which projects to fund. The 

decision to fund a project is solely that 

of the Board of Directors. The Chairman 

of the Board will sign approved awards 

on behalf of SJI. 

2. Technical Assistance (TA) and 

Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

(CAT) Grant Applications 

The Board will review the 

applications competitively. The Board 

will review all applications and decide 

which projects to fund. The decision to 

fund a project is solely that of the Board 

of Directors. The Chairman of the Board 

will sign approved awards on behalf of 

SJI. 

3. Education Support Program (ESP) 

A committee of the Board of Directors 

will review ESP applications quarterly. 

The committee will review the 

applications competitively. The 

Chairman of the Board will sign 

approved awards on behalf of SJI. 

4. Partner Grants 

SJI’s internal process for the review 

and approval of Partner Grants will 

depend on negotiations with fellow 

financiers. SJI may use its procedures, a 

partner’s procedures, a mix of both, or 

entirely unique procedures. All Partner 

Grants will be approved by the Board of 

Directors. 

D. Return Policy 

Unless a specific request is made, 

unsuccessful applications will not be 

returned. Applicants are advised that SJI 

records are subject to the provisions of 

the Federal Freedom of Information Act, 

5 U.S.C. 552. 

E. Notification of Board Decision 

SJI will send written notice to 

applicants concerning all Board 

decisions to approve, defer, or deny 

their respective applications. For all 

applications (except ESP applications), 

if requested, SJI will convey the key 

issues and questions that arose during 

the review process. A decision by the 

Board to deny an application may not be 

appealed, but it does not prohibit 

resubmission of a proposal based on 

that application in a subsequent funding 

cycle. 

F. Response to Notification of Approval 

With the exception of those approved 

for ESP awards, applicants have 30 days 

from the date of the letter notifying 

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them that the Board has approved their 

application to respond to any revisions 

requested by the Board. If the requested 

revisions (or a reasonable schedule for 

submitting such revisions) have not 

been submitted to SJI within 30 days 

after notification, the approval may be 

rescinded and the application presented 

to the Board for reconsideration. In the 

event an issue will only be resolved 

after award, such as the selection of a 

consultant, the final award document 

will include a Special Condition that 

will require additional grantee reporting 

and SJI review and approval. Special 

Conditions, in the form of incentives or 

sanctions, may also be used in other 

situations. 

VI. Compliance Requirements 

The State Justice Institute Act 

contains limitations and conditions on 

grants, contracts, and cooperative 

agreements awarded by SJI. The Board 

of Directors has approved additional 

policies governing the use of SJI grant 

funds. These statutory and policy 

requirements are set forth below. 

A. Recipients of Project Grants 

1. Advocacy 

No funds made available by SJI may 

be used to support or conduct training 

programs for the purpose of advocating 

particular non-judicial public policies 

or encouraging non-judicial political 

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

2. Approval of Key Staff 

If the qualifications of an employee or 

consultant assigned to a key project staff 

position are not 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 the Institute before the 

salary or consulting fee of that person 

and associated costs may be paid or 

reimbursed from grant funds (see 

section VIII.A.7.). 

3. Audit 

Recipients of project grants must 

provide for an annual fiscal audit which 

includes an opinion on whether the 

financial statements of the grantee 

present fairly its financial position and 

its financial operations are in 

accordance with generally accepted 

accounting principles (see section VII.K. 

for the requirements of such audits). 

ESP award recipients, Curriculum 

Adaptation and Training Grants, and 

Technical Assistance Grants are not 

required to submit an audit, but they 

must maintain appropriate 

documentation to support all 

expenditures (see section VIII.K.). 

4. Budget Revisions 

Budget revisions among direct cost 

categories that: (a) Transfer grant funds 

to an unbudgeted cost category, or (b) 

individually or cumulatively exceed 

five percent of the approved original 

budget or the most recently approved 

revised budget require prior SJI 

approval (see section VIII.A.1.). 

5. Conflict of Interest 

Personnel and other officials 

connected with SJI-funded programs 

must adhere to the following 

requirements: 

a. No official or employee of a 

recipient court or organization shall 

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 

his or her knowledge, he or she or his 

or her immediate family, partners, 

organization other than a public agency 

in which he or she is serving as officer, 

director, trustee, partner, or employee or 

any person or organization with whom 

he or she is negotiating or has any 

arrangement concerning prospective 

employment, has a financial interest. 

b. In the use of SJI project funds, an 

official or employee of a recipient court 

or organization shall avoid any action 

which might result in or create the 

appearance of: 

(1) Using an official position for 

private gain; or 

(2) Affecting adversely the confidence 

of the public in the integrity of the 

Institute program. 

c. Requests for proposals or 

invitations for bids issued by a recipient 

of Institute funds or a subgrantee or 

subcontractor will provide notice to 

prospective bidders that the contractors 

who develop or draft specifications, 

requirements, statements of work, and/ 

or requests for proposals for a proposed 

procurement will be excluded from 

bidding on or submitting a proposal to 

compete for the award of such 

procurement. 

6. Inventions and Patents 

If any patentable items, patent rights, 

processes, or inventions are produced in 

the course of SJI-sponsored work, such 

fact shall be promptly and fully reported 

to the Institute. Unless there is a prior 

agreement between the grantee and SJI 

on disposition of such items, SJI shall 

determine whether protection of the 

invention or discovery shall be sought. 

SJI will also determine how the rights in 

the invention or discovery, including 

rights under any patent issued thereon, 

shall be allocated and administered in 

order to protect the public interest 

consistent with ‘‘Government Patent 

Policy’’ (President’s Memorandum for 

Heads of Executive Departments and 

Agencies, February 18, 1983, and 

statement of Government Patent Policy). 

7. Lobbying 

a. Funds awarded to recipients by SJI 

shall not be used, indirectly or directly, 

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)). 

b. It is the policy of the 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. 

8. Matching Requirements 

All grantees other than ESP award 

recipients are required to provide a 

match. A match is the portion of project 

costs not borne by the Institute. Match 

includes both cash and in-kind 

contributions. Cash match is the direct 

outlay of funds by the grantee or a third 

party to support the project. In-kind 

match 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 or that portion of the grantee’s 

federally-approved indirect cost rate 

that exceeds the Guideline’s limit of 

permitted charges (75 percent of salaries 

and benefits). 

Under normal circumstances, 

allowable match may be incurred only 

during the project period. When 

appropriate, and with the prior written 

permission of SJI, match may be 

incurred from the date of the Board of 

Directors’ approval of an award. The 

amount and nature of required match 

depends on the type of grant (see 

section III.). 

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The grantee is responsible for 

ensuring that the total amount of match 

proposed is actually contributed. If a 

proposed contribution is not fully met, 

SJI may reduce the award amount 

accordingly, in order to maintain the 

ratio originally provided for in the 

award agreement (see section VII.E.1.). 

Match should be expended at the same 

rate as SJI funding. 

The 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 Board of Directors (42 

U.S.C. 10705(d)). The 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 

match are criteria in the grant selection 

process (see section V.B.1.b.). 

Other federal department and agency 

funding may not be used for cash match. 

9. 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 

immediately take any measures 

necessary to effectuate this provision. 

10. 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 shall 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)). 

11. Products 

a. Acknowledgment, Logo, and 

Disclaimer 

(1) Recipients of SJI funds must 

acknowledge prominently on all 

products developed with grant funds 

that support was received from the 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 re-printings or 

reproductions of those materials 

following the end of the grant period. A 

camera-ready logo sheet is available on 

SJI’s Web site: www.sji.gov/forms. 

(2) 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.’’ 

(3) 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. 

b. Charges for Grant-Related Products/

Recovery of Costs 

(1) 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 Web site) through 

competitive grant awards based on merit 

review 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 available for public consumption. 

This includes open-source software and 

interfaces. Costs for development, 

production, and dissemination are 

allowable as direct costs to SJI. 

(2) Applicants should 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 also should 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. 

(3) 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 SJI-funded 

project or other purposes consistent 

with the State Justice Institute Act that 

have been approved by SJI (see section 

VII.G.). 

c. Copyrights 

Except as otherwise provided in the 

terms and conditions of a SJI award, a 

recipient is free to copyright any books, 

publications, or other copyrightable 

materials developed in the course of a 

SJI-supported project, but SJI shall 

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. 

d. Due Date 

All products and, for TA and CAT 

grants, consultant and/or trainer reports 

(see section VI.B.1 & 2) are to be 

completed and distributed (see below) 

not later than the end of the award 

period, not the 90-day close out period. 

The latter is only intended for grantee 

final reporting and to liquidate 

obligations (see section VII.L.). 

e. Distribution 

In addition to the distribution 

specified in the grant application, 

grantees shall send: 

(1) Three (3) copies of each final 

product developed with grant funds to 

SJI, unless the product was developed 

under either a Technical Assistance or 

a Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

Grant, in which case submission of 2 

copies is required; and 

(2) An electronic version of the 

product in HTML or PDF format to SJI. 

f. SJI Approval 

No grant funds may be obligated for 

publication or reproduction of a final 

product developed with grant funds 

without the written approval of SJI. 

Grantees shall submit a final draft of 

each written product to SJI for review 

and approval. The draft must be 

submitted at least 30 days before the 

product is scheduled to be sent for 

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publication or reproduction to permit 

SJI review and incorporation of any 

appropriate changes required by SJI. 

Grantees must provide for timely 

reviews by the SJI of Web site or other 

multimedia products at the treatment, 

script, rough cut, and final stages of 

development or their equivalents. 

g. 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. 

12. Prohibition Against Litigation 

Support 

No funds made available by SJI may 

be used directly or indirectly to support 

legal assistance to parties in litigation, 

including cases involving capital 

punishment. 

13. Reporting Requirements 

a. Recipients of SJI funds other than 

ESP awards must submit Quarterly 

Progress and Financial Status Reports 

within 30 days of the close of each 

calendar quarter (that is, no later than 

January 30, April 30, July 30, and 

October 30). The Quarterly Progress 

Reports shall include a narrative 

description of project activities during 

the calendar quarter, the relationship 

between those activities and 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. 

b. The quarterly Financial Status 

Report must be submitted in accordance 

with section VII.H.2. of this Guideline. 

A final project Progress Report and 

Financial Status Report shall be 

submitted within 90 days after the end 

of the grant period in accordance with 

section VII.L.1. of this Guideline. 

14. Research 

a. 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 data set and manual 

from the person or organization 

requesting the data. Grantees may 

provide the requested data set in the 

format in which it was created and 

analyzed. 

b. 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 

shall be immune from legal process, and 

shall 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. 

c. 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 shall 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 to minimize or 

eliminate risk or harm to those subjects 

due to their participation. 

15. State and Local Court Applications 

Each application for funding from a 

state or local court must be approved, 

consistent with state law, by the state 

supreme court, or its designated agency 

or council. The supreme court or its 

designee shall receive, administer, and 

be accountable for all funds awarded on 

the basis of such an application (42 

U.S.C. 10705(b)(4)). See section VII.C.2. 

16. Supplantation and Construction 

To ensure that SJI funds are used to 

supplement and improve the operation 

of state courts, rather than to support 

basic court services, SJI funds shall not 

be used for the following purposes: 

a. To supplant state or local funds 

supporting a program or activity (such 

as 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); 

b. To construct court facilities or 

structures, except to remodel existing 

facilities or to demonstrate new 

architectural or technological 

techniques, or to provide temporary 

facilities for new personnel or for 

personnel involved in a demonstration 

or experimental program; or 

c. Solely to purchase equipment. 

17. 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 comply substantially with the Act, 

the Guideline, or the terms and 

conditions of the award (42 U.S.C. 

10708(a)). 

18. Title to Property 

At the conclusion of the project, title 

to all expendable and nonexpendable 

personal property purchased with SJI 

funds shall 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 such certification, title to 

all such property with an aggregate or 

individual value of $1,000 or more shall 

vest in SJI, which will direct the 

disposition of the property. 

B. Recipients of Technical Assistance 

(TA) and Curriculum Adaptation and 

Training (CAT) Grants 

Recipients of TA and CAT Grants 

must comply with the requirements 

listed in section VI.A. (except the 

requirements pertaining to audits in 

subsection A.3. above and product 

dissemination and approval in 

subsection A.11.e. and f. above) and the 

reporting requirements below: 

1. Technical Assistance (TA) Grant 

Reporting Requirements 

Recipients of TA Grants must submit 

to SJI one copy of a final report that 

explains how it intends to act on the 

consultant’s recommendations, as well 

as two copies of the consultant’s written 

report. 

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2. Curriculum Adaptation and Training 

(CAT) Grant Reporting Requirements 

Recipients of CAT Grants must submit 

one copy of the agenda or schedule, 

outline of presentations and/or relevant 

instructor’s notes, copies of overhead 

transparencies, power point 

presentations, or other visual aids, 

exercises, case studies and other 

background materials, hypotheticals, 

quizzes, and other materials involving 

the participants, manuals, handbooks, 

conference packets, 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 at the 

conclusion of the grant period, along 

with a final report that includes any 

evaluation results and explains how the 

grantee intends to present the 

educational program in the future, as 

well as two copies of the consultant’s or 

trainer’s report. 

C. Education Support Program (ESP) 

Recipients 

1. ESP award recipients are 

responsible for disseminating the 

information received from the course to 

their court colleagues locally and, if 

possible, throughout the state. 

Recipients also must submit to SJI a 

certificate of attendance from the 

program and a copy of the notice of any 

funding received from other sources. A 

state or local jurisdiction may impose 

additional requirements on ESP award 

recipients. 

2. To receive the funds authorized by 

an ESP award, recipients must submit 

an ESP Payment Request (Form ESP–3) 

together with a paid tuition statement 

from the program sponsor. 

ESP Payment Requests must be 

submitted within 90 days after the end 

of the course, which the recipient 

attended. 

3. ESP recipients are encouraged to 

check with their tax advisors to 

determine whether an award constitutes 

taxable income under federal and state 

law. 

D. Partner Grants 

The compliance requirements for 

Partner Grant recipients will depend 

upon the agreements struck between the 

grant financiers and between lead 

financiers and grantees. Should SJI be 

the lead, the compliance requirements 

for Project Grants will apply, unless 

specific arrangements are determined by 

the Partners. 

VII. Financial Requirements 

A. Purpose 

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: 

1. Complying with the statutory 

requirements for the award, 

disbursement, and accounting of funds; 

2. Complying with regulatory 

requirements of SJI for the financial 

management and disposition of funds; 

3. Generating financial data to be used 

in planning, managing, and controlling 

projects; and 

4. Facilitating an effective audit of 

funded programs and projects. 

B. References 

Except where inconsistent with 

specific provisions of this Grant 

Guideline, the following circulars are 

applicable to SJI grants and cooperative 

agreements under the same terms and 

conditions that apply to federal 

grantees. The circulars supplement the 

requirements of this section for 

accounting systems and financial 

record-keeping and provide additional 

guidance on how these requirements 

may be satisfied (circulars may be 

obtained on the OMB Web site at 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb). 

1. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–21, Cost Principles 

for Educational Institutions. 

2. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–87, Cost Principles 

for State and Local Governments. 

3. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–102, Uniform 

Administrative Requirements for 

Grants-in-Aid to State and Local 

Governments. 

4. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–110, Grants and 

Agreements with Institutions of Higher 

Education, Hospitals and Other NonProfit Organizations. 

5. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–122, Cost Principles 

for Non-profit Organizations. 

6. Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Circular A–133, Audits of States, 

Local Governments and Non-profit 

Organizations. 

C. Supervision and Monitoring 

Responsibilities 

1. Grantee 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. 

2. Responsibilities of the State Supreme 

Court 

a. Each application for funding from 

a state or local court must be approved, 

consistent with state law, by the state 

supreme court, or its designated agency 

or council. 

b. The state supreme court or its 

designee shall receive all SJI funds 

awarded to such courts; be responsible 

for assuring proper administration of SJI 

funds; and be responsible for all aspects 

of the project, including proper 

accounting and financial record-keeping 

by the subgrantee. These responsibilities 

include: 

(1) Reviewing Financial Operations. 

The state supreme court or its designee 

should be familiar with, and 

periodically monitor, its sub-grantee’s 

financial operations, records system, 

and procedures. Particular attention 

should be directed to the maintenance 

of current financial data. 

(2) Recording Financial Activities. 

The sub-grantee’s grant award or 

contract obligation, as well as cash 

advances and other financial activities, 

should be recorded in the financial 

records of the state supreme court or its 

designee in summary form. Sub-grantee 

expenditures should be recorded on the 

books of the state supreme court or 

evidenced by report forms duly filed by 

the sub-grantee. Matching contributions 

provided by sub-grantees should 

likewise be recorded, as should any 

project income resulting from program 

operations. 

(3) Budgeting and Budget Review. The 

state supreme court or its designee 

should ensure that each sub-grantee 

prepares an adequate budget as the basis 

for its award commitment. The state 

supreme court should maintain the 

details of each project budget on file. 

(4) Accounting for Match. The state 

supreme court or its designee will 

ensure that sub-grantees comply with 

the match requirements specified in this 

Grant Guideline (see section VI.A.8.). 

(5) Audit Requirement. The state 

supreme court or its designee is 

required to ensure that sub-grantees 

meet the necessary audit requirements 

set forth by SJI (see sections K. below 

and VI.A.3.). 

(6) Reporting Irregularities. The state 

supreme court, its designees, and its 

sub-grantees are responsible for 

promptly reporting to SJI the nature and 

circumstances surrounding any 

financial irregularities discovered. 

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D. 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 

sub-grantees and contractors. An 

acceptable and adequate accounting 

system: 

1. 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); 

2. Assures that expended funds are 

applied to the appropriate budget 

category included within the approved 

grant; 

3. Presents and classifies historical 

costs of the grant as required for 

budgetary and evaluation purposes; 

4. Provides cost and property controls 

to assure optimal use of grant funds; 

5. 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; 

6. Meets the prescribed requirements 

for periodic financial reporting of 

operations; and 

7. Provides financial data for 

planning, control, measurement, and 

evaluation of direct and indirect costs. 

E. 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 on the basis of total costs. 

1. Timing of Matching Contributions 

Matching contributions should be 

applied at the same time as the 

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 Board of Directors, 

but before the beginning of the grant, 

may be counted as 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 which 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 (see 

subsection C.2. above). 

F. Maintenance and Retention of 

Records 

All financial records, including 

supporting documents, statistical 

records, and all other information 

pertinent to grants, sub-grants, 

cooperative agreements, or contracts 

under grants, must be retained by each 

organization participating in a project 

for at least three 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. 

1. 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 sub-grant awards, applications, and 

required grantee/sub-grantee financial 

and narrative reports. Personnel and 

payroll records shall include the time 

and attendance reports for all 

individuals reimbursed under a grant, 

sub-grant or contract, whether they are 

employed full-time or part-time. Time 

and effort reports are required for 

consultants. 

2. Retention Period 

The three-year retention period starts 

from the date of the submission of the 

final expenditure report. 

3. Maintenance 

Grantees and sub-grantees 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 sub-grantees are also 

obligated to protect records adequately 

against fire or other damage. When 

records are stored away from the 

grantee’s/sub-grantee’s principal office, 

a written index of the location of stored 

records should be on hand, and ready 

access should be assured. 

4. Access 

Grantees and sub-grantees 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. 

G. Project-Related Income 

Records of the receipt and disposition 

of project-related 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 subsection H.2. 

below). The policies governing the 

disposition of the various types of 

project-related income are listed below. 

1. Interest 

A state and any agency or 

instrumentality of a state, including 

institutions of higher education and 

hospitals, shall not be held accountable 

for interest earned on advances of 

project funds. When funds are awarded 

to sub-grantees 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 shall ensure minimum 

balances in their respective grant cash 

accounts. 

2. Royalties 

The grantee/sub-grantee 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. 

3. Registration and Tuition Fees 

Registration and tuition fees may be 

considered as 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. 

4. Income From the Sale of Grant 

Products 

If the sale of products occurs during 

the project period, the income may be 

treated as cash match with the prior 

written approval of SJI. The costs and 

income generated by the sales must be 

reported on the Quarterly Financial 

Status Reports (Form F) 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 

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once a decision to sell products has 

been made. The grantee must request 

approval to recover its product 

development, reproduction, and 

dissemination costs as specified in 

section VI.A.11.b. 

5. Other 

Other project income shall be treated 

in accordance with disposition 

instructions set forth in the grant’s terms 

and conditions. 

H. Payments and Financial Reporting 

Requirements 

1. Payment of Grant Funds 

The procedures and regulations set 

forth below are applicable to all SJI 

grant funds and grantees. 

a. Request for Reimbursement of 

Funds. Grantees will receive funds on a 

U.S. Treasury ‘‘check-issued’’ or 

electronic funds transfer (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 on the 

Institute’s Web site: www.sji.gov/forms. 

b. Principle of Minimum Cash on 

Hand. Grantees should request funds 

based upon immediate disbursement 

requirements. Grantees should time 

their requests to ensure that cash on 

hand is the minimum needed for 

disbursements to be made immediately 

or within a few days. 

2. Financial Reporting 

a. General Requirements. To obtain 

financial information concerning the 

use of funds, the Institute requires that 

grantees/sub-grantees submit timely 

reports for review. 

b. Due Dates and Contents. A 

Financial Status Report is required from 

all grantees, other than ESP award 

recipients, 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. A copy of the Financial Status 

Report (Form F), along with 

instructions, are provided at 

www.sji.gov/forms. If a grantee requests 

substantial payments 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. 

3. Consequences of Non-Compliance 

With Submission Requirement 

Failure of the grantee to submit 

required financial and progress reports 

may result in suspension or termination 

of grant payments. 

I. Allowability of Costs 

1. General 

Except as may be otherwise provided 

in the conditions of a particular grant, 

cost allowability is determined in 

accordance with the principles set forth 

in OMB Circulars A–21, Cost Principles 

Applicable to Grants and Contracts with 

Educational Institutions; A–87, Cost 

Principles for State and Local 

Governments; and A–122, Cost 

Principles for Non-profit Organizations. 

No costs may be recovered to 

liquidate obligations incurred after the 

approved grant period. Circulars may be 

obtained on the OMB Web site at http:// 

www.whitehouse.gov/omb. 

2. Costs Requiring Prior Approval 

a. Pre-agreement Costs. The written 

prior approval of SJI is required for costs 

considered necessary but which occur 

prior to the start date of the project 

period. 

b. 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 the amount of automated 

data processing (ADP) equipment to be 

purchased or leased exceeds $10,000 or 

software to be purchased exceeds 

$3,000. 

c. Consultants. The written prior 

approval of SJI is required when the rate 

of compensation to be paid a consultant 

exceeds $800 a day. SJI funds may not 

be used to pay a consultant more than 

$1,100 per day. 

d. Budget Revisions. Budget revisions 

among direct cost categories that (i) 

transfer grant funds to an unbudgeted 

cost category or (ii) individually or 

cumulatively exceed five percent (5%) 

of the approved original budget or the 

most recently approved revised budget 

require prior SJI approval (see section 

VIII.A.1.). 

3. 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 federal 

government. SJI funds may not be used 

to cover the transportation or per diem 

costs of a member of a national 

organization to attend an annual or 

other regular meeting, or conference of 

that organization. 

4. 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 cost 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). 

a. Approved Plan Available 

(1) A copy of an indirect cost rate 

agreement or allocation plan approved 

for a grantee during the preceding two 

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. 

(2) 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. 

J. Procurement and Property 

Management Standards 

1. Procurement Standards 

For state and local governments, SJI 

has adopted the standards set forth in 

Attachment O of OMB Circular A–102. 

Institutions of higher education, 

hospitals, and other non-profit 

organizations will be governed by the 

standards set forth in Attachment O of 

OMB Circular A–110. 

2. Property Management Standards 

The property management standards 

as prescribed in Attachment N of OMB 

Circulars A–102 and A–110 apply to all 

SJI grantees and sub-grantees except as 

provided in section VI.A.18. All 

grantees/sub-grantees are required to be 

prudent in the acquisition and 

management of property with grant 

funds. If suitable property required for 

the successful execution of projects is 

already available within the grantee or 

subgrantee organization, expenditures of 

grant funds for the acquisition of new 

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property will be considered 

unnecessary. 

K. Audit Requirements 

1. Implementation 

Each recipient of a Project Grant must 

provide for an annual fiscal audit. This 

requirement also applies to a state or 

local court receiving a sub-grant from 

the state supreme court. The audit may 

be of the entire grantee or sub-grantee 

organization or of the specific project 

funded by the Institute. Audits 

conducted in accordance with the 

Single Audit Act of 1984 and OMB 

Circular A–133, 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. Grantees must send two copies 

of the audit report to the Institute. 

Grantees that receive funds from a 

federal agency and satisfy audit 

requirements of that federal agency 

must submit two copies of the audit 

report prepared for that federal agency 

to SJI in order to satisfy the provisions 

of this section. 

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: (1) Follow-up, 

(2) maintaining a record of the actions 

taken on recommendations and time 

schedules, (3) responding to and acting 

on audit recommendations, and (4) 

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. 

L. Close-Out of Grants 

1. Grantee Close-Out Requirements 

Within 90 days after the end date of 

the grant or any approved extension 

thereof (see subsection L.2. below), the 

following documents must be submitted 

to SJI by grantees (other than ESP award 

recipients): 

a. Financial Status Report. The final 

report of expenditures must have no 

unliquidated obligations and must 

indicate the exact balance of 

unobligated funds. Any unobligated/

unexpended funds will be deobligated 

from the award by SJI. Final payment 

requests for obligations incurred during 

the award period must be submitted to 

the Institute prior to the end of the 90- 

day close-out period. Grantees who have 

drawn down funds in excess of their 

obligations/expenditures, must return 

any unused funds as soon as it is 

determined that the funds are not 

required. In no instance should any 

unused funds remain with the grantee 

beyond the submission date of the final 

Financial Status Report. 

b. Final Progress Report. This report 

should 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. These 

reporting requirements apply at the 

conclusion of every grant other than an 

ESP award. 

2. Extension of Close-Out Period 

Upon the written request of the 

grantee, SJI may extend the close-out 

period to assure completion of the 

grantee’s close-out requirements. 

Requests for an extension must be 

submitted at least 14 days before the 

end of the close-out 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. 

VIII. Grant Adjustments 

All requests for programmatic or 

budgetary adjustments requiring 

Institute 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 Grant 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: 

1. Budget revisions among direct cost 

categories that (a) transfer grant funds to 

an unbudgeted cost category or (b) 

individually or cumulatively exceed 

five percent (5%) of the approved 

original budget or the most recently 

approved revised budget (see section 

VII.I.2.d.). 

2. A change in the scope of work to 

be performed or the objectives of the 

project (see subsection D. below). 

3. A change in the project site. 

4. A change in the project period, 

such as an extension of the grant period 

and/or extension of the final financial or 

progress report deadline (see subsection 

E. below). 

5. Satisfaction of special conditions, if 

required. 

6. A change in or temporary absence 

of the project director (see subsections 

F. and G. below). 

7. The assignment of an employee or 

consultant to a key staff position whose 

qualifications were not described in the 

application, or a change of a person 

assigned to a key project staff position 

(see section VI.A.2.). 

8. A change in or temporary absence 

of the person responsible for managing 

and reporting on the grant’s finances. 

9. A change in the name of the grantee 

organization. 

10. A transfer or contracting out of 

grant-supported activities (see 

subsection H. below). 

11. A transfer of the grant to another 

recipient. 

12. Pre-agreement costs (see section 

VII.I.2.a.). 

13. The purchase of automated data 

processing equipment and software (see 

section VII.I.2.b.). 

14. Consultant rates (see section 

VII.I.2.c.). 

15. A change in the nature or number 

of the products to be prepared or the 

manner in which 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. 

C. Notification of Approval/Disapproval 

If the request is approved, the grantee 

will be sent a Grant Adjustment signed 

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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 in 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 should 

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 (see 

section VII.L.2.). 

F. Temporary Absence of the Project 

Director 

Whenever an absence of the project 

director is expected to exceed a 

continuous period of one month, the 

plans for the conduct of the project 

director’s duties during such absence 

must be approved in advance by the 

Institute. This information must be 

provided in a letter signed by an 

authorized representative of the grantee/ 

sub-grantee 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/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/sub-grantee 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 of 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 

James R. Hannah (Chairman), Chief Justice, 

Supreme Court of Arkansas, Little Rock, 

AR 

Daniel J. Becker (Vice Chairman), State Court 

Administrator, Utah Administrative Office 

of the Courts, Salt Lake City, UT 

Gayle A. Nachtigal (Secretary), Senior Circuit 

Court Judge, Washington County Circuit 

Court, Hillsboro, OR 

Hernan D. Vera (Treasurer), President & CEO, 

Public Counsel Law Center, Los Angeles, 

CA 

Chase T. Rogers, Chief Justice, Supreme 

Court of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 

Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State 

of New York, New York, NY 

David V. Brewer, Justice, Oregon Supreme 

Court, Salem, OR 

Wilfredo Martinez, County Judge, 9th 

Judicial Circuit of Florida, Orlando, FL 

Marsha J. Rabiteau, Executive Director, Legal 

Policy Strategies Group, Bloomfield, CT 

John B. Nalbandian, Partner, Taft Stettinius 

& Hollister LLP, Cincinnati, OH 

Isabel Framer, President, Language Access 

Consultants LLC, Copley, OH 

Jonathan D. Mattiello, Executive Director (ex 

officio). 

Jonathan D. Mattiello, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25215 Filed 10–22–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Twenty-Eighth Meeting: RTCA Special 

Committee 224, Airport Security 

Access Control Systems 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), U.S. Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Meeting Notice of RTCA Special 

Committee 224, Airport Security Access 

Control Systems. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice 

to advise the public of the twenty-eighth 

meeting of the RTCA Special Committee 

224, Airport Security Access Control 

Systems. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

November 6, 2014 from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

RTCA, Inc., 1150 18th Street NW., Suite 

910, Washington, DC 20036. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

RTCA Secretariat, 1150 18th Street NW., 

Suite 910, Washington, DC 20036, or by 

telephone at (202) 833–9339, fax at (202) 

833–9434, or Web site at http:// 

www.rtca.org. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92– 

463, 5 U.S.C., App.), notice is hereby 

given for a meeting of Special 

Committee 224. The agenda will include 

the following: 

November 6, 2014 

• Welcome/Introductions/ 

Administrative Remarks 

• Report from the TSA 

• Report on Safe Skies Document 

Distribution 

• Individual Document Section Reports 

• Action Items for Next Meeting 

• Time and Place of Next Meeting 

• Any Other Business 

• Adjourn 

Attendance is open to the interested 

public but limited to space availability. 

With the approval of the chairman, 

members of the public may present oral 

statements at the meeting. Persons 

wishing to present statements or obtain 

information should contact the person 

listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. Members of the public 

may present a written statement to the 

committee at any time. 

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