FAQs
Acting on behalf of OJP, the U.S. Department of the Treasury via CRS may arrange for a repayment plan for debtors up to 3 years.
Acting on behalf of OJP, the CRS is a collection service provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The U.S. Department of the Treasury via CRS collects OJP outstanding debt. The OJP’s OCFO will receive the existing recipient(s) list in repayment status from SAA and coordinate with BJA to determine which existing recipient in the repayment status will be refer to the U.S. Department of the Treasury via CRS. Upon making the determination, the OJP’s OCFO will refer the debt to the U.S. Department of the Treasury via CRS within 2 business days of receiving the existing recipient(s) list in repayment status. Debt disputes should be followed by a request for waiver as described in FAQ number 41 below. In the event such period expires without the total sum of JRJ benefits being repaid by the debtor or appropriate dispute, OJP’s OCFO will immediately refer the remaining debt to Treasury via CRS. If the debtors are not responsive within 65 days after the invoice and due process notification is mailed, CRS refers the case to Treasury Cross-Servicing (FedDebt) for further collection actions.
For more information, please reference the JRJ Roles and Responsibilities document found on the JRJ Overview page.
No. As an initial matter, the JRJ loan repayment benefits may not be paid directly to a beneficiary. Per 42 U.S.C. §3797cc-21(c), payments are to be made directly to the holder of the loan (i.e., the lending institution) for the benefit of the borrower. Furthermore, the statute specifically authorizes repayment of loan obligations, not tax obligations of a beneficiary.
The beneficiary remains liable for their loan debt and for any late fees assessed by their lender. The JRJ program is intended as a supplement to, not a substitute for, each beneficiary’s individual loan payments.
While the publicity of the availability of other federal student loan repayment plans (e.g., the Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and other available loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs)) is obviously encouraged, BJA also endorses coordination by JRJ administering agencies (to the greatest extent possible) of such programs to promote the optimum benefit to the recipient. The following provides an example of how lump sum payments and monthly payments of JRJ benefits may interplay with the PSLF program and may provide an opportunity to improve coordination:
It is BJA’s understanding that in order to be eligible for the PSLF program, a borrower must make 120 “separate, monthly” payments. When a loan servicer receives a lump sum payment
– which is to say, a payment in excess of what the borrower is obligated to pay for the month
– the loan servicer assumes that the excess, while immediately applied to reduce outstanding interest and principal on the loan, is intended to cover future installments. When future installments are satisfied, the borrower is no longer obligated to make monthly payments for the number of months for which the installment has been fully satisfied. BJA understands that this may present two problems for individuals who receive both JRJ and PSLF benefits:
- The first is that the lump sum payment, while satisfying more than one month’s payment obligation, is not a “separate payment”. Therefore, it can only count as “one” PSLF payment.
- The second problem is that, by removing the borrower’s obligation to make future monthly payments, the borrower cannot, for those months, make a “monthly payment” in some cases – even if the borrower voluntarily remits money.
The second problem can be remedied by providing application of payment instructions with the payment. Specifically, the payor/borrower could state that s/he does not intend to apply the excess toward future installments, which will ensure that the borrower continues to be obligated to make future payments over subsequent months. Each loan servicer should provide, on the billing statement, information regarding how the borrower/payor is to provide payment instructions. Therefore, JRJ recipients may be advised (in order to maximize the amount of credit they may receive from PSLF program while working in employment that also entitles them to JRJ program benefits) to provide special payment instructions associated with their JRJ Program award. Borrowers should also be able to provide these instructions for a payment that has already been applied, provided that it is done promptly after the payment is applied.
This example is provided solely for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as financial advice. All grantees and beneficiaries should independently consult with the U.S. Department of Education (and/or other sources) to learn how receipt of JRJ benefits may affect awards through the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
Law school, state-based, and employer-based Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) have individual policies regarding the effect of receiving benefits from other LRAPs (which may include JRJ benefits in some cases). Applicants are encouraged to contact the LRAP administrators of the programs in which they participate to determine whether JRJ benefits influence eligibility or award amount.
The SAA has a certain degree of discretion in determining an applicant’s ability to repay his/her loan. As indicated in the program application guidance, the SAA may (but is not required to) consider other loan obligations in the criteria used to make this assessment, and in doing so, may elect to consider the ratio of eligible loans to an applicant’s total loan debt, including consolidated loans.
To ensure an equitable distribution of funding and optimize the amount of funding utilized to attract and retain qualified prosecutors and public defenders, BJA, in previous non- competitive fiscal years, reduced the de minimis base award amount for states with a population equal to or less than 500,000 persons.
The Governor Designated JRJ Administering Agency, by accepting this award, agrees to abide by and comport with all requirements, applicable definitions, and conditions of the authorizing statute (42 U.S.C. 3797cc-21) and any related regulations or other guidance promulgated by the Department of Justice including, but not limited to, applicable award special conditions and has a fiduciary responsibility to administer and account for the grant award funds. Furthermore, the Governor-Designated JRJ Administering Agency is under a continuing and ongoing obligation to self-report to BJA any material instances of non- compliance with these programmatic and statutory requirements. Each JRJ agency should complete the JRJ Verification form(s) and JRJ Student Loan Repayment Program Service Agreement on the schedule determined by BJA. Additionally, JRJ Administering Agencies are also required to report in the Justice Enterprise File Sharing (JEFS) system on beneficiaries in an “Exited/Repayment” status on a quarterly basis (January 30th, April 30th, July 30th, and October 30th). For more information, please reference the JRJ Roles and Responsibilities document and John R. Justice (JRJ) Grant Student Loan Repayment Program Quick Reference for Reporting Recipients in Exited/Repayment Status, available on the JRJ Overview page.
Waiver requests may be submitted via email at the dedicated mailbox: [email protected]. A copy of your emailed waiver request with all supporting documents should also be mailed to the Centralized Receivables Service (CRS) if/when they make collections outreach to you.
Waiver requests should include:
- A sworn statement, made by the recipient (requestor) under penalty of perjury, certifying and attesting to the truthfulness and accuracy of the information provided, in the form of an one (1) page Word document that includes an explanation for the waiver request;
- Attached applicable supporting documentation, including any documentation in support of the waiver request received from the State JRJ Administering Agency and your HR Department (i.e. signed service agreement, HR employment date and job description verification, military orders, FMLA documents, court documents, proof of repayment, etc.).
- Applicable award number(s) and the corresponding award amount(s) received from your State Administering Agency (SAA).
If, after receiving any JRJ benefit, a current John R. Justice (JRJ) beneficiary changes their state of employment that individual will no longer be eligible to continue to receive JRJ benefits from the original award-making state. The original state should deem that individual no longer eligible to receive continued benefits and furthermore classify the individual in an exited/repayment status. Under such circumstances, the individual, if s/he plans to remain employed in an otherwise eligible position as a public defender or public prosecutor (albeit in a different state) for the remaining duration of his/her JRJ Student Loan Repayment Service Agreement, may request a waiver of repayment and/or apply for continued JRJ benefits through the designated agency in the state of their new employment; however, selection for continued JRJ benefits will not be guaranteed by the new state of employment.
States and territories are encouraged to design their JRJ Grant Program based on their experience in administering it in previous years, along with similar state-run programs, and should consider the purpose of the Act in the planning and implementation process. The JRJ administering agency is strongly encouraged to conduct outreach and education and begin or continue soliciting applications from eligible beneficiaries.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The JRJ statue says “…the Attorney General [i.e., BJA] shall determine a fair allocation of repayment benefits among prosecutors and public defenders…” In FY18 and earlier, BJA implemented this as an “equal allocation” requirement; that is, a state was required to award 50% of its JRJ funds to public defenders and prosecutors. Beginning in FY19, BJA no longer requires states to allocate equal total grant funds to public defenders and prosecutors. Instead, SAAs should develop their own plans for ensuring there is a “fair distribution” of JRJ funds between public defenders and prosecutors based on the needs of its state. The plan for your agency’s “fair allocation: should be clearly detailed in the JRJ application. If there are significant changes to the “fair allocation” plan post-award, you must communicate this to BJA for a determination.
As the designated technical assistance provider for the Second Chance Act (SCA) program, National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) staff work with a network of partners dedicated to the success of your project, including:
- The federal agency that awarded your grant. Each grantee has a dedicated grant program manager at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Your grant manager—a BJA state policy advisor—is identified in your grant award documentation. Your BJA grant manager is available to help you navigate the grant management process, including award acceptance, budget approval, and grant management requirements, and can also help answer questions such as:
- How do I make changes to the scope of my project?
- How do I make changes to the budget submitted with our application
- How do I access the Justice Department’s grant management system?
- The federal training and technical support team that manages the Performance Measurement Tool system. You will soon hear from the BJA Performance Measurement Tool (PMT) Helpdesk who manages the training and technical aspects of BJA’s PMT. As a BJA grantee, you will be required to provide performance data and other updates on your progress regularly throughout your grant. More information about the PMT, including sample performance measures for your grant program, is available at https://bjapmt.ojp.gov. A representative from the BJA PMT Helpdesk, available at [email protected] or 1-888-252-6867, can also answer questions such as:
- What kind of data will I be required to provide?
- How do I access the PMT system?
- Who do I contact if I’m having trouble entering my data?
You have been assigned to a National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) technical assistance provider. Your NRRC contact is available at any time to answer questions, and will reach out regularly to assist you in completing your Planning and Implementation Guide, follow the progress of your project, and offer guidance and support. Your NRRC contact was provided in the initial email you received from the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center. If you are uncertain who is your NRRC contact, please contact Angela Tolosa, deputy program director for reentry at CSG Justice Center, at [email protected] or 646-383-5744.
The National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) provides technical assistance to help grantees make the most of their federal grant dollars to support sustainable, successful, and evidence-based reentry initiatives. Since the NRRC was launched in 2009, it has provided support to each of the more than 600 Second Chance Act (SCA) grantees—a variety of state, local, and tribal government agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations—that offer a range of services to various adult and juvenile target populations. Despite differences among programs, the technical assistance available from the NRRC focuses on four key components that reflect federal priorities for the SCA grant program:
- The formation of strong, collaborative relationships at the state and local level, across all branches of government, and among service systems to plan and implement comprehensive approaches to improving reentry policies and practices.
- The integration of rigorous practices to:
- measure progress on reducing recidivism rates and improving other reentry outcomes;
- analyze data;
- share essential information with policymakers and practitioners; and
- use data to guide reentry policy, practice, and resource allocation.
- The adoption and effective implementation of core principles and practices demonstrated by research to reduce recidivism and improve other reentry outcomes, including an emphasis on the principles of Risk, Need, and Responsivity.
- The development of reentry programs, policies, and practices that are sustainable, replicable, and foster long-term improvements to reentry recidivism rates and other reentry outcomes.
Each grantee is assigned to a member of the NRRC reentry program staff (i.e., a technical assistance provider) who will provide support throughout the course of the grant. Your NRRC contact will provide technical assistance that responds to the unique opportunities, challenges, and objectives of your grant program and your proposed grant activities. Below are just a few examples of the assistance available through the NRRC.
The NRRC can ... | By providing ... |
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... connect grantees to research and materials, learning opportunities, and outside expertise ... |
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... support your team's planning and implementation through on- and off-site technical assistance ... |
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... link to your peers ... |
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Your National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) contact will reach out to you to schedule a preliminary phone call to discuss your grant activities and orient you to the NRRC. He or she will regularly provide information about training, distance learning, and funding opportunities. In addition to the information you receive from your NRRC contact, the NRRC also distributes a monthly newsletter that provides information about the latest reentry news and research, as well as information about other reentry initiatives from around the country. We encourage the staff and partners associated with each Second Chance Act (SCA) grant to sign up for the NRRC newsletter at csgjusticecenter.org. For information on juvenile justice-specific topics, be sure to select "reentry" as a topic of interest.
Representatives from the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) conduct site visits on a case-by-case basis. Though most grantees receive at least one visit, more intensive system-reform planning grantees may receive more than one visit. Through site visits, the NRRC staff are able to conduct an in-depth review of programs, provide training and facilitation to help grantees address pressing challenges, and, in some circumstances, provide on-site access to expert consultants focusing on specific areas of interest. Your NRRC contact will work with you to determine whether and when a site visit may be helpful to advance your project.