FY 2023 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program – Local Solicitation

Transcript also available as a PDF.

DARYL FOX: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's webinar, “FY 2023 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program – Local Solicitation Webinar,” hosted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. At this time, it's my pleasure to introduce Michelle Garcia, Deputy Director of Programs with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, to begin the presentation. Michelle?

MICHELLE GARCIA: Thank you so much, Daryl. And welcome, everyone, to this webinar. We are pleased to have you here today to talk about the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program Local Solicitation.

As Daryl said, my name is Michelle Garcia. I'm the Deputy Director for Programs at the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The program's office at BJA administers the Byrne JAG Program, so we will be your main points of contact. And I also have the privilege of serving as the Acting Principal Deputy Director for BJA. Today, you'll be hearing from Tarasa Napolitano, who is a State Policy Advisor within BJA, as well as Eulana Williams with our Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to introduce yourself in the chat. Just tell us your name, the agency you're with, and your state, as well.

Our agenda for today: briefly, we'd like to talk about the Office of Justice Programs and the Bureau of Justice Assistance; then, providing an overview of the Byrne JAG Program, going through the eligibility and application requirements; resources that we have for you to assist you in preparing and submitting your application, as well as walking through JustGrants, which is our electronic grant application and management system. And then we've built in ample time to address any questions that you might have.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, BJA is one of six Program Offices in the Office of Justice Programs. OJP is the largest grant-making arm of the Department of Justice, and we provide grant funding, training, research, and statistics to the criminal justice community. We are partners with the Office on Violence Against Women and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, in those grant-making activities. Within the Office of Justice Programs, the other offices include the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the SMART Office—the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. Many of these other offices also provide grant-funding to state and local jurisdictions, and so I encourage you to also take some time to explore their websites to see if there are other funding opportunities that might be of interest to you.

BJA was established in 1984 to reduce violent crime, enhance public safety, and reform the nation's criminal justice system. We are led by Karhlton F. Moore, who was appointed by President Biden in February of 2022. We work with communities, governments, and nonprofit organizations to reduce crime, recidivism, and unnecessary confinement, and promote a safe and fair criminal justice system.

And we do that in a number of different ways. Primarily, we provide funding, investing in our diverse funding streams to accomplish our goals. In fiscal year 2023, we will have released over 70 solicitations, providing over $1.8 billion in awards in just this fiscal year. We work to educate via research, identifying best practices, developing guidance, toolkits, and other resources for the field; providing tools and products that build capacity; and improve outcomes amongst our grantees and the communities that our grantees serve. And then partnering. Partnering with all of you in the work that you do. Partnering with state, regional, national organizations, as well. Our Director, Moore, spends a significant amount of time out in the field—out across the nation in the community, building those partnerships, so that we are responding to the needs that you all are expressing regarding criminal justice needs in your community.

So, before we jump into the rest of the presentation, I want to hear from you about your experiences with federal grants. Has your organization been awarded a federal grant or grants in the past? So, please take a moment to respond to the poll. Either, yes, my organization has extensive experience with federal grants; yes, though my organization does not currently have a federal grant, but you had a federal grant in the past; your organization has limited experience with federal grants; or your organization is new to federal grants and looking forward to learning more.

We see folks answering. Great. We will give it about 30 more seconds for people to get their answers in. Daryl, could you go ahead and close the poll? And could you please read off the responses?

DARYL FOX: Michelle, there was a technical glitch where I got kicked out of the meeting on that side. I'm trying to reenter as we speak.

MICHELLE GARCIA: Okay. I did as well.

DARYL FOX: With all the flurry of activity, I think there may have been a little bandwidth issue, but I'm momentarily in.

MICHELLE GARCIA: So, we are closing the poll. Apologies. Had a little bit of a technical glitch there. And it looks like quite a few people had extensive experience with federal grants. Some have some experience, so they don't have a grant currently. We have about 127 who indicated that their organization has limited experience with federal grants. So, when we get to the section where we talk about resources and supports to assist you in your application and submission, definitely encourage you to pay particular attention there. And then a few organizations, brand new to federal grants. So same as well. We have lots of resources to assist you. Thank you all so much for participating in the poll. And I will turn it over to my colleague, Tarasa Napolitano, to walk you through the overview of the Byrne JAG Program. Tarasa.

TARASA NAPOLITANO: Thanks so much, Michelle. As Michelle mentioned, I am a State Policy Advisor in the Programs Office and I am a co-lead for the JAG Program, and have been working on this program exclusively as the lead probably about 10 years or so. So, I have a lot of experience. But as you know, if you've had any experience with JAG, that changes all the time with each administration and each year. So, I want to go through some of the highlights this year, and we'll also get into more of an overview of what's new this year, and then an overview of what JAG is and entails.

So, with that, we'll start off with the general solicitation information. As you are probably aware, the solicitation was posted June 29th and it's linked on the JAG webpage. The deadline for local JAG is August 29th in Grants.gov and August 31st in JustGrants. So, be aware that there are two deadlines. You have to meet both in order to have your application accepted. So, be mindful of that.

This year, we have about a little over 1,200 that are eligible for local jurisdictions, totaling about $102 million. So, very exciting. And we do have the two categories again this year. So, Category 1 will be any awards less than $25,000. Category 2 will be any awards greater than $25,000. And they each have their own competition ID listed here, but it's also in the solicitation as well. And there are resources throughout this. We're going to be posting different resources that you can click on. I know that you probably can't do that while we're live in this presentation, but we will be sending this out or posting it. And all of this is also linked on the JAG webpage.

So, what is Edward Byrne Memorial Program? What is this? So, this program was actually named after a police officer named Edward Byrne, or Eddie Byrne. He worked for the New York City Police Department and was murdered while protecting a witness in a drug case. And the program actually provides state, tribes, and local governments with critical funding necessary to support a range of program areas, and we're going to get into what those program areas are. Eligibility does change from year to year, as you may be aware, and the allocations are determined based on a formula. This is a formula-based program, and it's based on crime statistics, which is the local government's portion of the state's three-year violent crime average. If you'd like to know more, or learn more, about the JAG Program, we have a fact sheet that's—well, it's not a one-pager anymore, it's a two-pager—but it has great information about the JAG Program, and some kind of highlights and overview.

So, as I mentioned, according to the JAG statute, there are nine program areas that your program is required to have a nexus with. So, your project must tie into one of these nine program areas. As you can see, we added a ninth one this year. If you're familiar with JAG or have a history, the ninth program area is new. This was added as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. So, you will be seeing some more of that added into the solicitation as well. So, as long as your program ties into one or more of these program areas, your project is allowable for the most part.

Areas of Emphasis. So, BJA recognizes that many state and local criminal justice systems currently face challenging fiscal environments. And an important and cost-effective way to relieve those pressures is to share and leverage resources through cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement. And some of the key areas of priority for BJA this year are: advancing justice system reforms; advancing racial equity to support underserved communities; preventing and combating hate crimes; crime and violence reduction strategies; and community-based violent intervention approaches.

So, what is the difference between—we get this a lot—what's the difference between a program area and an area of emphasis? Well, the program area is statutorily required, meaning that in the statute, it's required that your program have a nexus to one of those program areas. An area of emphasis is more of a suggestion. So, these are areas that are determined by BJA each year based on administration and department priorities. And these are just suggested avenues. These are areas in different programs that we at BJA are working on and partnering with the field on, and we make available to you and provide additional resources.
Additional Uses of Funding. So, there are other possibilities. These are just other suggested uses of JAG funds. This is by no means a requirement. You do not have to meet these criteria in order to have a JAG award. These are just possible uses for JAG funds. And as you can see here listed—I'm not going to read all of these to you, but some of them, I'd like to highlight. The purchase of fentanyl and methamphetamine detection equipment, virtual reality de-escalation training, gunfire detection technology. And as you can see, there's much more. And a full list of all the uses of JAG funds are linked at the bottom bullet and can also be found in the JAG solicitation and on the JAG webpage.

Okay, so, now we've kind of given an overview of JAG, and now we'll move into more of how eligibility is determined, and application requirements. But before we do that, I'd like to take a quick poll. Does your organization know how to determine your JAG eligibility and allocations? So, every year we post this on the JAG webpage, and I just want to get a sense of if you're aware of how to check that. So, yes or no. Yes, my organization has received emails and phone calls from BJA each year, and it checks the JAG webpage each spring for eligibility information and allocations; or, yes, my organization knows to check the JAG webpage each spring. So, either you're receiving emails, or maybe you're just checking on the JAG webpage. Or, no, you're just not sure how to determine that, or how to check it. So, I see a lot of answers flowing in right now. I'll give about another 30 seconds and then we will close.

So, it looks like the majority have said yes. I'm sorry, I can't see. Daryl, can you see? I can't see the results of the poll.

DARYL FOX: It looks like for A, there was about 213, or so, that responded to that. Next was C, with 116. And then for B, it was about 80.

TARASA NAPOLITANO: Okay. So, majority is A, received emails. Okay. Good. Thank you. So, if you don't receive them and you're just checking, we're going to go through how you can check on the eligibility and your allocations for your jurisdiction.

So, moving into the eligible applicants. Only units of local government are eligible to apply for JAG. And, a unit of local government, as defined by our statute, is a town, township, a village, city, county, a borough, or any federally recognized Indian tribe. So, any of those units of local government are eligible to apply under JAG.

The applicant must also have a Unique Entity Identifier, or UEI, associated with that unit of local government in order to apply. I also want to note that the SAM registration must be active in order for the application to be submitted or an award to be made. So, keep that in mind when applying.

So, here's some examples of eligible and ineligible applicants. I know with the UEI there has been some confusion, so hopefully this can help. And, so, you must have an eligible UEI. And I know that cities and county and townships can apply—and can receive an award with an eligible UEI. However, a police department, if they would like to apply on behalf of the city or the sheriff's office apply on behalf of the county, they need to use the UEI number for the city or the county with a DBA for the police department or the sheriff's office. If it's just the sheriff or the police department's UEI, it will be kicked back and it is ineligible. So, I want to make note, these are specific examples that kind of outline all of that. But the bottom line is that the city's SAM registration must include a DBA, or “Doing Business As”, for the police department or the sheriff's office if they would like to apply on behalf of the city or county. So, that's the important thing I wanted to note here. These examples are in our FAQs. So, if you have any questions about that or would like to dig further, the JAG FAQs are listed on the JAG webpage.

Disparate Jurisdictions. So, one of the unique qualities of local JAG is that we have disparate jurisdictions. Disparate jurisdictions are listed on the JAG Allocations List, which I will show in the next slide. If your jurisdiction is a disparate, it will be shaded in gray and grouped together with another agency or another jurisdiction. Disparate simply means that there is a disparity that exists between the city and the county. The disparate allocation allows the city and the county that are part of the same geographic area to more equitably share their Byrne JAG funds. An MOU is required if you are in a disparate jurisdiction. You also must select a fiscal agent. So, the prime recipient, or the fiscal agent, will be responsible for submitting the application, and then the other disparate jurisdictions will be considered subrecipients. And if you'd like more information on how disparity is determined, or the different types of disparity that exists and how it is calculated, there's a link here, but there's also one on the JAG webpage for the JAG Technical Report, and it provides great examples and goes into detail on how that formula is calculated.

So, here's the snapshot of the allocations list I mentioned. And this one is from Maryland. And, as you can see, the jurisdictions shaded in gray are the disparate jurisdictions. They are grouped together and they are required to share the award amount—the joint allocation amount—which is listed on the far right-hand side. The amount listed under the direct allocation amount is just an example. So, disparate jurisdictions can share or split their award however they see fit. So, this is just a suggestion. And so, you can also see in the white, these are direct awardees. So, these are allocations that will get a direct award from BJA, and there is no sharing or funding disparity.

So, if you're interested in a JAG award but your award does not appear on your jurisdiction, you don't see your city or county on the allocations list, what do you do? There's several reasons why a city or county would not appear on the allocations list. It means that your jurisdiction was not eligible for an award this year. There are several factors that can affect eligibility, one being that the allocation amount fell below the $10,000 threshold amount. So, BJA provides direct awards to jurisdictions receiving $10,000 or more. So, if the allocation amount fell while we were running the formula, it fell to, let's say, the city of Timbuktu, fell to $9,000, they're not eligible for a direct award from BJA, which means they would be ineligible, and those that fall under the $10,000 threshold, that list of jurisdictions is sent to the state administering agency. And note that funding is added to the state award. So, I would ask those that look, that don't see their name on—or their jurisdiction on—the eligibility allocations list, to follow up with their SAA for potential subawards. And—we actually have a link for SAAs—to find your SAA for your state here in this bottom right box. It's also on the JAG webpage as well.

So, these are all the application requirements that are required in JustGrants this year. So, first, you'll be submitting in Grants.gov, which is the SF-LLL, which is the Lobbying Disclosure, and the SF-424. Then the second deadline is for your JustGrants. And the JustGrants application, this is where you're going to upload all of your application attachments. Here are all the required application attachments listed for JAG this year.

I'm going to go in-depth on each of these in subsequent slides, but just as an overview, here they all are: Lobbying Disclosure, Abstract, Program Narratives, Budget, Worksheet Narrative, the Financial Capability Questionnaires, the Chief Executive Certification; and then, if applicable, the MOU, Body-Worn Camera, and Body Armor Certification.

The first up here is the Lobbying Disclosure. As I mentioned, this is a requirement to submit in Grants.gov. And the important thing here is that I just want to note is that an applicant that does not expend any funds for lobbying activities should enter “N/A” in the text boxes for item 10. And also once you fill out this and submit the Lobbying Disclosure in Grants.gov, it will pre-populate and carry over to JustGrants.

The next application attachment required is the 424. So, this has been standard going way back. And, so, if you've completed a federal award application before, you're probably familiar with this. So, I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on it. I just want to make note that what you enter here, the contact information is important. So, the contact information that you include here will be used in JustGrants, so it's really important to complete this appropriately and accurately. And this also will carry over into JustGrants. And, again, this is a requirement in Grants.gov.

Proposal Abstract. So, the Abstract is new this year. It's back. So, we had a few years off of not submitting an Abstract, and it's back again. But this year, it should be included as a program attachment. So, you'll upload it as an application attachment. And it should be just a brief synopsis of your project. No more than 100 words, written in paragraph form. We've listed some examples here, if you'd like, to get you started. But, again, it just should be a brief synopsis of your JAG program, or project.

The Project Narrative is another requirement for the JAG application. This is standard every year. This is more of an in-depth description of your project. If you're applying under Category 1, this can be brief. It can be just a description of the project and any subawards if applicable. However, Category 2 applicants must meet the following criteria. It should describe the issue. You should outline the Project Design and Implementation, any Capabilities and Competencies, and your Plan for Collecting Data based on our Performance Measures.

The Budget Worksheet. So, again, this is standard. The Budget Detail Worksheet should be uploaded with your award attachments in JustGrants. There is a link here for a template. If you'd like to enter your totals and your costs into that, you can. However, we will accept other forms of a budget, as long as you stick to the same budget categories. But one thing I did want to note here is that it is important that you upload a budget attachment. We will not be able to process an application without a budget attachment.

So, even if you don't know all of the costs specifically, I would include estimates, or just write a narrative saying, "We're still working on it but we think X, Y, Z," and then make the title "Budget Attachment,” because we cannot move an application forward without having an attachment labeled “Budget.” So, just be mindful of that when submitting.

The Financial Management Capability Questionnaire. You can find this link in the solicitation. You can also find it in—it's linked in the OJP Resource Guide on the OJP website. And on this slide, obviously, you can see in bullet one, it's linked. And the Financial Capability Questionnaire, the important thing here is question 25. If you have subrecipients, make sure that you answer that question appropriately because that's what we will be looking for in this questionnaire, but this is a requirement. It is part of a requirement in order to move your application forward. So if you have any questions about that, please let us know. But, again, this is linked here and in the solicitation.

The Chief Executive Certification. The Chief Executive Certification—we've had this for several years now. This includes the governing body review and the public comment requirement. It must be signed by the highest elected official. So for cities, this is usually the mayor. For counties, it's usually a chairman of the board. For disparate groups, it must be submitted by the fiscal agent. So, whoever was selected as the prime recipient or the fiscal agent must submit the Chief Executive Certification signed by their elected official. If you do not have a signed certification at the time of application, it's okay. You can submit the application without it. We'll add a Withholding Special Condition to the award, and then we'll release it once we have a signed certification.

So Governing Body and Public Comment. As I mentioned, this is incorporated into the Chief Executive Certification, but just kind of pulling this out to highlight what that means. The governing body review is a statute requirement for JAG, basically stating that a JAG application must be made available for review by the governing body by, at least, 30 days prior to the application being submitted. The public comment—also statutorily required— is, the JAG application must be made available for public comment by the city or county citizens. So, that's the main thing I wanted to point out here. That's what's included in the Chief Executive Certification. If you have any questions about that, please let us know. But there is also links for this in the solicitation as well.

MOU. So as we discussed, this is only required for disparate jurisdictions. If you are not a disparate jurisdiction, then this is not a requirement. However, in a disparate jurisdiction, you are required to submit an MOU, which outlines how funding will be distributed among the disparate jurisdictions. It lists who will be the fiscal agent. It also should be signed by the authorized representative, and it should list how funding will be distributed—how the award will be distributed among the disparate jurisdictions. The authorized rep must be someone that has the authority to enter the city or the county into a legal contract with the federal government. So, be mindful of that on who signs the MOU. That is very important. Otherwise, it will be kicked back. A sample MOU is here in the link in the last bullet. Again, we'll be making sure that we get these slides to you so you can have this as a resource.

Body-Worn Camera Certification. This, again, only applicable if your jurisdiction intends to purchase body-worn cameras with your JAG funds. If so, you will need to complete the Body-Worn Camera Certification. It's linked here. It's also linked in the solicitation. The certification essentially states that policies and procedures are in place related to equipment usage, data storage and access, privacy considerations, and training. If you do have body-worn cameras listed in your project but do not have this certification attached, a Withholding Special Condition will be added to your award until it's received. So, be mindful of that, if you have body-worn cameras in your project this year.

Body Armor—very similar to the Body-Worn Camera. This is only applicable if you intend to use JAG funding for body armor or bulletproof vests. The certification specifies when mandatory wear is required for uniformed officers on duty. Additional guidance can be found in the BVP FAQs and the Mandatory Wear FAQs that are linked here. I think in the fourth bullet. As a note, JAG funds may not be used to meet the match requirement for BVP. So, the BVP program has a match requirement—and JAG cannot be used to meet that match requirement, just as an FYI. Also, there is a caveat in the statute that if you are using JAG funds for BVP, for bulletproof vests, it may impact your eligibility for the BVP program in the same fiscal year. So, be mindful of that, if you do plan on applying for both.

Other Requirements. So, the JAG statute also stipulates how funding can be drawn down. It can be drawn down in advance. However, if you do so, it must be deposited into an interest-bearing trust fund account. Also, the state repositories, if JAG funds are used for activities that generate court dispositions or other records relevant to the National Instant Background Check System, or NICS, they must have a system in place to ensure that the records are made available in a timely manner. I don't see a lot of the NICS stuff but the trust fund we do, so be mindful of that.

New this year: as a result of adding the ninth program area, based on the skip language, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, adding the ninth program area, also, we have this language that's been added as a result. This is the Emergency Risk Protection Order programs, otherwise known as ERPOs, may be funded using JAG Awards. So, be mindful of that this year. This is allowable. Essentially an ERPO allows law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove a person's access to firearms when there is evidence that an individual is likely to harm themselves or others. So, that's essentially what ERPO is. JAG funds can be used for that, but they must meet the following criteria at a minimum.

So, the first one—and this is just a highlight—I do implore you to read this extensively so that you meet all of these requirements if you do intend to go this route for funding. But, first, it must prevent any violation of constitutional rights as outlined in the solicitation. Also, number two, the right to be represented by counsel at no expense to the government. The right to be represented by counsel—I'm sorry—to prevent reliance on evidence that is unsworn, irrelevant, and lacking foundation. And, four, penalties for abuse of the program. So, again, new this year. This is all outlined in the solicitation, so if you would like to take a look, it is there.

And with that, we move on to DNA. DNA—we've always had the requirement that you must, if you are collecting DNA using JAG funds, that it has to be uploaded into CODIS. However, with the expansion of DNA technology, we have some other guidance here that I'd want to make aware of.

The first is that the forensic genealogy testing must adhere to the guidance linked here in the second bullet. It's also linked in the JAG FAQs and on the JAG webpage. And Rapid DNA. JAG funds may be used to support Rapid DNA projects that meet the requirements for participation in Rapid DNA. However, JAG funds may not be used for Rapid DNA testing of evidentiary material because the FBI has not authorized results to be uploaded into CODIS. So, be mindful of that caveat there in terms of Rapid DNA. Essentially, if you are collecting DNA, it needs to be uploaded into CODIS. And no profiles generated with JAG funds may be uploaded to a nongovernmental database without prior approval from BJA. So, be mindful of that as well.

Limitations on Use of JAG Funds. So, there are some limitations on the use of JAG funds, and they include administrative costs. Essentially, no more than 10% of the award amount can be used for administrative purposes. Secondly, supplanting. Funds may not be used for supplanting purposes, period. And, three, matching. JAG does not require a match, so you are not required to enter a match, and, also, the JAG funds may not be used to match any other federal award program. And speaking of limitations on JAG, this year we have new prohibited expenditures. So, we've always had some that were prohibited because of the JAG statute. There are certain expenditures that the statute does not allow purchase of without prior approval from BJA. However, consistent with an EO from May 25th of last year, there is a list of items that are prohibited for all OJP awards. These will be considered control for all OJP awards, so we have controlled consistent with this EO, this Executive Order 14074, and then we have those that are statutorily prohibited under the JAG statute. So, because we have these two types of controlled and prohibited items, the JAG team has meshed them together into categories, and helped develop these category systems to help you clarify what's allowable and what isn't in terms of JAG purchases.

Just a note here: I wanted to raise the issue with UAVs—drones. Any UAV, UAS—all is still considered prohibited. So, at this time, regardless of what list or where, we are still prohibited to approve any purchases of that kind.

With that, we'll roll right into the different categories for controlled and prohibited. The first is category A. So, Category A are strictly prohibited and are not eligible for a waiver or prior approval. So, there is no circumstance in which you can use JAG funds to purchase anything on that list in Category A. Category B are prohibited by JAG statute. However, they are eligible for a waiver with prior approval. Category C are prohibited by JAG statute and are considered controlled by the EO and are eligible for a waiver with prior approval. And category D is controlled equipment by the executive order and are eligible for a waiver with prior approval.

So, we are going to go into each category separately, so that you can see exactly what is listed under each category. So Category A. Again, these are items that are strictly prohibited. They are unallowable, and, no, a waiver cannot be used for any items listed here. This is in the solicitation, so you do have access to this. We've also linked the EO. It's also on the JAG webpage. So, we have this in numerous places for your resource. And I just want to list here and highlight that silencers are no longer allowable. Any firearm or ammunition greater than .50 caliber, grenades, grenade launchers, weaponized aircraft, again, UAV, UAS, we just mentioned. And camouflage uniforms, anything with a digital pattern, not allowable. So, you can go into this more extensively on the webpage, but I just wanted to highlight here that we do have several items that are strictly unallowable for JAG this year.

Category B. Again, Category B is prohibited by the JAG statute, however, are eligible for a waiver with prior approval. So, patrol vehicles are not—so you can see vehicles, luxury items, real estate, construction. So, this is what you've seen consistent with previous years. So, this is part of the JAG statute. One thing I do want to note is the bottom little asterisk that says police cruisers, police boats, and police helicopters are defined there and they are an exception. So, if you have a police cruiser or a patrol car, it is not prohibited. However, any other types of vehicle not used for patrol purposes will require a waiver.

Category C. So, these are prohibited by the JAG statute and they're considered controlled, so they're prohibited by the JAG statute, and they're considered controlled by the executive order. However, they are eligible for a waiver. So, listed here are the four things that you can request prior approval from BJA to purchase any of the four things listed here: command or control vehicles; tactical vehicles; wheeled armored vehicles; and manned aircraft. So, again, we have this listed on the JAG webpage as well.

Category D. So, these are strictly controlled by the executive order and are eligible for a waiver with prior approval. So, you can get prior approval to purchase any of these items listed here: police helicopters; specialized firearms or ammunition under .50 caliber; explosives and pyrotechnics. So, that concludes the controlled expenditures. I see a lot of questions flying in through the chat, and I know my team is answering them rapidly. I just want to transition now into some reporting requirements for JAG.

So, there are three types of reporting that are required mandatory for the JAG program. One, quarterly; you will need to report in the Performance Measurement Tool, or the PMT. You will be reporting once a quarter. The reporting periods are listed as shown. And the reports are due 30 days at the end of the reporting period. The second location would be in JustGrants, and that's where you will be doing the other two reports. You'll be submitting your FFR, which is the financial report, and you'll be also submitting your progress report. The financial reports are due quarterly. Again, they have the same reporting period as the PMT, and they're due 30 days at the end of the reporting period. The progress reports in JustGrants, you will be required to upload your report from the PMT into JustGrants, where it will be reviewed and approved in JustGrants. You will do that depending on the category you're applying under. Category 1, if you're under $25,000, you'll be submitting that report annually. Greater than $25,000, in Category 2, you will be submitting that report semi-annually, so twice a year. And you can see the reporting period is listed there.

How PMT works—so, you will log in to PMT. The link is in the solicitation. It's also here. It's a separate system than JustGrants. You will log in there. You'll have your own unique login, username, and password. You'll complete the PMT on a quarterly basis. Then on a semi-annual basis, if you are in Category 2, it will be a semi-annual basis. And you will upload the PDF of that report to JustGrants. Then in step four, the grantee will upload and submit the PMT report in JustGrants, and then the report will be reviewed by your program manager in JustGrants. And you will get feedback in JustGrants if it is approved or if it is sent back— or change requested— for further information.

These are just great resources here that can help point you in some of the directions that we listed in the previous slides. The JAG webpage has everything you need to know. I highly recommend you making that a favorite and going to that as often as you need. We have—and all the other resources that are listed here—can be found on the JAG webpage: FAQs, allocations list, fact sheet, technical report, et cetera. The other great thing here: if you see the staff contact list, if you want to know who your grant manager is, you can check here in the links here.

Before you apply: registration. All applicants must register with SAM prior to submitting an application. And just as a heads up and FYI, you need to renew and validate your registration every 12 months in SAM. So, if you have not done that or it's expired, please do that as soon as possible because it can delay your submission into JustGrants and Grants.gov.

And as you can see here, it can take up to 10 business days to complete that renewal. As I mentioned in the beginning of the presentation, this is a two-step process. The first step is submitting the SF-424 and the Lobbying Disclosure in Grants.gov by August 23rd at 8:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Step two is to submit the remaining application attachments into JustGrants. There's a link here and that is due the following—actually not the following day— it's August 30th at 8:59 Eastern Time.

Additional Information on How to Apply. These are great resources that have been put out by our JustGrants team and they are extremely helpful in walking you through how to apply in JustGrants.

Some application resources for you—just quick references. If you need support with Grants.gov, if you're having issues in submitting your application in Grants.gov, we have support desk information here, same with JustGrants. And we also have, if you have questions about submitting your application and maybe some content or programmatic questions, please feel free to contact the OJP Response Center listed here. They're extremely helpful in providing responses to programmatic type questions.

Subscribe. If you'd like to subscribe to get up-to-date information from OJP, you can text your email address to OJP here to subscribe to updates and stay connected. We also have social media. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. And that is it. That is it. Now, I'm sorry, I just realized I'm going into the other JustGrants presentations. And with that I will pass to my colleague in JustGrants. Thank you.

EULANA WILLIAMS: Thank you so much. Again, my name is Eulana Williams and I am here with my colleague Lisa Hartman. And we are excited to be here with you today to talk about some of the steps that you're going to need to prepare for the application process for the BJA FY '23 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

Now, we want to ensure that you're off to a great start and have the tools needed to complete the process. Now, we will start with a high-level look at the onboarding process to apply for funding, and review the six JustGrants entity roles, and how to apply, and how to create a user profile. Now, next, we'll talk about some very important steps that you'll need to take prior to beginning the actual entry of your application in JustGrants. Now, we will talk about SAM.gov and the Unique Entity Identifier, which is going to be critical to understand in order to set off correctly on the application process. Now, in our preapplication session, we will tell you a little bit more about Grants.gov and DIAMD, which are other important systems to understand when applying for funding. Finally, we will show you how to locate your application once it's generated in JustGrants.

Now, while we won't have time to review the entire application process today, we will point you in the direction of our weekly virtual Q&A session in which we spend 90 minutes covering exactly that, and hope that you will take the time to join us in an upcoming session. Then, we will go over where to go for help, as you navigate through the system, and then show you some resources that will help you as well.
Now, we're going to begin by reviewing the process of onboarding. There are several critical systems that are involved in preparing for submitting an application to the Department of Justice. And we've designed a roadmap to show you the high-level steps. Now all entities seeking federal assistance must register with SAM.gov and obtain a Unique Entity Identifier, or UEI.

Now, the first step is to ensure that your entity has a current and active SAM.gov registration. Your SAM registration must be renewed annually. And we strongly suggest that your entity renew the SAM.gov registration at least 30 days prior to the expiration date. Now, your entity will need to designate an E-Biz Point of Contact in SAM.gov, and we'll talk more about this critical role shortly. The SAM.gov is the website that assigns your Entity Unique Identifier, or the UEI, and the UEI is used in many transactions with the federal government.

Now, when you begin an application, it must be associated with an UEI. Now, SAM.gov is a website that is managed by the General Services Administration, or GSA. And SAM.gov is not managed by JustGrants or DOJ. So, issues related to SAM.gov must go through a GSA help desk. Now, SAM.gov entries related to your specific entity will be sent to Grants.gov and will ultimately populate entity fields in JustGrants.

Now, to locate an opportunity for funding, also known as a solicitation, you will need to open Grants.gov to search for and select a funding opportunity for which you would like to apply. Grants.gov is managed by the Health and Human Services, or HHS agency. And they also have their own help desk to assist. All federal agencies use SAM.gov and Grants.gov to begin the process of applying for grant funding. For DOJ, submitting an application is a two-step process. The first step must begin in Grants.gov. Now, when you are ready to apply for funding in Grants.gov, you will log in using credentials that are associated with your SAM.gov UEI and locate the funding opportunity for which you will be applying by selecting the associated competition ID. This link allows your application to be associated in Grants.gov with your SAM.gov entity information. Now, you will also access the funding opportunity and package requirements. In Grants.gov, you're required to complete and submit the SF-424 and SF-LLL forms. These are standard government forms. It is important to know that if you do not have final information, such as budget figures or the amount of funding you are requesting, you are welcome to submit preliminary figures in Grants.gov. Now, once the application is transferred to JustGrants, you will have the opportunity to update your entries prior to submitting the complete application to DOJ. Now, the SF-LLL, or triple L, will be sent to JustGrants from Grants.gov as a PDF file. You will not need to complete that information again. Once you have submitted an application in Grants.gov, that application will automatically be transferred to JustGrants. Now, most of the application is entered in JustGrants. You will enter a Proposal Narrative, Proposal Abstract, Budget information, Goals, Objectives, and Timelines, in addition to information that may be specific to the award for which you are applying.

So, now we're going to review the entity roles that play an important part in JustGrants. The term “entity” refers to applicants and award recipient. An entity has unique identifiers, such as legal names, “Doing Business As,” or DBA, and one or more numeric or alphanumeric identifiers. In JustGrants, there are two distinct types of entities: organizations and individuals. Most entities in JustGrants are considered organizational entities. Now, there are many types of organizational entities including—but not limited to—nonprofits, American Indian tribes, state or local governments, and institutions of higher education. Organizational entities must register and maintain an active registration status in SAM.gov in order to access federal funding. The SAM.gov UEI, or Unique Entity Identifier is considered the preliminary or primary alphanumeric identifier for organizational entities in JustGrants.

Now, an individual entity is a person, not an organization, applying for grant funding. Typically, an individual entity applies for a fellowship grant program. Individual entities do not need to register in SAM.gov; instead, individual entities should use their Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, Federal Tax ID, EIN, or Tax Identification Number, or their TIN, as their unique alphanumeric identifier. Now, for security purposes, JustGrants recommends not using a Social Security number, or SSN, as the unique identifier.

Now, JustGrants roles provide for specific access in JustGrants. Now, you can do and see specific things because of assigned roles, or role. Second, users can have one or more than one role assigned to them based upon the type of work that they will need to do in JustGrants. In addition to managing users, keeping the entity profile information current, confirming the authorized representatives, legal authorities to enter into contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements with the federal government on behalf of the entity. The Entity Administrator also has read-only access to all applications and awards in JustGrants. Now, they have a bird's eye view of everything. If the Entity Administrator will also need to take part in some managing awards or application, that person can be assigned additional roles that allow them to do so.

Now, the Grant Award Administrator, they generally handle programmatic requirements, including submitting performance reports, initiating, and submitting GAMs, and initiating award closeout. There is also an alternate Grant Award Administrator role available who provides support to the Grant Award Administrator and can edit and submit performance reports in Grant Award Modifications, or what we call GAMs.
The Application Submitter is the only role that can enter data into an application, certify, and submit it on behalf of your entity. You can have up to three Application Submitters assigned to an award at one time. The Authorized Representative is the only role that may accept or decline an award on behalf of the entity. Now, this role must be assigned to someone in your organization with the legal authority to enter into contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements with the federal government on behalf of the entity. And once again, the Entity Administrator confirms the Authorized Representative's legal authority. Then the Financial Manager submits federal financial reports on behalf of the organization.

Three of these roles are critical to the application process. The Application Submitter is the only role in JustGrants that can submit an application. Up to three Application Submitters can be assigned to an application at one time, but only one Application Submitter is able to work in the application at a time.

Application Submitters identify the forms needed to submit an application, complete the web-based budget form, complete and certify the application on behalf of the entity, and submit the application in JustGrants. The Authorized Representative role must be limited to the person in an entity with the authority to accept or decline an award on behalf of the entity. This role must be given to someone with the legal authority to enter into contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements with the federal government on behalf of the entity.

The Entity Administrator manages users and roles in JustGrants. Now, there can only be one Entity Administrator in JustGrants at a time. It would be best to discuss who might act as a backup Entity Administrator if the primary Entity Administrator goes on vacation or has an extended leave. Now, prior to leaving the organization for any amount of time, the acting Entity Administrator must reassign the role to another active user.

Now, before an application can be started, it's important to have an account in SAM.gov and obtain a Unique Entity Identifier, or UEI.

Now, these four systems are important to the application process:

You have SAM.gov, which is the federal government's source of truth for entity identifiers. Organizational entities must maintain an active registration an ensure entity information is current. Other federal systems use entity data from SAM.gov.

Grants.gov is the federal government's central source to locate funding opportunities for all federal agencies. To apply for funding, a Grants.gov account must be associated to a UEI from SAM.gov. Now all applications begin in Grants.gov with preliminary information. Grants.gov applications are transferred to JustGrants upon validation.

Now the Digital Identity and Access Management Directory, or DIAMD, is the Department of Justice's secure user management system. The Entity Administrator, or EA, determines who should have access to their entity data and then invite those individuals to be entity users. The EA keeps entity users and their roles up to date and reassigns the EA role as needed.

Now, JustGrants is DOJ's grants management system, and the EA assigns and reassigns entity users to specific applications and awards. The EA uploads entity-level documents into the system.

Now, the UEI, or Unique Entity Identifier, is the official government-wide identifier used for federal awards. It is comparable to a Social Security number for organizations, and replaces the DUNS number as a unique identifier. An organization may have multiple UEIs depending on its size and complexity. For instance, the County of Arlington may have one UEI for the sheriff's department, another for the fire department, and another for the court system. Now in this case, all three departments are considered separate entities and would not necessarily be eligible for the same types of funding. In some cases, an entity's legal name might be County of Arlington when they're “Doing Business As” indicator for the sheriff's department. For the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, the county is eligible for funding, while an entity with a UEI associated directly with the sheriff's department might not. So, be sure to verify that you are selecting the correct UEI when you begin your application in Grants.gov. It can be very tricky to change a UEI once an application is started.

Now, the UEI is a 12-character alphanumeric value and is in SAM.gov and other government award and financial systems to identify a Unique Entity. Users must use the SAM UEI to search entity registration, exclusion, and contract opportunity awards by the Entity Identifier.

Now, your SAM registration requires an annual renewal. JustGrants use SAM as a primary source of agency information in applying for, and managing, DOJ grant funding. JustGrants automatically pulls entity information from SAM, thereby reducing the burden on award recipients to manually update information across multiple systems, and helps DOJ validate information from recipients.

Now, a JustGrants account can only be associated with a single UEI. This means that if your organization is using multiple UEIs to manage awards, you will be managing separate JustGrants accounts. For instance, if the City of Arlington has a UEI associated with the executive office and another associated with the sheriff's office, there will be separate JustGrants accounts for those offices. Each office will have its own users and its own Entity Administrator. Now, the accounts are created as if they are separate organizations. Now, it can be kind of confusing sometimes, such as one Entity Administrator will be managing two or more JustGrants accounts. That's fine. However, that Entity Administrator will have to create separate user accounts for themselves and for any other users that will need to access both accounts. This means that each user will need to use different email addresses to register in each account. Now, think of it like having two Gmail accounts. You need to have different usernames to log in to each Gmail account. You can see the same password, but the username must be different. Also because each JustGrants account is separate, you will not see the awards that are managed under one UEI when you are logged into the JustGrants account associated with another UEI. Now, just like our Gmail accounts, you can't see emails from one Gmail account in the other Gmail account.

Now, to find your UEI in SAM.gov, you will need to log into your account and locate the active bubble in the Entity Management widget. Select it to open your current SAM.gov registration record. Now, the UEI is displayed on the left of the screen. You can see that highlighted in red. Now, in JustGrants, once you open the “Entity Profile” menu option, your entity information is displayed. There is a great deal of information displayed here, including the legal name, Doing Business As, UEI, SAM registration status, and SAM expiration date.

Now, we're going to begin our discussion about what to do before beginning the JustGrants application submission. Now, the process of applying for funding begins in Grants.gov and ends with submission of the application in JustGrants. Each system has its own deadline. The first step is to locate a funding opportunity with DOJ in Grants.gov. You will enter and submit two government forms at this time, the SF-424 and SF-LLL. Aside from those two forms, most of the application is entered in JustGrants. Grants.gov has a deadline. If you have not submitted the application in Grants.gov by the deadline, the solicitation is removed from Grants.gov, and no one is able to apply any longer. Once the application has been submitted and validated in Grants.gov, it is then sent to JustGrants for completion. JustGrants also has a deadline, and typically a couple of weeks after the Grants.gov deadline. So, be sure you are clear on these two deadlines as they are listed on the first page of the solicitation.

Now, the JustGrants submission deadline allows additional time to complete the application requirements past the Grants.gov deadline. Submitting early in both systems is definitely recommended. Now, if you submit prior to the JustGrants deadline, you have the option to recall the application for editing. However, once the JustGrants deadline has passed, that will no longer be an option. Now again, it is okay to enter preliminary information in Grants.gov if you haven't fully determined your budget or your project scope, and you will be able to edit and update all of your entries in JustGrants. Now, it is not necessary to return to Grants.gov to update your entries there. All items requested in the solicitation for application submission must be in the application when it is submitted from JustGrants. Applications are customized based on the requirements of the solicitation, so the application you complete for the FY '23 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Program will present questions and different information different from any other application you complete.

Now, as we've mentioned, the application process with the DOJ begins in Grants.gov. Now, if you are submitting an application and have not registered in Grants.gov, you will need to do so. To register, select the “Register” link in the upper right corner of the page and follow the steps in the lower left corner of the Grants.gov register page. A video is included in the lower right that also explains the registration process. Now, the Grants.gov login is separate from JustGrants. We will provide some screenshots of the site. However, if you have questions about Grants.gov, you will need to contact them for support.

Now, you will begin by selecting the opportunity in Grants.gov for which you'd like to apply. You will log in using the email address where you want to receive notification. Now, there is a “Workspace” icon that allows you access to the funding opportunity. Once you have determined a funding opportunity and applied, you will receive notifications from Grants.gov confirming the receipt of the SF-424 and stating whether the SF-424 and SFLLL were validated and submitted or if they were rejected with errors. The notification will include an application for any errors. Now, it is a good idea to submit in Grants.gov at least 48 hours prior to the deadline to give you the time you need to correct any errors. Now, you will not be able to correct errors or continue with the application process if you have not submitted in Grants.gov once the deadline in Grants.gov has passed.

So, to search for an opportunity, use the “Search Grants” tab at the top of the page. You can filter the search to locate grants that are specific to your needs. You can look for grants by opportunity status, funding instrument type, eligibility, category, and agency. To take some time to review all of the options in each filter will be great. Once you find an opportunity you would like to explore, select the opportunity number to view the requirement. And once you open the grant opportunity, review the information included in the synopsis, version history, related document, and package tab to see if this opportunity is one that would benefit your organization. Now, if you choose to apply, select the “Apply” button. You will need to log into or create a Grants.gov account to apply. Now, in the event that you are experiencing unexpected technical issues when submitting your application, follow the instructions outlined in the solicitation section titled, "Experiencing Unforeseen Technical Issue Preventing Submission of an Application."

The name and email address entered in Section 8F on the SF-424 form in Grants.gov will be created as the first Application Submitter for this application in JustGrants. The Application Submitter role is the only one that can complete the application in JustGrants. Once the application is transferred to JustGrants, two additional Application Submitters can share this application. Only one person can edit an application at a time, but up to three Application Submitters can be assigned to it. If you have questions regarding any information that you are entering in Grants.gov, please refer your questions to the contact listed on the cover page of the solicitation. Please note that the selecting the “Submit” button multiple times in Grants.gov will create duplicate submissions.

Now, in the “Track My Application” section of Grants.gov, you can track everything for your status information. You can check if your application has been received, validated, rejected with errors, received by the agency, and if the agency tracking number is assigned.

Now, it's important to understand that a confirmation that your application has been received in Grants.gov does not mean it has been accepted. You will receive a second notification whether your application has been accepted or rejected with errors. If it has been rejected with errors, return the application in Grants.gov to make corrections prior to the Grants.gov deadline. It is best to submit your Grants.gov application well before the deadline in case any edits are needed. Once your application has been accepted by Grants.gov, you will receive a tracking number that you can use in JustGrants to match your application once it's transferred from Grants.gov.

Once the application is moved from from Grants.gov to JustGrants, the bulk of the application work then begins. The first step is for the Application Submitter to locate the application. And we're going to review that process right now.

First, you want to select the “Home” link on the left to open a list of applications assigned to the user under “My Worklist” section. Applications may also be referred to as grant passages in JustGrants. Select the application link on the left to open a list of applications for the user's entity. You want to use the “Begin” link to open the application to begin entering data.

Now, JustGrants sends automatic notifications about applications that are being edited or has changes made. There are two types of notifications that you might see. Email notifications are generated when an Application Submitter has been assigned to or removed from an application. An email is also sent by JustGrants five days prior to the JustGrants application deadline when an application has been submitted, and when it has been recalled. Bell notifications are displayed in the upper right corner and are always visible in JustGrants. A red indicator over the bell displays the number of unread notifications. Select the bell to read all of the notifications. Application Submitters receive a bell notification when another Application Submitter is editing the application or has been assigned to or removed from an application. Application Submitters also receive a bell notification when the application is submitted.

Now the Justice Grants website has much more information about JustGrants, including training, resources, and updates, as well as links to things that you need, such as: how to print an application; additional instructions on application submission; a JustGrants user role guide; links to the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide; the OJP/OVW/COPS funding opportunities; the DOJ Application Submitter Checklist; and then resource links for SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

We do offer our virtual Q&A sessions every week—use the link shown here for specifics. We have Post-Award Management sessions that are held on Mondays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Then on Tuesdays, we hold our Entity Management sessions, primarily focused on topics for Entity Administrators, and that's held between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00. On Wednesdays, we hold our Application Mechanics sessions—that's primarily focused on topics for submitting an application from 2:30 PM to 4:30 p.m. [INDISTINCT]. Then we have Thursdays where we offer sessions on award acceptance from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Now all classes are Eastern Standard Time. But please note that these upcoming sessions are repeated sessions that do not cover any new or updated materials. So, if you've attended any of these sessions, you don't have to continue to attend them. However, you are more than welcome to come in and sit in on any one of these sessions.

Now, I'd like to thank you all very much for joining our session today. And we hope that the information that we provided to you today is useful. And we thank you for staying with us today, and have a great day. I will turn this back over.

BRENDA WORTHINGTON: Hello.

EULANA WILLIAMS: Hello.

BRENDA WORTHINGTON: Good afternoon and thank you all so much for attending today. Hopefully everyone can hear me. And the mute monster has not got me up. So I'm Brenda Worthington. I am an Associate Deputy Director here in the Programs Office. I want to thank you all for joining us, and thank you to our wonderful presenters here. As you've seen, I've been tugging away in the question and answer box. And thank you all for your patience. You've also seen Darius LoCicero there. He's our Division Chief in the BJA Programs Office who oversees the JAG Program. And Wai White, she also is one of our State Policy Advisors that works on the JAG Program. So, there are a few questions that I did want to address verbally that were some common themes throughout the Q&A box.

So, the first item is, "Really, who is eligible to apply for this program?" And we've copied and pasted this answer a few times regarding the units of local government. So, I did really want to just touch on that. So, units of local government by law is defined as the town, township, village, parish, city, county, borough, or the other general purpose political subdivision of the state, and that includes, of course, the federally recognized Indian tribal government. So, this may also include in a very limited number of cases a law enforcement district or judicial enforcement district that is established under applicable state law, and this is where they have the ability to establish and impose taxes. So, when I say in very limited cases, this is typically limited to the State of Louisiana, where the parish sheriffs have the ability to establish and impose taxes.

So, the typical scenario in this country is that the limited eligibility is for the unit of local government, which would be a city, town, or a county. So, as far as that's concerned, the eligible unit of local government that we would see on the application would be, for example, the City of Smith. It would not be the Smith Police Department. However, if the City of Smith applies and their Unique Identify Identifier is in SAM.gov, they do have a “Doing Business As” the police department, that is fine. But the legal name associated with the Unique Identity Identifier has to be for the City of Smith, because these funds are for units of local government. They're not designated for law enforcement departments. And as you saw earlier in the presentation, the JAG fund has a large number of program areas for which funds can be used for. And I just wanted to make sure that that was addressed.

So, the other item I wanted to address here was the disparate units of local government. We received a lot of questions about that in the chat. So, as far as the disparate units of local government—you've probably seen as you're looking through our eligibility chart— sometimes the disparates, there's two entities that are grouped together. Sometimes there's 15. So, what happens in these cases is that the disparate groups must identify the fiscal agent. And that fiscal agent is going to be the unit of local government that is going to apply for the funds on behalf of the group. So, one unit of local government is going to submit the application on behalf of everyone in that group. So, they will submit and administer the funds for all of the other disparate units of local government as a subaward. So, that application should include all of the budget information and all of the program narrative information accounting for the entire award amount and all of the projects included.

Now, as far the funding amount for the disparate units of local government, the amount that's allocated for each of those units of local government, the responsibility for determining those amounts rests solely within that group. So, a decision must be made among those groups of local government on basically who gets what. We do include the raw information on how our funding formula shakes out. And that is not intended to be a be-all, end-all—that can be changed around. There are some cases where a decision is made that one unit of local government, because of one reason or another, they receive everything. There are some places that decide to split it all evenly. But the bottom line is the decision is made at the local level as part of an agreement. And that agreement is then memorialized as part of that Memorandum of Understanding.

Just a quick note on the MOU, the Memorandum of Understanding—that must be signed by the highest-ranking official of each unit of local government, so that would typically be somebody like the Chair of the Board of County Supervisors, the mayor, et cetera. It really all depends on what the structure is of that county or the city. Important to note, if you are unable to execute that MOU before the application deadline, please still make sure that you submit the application. We'll just add a hold on the award until you're able to get the signed document in from each of those individuals. We understand how it is trying to get something before the County Supervisors or the mayor in time. We understand that getting those signatures sometimes is not easy.

So, finally, the fiscal agent is responsible for monitoring and all of the oversight of all of those subrecipients. So, dispersing the funds, doing the invoices, making sure basically that the funds are being spent as intended.

So, I know we're about two minutes over time, but the last item I did want to address verbally was the Chief Executive Certification, which includes that 30-day governing body review period and public comment. That is another item that if you aren't able to get that wrapped up before the due date, please go ahead and submit your application anyway— another item that we understand that it's sometimes difficult to get that completed based on your local government schedule. It's sometimes difficult to get that completed by the application deadline. It's honestly pretty common that it's not completed before the deadline. So please do not stress out about that one bit. Go ahead and get that application. We'll add a hold. And once you submit that document after the award goes out, we'll go ahead and clear up that hold for you.

So, any questions on that, please reach out. We're happy to answer them. But the other key point to that Chief Executive Certification is that it must be signed by the highest-ranking official, and that cannot be delegated in any way. So, for example, it must be the Chair of the Board of County Supervisors if that's the highest-ranking official. In some cases, it might be the County Executive. It could be the mayor. Some cases, it's the Town Manager, if that's the highest-ranking official. But really, it all depends on the structure of the government in that unit of local government.

So, now we are officially four minutes over, but I did want to thank you all for your patience throughout this. And thank you all—specifically for your patience—as we try to answer as many questions as possible. And always feel free to reach out. We've provided contact information. And, we will definitely get these slides and the recording up as soon as possible. As we noted in the question and answer, it typically takes about a week to get these documents compliant and compatible to get up on the web, and we will make sure we get them up as soon as we can. So, if there's any other notes from the presenters and the team, please speak up. Well, in that case, thank you all. And we look forward to seeing your applications. I hope you have a great day.

DARYL FOX: So, on behalf of Bureau of Justice Assistance, the JustGrants team, and our panelists, we want to thank you for joining today's webinar. This will end today's presentation.