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| 16.547 VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE |
| (Judicial Child Abuse Training, Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Through the Criminal Justice System, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and Children's Advocacy Centers) |
| FEDERAL AGENCY |
| OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE |
| AUTHORIZATION |
| Victims of Child Abuse Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 13001, et seq. |
| OBJECTIVES |
| To develop model technical assistance and training programs to improve the courts' handling of child abuse and neglect cases to facilitate the adoption of laws to protect children against the potential second assault of the courtroom proceeding; to address the present situation in which many States have adopted innovative procedures that have far outpaced Federal law, leaving those children who do enter the Federal system inadequately protected; to address the inconsistency and disparity among State laws on child abuse; to train criminal justice system personnel on up-to-date, innovative techniques for investigating and prosecuting child abuse cases; and, to promote a multidisciplinary approach to coordinating the investigations and prosecution of child abuse cases and, thereby, limiting the number of pre-trial interviews a child must go through as well as better assure the accuracy of each interview, and to increase the number of communities making use of a Children's Advocacy Center approach to the investigation, prosecution and treatment of child abuse cases. The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association provides technical assistance, information and support to local CASA programs, as well as assists communities in developing new programs, and provides support to existing and developing State organizations on issues such as the development of goals and objectives, State legislation, and State standards to strengthen local programs. Assist communities in developing child-focused programs designed to improve the resources available to children and families; provide support to non-offending family members; enhance coordination among community agencies, professionals, and provide medical support to health care and mental health care professionals involved in the intervention, prevention, prosecution, and investigation systems that respond to child abuse cases. The American Prosecutors Research Institute's National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse (NCPCA) pursues improvement of the quality of child abuse prosecution by providing training and technical assistance in the subject area. |
| TYPES OF ASSISTANCE |
| Project Grants. |
| USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS |
| Funds are available specifically to achieve the objectives of the Judicial Child Abuse Training, Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse Through the Criminal Justice System, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), and the Regional and Local Advocacy Centers. |
| Applicant Eligibility |
| Eligible applicants are designated in the congressional appropriations process for judicial child abuse training, investigation and prosecution of child abuse through the criminal justice system, and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Local nonprofit agencies/organizations may apply to National Court Appointed Special Advocates (NCASA) for State CASA programs and to start or expand local court appointed special advocate programs. Advocacy centers or agencies/organizations interested in start-up of children's advocacy centers may apply to the National Children's Alliance (NCA) for funds awarded to them by OJJDP for this purpose. |
| Beneficiary Eligibility |
| Public or private agencies/organizations addressing child maltreatment. |
| Credentials/Documentation |
| Cost will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments, A-21 for educational institutions, and A-122 for nonprofit organizations. |
| Preapplication Coordination |
| This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. |
| Application Procedure |
| Procedures for application for funds to support CASA programs will be available through competitive proposals issued by National Court Appointed Special Advocates (NCASA), 100 W. Harrison St., North Tower, Suite 500, Seattle, Washington 98119-4123; and funds to support local children's advocacy centers will be available through solicitations issued by the National Children's Alliance (NCA) 1612 K Street, NW., Ste 500, Washington, DC 20006. |
| Award Procedure |
| Grantees are notified via the Grant Management System when an award is made. Procedures for applications for CASA and local children's advocacy funds will be provided in the solicitations for competitive proposals issued by NCASA and NCA. |
| Deadlines |
| None. |
| Range of Approval/Disapproval Time |
| None. |
| Appeals |
| None. |
| Renewals |
| The terms for these grant program budget periods range from 12 to 36 months. |
| Formula and Matching Requirements |
| None. |
| Length and Time Phasing of Assistance |
| Grants are generally awarded for a 12 to 24 month time period, but may be awarded for up to 36 month project period. |
| Reports |
| Final financial reports and semi-annual and final program performance reports and performance measure data submission will be required as stipulated in the effective edition of the OJP Financial Guide and in award documents. Similar reporting requirements will be required by NCASAA and NCA to satisfy Federal requirements. |
| Audits |
| All organizations that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in any fiscal year must have a single audit for that year in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-133, as amended, unless the audit condition on the award says otherwise. These audits are due to the cognizant Federal agency not later than 9 months after the end of the grantee's fiscal year. |
| Records |
| Grantee must keep complete records on the disposition of funds. |
| Account Identification |
| 15-0404-0-1-754; 15-0405-0-1-754. |
| Obligations |
| FY 07 $3,240,000; FY 08 $3,290,000; and FY 09 est. not available. |
| Range and Average of Financial Assistance |
| None. |
| PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| The Victims of Child Abuse Act Programs enhance the coordination among community agencies and professionals responding to child abuse and neglect by: Establishing and strengthening facility-based, child-focused programs that coordinate the response to victims of child abuse through multidisciplinary teams; Preventing the inadvertent revictimization of an abused child by the justice and social service systems in their efforts to protect the child; Providing information, technical assistance and training at the local, state, regional, and national levels; Assisting communities seeking to improve their response to child abuse by supporting the development, growth, and continuation of children's advocacy centers; Providing training, technical assistance, and networking opportunities to local children's advocacy center programs nationally; Providing training and technical assistance to child abuse professionals across the country, especially those working within a child advocacy center or a multidisciplinary team; Providing training and technical assistance to prosecutors, investigators, and other professional personnel in the child protection field; Developing training curricula and guideline materials for the field; Developing State level capacity to train child abuse prosecutors, investigators, and related child protection practitioners. |
| REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE |
| The current edition of the OJP Financial Guide is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/finguide06/index.htm. |
| Regional or Local Office |
| None. |
| Headquarters Office |
| Ron Laney, Director, Child Protection Division, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20531. Telephone: (202) 616-3637. |
| Web Site Address |
| http://www.usdoj.gov |
| RELATED PROGRAMS |
| None. |
| EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS |
| None. |
| CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS |
| By congressional designation, funds will be made available specifically for the Judicial Child Abuse Training to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, for the Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse through the Criminal Justice System to the American Prosecutor Research Institute, Court Appointed Special Advocates and the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, for the development of local Children's Advocacy Centers through the National Children's Alliance Centers and the four Regional Children's Advocacy Centers. |
|
General Services Administration Office of Chief Acquisition Officer Regulatory and Federal Assistance Division (VIR) |
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