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2007 Census of Public Defender Offices

• Summary
• Full solicitation

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics is seeking applications for funding to administer the 2007 Census of Public Defender Offices.  As the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, BJS is responsible for the collection, analysis, publication, and dissemination of statistical information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operations of criminal justice systems at all levels of government.  This survey, a component of the BJS Criminal Justice Statistics Program, furthers the mission of the Department and the Office of Justice Programs by working in partnership with the justice community to identify the most pressing challenges confronting the justice system and to provide state-of-the-art knowledge and information in support of innovative strategies and approaches for dealing with these challenges.

2007 Census of Public Defender Offices
CFDA Number 16.734

Contents:

• Overview
• Deadlines
• Eligibility
• Project Specific Information
• Performance Measures
• How to Apply
• What an Application Must Include
• Selection Criteria
• Review Process
• Additional Requirements

PDF version of CPDO 2007 announcement (89K)

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Overview

The purpose of this award is to provide funding to administer the 2007 Census of Public Defender Offices.  This census will obtain information about the operations, workload, staff size, policies, and procedures of the approximately 1,400 offices that serve as public defenders across the Nation.  A draft data collection instrument will be provided by BJS.  The grantee will be expected to assemble a complete roster of and survey all state and local public defender offices.  BJS anticipates making one award for a 24-month period under this solicitation.  BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Section 302, as amended (42 USC Section 3732).

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Deadline: Registration

Registering with Grants.gov is a one-time process; however, if you are a first time registrant it could take up to several weeks to have your registration validated and confirmed and to receive your user password.  It is highly recommended you start the registration process as early as possible to prevent delays in submitting your application package to our agency by the deadline specified.  There are three steps that you must complete before you are able to register:  1) Register with Central Contractor Registry (CCR); 2) Register yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR); and 3) Be authorized as an AOR by your organization.  For more information, go to www.grants.gov.  Note:  Your CCR Registration must be renewed once a year.  Failure to renew your CCR registration may prohibit submission of a grant application through Grants.gov.

Deadline: Application

The due date for applying for funding under this announcement is January 31, 2007.

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Eligibility

Both profit-making and nonprofit organizations may apply for funds. However, consistent with OJP fiscal requirements, for-profit organizations are not allowed to make a profit as a result of this award or charge a management fee for the performance of this award.

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Faith-Based and Other Community Organizations: Consistent with President George W. Bush's Executive Order 13279, dated December 12, 2002, and 28 C.F.R. Part 38, it is DOJ policy that faith-based and other community organizations that statutorily qualify as eligible applicants under DOJ programs are invited and encouraged to apply for assistance awards to fund eligible grant activities. Faith-based and other community organizations will be considered for awards on the same basis as other eligible applicants and, if they receive assistance awards, will be treated on an equal basis with all other grantees in the administration of such awards. No eligible applicant or grantee will be discriminated for or against on the basis of its religious character or affiliation, religious name, or the religious composition of its board of directors or persons working in the organization.

Faith-based organizations receiving DOJ assistance awards retain their independence and do not lose or have to modify their religious identity (e.g., removing religious symbols) to receive assistance awards. DOJ grant funds, however, may not be used to fund any inherently religious activity, such as prayer or worship. Inherently religious activity is permissible, although it cannot occur during an activity funded with DOJ grant funds; rather, such religious activity must be separate in time or place from the DOJ-funded program. Further, participation in such activity by individuals receiving services must be voluntary. Programs funded by DOJ are not permitted to discriminate in the provision of services on the basis of a beneficiary's religion.

Applicants are encouraged to review the Civil Rights Compliance section under "Additional Requirements" in this announcement.

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Project Specific Information

Scope of work | Funding information | Match requirements

State and local public defender offices provide criminal defense counsel to indigent persons.  These offices are located in a variety of agencies and organizational structures.  For example, some States maintain centrally administered, statewide systems while other jurisdictions have locally-elected public defenders.  Although many jurisdictions rely exclusively on private contract attorneys, assigned counsel systems, or similar arrangements outside a public defender office for indigent defense services, these indigent defense systems are outside the scope of the data collection.  This data collection is limited to the approximately 1,400 publicly-funded public defender offices, including stand alone public defender offices that specialize in capital cases.  These offices can be either county- or state-based.  Publicly funded but privately operated public defender offices, such as those operating in West Virginia, are also included within the project scope.  Different data collection strategies may be necessary to effectively gather required information from the variety of office types.

Specifically the project will collect data on office expenditures, number and type of cases handled, size and characteristics of staff, funding sources, special units operated, and utilization of outside legal services, such as contract attorneys and assigned counsel appointments.  Additionally, data pertaining to the handling of identity theft cases will also be collected.  In 1999 the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) sponsored a data collection gathering similar information on indigent defense services among the Nation’s 100 largest counties based on population.  (See Indigent Defense Services in Large Counties, 1999, NCJ-184932, November 2000.

This project will be coordinated with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to ensure that survey content is relevant to justice system assistance and research programs implemented through State and local jurisdictions.

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Scope of Work

The objective of this project is to complete data collection for the 2007 Census of Public Defender Offices.  This includes roster construction, survey instrument design, extensive data collection follow-up, data verification, data entry, and delivery of a final data set and documentation.  The preliminary data collection instrument will be provided by BJS.  In preparing proposals for this solicitation, applicants are strongly encouraged to review the data collection instruments, datasets, and statistical reports from prior BJS Indigent Defense System data collections, available on the BJS website.

The data collection agent will have routine contact with State and local public defender offices and must be knowledgeable in the areas of the courts, indigent defense delivery systems, and the criminal justice system.  The recipient of funds will:

1.  Develop a detailed timetable for each task in the project.  Data collection should begin within three months of the award, pending OMB approval of the survey instrument, and should be completed 18-months from the initiation of the data collection.  After the BJS project manager has agreed to the timetable, all work must be completed as scheduled.  BJS will secure Office of Management and Budget approval for the project.

2.  Verify and update the names, addresses, and appropriate contacts for the respondent list.  BJS will provide an initial draft of the roster of public defender offices.  However, it will be necessary for the grantee to ensure that the entire universe of offices has been enumerated.  The final roster should be assembled and verified based on available information sources (including any experience with specific public offender agencies, commercial databases, membership lists of professional associations, academic researchers specializing in indigent defense research, defense bar professionals, and other sources).

3.  Organize at least one meeting of indigent defense experts (to include academic researchers, legal professionals, and others) for the purpose of consultation on the development, review, and pre-testing of data collection instruments.  An initial draft instrument will be provided by BJS.  The time and place of meeting and potential attendees will be coordinated and approved by BJS.

4.  Conduct pre-tests of the survey instrument with five to ten public defender offices to allow opportunities for on-site review and comment.

5.  Mail surveys to respondents and provide extensive follow-up to respondents that require assistance, clarification, or encouragement to complete the survey.  This may involve multiple follow-up telephone calls, re-mailing or re-faxing surveys, and e-mail correspondence.

6.  Create and maintain a website which respondents can use to submit their data.  Electronic submission will be the preferred method of response, and respondents should be encouraged to use this method.  If desired, the grantee can use survey software freely available at BJSjss.org.

7.  Implement and maintain an automated ‘real-time’ Web-based system to provide ongoing status of each survey respondent and an inventory of follow-up communication and procedures for each case.  Respondents’ method of response (website, mail, fax, or phone) shall be included in this system.  This automated tracking system should remain current and accessible to the BJS project monitor at all times.

8.  Identify techniques necessary to achieve a 95% or better survey response rate and item response rates specified in the “Performance Measures” section below.

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Funding Information

OJP awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds.  Based on availability of funds, BJS anticipates making one award for a 24-month period under this solicitation.

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Match Requirements

Consistent with established BJS data quality standards and based on the nature of deliverables, BJS has determined that, it is not feasible to require the award recipient to contribute money, facilities, or services to carry out the purposes for which the grant is sought.  Therefore, there is no match requirement.

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Performance Measures

To assist in fulfilling the Department’s responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), P.L. 103-62, applicants who receive funding under this solicitation must provide data that measures the results of their work.  Performance measures for this solicitation are as follows:

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How to Apply

DOJ is participating in the e-Government initiative, one of 25 initiatives included in the President's Management Agenda. Part of this initiative -- Grants.gov -- is a "one-stop storefront" that provides a unified process for all customers of federal grants to find funding opportunities and apply for funding.

Grants.Gov Instructions: Complete instructions can be found at www.grants.gov. If you experience difficulties at any point during this process, please call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 1-800-518-4726.

CFDA Number: The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this solicitation is 16.734, titled "2007 Census of Public Defender Offices," and the funding opportunity number is 2007-BJS-1509.

A DUNS number is required: The Office of Management and Budget requires that all businesses and nonprofit applicants for Federal funds include a DUNS (Data Universal Numeric System) number in their application for a new award or renewal of an award. Applications without a DUNS number are incomplete. A DUNS number is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the universal standard for identifying and keeping track of entities receiving Federal funds. The identifier is used for tracking purposes and to validate address and point of contact information. The DUNS number will be used throughout the grant life cycle. Obtaining a DUNS number is a free, simple, one-time activity. Obtain one by calling 1-866-705-5711 or by applying online at http://www.dunandbradstreet.com. Individuals are exempt from this requirement.

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What an Application Must Include

When applying for Federal funding, applicants must provide the following:

Standard Form 424
Program Narrative
Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative
Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)

• Applicant must complete the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), a standard form that most Federal agencies use.
• The project narrative should describe activities as discussed in the Scope of Work and address the evaluation criteria.  The project narrative should contain a detailed time line for project activities, a description of the survey methodology to be used including defined geographic boundaries, data collection method, data entry, and data documentation procedures.
• The Budget Detail Worksheet may be found through the Internet.  The OJP Financial Guide governs the administration of funds, contains information on allowable costs, methods of payment, audit requirements, accounting systems, and financial records.  If you have any questions, please contact the OJP Office of the Comptroller’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-458–0786.
• Applicants who do not have a Federally-negotiated indirect cost rate and wish to establish one may submit a proposal to their “cognizant” Federal agency.  Generally, the cognizant Federal agency is the agency that provides the preponderance of direct Federal funding.  This can be determined by reviewing an organization’s schedule of Federal financial assistance.  If DOJ is your cognizant Federal agency, obtain information needed to submit an indirect cost rate proposal.

Other Attachments

• Key staff information.
  Information on key staff includes: a staff loading chart, by task and contract year, showing the role and number of hours (per year) committed for proposed staff; identification of proposed key personnel and their qualifications for the significant functions in this project, along with concise descriptions of the duties each will perform under the grant; and an identification by name of all key personnel with decision-making authority.
  
  
• Privacy Certification.
  The Privacy Certificate is a funding recipient’s certification of compliance with Federal regulations requiring confidentiality of information identifiable to a private person, which is collected, analyzed, or otherwise used in connection with an OJP-funded research or statistical activity.  The funding recipient’s Privacy Certificate includes a description of its policies and procedures to be followed to protect identifiable data.
  
  
• Human Subjects Protection Certification of Compliance.
  BJS requires the funding recipient to submit proper documentation to be used to determine that the research project meets the Federal requirements for human subjects protections set forth in 28 CFR Part 46.
   
• Assurances and Certifications.  Applicants are required to submit as an attachment signed copies of these assurances and certifications electronically through Grants.Gov. It is critical that the name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the authorizing official on these online forms are correct.

  (1) Assurances. The applicant must comply with the assurances in order to receive Federal funds under this program. It is the responsibility of the recipient of Federal funds to fully understand and comply with these requirements.  Failure to comply may result in withholding of funds, termination of the award, or other sanctions.
  
  (2) Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace.  This form commits the applicant to comply with the certification requirements under 28 CFR Part 69, "New Restrictions on Lobbying," and 28 CFR Part 67, "A Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Government-wide Requirements for a Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)."

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Selection Criteria

Proposals should describe the plan and implementation strategies outlined in the Scope of Work.  Information on staffing levels and qualifications should be included for each task and descriptions of experience relevant to the project.  Resumes of the proposed project director and key staff should be submitted with the proposal.

Applications will be reviewed competitively with the final award decision made by the Director of BJS.  The applicant will be evaluated on the basis of:

1. Statement of the Problem/Program Narrative
Content of the proposal and how it addresses the tasks in the scope of work

2. Project/Program Design and Implementation
Demonstrated knowledge of applied survey research, including survey construction, interview techniques, data collection, data coding, entry and verification, and the production of public-use data files.  This includes availability of an adequate computing environment, knowledge of standard social science data processing software, and demonstrated ability to produce SPSS readable data files for analysis and report production.

3. Capabilities/Competencies
Demonstrated ability and experience in collecting data from a large number of justice related agencies or similar entities.

4. Budget
Demonstrated fiscal, management, staff, and organizational capacity to provide sound management for this project. Applicant should include detailed staff resources and other costs by project tasks.

5. Impact/Outcomes and Evaluation
Demonstrated ability to achieve a 95% or higher response rate with minimal missing data.

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Review Process

Applications will be reviewed competitively with the final award decision made by the Director of BJS. The applicant will be evaluated based on the requirements mentioned under the Selection Criteria.

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Additional Requirements

• Civil Rights Compliance
  
  
• Confidentiality and Human Subjects Protections regulations
  
  
• Anti-Lobbying Act
  
  
• Financial and Government Audit Requirements
  
  
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance
  
  
• DOJ Information Technology Standards
  
  
• Single Point of Contact Review
  
  
• Non-Supplanting of State or Local Funds
  
  
• Criminal Penalty for False Statements
  
  
• Compliance with Office of the Comptroller Financial Guide
  
  
• Suspension or Termination of Funding
  
  

We strongly encourage you to review the information pertaining to these additional requirements prior to submitting your application. Additional information for each requirement can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/other_requirements.htm.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Send comments to askbjs@usdoj.gov

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Page last revised on December 14, 2006