Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Requests
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Click on the document below to see a copy of the appropriations request forms submitted to Senator Bennett.
Commerce Justice Science.pdf (2.1 MBs)
Project: Digital Technology for Drug Enforcement/Gang related Strategic Initiative
Amount: $425,000
Purpose: To help combat a significant increase in gang-related activity including drugs, graffiti and vandalism
Location: Clearfield City, UT
Recipient of Funds: Clearfield City, UT
Explanation/Justification: During the past 10 years, Clearfield City has been experiencing a significant increase in gang-related activities including drugs, graffiti and vandalism. Both Salt Lake and Ogden are cracking down heavily on these gangs, which is pushing their organizations and activities to other surrounding communities such as Clearfield. Funding would be used to acquire equipment and resources to combat these activities and create a safer environment for residents and taxpayers.
Project: Global Satellite-based Inter-Calibration System Support (GSICSS)
Amount: $500,000
Purpose: To increase technical support to NASA's Global Satellite-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) team at the Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) and add Utah State's Space Dynamics Laboratory as a team member providing instrument performance analysis, database development and affects studies.
Location: Logan, Utah
Recipient of Funds: Space Dynamics Laboratory, Utah State University
Explanation/Justification: The requested funding will enable the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) to work cooperatively with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Biospheric Sciences Branch (BSB) to help develop a comprehensive, stabilized sensor climate data record for climate change analysis. Sensors are often launched with less than perfect response calibrations and the sensor response often drift once they get on orbit. These variations in sensor response lead to confusion in the climate data record. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has established a committee to review the satellite data records and minimize variability that can be attributed to poor sensor calibration. BSB is NASA's representative to the WMO Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS) committee. Through this program, SDL will be supporting the BSB effort in three areas: (1) development of instrument models that help define how each sensor in the climate data record relates to other sensors and its most probable drift or bias problems; (2) comparison of multiple sensors providing similar data for common scenes to provide inter-comparable data and validate the sensor models; (3) and application of this analysis to the US GSICS calibration efforts of historical sensors. Ultimately, this effort will result in a database that provides drift correction coefficients for national and international climate and research sensors.
Project: Great Salt Lake Institute
Amount: $500,000
Purpose: To develop an institute solely focused on the Great Salt Lake's unique research potential.
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Recipient of Funds: Westminster College
Explanation/Justification: Microbial biotechnology is currently a field of novel discovery and unbounded applications. Extreme ecosystems of the world, where life is tested at its limits, provide new territory for exploration. For example, Yellowstone National Park, with its unique geothermal activity, has produced discoveries such as Taq polymerase, which is used in every molecular biology lab around the world to amplify DNA for diagnostics, forensics, or gene identification. Other scientists have recently sampled caves, the Arctic and thermal vents to discover and describe the metabolic and economic potential of living organisms from extreme environments. The Great Salt Lake, with waters nearly 10 times the salinity of the ocean, has immense potential for novel discovery. In order for this research to remain in Utah and for the state to profit from the outcomes, Westminster College proposes this cooperative structure, open to the participation of all Utah academics interested in Great Salt Lake microbiology, and willing partners with biotech industry focused on the lake.
Project: Metro Forensic Laboratory
Amount: $1,000,000
Purpose: To provide law enforcement with a forensic laboratory to process evidence for criminal prosecutions
Location: West Valley City, UT
Recipient of Funds: West Valley City, UT
Explanation/Justification: The state of Utah has only one small forensics lab, which has a back log of DNA samples to process. Most cities and counties have to pay private labs to process their evidence so they can get it back in a timely and pertinent manner. Funding will help the Salt Lake City Police Department, the largest department in the state of Utah; the West Valley City Police Department, the second largest department in the state of Utah; and South Salt Lake City Police Department work together to provide the metropolitan area with a single source laboratory that will offer forensic services to include the most up to date DNA analysis. The purpose of the project is to provide law enforcement with a local state of the art forensic laboratory to process evidence necessary for criminal prosecutions in state and federal courts. This project has the potential to service all of Salt Lake County, which has a population of approximately one million people.
Project: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Child Abuse Training Programs for Judicial Personnel: Victims Act Model Courts Project
Amount: $4,000,000
Purpose: To improve the child protection system to respond to and meet the needs of children and families
Location: Utah and nationwide
Recipient of Funds: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Explanation/Justification: The Model Courts, working with the acclaimed best practices bench books RESOURCE GUIDELINES: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse & Neglect Cases, and the ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY GUIDELINES, identify impediments to the timeliness of court events and delivery of services for families with children in care, and then design and implement court- and agency-based changes to address these barriers.
Since 1992, the National Council's Victims Act Model Courts Project has been striving to improve court practice in handling of child abuse and neglect cases. National Council Model Courts serve as both advocates of change and models for change in child protection cases. Model Court sites are located in Los Angeles and Santa Clara County; both Model Courts have worked closely over the years with the NCJFCJ to provide training and technical assistance to our judges and stakeholders in the courts. Funding would continue to support the Model Courts project which is currently active in 36 jurisdictions across 27 states and the District of Columbia.
Project: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Judicial Training, Research and Technical Assistance Project
Amount: $3,000,000
Purpose: Improve judicial system for children & families in juvenile delinquency, child abuse and neglect cases
Location: Utah and nationwide
Recipient of Funds: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Explanation/Justification: The NCJFCJ Judicial Training, Research and Technical Assistance Project consists of the following four projects: 1) The Juvenile Justice and Family Law Training and Technical Assistance Project provides critical cutting-edge training and technical assistance to juvenile and family court judges and allied professionals to support improved case processing and outcomes for children, youth, families, victims, and communities across the nation; 2) The National Juvenile Court Data Archive Project provides juvenile justice professionals, policymakers, researchers, and the public with the most detailed information available on the activities of the nation's juvenile courts; 3) The Permanent Families for Abused and Neglected Children: A National Training and Technical Assistance Project (or Child Abuse and Neglect Institute (CANI)) provides an interactive learning forum designed exclusively for judicial officers handling child abuse and neglect cases. NCJFCJ has successfully planned and implemented CANI annually since 1998, reaching 384 judicial officers in 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam. CANI provides core workshops on relevant topics including, the role of the judge, judicial leadership, substance abuse and permanency planning, best practices in the handling of abuse and neglect cases, child development, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and judicial ethics; 4) The Technical Assistance to the Juvenile Court Project provides the best available information and assistance to juvenile courts, probation, and justice professionals nationally which is particularly crucial to the over 3,000 juvenile court jurisdictions nationally that, typically, do not have research and development departments.
Project: Prevention Plus
Amount: $750,000
Purpose: To continue to bring together the resources of higher education, private business, and public education to improve school success for at-risk students.
Location: Logan, UT
Recipient of Funds: Utah State University
Explanation/Justification: The task of bringing public education, higher education, and private business together to improve school success for at-risk students will be accomplished by training school-based teams to identify at-risk students as early as possible through screening and then to use data to make intervention decisions that will help prevent juvenile delinquency. The extension of this project will allow us to involve more schools and many more students. The three goals of this grant are to: 1) Improve faculty access to students' academic and behavioral information via the district data systems; 2) Enhance early identification of students who are academically and/or behaviorally at-risk for school failure and juvenile delinquency; and, 3) Improve faculty data-based decision making skills to choose evidence based interventions.
Project: Sandy City Police Department Technology Improvement Program
Amount: $500,000
Purpose: To improve and upgrade current technology used in the field by law enforcement officers in order to enable them to more effectively conduct their duties, disseminate information, and efficiently resolve matters at hand.
Location: Sandy, UT
Recipient of Funds: Sandy City Police Department
Explanation/Justification: The Sandy City Police Department has identified three technologies in great need of upgrading or replacement. The first is the officers' in-car video cameras. These cameras have become a necessity, not only for investigative purposes, but for officer safety issues and training as well. Grant funding would allow the department to replace the old, less advanced video cameras with upgraded higher quality models with video and audio components. The second area is replacement of the officers' in-car laptop computers. These computers are one of most important tools officers use in their day-to-day operations by allowing officers to pull state and national information, complete reports and citations and provide greater police presence in the community at any given time. Grant funding would allow the department to replace many old laptop computers which have gone beyond their useful life span and have been "bandaged" to work for the time being. New computers would increase the speed and efficiency of the department. The department started construction of a mesh node backbone system in 2007 and a final technology upgrade would allow for the implementation of a city-wide system. The city has been equipped with cameras to allowing the department to watch specific locations for criminal activity, including drug activity and traffic flow, which in turn, assists the department with directed enforcement assignments and criminal identification. With additional funding, the city will be able to complete the system, which would include monitoring of local water sources.
Project: Southwest Regional Criminal Justice Computer Crime Institute
Amount: $1,000,000
Purpose: The purpose of this grant is to train students, police, business leaders, and the public on ID theft prevention, computer crime prevention detection and investigation.
Location: Dixie State College, St. George UT
Recipient of Funds: Dixie State College
Explanation/Justification: The Southwest Regional Criminal Justice Computer Crime Institute is a regional center where police, student interns, business leaders, and the public will be trained on the prevention, detection, investigation of computer crimes. This center has the potential to become a national resource and training center. With the expertise leadership of a former U.S. Attorney who spent years prosecuting identity thieves, the Institute will focus on exploring new technologies, emerging threats and work with technology companies and research organizations. The mission will be to educate a wide audience on protection and preparedness. It will train police to detect and investigate computer crimes, thus reducing the devastating economic impact this crime is having on our economy. The project will also train prosecutors in the prosecution of computer related crimes, increasing the efficiency of the system to deal with the crimes and the ability to have the victims compensated for the hundreds of millions lost nationwide. This funding will also educate students through internships with local, state and federal officers in the investigation and prosecution of computer related crimes, which will help create state of the art job related skills need by businesses and government alike.
Project: State Courts Improvement Initiative
Amount: $2,000,000
Purpose: For research, education, and technical assistance services to the state courts.
Location: State Courts throughout Utah and nationwide
Recipient of Funds: National Center for State Courts
Explanation/Justification: On an annual basis, state courts average more than 102 million court filings - or more than 98% of all litigations filed in the United States. These numbers illustrate the critical role state courts play in adjudicating our nation's legal disputes. With more than 30,000 judges and 20,000 courthouses nationwide, state courts serve as the backbone of this country's justice system, upholding laws enacted on both the federal and state levels and applying federal policy. Federal funding for the State Courts Improvement Initiative would enable NCSC to offer increased support services in three key areas: Knowledge Information Services (KIS), which acts as a library and clearinghouse service for state court personnel (much like CRS for Congress); Education and Technical Assistance for judges and court personnel struggling to interpret and apply federal policy and promote a more effective administration of justice; and National Court Initiatives and Research, which would help the state courts identify and meet daunting challenges in top priority initiatives, such as immigration, health care, emergency preparedness, foreclosures, habeas corpus, and court security. This project will allow additional NCSC services to enable judges, court administrators, and key court personnel to meet current and future needs, make fair and impartial decisions, and save time and money. The State Courts Improvement Initiative will facilitate more timely resolution of civil and criminal cases, help reduce the cost of litigation, improve access to court services and improve the quality and experience of jury service. By helping courts provide a stable and efficient means of resolving disputes, the work will also contribute to a functioning economy, and aid courts in dealing with children and family issues fundamental to the social fabric of our society. Finally, the project will enable Utah courts to be more transparent and accountable thus contributing to a better managed government through improved administration of the courts.
Project: Uintah Basin Methamphetamine Project
Amount: $500,000
Purpose: To acquire resources dedicated to methamphetamine enforcement and assist the Methamphetamine Project task force to combat the heavy presence of drugs and gangs in the Uintah Basin.
Location: Uintah County, UT
Recipient of Funds: Uintah County
Explanation/Justification: The methamphetamine problem in the Uintah Basin grows more severe by the year. The communities have witnessed gangs from California and other urban cities in the Rocky Mountain west moving to the Basin and distributing the drug. Gang activities have included the development of complex manufacturing and distribution networks that have accelerated the abuse of methamphetamine among teenage youth in the Basin. Gang activities have resulted in competing gangs, leading to serious crimes in the area, including assassinations of rival gang members. Currently, the Drug Task Force in the Basin is operated by law enforcement personnel donating extra time when available. Funds would be used to acquire resources dedicated to methamphetamine enforcement and clean-up as well as necessary equipment for enforcement.
Project: Uintah County Drug Court
Amount: $200,000
Purpose: To expand and improve Uintah County's highly successful Drug Court program.
Location: Uintah County, UT
Recipient of Funds: Uintah County, UT
Explanation/Justification: Uintah County's Drug Court program began in 1997 and is currently serving 50 clients, with the potential to serve more if improved technology and equipment could be secured. Funding would be used to purchase computers that could be used in the Drug Court Tracker's cars and office to access the Drug Court data base, digital recorders and cameras, breathalyzers, night vision equipment for nighttime surveillance, and ankle monitors with both GPS and alcohol detection to decrease monitoring costs.
Project: Utah Internet Safety 101: Empowering Parents Program
Amount: $500,000
Purpose: To educate parents, school officials, law enforcement, child health advocates and other adult community members in order to protect children and youth from the threats of Internet pornography, sexual predation, cyberbullying and other forms of online exploitation.
Location: Utah
Recipient of Funds: Enough is Enough, Great Falls, VA
Explanation/Justification: The Utah Internet Safety 101: Empowering Parents Program is modeled after the landmark Virginia 101 pilot program, and expands and builds upon existing program elements by seeking to reach parents, educators and adult childcare givers by working with Utah partnering organizations. Program elements will include: Training Town Halls, Program DVD & Workbook, Program Online Resources, Utah Public Awareness Program, Utah Public Service Announcements, and other features. Significant gaps exist between the Internet's dangers to children and the level of legal, enforcement-based and industry-driven action dedicated to protecting children. Congress is authorized to designate funds to prevention and education programs within the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, which is authorized by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 ( Public Law 109-162). Additionally, Congress is authorized under Title II, Part E of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 5665-5667) to designate funding for activities related to juvenile justice and at-risk youth, including development and implementation of effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs as they protect public safety. The program is designed to prevent the online exploitation of youth through delivering evidence-based prevention resources directly to families. The Internet Safety 101 program targets adult behavior by promoting implementation of Internet Safety Rules ‘N ToolsSM through education and awareness training, because parental involvement and adoption of Internet Safety Rules ‘N ToolsSM will result in a direct percentage decrease in Internet-initiated sex crimes against youth.
Project: Utah Meth Cops Project
Amount: $421,000
Purpose: To treat law enforcement officers that are experiencing detrimental health effects from their exposure to harmful chemicals involved with the production of methamphetamine during the course of duty.
Location: Utah
Recipient of Funds: Utah Office of the Attorney General
Explanation/Justification: The Utah Meth Cops program is a detoxification pilot program established and administered by the American Detoxification Foundation to treat law enforcement officers that are experiencing detrimental health effects from their exposure to harmful chemicals involved with the production of methamphetamine during the course of duty. The 'Hubbard' detoxification protocol is designed to cleanse the effects of drugs on the body using exercise, nutritional support and sauna therapy to enhance detoxification. The same protocol has been used to successfully treat approximately 1000 recovery workers in New York City who were involved with the efforts at the World Trade Center. During treatment, scientific data is gathered and analyzed by Dr. Gerald H. Ross. This data will include comparison of before and after case study for each officer participating in the program, the effect of the detoxification process and the degree to which severity of symptoms are relieved. Federal funding will provide the necessary resources to continue this important pilot project, and expand it to help more officers harmed during the course of duty. Utah law enforcement agencies have been on the cutting edge of shutting down meth labs and Utah officers have been disproportionately exposed to harmful chemicals. However, because this situation is not unique to Utah, this project is intended to be a model pilot program for replication in other states for their law enforcement officers suffering from similar exposure.
Project: UTOPIA Home Medical and Communication Outreach
Amount: $750,000
Purpose: To research and test remote home medical monitoring devices and services for the elderly and disabled
Location: Several communities along the Wasatch Front, Utah
Recipient of Funds: UTOPIA (Utah Telecommunication Infrastructure Agency)
Explanation/Justification: The UTOPIA Home Medical and Communication Outreach project subsidizes research and pilot testing of remote home medical monitoring devices and communications services over fiber enabled broadband for the elderly and disabled. The project does this by, 1) working with private and not-for-profit organizations like Sorenson Communication and Intermountain Healthcare to identify technologies and technology modifications that can take advantage of fiber optic connectivity to enhance the quality of life and telecommunications environment of individuals requiring medical monitoring or needing alternative telecommunications options; 2) Working with UTOPIA's member communities, agencies serving them and the partners mentioned above to identify individuals willing to participate in pilot testing of the devices and processes identified above; 3) subsidizing, where needed, based on income test criteria and in partnership with the organizations mentioned above, the purchase and deployment of the equipment needed for the pilot testing; 4) subsidizing, where needed, the extension of the UTOPIA fiber to the premise network to those individuals participating in the pilot testing; 5) subsidizing, where needed, based on income test criteria and in partnership with the organizations mentioned above and UTOPIA's service provider community, the telecommunications and other services needed for the pilot testing; 6) documenting the results of the pilot testing and making them available to the broadband community at large for implementation in other areas.
Project: West Valley City Public Safety Communications Equipment
Amount: $200,000
Purpose: To equip police SUVs with communications equipment to help them serve as mobile command posts
Location: West Valley City, UT
Recipient of Funds: West Valley City
Explanation/Justification: These funds would be used to purchase a computer, camera system, radio system, satellite phone, white board and maps for six SUVs. West Valley City Police Department is ill equipped to respond to disaster and emergency situations. In February 2008, an earthquake with a 6.0 magnitude struck parts of Utah, Nevada and Idaho. Utah's Division of Homeland Security earthquake program manager has declared that Utah is plagued with older buildings without reinforced masonry. Many of these buildings are located in the West Valley City and Salt Lake County area and would not be able to withstand an earthquake. The city needs to equip its police force with the proper tools necessary to respond to disasters such as earthquakes and more frequently occurring violent crime incidents. These mobile command posts will allow the West Valley City police force respond to daily challenges in a safe, effective, and timely manner. These command posts will aid the West Valley City Police Department in responding to disasters and other emergency situations. Each command post will be equipped with a computer, camera system, radio system, satellite phone, white board and maps.
