No. Organizations should request funds based upon immediate disbursement/reimbursement requirements. Funds will not be paid in a lump sum, but rather disbursed over time as project costs are incurred or anticipated.
Draw down requests should be timed to ensure that Federal cash on hand is the minimum needed for disbursements/reimbursements to be made immediately or within 10 days. If not spent or disbursed within 10 days, funds must be returned to the awarding agency.
Under certain circumstances, an award recipient may be unable to access or draw down funds on an award. If either a financial or performance report is delinquent, JustGrants will automatically place a hold on grant funds. Once the delinquent report has been submitted, the hold on funds will be removed and the suspension is typically lifted within 24 hours. Additionally, OVC may withhold funds from the organization if any of the following conditions exist:
- Program or project goals have not been timely met.
- Cash has been drawn down in excess of immediate needs for disbursement.
- Award terms and conditions or guidelines have not been met.
- Programmatic/financial monitoring, Office of the Inspector General Audits, or single audits revealed serious concerns regarding the administration of the award, subawards, or contracts.
- A closeout of the award has not been initiated within 120 days of the end of the project period.
- The recipient has been designated as a DOJ high-risk grantee.
- When a closeout is submitted, funds are frozen.
In such circumstances, OVC will provide the recipient with an opportunity to object and provide information and documentation challenging the suspension or termination action (2 C.F.R. § 200.342). Hearing and appeal procedures will follow those in DOJ regulations at 28 C.F.R. § Part 18, as applicable.
Not necessarily. Once the initial budget submission receives final approval from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the budget is implemented for the entire award period. Any unused funds from one year automatically rollover to the next year. However, if you need to make changes to your budget, such as moving funds from one budget line item to another, please consult the DOJ Grants Financial Guide.
All budget changes should be discussed with, and may require formal approval from, your OVC grant manager. See the “When is a Financial Budget Modification Grant Award Modification (GAM) required?” question on when budget modifications are needed.
OJP grantees must initiate a GAM in JustGrants for budget modification, if:
- The proposed cumulative change is greater than 10 percent of the total award amount. The 10 percent rule does not apply to an award of less than $250,000. However, for recordkeeping purposes and audit documentation, OJP advises grantees to submit a GAM even if the proposed budget modification is less than 10 percent of the total award amount. This also provides the OJP grant manager with notification of proposed changes.
- The budget modification changes the scope of the project. Examples include altering the purpose of the project, authorizing the use of a subcontractor or other organization that was not identified in the original approved budget, or contracting for or transferring of award-supported efforts.
- A budget adjustment affects a cost category that was not included in the original budget. For example, if the direct cost category “Travel” did not exist in the original budget, the adjustment to transfer funds from “Equipment” to “Travel” requires a GAM.
- There is any dollar increase or decrease to the indirect cost category of an approved budget.
Please refer to 2 C.F.R. § 200.414(f) and the DOJ Grants Financial Guide for information governing the use of the de minimus indirect cost rate.
Grantees must keep detailed accounting records and documentation to track match funding. The grantee’s financial records must clearly show the source, amount, and timing for all matched contributions. The grantee has the primary responsibility for meeting the match requirement and for ensuring subrecipient compliance with match requirements. In addition, if a recipient or subrecipient has included a match that exceeds the required matching portion within the approved budget, the records of those additional amounts must be included and maintained as if they are a part of the regular match amount. Matching funds are restricted to the same use of funds as allowed for the Federal funds, and subject to audit.
Please note that grantees may not use Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funds, or funds from other Federal awards, as match funding for OVC anti-trafficking awards.
Grantees are required to report the match (both cash and in-kind) on the quarterly Federal Financial Report (FFR). Additionally, the full matching share provided (both cash and in-kind) must be reported on the final FFR submitted at the end of the period of performance. If the matching share is not reported, DOJ will assume the grantee did not meet the required match and will initiate collection of a cash match from the grantee. The DOJ Grants Financial Guide includes additional information on matching and cost sharing requirements.
For general government-wide rules regarding match and match requirements, see 2 C.F.R. § 200.306.
A non-Federal entity that expends $1,000,000 or more during the non-Federal entity’s fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single or program-specific audit conducted for that year in accordance with the provisions of 2 C.F.R. § 200 Subpart F – Audit Requirements. Audit reports must be submitted within the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor’s report(s), or 9 months after the end of the audit period.
Federal agencies can no longer grant due date extensions for submission of single audit reports. The Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) requires all grant award recipients to use the Internet Data Entry System (IDES) to submit the Standard Form-Single Audit Component (SF-SAC) and the Single Audit Reporting package online.
Please send any requests for the auditor of your organization to OJP’s Audit Confirmation email: [email protected].
Under OVC-funded anti-trafficking programs, organizations should not collect “contributions” from survivors to fund services (in whole or in part) or collect funds for other purposes such as encouraging saving by “holding” funds or opening a savings account on behalf of the individual. OVC-funded services should be provided free of charge, and if program participants are encouraged to open a savings account to establish financial stability, it should be in their own name and any contributions should be voluntary.
In some circumstances, OVC may permit housing assistance programs to use a sliding scale or contributory model towards rent and collect funds from program participants; however, the grantee must first consult with their OVC grant manager, as these funds may be subject to the rules governing program income (see DOJ Financial Guide).
Questions can be directed to the OVC Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program by email to [email protected] or you can call the main OVC number (800-363-0441 or 202-307-5983) and ask to be directed to someone who can assist you. You can also send questions to the following address:
Office for Victims of Crime
Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program
999 North Capitol Street NE
Washington, DC 20531