Kentucky Governor Beshear Announces Nearly $800,000 In Stimulus Funds For Crime Victim Grants

Special application cycle for one-time Victim Assistance funds to start June 15

June 08, 2009 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today announced that nearly $800,000 in stimulus funds would be available for supplemental public safety grants through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance grant. These grant funds will provide funding opportunities for victim services projects throughout the Commonwealth.

Gov. Beshear said the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet will open a special application cycle on June 15 for the public safety grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These one-time funds are part of the “Kentucky at Work” initiative announced by Gov. Beshear in March. Applications must be submitted on-line through the cabinet’s electronic Grants Management System no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time, July 24, 2009.

Stimulus VOCA Victim Assistance grants may be used for the same programs and purpose areas as the annual awards, to provide direct services and assistance to victims of crime.

Additionally, these grants have special application requirements:

* Applicants will be asked to provide a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and evidence of a valid Central Contractor Registration (CCR) account at time of application; no award will be issued without these. See http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do and http://www.ccr.gov/ for further information.

* VOCA stimulus funds must be clearly segregated from other federal awards previously received by the applicant, and significant enhanced reporting requirements will be imposed by U.S. Department of Justice and Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.

* The VOCA stimulus grants award period is one year. Longer-term projects may be approved at cabinet discretion; applicants approved for an extended award period will be required to specify per-year budget requests.

* In keeping with the Recovery Act’s purposes of creating and preserving jobs and promoting investment, allowable costs include qualifying equipment, operating and personnel costs. Applicants must specify post-award continuation plans for any positions created within their agency.

* Supplanting is prohibited. Funds must be used to supplement existing state and local funds for program activities and must not replace previously appropriated funds. Additional unallowable costs will be specified in the solicitations.

* Eligible applicants are state and local government agencies and not-for-profit agencies.

Applications must be submitted via the on-line Kentucky Justice Grants Management System (GMS). Applicants are strongly encouraged to establish a user account and familiarize themselves with the system well in advance of the due date. Please note: validation of new user accounts will take 48-72 hours. Applicants who have previously applied for grants on the GMS do not need to establish an additional account.

After June 15th, applications and related information, including an on-line training video and user manual, may be obtained at www.justice.ky.gov/departments/gmb. Assistance may be obtained by contacting the Grants Management Branch at 502-564-3251, or askgmb@ky.gov .

Application cycle dates for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) stimulus funds will be announced at a future date.

Source: Kentucky Governor