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OJP Grantee Update #1: COVID-19 Impacts

March 16, 2020

Dear OJP Award Recipient –

Effective Monday, March 16, and until further notice, pursuant to OMB Memorandum M-20-15, dated March 15, 2020, the Department of Justice is moving to a posture of maximum telework in the National Capital Region.  Office of Justice Programs (OJP) staff will work remotely and will be available to assist grantees, stakeholders, and the public during this period.  Likewise, all OJP systems and services will be available. 

Grant Payments:  The Grants Payment Request System (GPRS) will remain in service to accept and process grant payment requests.

Programmatic and financial monitoring:  Until otherwise notified, all planned on-site monitoring will be conducted as remote monitoring or postponed for a later date. You will be contacted by your OJP grant manager and/or financial staff of OJP’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer to make alternative arrangements. If your organization is unable to participate in remote monitoring due to operational limitations, you may request postponement until a later date.  

Conferences, events, and other gatherings:  For OJP-sponsored conferences, meetings, trainings, and other gatherings that are scheduled in the near term, cooperative agreement recipients should work with their OJP program or grant managers to set up meetings as virtual events or postpone or cancel meetings. For events planned farther out, please work on a case-by-case basis with your grant manager.

Grantees should contact their OJP grant managers to address issues resulting from postponed or canceled meetings, such as using grant funds to cover hotel or travel related cancellation fees and penalties. 

Grantees should try to have the airline reimburse the canceled ticket(s) in cash. However, if the airline will only refund the cancellation as a credit:

  • The grantee should apply the credit to a future trip for the same OJP grant or project.
  • If that is not possible, the grantee should use the credit for another OJP program or project and reimburse the original OJP grant or project with the equivalent dollar amount.
  • If neither of those options is possible, then the grantee should process the trip as a cancellation, which OJP approves to be charged to the grant due to this mitigating circumstance.

Grantees should provide similar guidance to subrecipients (that is, subgrantees). Please document these such changes via a Program Office Approval Grant Adjustment Notice (GAN) in OJP’s Grant Management System (GMS) for record keeping purposes.

Interruptions in performance of work under the grant:  Grantees (and subrecipients/subgrantees) should review the DOJ Grants Financial Guide and the Part 200 Uniform Requirements (2 C.F.R. Part 200, as adopted by DOJ) (see, for example, 2 CFR 200.430 and 2 C.F.R. 200.431, under Subpart E – Cost Principles), and the grantee’s (or subrecipient’s/subgrantee’s) established policies, to help in determining how the grantee’s personnel costs may be treated during any period(s) of interruption to the performance of work under the award.  You should direct any questions about allowability of costs to your OJP grant manager, or to OJP’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer by calling the Customer Service Center at 1-800-458-0786 (TTY: 202-616-3867), or via email at [email protected].

Award extensions:  In accordance with Part 200 Uniform Requirements (2 C.F.R. Part 200, as adopted by DOJ) and consistent with the DOJ Grants Financial Guide, most OJP awards may be eligible for one no-cost extension of up to 12 months.  If the grant has previously received a no-cost extension and an additional extension will be requested due to the extenuating circumstances, refer to the DOJ Grants Financial Guide for additional information and consult with your grant manager as needed.  

Please note that awards funded by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) (or any other OJP program office) under the provisions of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) of 1984, are available during the federal fiscal year of the award, plus the following three fiscal years. OVC and other OJP program offices have no discretion to permit extensions of any award’s period of performance beyond the statutory period.

Solicitations:  Solicitations with application due dates between March 16th and March 31st will have a 2-week extension for submission.  OJP program offices are in the process of updating those due dates now. OJP will continue to monitor the situation and determine if additional adjustments to closing dates will be needed. Grants.gov and OJP’s Grants Management System remain open to continue to accept applications. 

We will continue to provide updated information on potentially impacted grants activities, including financial and other required reporting. Thank you for your patience during this time. OJP and the Department of Justice appreciate your ongoing commitment to your missions and the safety of all Americans. 

Office of Justice Programs

Date Created: March 26, 2020