U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs

Financial Guide 2006 - Part II - Chapter 2: Conditions of Award and Acceptance

Highlights of Chapter

  • Award Document
  • Award Notification and Acceptance Procedures
  • Special Conditions
  • Federal Obligation Process
  • Automated Clearing House Enrollment

Award Document

After completion of the internal review process, award applications designated for approval are formally awarded through the issuance of an award document. This document includes:

  • Name of recipient and subrecipient (if applicable);
  • Award period;
  • Type of Federal funds;
  • Amount of Federal funds;
  • Award number; and
  • Special conditions, as appropriate, that the recipient/subrecipient must meet if the award is accepted.

Correspondence concerning the award should refer to the designated award number shown on the award document.

Note: If the name of the person accepting the award is not the name listed on the award document, a letter of delegation is needed. This letter must include the authorized signing official's name, title, and signature.

Award Notification and Acceptance Procedures

Notification of award approval is sent by e-mail. The individuals identified in the application as the Point of Contact and the Authorizing Official will receive an e-mail through the OJP Grants Management System (GMS). GMS automatically issues the notifications at 11:55 p.m. on the award date. The notification provides information on how to access and view the award documents in GMS and provides instruction on how to accept the award.

The award document constitutes the operative document obligating and reserving Federal funds for use by the recipient in execution of the program or project covered by the award. If the recipients fail to affirm their timely utilization of the award by accepting WITHIN 45 DAYS from the date of the award, the obligation may be terminated without further cause. COPS awards have a 90-day acceptance timeframe.

If grant recipients choose to accept the award and all of the special conditions, they should:

  1. Print and read the award document carefully.
  2. If the grant recipient agrees with the terms and conditions of the award, have the award document signed and dated by the Authorized Recipient Official designated in the application.
    Note: If the name of the person accepting the award is not the name preprinted on the Award Document, a grant adjustment notice (GAN) will be needed to explain the reason for the change.
  3. The Authorized Official should also initial the bottom right corner of each page of the special conditions to signify agreement.
  4. The signed award document and the special conditions should be faxed to the Office of the Comptroller, Control Desk, at 202–353–8475.

If grant recipients choose not to accept the award and all the special conditions, they should contact their OJP Program Manager.

No Federal funds will be disbursed to the recipient until signed acceptance has been received by the awarding agency.

Note: By signing the award acceptance, the recipient acknowledges that the Project Director must be an employee of the recipient's organization.

Special Conditions

These include terms and conditions of the award. They may include special provisions for audit, conferences, and disposition of program income.

  1. All Awards will include special conditions concerning: (a) compliance with this Guide; (b) compliance with the audit requirements; (c) compliance with the Anti-Lobbying Act (page 123) and (d) the submission of an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan. Failure to comply with special conditions will result in a withholding of funds.

    Also, the recipient, upon accepting the award, agrees to complete and keep on file, as appropriate, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Eligibility Verification form (I-9). This form is to be used by recipients of Federal funds to verify that persons are eligible to work in the United States.

    Note: If the name of the person accepting the award is not the name listed on the award document, a letter of delegation is needed. This letter must include the authorized signing official's name, title, and signature.
  2. Commercial Award recipients receiving grant funding from OJP should be aware of the additional special conditions placed on these awards. In addition to the three special conditions referenced in the "All Awards" section, commercial organizations must agree not to make a profit as a result of an award and not to charge a management fee for the performance of an award. Also, commercial organizations must agree to comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulations cost principles.
  3. Information Technology (IT) Award recipients are prohibited from drawing funds against the award until the recipient notifies the State IT Point of Contact by written correspondence of the IT project. This correspondence should include a brief description of the project. A copy of the correspondence should be sent to the program manager. Once the copy has been received, the program manager will retire this condition and inform the recipient of this action. If there is no State IT Point of Contact, the recipient agrees to submit a letter to the program manager stating that this condition is not applicable for that reason. The intent of this condition is to facilitate information system communication. This condition does not require that the point of contact concur with the IT project.
  4. Cancellation for Block and Formula Subawards. The State must condition each block and formula subaward to include the following cancellation procedures.
    1. Commencement Within 60 Days. If a project is not operational within 60 days of the original start date of the award period, the subrecipient must report by letter to the State the steps taken to initiate the project, the reasons for delay, and the expected start date.
    2. Operational Within 90 Days. If a project is not operational within 90 days of the original start date of the award period, the subrecipient must submit a second statement to the State explaining the implementation delay. Upon receipt of the 90-day letter, the State may cancel the project and request Federal agency approval to redistribute the funds to other project areas. The State may also, where extenuating circumstances warrant, extend the implementation date of the project past the 90-day period. When this occurs, the appropriate subaward files and records must so note the extension.

Federal Obligation Process

After an award has been signed by the Federal awarding agency, the amount of the award is considered an obligation of the Federal Government and is recorded as such in its accounting system. Appropriated funds are thereby reserved against the award until all monies are expended by the recipient and subrecipient or, in the case of nonutilization of funds within statutory or other time limits, appropriated funds revert to the awarding agency through deobligation of the unused balance.

On the award date, the recipient of the award is notified of award approval and obligation. Upon award acceptance, in order for a recipient to receive payment of funds obligated in OJP's accounting system, they must be in compliance with award conditions enumerated in the award document. In addition, current Financial Status Report (SF 269A) for the grant on which payment is requested must be on file with OJP. Financial Status Reports are due quarterly. Funds will not be disbursed if reports are delinquent.

Note: If the award date is after the begin date of the award, the first SF 269A submitted to OJP should cover the period from the begin date of the grant period to the end of the calendar quarter in which the award was made.

Automated Clearing House Enrollment

The ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Enrollment Form provides OJP with banking information used to establish electronic funds transfer. Recipients are required to submit the completed ACH form which must bear the original signature of the authorized official of the recipient's financial institution.

If you are a new grant recipient, the ACH form can also be found in the Phone-Activated Paperless Request System (PAPRS) information packet.

If you are not a new grant recipient and would like to revise your current ACH form, the form may be found in Appendix I of this Guide, or you may download it from the above Web site address.

The original signed document must be submitted to the Control Desk at 810 Seventh St, NW, Washington, DC 20531. The ACH information is used by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to transmit payment data, by electronic means, to the recipient financial institution. Failure to provide the requested information will delay or prevent the receipt of payments.

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