Grant Progress Assessments
On November 12, 2004, Sarah V. Hart, Director of the Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) announced that the NIJ is expanding the current Cooperative Agreement with the NFSTC for a Grant Progress Assessment (GPA) program through the NFSTC - NIJ DNA Audit program. The elements of the program are in line with the recommendations of the OIG Audit Report and will be applicable to laboratories receiving NIJ DNA grants and to NIJ DNA contract vendors.
On September 1, 2006, the NFSTC Grant Progress Assessment program was extended to include the assessment of grants provided by the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Act and the Solving Cold Cases with DNA programs. |
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Grant Progress Assessments
- Program Objectives
- Program Features
- Assessed Laboratories and Agencies by Year
- Required GPA Preparation
- Schedule a Grant Progress Assessment
- Final Report Process
- Grant Success Stories
- Grant Progress Assessment Documents
- Contact Information
GPA Program Objectives
- To assess grantee progress in meeting program goals and objectives
- To review the status of administrative documentation
- To identify challenges faced by the grantee in achieving program objectives
- To identify successful or “model programs”
- To assess the impact of the grant funding
- To strengthen NIJ program management and oversight
GPA Program Features
- Provided at no cost to NIJ grantees, including DNA , Coverdell, and Using DNA to Solve Cold Cases
- Provided as an expansion of the free DNA audit program delivered by the National Forensic Science and Technology Center (NFSTC)
- Scheduled as part of the NIJ-NFSTC assessment program
- Occur on a biennial basis
- Conducted concurrently for all grantees within a given state
Assessed Laboratories and Agencies by Year
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Grant Progress Assessment Preparation
Prior to the assessment, the Assessment Team reviews the grant materials that were provided to the team by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The Assessment Team will require a small conference room or an area where they can conduct their business uninterrupted. Upon arrival of the team a short meeting will be held with designated individuals from the agency and the Assessment Team. Introductions and a brief explanation of the assessment process will be provided by the lead assessor. The grant assessment process is not a financial audit, but rather an in-depth review of the required conditions disseminated in the individual grant program solicitations.
To expedite the grant assessment process, please have the following materials available on-site for the Assessment Team:
- Final Application Proposal
- Final Budget narrative and budget detail
- Award Letter from NIJ
- OJP 4000/2 Award form
- Required Progress Reports and Final Report (if applicable) submitted to NIJ
- Quarterly Financial Reports submitted to NIJ
- Examples of correspondence with NIJ
- All Grant Adjustment Notices
- Employee time records (where applicable to grant fund expenditures)
- Invoices from Vendor(s) conducting sample analysis
- Spread sheets or Invoices for Kits and Consumables (where applicable to grant fund expenditures)
- Invoices for equipment > $5,000.00 Invoices or records of travel (where applicable to grant fund expenditures)
- invoices for computer and/or photographic equipment > $1,000.00
- Additional information required (if applicable
- Include number samples and/or cases sent, returned, completed
- Number of profiles reviewed by Laboratory
- Number of profiles entered into CODIS
- If applicable - List of cases sent to Vendor/ worked in house using grant funds
- If applicable - Estimation of number of days between receipt of data from Vendor/worked in house and entry of qualified profiles into CODIS
- If applicable - Documentation of problems with Vendor/worked in house & CORRECTIVE actions
- If applicable - Number of QA samples sent to Vendor/worked in house (if applicable) for review by assessor
- Program successes (news articles, or document that can be imported into Assessment document) Information provided can be scanned and included as a separate document
- Suggestions for improvement to the grant program (a document that can be imported into Assessment document)
Note: Access to Grant Management System (GMS) may be required and should be available to the Assessment Team.
Upon completion of the grant assessment process, the lead assessor will provide a short summary of any potential issues to be reported to the NIJ. The lead assessor is available throughout the process for consultation and information. Follow-up for any potential issues is the sole responsibility of the NIJ and will be handled subsequent to the completion of the assessment process.
Schedule a Grant Progress Assessment
DNA, Coverdell and/or Cold Case Grant Progress Assessment
Complete the form below and email to assessment@nfstc.org
- Form in MS Excel: Pre-Assessment Profile
- Online Form (Unavailable)
Final Report Process
The NFSTC Assessment Program provides for a comprehensive review for all generated assessment reports. All reports, both DNA QAS Audit Reports and Grant Assessment Reports, progress through a four step review process.
Upon completion of this review process, DNA QAS Audit Reports are sent to the audited laboratory, which is required to forward the report to NDIS. Grant Assessment Reports and a copy of the DNA QAS Audit Reports (if applicable) are forwarded to the National Institute of Justice for processing.
Grant Success Stories
Grant Success Stories Submitted by an Agency in Preparation for their Grant Progress Assessment
Grant Progress Assessment Documents
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Grant Progress Assessment Documents |
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| RQ GD 01 Cold Case (01/01/08) | Cold Case Grant Review |
| RQ GD 02 CaseBL (01/01/08) | Casework Backlog Reduction Grant Review |
| RQ GD 03 COinHouse (01/01/08) | Convicted Offender In-House Testing Grant Review |
| RQ GD 04 Cap (01/01/08) | DNA Capacity Enhancement Grant Review |
| RQ GD 05 COoutSource (01/01/08) | Convicted Offender Outsourcing Award Review |
| RQ GD 06 GrDNAVen (01/01/08) | Grant Assessment Review -- Contract DNA Vendor Labs |
| RQ GD 08 Coverdell Grantee (01/01/08) | Coverdell Grant Review |
| RQ GD 11 Coverdell Subgrantee (01/01/08) | Coverdell Grant Review - Subgrantee Only |
| RQ GD 12 Case BL and Capacity Mix (01/01/08) | Casework Backlog Reduction and Capacity Enhancement Combined |
Link to current and previous grant solicitations on the NIJ website: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm
Back to TopContact Information
To receive additional information about this program, contact via email: Assessment@nfstc.org
