Grant Progress Assessments
DNA Grant AssessmentsOn 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. |
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Grant Progress Assessments
- Program Announcement
- Program Objectives
- Program Features
- Number of Grant Progress Assessments by Year
- Required Preparation
- Thoughts for Laboratory Directors
- Contact Information
GPA Program Announcement
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.
Announcement PowerPoint Slideshow
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 vendor laboratory compliance with convicted offender delivery orders
- To assess the quality of the data produced by vendor laboratories for entry into CODIS
- To assess the impact of the grant funding
- To strengthen NIJ program management and oversight
GPA Program Features
- Provided at no cost to NIJ DNA grantees
- 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 DNA audits
- Occur with the same frequency as the DNA audits – once every two years
- Conducted concurrently for all grantees within a given state
- Conducted for each NIJ Convicted Offender vendor laboratory
- February 2005 - Pilot testing of the combined DNA Audit/GPA program
- April 2005 - Implementation of enhanced DNA Audit Program
Total Number of Assessments by Year
Year |
Number of Assessments Delivered |
2005 |
45 |
2006 |
170 |
TOTAL |
215 |
List of Laboratories Receiving Grant Progress Assessments by Year
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GPA Required Preparation
To assist laboratories in preparing for a Grant Progress Assessment (GPA) review, the NFSTC and the NIJ have prepared the following documents that can be accessed via the links below.
Please review the document entitled “Preparing for a GPA Assessment“ first. This document provides a general overview of the preparation requirements for a GPA review. Download, complete, and send the excel spreadsheet entitled “GPA Pre-Assessment Checklist“ to the NFSTC Point of Contact prior to the assessment.
It is suggested that work on the Pre-Assessment Checklist begin at least six weeks prior to the assessment date, and delivery of the Checklist takes place no later than two weeks before the assessment date. This provides the opportunity for distribution to the assessment team prior to arrival at the laboratory.
The actual assessment documents used by the assessment team are also available below for download. Please note that there is a different assessment document for each basic type of NIJ grant.
Schedule a DNA Grant Progress Assessment
Laboratories interested in scheduling a DNA Grant Progress Assessment can complete the form below:
- Form in MS Excel: PRE-ASSESSMENT PROFILE
Laboratories interested in scheduling a Coverdell & Cold Case GPA Assessment can complete the form below:
- Form in MS Excel: PRE-ASSESSMENT PROFILE
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How to Prepare for the Grant Progress Assessment
Grant Success Stories Submitted by an Agency in Preparation for their Grant Progress Assessment
Link to case publlished by WRAL.com
(with permission from WRAL News Raleigh-Durham, Fayetteville, NC)
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GPA Pre-Assessment Checklist - for all grants, except Cold Case Grants. Download, complete and return to Assessment@nfstc.org.
GPA Pre-Assessment Checklist for Cold Case Grants - Download, complete and return to Assessment@nfstc.org.
On both forms, please note the colored tabs at the bottom when the form is opened. Complete the worksheets located on the General Information, Administrative, and Budget Information tabs, as well as the worksheets identified by tabs for all applicable specific grants.
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| Some Excel worksheets contain macros. If you are unable to access drop-down menus, etc., you may need to change your macro security level. To do so, go to Tools>Macro>Security... Set the security level to 'Medium'. Click OK. Close the file. At this level of security, you will be asked whether to enable the macros or not when you open the file. Reopen the file. If this does not work, close the file and restart your computer. |
Grant Progress Assessment Documents |
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| RQ GD 01 Cold Case (01/01/07) | Cold Case Grant Review |
| RQ GD 02 CaseBL (01/01/07) | Casework Backlog Reduction Grant Review |
| RQ GD 03 COinHouse (01/01/07) | Convicted Offender In-House Testing Grant Review |
| RQ GD 04 Cap (01/01/07) | DNA Capacity Enhancement Grant Review |
| RQ GD 05 COoutSource (01/01/07) | Convicted Offender Outsourcing Award Review |
| RQ GD 06 GrDNAVen (01/01/07) | Grant Assessment Review -- Contract DNA Vendor Labs |
| RQ GD 08 Coverdell (01/01/07) | Coverdell Grant Review |
Link to current and previous grant solicitations on the NIJ website: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm
Back to TopThoughts for Laboratory Directors
- Are you prepared for an audit by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)?
- Do you know how your grant management system works?
- Can you access the required financial records/reports, progress reports, grant adjustment notices, purchase requisitions, etc.?
- Are you familiar with federal grant management procedures/requirements?
Contact Information
To receive additional information about this program, contact via email: Assessment@nfstc.org
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