[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1970-1981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-249]




[[Page 1969]]

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Part X





Department of Justice





_______________________________________________________________________



Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention



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Fiscal Year 1995 Competitive Discretionary Grant Programs for Title IV 
Missing and Exploited Children's Program and Application Kit; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 3 / Thursday, January 5, 1995 / 
Notices   
[[Page 1970]]

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
[OJP (OJJDP) No. 1039]
RIN 1121-ZA06


Notice of the Fiscal Year 1995 Competitive Discretionary Grant 
Programs for Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program and 
Application Kit

AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention, DOJ.

ACTION: Notice of the Fiscal Year 1995 Competitive Discretionary Grant 
Programs for Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program and 
announcement of the availability of the OJJDP Application Kit for 
discretionary assistance awards under Title IV, the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771-5780).

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SUMMARY: The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), pursuant to the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5771-5780, Title IV of the Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 5601 et 
seq., is required through grants or contracts, to: establish and 
operate a 24-hour toll-free telephone line; establish and operate a 
national resource center and clearinghouse; periodically conduct 
national incidence studies on missing children; and provide information 
on the use of record information to identify and locate missing 
children. In addition, the Administrator is authorized to support 
research, demonstration, or service programs to educate parents, 
provide information, aid communities, increase knowledge, collect data, 
address the needs of missing children and their families, and establish 
or operate statewide clearinghouses to assist in locating and 
recovering missing children.
    There were no comments received in response to OJJDP's proposed 
Title IV competitive programs for Fiscal Year 1995. Therefore, the 
proposed programs, as set forth in the Federal Register of October 12, 
1994 and announced in this Notice, will be included in OJJDP's final 
Title IV program plan. The OJJDP Application Kit for the three programs 
that follow, containing a copy of application form 424, standard and 
special conditions, the OJJDP Peer Review Guidelines, OJJDP's 
Competition and Peer Review Procedures, and General Application and 
Administrative Requirements, can be obtained by calling the Juvenile 
Justice Clearinghouse, toll-free, 24 hours a day, at (800) 638-8736.
    The program announcements contain specific instructions on 
competitive program requirements, including eligibility requirements 
and selection criteria. All applications will be evaluated and rated by 
a peer review panel according to the announced selection criteria. Peer 
review will be conducted in accordance with the OJJDP Competition and 
Peer Review Policy, 28 CFR part 34, subpart B.

DATES: Applications under each of the three programs must be received 
by 5 p.m. e.s.t., February 21, 1995. Applications received after the 
deadline date will not be considered.

ADDRESSES: Applications must be received by mail or hand-delivered to: 
Ron Laney, Director, Missing and Exploited Children's Program, Office 
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 633 Indiana Avenue, 
NW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20531. Hand-delivered applications will 
be received between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. except 
Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: See Application Kit and Requests for 
Proposals that follow.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must be public agencies or 
nonprofit private organizations or combinations thereof to be eligible 
for funding under the Missing Children's Assistance Act. No proposals, 
concept papers, or other application materials not relevant to this 
announcement should be submitted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Laney, Director, Missing and 
Exploited Children's Program, at the above address. Telephone (202) 
514-7774. This is not a toll-free telephone number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Grant Program: National Resource Center and Clearinghouse

Purpose

    The purpose of this solicitation is to continue the maintenance and 
management of activities, program development and fiscal support 
necessary to sustain those services required of a national resource 
center and clearinghouse under Title IV, the Missing Children's 
Assistance Act.
    The award will be made for a project period of three years. One 
cooperative agreement will be awarded with an initial budget period of 
12 months. Up to $3,050,000 will be allocated for the initial 12 month 
award. Subsequent funding support will be determined by the performance 
of the grantee and program development needs as determined by OJJDP.

Background

    OJJDP awarded a discretionary grant to the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in April of 1984. Title IV of 
the JJDP Act was subsequently enacted by Congress on October 12, 1984. 
The original award was to establish a national resource center and 
clearinghouse designed: to provide technical assistance to State and 
local governments, individuals, parents, and other agencies in locating 
and recovering missing children; to coordinate programs that focus on 
reuniting missing children with their lawful custodians; to develop, 
publish, and disseminate instructive materials about programs, 
techniques and services responsive to missing children issues; and to 
provide technical assistance and training to law enforcement agencies, 
State and local government agencies, individuals, and other agencies 
addressing missing children issues relative to prevention, 
investigation, reunification, and treatment in missing and exploited 
children cases.
    Since the establishment of the Missing and Exploited Children's 
Program in 1984, OJJDP has funded a comprehensive program of research. 
Major studies have been completed that define and document the complex 
issues of cases of missing children. The National Incidence Studies for 
Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children in America 
(NISMART), published in 1990, was the first national study to provide 
reliable data about the numbers and types of missing child cases and to 
clarify the types of cases and situations that make up the ``missing 
children'' population. Since then, other research projects have been 
completed that provide critical information about the dynamics of 
missing child cases, the psychological impact of abduction on children 
and families, and what happens after a missing child returns home.
    It has become clear that there is not a single ``missing child'' 
problem. Children are abducted by strangers and acquaintances as well 
as by parents or other family members. The research has shown that 
family abduction is a far greater problem than previously realized, and 
that the effects on children can be disastrous and long-lasting. 
Recovering children abducted by family members can be extremely 
difficult and costly. Many children who run away return home quickly, 
but a significant number run many times and live on the streets, 
constantly exposed to danger [[Page 1971]] and exploitation. Some of 
the children previously thought of as runaways have in actuality been 
thrownaway or abandoned. Every year many children are harmed after they 
become lost or wander away. Thousands of children are abducted for 
short periods of time and molested. It is estimated that there are more 
than 114,000 attempted abductions of children each year.
    Missing and exploited children are often already known to community 
agencies as victims. Runaway and abducted children may experience 
physical and sexual assault while away from home. Runaways often leave 
home to escape abuse, and children may become involved in sexual 
exploitation as a direct or indirect result of earlier victimization. 
Many family abduction cases involve families with histories of domestic 
violence. Most parental-abducted children have suffered from being the 
focus of bitter conflict prior to being taken. Recovery of abducted 
children seldom means the end of the conflict or the traumatic effects 
of an abduction, yet these children only occasionally receive the 
mental health services that could help them cope. Recent studies 
indicate that children who come from households characterized by 
violence, abuse or neglect may also be more vulnerable to abuse and 
exploitation by persons outside their home.
    The issues surrounding missing and exploited children are varied, 
complex, and tragic. The missing and exploited children problem is not 
a minor dilemma that can be resolved with a single approach or by any 
single agency. Law enforcement officers and other professionals who 
become involved in these cases face difficult challenges. Agencies must 
work in collaboration with others who share that responsibility.
    The first ten years of the Missing and Exploited Children's Program 
have seen a great deal of progress in our understanding of the issues 
of these child victims. They also have identified areas of need and 
provided recommendations for future direction and activities. Building 
upon the work of the last decade, the goal of the Missing and Exploited 
Children's Program is to ensure that critical information gleaned from 
research and demonstration programs is successfully incorporated into 
existing and new projects funded by OJJDP. As the national 
clearinghouse and resource center, the successful applicant must play a 
pivotal role in advancing the national response to missing and 
exploited children.

Objectives

    1. To continue the operation of a 24-hour national toll-free 
telephone line by which individuals may report information regarding 
the location of any missing child, or other children 13 years of age or 
younger, whose whereabouts are unknown to such child's legal custodian, 
and request information pertaining to procedures necessary to reunite 
the child with the child's legal custodian.
    2. To continue the operation of a national resource center and 
clearinghouse designed:
    a. To provide information to State and local governments, public 
and private nonprofit agencies, and individuals regarding:
    (1) Free or low cost legal, restaurant, lodging, and transportation 
services that are available for the benefit of missing children and 
their families;
    (2) The existence and nature of programs being carried out by 
Federal Agencies to assist missing children and their families; and
    (3) The lawful use of school records and birth certificates to 
identify and locate missing children.
    b. To provide, and coordinate with OJJDP's Title IV Training 
Program, technical assistance and training to State and local 
governments, including law enforcement and other appropriate agencies 
in:
    (1) Investigating, reporting, locating, recovering, and 
facilitating the reuniting of missing children with their families and/
or lawful custodians;
    (2) Family abduction cases;
    (3) National and/or regional missing children poster distribution;
    (4) Developing and distributing information and training 
publications relevant to missing, abducted, and exploited children's 
issues; and
    (5) Providing case management assistance, sighting and lead 
information analysis assistance for missing children cases.
    c. To disseminate nationally information about innovative and model 
missing children programs, services, and legislation at the State and 
local level.
    d. To provide technical assistance to appropriate agencies and 
custodial parents in cases of national and international noncustodial 
family abduction and coordinate efforts with the U.S. Department of 
State, U.S. Department of Criminal Justice, and INTERPOL.
    e. To provide case analysis (based on leads and sightings) for 
ongoing missing child case investigative assistance that has been 
undertaken in over 6,500 missing child cases. Some of the tasks 
involved in this case assistance are as follows: technical assistance 
contacts with parents, law enforcement, state missing children 
clearinghouses, private attorneys, prosecutors, F.B.I., INTERPOL, State 
Department and support groups; and case follow-up activities by 
monitoring NLETS, verifying full NCIC entries, review of recent 
sightings and providing relevant sighting pattern analysis and leads to 
appropriate cognizant agencies in a timely manner.
    f. To coordinate public and private programs that locate, recover 
or reunite missing children with their legal custodians.
    g. To monitor and provide case analysis for ongoing missing child 
case investigative assistance that has been undertaken in more than 
6,500 ongoing missing child cases plus more than 3,000 new case/lead 
assignments each quarter. Some of the tasks involved in this case 
investigative assistance are as follows: technical assistance contacts 
with parents, law enforcement, state clearinghouses, private attorneys, 
prosecutors, F.B.I., INTERPOL, U.S. State Department and support 
groups; and case follow-up activities by monitoring NLETS and verifying 
full NCIC entries, review of recent sightings and providing relevant 
sighting pattern analysis and leads to appropriate cognizant agencies 
in a timely manner.
    h. To provide, when requested on cases of nonfamily abduction, on-
site assistance by and coordination of the trained volunteers who are 
retired law enforcement personnel through Project ALERT and close 
coordination and liaison with the Federal Morgan Hardiman Task Force.
    i. To provide, when appropriate, state-of-the-art image enhancement 
and aging procedures for follow-up on long-term missing children cases.
    j. To provide and maintain a computer information network 
connection with State missing children agencies to facilitate the 
exchange of appropriate missing children case information, and 
technical assistance and training information developed by or through 
the National Clearinghouse.
    k. To develop a documented process for determining the publications 
development targeted at meeting the Title IV mandates based on the 
needs of the field and the numbers and types of cases being identified.
    l. To develop a formalized process for working with the state bar 
associations for providing parents and/or legal guardians with a 
referral process for obtaining pro bono or sliding scale legal 
[[Page 1972]] services in civil matters concerning abducted children.

Program Strategy

    This solicitation and resulting cooperative agreement will ensure 
the effective continuance by OJJDP of a national resource center and 
clearinghouse function for the training and technical assistance 
program to law enforcement agencies; State and local governments; 
entities of the criminal justice system, public and private nonprofit 
agencies; and individuals in the prevention, investigation, 
prosecution, and treatment of abducted, missing, and exploited children 
and in assisting, locating, and reuniting the missing children with 
their families or legal custodians.
    The applicant must demonstrate the experience and capability to 
provide timely, relevant professional program continuity for the 
national resource center and clearinghouse program. The successful 
applicant must demonstrate, in detail, the ability to enlist, train and 
manage the technical and professional personnel who will provide 
knowledgeable, credible program continuation and professional program 
technology transfer to parents, criminal justice system professionals, 
and nonprofit and community agencies.
    The operation of a national resource center and clearinghouse 
requires the applicant to provide and arrange for all necessary 
operational, training publications, analytical and technical assistance 
personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, and services required for 
the successful continuation of the existing program activities. These 
include the following activities:
    1. The provision to State and local governments, public and private 
nonprofit agencies, and individuals information regarding free or low-
cost legal, restaurant, lodging, and transportation services that are 
available for the benefit of missing children and their families;
    2. The development of a public education/awareness campaign 
utilizing the media and other sources specifically focused on the area 
of family abductions and the true impact this type of abduction has on 
the children, families involved, and society in general;
    3. To coordinate publications, media activities and all special 
events with and through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention;
    4. The provision to State and local governments, public and private 
nonprofit agencies, and individuals information regarding the existence 
and nature of programs being carried out by Federal agencies to assist 
missing/exploited children and their families;
    5. To provide and coordinate with OJJDP's Title IV Training Program 
technical assistance and training to criminal justice agencies, State 
and local governments, elements of the criminal justice and youth 
service system, public and private nonprofit agencies, organized 
missing/exploited children community organizations, and individuals in 
locating, recovering, and reuniting missing children with their family 
or legal custodian;
    6. The provision of a national 24-hour toll-free telephone line by 
which individuals may report information regarding the location of any 
missing child and request information pertaining to the necessary 
procedures to reunite such child with the child's legal custodian(s);
    7. The provision of information derived from the national 24-hour 
toll-free telephone line to appropriate cognizant entities in a timely 
manner;
    8. The coordination of the operation of the 24-hour toll-free 
telephone line with the operation of the national communications system 
established to serve runaways (under section 313 of the Runaway and 
Homeless Youth Act, 42 U.S.C. 5712a);
    9. The coordination of public and private programs that seek to 
locate, recover, or reunite missing children with their legal 
custodians;
    10. The dissemination of information about, and the provision of 
technical assistance and training publications regarding comprehensive, 
innovative, community, multi-agency missing children programs, 
services, and legislation;
    11. The provision of information to State and local governments, 
public and private nonprofit agencies and individuals to facilitate the 
lawful use of school records and birth certificates to identify and 
locate missing children; and
    12. The provision and maintenance of a national on-line computer 
for the dissemination of information and technical assistance to and 
communication between the State Clearinghouses, law enforcement 
agencies, and appropriate nonprofit organizations established to assist 
in locating, recovering, and reuniting of missing children with their 
legal guardian(s) including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Canada 
and New Scotland Yard in the United Kingdom.
    13. The applicant will include in its application a detailed plan 
for the establishment of a grant advisory board independent of any 
existing organizational advisory board. The advisory board will be made 
up of at least ten (10) individuals representing, at a minimum, the 
following agencies: law enforcement, nonfamily abduction victim parent, 
family abduction victim parent, nonprofit missing children 
organization, social services, mental health, courts, prosecution. This 
board membership will be submitted to OJJDP for approval.
    14. The applicant will include in its application a detailed plan 
to justify a proposed resource allocation (staff and funds) based on 
the actual number of missing/abducted child cases by category and the 
amount and type of technical assistance needed to meet the mandates of 
the national resource center and clearinghouse.
    15. The applicant will include in its application a detailed plan 
for coordination with the American Bar Association's Center on Children 
and the Law, in the development of a formalized process for working 
with the state bar associations and other appropriate organizations for 
providing parents and legal guardians with a referral service for 
obtaining pro bono or sliding scale legal services in civil matters 
concerning their abducted children.

Eligibility Requirements

    Applicants are invited from public agencies and not-for-profit 
private organizations. Applicant organizations may choose to submit 
joint proposals with other eligible organizations as long as one 
organization is designated in the application as the applicant and co-
applicants are designated as such.
    The applicant and co-applicants must demonstrate fully the required 
experience to deliver continuation support services as required in 
section VI. Applicants must demonstrate, in addition to program 
knowledge and support experience, programmatic and fiscal management 
capabilities to implement a project of this size and scope effectively. 
Applicants who fail to demonstrate that they have the experienced 
capability to manage a program of this size and complexity will be 
ineligible for funding consideration.

Specific Application Requirements

    All applicants must submit a completed Standard Form 424, 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424); a Standard Form 424A, 
Budget Information; OJP Form 4000/3, Assurances; and OJP Form 4061/6, 
Certifications. In addition to these forms, all applicants must include 
a project summary, a budget narrative, and a program narrative. All 
not-for- [[Page 1973]] profit organizations who have not recently 
received Office of Justice Programs funding must submit a completed 
Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire (OJP 712011).
    All forms must be typed. The SF 424 must appear as a cover sheet 
for the entire application. The project summary should follow the SF 
424. All other forms must then follow. Applicants should be sure to 
sign OJP Forms 4000/3 and 4061/6.
    The project summary must not exceed 250 words. It must be clearly 
marked and typed single spaced on a single page. Applicants should take 
care to write a description that accurately and concisely reflects the 
proposal.
    The program narrative must be typed double spaced on one side of 
page only. The program narrative may not exceed 60 pages. The program 
narrative must include all items indicated in the Selection Criteria 
section of this solicitation. This page limit does not apply to 
supporting materials normally found in appendices (such as preliminary 
surveys, resumes, and supporting charts or graphs).
    In submitting applications that contain more than one organization, 
the relationships among the parties must be set forth in the 
application. As a general rule, organizations that describe their 
working relationship in the development of products and the delivery of 
services as primarily cooperative or collaborative in nature will be 
considered co-applicants. In the event of a co-applicant submission, 
one co-applicant must be designated as the payee to receive and 
disburse project funds and be responsible for the supervision and 
coordination of the activities of the other co-applicant. Under this 
arrangement, each organization must agree to be jointly and severally 
responsible for all project funds and services. Each co-applicant must 
sign the SF 424 and indicate their acceptance of the conditions of 
joint and several responsibility with the other co-applicant.
    Applications that include noncompetitive contracts for the 
provision of specific services must include a sole source justification 
for any procurement in excess of $25,000. The contractor may not be 
involved in the development of the statement of work. The applicant 
must provide sufficient justification for not offering for competition 
the portion of work proposed to be contracted.
    The following information must be included in the application 
Program Narrative (part IV of SF 424):
    1. Organizational Capability: The applicant must demonstrate that 
it is eligible to compete for this cooperative agreement and have 
substantial organizational experience and resources that can be 
directly applied to provide programmatic support that will assure OJJDP 
the effective continuance of a national resource center and 
clearinghouse function for: The 24 hour national toll free telephone 
line; the information analysis of sighting and leads; case management 
assistance experience, procedures and data base information technology 
support to handle case processing procedures effectively and 
responsively for more than 6,500 ongoing missing children cases plus 
more than 3,000 new case/lead assignments each quarter; and the 
provision of the training publications and technical assistance 
programs to law enforcement agencies, State and local governments, 
elements of the criminal justice system, public and private nonprofit 
agencies, and individuals in the prevention, investigation, 
prosecution, and treatment of the missing and exploited children cases 
and in assisting in the locating and reuniting of the missing children 
with families or legal custodians.
    The criteria used for evaluating applicants is based upon the 
responsiveness of the applicant to the program information and 
descriptions found in this solicitation. Applicants must demonstrate 
that they are eligible to compete for this cooperative agreement on the 
basis of eligibility criteria established in this notice.
    2. Organizational Experience: a. The applicant must demonstrate the 
requisite knowledge of and experience with the missing and exploited 
children issue necessary to provide capable, responsible management of 
a national resource center and clearinghouse, including having direct 
access to NCIC and NLETS.
    b. The applicant must demonstrate experience and expertise in 
providing technical assistance and training to a diverse audience 
requiring such services with regard to the missing and exploited 
children issues described in this solicitation.
    c. The applicant must demonstrate the ability to develop as well as 
provide missing and exploited children specialized issue-related 
training and service oriented training materials to the recipient 
jurisdictional, professional, citizens, community needs, and other 
OJJDP training programs.
    d. The applicant must demonstrate the ability to provide for 
national missing children sighting analysis and case management 
practices that can collate national sightings, lead and case 
information in a relevant, and timely manner to assist, facilitate and 
coordinate multi-jurisdictional, national and international missing 
children investigations.
    e. The applicant must demonstrate extensive state-of-the-art 
information technology experience to manage, facilitate and service 
high volume electronic assisted response for technical assistance 
information needs and exchanges that require fast, accurate responses.
    f. The applicant must demonstrate the ability to provide continuity 
of comprehensive missing and exploited children issue services in 
response to the program objectives and strategies described in this 
solicitation.
    3. Program Goals and Objectives: A succinct statement demonstrating 
the applicant's understanding of the objectives and tasks associated 
with the program must be included. The application must also include a 
problem statement and a discussion of the past and potential future 
contributions of the applicant's program to the missing and exploited 
children issues required to be performed by a national missing and 
exploited children's clearinghouse and resource center. The applicant 
must describe the proposed approach for achieving the objectives of the 
program and the requirements of the program strategy as detailed in 
this announcement.
    4. Program Implementation Plan: The applicant must describe its 
proposed approach to achieving the goals and objectives of the project. 
A program implementation plan outlining the major activities involved 
in implementing the program, resource allocation, the program 
management must be included. A clear time-task workplan identifying 
major milestones, tasks, and products should be part of the 
application.
    The applicant should include an organizational chart depicting the 
roles and responsibilities of key personnel and organizational 
functional components that will be responsible for supporting and 
implementation of the program. The applicant should provide detailed 
position descriptions, qualification, and criteria selection for the 
positions. Part-time and practitioner professionals should also be 
included, with a statement of their qualifications and experience that 
would directly relate to the service needs of this program. The 
applicant should denote which staff members are considered key project 
personnel and emphasize their position experience. [[Page 1974]] 
    5. Program Budget: The applicant must provide a three year budget 
to be prepared by year. Any co-applicant associated costs must be 
detailed separately and accounted for in as much detail as the 
principal applicant. The applicant must provide a detailed 
justification for all costs by object class category as specified in 
the SF 424. Costs must be reasonable and the basis for these costs must 
be well documented in a separate budget narrative.
    6. Products: A concise description of the products to be produced 
should be included. The applicant must describe existing and future 
program activities and products that have and will be developed or 
utilized to continue to service the program; and should describe how 
and who will be served by these products.

Selection Criteria

    In general, all applications will be reviewed in terms of their 
demonstrated past, present, and potential ability to continue the 
development and provide the requisite services of a national resource 
center and clearinghouse for servicing missing and exploited children 
issues, as they are defined under title IV, The Missing Children's 
Assistance Act. The experience and knowledge involved for delivery of 
these services in a capable, efficient, and professional manner is a 
vital criterion for selection.
    All applicants will be evaluated and rated based on the extent to 
which they meet the following criteria:
    1. Organizational and programmatic capability must be demonstrated. 
The project management structure must be adequate for the successful 
conduct of the project. The applicant must have demonstrated 
clearinghouse and resource center program management and information 
technology capabilities and experience and capabilities in the areas 
described and defined throughout this solicitation; experience working 
with the various missing children issue groups and agencies at the 
national, state, municipal, community, individual levels, and 
international levels; providing technical assistance, training and 
information products related to missing and exploited children; 
providing missing child case assistance, analysis and coordination; 
promoting the development of professional approaches to missing 
children issues; providing assistance in organizational development 
processes for improved multi-agency delivery of services relating to 
missing children issues; and the relevant experience of applicant's 
staff in the missing children issues and their capabilities to address 
the perceived program needs. Fiscal integrity and organizational 
stability must be demonstrated over time. (35 points)
    2. The applicant must demonstrate an understanding of an approach 
to implementing the program objective of organizing, providing and 
maintaining the high level service delivery demands of a national 
resource center and clearinghouse for missing children. (30 points)
    3. The qualifications of staff members identified to manage and 
implement the program, including consultants, must be adequate for the 
successful implementation of the objectives. (25 points)
    4. The applicant must provide a sound and fully-justified budget 
that is cost effective to the service provided. The proposed costs must 
be complete, appropriate, and reasonable to the activities of the 
project. All costs should be fully justified in a budget narrative or 
with other supporting documentation. (10 points)

Award Period

    The project period for the cooperative agreement supporting the 
missing and exploited children national resource center and 
clearinghouse is three (3) years. One cooperative agreement will be 
awarded with an initial budget period of 12 months.

Award Amount

    Up to $3,050,000 has been allocated for the initial budget period. 
Commensurate financial support for the remaining two project budget 
periods will be determined by the performance of the grantee, program 
development needs as determined by OJJDP, and the availability of 
funds.

Submission of Application

    Applicants must submit the original, signed application (Standard 
Form 424) and two unbound copies to OJJDP. Application forms and 
supplementary information will be provided upon request for the 
Application Kit. Potential applicants should review the OJJDP Peer 
Review Guideline and the OJJDP Competition and Peer Review Procedures. 
These documents will be provided in the Application Kit.

Grant Program: Title IV Training and Technical Assistance

Purpose

    The purpose of this solicitation is to establish a mechanism for 
the maintenance, management, and standardization of activities; program 
design, development, and implementation; and fiscal support necessary 
to sustain those services required for the development of a coordinated 
and comprehensive Training and Technical Assistance Program under Title 
IV, the Missing Children's Assistance Act.
    The award will be made for a project period of three years. One 
cooperative agreement will be awarded with an initial budget period of 
12 months. Up to $750,000 will be allocated for the initial 12 month 
award. Subsequent funding support will be determined by the performance 
of the grantee and program development needs as determined by OJJDP.

Background

    Since the beginning of the Missing and Exploited Children's 
Program, OJJDP has funded an aggressive program of research and program 
development. The first major program was the establishment of a 
National Resource Center and Clearinghouse on Missing Children that was 
established under the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children in April 1984. Since that time, OJJDP has funded numerous 
other programs and projects for the design, development, and 
implementation of model projects and approaches. Currently, OJJDP funds 
over fifty (50) programs and projects in this area, many of which have 
an emphasis on designing and developing training and technical 
assistance materials for practitioners on the local, state, and federal 
level.
    Additionally, major studies funded by OJJDP have been completed 
that define and document the complex issues of missing children cases. 
The National Incidence Studies for Missing, Abducted, Runaway and 
Thrownaway Children in America (NISMART) was the first national study 
done that provides reliable data about the numbers and types of missing 
child cases and to clarify the types of cases and situations that make 
up the ``missing children'' population. Since the last Request for 
Proposals (RFP), other research projects have been completed that 
provide critical information about the dynamics of missing child cases, 
the psychological impact of abduction on children and families, and 
what happens after a missing child comes home.
    It has become clear that there is not a single ``missing child'' 
problem. Children are abducted by strangers and acquaintances as well 
as by parents or other family members. The research has shown that 
family abduction is a far greater problem than previously realized, and 
the effects on children can be disastrous and long-lasting. 
[[Page 1975]] Recovering children abducted by family members often is 
extremely difficult and costly. Many children who run away return home 
quickly, but a significant number run many times and live on the 
streets constantly exposed to danger, exploitation, and becoming 
involved in criminal activity. Some of the children previously thought 
of as runaways have in actuality been thrownaway or abandoned. Every 
year many children are harmed after they become lost or wander away. 
Thousands of children are abducted for short periods of time and 
molested. It is estimated that there are more than 114,000 attempted 
nonfamily abductions of children each year.
    Missing and exploited children are often already known to community 
agencies as victims. Runaway and abducted children may experience 
physical and sexual assault as part of their missing episode. Runaways 
often leave home to escape abuse, and children may become involved in 
sexual exploitation as a direct or indirect result of earlier 
victimization. Many family abduction cases involve families with 
histories of domestic violence. Most parentally-abducted children have 
suffered from being the focus of bitter conflict prior to being taken. 
Recovery of abducted children seldom means the end of the conflict or 
the traumatic effects of an abduction, yet these children seldom 
receive the mental health services that could help them cope. Recent 
studies indicate that children who come from households characterized 
by violence, abuse or neglect may be more vulnerable to abuse and 
exploitation by persons outside their home as well. The issues 
surrounding missing and exploited children are varied, complex, and 
tragic. The missing and exploited children problem is not a minor 
dilemma that can be resolved with a single approach or by any single 
agency. Law enforcement officers and other professionals who become 
involved in these cases face difficult challenges. Agencies must work 
in collaboration with others who share that responsibility.
    The general consensus of all of the Title IV research projects, 
demonstration programs, and professionals on the local, state, and 
federal levels is that there is an overwhelming need for training of 
and technical assistance to agencies and personnel working with these 
types of cases. These sources also indicate that this training and 
technical assistance must be provided through a central source 
providing coordination and standardization of the materials and 
information offered.
    This same idea of coordination and standardization was supported by 
the professionals associated with the development of OJJDP's Title IV 
Long Range Plan is the overwhelming need for coordinated and 
comprehensive training and technical assistance to enhance the skills 
of the professionals charged with the responsibility of handling these 
very complex and complicated cases.
    Under the current process for the design, development, and delivery 
of training and technical assistance, each grantee is faced with the 
responsibility of developing their own stand alone mechanism for the 
accomplishment of this task. This system not only creates additional 
expense but it also does nothing to address the issue of 
standardization and duplication of effort.
    The first ten years of the Missing and Exploited Children's Program 
have seen significant progress in our understanding of the issues of 
these child victims. They also have identified areas of need and 
provided recommendations for future direction and activities. Building 
upon the work of the last decade, the goal of the Missing and Exploited 
Children's Program is to ensure that critical information gleaned from 
research and demonstration programs is successfully incorporated into 
existing and new projects funded by OJJDP.

Objectives

    1. Develop an efficient and effective mechanism for the systematic 
management and delivery of state-of-the-art Title IV training and 
technical assistance on the national-level that will:
    a. utilize the existing information and work products from Title IV 
grantees and programs, and
    b. ensure the incorporation of new information and work products 
developed through future efforts.
    2. Through this mechanism, coordinate and standardize the 
information, training, technical assistance on missing and exploited 
children disseminated on the local, state, and federal level.
    3. Ensure that the following areas are the principle focus of the 
training and technical assistance delivered.
    a. Effective community and child education, prevention, and 
awareness programs.
    b. Effective community-based approaches for coordination and 
collaboration among the primary service provider agencies.
    c. Effective multi-agency team approaches.
    d. Effective multi-jurisdictional coordination approaches.
    e. Available resource education, awareness, and access.
    f. State-of-the-art investigative skills and techniques for 
location and recovery of missing children.
    g. Selected approaches for the reunification of missing and 
abducted children with their legal guardians.
    4. Establish a database for tracking and documentation of 
communities, agencies, and personnel that receive the Title IV training 
and technical assistance.
    5. Develop a mechanism for providing support to OJJDP for 
incorporation of input from all Title IV Grantees in the development of 
concept papers, reports, and related materials in furtherance of 
OJJDP's Title IV Long Range Plan and meeting the mandates of the Title 
IV Legislation.
    6. Enhance and improve missing and abducted child serving agencies 
and organizations capability and ability to respond to the issues 
related to cases of missing and exploited children.
    7. Create a stronger link between the front-line personnel working 
these cases and the policy-makers at the local, state, and federal 
levels.
    8. Incorporate the Title IV information and work products into 
training and technical assistance products for both front-line 
personnel and policy-makers.
    9. Maintain state-of-the-art curricula and materials through 
systematic review, assessment, and revision of curricula, in concert 
with OJJDP.

Program Strategy

    This solicitation and resulting cooperative agreement is to 
establish a mechanism for the maintenance, management, and 
standardization of activities; program design, development, and 
implementation; and fiscal support necessary to sustain those services 
required for the development of a coordinated and comprehensive 
Training and Technical Assistance Program under Title IV, the Missing 
Children's Assistance Act.
    The applicant must demonstrate a proven national experience and 
capability to provide timely, relevant professional program continuity 
for the design, development, delivery, and maintenance of an efficient 
and effective Title IV Training and Technical Assistance Program.
    The applicant must list and provide letters of agreement to 
participate from the primary consultants and trainers that will be 
utilized in the design, development, and delivery of the Title 
[[Page 1976]] IV training and technical assistance programs.
    The applicant must demonstrate, in detail, the ability to enlist, 
train and manage the technical and professional personnel that will 
provide knowledgeable, credible program continuation and professional 
program technology transfer to all agencies and personnel involved in 
the prevention, identification, location, recovery, and reunification 
of missing, exploited, and abducted children with their legal 
guardians.
    The applicant will include in its application a detailed task plan 
to:
    1. Justify their resource allocation (staff and funds) based on the 
actual number of existing Title IV training programs and proposed new 
training and technical assistance program development,
    2. Develop an efficient and effective mechanism for the systematic 
management and delivery of state-of-the-art Title IV training and 
technical assistance on the national-level that will:
    a. utilize the existing information and work products from Title IV 
grantees and programs, and
    b. ensure the incorporation of new information and work products 
developed through future efforts.
    3. Establish a database for tracking and documentation of 
communities, agencies, and personnel that receive the Title IV training 
and technical assistance,
    4. Enhance and improve missing and abducted child serving agencies 
and organizations capability and ability to respond to the issues 
related to cases of missing and exploited children,
    5. Create a stronger link between the front-line personnel working 
these cases and the policy-makers at the local, state, and federal 
levels,
    6. Incorporate the Title IV information and work products into 
training and technical assistance products for both front-line 
personnel and policy-makers,
    7. Maintain state-of-the-art curricula and materials through 
systematic review, assessment, and revision of curricula, in concert 
with OJJDP.
    The applicant will include in their application a detailed plan for 
the establishment of a grant advisory board independent of any existing 
organizational advisory board. The advisory board will be made up of at 
least ten (10) individuals representing the following agencies: law 
enforcement, nonfamily abduction victim parent, family abduction victim 
parent, nonprofit organization, social services, mental health, courts, 
prosecution, and medical. All appointees to this advisory board will be 
subject to approval by OJJDP.

Eligibility Requirements

    Applications are invited from public agencies and not-for-profit 
private organizations. Applicant organizations may choose to submit 
joint proposals with other eligible organizations as long as one 
organization is designated in the application as the applicant and co-
applicants are designated as such. The applicant and co-applicants must 
demonstrate fully the required experience to deliver continuation 
support services as required in section VI. Applicants must 
demonstrate, in addition to program knowledge and support experience, 
programmatic and fiscal management capabilities to implement a project 
of this size and scope effectively. Applicants who fail to demonstrate 
that they have the experienced capability to manage a program of this 
size and complexity will be ineligible for funding consideration.

Specific Application Requirements

    All applicants must submit a completed Standard Form 424, 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424); a Standard Form 424A, 
Budget Information; OJP Form 4000/3, Assurances; and OJP Form 4061/6, 
Certifications. In addition to these forms, all applications must 
include a project summary, a budget narrative, and a program narrative.
    All not-for-profit organizations who have not recently received 
Office of Justice Programs funding must submit a completed Accounting 
System and Financial Capability Questionnaire (OJP 712011).
    All forms must be typed. The SF 424 must appear as a cover sheet 
for the entire application. The project summary should follow the SF 
424. All other forms must then follow. Applicants should be sure to 
sign OJP Forms 4000/3 and 4061/6.
    The project summary must not exceed 250 words. It must be clearly 
marked and typed single spaced on a single page. Applicants should take 
care to write a description that accurately and concisely reflects the 
proposal.
    The program narrative must be typed double spaced on one side of a 
page only. The program narrative may not exceed 60 pages. The program 
narrative must include all items indicated in the Selection Criteria 
section of this solicitation. This page limit does not apply to 
supporting materials normally found in appendices (such as preliminary 
surveys, resumes, and supporting charts or graphs).
    In submitting applications that contain more than one organization, 
the relationships among the parties must be set forth in the 
application. As a general rule, organizations that describe their 
working relationship in the development of products and the delivery of 
services as primarily cooperative or collaborative in nature will be 
considered co-applicants. In the event of a co-applicant submission, 
one co-applicant must be designated as the payee to receive and 
disburse project funds and be responsible for the supervision and 
coordination of the activities of the other co-applicant. Under this 
arrangement, each organization must agree to be jointly and severally 
responsible for all project funds and services. Each co-applicant must 
sign the SF 424 and indicate their acceptance of the conditions of 
joint and several responsibility with the other co-applicant.
    Applications that include non-competitive contracts for the 
provision of specific services must include a sole source justification 
for any procurement in excess of $25,000. The contractor may not be 
involved in the development of the statement of work. The applicant 
must provide sufficient justification for not competing the portion of 
work proposed to be contracted.
    The following information must be included in the application 
Program Narrative (part IV of SF 424):
    1. Organizational Capability: The applicant must demonstrate that 
it is eligible to compete for this cooperative agreement and have 
substantial organizational experience and resources that can be 
directly applied to provide programmatic support that will assure OJJDP 
the effective establishment of a Title IV Training and Technical 
Assistance program to law enforcement agencies, State and local 
governments, other elements of the criminal justice system, public and 
private nonprofit agencies, and individual disciplines in the 
prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of the missing 
and exploited children cases and in assisting in the locating and 
reuniting of the missing children with families or legal custodians.
    The criteria used in evaluating applicants is based upon the 
responsiveness of the applicant to the program information and 
descriptions found in this solicitation. Applicants must demonstrate 
that they are eligible to compete for this cooperative agreement on the 
basis of eligibility criteria established in this notice.
    2. Organizational Experience: a. The applicant must demonstrate the 
requisite knowledge of and experience [[Page 1977]] with the missing 
and exploited children issue necessary to provide capable, responsible 
management of a Title IV Training and Technical Assistance Program.
    b. The applicant must demonstrate experience and expertise in 
providing technical assistance and training to a diverse audience 
requiring such services with regard to the missing and exploited 
children issues described in this solicitation.
    c. The applicant must demonstrate the ability to assist in the 
development of missing and exploited children specialized issue-related 
training and service-oriented training materials to the recipient 
jurisdiction, professional, citizen, community needs, and other OJJDP 
training and technical assistance programs.
    d. The applicant must demonstrate the ability to provide continuity 
of comprehensive missing and exploited children issue services in 
response to the program objectives and strategies described in this 
solicitation.
    3. Program Goals and Objectives: A succinct statement demonstrating 
the applicant's understanding of the objectives and tasks associated 
with the program must be included. The application must also include a 
problem statement and a discussion of the past and potential future 
contributions of the applicant's program to the missing and exploited 
children issues required to be performed by an organization assuming 
the responsibility for the Title IV Training and Technical Assistance. 
The applicant must describe the proposed approach for achieving the 
objectives of the program and the requirements of the program strategy 
as detailed in this announcement.
    4. Program Implementation Plan: The applicant must describe its 
proposed approach to achieving the goals and objectives of the project. 
A program implementation plan outlining the major activities involved 
in implementing the program, resource allocation, the program 
management must be included. A clear time-task workplan identifying 
major milestones, tasks, and products should be a part of the 
application.
    The applicant should include an organizational chart depicting the 
roles and responsibilities of key personnel and organizational 
functional components that will be responsible for supporting and 
implementation of the program. The applicant should provide detailed 
position descriptions, qualifications, and criteria for selection for 
the positions. Part-time and practitioner professionals should also be 
included, with a statement of their qualifications and experience that 
would directly relate to the service needs of this program. The 
applicant should denote which staff members are considered key project 
personnel and emphasize their position experience.
    5. Program Budget: The applicant must provide a three year budget 
to be prepared by year. Any co-applicant associated costs must be 
detailed separately and accounted for in as much detail as the 
principal applicant. The applicant must provide a detailed 
justification for all costs by object class category as specified in 
the SF 424. Costs must be reasonable and the basis for these costs must 
be well documented in a separate budget narrative.
    6. Products: A concise description of the products to be produced 
should be included. The applicant must describe existing and future 
program activities and products that have and will be developed or 
utilized to continue to service the program; and should describe how 
and who will be served by these products.

Selection Criteria

    In general, all applications will be reviewed in terms of their 
demonstrated past, present and potential ability to continue the 
development and provide the requisite services for a Title IV Training 
and Technical Assistance Program for servicing missing and exploited 
children issues, as they are defined under Title IV, The Missing 
Children's Assistance Act. The experience and knowledge involved for 
delivery of these services in a capable, efficient and professional 
manner is, of course, a vital criteria for selection.
    All applicants will be evaluated and rated based on the extent to 
which they meet the following criteria:
    1. Organizational and programmatic capability must be demonstrated. 
The project management structure must be adequate for the successful 
conduct of the project. The applicant must have demonstrated Title IV 
experience and program management and information technology 
capabilities and experience and capabilities in the areas described and 
defined throughout this solicitation; experience working with the 
various missing children issue groups and agencies at the national, 
state, municipal, community, and individual levels; providing technical 
assistance, training and information products related to missing and 
exploited children; and promoting the development of professional 
approaches to missing children issues; providing assistance in 
organizational development processes for improved multi-agency delivery 
of services relating to missing children issues; and the relevant 
experience of applicant's staff in the missing children issues and 
their capabilities to address the perceived program needs. Fiscal 
integrity and organizational stability must be demonstrated over time. 
(25 points)
    2. The applicant must have demonstrated understanding of an 
approach to implementing the program objectives of organizing, 
providing and maintaining the high level service delivery demands of a 
Title IV Training and Technical Assistance Program. (25 points)
    3. The qualifications of staff members identified to manage and 
implement the program, including consultants, must be adequate for the 
successful implementation of the objectives. (40 points)
    4. The applicant must provide a sound and fully-justified budget 
that is cost effective to the services provided. The proposed costs 
must be complete, appropriate, and reasonable to the activities of the 
project. All costs should be fully justified in a budget narrative or 
with other supporting documentation. (10 points)

Award Period

    The project period for the cooperative agreement supporting the 
Title IV Training and Technical Assistance Training Grant is three (3) 
years. One cooperative agreement will be awarded with an initial budget 
period of 12 months.

Award Amount

    Up to $750,000 has been allocated for the initial budget period. 
Commensurate financial support for the remaining two project budget 
periods will be determined by the performance of the grantee program 
development needs as determined by OJJDP, and the availability of 
funds.

Submission of Application

    Applicants must submit the original, signed application (Standard 
Form 424) and two unbound copies to OJJDP. Application forms and 
supplementary information will be provided upon request for the 
Application Kit. Potential applicants should review the OJJDP Peer 
Review Guideline and the OJJDP Competition and Peer Review Procedures. 
These documents will be provided in the Application Kit. [[Page 1978]] 

Grant Program: Effective Community-Based Approaches for Dealing With 
Missing and Exploited Children

Purpose

    The purpose of this solicitation is to identify, research, 
evaluate, and document effective community-based, organizations from 
around the country that use multi-disciplinary team approaches to 
address the complex issues related to missing and exploited children 
and their families. The solicitation will identify a minimum of five 
(5) community-based organizations that provide a cross-sectional 
representation of the demographics of the country. The effective 
approaches being used in these communities will be developed into a 
training curriculum that will be used to assist communities in the 
establishment of an effective, cooperative, and collaborative 
community-based, multi-disciplinary team approach to missing and 
exploited children's issues.
    The award will be made for a project period of three years. One 
cooperative agreement will be awarded with an initial budget period of 
18 months. Up to $250,000 will be allocated for the initial 18 month 
award. Subsequent funding support will be determined by the performance 
of the grantee and program development needs as determined by OJJDP.

Background

    The term ``missing children'' has been used to describe many 
children who become missing or are displaced for various and differing 
reasons. Children may be missing because they have been abducted by a 
stranger or acquaintance. A surprisingly large number of children 
(354,000 per year) are abducted by a parent or family member as part of 
an ongoing divorce or custody battle. About half a million children run 
away from home each year. There are many children designated as 
``thrownaway'' children because they have been abandoned or told to 
leave home. Other children wander away from home or become lost or 
injured for other reasons. While most children eventually are recovered 
or return home, they may be missing for a few hours, days, weeks, or 
years. Some children are found dead or are never recovered at all.
    Society's understanding of the issues relating to these ``missing 
and displaced'' children and its response has been slow to develop. 
Since the passage of most federal and state legislation regarding 
missing children and the inception of the Missing and Exploited 
Children's Program in the Department of Justice, an array of ground 
breaking research has been completed or is still underway. Much more is 
known about the issues surrounding missing and exploited children, and 
this information provides important direction for future action to 
improve the response to these victims.
    No single health, social service, law enforcement, or judicial 
system exists to track and comprehensively assess the number and 
circumstances of child victimization on a national level, including 
child deaths. The same is true in most states and local jurisdictions 
as well. Data on child victimization resides in several different 
forms, including police crime reports, child protective service 
reports, and vital statistics. None of these sources contain 
information on all types of maltreatment of children.
    Definitions are inconsistent across agencies and disciplines. The 
names and definitions given to child victimization, as well as how we 
address it, differs according to the relationship of the perpetrator to 
the child victim. If the offender is a family member or caretaker, it 
is called abuse; if the offender is a stranger or acquaintance, it is 
called an assault or some other type of ``crime.'' Generally, the 
criminal justice system handles victimization of children by nonfamily 
members while social service agencies handle victimization by family 
members or caretakers.
    National crime justice statistics, with the exception of abduction 
and homicide, do not include crimes against children under the age of 
twelve. It is usually worse on the local and state levels. Child abuse 
data is not included in criminal statistics. Some particularly violent 
abuse cases of children may be contained in police reports but not most 
of them. Child protective service agencies do not keep data on 
nonfamily, noncaretaker abuse of children. They usually refer such 
cases to the police and do not provide services to those children and 
their families. Most assaults against children are simply never 
reported to any agency.
    Most communities approach the different forms of child maltreatment 
in a fragmented fashion with social services handling intra-familial 
cases of abuse and neglect, law enforcement handling nonfamily assault 
and abduction cases, and many child victims simply going unrecognized 
and untreated. At best, communities may have a vague picture of who the 
missing and exploited children are in their jurisdiction. If they look 
closely, they realize that these invisible children are frequently 
already known to their criminal justice and social service agencies as 
victims or perpetrators.
    The experiences of many of these children and their families are 
not unlike that of abused and neglected children. There are many 
commonalities and linkages. Children often suffer multiple types of 
victimization and one form of victimization may directly or indirectly 
lead to others. Often runaway and thrownaway children have left abusive 
homes and are at increased risk for suicide, assault, exploitation, and 
murder while on the streets. Children who are neglected or inadequately 
supervised may be especially vulnerable to a variety of risks. Some 
children are reported missing by a parent who actually killed the child 
and is trying to conceal his or her act. The majority of family 
abduction cases involve families with histories of domestic violence. 
Most parentally-abducted children have suffered from being the focus of 
bitter conflict prior to being taken. Recovery of abducted children 
seldom means the end of the conflict or the traumatic effects of an 
abduction, yet these children seldom receive the mental health services 
that could help them cope. Recent studies indicate that children who 
come from households characterized by violence, abuse or neglect may be 
more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by persons outside their home 
as well. Other studies indicate that the lines between incest and 
sexual abuse by nonfamily persons may not be as distinct as previously 
believed, i.e., many incest perpetrators also molest children other 
than their own.

Objectives

    1. Identify five demographics representative community programs 
that have in place an active and working community-based process for 
addressing the needs of and issues related to missing, exploited, and 
abducted children and their families.
    2. Research and evaluate the programs in the selected communities 
to determine their strengths and weaknesses in addressing such issues 
as: confidentiality; sharing of information; inter-agency agreements; 
cross-training; statistical information gathering and analysis; 
identification and resolution of system gaps; case and services 
management; establishing public-private partnerships; interacting with 
agencies on the state and federal levels; multi-level prevention 
education and awareness programs; conducting cooperative investigative 
practices; resource allocation and sharing; cultural diversity; 
education and awareness of policy-makers; recovery and reunification of 
the child victims with their family and community; and other 
[[Page 1979]] issues having a direct impact on the ability and 
capability of a community to respond to the needs of missing, 
exploited, and abducted children and their families.
    3. Prepare and document a comprehensive report of the research and 
evaluation conducted on the five selected communities. The report will 
be in journalistic style format. It will illustrate the strengths and 
weaknesses of the communities studied. This report also will provide 
information on why these types of community-based approaches succeed as 
well as fail.
    4. Design and develop a multi-level training curriculum that 
incorporates all of the strengths documented in the five selected 
communities. The training curriculum will also incorporate information 
and techniques developed by other OJJDP programs and initiative in this 
area. The curriculum will enable jurisdictions to strategically plan, 
implement, and evaluate a community-based multi-disciplinary team 
process for effectively addressing the issues and needs of their 
missing, exploited, and abducted children and their families while 
utilizing existing community resources.

Program Strategies

    This solicitation and resulting cooperative agreement will 
identify, research, evaluate, and document effective community-based 
organizations from around the country that use multi-disciplinary team 
approaches to address the complex issues related to missing and 
exploited children and their families.
    The applicant must demonstrate, in detail, the ability to enlist 
and manage the technical and professional personnel that will provide 
knowledgeable, credible program development and professional program 
technology transfer to all community agencies.
    The applicant must demonstrate a comprehensive and equitable 
process to identify a minimum of five (5) community organizations that 
are representative of the country.
    The applicant will include in their applications a detailed plan 
for the establishment of a grant advisory board. The advisory board 
will be made up of at least ten (10) individuals representing the 
following agencies: law enforcement, nonfamily abduction victim parent, 
family abduction victim parent, nonprofit organization, social 
services, mental health, courts, prosecution and representative from 
Association of Missing and Exploited Childrens Organizations (AMECO). 
This board membership will be submitted to OJJDP for approval.
    The applicant will include in their application a detailed plan for 
coordination with other Title IV grant programs to incorporate state-
of-the-art techniques and information into the training curricula.
    1. The research and evaluation component of application must 
demonstrate how the information on the programs in the selected 
communities will be analyzed to determine their strengths and 
weaknesses in addressing such issues as:

a. confidentiality
b. sharing of information
c. inter-agency agreements
d. cross-training
[e. statistical information gathering and analysis]
f. identification and resolution of system gaps
g. case and services management
h. establishing public-private partnerships
i. interaction with agencies on the state and federal levels
j. multi-level prevention education and awareness programs
k. conducting cooperative investigative practices
l. resource allocation and sharing
m. cultural diversity
[n. education and awareness of policy-makers]
o. recovery and reunification of the child victims with their family 
and community
p. other issues having a direct impact on the ability and capability of 
a community to respond to the needs of missing, exploited, and abducted 
children and families

    Prepare and document a comprehensive written report of the research 
and evaluation conducted on the five selected communities. The report 
will be in journalistic style format. It will illustrate the strengths 
and weaknesses of the communities studied. This report also will 
provide information on why these types of community-based approaches 
succeed as well as fail.
    The applicant must present in detail the process that will be used 
for the design and development of a multi-level training curriculum 
that incorporates all of the strengths documented in the five selected 
communities. The training curriculum must include:
    2. Instructor's Guide:

a. Course agenda
b. Lesson plan cover sheets for each instructional block that include:
    (1) terminal objective
    (2) instructor tasks
    (3) learning objectives
    (4) participant handout materials

    3. Participants's Guide:

a. Course agenda
b. Participant note taking guide
c. Reference and resource materials

    The training curriculum will be designed to provide the 
participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to strategically 
plan, implement, establish, and evaluate a community-based 
multidisciplinary team process for effectively addressing issues and 
needs of their missing, exploited, and abducted children and their 
families while utilizing existing community resources.

Eligibility Requirements

    Applications are invited from public agencies and not-for-profit 
private organizations. Applicant organizations may choose to submit 
joint proposals with other eligible organizations as long as one 
organization is designated in the application as the applicant and co-
applicants are designated as such. The applicant and co-applicants must 
demonstrate fully the required experience to deliver continuation 
support services as required in section VI. Applicants must 
demonstrate, in addition to program knowledge and support experience, 
programmatic and fiscal management capabilities to implement a project 
of this size and scope effectively. Applicants who fail to demonstrate 
that they have the experienced capability to manage a program of this 
size and complexity will be ineligible for funding consideration.

Specific Application Requirements

    All applicants must submit a completed Standard Form 424, 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424); a Standard Form 424A, 
Budget Information; OJP Form 4000/3, Assurances; and OJP Form 4061/6, 
Certifications. In addition to these forms, all applicants must include 
a project summary, a budget narrative, and a program narrative.
    All not-for-profit organizations who have not recently received 
Office of Justice Programs funding must submit a completed Accounting 
System and Financial Capability Questionnaire (OJP 712011).
    All forms must be typed. The SF 424 must appear as a cover sheet 
for the entire application. The project summary should follow the SF 
424. All other forms must then follow. Applicants should be sure to 
sign OJP Forms 4000/3 and 4061/6.
    The project summary must not exceed 250 words. It must be clearly 
marked and typed single spaced on a single page. Applicants should take 
care to [[Page 1980]] write a description that accurately and concisely 
reflects the proposal.
    The program narrative must be typed double spaced on one side of 
page only. The program narrative may not exceed 60 pages. The program 
narrative must include all items indicated in the Selection Criteria 
section of this solicitation. This page limit does not apply to 
supporting materials normally found in appendices (such as preliminary 
surveys, resumes, and supporting charts or graphs).
    In submitting applications that contain more than one organization, 
the relationships among the parties must be set forth in the 
application. As a general rule, organizations that describe their 
working relationship in the development of products and the delivery of 
services as primarily cooperative or collaborative in nature will be 
considered co-applicants. In the event of a co-applicant submission, 
one co-applicant must be designated as the payee to receive and 
disburse project funds and be responsible for the supervision and 
coordination of the activities of the other co-applicant. Under this 
arrangement, each organization must agree to be jointly and severally 
responsible for all project funds and services. Each co-applicant must 
sign the SF 424 and indicate their acceptance of the conditions of 
joint and several responsibility with the other co-applicant.
    Applications that include noncompetitive contracts for the 
provision of specific services must include a sole source justification 
for any procurement in excess of $25,000. The contractor may not be 
involved in the development of the statement of work. The applicant 
must provide sufficient justification for not competing the portion of 
work proposed to be contracted.
    The following information must be included in the application 
Program Narrative (part IV of SF 424):
    1. Organizational Capability: The applicant must demonstrate that 
it is eligible to compete for this cooperative agreement and have 
substantial organizational experience and resources that can be 
directly applied to provide programmatic support that will assure OJJDP 
the effective establishment of a program that will identify, research, 
evaluate, and document effective community-based organizations around 
the country that use multi-disciplinary team approaches to address the 
complex issues related to missing and exploited children and their 
families. The solicitation will identify a minimum of five (5) 
community-based organizations that provide a cross-sectional 
representation of the demographics of the country. The effective 
approaches being used in these communities will be developed into a 
training curriculum that will be used to assist communities in the 
establishment of an effective, cooperative, and collaborative 
community-based, multi-disciplinary team approach to missing and 
exploited children's issues. The criteria used in evaluating applicants 
is based upon the responsiveness of the applicant to the program 
information and descriptions found in this solicitation. Applicants 
must demonstrate that they are eligible to compete for this cooperative 
agreement on the basis of eligibility criteria established in this 
notice.
    2. Organizational Experience: a. The applicant must demonstrate the 
requisite knowledge of and experience with the missing and exploited 
children issue necessary to provide capable, responsible management of 
as outlined in solicitation.
    b. The applicant must demonstrate experience and expertise in 
providing research, evaluation of community-based missing and exploited 
children organizations as described in this solicitation.
    c. The applicant must demonstrate the ability to design and develop 
a multi-level training curriculum for community based organizations.
    3. Program Goals and Objectives: A succinct statement demonstrating 
the applicant's understanding of the objectives and tasks associated 
with the program must be included. The application must also include a 
problem statement and a discussion of the past and potential future 
contributions of the applicant's program to the missing and exploited 
children issues required to be performed by an organization assuming 
the responsibility for the program as described in this solicitation. 
The applicant must describe the proposed approach for achieving the 
objectives of the program and the requirements of the program strategy 
as detailed in this announcement.
    4. Program Implementation Plan: The applicant must describe its 
proposed approach to achieving the goals and objectives of the project. 
A program implementation plan outlining the major activities involved 
in implementing the program, resource allocation, the program 
management must be included. A clear time-task workplan identifying 
major milestones, tasks, and products should be part of the 
application.
    The applicant should include an organizational chart depicting the 
roles and responsibilities of key personnel and organizational 
functional components that will be responsible for supporting and 
implementation of the program. The applicant should provide detailed 
position descriptions, qualification, and criteria selection for the 
positions. Part-time and practitioner professionals should also be 
included, with a statement of their qualifications and experience that 
would directly relate to the service needs of this program. The 
applicant should denote which staff members are considered key project 
personnel and emphasize their position experience.
    5. Program Budget: The applicant must provide a three year budget 
to be prepared for two 18 month periods. Any co-applicant associated 
costs must be detailed separately and accounted for in as much detail 
as the principal applicant. The applicant must provide a detailed 
justification for all costs by object class category as specified in 
the SF 424. Costs must be reasonable and the basis for these costs must 
be well documented in a separate budget narrative.
    6. Products: A concise description of the products to be produced 
should be included. The applicant must describe existing and future 
program activities and products that have and will be developed or 
utilized to continue to service the program; and should describe how 
and who will be served by these products.

Selection Criteria

    In general, all applications will be reviewed in terms of their 
demonstrated past, present and potential ability to develop document 
Effective Community-Based Approach For Dealing with Missing and 
Exploited Children and develop curriculum as described in this 
solicitation. The experience and knowledge involved for delivery of 
product is, of course, a vital criteria for selection.
    All applicants will be evaluated and rated based on the extent to 
which they meet the following criteria:
    1. Organizational and programmatic capability must be demonstrated. 
The project management structure must be adequate for the successful 
conduct of the project. The applicant must have demonstrated Title IV 
experience and program management and information technology 
capabilities and experience and capabilities in the areas described and 
defined throughout this solicitation; experience working with the 
various missing children issue groups and agencies at the national, 
state, municipal, community, individual levels, and international 
levels; providing technical assistance, training and information 
products related to [[Page 1981]] missing and exploited children; and 
promoting the development of professional approaches to missing 
children issues; and the relevant experience of applicant's staff in 
the missing children issues and their capabilities to address the 
perceived program needs. Fiscal integrity and organizational stability 
must be demonstrated over time. (25 points)
    2. The applicant must have demonstrated understanding of an 
approach to implementing the program objectives of organizing, 
providing and maintaining the high level service delivery demands of 
solicitation. (25 points)
    3. The qualifications of staff members identified to manage and 
implement the program, including consultants, must be adequate for the 
successful implementation of the objectives. (40 points)
    4. The applicant must provide a sound and fully-justified budget 
that is cost effective to the service provided. The proposed costs must 
be complete, appropriate, and reasonable to the activities of the 
project. All costs should be fully justified in a budget narrative or 
with other supporting documentation. (10 points)

Award Period

    The project period for the cooperative agreement supporting the 
Effective Community-Based Approaches for Dealing with Missing and 
Exploited Children Grant is three (3) years. One cooperative agreement 
will be awarded with an initial budget period of 18 months.

Award Amount

    Up to $250,000 has been allocated for the initial budget period. 
Commensurate financial support for the remaining project budget period 
will be determined by the performance of the grantee, program 
development needs as determined by OJJDP, and the availability of 
funds.

Submission of Application

    Applicants must submit the original, signed application (Standard 
Form 424) and two unbound copies to OJJDP. Application forms and 
supplementary information will be provided upon request for the 
Application Kit. Potential applicants should review the OJJDP Peer 
Review Guideline and the OJJDP Competition and Peer Review Procedures. 
These documents will be provided in the Application Kit.

Bibliography for Grant Programs

    National Incidence Studies on Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and 
Thrownaway Children in America (NISMART), Office of Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention. Report issued in 1990.
    Obstacles to the Recovery and Return of Parentally Abducted 
Children, a study by the ABA Center on Children and the Law, funded by 
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1993.
    Families of Missing Children: Psychological Consequences, a study 
by the Center for the Study of Trauma, University of California at San 
Francisco, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention. Final report to be published.
    The Reunification of Missing Children Project, a study by the 
Center for the Study of Trauma, University of California at San 
Francisco, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention. Final report unpublished.
    Law Enforcement Policies and Practices Regarding Missing Children 
and Homeless Youth, a study by Research Triangle Institute, funded by 
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1993.
    Title IV Missing and Exploited Children's Program Long Range Plan 
and FY 95 Program Priorities; Notice, Federal Register, October 12, 
1994.
John J. Wilson,
Deputy Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 95-249 Filed 1-4-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P