[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 25, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38742-38746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18584]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

[OJP(OJJDP)-1324]


Program Announcement for Missing and Exploited Children Nonprofit 
Organizations and Family Support Program

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

ACTION: Notice of solicitation.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
(OJJDP), pursuant to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
(JJDP) Act of 1974, as amended, section 405(a), 42 U.S.C. 5776, 
requires the Administrator of OJJDP to make grants to and enter into 
contracts with public agencies or nonprofit private organizations to 
support research, demonstration, or service programs designed to 
educate parents, children, and community agencies in ways to prevent 
the abduction and sexual exploitation of children, to provide 
information to assist in the location and return of missing children, 
and to aid

[[Page 38743]]

communities in the collection of materials which would be useful to 
parents in assisting others in the identification of missing children. 
OJJDP is publishing this program announcement to request applications 
for a competitive discretionary grant program, the Missing and 
Exploited Children Nonprofit Organizations and Family Support Program.
    The purpose of the Missing and Exploited Children Nonprofit 
Organizations and Family Support Program is to improve, at the State 
and local levels, the quality, availability, and coordination of 
services provided to missing and exploited children and their families 
and to improve the capacity and capabilities of missing children 
nonprofit organizations. Until now, little attention has been given to 
the need to coordinate with local service providers and expand services 
for children and their families. There is currently no network of 
screened and trained volunteers to provide specialized assistance and 
advice to parents searching for their children. Furthermore, there are 
few agencies that are trained or equipped to provide mentoring services 
to families whose children have been abducted or illegally detained in 
a foreign country. Federal assistance is urgently needed to coordinate 
and assist in this problem.

DATES: Applications must be received by 5 p.m. ET on August 24, 2001.

ADDRESSES: All application packages should be mailed or delivered to 
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, c/o Juvenile 
Justice Resource Center, 2277 Research Boulevard, Mail Stop 2K, 
Rockville, MD 20850; 301-519-5535. Faxed or e-mailed applications will 
not be accepted. Interested applicants can obtain the OJJDP Application 
Kit from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-8736. The 
Application Kit is also available at OJJDP's Web site at 
www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/grants/2000_app_kit/index.html. (See ``Format'' in 
this program announcement for instructions on application standards.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald C. Laney, Director, Child 
Protection Division, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention, 202-616-3637. [This is not a toll-free number.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose

    To provide ongoing oversight, support, and assistance to missing 
and exploited children nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to improve the 
quality of services for missing and exploited children and their 
families and to provide ongoing support and one-on-one assistance to 
families of children who have been exploited or abducted or who are 
otherwise missing.

Background

    In 1984, Congress enacted Title IV of the JJDP Act, the Missing 
Children's Assistance Act, section 402, 42 U.S.C. 5771 et seq., which 
found that each year thousands of children are abducted or removed from 
the control of a parent having legal custody without such parent's 
consent, under circumstances that immediately put them in grave danger. 
Many of these children are never reunited with their families, are at 
great risk or both physical harm and sexual exploitation, and in many 
cases, parents and local law enforcement have neither the resources nor 
the expertise to mount expanded search efforts. Frequently, law 
enforcement quickly exhausts all leads in missing children cases and 
requires assistance from communities in which the child may be located.
    For the purposes of the JJDP Act, the term ``missing children'' 
refers to children who have been abducted by either a family or non-
family member and includes children who have been abducted within the 
United States and those who have been abducted from the United States 
and taken to or illegally retained in a foreign country. The term 
``child exploitation'' refers to any criminal activity that focuses on 
children as sexual objects and includes child abuse, child pornography, 
and prostitution.
    Title IV of the JJDP Act established the Missing and Exploited 
Children's Program (MECP) within OJJDP. Under MECP, OJJDP is 
responsible for coordinating Federal missing and exploited children 
activities, providing a national resource center and clearinghouse, and 
supporting research, training, technical assistance, and demonstration 
programs to enhance overall response to missing children and their 
families. OJJDP's MECP has made significant advances in the course of 
meeting its responsibilities to provide services to children, parents, 
educators, prosecutors, and interested persons working on child safety 
issues.
    For purposes of this solicitation, OJJDP proposes to continue its 
concentration on programs that are national in scope and that promote 
awareness of and enhance the Nation's response to missing and exploited 
children and their families. This solicitation conforms to Title IV, 
Missing Children's Act provisions as they are applied through the JJDP 
Act.
    Since its inception, OJJDP's MECP has supported an aggressive 
program of research and program development focusing on issues related 
to missing, exploited, and abducted children. In 1984, the National 
Resource Center and Clearinghouse on Missing Children was established 
under the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). 
Since that time, OJJDP has funded the design, development, and 
implementation of numerous model projects, approaches, and 
demonstration efforts that address missing and exploited children 
issues.
    OJJDP has made a concerted effort to solicit input from the field 
about needs, issues, and concerns related to missing and exploited 
children. In FY's 1994 and 2001, OJJDP conducted a series of focus 
groups consisting of victim parents; staff from Federal, State, and 
local agencies; and representatives of national, State, and local 
nonprofit organizations. Participants identified program priorities and 
gaps in services that required action by OJJDP. One of the outcomes of 
this process was the recognition that parents of missing children often 
do not receive the critical support or assistance needed in their time 
of crisis. In response to this concern, OJJDP--in collaboration with 
victim parents--developed a publication for parents, When Your Child Is 
Missing: A Family Survival Guide, and funded a parent-to-parent 
mentoring program to provide intense and immediate services and support 
to families of missing children.
    Additionally, OJJDP has funded research projects to improve the 
understanding of missing and exploited children issues and improve the 
handling and response to these issues. The National Incidence Studies 
of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children in America 
(NISMART) (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1990) 
was the first national study to provide reliable data about the numbers 
and types of missing child cases and clarify the types of cases and 
situations that make up the ``missing children'' population. Results of 
the second NISMART study, which will be released later this year, will 
provide more up-to-date critical information about the dynamics of 
missing child cases, the psychological impact of abduction on children 
and families, and the aftermath of abduction when a missing child comes 
home. (See Hanson, 2000.)
    Since 1975, missing and exploited children NPOs have been 
established throughout the country to provide

[[Page 38744]]

services and support to children who have been victimized or who are 
missing and to their families. Today it is estimated that there are 
approximately 100 missing and exploited children NPOs. Although the 
existence of these NPOs spurred increased services for families and 
children, there were no mechanisms in place to monitor NPOs to ensure 
the quality and credibility of services.
    In 1994, OJJDP awarded a competitive grant to the National Victims 
Center to develop a national nonprofit organization to help coordinate 
and monitor the activities of NPOs. This program established the 
Association of Missing and Exploited Children Organizations (AMECO). 
Since that time, AMECO has established a process to certify credible 
NPOs; has held annual national conferences to provide training and 
skill building for NPOs and State missing children clearinghouses; and 
has established a system to improve communication and collaboration 
among NPOs, State missing children clearinghouses, law enforcement, 
NCMEC, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
    The award period for the National Victims Center grant ended in 
1995. OJJDP is publishing this program announcement to seek 
applications for continuing the work that has been carried out by AMECO 
over the past 6 years.

Goal

    The goal of the Missing and Exploited Children Nonprofit 
Organizations and Family Support Program is to support a national 
nonprofit association to (1) provide oversight to a minimum of 25 
missing and exploited children NPOs, and (2) develop a mentoring 
program that provides one-on-one support to parents of missing 
children.

Objectives

     To provide management oversight, assistance, and support 
to membership organizations for missing and exploited children NPOs.
     To create a system for certifying credible missing and 
exploited children NPOs in order to ensure that high quality services 
are provided to children and their families.
     To coordinate the activities and services of missing and 
exploited children NPOs nationwide through networking, newsletters, and 
information sharing.
     To serve as a repository of information with the ability 
to operate an Internet Web site including a computer-based system of 
communication to disseminate information to NPOs, families, children, 
law enforcement agencies, and other organizations that serve missing 
and exploited children and their families.
     To expand networking opportunities for missing and 
exploited children NPOs.
     To increase the capacity and skills of missing and 
exploited children NPOs through training and technical assistance.
     To create and publicize a parent-to-parent mentoring 
program for families of missing children.
     To recruit, train, and manage victim parent volunteers to 
serve as mentors.
     To ensure that NPOs collaborate and cooperate with 
Federal, State, and local agencies and other organizations that serve 
missing and exploited children and their families.
     To enhance and improve the ability of missing and abducted 
child serving agencies and organizations to respond to issues related 
to cases of missing and exploited children.

Program Strategy

    One cooperative agreement will be made for a 4-year project period. 
The purpose of this solicitation and resulting cooperative agreement is 
to establish a mechanism for the provision of all technical support 
necessary for the management and delivery of this program. This 
includes program design and administration, program management, and 
fiscal support necessary to sustain those services required for the 
Missing and Exploited Children Nonprofit Organizations and Family 
Support Program.
    The applicant must demonstrate proven experience and capability to 
provide timely, relevant professional program continuity for the 
design, development, delivery, and maintenance of this program. The 
applicant must demonstrate the ability to perform the tasks outlined in 
the ``Objectives'' section above; enlist, train, and manage the 
professional and volunteer staff; and provide continuity of services.
    In addition to addressing the objectives above, the applicant must 
also include in its application a detailed task plan to justify its 
resource allocation (staff and funds) based on the level of effort 
described in this solicitation and develop an efficient and effective 
mechanism for managing the services and activities of this program.

Eligibility Requirements

    OJJDP invites applications from public and private nonprofit 
agencies, organizations, institutions, and individuals. Joint 
applications from two or more eligible applicants are welcome; however, 
one applicant must be clearly indicated as the primary applicant (for 
correspondence, award, and management purposes) and the others 
indicated as coapplicants. In particular, applicants must have strong 
experience in the following areas: (1) Management and oversight of a 
national missing and exploited children NPO organization, (2) 
development and management of a parent mentoring program that uses 
parent volunteers, and (3) national experience and broad recognition in 
administering programs and activities that access resources from 
Federal, State, and local agencies and organizations that serve missing 
and exploited children.
    As outlined in the Missing and Exploited Children Assistance Act of 
1984, as amended (42 U.S.C 5775, section 405), priority will be given 
to applicants who ``have demonstrated or demonstrate ability in (A) 
locating missing children or locating and reuniting missing children 
with their legal custodians; (B) providing other services to missing 
children or their families * * *.'' Additional consideration will be 
given to applicants who ``substantially utilize volunteer assistance.''
    Applications from more than one organization must set forth the 
relationships among the parties. 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 coapplicants. In the event of a coapplicant 
submission, one coapplicant 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 coapplicant. Under this 
arrangement, each organization must agree to be jointly and severally 
responsible for all project funds and services. Each coapplicant must 
sign Standard Form (SF) 424, Application for Federal Assistance,\1\ and 
indicate acceptance of the conditions of joint and several 
responsibility with the other coapplicant.
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    \1\ This form and other required forms can be found in the OJJDP 
Application Kit. To obtain a copy of the Kit, call the Juvenile 
Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-8736 or send an e-mail request to 
[email protected]. The Kit is also available online at 
www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/grants/2000_app_kit/index.html.
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    Applications that include noncompetitive contracts for the 
provision of specific services must include a sole source justification 
for any procurement in excess of $100,000.

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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.

Selection Criteria

    Applicants will be evaluated and rated by a peer review panel 
according to the selection criteria outlined below. The project 
narrative must make clear and logical connections among the components 
listed below. It is further recommended that applications be organized 
and presented in a way that enables application reviewers to evaluate 
the proposal in terms of the selection criteria outlined below.

Issues To Be Addressed (20 Points)

    The application must include a clear and concise discussion of the 
issues related to the management and oversight of services and 
resources for missing and exploited children NPOs and victim parents. 
The applicant must identify and discuss the most important topics that 
will need to be addressed in designing and managing such a program. The 
discussion should reflect the applicant's understanding of the need for 
undertaking this initiative, the anticipated challenges that face the 
Missing and Exploited Children Nonprofit Organizations and Family 
Support Program and ways to address those issues, and the potential 
long-term impact of this program on children, families, and agencies 
and organizations that serve them.

Goals and Objectives (10 Points)

    The applicant must describe how it will address the stated goals 
and each of the objectives outlined in the solicitation. The goals and 
objectives must relate to the issues to be addressed. Any significant 
modification of the stated goals and objectives should be clearly 
justified and the implications of any variation carried through in the 
rest of the proposal. Objectives should specify clearly defined, 
measurable tasks that will enable the applicant to achieve the goals of 
the project.

Project Design (25 Points)

    Applicants must present a well-developed project design that 
clearly delineates specific activities, people and other resources 
involved, and timelines for accomplishing the tasks outlined in the 
``Program Strategy'' section above. The narrative must discuss how and 
when major activities for each task will be accomplished and how these 
tasks will build on each other to reach the project's goals and 
objectives. A time task chart should be included in appendix A of the 
application.

Management and Organizational Capability (35 Points)

    The applicant must include a discussion of how it will coordinate 
and manage the activities of this program in a way that promises to 
achieve the stated goals and objectives. The applicant must clearly 
define the roles and responsibilities of key project staff and 
volunteers or other staff members. The applicant must describe the 
knowledge and experience of key staff relevant to this initiative and 
any organizational experience demonstrating its ability to accomplish 
the project objectives and to work with experts from diverse 
disciplines and perspectives to accomplish a common goal.
    The application must demonstrate fully the required organizational 
and staff experience that qualifies the applicant to deliver technical 
support services as described in this solicitation. Applicants must 
demonstrate, in addition to program knowledge and support experience, 
programmatic and fiscal management capabilities to implement this 
program. The applicant must demonstrate direct experience in the 
following areas: (1) Administering, managing, and overseeing missing 
and exploited children NPOs; (2) recruiting, training, and supervising 
parent volunteers; (3) providing mentoring services and support to 
victim families; (4) working with other national missing and exploited 
children organizations, including NCMEC; (5) developing bylaws, 
charters, and certification procedures for missing and exploited 
children NPOs; (6) managing a national organization serving missing and 
exploited children NPOs; and (7) accessing, coordinating, and linking 
with Federal, State, and local resources for missing and exploited 
children and their families.
    An organizational chart and resumes of proposed staff must be 
included in appendix B.

Budget (10 Points)

    Applicants must provide a proposed budget that is complete, 
detailed, reasonable, allowable, and cost effective in relation to the 
activities to be undertaken during the project period. A detailed 
budget narrative should be included as appendix C and should conform to 
the guidelines in the OJJDP Application Kit. Applications must also 
conform to Federal requirements with respect to travel, equipment, and 
procurement policies.

Format

    A program narrative, not to exceed 30 pages (excluding forms, table 
of contents, project abstract, certificates of confidentiality, 
statement about the coordination of Federal efforts, assurances, and 
appendix) must be submitted on 8\1/2\- by 11-inch paper, double-spaced 
on one side of the paper in a standard 12-point font. The narrative 
should be preceded by a one-page project abstract, which must also be 
submitted on 8\1/2\- by 11-inch paper, double-spaced on one side of the 
paper in a standard 12-point font. The abstract must not exceed 250 
words. The double-spacing requirement applies to all parts of the 
program narrative and the project abstract, including lists, bulleted 
items, tables, and quotes. A table of contents is also required.
    Appendix A must contain the project's timeline with dates for 
initiation and completion of critical project tasks and products. 
Appendix B must contain an organizational chart and resumes of proposed 
staff. Appendix C must contain the detailed budget narrative. Appendix 
D must contain the statement of coordination of Federal efforts.
    These standards are necessary to maintain fair and uniform 
standards among all applicants. If the application does not conform to 
these standards, OJJDP will deem the application ineligible for 
consideration.

Award Period

    This project will be funded for 4 years, in 1-year intervals. 
Funding after this first year depends on performance of the grantee, 
availability of funds, and other criteria established at the time of 
the award.

Award Amount

    Up to $375,000 is available for the first year of this project.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number

    For this program, the CFDA number is 16.543. The CFDA number is 
required on SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. SF-424 is 
included in the OJJDP Application Kit, which can be obtained by calling 
the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-638-8736 or sending an e-mail 
request to [email protected]. The kit is also available online at 
www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/grants/2000_app_kit/index.html.

Coordination of Federal Efforts

    To encourage better coordination among Federal agencies in 
addressing State and local needs, DOJ is requesting applicants to 
provide information on the

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following: (1) Active Federal grant award(s) supporting this or related 
efforts, including awards from DOJ; (2) any pending application(s) for 
Federal funds for this or related efforts; and (3) plans for 
coordinating any funds described in items (1) or (2) with the funding 
sought by this application.
    For each Federal award, applicants must include the program or 
project title, the Federal grantor agency, the amount of the award, and 
a brief description of its purpose. This statement of coordination of 
Federal efforts should be placed in appendix D. Include in appendix E a 
list of authors (by section) of this proposal and indicate whether this 
proposal or portions of it have been submitted to other Federal 
agencies for funding.
    The term ``related efforts'' is defined for these purposes as one 
of the following:
     Efforts for the same purpose (i.e., the proposed award 
would supplement, expand, complement, or continue activities funded 
with other Federal grants).
     Another phase or component of the same program or project 
(e.g., to implement a planning effort funded by other Federal funds or 
to provide a substance abuse treatment or education component within a 
criminal justice project).
     Services of some kind (e.g., technical assistance, 
research, or evaluation) to the program or project described in the 
application.

Delivery Instructions

    All application packages should be mailed or delivered to the 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, c/o Juvenile 
Justice Resource Center, 2277 Research Boulevard, Mail Stop 2K, 
Rockville, Maryland 20850; 301-519-5535. Faxed or e-mailed applications 
will not be accepted.

    Note: In the lower left-hand corner of the envelope, the 
applicant must clearly write ``Missing and Exploited Children 
Nonprofit Organizations and Family Support Program.''

Due Date

    Applicants are responsible for ensuring that the original and five 
copies of the application package are received by 5 p.m. EDT on August 
24, 2001.

Contact

    For further information, contact Ron Laney, Director, Child 
Protection Division, OJJDP, at 202-616-7323, or send an e-mail inquiry 
to [email protected].

References

    Hanson, L. 2000. Second Comprehensive Study of Missing Children. 
Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice 
Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
    Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 1990. 
Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children in America, First 
Report: Numbers and Characteristics, National Incidence Studies. 
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Related Readings

    American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law. 1993. 
Obstacles to the Recovery and Return of Parentally Abducted Children. 
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
    Johnston J.R., and Girdner L. 2001. Family Abductors: Descriptive 
Profiles and Prevention Interventions. Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. 
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

    Dated: July 19, 2001.
John J. Wilson,
Acting Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 01-18584 Filed 7-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P