[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 64 (Friday, April 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17451-17453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7423]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services


FY 2004 Community Policing Discretionary Grants

AGENCY: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Department of 
Justice.

ACTION: Notice of funding availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services (COPS) announces the availability of the COPS in 
Schools grant program, which will assist law enforcement agencies in 
hiring new, additional School Resource Officers (SROs) to engage in 
community policing in and around primary and secondary schools. This 
program provides an incentive for law enforcement agencies to build 
collaborative partnerships with the school community and to use 
community policing efforts to combat

[[Page 17452]]

school violence. The School Resource Officer must devote at least 75% 
of their time to work in and around primary and secondary schools, in 
addition to the time that your agency was devoting in the absence of 
the COPS in Schools grant.
    The COPS in Schools program provides a maximum federal contribution 
of up to $125,000 per officer position over the three-year grant 
period, with any remaining costs to be paid with local funds. Officers 
paid with COPS in Schools funding can only be hired on or after the 
grant award start date. In addition, all jurisdictions that apply must 
demonstrate that they have primary law enforcement authority over the 
school(s) identified in their application and demonstrate their 
inability to implement this project without federal assistance.

DATES: There will be one application deadline for the COPS in Schools 
(CIS) program in 2004: May 17, 2004. All applications must be 
postmarked on or before the final deadline date of May 17, 2004 to be 
considered for funding. All grant awards are subject to the 
availability of funding. Previous editions of the COPS in Schools 
application developed prior to March of 2004 will not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the CIS 2004 Application Kit please call 
the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 1 (800) 421-6770 or 
visit the COPS Web site at http://www.cops.usdoj.gov. or http://www.grants.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact the U.S. Department of 
Justice Response Center at 1 (800) 421-6770 or your COPS Grant Program 
Specialist. Additional information on the COPS in Schools program and 
the COPS Office in general is also available on the COPS Web site at: 
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Overview

    The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 
103-322) authorizes the Department of Justice to make grants to 
increase deployment of law enforcement officers to increase or enhance 
community policing in this nation. Many communities are discovering 
that trained, sworn law enforcement officers assigned to schools play 
an integral part in the development and/or enhancement of a 
comprehensive school safety plan. The presence of these officers 
provides schools with a direct link to local law enforcement agencies. 
School Resource Officers (SROs) may serve in a variety of roles 
including, but not limited to, that of a law enforcement officer/safety 
specialist, law-related educator, and problem solver/community liaison. 
These officers may teach programs such as crime prevention, substance 
abuse prevention, and gang resistance as well as monitor and assist 
troubled students through mentoring programs. The School Resource 
Officer(s) may also identify physical changes in the environment that 
may reduce crime in and around the schools, as well as assist in 
developing school policies which address criminal activity and school 
safety.
    COPS in Schools funding must be used to hire new, additional School 
Resource Officers, over and above the overall number of sworn officers 
that your agency would fund with state or local funds in the absence of 
the grant (including other School Resource Officers). Your agency may 
not reduce its overall state, locally-funded or Bureau of Indian 
Affairs funded level of sworn officers (including other School Resource 
Officers or other sworn officers assigned to the schools) as a result 
of applying for or receiving COPS in Schools grant funding. In 
addition, your agency may not reduce the number of SRO's or other sworn 
officers assigned to schools as a result of applying for or receiving 
COPS in Schools grant funding. For example, agencies currently 
employing one locally-funded School Resource Officer (or any other 
officer assigned to the school) that are awarded a School Resource 
Officer under the COPS in Schools program should thereafter employ two 
School Resource Officers (one locally-funded and one COPS-funded). COPS 
in Schools funding may be used to rehire sworn officers previously 
employed by your agency who have been laid off for financial reasons 
unrelated to the availability of the COPS in Schools grant, but your 
agency must obtain prior written approval from the COPS Office.
    At the time of application, all applicants must agree to plan for 
the retention of each COPS-funded COPS in Schools position awarded at 
the conclusion of Federal funding for at least one full local budget 
cycle with local, State or other non-COPS funding. The application must 
also include a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by the law 
enforcement executive and the appropriate school official(s), to 
document the roles and responsibilities to be undertaken by the law 
enforcement agency and the educational school partner(s) through this 
collaborative effort. The application must also include a Narrative 
Addendum to document that the School Resource Officer(s) will be 
assigned to work in and around primary or secondary schools and provide 
supporting documentation in the following areas: problem identification 
and justification, community policing strategies to be used by the 
officers, quality and level of commitment to the effort, and the link 
to community policing.
    All agencies receiving awards through the COPS in Schools program 
are required to send the officer(s) deployed into the School Resource 
Officer position(s) as a result of this grant, and one individual 
designated as the School Representative under the grant program, to 
attend one COPS in Schools Training. The COPS Office will reimburse 
grantees for training, per diem, travel, and lodging costs for 
attendance of required participants up to a maximum of $1,200 per 
person attending. Should your agency receive a COPS in Schools grant, 
your agency will receive additional training information following 
notification of the grant award. The COPS in Schools training 
requirement must be completed prior to the end of your 36 months of 
grant funding for officer positions.
    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) reference for 
this program is 16.710.

    Dated: March 19, 2004.
Carl Peed,
Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Government-Wide Grants.gov Project for Electronic Submission of 
Applications

    To comply with the President's Management Agenda, the Department is 
participating as a partner in the new government-wide Grants.gov Apply 
site in FY 2004. The COPS in Schools grant program 16.710 is one of the 
programs included in the project. If you are an applicant under the 
COPS in Schools grant program, you may submit your application to us in 
either electronic or paper format.
    The project involves the use of the Grants.gov Apply site. Users of 
Grants.gov will be able to download a copy of the application package, 
complete it off line, and then upload and submit the application via 
the Grants.gov site. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant 
application to us. We request your participation in Grants.gov.
    When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find information about 
submitting an application electronically through the site as well as 
the hours of

[[Page 17453]]

operation. We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the 
application deadline date to begin the application process through 
Grants.gov.
     To use Grants.gov, applicants must have a DUNS 
number and register in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). You 
should allow a minimum of 5 days to complete the CCR registration.
     You may submit all documents electronically, 
including all information typically included on the Application for 
Federal Education Assistance, Budget Information--Non-Construction 
Programs), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
     Your application must comply with any page limit 
requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your 
application, you will receive an automatic acknowledgement from 
Grants.gov that contains a Grants.gov tracking number.
     We may request that you give us original 
signatures on forms at a later date.
     If you experience technical difficulties on the 
closing date and are unable to meet the May 17, 2004 (Washington, DC 
time) deadline, print out your application and follow the application 
transmittal instructions included in the application package.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the COPS in 
Schools Grant Program at: http://www.grants.gov.
    Please note that you must locate the downloadable application 
package for this program by the CFDA Number or FedGrants Funding 
Opportunity Number, which can be found at http://www.fedgrants.gov.

[FR Doc. 04-7423 Filed 4-1-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-AT-M