Law Enforcement Grant Application Instructions
Application Instructions
Project Application Tips
Organize goals and objectives. Make sure objectives are measurable and viable.
Use only whole dollar amounts in your budget and be sure to have the financial person who will be working on the project with you look over and verify your proposed budget.
Justify and explain all budget items and calculations in the budget narrative. Example: price per unit x number of units = total price for all units
Double-check budget descriptions to make sure they contain a sufficient level of detail and all figures total correctly.
Questions?
Please read these instructions and the grant application FAQs before contacting staff.
For questions regarding the application or program please contact (Grant Specialist) Drake Brownfield at 303-239-4248 or by e-mail: drake.brownfield@state.co.us.
Application Questions
- Project Name/Project Title: Please be descriptive of the project to be funded and do not label it merely “Wandering Persons Grant Program”. It should be unique to your project and agency.
- Amount Requested: Enter the amount of funding requested in this application.
- Application Point of Contact (Name): Enter the name of the person that will be responsible for this application.
- Organization Information: Enter all requested information for the applicant agency.
- Telephone Number: Enter the telephone number of of the applicant organization.
- Federal Tax ID: Enter the applicant organization's federal tax ID, or Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- CEO/Executive Director* (if N/A, enter Signature Authority): If the applicant agency does not have a CEO/Executive Director, enter the individual that is authorized to enter into a legally binding contract with DCJ.
- Legal Entity Name: If your agency is a DBA (doing business as), the Legal name will be different from the Applicant Agency Name. If your agency is NOT a DBA, then the Applicant Agency Name and Legal Entity name will be the same.
- Legal Entity Physical Address: Street Address, City, State, Zip + 4
- Legal Entity County: Enter the county of your legal entity address.
- Agency Function: Choose your agency’s function from the list:
County
Municipality
Designee
Combination of Counties
Combination of Municipalities
Any combination of counties, municipalities, and designees
- If you selected 'Designee,' please upload proof of designation
- Project Duration: Project Start Date, MM/DD/YYYY
Enter 11/25/2024 or a later date
- Project Duration: Project End Date, MM/DD/YYYY
Enter 06/30/2025 or earlier date
- Confirm Application (Primary) Point of Contact: Applicant Primary Contact Name, Phone, Email: This is the individual who will be contacted during the review period and will be notified of award decisions and next steps. Enter the name, telephone number, and e-mail address.
- Project Officials: Project Director: The project director is the individual who will be in direct charge of the project and must be within the organizational structure of the applicant agency. This should be a person who combines knowledge and experience in the project area with ability in administration and supervision of personnel and will be expected to devote a major portion of his/her time to the project. This person will be required to sign all quarterly reports and other grant forms. Enter salutation, first, last, title, and agency for the project director as well as email and phone (e.g. Ms. Shawnee Smith, Program Coordinator, ABC Company, email, phone)
- Project Officials: Financial Officer: The financial officer is the person who will be responsible for financial matters relating to the project and is in ultimate charge of accounting, management of funds, verification of expenditures, and grant financial reports. Enter salutation, first, last, title, and agency for the project director as well as email and phone (e.g. Mr. Shawn Smith, Senior Accountant, ABC Accounting Services, email, phone)
- Signature Authority Name: This is the individual authorized to enter into binding commitments on behalf of the applicant agency. For local units of government, this will normally be a city manager, mayor, district attorney, and/or the chair of the county commission. At the state level, this individual will be a department or division head. Enter salutation, first, last, title, agency, as well as email and phone (e.g. Ms. Jane Austen, County Commissioner Chair, ABC Company).
- Prior Persons Who Wander funding
Has your organization received funding under the CBI's Persons Who Wander grant program in prior grant fiscal cycles, i.e. state fiscal years 2022, 2023, or 2024?
- If you answered, "Yes," to the previous question, how did your organization use that funding? If available, please provide statistics for usage of grant-funded equipment in any recovery efforts.
Mark N/A if you answered, "No," to the previous question. The statistics referenced are those tied to the usage of recovery equipment procured under the CBI's Persons Who Wander grant program, 2022-Present.
- Project Summary: When read separately from the rest of the application, this summary should serve as a succinct and accurate description of the proposed work. This will be used for publication and reporting purposes.
- Project Description: Describe your project that will be funded with a grant award in further detail. This description should include a statement explaining your needs using local information and data if available. Applicants must provide enough detail within this application for a reader to fully understand what the project is, what it will be doing, and how it will impact the described problem.
- Eligible Activities: Does your project include any of the following activities? Select all that apply.
Equipment costs
Training of search personnel
Outreach about recovery programs for persons who wander
Any other costs required to implement or maintain a recovery program
- How many people in your jurisdiction are at risk of wandering?
Provide an estimate of the number of people who are at risk of wandering and might qualify for assistance, i.e. the prevalence of people who are at risk of wandering and might qualify for assistance in the community covered by the recovery program for persons who wander. Add link to any data resources.
- What collaborative efforts does your organization pursue?
Describe collaborative efforts with caregivers and organizations who provide services to individuals with medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, autism, brain injury, or developmental, cognitive, neurological, or chromosomal disorders that may cause them to wander
- How will your organization inform family members of those who wander about wander prevention and response?
Describe how information will be provided to any family member of a participant in a recovery program for persons who wander about wandering, how to prevent wandering, and how to respond to wandering.
- How many search and rescues were initiated or completed in the previous calendar year?
- Evaluation or Analysis Component
If your project entails an evaluation or analysis component, describe what would be included.
Goals and Outcomes: These are the elements against which the project will be evaluated and which will be used to report quarterly and final progress. Using the format below; provide project/program goal(s), outcomes, measurement, and timeframe.
Goals: Goals are logical, sensible, clearly written and directly tied to the project.
Write one or more goals you will focus on this project. Goals are broad statements (i.e., written in general terms) that convey a project's overall intent to change, reduce, or eliminate the problem described.
Outcomes: Outcomes are how you intend to reach your goal and include the strategies you will use to get there. Strategies include both process and output.
Please write at least one measurable outcome for each goal. Outcome statements should include:
- The specific type of change or improvement that will occur
- The number or percent of individuals impacted (where appropriate)
- The expected magnitude, on average, of the expected change
Measurement: Include measures that will sufficiently document any change that occurs.
Timeframe: The expected date in which the objective will be completed.
Personnel
Budget Narrative and Justification: Explain how the salary and fringe benefit rates for this position were determined. An explanation and justification are required if the budget is not for an entry-level position. If the salary is expected to increase during the project year, indicate the percentage of the increase, and the months covered by the increase, and justify it. Be sure that the scheduled salary increase has been included in the annual base salary row, and that the proposed annual base salary is one that is paid for equivalent positions and employee qualifications in your area.
Each position must be listed separately and be accompanied by a description that provides justification for the amount requested and details the basis for determining the cost of each position. For each position, explain how the salary and fringe benefit rates were determined. OT = Overtime
Personnel: This budget category should be used when employees are positions within the applicant agency and the implementing agency is a division (under the same unit of government) of the applicant agency.
The Personnel Budget should consider overtime, time needed to acquire new staff, and changing demands for personnel during the course of the project. If the implementing agency is contracted by the applicant agency (i.e., non-profit organization), these costs should be included in Consultants/Contracts (Professional Services).
Position Title and Name: Add each position by title and name of employee, if available; if two individuals have the same title, list it twice.
Form Instructions:
1. Download the file into Microsoft Excel by selecting File → Download → Microsoft Excel
2. Category Column: Using the drop down menu, select the appropriate budget category (Personnel Services, Supplies & Operating, Equipment, Travel, or Consultants/Contracts)
3. Item Description: Enter a brief, specific description of the item. For example, "Project Manager Salary" or "Office Supplies"
4. Quantity: Enter the Quantity. This should be a numerical value only
5. Unit Cost: Enter the cost per single unit of the item. This should be a numerical value.
6. Total Cost = This is an auto calculated column which should reflect the Quantity multiplied by the Unit Cost.
7. Justification = Provide a brief explanation of why the item is necessary for the project. For example, 'Supports data collection and analysis' or 'For presentations and workshops'.
8. Upload the saved excel Budget Workbook to the Google Form
Non-Personnel
Budget Narrative and Justification: The applicant must provide a justification and explanation of the budget items listed in each Budget Category, as well as detailing the basis for determining the cost of each item. Failure to justify and explain/show calculations could result in denial of funding.
Describe the criteria used to compute budget figures. All budget figures should be justified and explained. The budget narrative should show the relationship between budget figures and proposed project operations. For example, if this is a training project, explanation of the Consultants/Contracts budget category amount should include an explanation of the need for consultants to provide the training and the hourly cost of the services to be provided.
CBI recognizes that governments are constantly faced with the challenges of limited resources. It is important that you describe how maximizing resources will be accomplished and that this project is not duplicating services.
Supplies and Operating: Add expendable or non-durable items within this category by major type [e.g., office supplies, laptops, software (regardless of cost), telephone, postage, vehicle gas, leases, etc.,] and show the basis for computation: “X” dollars per month for office supplies, 2 laptops at “X” dollars each.
NOTE: Vehicle gas, leases, and maintenance on the project- or government-owned vehicles are operating expenses not travel. These types of costs must be shown in the Supplies and Operating category.
Large items should be listed and justified (e.g., unusual supply items, software, special printing, etc.)
Items with a per unit cost of less than $5,000 are considered supplies and should be listed in this category. Items costing $5,000 or more should be listed under Equipment (see D below). If software is being purchased, regardless of the price, it belongs in the Supplies and Operating category. If custom development of software is contracted out, it is subject to prior approval by OAJJA and should be shown in the Consultants/Contracts (Professional Services) Budget. All purchases should be made through competitive bid, state or local award, or established purchasing/procurement procedures.
Budget Narrative and Justification: Explain how the cost of each item was determined and justify the need for the item.
Travel: Add mileage expenses for project personnel by purpose and show basis for computation. Indicate if the travel is in-state or out-of-state.
Out-of-state travel is discouraged and needs to be thoroughly justified and tied to the project goals and objectives.
Where a jurisdiction has an established travel policy, those rates may be used. Otherwise, state travel rates are the maximum allowed.
Mileage: Allowable State travel rates for mileage are $0.56/mile for 2WD and $0.59/mile for 4WD.
Lodging: In-state is the actual cost of reasonable accommodations. However, lodging costs in excess of $96.00 must have prior approval of the Project Director. Out-of-state costs should be federal GSA rates, and reasonable.
Meals: Exceptions to the following rates are available from the DCJ for higher-cost metropolitan areas.
In-State
Rates per Meal:
Breakfast - $13.00
Lunch - $15.00
Dinner - $26.00
Total per diem: $59.00
Incidentals: $5.00
NOTE: Tuition and registration fees (even if they include lodging and/or subsistence), vehicle gas, leases, and maintenance on the project- or government-owned vehicles are operating expenses not travel. These types of costs must be shown in the Supplies and Operating category.
Equipment: Add each item separately, by unit cost. This category should include all items with a unit cost of $5,000 or more and useful life of more than one year. Items not meeting these criteria should be included in the Supplies and Operating category. Equipment must be justified as necessary and not currently available.
If the proposed equipment is to be shared with entities outside this project, the cost should be prorated based upon the percentage of use of the equipment by this project. All equipment must be purchased through competitive bid, state or local award, or established purchasing/procurement procedures.
Consultants/Contracts (Professional Services): *Application must contain a detailed budget and budget narrative for anything listed under Contracted, Consultant and Professional Services. List each consultant, contractor, or type of service with the proposed fee (by eight-hour day or hourly rate). If the applicant agency is contracting with an outside agency to conduct the day-to-day operations of the project, the total cost should be in Consultants/Contracts (Professional Services).
Rates (honoraria are not an allowable expense) for individual professional services must be based on an hourly rate (including preparation and travel time), and must have explicit, separate prior approval from DCJ. Rates for individual consultants/contractors cannot exceed $650 per day or $81.25 per hour. Justification is required to establish a “usual” or “going rate” for similar services. Some consultants/contractors provide services at a flat rate rather than an hourly rate. If that is the case, identify the service to be provided, including all covered expenses such as travel, and the rate for each “unit” of service. Contact DCJ if you have questions.
Professional services should be procured competitively. Sole source contracts must be justified and must have specific prior written approval from DCJ before execution of any contract, separate from approval to fund the project.
Budget Narrative and Justification: Explain why proposed consultant/contract services cannot or should not be provided by project staff. Explain how the hourly rate or flat rate was determined. For each consulting organization added, indicate the number of people to be assigned to the project, number of hours per person per day to be spent on the project, and a breakdown of the contract price by major cost item (i.e., supplies, rent, equipment, travel, contracted services)
Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are costs of an organization that are not readily assignable to a particular project, but are necessary to the operation of the organization and the performance of the project. Examples of costs usually treated as indirect include those incurred for facility operation and maintenance, depreciation, and administrative salaries. Indirect costs must be applied uniformly and consistently within the applicant organization (i.e. you can not claim the modified total direct cost on one application and a federally negotiated rate on another.
Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate (NICR): If the applicant agency has an existing NICR, you may request up to the approved rate. Attach your NICR to the Documents tab.
If the applicant meets any of the two requirements below, they are eligible to request indirect costs at the approved rate.
Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) de minimis: If the applicant has never received a federal negotiated indirect cost rate, and is not required to have a federal negotiated indirect cost rate, they are eligible to request the "de minimis" rate which is 10% of the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC).
When using this method, cost must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs, but may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both.
What is the Modified Total Direct Cost, or MTDC?
- This base includes all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and subawards up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award).
- MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs, and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs.