December 2006
In This Issue
Fiscal Year 2007 Federal Budget
During the second lame-duck session since the November elections, the Congress passed its third
continuing resolution (CR), which was signed by President Bush on December 9, to continue current
funding levels through February 15, 2007, leaving the 9 remaining FY 2007 appropriations bills
unfinished.
On December 11th, Congressman David Obey (D-WI) and Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), incoming chairmen
of the House and Senate appropriations committees, issued a press release saying that they would not
attempt to pass the FY 2007 spending bills not passed by the 109th Congress, but instead intend
to pass a continuing resolution for the remainder of FY 2007 shortly after the 110th Congress
convenes on January 4th. With the exception of "limited adjustments ... to address the nation's most
important policy concerns," Obey and Byrd will recommend funding agencies at their current FY 2006
levels.
They also said they would place a moratorium on all earmarks for FY 2007 until lobbying changes are
enacted. The unfinished bills account for about $463 billion in annual spending and include just
about every domestic program other than defense and homeland security.
Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization
As reported in the
October issue
of 'Advocacy Funding Fact$,
the House of Representatives approved the reauthorization of the Ryan White AIDS program,
by quickly passing HR 6143 (The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act). However,
during the last week of September, a vote on the reauthorization in the Senate was blocked by
senators from states that would be hurt by the new funding formula in the bill
(Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York).
In the very last days of the lame duck session in December, the staff of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
put together a compromise bill that would reauthorize current programs for another three years
(until October 1, 2009), provide a modest increase in funding for AIDS drugs, and set the stage
for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the domestic AIDS infrastructure in the new Congress. The compromise
also includes "hold harmless" provisions that guarantee states will receive at least 95% of current
federal funding over the next three years, and a freeze on implementation of a new "severity of need"
index. The index would have led to big cuts in federal funding to states that contribute their own money
towards AIDS care.
The compromise measure passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Wednesday, December 6, and in the
early morning hours of Saturday, December 9, the House agreed to the Senate amendments without
objection. It has now been sent to President Bush for his signature.
The reauthorization includes a new provision that would restrict the amount of Ryan White funding
that could be used for support services. Grantees would be required to spend at least 75 percent of
their Ryan White funds for "core medical services," with the remaining 25 percent to be used for
support services needed to achieve medical outcomes. This limitation on funding for support services
will likely accelerate the decline in Ryan White funds that jurisdictions have been allocating for
legal services in recent years.
Federal Funding Opportunities
- FY 2007 Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program
http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/docs/lav2007.pdf
Deadline: January 10, 2007 for required online registration at Grants.gov;
January 24, 2007 application deadline
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the availability of funds for Legal Assistance for
Victims (LAV) of domestic violence, through its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). OVW expects to award approximately
90 grants totaling $40 million. The LAV Grant Program is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal
legal assistance necessary to provide effective aid to adult and youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault who are seeking relief in legal matters arising as a consequence of that abuse or violence.
The LAV Program awards grants to law school legal clinics, domestic violence victims’ shelters, bar associations,
sexual assault programs, private nonprofit entities, Indian tribal governments and tribal organizations, territorial
organizations, legal aid or statewide legal services, and faith and/or community-based legal service providers.
These grants are for providing direct legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault,
and stalking in matters arising from the abuse or violence and to provide enhanced training for lawyers representing
these victims. The objective of the LAV Program is to develop innovative, collaborative projects that provide quality
representation to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
The award period for new and continuation grants will be 24 months. Only FY 2005 grantees, previously unsuccessful applicants, new applicants, and FY 2006 grantees that received a
one-year award are eligible to apply for FY 2007 funding. Recipients of FY 2006 funding who received 24 month awards are
not eligible to apply regardless of whether they propose services for a different geographical area. Current grantees
are eligible for supplemental or continuation funding to support on-going activities or to enhance those activities for
an extended period of time. Applications for continuation funding will be considered based on their current funding
level. There is a possibility that continuation applicants will experience a gap in funding, even if selected for a FY 2007 award.
The competition for LAV funding has grown dramatically
in recent years, while the amount available has remained relatively stagnant. Continuation or supplemental funding
is not guaranteed. Even well established legal services
programs that have submitted solid applications for continued LAV funding in the past have not received successive
awards.
All applicants who intend to apply for FY 2007 funding under this program are encouraged to submit a non-binding letter
of intent to OVW by Wednesday, January 10, 2007.
Click here
to view OVW’s sample letter of intent.
- FY 2007 Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders
http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/docs/arrest_fy07_draft.pdf
Deadline: January 23, 2007 for required online registration at Grants.gov;
February 7, 2007 application deadline
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the availability of funds for Grants to Encourage Arrest
Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders (the Arrest program) through its Office on Violence
Against Women (OVW). OVW expects to award approximately 100 grants totaling $60 million under this program.
Funding of Family Justice Centers (FJCs) was added as a purpose area for the Arrest program
as part of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2005. New and existing FJCs can apply
for funding under the Arrest Program as long as they meet the eligibility requirements and their
proposed activities fall within the realm of the Arrest program. If awarded, OVW would not consider
these grants continuation funding under the FJC Initiative, but rather the site would be considered a new recipient
of Arrest funding.
The eligible applicants for the Arrest program are: Native American tribal governments, City or
township governments, County governments, State governments and state, tribal, territorial and local
courts.
- FY 2007 Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Child Abuse
Enforcement Assistance Program
http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/docs/rural_2007.pdf
Deadline: January 30, 2007 for required online registration at Grants.gov;
February 15, 2007 application deadline
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the availability of funds for the Rural Domestic Violence Program
through its Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). OVW expects to award approximately 70 grants under this program.
The primary purpose of the Rural Program is to enhance the safety of victims of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, stalking, and child victimization by supporting projects uniquely designed to address and prevent
these crimes in rural jurisdictions. The Rural Program recognizes that victims of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, stalking and child abuse living in rural jurisdictions face unique barriers to receiving assistance and
additional challenges rarely encountered in urban areas. The geographic isolation, economic structure, particularly
strong social and cultural pressures, and lack of available services in rural jurisdictions significantly compound the
problems confronted by those seeking support and services to end the violence in their lives and complicate the ability
of the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault,
stalking, and child victimization cases.
Eligible entities for this program are states, Indian tribes, local governments, and nonprofit, public or private
entities, including tribal nonprofit organizations, to carry out programs serving rural areas or rural communities.
Applicants not located in rural states, or not serving rural areas or communities in non-rural states, will not be
considered for funding. The following states are designated as "rural" based on the 2000 census: Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon,
South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming. To determine if the proposed services will reach an eligible rural area or
community, visit
http://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/funding/eligibilitytestV2.asp
. By statute, at least 75 percent of the
total amount of funding made available for this program must be allocated to eligible entities in rural states.
The scope of the Rural Program is defined by statutory purpose areas and strategies. Proposed projects must implement
activities consistent with the statutory purpose areas and strategies listed at 42 U.S.C. Section 13971.
All applicants who intend to apply for FY 2007 funding under this program are encouraged to submit a non-binding letter
of intent to OVW by Tuesday, January 30, 2007.
Click here
to view OVW’s sample letter of intent.
Private Foundation Funding
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Fresh Ideas: Improving the Health of Immigrant and Refugee Communities
http://www.rwjf.org/applications/solicited/cfp.jsp?ID=19480&c=EMC-FA144
Deadline: January 15, 2007
Fresh Ideas: Improving the Health of Immigrant and Refugee Communities, an initiative of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, provides support to new community-based approaches to health problems faced
by immigrants and refugees. Projects that address the following issues will be considered: how health
and social systems can accommodate the unique needs of changing immigrant and refugee populations;
how communities can engage in helping immigrants and refugees maintain and improve their health; and
what strategies can overcome barriers that immigrants and refugees face when trying to access health
and social services. To be considered, proposals must address ways for improving the health of new
residents by linking how social factors (language skills, significant cultural differences, poor
education, and poverty) affect health outcomes.
The foundation is especially interested in providing support to organizations outside the formal
network of health care providers, such as grassroots organizations, faith-based organizations and
advocacy organizations, rather than traditional providers, such as hospitals and medical clinics.
They anticipate reviewing groups of proposals several times in 2007. Although he first review deadline
is January 15, 2007, they intend to re-post this call for proposals immediately after the January 15
review deadline. At that point, the criteria for proposals may remain the same, or they may change,
based on the proposals received in the first round.
- Partnerships in Law and Aging Program
http://www.abanet.org/aging
Deadline: March 1, 2007
The ABA Commission on Law and Aging and the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation Center on Law and
Aging co-sponsor the Partnerships in Law and Aging Program, with additional funding from the Marie
Walsh Sharpe Endowment of the ABA Fund for Justice and Education. The program is designed to
encourage new, collaborative, community-based projects to enhance the legal awareness of older
persons and to improve their access to the legal system.
This year, the program offers two separate funding opportunities:
- Original Award for Community Identified Need: The program will award eight 12-month
grants of $7,500 to projects that meet program objectives and address an issue identified by
the applicant.
- Special Initiative: The program will award two 18-month grants of $15,000 to
projects that meet overall program objectives and that develop and implement an Interdisciplinary
Guardianship Committee.
Applicants may apply under one or both categories, but must submit separate applications, including
separate cover sheets and letters of commitment.
- Fannie Mae Foundation Suspends Grant Awards
http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org
The Fannie Mae Foundation has suspended its competitive grant awards, eliminating
support for a wide variety of funding priorities. It normally opened its competitions at the
beginning of the year. There is no word on when the foundation may reopen its competitions.
Click here to view other recent issues of Advocacy Funding Fact$.
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