OpportunityTitle: State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Center, 2013
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: State SACs are the only entities eligible to apply for funds under the SJS program. General applicants must meet the requirements for a SAC as specified in these guidelines.    The applicant SAC must be authorized by state legislation or executive order. The SAC must be a nonpartisan professional organization, serving all branches of the criminal justice system and all levels of government in the state and the general public. Objectivity, independence, and visibility are important considerations in determining its placement in the state government. It is desirable that the SAC not be part of an agency that has line responsibilities in criminal justice programs; if the SAC is located in such an agency (e.g., state police, department of corrections, or administrative office of the courts), special provisions must be made to ensure the SAC&#146;s broad mission, objectivity, independence, and visibility. These provisions must be documented in each application for funding. Examples of such provisions are letters of agreement from agencies that deal with other aspects of criminal justice in the state, or a SAC advisory board that includes policy-level officials of such agencies. The SAC must inform BJS of any substantive changes in these provisions, such as changes in the structure of the advisory board or revisions in the scope of letters of agreement.    Applications for SAC funding must contain an explanation of the placement of the SAC within the state organization structure, including the SAC&#146;s relationship to the governor&apos;s office, to other relevant state agencies, and any other organizations included as recipients of funds in the application. A current list of SAC&#146;s in each state is available at: www.jrsa.org/sac/saclist.html.     The SAC must be staffed by professionals skilled in the application of statistical methods and techniques, including a SAC director whose background includes the education and experience appropriate to the position. SAC staff should be familiar with the factors, issues, and processes involved in crime and the criminal justice system. Each application must identify the SAC director and other key personnel and must provide brief summaries of their qualifications. However, a duplicate qualification summary need not be provided if it was submitted as part of an earlier application. In the case of vacant positions, job descriptions must be provided. If the SAC directorship becomes vacant after an award is made, the recipient agency must notify BJS, and submit the position description and required qualifications to be used in recruiting a replacement. When a replacement is designated, a resume of the individual&apos;s qualifications must be submitted to BJS for approval.    It is permissible for some or all of the work to be performed under the SAC&#146;s overall direction by other persons or organizations, such as other state agencies, universities, nonprofit research firms, and private consultants. If work will be performed outside of the SAC, the application must include the qualifications of those performing the work. A SAC that wishes to apply for funds in cooperation with another organization but lacks the authority to transfer funds to the cooperating organization should contact its BJS state monitor.
Description: This program announcement describes the guidelines and requirements of the FY 2013 State Justice Statistics (SJS) Program for Statistical Analysis Centers (SACs). Since 1972, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and its predecessor agency, the National Criminal Justice Information and Statistics Service, have provided support to state and territorial governments to establish and operate SACs to collect, analyze, and report statistics on crime and justice to federal, state, and local levels of government and to share state-level information nationally. The information produced by SACs and their involvement in criminal justice projects have been, and will continue to be, critical to federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies and community organizations as they develop programs and policies related to crime, illegal drugs, victim services, and the administration of justice. The SJS Program is designed to maintain and enhance each state&#146;s capacity to address criminal justice issues through the collection and analysis of data. The program provides limited funds to coordinate statistical activities within the state, conduct research to estimate the impacts of legislative and policy changes, and serve as a liaison role to assist BJS with gathering data from respondent agencies in their states. Each application for funding under this program must specify the participating organizations in the state and the particular issues to be addressed. Each year, BJS designates specific topics for analysis and encourages applicants to give careful consideration to planning activities that fit within one or more of the designated topics (see section SJS Program Themes). If a SAC does not feel that any of the topics are relevant to its state, then it may identify a topic or statistical activity of critical importance to its jurisdiction. The SJS program themes are selected jointly by BJS, the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), and selected SAC directors. The themes reflect the issues of current concern and significance to criminal justice practitioners. JRSA also plays a role in publishing reports based on SJS themes and organizes an annual conference that helps SACs to share the results from their work. Some SJS funding priorities help build the infrastructure that allows SACs to collect and disseminate information to state, national, and international audiences.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: General Information
GrantorContactText: Cathy Maston &lt;br/&gt;Management and Program Analyst &lt;br/&gt;Phone 2023075992