DOJ Grant Programs Overlap, Contributing to the Risk of Unnecessarily Duplicative Grant Awards for the Same or Similar Purposes

		DOJ’s Grant Solicitations Overlap across 10 Key Justice Areas

We reviewed all 253 of the fiscal year 2010 grant solicitations that OJP,  OVW, and the COPS Office published on their respective websites and  found overlap across 10 justice areas—as table 2 illustrates. Within the justice areas,  a variety of activities—including research, direct service provision, or  technical assistance—can be conducted. For example, 56 of DOJ’s 253 grant solicitations—or more  than 20 percent—were providing grant funds available for activities  related to victim assistance or to support the research and prevention of  violence against women. After reviewing a sample of 26 grant applications from recipients who  received funds from grant programs we identified as having similar  purpose areas, we found instances where applicants used the same or  similar language to apply for multiple streams of funding. For example,  one grant recipient applied for funding to reduce child endangerment  through cyber investigations from both the COPS Office’s Child Sexual   and OJP’s Internet Crimes Against Children  Predator (CSPP) Program(ICAC) program. In both of these applications, the applicant stated that it  planned to use the grants to increase the number of investigations in the  state, provide training for cyber crime investigations, serve as a forensic  resource for the state, and establish an Internet safety program. In a third instance, an applicant received fiscal  year 2010 grant funding for planned sexual assault victim services from  both OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime and OVW. The COPS Office hiring grant awarded to this county was for fiscal year 2009. DOJ Has Taken Actions That Address Overlap in Grant Programs but Could Further Reduce the Risk of Unnecessary Duplication in Grant Funding

		DOJ Has Taken Some Action to Consolidate and Coordinate Similar Grant Programs

According to DOJ officials, the statutory creation of grant programs with  similar purposes requires grant design coordination within and among  DOJ’s granting agencies to limit the risk of unnecessary duplication from  overlapping programs. DOJ Has Not Assessed Its Grant Programs to Identify and Reduce Overlap

Even with efforts to coordinate its programs, DOJ officials told us they  have not conducted a formal assessment or study of their grant programs  to determine if and to what extent they overlap and where opportunities  exist to more consistently pursue consolidation or better coordinate grant  programs. In some instances, DOJ may deem it appropriate for  distinct grant programs to serve the same goal, or for one community or  grantee to benefit from multiple streams of grant funding. For example, if  DOJ granting officials are coordinating their activities across overlapping  grant programs and are aware that a grantee is receiving funds from  more than one DOJ program, making funding decisions of this kind may  be warranted. DOJ Could Benefit from Examining Its Programmatic Grant Monitoring and Assessment Functions and Considering Expansion of OAAM’s Authorities

		OAAM Uses Programmatic Grant Monitoring and Program Assessment for Grant Oversight, but Program Assessments Yield Richer Information

The statute establishing OAAM tasked the OAAM Director with selecting  and carrying out program assessments of not less than 10 percent of the  aggregate amount of grant funding awarded annually by OJP, the COPS  Office, and any other grant programs carried out by DOJ that the Attorney   OAAM officials told us that to meet the  General considers appropriate.directive to conduct program assessments, and in recognition of its own  resource constraints, OAAM relies on the programmatic grant monitoring  that OJP’s and the COPS Office’s grant staff already conduct. According to OAAM officials, additional program assessments would be  beneficial; however, they told us that OAAM does not have sufficient  resources to conduct more. Such assessments could provide OVW with more  substantive information on its grant programs. As part of DOJ’s evaluation of its grant management systems, DOJ  should ensure that it assesses the feasibility, costs, and benefits of  moving to a single grants management system, including the steps  needed to harmonize DOJ grant processes, so that any variation in  how the granting agencies manage their portfolios is not an  encumbrance to potential system unification. To examine the extent to which DOJ has taken steps to reduce overlap in  its grant programs and the potential for unnecessary duplication in grant  awards, we reviewed agency policies, procedures, and guidance on grant  program design and award, such as the COPS Office Program  Development Team charter and template, and the OJP Grant Manager’s  Manual. To analyze the extent to which DOJ uses programmatic grant monitoring  and assessment to determine grant program effectiveness and uses the  results to enhance its grant programs, we analyzed DOJ documentation,  such as assessments DOJ conducted of its own programs and specific  programmatic grant monitoring reports.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since fiscal year 2005, approximately $33 billion has been appropriated to DOJ for the administration of more than 200 federal financial assistance solicitations, such as grants, that support criminal justice activities at the state and local levels. Pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, this report addresses the extent to which (1) overlap exists across DOJ grant programs and if it contributes to the risk of unnecessary duplication in grant awards, (2) DOJ has taken steps to reduce overlap and the potential for unnecessary duplication in its grants awards, and (3) DOJ uses monitoring and assessment to determine grant program effectiveness and uses the results to enhance its grant programs. GAO assessed DOJ’s fiscal year 2010 announcements of grant award funding; categorized them according to key justice areas to identify any overlap; and interviewed DOJ officials about their grant making practices, systems, and assessment methods. Further, GAO interviewed officials from 11 states receiving DOJ grants, selected for the levels and types of funding received. Though not generalizable, the interviews provided their perspectives on funding.

What GAO Found

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) grant programs overlap across 10 justice areas contributing to the risk of unnecessarily duplicative grant awards for the same or similar purposes. For example, GAO reviewed all 253 grant award announcements that DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office published on their websites for fiscal year 2010 and found overlap across the justice areas. For example, 56 of DOJ’s 253 grant solicitations—or more than 20 percent—were providing grant funds for victim assistance and related research. GAO also found instances where applicants used the same or similar language to apply for funding from these overlapping programs. In one example, a grant recipient applied for, and received, funding from both OJP’s Internet Crimes Against Children program and the COPS Office’s Child Sexual Predator Program to provide training for cyber crime investigations and establish an Internet safety program. In some instances, DOJ may deem it appropriate for distinct grant programs to serve one goal, or for one community or grantee to benefit from multiple streams of grant funding. However, DOJ generally lacks visibility over the extent to which its grant programs overlap and thus is not positioned to minimize the risk of potential, unnecessary duplication before making grant awards.
DOJ has taken some actions that address overlap in its grant programs; for example, by requesting statutory authorization in some instances to consolidate programs that are similar. However, DOJ has not conducted an assessment of its grant programs to systematically identify and reduce overlap. Doing so would enable DOJ to identify program areas where overlap may be desirable and where a consolidation of programs may be more efficient. Further, OJP and OVW use a separate grants management system than the COPS Office uses, limiting their ability to share information on the funding they have awarded or are preparing to award to a recipient. According to COPS Office officials, its mission and grant management processes are unique enough to necessitate a separate system. However, OJP officials told GAO that its system has been and can be modified with minimal investment to accommodate different grant processes. DOJ has initiated a study to assess the feasibility, costs, and benefits of unifying the systems among other options. By ensuring that such a study accounts for the effort necessary to harmonize departmental grant processes, DOJ could ensure that variations in such processes do not encumber system unification.
DOJ’s Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management (OAAM) oversees monitoring of grantees’ compliance and conducts grant program assessments to gauge program effectiveness. GAO found that OAAM’s program assessments yield richer information than its monitoring reports because they identify improvement areas. OAAM officials believe additional assessments could be beneficial. They also said they lacked resources to conduct more, but had not conducted a feasibility analysis to confirm this. By OAAM examining its mix of monitoring and assessment activities, including the costs and benefits of current resource allocations, it could better ensure continuous improvement in grant programs.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that the department assess its grant programs for overlap, ensure its comprehensive study of DOJ grant management systems also includes an analysis of steps necessary to harmonize business processes, and examine its mix of grant monitoring and program assessment activities. DOJ agreed with GAO’s recommendations.