	Current Legislative Developments

The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 wassigned into law on January 5, 2006 ( P.L. 109-162 ). The act reauthorizes many of the agencies andprograms under the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) jurisdiction. Introduction

Since 1999, Congress has expressed an interest in the organizational structure of the DOJ'sOJP. (4) 
In addition, both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and DOJ's Office of InspectorGeneral (OIG) have reported on issues facing OJP and the management of its grant programs. Office of Justice Programs

In 1984, Congress created OJP by passing the Justice Assistance Act of 1984. (7) OJP is the main agency withinDOJ that awards grants to states, local government, and nonprofit organizations to help develop thecountry's capacity to prevent and control crime, improve criminal justice systems, increaseknowledge about crime and assist victims of crime. (8) (There are other offices within DOJ that also award grants,specifically the Violence Against Women Office and the Community Oriented Police Office.) Assessments of OJP Grant Management and Program Evaluations

Since the 1990s, both GAO and OIG have reported on the following issues facing OJP withrespect to the administration of its grant programs:
lack of monitoring and grantee compliance;
lack of outcome-based evaluations;
failure to adequately review grant applications; and
failure to undertake more aggressive and timely corrective action on auditfindings. The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

The act authorizes appropriations for DOJ for FY2006 through FY2009. Among otherthings, the act authorizes appropriations for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant(JAG) program and codifies the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO). The act alsoreauthorizes and restructures grant programs under the COPS office as well as grant programs underthe VAWO. DOJ currently has twocomponents that are supposed to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of its programs: grantmanagers and the OIG. OJP grant managers, who are located in each of OJP's bureaus and programoffices, are charged with monitoring the grants made by their office and the OIG is charged withpromoting economy and efficiency within DOJ. National Institute of Justice. The GAO and the OIG reports raise questions about whether the current organizational structure ofOJP is capable of properly managing its grant programs. The actappears to give the Office of Audit, Assessment and Management many of the same oversightresponsibilities that OJP's grant managers, NIJ and the OIG are already charged with. How will the Office of Audit, Assessment and Management responsibilitiesbe separate from those of OJP, the OIG and NIJ?
Since 1999, Congress has expressed an interest in the organizational structure of theDepartment of Justice's (DOJ's) Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The 109th Congress passedlegislation that restructures OJP and creates a new Office of Audit, Assessment and Managementto more closely monitor grantee compliance with grant programs, among other things. The ViolenceAgainst Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 was signed into law onJanuary 5, 2006 ( P.L. 109-162 ).
OJP is the main agency within DOJ that awards grants to states, local, and tribalgovernments, as well as nonprofit organizations to help develop the country's capacity to prevent andcontrol crime, improve criminal justice systems, increase knowledge about crime, and assist victimsof crime. Since the 1990s, both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and DOJ's Office ofInspector General (OIG) have reported on issues facing OJP with respect to managing andconducting sufficient evaluations of its grant programs. At issue is whether the currentorganizational structure of OJP is capable of properly managing its grant programs and monitoringgrantee compliance with program requirements.
The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005authorizes appropriations for DOJ for FY2006 through FY2009. The act also codifies the EdwardByrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program and the Community CapacityDevelopment Office (CCDO). Furthermore, the act reauthorizes and restructures grant programsunder the Community Oriented Policing Service (COPS) office as well as grant programs under theViolence Against Women Office (VAWO).
One of the more controversial provisions in the act is the creation of the Office of Audit,Assessment and Management within OJP, which will audit, exercise corrective actions with responseto, and manage information with respect to any OJP or COPS grant program. DOJ currently has twocomponents that are tasked with monitoring the effectiveness and efficiency of its grant programs: grant managers and OIG. OJP grant managers, who are located in each of its bureaus and programoffices, are charged with monitoring the grants made by their office; the OIG is charged withpromoting economy, efficiency and effectiveness within the department.
The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 seeksto address reported shortcomings at OJP; however, several questions are raised. For example, whilethe act does not restructure audit and performance measure activities under OJP's National Instituteof Justice (NIJ) or the OIG, how will the newly created audit and performance office complimentthe oversight functions of NIJ and OIG? Moreover, what will the role of OJP's grant managers beunder the newly created office?