OAJJA: Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program

Applications for the Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program must be completed and submitted through Colorado’s online application system, ZoomGrants. Failure to submit a complete project application may result in denial of funding. If you experience problems or have questions about how to use ZoomGrants, please contact dcjgms@state.co.us. DCJ support ends at 5:00PM MST, Thursday, May 16, 2024.

We Highly Recommend Potential Applicants Read Application Instructions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below. 

Apply Now in ZoomGrants
 

Applications Must be Submitted on or Before: THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024  

The Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program is a funding opportunity offered through the Division of Criminal Justice’s (DCJ) Office of Adult and Juvenile Assistance (OAJJA) in consultation with DCJ’s, Office of Research and Statistics (ORS), Governor’s Office of Information Technology, and the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System.

The intent of the Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program as established by SB22-196 is to exchange behavioral health, housing, and demographic information with the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CICJIS) in order to maintain continuity of care as persons detained in a jail transfer between criminal justice agencies and the community.

These funds are part of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) which are part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Pursuant to ARPA and related federal regulations, when providing behavioral health services, government recipients may presume that the general public was impacted by the pandemic, and they can therefore use ARPA funds to provide a broad range of behavioral health services to the public.

These SLFRF Funds fall within - Expenditure Category 1: Public Health, 12: Behavioral Health (EC 1.12).
 

The mission of the Division of Criminal Justice is to improve the public safety of the community, the quality of services to crime victims, and the effectiveness of services to offenders. We accomplish this by analyzing policy, conducting criminal justice research, managing programs, and administering grants.
 

Amount Available: $1,547,728  

Award Period: December 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026

Match: Match is not a requirement for this funding

Restrictions: Supplanting of funds is not allowed. 
 

The goal for The Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program as established by SB22-196 is to exchange behavioral health, housing, and demographic information with the CICJIS in order to maintain continuity of care as persons detained in a jail transfer between criminal justice agencies and the community. This will be accomplished through the establishment of an information exchange platform within CICJIS for goal related information to be transferred between CICJIS partners to improve criminal justice, health, and safety outcomes. 

24-33.5-532. Behavioral health information and data-sharing in the criminal justice system.
 

Every Colorado county is eligible for a grant. Counties that do not have an existing electronic jail management system infrastructure may be unable to complete the activities required in the legislation.

1. Integrate the county jail's data systems with the CICJIS; 
2. Standardize (under CICJIS definitions for data sharing purposes) client-specific information through common data fields relating to the behavioral, mental, and physical health needs of persons detained in the jail; housing needs for persons following release from jail; and demographic information of persons detained in the jail; and 
3. Automate data reporting required pursuant to state and federal law
    

All grant applications must address all of the following:

• Proposed project has justifiable costs, and
• Includes plans to use technology that meets state standards, and 
• All data exchange requirements will be added to the applicant's jail management system, as defined in section 17-26-118, and
• Applicants must acknowledge that any funding is conditioned by agreement to accept the CICJIS participation agreement. 
   

The Office of Research and Statistics (ORS) is the technical assistance provider for this program. General technical assistance regarding the grant application process will be offered to all applicants through webinars, office hours, and other means made available on the ORS website. 

The website also includes a project conceptual document, the CICJIS Participation Agreement for review, FAQs, and other applicant resources. In addition, OIT can provide technical assistance to jails that need help to determine costs, technology, and data requirements for working with their hired vendors. Please see the website for the process to request more information and appropriate contacts. 
 

Funding decisions will be made in consultation with the Office of Research and Statistics, Governor’s Office of Information Technology, the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System, and the Behavioral Health Administration.

Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:  

• How well applicants express their capacity for successfully integrating with the interoperability platform based on technical requirements
• How well applicants explain their proposed process for meeting the eligible activities, including steps and timelines for accomplishing these activities
• How well applicants demonstrate justifiable costs for meeting eligible activities

Applications that are denied funding may submit an appeal within three (3) days of notification; however, appeals may only contain clarifying information specific to the reasons noted in the denial notification and can not contain new information. 
 

If awarded, grantees will be required to sign a State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Grant Agreement.

The grantee will be required to submit quarterly financial and programmatic reports describing how the grant funds were utilized, including data and other relevant information on performance metrics.

Additional SLFRF Reporting Requirements must be submitted to DCJ: SLFRF Reporting Q&A
 

Announcement date: by April 1, 2024

Application deadline: May 16, 2024

Funding decision announced: Mid-June 2024

Reconsideration/appeals deadline: Approximately 3 days following Notification of Denial

Grant Agreement Issuance: Fall

Award Period: December 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026

Meghan Moore
Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, OAJJA
E-mail: meghan.moore@state.co.us
 

If you experience problems or have questions about how to use ZoomGrants, please contact dcjgms@state.co.us.

Project Manager: Alexis Harper, Ph.D.
Office of Research and Statistics (website)
Email: alexis.harper@state.co.us

What online tools and resources do you recommend for reference?

Below is a non-exhaustive list of resources:

• Office of Research and Statistics Website
• Project-Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform
• CICJIS Participation Agreement

Can you provide insight as to an approximate expected award amount for agencies?

This grant program is new so there is no past history to base the average amount of a grant award. There is no cap set by legislation. Applicants will submit applications requesting what they need. An advisory committee will review and evaluate applications and recommend funding.

How will the amounts awarded be determined?

The committee making decisions will evaluate the number of applicants, and requested amounts when making decisions.

How much funding is available?

The legislature allocated $1.547,728 million in total funding to the program.

 What is the grant period?

The grant period is December 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026. Spending cannot occur until the grant is fully executed. 

Is this grant program a supplement-only grant or can it also be a replacement grant?

These funds can only be used to supplement existing funding. It may not replace existing funding.

 From a county who uses Motorola Flex (formerly Spillman): Will this JMS be integrated in the future?

Yes! Our team has spoken with Motorola and several other JMS vendors to determine their capacity for assisting their jail clients with integrating. Motorola has expressed interest in participating and indicated the process should be very manageable.

We encourage jails to share the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications document at this link with your vendor to discuss how to best integrate with CTIP and estimated costs. Grant funds can be used for integration solution development and deployment expenses. If a vendor is already working with a jail client on development needs, the solution should be able to be replicated and deployed to other clients to reduce subsequent development costs.

What is the technology that a county may utilize instead of a JMS based solution? (for counties whose JMS does not support APIs)

For jails requiring the development and deployment of an API solution outside of their JMS or that cannot be accomplished by their JMS vendor, we are working with a vendor to provide a developed solution which should be available by September 2024. Suggestions and considerations for how to accomplish integrating to the platform outside of reliance on your JMS vendor can be found in the “Information for Jails Working Independently to Develop a Solution” section of the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications document at this link. 

Will participants be able to view data only or manipulate data as well?

The Custodial reports returned to jails are read-only. Data cannot be manipulated within a JMS through CTIP. Any jail interested in logging report information into their JMS should verify the information and must enter it manually. This is to preserve a jail’s internal data integrity and control. 

Will it be OK not to have all the fields available for data sharing?

Yes. Jails are encouraged to exchange as many of the Custodial fields outlined in the “Data Definitions” in the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications document at this link as they are able. There are many benefits to participating and being able to provide a report to other jails, even if the information is minimal, and it provides the knowledge that another jail did have a particular individual in custody and may have more to share beyond the standard report if they are contacted for that information.

If a jail is interested in adding new data points to their JMS to enhance reporting, they are encouraged to submit an estimate for these costs within their grant application for consideration as a secondary priority to funding integration costs. This may also apply for the Statutory Reporting use case. 

Can we have manual intervention and update on the Custodial query?

No, the query will return a real-time response to the requestor so there is no manual opportunity to provide additional information. However, a returned report indicates that a jail does have information available on an individual that may not be included in the report, so a requesting jail is encouraged to communicate with a responding jail to request more information that may not be available within the standard Custodial report.

What response is provided for fields that do not have values or if a field is unavailable for reporting?

For Custodial data exchange, any field without a value or that is not queryable within the JMS will not be reflected in the response report. For Statutory reporting exchange, any metrics required to be reported within the quarterly report that cannot be retrieved from the JMS must be manually entered into the user interface, or an explanation for the unavailability of the metrics must be provided in the appropriate field in the user interface. 

Can a jail replicate their database so these data exchanges can be independent of their primary JMS?

Yes, a separate database instance can be created by a County for the data broker to call. This is not necessary for payload requirements as the query rate and demand should not diminish JMS capacity, but it may provide an opportunity for internal jail staff to create additional fields to be queried if the JMS vendor does not assist with this within the JMS product. The jail would be responsible for maintaining the replicant and ensuring it reflects the most recent information available.

 Do other jails use connections with their Health Information Exchange?

In an effort beyond CTIP, the Behavioral Health Administration partners with the two Health Information Exchanges (HIE) in Colorado to offer fully funded access to their web-based portals. This is available for the clinical vendors in the jails as the data contained in the HIE is HIPAA covered. This access to the HIE is encouraged to promote continuity of care between jails and community providers. Additional information on these systems can be found at https://contexture.org/co-health-information-exchange/ and https://qualityhealthnetwork.org/.  Additional information about the Medication Consistency Program can be found at https://bha.colorado.gov/behavioral-health/medication-consistency.

Please reach out to Kelly Hernandez, Kelly.hernandez@contexture.org or Cherie Schmitz cschmitz@qualityhealthnetwork.org for more information on how to participate in this exciting program.

Page 2 of the Announcement of Available Funds (AAF) states that the award period will last from 12/01/24 to 6/30/26. However, page 4 of the Announcement states that the award period will end on 12/31/26. Just to confirm, will the award period end on 6/30/26 or 12/31/26? 

Thank you for catching this discrepancy. The date should be 6/30/26. We will correct it in the timeline.

Page 3 of the Announcement states that "General technical assistance regarding the grant application process will be offered to all applicants through webinars, office hours, and other means made available on the ORS website." Just to confirm, are webinars and office hours planned to be scheduled for this funding opportunity? If so, will webinar and office hour information be posted on the program page at a future date? 

Technical assistance or office hour information will be cross-posted on this application page and on the ORS website Project-Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform page. 
 

How should a grant application be completed if a jail is changing their JMS in the near future and/or during the grant period?

Grant applications should include information about the jail management system your agency will be utilizing long-term that will be connected to CTIP. The grant award period is through June 2026; Any major JMS changes/updates expected before then should be reported in the application with the intention to connect to the new JMS, where development and deployment of a solution to connect to CTIP can happen anytime during the award period after JMS transitions/changes have been accomplished.

 What does this platform offer that is different from the other data sharing opportunities?

No other data sharing platform allows for a real time exchange of custodial information between jails’ management systems. CTIP offers an auto-generated report to a jail, of the custodial information available about an individual from other participating jails in Colorado without requiring staff to fill the request.This process is efficient and saves staff time and effort while quickly providing awareness about potential health and safety concerns for the individual in custody to avoid negative outcomes. This platform does not store individual data for third-party uses. Additionally, CTIP has enhanced reporting capabilities, to further save staff time and effort in regards to reporting quarterly jail metrics to CDPS. 

How limited will the overall success of the project be if participation from jails is limited?

 Participation in CTIP across all Colorado Jails is encouraged and the ultimate opportunity for the success of the platform as all jails would be connected for information queries and exchange. With more jails participating, the platform can achieve exchange of information of a larger number of individuals who have been in custody across Colorado, as well as increase the likelihood jails receive the information they seek. Any jails not connected to CTIP will be unable to receive reports from other jails and will not be able to contribute any information they may have about an individual. The CTIP team is hopeful jails will apply for the current grant opportunity before May 16, 2024, as future funding opportunities to support jails in their efforts to connect have not yet been established.

 Is there any risk or liability for receiving information and then not utilizing it in the care of an individual while they are in custody?    

From the Office of the Colorado Attorney General: Each participant is liable for its own failure to store, maintain, access, or disclose data received by it pursuant to the CICJIS Participation Agreement. Each participant is responsible for its own failure or its own contractor’s failure to store, maintain, access, or disclose data received from another participant. The data are provided without warranty, and each participant waives and releases each other participant from any claims arising out of related to a participant’s access to or use of any data shared. The Participation Agreement does not address a participant’s potential liability to a non-participant for the participant’s improper use of any data provided. A participant’s potential liability to a non-participant for improper use of data is as provided under applicable law, regulations, etc.

Will the quarterly (statutory) report automatically be sent through the software, or will there be multiple steps in the software before sending the report?

The user interface is being developed to automatically draw down the metrics it can from the JMS, then have an option for the user to manually enter/edit if needed (since not all data points to be included in the quarterly report are stored in the JMS and must be otherwise entered), then submit when ready and the report goes straight to the CDPS secure server. This process provides jails with an opportunity to finalize, review, and approve the report, then submit once it is complete. The report will not be sent automatically (since it needs to be checked for validity and otherwise completed for the fields that could not be automatically entered from the JMS).

What about yearly service/support costs?

While grant funds will cover integration and initial costs, long-term and ongoing maintenance and support to maintain a connection of a JMS to CTIP and the user interface used by a participant, is the responsibility of the participant, as stated within the technical documentation. We hope jails see the potential cost savings gained through participation in staff time and effort in collecting/sharing information and generating reports and are able to afford what has been estimated to be relatively inexpensive yearly costs to maintain connection and operation to CTIP.

Grant funds can only be provided for purposes to be used within the grant period. In addition to integration costs, jails may apply for support costs to be used through the end of the grant period (June 30, 2026) as this will be necessary as an initial cost, but support or services for any period extending beyond the grant period cannot be pre purchased. CTIP does hope to offer more funding opportunities in the future to cover upgrades and future use cases for participants. 

What is the “Custodial Use Case Data Extraction”?

The Custodial Use Case data are what will be queried within a JMS to be exchanged with other jails, pertaining to health and safety information about an individual in custody. The data points listed within this spreadsheet (found in the Data Definitions section in the CTIP Technical Specifications document) are what is requested to be accessible for this exchange, if a jail is willing and able to make these data points in their JMS available for exchange. 

A jail is able to apply for grant funds to make JMS updates to add any data points not currently collected, if they would like to begin collecting and offer these data in the exchange. Extraction of data from a JMS is only for the approved data points, does not edit a JMS, and reports returned with these data points are read-only. 

The "Statutory Fields " tab in the above spreadsheet shows the data points for the Statutory Reporting use case as well. 

Is there a way to see which community partners across are currently using this platform for information sharing?

CTIP is a new platform that will connect jails across the state and CICJIS members (CDOC CDHS, CDPS, CDAC, and Judicial). Currently, the jails connecting are the pilot jails for the project (Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, and Moffat). Ideally, other Sheriff’s Offices and jails across the State apply for the grant and participate to send and receive info with other jails and benefit from the other opportunities CTIP offers. The CTIP website will be updated with a list of participating agencies as the platform develops and new members are added. 

What if our jail is not ready to participate, can we wait to apply?

Jails are encouraged to apply for the active grant opportunity that is currently available through May 16, 2024. It is unknown if there will be future funding opportunities to support integration to participate in CTIP. The grant period to use the funds awarded to integrate is through June 30, 2026, so there is a good amount of time for jails to prepare for integration, as long as grant funds are secured now to be used over the next few years when a jail becomes ready to participate.

DCJ shall provide technical assistance to jails that need help to determine costs, technology, and data requirements. Some costs for specific JMS and/or solution components have already been estimated. Jails are encouraged to discuss technical requirements and estimate potential costs with their IT staff and JMS or other contract vendors for solution development and deployment. These cost estimations must be included in the grant application.

Questions About Costs, Technology, and Data Requirements 
Project Manager: Alexis Harper, Ph.D., Office of Research and Statistics
Email: Alexis Harper at alexis.harper@state.co.us or view the ORS Website.

If you experience problems or have questions about how to use ZOOMGRANTS
Email: Gillian Trickett at DCJGMS@state.co.us.

Questions regarding the application or program (other than technical Zoomgrants issues)
Email: Meghan Moore at meghan.moore@state.co.us.

Before you call we recommend you read through these instructions and the FAQs below. 

• 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.
   

All applications seeking federal funding must have an active registration with the federal System of Award Management (SAM); as required under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act) that went into effect January 1, 2009.

• Unique Entity Identification (UEI) number: Assigned during registration with SAM.gov, that identifies an organization and helps track the distribution of grant money.
• Entity Administrator: Individual within an organization responsible for registering and renewing entity registration in SAM.gov.
• Entity renewal is required annually.
• Individuals, other than the entity administrator, may create an account to perform a search.

Visit SAM.gov to check registration status. SAM.gov provides extensive resources and instructions in the help section.

NOTE:  If you do not have a UEI at application time enter “000000000000” (12 zeros) in order to submit your application. If awarded, you will not be disbursed any funds until registration is complete.

Summary Tab

Project Name/Project Title: Please be descriptive of the project to be funded and do not label it merely “Behavioral Health Information and Data Sharing Grant Program”.  It should be unique to your project and agency.

Amount Requested: Enter the amount of funding requested in this application.

Applicant Information:* (Account Owner) Enter the name and contact information of the person that will be responsible for this account. 

Organization Information*: Enter all requested information for the applicant agency.

CEO/Executive Director* (if NA, 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.

If you have questions about updating your Organization Information, please contact Gillian.Trickett via email or at (720) 582-4510.

* Returning DCJ ZoomGrants users will already have this information populated. Changes made to these fields may only be performed by the Account Owner who will update all applications/grants associated with this account. DO NOT CHANGE the Organizational information without first consulting Gillian Trickett. Changing information that has already been validated may result in a delay in processing payments or other aspects of your grant application.

Organizational Details Tab

(Q1) Legal Entity Name: Enter the Colorado County for which you are applying (e.g. Jefferson County) 
 
(Q2) Legal Entity Physical Address: Street Address, City, State, Zip + 4

(Q3) Legal Entity County Enter the county of your legal entity address.

(Q4)  Entity’s Fiscal Year End: Enter the month and last day of your fiscal year.

(Q5) Payment Mailing Address: This will be used to match entries in the state financial system, regardless of payment type (EFT vs Mail)
 

Questions/Statement of Work Tab

Project Duration
(Q1) Project Start Date:  Enter 12/01/2024 or later

(Q2) Project End Date: Enter 06/30/2026 or earlier

Acknowledgement
(Q3) I acknowledge that in order to be considered for this grant the following activities are required. 
You must acknowledge all of the following:

• Review and be willing to accept the CICJIS Participation Agreement (required);
• Revise jail management system to allow for responses to queries regarding persons who are currently or have been previously incarcerated in their jail (required);
• Integrate the county jail's data systems with the Colorado Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CICJIS) (required); 
• Review and agree to develop a solution that meets the requirements of the interoperability platform as developed. See the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications document (required).
   

Primary Contact
(Q4) Applicant Primary Contact: Name Phone, email address 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 Officials: (Q5-14) You must have a minimum of three contacts for this application, the Project Director, Financial Officer, and Signature Authority (also called the Authorized Official). All three must be from the applicant agency and must be unique individuals; one person cannot serve in more than one role.

(Q5) Project Director Name: This must be an individual other than the authorized official or financial officer and must be from the applicant agency. 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 (e.g. Ms. Shawn Smith, Program Coordinator, ABC Company)

(Q6) Project Director Email Address: Enter e-mail address for the project director to be used for primary communication.

(Q7) Project Director Phone Number: Enter primary phone number for the project director.

(Q8) Financial Officer Name: This must be an individual other than the project director or authorized official and must be from the applicant agency. 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, agency (e.g. Mr. Shawn Smith, Senior Accountant, ABC Accounting Services)

(Q9) Financial Officer Email Address: Enter the email address for the financial officer to be used for primary communication.

(Q10) Financial Officer Phone Number: Enter the primary phone number for the financial officer.

(Q11) Signature Authority Name: This must be an individual other than the project director or financial officer. 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 (e.g. Ms. Jane Austen, County Commissioner Chair, ABC Company).

(Q12) Signature Authority Mailing Address: Enter the mailing address for the signature authority to be used for mailing documents related to this application. Enter Street Address, City, State, Zip + 4 (e.g. 700 Kipling Street, Suite 1000, Lakewood, CO 80215-8957

(Q13) Signature Authority Email Address: Enter the email address for the signature authority to be used for primary communication.

(Q14) Signature Authority Phone Number: Enter the primary phone number for the signature authority.

STATEMENT OF WORK
(Q15) Eligible Activities: Which of the eligible activities does your project include?
Select all that apply.

1. Integrate the county jail's data systems with the CICJIS; 
   2) Standardize person-specific information through common data fields relating to the 
   behavioral, mental, and physical health needs of persons detained in the jail; housing needs for persons following release from jail; and demographic information of persons detained in the jail; and 
   3) Automate data reporting required pursuant to state and federal law
    

(Q15) Project Description: Describe your project that will be funded with a grant award in detail. This description should include a statement explaining your needs using local information and available data.

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.

Include the following:

• A description of the problem in terms of causes and consequences.  Articulate why this problem should be addressed.  Use published literature to support your description where appropriate.  
• The extent and nature of the problem in your target population and community. Use data to support your description.

(Q16) If your project includes eligible activities 2 and/or 3, please describe what (if any) data fields requested for the custodial and statutory reporting will be excluded and why (see the “Definitions” section in the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform (CTIP) Technical Specifications document for a list of the data fields requested for exchange). Activities may include developing new fields within your JMS to be queried if they are not currently collected. (limit 3,000 characters)

(Q17) 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.  (limit 3,000 characters

(Q18) Project Description: Describe how your jail and jail management system (JMS) will adapt to meet the technical requirements to connect to CICJIS and the data your agency will share as it aligns with the requested data fields. This  description should include a statement explaining your needs for meeting connectivity requirements, and include a process and budget description for how you will meet the eligible activities. The process should include whether your agency’s IT staff and JMS vendor have the capacity to help address project needs or whether you will contract with a 3rd party vendor to complete the work, and outline barriers to meeting requirements. (limit 5,000 characters)

(Q19) What jail management system is currently being used? (Please include the vendor, product name, and the version currently in production; please identify if your agency intends to change JMS/versions within the next two years)  (limit 3,000 characters)

(Q20) Can specific JMS data be queried or accessed through an existing web service?  (limit 3,000 characters)

(Q21) If JMS data cannot be accessed through an existing web service, is your agency able (or may contract) to create a web service to integrate with the data exchange? (Please offer any explanation) (limit 3,000 characters) 

The development would likely require the following:

1. provisioning a replicant of the live JMS database (if needed for performance requirements)
2. developing a data broker that can read and execute queries against the live or replicant database
3. exposing the data broker as a RESTful API  (review the diagram of the proposed architecture in the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications document - Fig 1))

(Q22) Can your agency IT Department support creating specific stored procedures for OIT to call?  (limit 3,000 characters)
(A stored procedure (example) would retrieve custodial information for an individual identified by certain parameters (first name, last name, DOB, SID, etc.) who was previously incarcerated at the jail in the previous 5 years.)

(Q23) Can your agency host and maintain an application that your jail personnel use to make custodial data inquiries to other jails participating in the exchange? (Please offer any explanation) (limit 3,000 characters)
(See the “Proposed Integration Solutions” section of the Colorado Trusted Interoperability Platform Technical Specifications Document for the proposed architecture and development plan for this application.)

(Q24) What is your agency’s capacity to support and maintain the IT infrastructure necessary for the web service and the application needed to sustain a connection to the interoperability platform beyond the initial implementation period and funding? (Please offer any explanation) (limit 3,000 characters)

(Q25) What assessment and screening tools are currently being utilized within your jail? (Include assessments relating to Behavioral, Mental, and Physical Health, as well as Reentry Preparation or Transitional Planning, including Housing and other Criminogenic needs) (limit 3,000 characters)

(Q26) Can you describe how you are currently communicating health needs and safety concerns with the Department of Corrections during the transfer of in-custody persons? (limit 3,000 characters)

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.
   

Budget Questions

• Have local funds been appropriated or allocated for any of the requested budget items?
• What would happen to this project in the event federal funding isn't available?
• If you didn't have federal funds available to conduct this project, would you still conduct it with other funds anyway?

 

Tables Tab Goals and Objectives

Goals and Objectives: 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), objectives, measurement, and timeframe.

Goals: 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.  Goals are logical, sensible, clearly written and directly tied to the project. Write one or more goals your project will focus on.

Objectives: Objectives are defined measurable actions needed to achieve the overall goal and can be accomplished within the grant period. They should be logically tied to your project plan.  

Please write at least one measurable objective for each goal. Objective statements should include:
The specific type of change or improvement that will occur 
The estimated benefit or impact of the expected change
How or why the change is required as a step to reach the goal

Measurement: Include measures that will sufficiently document any change that occurs.

Timeframe: The expected timeframe in which an objective will be completed. 
 

Tables Tab Budget & Budget Narrative 

General Budget Instructions: 
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 add correctly.

Budget items should be detailed, reasonable, specifically defined, and justified and the applicant should demonstrate how the costs were determined.  It should be clear so that no concerns of supplanting will exist. The budget must be completed entirely and each item listed should be accompanied by a description, which provides justification for the budget items and details the basis for determining the cost of each item.

• The budget must cover the entire project duration.
• In figuring the budget, work with WHOLE DOLLAR AMOUNTS ONLY. When necessary, round to the next highest whole dollar amount.
• The budget is broken into seven Budget Categories: Personnel, Supplies and Operating, Travel, Equipment, Consultant/Professional Services, and Indirect Costs.  

Personnel: Budget & Budget Narrative Details. This is a Table
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).

Questions regarding the difference between a contract employee and a regular employee may be directed to the Internal Revenue Service. Contract employees or independent contractors should be shown under 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.

Base Salary: Enter the base, full-time salary or base pay for the position. The base salary should reflect the total salary for the number of months for your fiscal year. Example: If your fiscal year ends on 09/30/2025, and you apply for funding from 12/01/2024 - 06/30/2026:

• Enter one line item using 10 months as your base salary (12/01/2024 - 09/30/2025), and 
• Enter one line item using 9 months as your base salary (10/01/2024 - 06/30/2026).

Base Salary to be Paid by Grant Funds: Enter the base salary or base pay for the position to be paid by grant funds.

% to be paid by Grant Funds: ZoomGrants will automatically calculate this % based on the amounts you entered in the salary columns.

Base Fringe: Enter the amount of Fringe Benefits for the position.

BaseFringe to Be Paid by Grant Funds: Enter the base salary  fringe for the position to be paid by Grant funds.

% to be paid by Grant Funds: ZoomGrants will automatically calculate this % based on the amounts you entered in the base salary fringe columns.

Total Base Salary + Fringe: ZoomGrants will automatically calculate this total based on the amounts you entered in the base  salary and fringe columns.

Total Base Salary + Fringe to Be Paid by Grant Funds: ZoomGrants will automatically calculate this total based on the amounts you entered in the base salary and fringe columns.

OT - Base Salary: Enter the base overtime base pay for the position.

OT - Base Salary To Be Paid By Grant Funds: Enter the base overtime base pay for the position to be paid by grant funds.

OT - Fringe: Enter the amount of overtime Fringe Benefits for the position.

OT - Fringe To Be Paid By Grant Funds: Enter the base salary overtime Fringe Benefits for the position to be paid by grant funds.

Total To Be Paid By Grant Funds (including overtime): ZoomGrants will automatically calculate this total based on the amounts you entered in the overtime base salary and fringe columns.

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 base salary row, and that the proposed base salary is one that is paid for equivalent positions and employee qualifications in your area.

If you are requesting funds for overtime of existing employees, the narrative justification should include an explanation of the benefit of overtime rather than a contractor.  

Non-Personnel: Budget & Budget Narrative Details. This is a Table.
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.

OAJJA 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 $0.60/mile for 2WD and $0.64/mile for 4WD.

Lodging: In-state is the actual cost of reasonable accommodations. However, lodging costs in excess of $107.00 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.

Budget Narrative and Justification: Explain the relationship of each cost item to the project, (e.g., if training or conference travel expenses are requested, explain the topic of the conference and its relationship to the project, you must explain why this training cannot be achieved in-state). Out-of-state travel is discouraged and needs to be thoroughly justified.

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.
DCJ must provide prior written approval for the actual purchase of all equipment, separate from approval to fund the project. All equipment must be purchased 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. Explain why the proposed equipment is essential to conducting the project and is not currently available for use within your agency or organization.

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.

Documents Tab

1. Organizational Chart: Required if personnel is being requested. If your project has personnel in the budget category, you must attach your organizational chart in this section.
2. Indirect Cost Rate: If applicable. If the applicant agency has an existing negotiated federal indirect cost rate (NICR) and is requesting indirect on this project, attach your NICR here.
3. Financial Management Questionnaire (FMQ): Required
4. Certification Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension: Required for grants equal or over $100,000
5. Custodial Use Case Data Extraction: Please provide a custodial use case data extract sample (use mock data). Attach the sample in ZoomGrants under the Documents Tab.
    

The State of Colorado is committed to providing equitable access to our services to all Coloradoans. The Division of Criminal Justice is committed to making its physical campus and digital resources accessible to everyone. The Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) strives to ensure equal access to the services we provide to everyone with and without disabilities. To best meet reasonable accommodation needs for effective communication or a reasonable modification to programs, services, or activities, please contact us a week prior to the activity or event.

DCJ will make every effort to provide requested reasonable accommodations, however, failure to notify DCJ of requested accommodations at least 3 business days prior to the date of the activity or event date may result in delay or denial of the accommodation.