American Recovery and Reinvestment Coordinating Council Report
Department of Public Safety - March 24, 2009
Safety and Security Cabinet Secretary Kevin L. Ward has established Safety and Security Advisory Group which includes all the state public safety and criminal justice agencies in Oklahoma. This advisory group has met and will continue to meet every 2 weeks in open meetings.
The guiding principles for reviewing funding activities will include:
The preliminary timelines for decisions by this working group will be determined by April 15, 2009, the next meeting date of the Oklahoma Justice Assistance Grant Board will meet.
The advisory group and agency staff from the Safety and Security Cabinet are examining existing federal grant programs to determine how best to coordinate the use of these existing grant sources with stimulus funds. These existing grant sources include both direct grants to state agencies, like the COPS Program, and formula grant programs, like the Justice Assistance Grant and the Victims of Crime Act Grant.
The process for establishing funding priorities will include:
It is anticipated that an application form will be developed which will be submitted to the advisory group. Calculation of the jobs created or preserved by federal stimulus funds will be included in that application. The application will also request information about the continuation of services after the exhaustion of stimulus funds, if that is relevant to the proposed activity.
The application process will also include a strong caveat to each applicant about: (1) The importance of prompt financial and programmatic reporting, (2) The need to expend funds quickly and properly, (3) The value of proactive internal auditing and related controls.
The Safety and Security Cabinet Area also plans to contact several neighboring states to determine:
Forthcoming federal guidance will help resolve issues like these:�