General Information – Basic Seminars
Duration
Each 2-day seminar begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Certificates are only provided to participants who complete the entire 2-day training. The certificates will be available online for printing to eligible participants after the completion of the seminar and survey.
Who Should Attend
The seminars are designed for people responsible for the financial administration of formula and/or discretionary grants and cooperative agreements awarded from Federal grant-in-aid programs administered by DOJ and OJP Bureaus and Offices.
Who Can Attend
Basic Seminar attendance is open to those who have not attended a live seminar in the past 3 calendar years. All registrations are reviewed against this criterion and individually approved. Notices indicating approval to attend a seminar are emailed to registrants approximately 15 business days after registration. Due to limited capacity, only two members from an organization can attend in a calendar year.
Basic Seminar Curriculum
Seminars cover the formula/discretionary grants and cooperative agreements awarded by DOJ OJP program offices. Knowledgeable and experienced Office of the Chief Financial Officer officials introduce seminar topics, serve as primary seminar presenters, and facilitate seminar discussion. Topics covered include the following:
- Application review process
- Grantee financial reporting requirements
- SF-425 Federal Financial Report (FFR-425)
- Payment methods
- Matching fund requirements
- Indirect cost methods
- Monitoring responsibility
- Grant fraud awareness
- Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA)
- Grant closeout process
In addition, the seminar includes review of Federal regulations and requirements governing the recording and expenditure of program income, procurement, lobbying, compliance with drug-free workplace requirements, supplanting, and audits. For more information, please see the agenda page.
Cost
There is no registration fee for the seminars. Seminar attendees are responsible for all costs associated with their participation, including transportation, lodging, and meals.
Seminar Facilities
The financial management training will take place at the OJP office in Washington, DC or another designated site. Seminar participants must be able to provide photo identification to access each training session (government-issued identification is recommended). The facility requires participants to undergo a personal inspection prior to accessing the seminar, and personal belongings are inspected and passed through an X-ray machine.
Facility personnel are provided with a list of approved participants in advance of the first day of the seminar. Only approved participants whose names appear on the registration list are permitted to attend the meeting. No onsite registration or walk-ins are allowed.
Seminar Attire
Participants are invited to dress in business casual attire.
Logistics and Hotel Accommodations
The logistics and hotel page on this website suggests several lodging options that are near to the seminar facility. DOJ has not pre-arranged a block of sleeping rooms for attendees; it is the responsibility of each attendee to find lodging.
Attendees presenting government identification may be exempt from some taxes; check with the hotel when you make your reservation. Attendees traveling on grant funds are required to book lodging at or below the Government lodging per diem rate for Washington, DC. Please note that hotels in the Washington, DC area can fill up quickly, and so we recommend making reservations as soon as possible after final attendance confirmation.
Transportation
Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation. As noted on the logistics page, the DOJ training venue is within easy walking distance of a Washington Metro (subway) station.
Registration
Attendance for each seminar is limited, so register early. First-time attendees will be given priority. Each person planning to attend the seminar must register.
Cancellations
There are always more grantees interested in attending our seminars than the number of seminar spaces available. If you have been approved to attend a seminar and find you are unable to attend, please contact at DOJFinancialTraining@ojp.usdoj.gov as soon as possible to enable another grantee to attend. We maintain a waitlist for each seminar, and we need to notify those waitlisted of the opening in time to allowed them to make travel arrangements. Please note that we keep track of grantees who do not cancel in advance and are no-shows to the training seminar. This can have an impact on your future seminar participation.