American Recovery and Reinvestment Coordinating Council Report

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:

1. 1. Inclusion of all of the state public safety and criminal justice agencies in the review process,
   2. Openness in the decision making and deliberation process, (3) Coordination of funding recommendations with other sources of federal funds,
   3. Wisdom and commonsense in the use of any federal stimulus funds,
   4. Statewide, rather than localized, impact of any federal stimulus funds.

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:

1. 1. Consultation with the cabinet level advisory group and,
   2. Coordination.with the Justice Assistance Grant Board, whose thirteen members include not only the major state public safety, juvenile justice, education, and mental health agencies but also representative organizations of local law enforcement agencies.

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:

1. 1. What systems state public safety agencies in other states are using to identify valuable projects;
   2. What types of concerns or problems have been raised in other states;
   3. How other states are coordinating stimulus funds with Department of Justice grant programs; and
   4. How to enforce accountability on recipients of funds.

Forthcoming federal guidance will help resolve issues like these: 

1. 1. What are proper methods of calculating the impact of stimulus funds on employment?
   2. What types of stimulus expenditures will entail long-term state obligations in the post-stimulus environment?
   3. How do these funds differ from other federal funds regarding supplanting and using funds for administrative purposes?