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Contract and Grant Information
Contract and Grant Training*
Signed by the Governor on June 7, 2013 and effective July 1, 2013, (ch. 2013-154, L.O.F.), House Bill 1309, as amended, made changes to grant
agreements and the procurement process for state offices. Specifically, the law added requirements for grant agreements and “requires the
Chief Financial Officer to perform audits of executed grant agreements.” Pursuant to ch. 2013-154, L.O.F., “The state office shall designate
an employee to function as a grant manager who shall be responsible for enforcing the performance of the agreement’s terms and conditions and
who shall serve as a liaison with the recipient or subrecipient.
For simplicity consider a contract as any a written agreement between two or more parties, with a financial consideration for either a procurement or a receipt of funds. A contract may also be known as a Memorandum of Understanding, Federal Grant, State Grant, Non-Profit Grant, Grant Agreement, or a Reimbursement Agreement.
JAC recommends that office staff participate in contract training in order to gain knowledge and learn ways to protect their office by strengthening the language in contracts to minimize issues that can occur with weak contracts. Two trainings have been developed:
- Advancing Accountability - Best Practices for Contract and Grant Management**
- Recommended for contract managers responsible for $35,000 - $99,999 contracts. To register you’ll need to log into PeopleFirst and select the Talent Management section, select the Learning section and enter “Advancing Accountability” in the Find Learning search box. The Registration Now link will provide the upcoming training schedule.
- Florida Certified Contract Manager (FCCM) - Training**
- Recommended for contract managers responsibility for contracts over $100,000. This training will promote best practices and procedures for negotiating, managing, and ensuring accountability in contracts and grant agreements. Offices that require the FCCM training should contact Mr. Wayne Meyer, JAC’s Director of Operations, at Wayne.Meyer@justiceadmin.org. Mr. Meyer will facilitate the scheduling of this training with the Florida Department of Management Services.
* There is no charge for these classes; however, registration is required.
** As of January 2022, both of these courses are offered via remote learning.
If your office is providing grant funds to local government or a non-profit through a sub-award, DFS has issued Chief Financial Officer’s Memorandum No. 20 with compliance requirements for agreements. Please review this memo when preparing a sub-award agreement or contract.
Additional grant training is provided by the Chief Financial Officers Council (CFO Council). The CFO Council is an organization composed of the CFOs and Deputy CFOs of the largest Federal agencies, senior officials of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of the Treasury who work collaboratively to improve financial management in the U.S. Government. It looks like there is a lot of good information on the CFO Council’s website.
Contract Development
Developing a strong contract can be difficult. This section provides helpful information provided by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Department of Management Services (DMS).
DFS has provided the following Job Aids for the components needed in a contract.
General Contract Conditions
DMS provides a list of General Contract Conditions (DMS form PUR1000), to assist with protecting your office and strengthen your contract. Your legal staff may want to review and determine what conditions are relevant to your office’s contracts to strengthen the contract and reduce potential risk. A few examples of the conditions provided by DMS:
- Condition 21: Suspension of Work.
- Condition 22: Termination for Convenience.
- Condition 23: Termination for Cause.
- Condition 24: Force Majeure, Notice of Delay, and No Damages for Delay.
- Condition 29: Assignment.
- Condition 31: Dispute Resolution.
- Condition 35: Insurance Requirements.
- Condition 45: Annual Appropriations.
New Federal Grant Guidelines
In 2014, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) streamlined eight Federal regulations (including OMB Circulars A-110, A-122, and A-133) into a single document. This new document, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), is the codification of the general and permanent regulations. They are published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States. The CFR is separated into sections or titles. Title 2 CFR, Part 200 provides the Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requires for federal awards. This provides general requirements expected when receiving federal grants.
Title 2 CFR, Part 200 is a lengthy document covering a lot of information. The CFO Council has developed a Frequently Asked Questions with 142 items to help users understand this CFR.
In accordance with 2 CFR 200.205, Federal offices must have in place a framework
for evaluating the risks posed by applicants for Federal awards before a Federal
award may be granted. To facilitate part of this risk evaluation, all applicants
(other than an individual) are to download, complete, and submit this form with their Federal grant application.
Source: Office of Justice Programs
Unique Entity ID, Grants.gov, and the System for Award Management (SAM)
On April 4, 2022, the unique entity identifier used across the federal government changed from the
DUNS Number to the Unique Entity ID (generated by SAM.gov).
A unique Entity ID is required for an office to do business with the US Government or apply for a grant.
Grant Policy for the Justice Administrative Commission
Grants Funding Opportunities [Judicial]
Grants Resources
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