OVW info re Match Waivers and Leave Policy as it Pertains to Covid-19

Happy Monday to all of you!

AVA and OVW held a conference call today and there are two areas that OVW requested we emphasize to each of you.  They are:

  1. Match Waivers – You recently received correspondence from OVW (AVA resent it on this listserve) regarding match that included the following information:“For your Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, 2019, and 2020 awards, if your program is in need of a match waiver, please submit a letter, signed by the authorized representative for the STOP Program award, explaining that your state is experiencing financial need as a result of COVID-19 and request a waiver. Please include the amount of waiver you are requesting. This letter will be considered sufficient documentation of need and OVW will waive the amount of match requested.”Please know that you will still have to submit a form to request a match waiver.  The process for requesting a match waiver is here.
  2. Leave Policy – You also should have received some correspondence from OVW regarding leave policies that your agency and your subgrantees should have in place regarding leave.  At the core of this guidance was encouragement to follow up with your subgrantees to make sure that they have leave policies (to include administrative leave, telework leave, PTO, etc) in place.If your local non-profits do not have program capacity to develop such policies, you can refer them to NNEDV and RSP websites who have model policies in place that they can consider.
Thank you for all that you do and stay safe out there!
Barry