WASHINGTON : Technological glitches will cause the U.S. Justice Department to be late in paying out around US$3 billion in grants that fund programs such as victims services and criminal justice research, according to internal documents seen by Reuters.
The Justice Department said in internal planning records it will be forced to give out the money on a rolling basis, and will only aim to award about US$1.4 billion by Sept. 30. The bulk of that money entails grants designated to help victims of crime. The migration to the new grants management system"has resulted in unfortunate delays in grant application and processing times," the department wrote in a draft notice that will be sent to staff.
Reuters in July reported that some grant recipients had faced months-long delays accessing their awards due to problems with JustGrants, prompting multiple complaints to Congress and the Justice Department's inspector general.