The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks applications for funding for the 2022 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP).
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 05/19/2022
Size of the Grant: $25,000,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA) addresses the gap in information available to NICS about prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments and other prohibiting factors. Filling this information gap will better enable the NICS to operate as intended to keep guns out of the hands of persons prohibited by federal or state law from receiving or possessing firearms. The automation of records also reduces delays for law-abiding persons to purchase firearms.
This year, BJS is prioritizing the use of funds for two purposes: (1) to enhance the completeness, automation, and transmittal of records to state and federal systems used by the NICS, and (2) to improve the overall reporting of persons prohibited from possessing firearms for reasons related to domestic violence and mental health to the NICS.
Goals
This funding will assist states and tribes with finding ways to make more records available to NICS, including records in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), criminal history record information available through the Interstate Identification Index (III), and records in the NICS Indices. Therefore, through the funded activities, BJS expects that more records (including improved quality, completeness, and timeliness) will become available in these systems.
Objectives
The NARIP was developed to improve the completeness, automation, and transmittal of records to state and federal systems used by the NICS. These include records of criminal history, felony convictions, warrants, protective orders, convictions for misdemeanors involving domestic violence and stalking, drug arrests and convictions, mental health adjudications, and other information that may disqualify an individual from possessing or receiving a firearm under federal law.
Priority Areas
- Improve Identification and Reporting of Convictions of Domestic Violence and Mental Health Submissions to the NICS – Applicants should focus efforts on (1) identifying, flagging, and making immediately accessible to NICS records of persons prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms for domestic violence convictions and (2) reporting records of persons prohibited from possessing firearms for mental health reasons. Therefore, recipients must agree to use a portion of awarded funds to make such records accessible to the NICS, unless the state certifies in the application that it—
- already makes available to the NICS information on all persons prohibited from possessing firearms due to a domestic violence conviction or prohibiting mental health reason; or
- will focus funds on another category of qualifying NICS records that the state reasonably argues represents a greater information gap.
Funding Information
Anticipated Total Amount to be Awarded Under Solicitation – $25,000,000.00.
Grant Period
- Period of Performance Duration (Months) – 24.
Eligibility Criteria
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Others
- The agency designated by the Governor in each state to administer the National Criminal History Improvement Program (34 U.S.C. § 40301)
- The state or territory central administrative office or similar entity designated by statute or regulation to administer federal grant funds on behalf of the jurisdiction’s court system
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
