The Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program supports efforts to improve the reporting, transportation, forensic processing, and identification of missing persons (MP) and unidentified human remains (UHR) cases, including those involving migrants as authorized by Public Law.
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S Territory: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/10/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
This program increases public safety by providing resources to locate and identify missing persons and unidentified human remains in the United States.
Goals and Objectives
Goal 1: Implement collaborative partnerships to guide the enhanced response to both MP and UHR cases.
- Objective 1: Establish partnerships across the medicolegal, law enforcement, forensic science, prosecutorial, and advocacy communities as appropriate. Increase collaboration between entities involved with MP cases and UHR cases.
- Objective 2: As a multidisciplinary team, identify the scope and backlog of MP and UHR cases in the jurisdiction; identify areas for improvement.
- Objective 3: As a multidisciplinary team, establish long term goals and objectives to enhance the jurisdiction’s response to MP and UHR cases.
Goal 2: Establish or expand programs to improve the reporting, forensic processing, identification, and repatriation of both MP and UHR cases in the jurisdiction.
- Objective 1: Report and update MP and UHR cases worked under MUHR to NamUs, NCIC, and, where applicable, ViCAP by the end of the grant period.
- Objective 2: Implement comprehensive plans building jurisdictional capacity to investigate, perform forensic processing, and identify and resolve MP and UHR cases.
- Objective 3: Notify and repatriate human remains to appropriate relatives as determined by law
Funding Information
Anticipated Total Amount to Be Awarded Under This Funding Opportunity: $5,472,691
Category 1: Statewide Projects
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: up to $1,000,000
- Period of Performance Duration: 36 months
Category 2: Local Projects
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: up to $500,000
- Period of Performance Duration: 36 months
Category 3: Services to Assist Small, Rural, and/or Tribal Entities on a National Scale
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: up to $1,000,000
- Period of Performance Duration: 36 months
Eligibility Criteria
The types of entities that are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity are listed below:
For Category 1: Statewide Projects
- Government Entities
- State governments Educational Organizations
- Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Other
- Accredited, publicly funded, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) forensic laboratories
- Medical examiner offices
- Accredited, publicly funded toxicology laboratories
- Accredited, publicly funded crime laboratories
For Category 2: Local Projects Units of Local Government
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Educational organizations
- Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Other
- Accredited, publicly funded, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) forensic laboratories
- Medical examiner offices
- Accredited, publicly funded toxicology laboratories
- Accredited, publicly funded crime laboratories
For Category 3: Services to Assist Small, Rural, and/or Tribal Entities on a National Scale
- Government Entities
- State governments
- Units of Local Government
- County governments
- City or township governments Educational Organizations
- Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), other than institutions of higher education
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Other
- Accredited, publicly funded, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) forensic laboratories
- Medical examiner offices
- Accredited, publicly funded toxicology laboratories
- Accredited, publicly funded crime laboratories State
Government Entities: For the purposes of this NOFO, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
