The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks applications for funding for the fiscal years (FYs) 2022 and 2023 National Criminal History Improvement Program Supplemental Funding (NCHIP-SF).
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territories: U.S. Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/21/2023
Size of the Grant: $80,000,000.00
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
This program furthers the DOJ’s mission to reduce violent crime and address gun violence by improving the accuracy, utility, and interstate accessibility of criminal-history and related records in support of national record systems and their use for name- and fingerprint-based criminal history record background checks.
With this solicitation, BJS seeks to provide information on application requirements and identify priorities for NCHIP-SF in fiscal year (FY) 2023. In response to the enactment of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to expand access to records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), BJS is prioritizing the use of funds for the following purpose: to upgrade criminal and mental health records, including juvenile records that would prohibit the purchase or possession of firearms (under 18 U.S.C. 922 (g) or (n)), to be electronically available at the time of a NICS firearm-related background check.
Goals
This funding will assist state record repositories, state courts, and tribes with finding ways to make a greater share of eligible records available to NICS, including records in 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
- An applicant should address the objectives that are relevant to their proposed program/project in the Goals, Objectives, Deliverables and Timeline web-based form.
- Ensure records of arrests are fingerprint-supported, linked to case outcomes, and accessible through the state record repository and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) record systems.
- Ensure that accurate records are available for use by law enforcement, prosecutors, courts; and to protect public safety and national security.
- Automate and electronically transmit records, including relevant juvenile records permitted under state or tribal law, to state and national systems.
- Permit states to identify—
- Ineligible firearm purchasers
- Persons ineligible to hold positions involving children, the elderly, or the disabled
- Persons subject to protection orders or wanted, arrested, or convicted of stalking and/or domestic violence
- Persons ineligible to be employed or hold licenses for specified positions
- Persons potentially presenting threats to public safety.
Deliverables
- Improving Access and Reporting of Adult and Juvenile Dispositions and Mental Health Submissions to NICS
- Supporting participation in the III and the National Fingerprint File (NFF), including adoption and implementation of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact
Funding Information
Award amount $80,000,000.00
Period of Performance Duration
24 months
Eligibility Information
Eligible Applicants:
- State governments
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Additional Information on Eligibility:
State courts The state central administrative office or similar entity designated by statute or regulation to administer federal grant funds on behalf of the jurisdiction& court system
For the purposes of this solicitation, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Notice regarding law enforcement agencies: State, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have started the certification process to be eligible for FY 2023 DOJ discretionary grant funding. To become certified, the law enforcement agency must meet two mandatory conditions: the agency’s use-of-force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, and the agency’s use-of-force policies prohibit chokeholds except in situations where use of deadly force is allowed by law. The certification requirement also applies to law enforcement agencies receiving DOJ discretionary grant funding through a subaward.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
