The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks applications for funding for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S Territories: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/24/2023
Size of the Grant: $70,000,000
Grant Duration: 12 to 24 months
Details:
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the continuation of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) in fiscal year (FY) 2023, to identify the program priorities, and to provide information on application requirements. This year, BJS is prioritizing the use of funds for two purposes: to improve reporting of dispositions and to improve reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) of persons who are prohibited from possessing firearms for reasons related to mental health.
Goals
This funding will assist states and tribes with finding ways to make more 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 will become available in these systems.
Objectives
- Provide direct financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, and tribes to improve their criminal history record systems and related systems to support background checks, including NICS checks.
- Ensure the infrastructure connects criminal history record systems to the state record repository or appropriate federal agency record system and ensure records are accessible through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) record systems.
- Provide the training and technical assistance needed to ensure that criminal history and related record systems are developed and managed to conform to FBI standards and appropriate technologies, while ensuring that contributing agencies adhere to the highest standards of practice with respect to privacy and confidentiality.
- Use systematic evaluation and standardized performance measurements and statistics to assess progress on improving national record holdings and background check systems.
Areas of Focus
- Updating and automating case outcomes from courts and prosecutors in state or tribal records and the FBI’s Criminal History File
- Improving access to information concerning persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm for mental health reasons and transmitting relevant records 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
- Supporting efforts to seal and expunge criminal history information in accordance with state laws and policies
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $70,000,000
- Award Floor: $35,000,000
Period of Performance Duration
12 to 24 months
Eligible Applicants
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- State governments
For 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.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
