The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks applications for funding to create and implement training and technical assistance programs for criminal justice stakeholders that support local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in the development of violence reduction strategies, training of law enforcement officers, and implementation of ethical technological strategies that build digital trust and promote community engagement.
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $2,000,000
Grant Duration: 36 months
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. With this solicitation, BJA seeks to fund six national in scope training and technical assistance (TTA) efforts to support law enforcement and criminal justice stakeholders in key criminal justice operations.
Goals
The overarching goal is to deliver national TTA to local jurisdictions that supports their efforts to reduce violent crime, train law enforcement, and enhance community trust. Specifically, the goals for each category are as follows:
- Category 1: To provide resources and opportunities to enable law enforcement agencies that receive Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) grants to identify and define their most pressing crime problems, as well as institute lasting operational and organizational changes that foster reliance on and effective use of evidence-based practices, data, and technology
- Category 2: To improve communication and collaboration between state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve to address the unique criminal justice challenges facing rural and small law enforcement agencies
- Category 3: To support the development of standards and a model curriculum that improves law enforcement interactions with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis through deescalation
- Category 4: To support the delivery of TTA to requests made in response to the Violent Crime Reduction Playbook
- Category 5: To support the delivery of TTA to agencies receiving funding under the Virtual Reality De-escalation Training Initiative
- Category 6: To provide advisory assistance to jurisdictions that experience extraordinary acts of violence that result in mass casualties under the Mass Violence Advisory Initiative (MVAI).
Objectives
- Category 1: Deliver training, technical assistance, and guidance that addresses the management, organization, and project implementation needs of SPI grantees
- Category 2: Assist rural and/or small law enforcement agencies with the development of violence reduction plans that address the unique needs of their communities
- Category 3: Develop consensus guidance that improves law enforcement responses to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, develop a model Crisis Response Intervention Training curriculum, and advance the goals of the Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act of 2022
- Category 4: Assist local jurisdictions with enhancing their capacity to reduce violent crime through implementation of strategies identified in the Violent Crime Reduction Playbook
- Category 5: Deliver TTA to state and local law enforcement agencies that supports their efforts to implement strategies and/or programs that de-escalate interactions between law enforcement and community members, with a focus on safely serving individuals with mental health issues and intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Category 6: Develop and deliver resources to support the delivery of peer-to-peer assistance and related resources to law enforcement executives in jurisdictions that experience incidents of mass violence.
Grant Categories
This solicitation contains six separate categories. Each category is seeking applications for a separate national initiative. Applicants can apply to more than one category but must submit a separate, complete application for each.
- Category 1: Smart Policing Initiative National Training and Technical Assistance Program
- Category 2: Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Training and Technical Assistance
- Category 3: De-escalation and Crisis Intervention Model Training Curriculum Development Initiative
- Category 4: Violent Crime Reduction Playbook
- Category 5: Virtual Reality De-escalation Training and Technical Assistance Initiative
- Category 6: Mass Violence Advisory Initiative
Priority Areas
The Department of Justice 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.
For applications under Category 1 or Category 2, the following Priority Consideration areas are applicable
- Priority Considerations Supporting Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
- In support of this Executive Order, OJP will provide priority consideration when making award decisions to the following:
- Applications that propose project(s) that are designed to promote racial equity and the removal of barriers to access and opportunity for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality
- To receive this consideration, the applicant must describe how the proposed project(s) will address potential racial inequities and contribute to greater access to services and opportunities for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality, and identify how the project design and implementation will specifically incorporate the input or participation of those communities and populations disproportionately impacted by crime, violence, and the criminal justice system overall. Examples addressing this requirement include, but are not limited to, the following: budgeted project planning and/or implementation meetings with community stakeholders representing historically underserved and marginalized communities; outreach and/or public awareness campaigns specifically tailored to historically underserved and marginalized communities to encourage participation in the proposed project(s); budgeted incorporation of members representing historically underserved and marginalized communities in program evaluation, surveys, or other means of project feedback; and partnership with organizations that primarily serve communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality
- Applicants that demonstrate that their capabilities and competencies for implementing their proposed project(s) are enhanced because they (or at least one proposed subrecipient that will receive at least 40% of the requested award funding, as demonstrated in the Budget WebBased Form) identify as a culturally specific organization.
- To receive this additional priority consideration, applicants must describe how being a culturally specific organization (or funding the culturally specific subrecipient organization(s)) will enhance their ability to implement the proposed project(s) and should also specify which populations are intended or expected to be served or to have their needs addressed under the proposed project (s)
- Culturally specific organizations are defined for the purposes of this solicitation as private nonprofit or tribal organizations whose primary purpose as a whole is to provide culturally specific services to racial and ethnic groups, including, among others, Black people, Hispanic and Latino people, Native American and other Indigenous peoples of North America (including Alaska Native, Eskimo, and Aleut), Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and/or Pacific Islanders.
- Applications that propose project(s) that are designed to promote racial equity and the removal of barriers to access and opportunity for communities that have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality
Funding Information
Anticipated Total Amount to be Awarded Under Solicitation: $5,700,000
- Category 1: Smart Policing Initiative National Training and Technical Assistance Program
- Amount for Award: $800,000
- Period of Performance: 24 months
- Category 2: Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Training and Technical Assistance
- Amount for Award: $1,400,000
- Period of Performance: 36 months
- Category 3: De-escalation and Crisis Intervention Model Training Curriculum Development Initiative
- Amount for Award: $2,000,000
- Period of Performance: 36 months
- Category 4: Violent Crime Reduction Playbook
- Amount for Award: $500,000
- Period of Performance: 36 months
- Category 5: Virtual Reality De-escalation Training and Technical Assistance Initiative
- Amount for Award: $500,000
- Period of Performance: 36 months
- Category 6: Mass Violence Advisory Initiative
- Amount for Award: $500,000
- Period of Performance: 36 months
Eligibility Criteria
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- For profit organizations other than small businesses
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Small businesses
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
