The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) seeks applications for funding under the fiscal year (FY) 2023 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
U.S. Territories: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, American Samoa, Guam
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/07/2023
Size of the Grant: $25,000,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA or Act), codified in relevant part at 34 U.S.C. 40912, addresses the gap in information available to the NICS about prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments and other prohibiting factors. Filling these information gaps will better enable the system 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.
The NIAA authorized a grant program to assist states in providing certain information to the NICS and prescribes grant penalties for noncompliance with the NIAA’s record completeness goals. Additionally, pursuant to the Act, there are certain conditions, described under Eligibility Information, that a state must satisfy in advance of receiving grants under the Act.
BJS is publishing this notice to announce the continuation of the NARIP in FY 2023, identify the program priorities, and provide information on application requirements. This year, BJS is prioritizing the use of funds for two purposes:
- to enhance the completeness, automation, and transmittal of records to state and federal systems used by the NICS, and
- 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 the 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.
Awards under this solicitation will include a condition (the specific terms of which will govern the award) related to supplying records to the NICS. The condition will, generally speaking, require recipients that use the award for a project or program that results in court dispositions, information or other “eligible records” relevant to the NICS, or that has a purpose of establishing or improving any of the foregoing, to promptly make available to the NICS or the state repository accessed by the NICS (and, as appropriate, update, correct, modify, or remove) all such dispositions, information, and other “eligible records.”
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $25,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $25,000,000
- Award Floor: $12,500,000
Period of Performance Duration (Months)
24
Eligible Applicants
- State governments
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Additional Information on Eligibility
The state central administrative office or similar entity designated by statute or regulation to administer federal grant funds on behalf of the jurisdiction’s court system State governments to include agencies designated by the governor of their respective state to administer NCHIP.
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, visits Grants.gov.
