The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance is accepting applications for its Upholding the Rule of Law and Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program.
Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 05/04/2026
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
This NOFO supports conviction integrity units (CIU) and wrongful conviction review (WCR) entities. CIUs enhance criminal justice system integrity. WCR entities represent and review individual cases of post- conviction claims of innocence. The goal of this program is to strengthen the capacity of CIUs and WCR entities and their criminal justice and victims’ services partners to more effectively and efficiently identify, assess, and manage post-conviction claims of innocence. Additionally, it aims to prevent future errors, identify and apprehend actual perpetrators of crimes, and deliver justice to victims.
Categories
- Category 1: Prosecutor/Conviction Integrity Unit-Led Partnerships with Wrongful Conviction Review Entities (CIU-Led Partnerships)
- Category 1 projects are led by state or local prosecutor offices or CIUs that focus on the prevention of wrongful convictions and the review of post-conviction claims of innocence. This can include a collaborative partnership involving both prosecutors and defense counsel, with attention to potential conflicts of interest.
- Category 2: Wrongful Conviction Review Entity-Led Strategy (WCR Entity-Led Strategy)
- Category 2 projects are led by a WCR entity that focuses on the review of postconviction claims of innocence while also supporting efforts to assess and reduce risk of future error by enhancing system integrity. This project can support a collaborative partnership with a prosecutor’s office or CIU.
Funding Information
- Total Amount To Be Awarded Under This Funding Opportunity: $6,000,000
- Category 1: Prosecutor/Conviction Integrity Unit-Led Partnerships with Wrongful Conviction Review Entities (CIU-Led Partnerships): $3,000,000
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: Up to $600,000
- Category 2: Wrongful Conviction Review Entity-Led Strategy (WCR Entity-Led Strategy): $3,000,000
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: Up to $600,000
Period of Performance
36 months
Eligibility Criteria
The types of entities that are eligible to apply for this funding opportunity are listed below:
- Government Entities
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Native American Tribal governments (federally recognized)
- Native American Tribal governments (other than federally recognized)
- Educational Organizations
- Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Private 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
- Other units of local government
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.
