OpportunityTitle: BJA FY 15 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible entities to serve as fiscal agent include states, units of local governments, non-profit organizations (including tribal non-profit organizations), and federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.For this solicitation, community is defined broadly as a geographic area that has social meaning to residents. In urban areas, the term community may be used interchangeably with neighborhood to describe a specific geographic area that is delineated by major streets or physical topography. In urban areas, a community is typically less than two miles wide, while in rural and tribal areas it is often larger and part of an entire county.The BCJI application requires a consortium of partners (hereinafter referred to as &#8220;cross-sector partnership&#8221;) to plan or implement a targeted strategy addressing crime in a specific community. The cross-sector partnership must designate one eligible entity to serve as the fiscal agent.1 The fiscal agent must ensure that the cross-sector partnership is committed to and can successfully oversee key enforcement, prevention, intervention, and community engagement strategies AND access and analyze key data (crime and other) with regular input from the research and law enforcement agency partners.The fiscal agent will oversee coordination of the cross-sector partnership and manage any subawards for services. The fiscal agent will be legally responsible for complying with all applicable federal rules and regulations in receiving and expending federal funds. The application must demonstrate that the fiscal agent has the capacity, commitment, and community support to serve as fiscal agent. The fiscal agent must demonstrate such capacity by1 Throughout this solicitation, &#8220;fiscal agent&#8221; and &#8220;applicant&#8221; are used interchangeably.BJA-2015-40952showing experience engaging residents as well as core criminal justice and other partners in the implementation and sustainment of community justice strategies, especially in the targeted area.Jurisdictions are strongly encouraged to coordinate with and seek the support of their local U.S. Attorney and local policymakers.BJA may elect to make awards for applications submitted under this solicitation in future fiscal years, dependent on the merit of the applications and on the availability of appropriations.
Description: Healthy, vibrant communities are places that provide the opportunities, resources, and an environment that children and adults need to maximize their life outcomes, including high-quality schools and cradle-to-career educational programs; high-quality and affordable housing; thriving commercial establishments; access to quality health care and health services; art and cultural amenities; parks and other recreational spaces; and the safety to take advantage of these opportunities. Unfortunately, millions of Americans live in distressed communities2 where a combination of crime, poverty, unemployment, poor health, struggling schools, inadequate housing, and disinvestment keep many residents from reaching their full potential. Research suggests that crime clustered in small areas, or crime &#8220;hot spots,&#8221; accounts for a disproportionate amount of crime and disorder in many communities. The complexity of these issues has led to the emergence of comprehensive place-based and community-oriented initiatives that involve service providers from multiple sectors, as well as community representatives from all types of organizations, to work together to reduce and prevent crime and to revitalize communities.In many ways, community safety and crime prevention are prerequisites to the transformation of distressed communities, including the revitalization of civic engagement. Addressing community safety is the role of criminal justice agencies, the community, and its partners as a whole. To improve and revitalize communities, all relevant stakeholders should be included: law enforcement and criminal justice, education, housing, health and human services, community and faith-based non-profits, local volunteers, residents, and businesses.Given the significant needs and limited resources of some of these communities, local and tribal leaders need tools and information about crime trends in their jurisdiction and assistance in assessing, planning, and implementing the most effective use of criminal justice resources to address these issues. The criminal justice field has been creating new evidence-informed and evidence-based strategies designed to prevent and deter future crime in hot spots.This program is funded pursuant to the &#8220;Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015&#8221; under the Edward Byrne Memorial criminal justice innovation program appropriation (P.L. 113-235).The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program was created as part of a larger, interagency effort across multiple federal agencies to assist distressed communities to both build capacity and revitalize neighborhoods. For more details on these interagency programs, see the section titled &#8220;How does BCJI fit within larger place-based and neighborhood revitalization efforts across federal agencies?&#8221; on page 7.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Technical Support
GrantorContactText: For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035, or via e-mail to support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Support Hotline hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays.