GRANT RESOURCE CENTER

April 2009 Featured Article

Public Safety and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Triad Associates

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is providing the funds for several law enforcement related programs which are currently soliciting applications.  These are: the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program; the Recovery Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP).

 

Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program

The Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), administers this grant program, which is designed to help communities improve the capacity of state and local justice systems and provide for national support efforts which can assist with local needs. This is a competitive grant program that focuses on initiatives in eight areas: 1) preventing and reducing violent crime through community-based data-driven approaches; 2) providing funding for neighborhood-based probation and parole officers; 3) reducing mortgage fraud and crime related to vacant properties; 4) hiring of civilian support personnel in law enforcement (training staff, analysts, dispatchers and etcetera); 5) enhancing forensic and crime scene investigations; 6) improving resources and services for victims of crime; 7) supporting problem-solving courts; and 8) national training and technical assistance partnerships. An applicant may submit more than one proposal as long as the applications are different.

Eligible applicants include national, regional, state and local public and private entities, including units of local government. The goal of this program is to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, and to provide assistance to victims of crime (other than compensation).  Priority will be given to applications that demonstrate the use of evidence-based practices and/or data-driven strategies. The project period for awards under this program is up to 24 months.

In order to apply for this grant, you must register with OJP’s Grants Management System prior to application submission.  All applications are due by 8:00 p.m. on April 27, 2009.  For more information visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recovery/RecoveryByrne.pdf. 

 

Recovery Act: Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program

Through this program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides New Jersey with $29.7 million for law enforcement programs and activities and nearly $18 million in direct funding for local law enforcement agencies.  Applicants are limited to units of local government listed in the Recovery Act JAG allocation list for JAG funds. For more information about eligibility and program guidelines, you can review the list at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/recoveryallocations.html. Recovery JAG funds can be used for local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support and information systems for criminal justice, as well as for research and evaluation activities that will improve or enhance:

• Law enforcement programs; Prosecution and court programs;Prevention and education programs;Corrections and community corrections programs;Drug treatment and enforcement programs;Planning, evaluation and technology improvement programs; and/or

• Crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).

 

Some examples include: prosecution and court programs; prevention and education programs; corrections and community corrections programs; drug treatment and enforcement programs; planning, evaluation and technology improvement programs, and; crime victim and witness programs (other than compensation).  

If your municipality does not qualify for a direct award you may qualify for funding from the State.  States are required to “pass-through” a percentage of their award to support local projects that support approved Recovery JAG purpose areas. To identify the state agency that administers the award in your area, visit the Office of Justice Programs State Administrative Agencies (SAA) webpage at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/contact_state.htm.  The JAG legislation specifies that allocations to local governments are based on their share of the total violent crime reported by the state's units of government to the FBI over three of the last 10 years.

The Recovery JAG application must be submitted through OJP’s Grants Management System at https://grants.ojp.usdoj.gov/.  The deadline for the local application is 8:00 p.m. on May 18, 2009.  For additional information visit the OJP web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/recoveryjag.html.  

 

COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP)

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) recently announced theavailability of funding under the COPS Hiring Recovery Program (CHRP).  CHRP is a competitive grant program that provides funding directly to law enforcement agencies having primary law enforcement authority to create and preserve jobs and to increase their community policing capacity and crime-prevention efforts. Applications for these grants are now being accepted online through April 14, 2009 at www.cops.usdoj.gov. 

CHRP grants cover 100 percent of the approved entry-level salary and fringe benefits of newly-hired and/or rehired, full-time sworn career law enforcement officers over three years (36 months). There is no local match or cap on the amount of funding that can be requested, but CHRP funding will be based on your agency's current entry-level salary and fringe benefits for full-time sworn officers. Any additional costs for higher than entry-level salaries and fringe benefits will be your responsibility.  

Funding under the CHRP may be used to:

• Hire new officers

• Rehire officers who have already been laid off

• Rehire officers who are (at the time of the application) currently scheduled to be laid off

Up to $1 billion in grant funding will be available for the hiring and rehiring of additional career law enforcement officers.  In addition, there is no cap on the number of positions an agency may request, but awards will be limited to available funding. At the conclusion of federal funding, you must retain all sworn officer positions awarded under this grant.

It is noteworthy to mention the reporting requirements of these three grants.  Since they are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, grantees must provide very detailed reports of their financial and programmatic progress within 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. The Recovery Act reporting requirements are in addition to the grant quarterly financial status reports and quarterly programmatic progress report requirements. If you receive funding, you will be required to provide data that measures the results of your work in addition to discussing data collection methods.  You will also be required to address all of the Recovery Act performance measures as well as all the performance measures that are applicable to each of these programs. 

Awarded agencies will be required to submit information in a timely manner as a condition of the award. The data will then be posted on www.Recovery.gov.  

If you are awarded one of these grants, you should be prepared to track and report CHRP funding separately from other funding sources to ensure accurate financial and programmatic reporting on a timely basis. You also need to ensure that you have solid financial internal controls in place to monitor the use of this funding and ensure that its use is consistent with the grant terms and conditions.  

For more information, visit www.recovery.gov.

 

 

 

Triad Associates is currently the League’s Grant Consulting Firm. Their firm, which is known for its expertise in community and economic development, including strategic planning, redevelopment, acquisition, relocation and funding, has brought diverse plans and projects to life by generating more than $580,000,000 for over 120 public, private and nonprofit clients throughout the Northeast region since 1978. Every member of the Triad team is personally committed and dedicated to the success of its clients and the projects that benefit communities.

 

  
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