Introduction to OJP's New Grant Awards Site
Welcome the new Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Grant Awards site. This site is designed to help you explore the grants OJP has awarded since 2021 and the remarkable work being done by OJP’s grantees. In this video, you'll learn how to navigate our new interactive awards map and use other search functions it offers to find all the OJP awards made since FY 2021—all organized by state, city, and grant program, as well as other options.
1. Advance Public Safety, Prevent Gun Violence, and Increase Community Trust
These grants support innovative and evidence-based strategies designed to prevent and reduce violent crime, support the health and safety of law enforcement and public safety professionals, promote rehabilitation and reentry success, and address the rise in hate crimes across the country.
- Reducing Violent Crime and Supporting Law Enforcement:
OJP is committed to supporting law enforcement agencies nationwide as they work to address violent crime and serve their communities.
- Tackling Community Violence:
OJP is dedicated to preventing and reducing violence in communities across the country. The Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative is grounded in a promising and growing body of research on the effectiveness of community-driven practices for reducing violence.
- Preventing School Violence:
OJP supports school violence prevention efforts, provides training to school personnel and students, and funds research and evaluation on the causes and consequences of school violence. The STOP School Violence Act of 2018 enables the Justice Department to help state, local and Tribal governments, school districts and public safety agencies improve security at schools through evidence-based school safety programs.
- Supporting Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals:
More than 440,000 people returned home from state and federal prisons in 2021 alone, while yearly releases from local jails are estimated in the millions. Just over 25,000 youth are in residential placement, poised to return home, based on a one-day count in 2020. The Department’s significant investments in Second Chance Act adult and juvenile reentry programs include efforts to expand education and employment opportunities, improve continuity of care, support incarcerated parents of minor children, advance evidence-based community supervision services, and work to protect incarcerated individuals from harm.
- Responding to Hate Crimes:
OJP is working to support law enforcement and community efforts to prevent and curb violence and other crimes motivated by bias based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
- Improving Safety in Tribal Communities:
OJP provides critical support for public safety activities in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Hundreds of Tribal organizations and Tribal consortia have received funding under the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, which combines many of OJP’s Tribal-specific competitive programs under one solicitation to reduce the burdens of applying. CTAS funding helps strengthen Tribal justice infrastructure, supports Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts and Tribal youth programs, and provides personal and legal protection to children in Tribal communities.
- Managing Sex Offenders:
OJP provides its state, territorial and Tribal partners with resources to keep their registration and notification systems up-to-date, provide the assistance and support necessary for them to meet federal legal mandates, and enhance registration and notification tools to help augment safety in their communities.
2. Accelerate Justice System Reforms That Promote Community Safety and Well-Being, Equity and Justice for All
These grants will expand access to services among historically underserved and marginalized communities, reduce counterproductive involvement in the justice system, increase opportunities for diversion and build pathways to treatment for people with substance use and mental health disorders.
- Reforming the Justice System and Advancing Equity and Fairness:
Every person who comes in contact with the justice system deserves to be treated fairly and humanely. Advancing systemic improvements in the justice system to achieve this goal is one of the core tenets of OJP’s mission.
- Increasing Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment and Recovery Services:
OJP is advancing strategies that promote access to treatment and recovery services for individuals with substance use and mental health disorders, while reducing unnecessary justice system involvement whenever possible. OJP's investments are expanding pathways to community-based recovery resources and alternatives to incarceration, as well as equipping justice systems nationwide to effectively respond to and support individuals with behavioral health needs. Funds will be focused on efforts related to crisis response, deflection and diversion, access to treatment and recovery supports within prisons and jails, and other initiatives that increase access to mental health and substance use treatment and recovery services across the justice system.
- Addressing the Substance Use and Overdose Crises:
More than 46 million people in the United States have a substance use disorder, and more than half of people in state prisons and almost two-thirds of those held in jails meet the criteria for substance use disorder. Tragically, nearly 80,000 people died from opioid-related drug overdoses during the 12-month period ending December 2022, and those returning to the community from incarceration are at significantly higher risk of an overdose. These funds represent investments in prevention and harm reduction, treatment courts, residential treatment programs, peer and other recovery support services, services for opioid-affected youth and their families, and community-based strategies that improve continuity of care and align treatment, public health and public safety.
3. Transform the Juvenile Justice System Into One That Is Effective and Equitable, Treats Children as Children, and Empowers Youth to Lead Healthy, Productive Lives Free From Crime and Violence
This funding will ensure that young people are served at home in their communities whenever possible, are equipped to transition to a healthy adulthood free of crime and are protected from violence and abuse.
- Supporting Youth:
A developmentally appropriate juvenile justice system that treats children as children is critical to helping justice-involved youth succeed and avoid future system involvement.
- Protecting Children:
A safe, healthful and vibrant society starts with protecting and nurturing the development of our children. These funds will enhance and strengthen investigative and trauma-informed services to protect vulnerable youth, while supporting robust training and technical assistance to ensure professionals working to protect these youth have the tools they need to be successful.
4. Ensure Rights, Access to Services and Resources, and Equity for All Victims of Crime
This funding will support thousands of local victim assistance programs across the country and victim compensation programs in every state and U.S. territory, while helping these programs build their capacity to reach those disproportionately affected by crime and victimization.
- Expanding Victim Services:
Many victims of crime suffer not only from the initial victimization, but also because they may confront a system ill-equipped to help them heal. OJP is working to provide services to survivors and support them on their path to healing.
- Combating Human Trafficking and Supporting Human Trafficking Victims:
Human trafficking is a global problem that affects communities throughout our country, causing immeasurable trauma to victims and their loved ones. OJP is committed to supporting state and local efforts to combat human trafficking operations, remove victims from harm and help survivors access the services they need to begin the journey to healing and recovery.
- Serving American Indian and Alaska Native Victims:
Funding under the Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside program, administered by OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime, has provided services to tens of thousands of American Indian and Alaska Native crime victims since the program was launched five years ago.
5. Advance Science and Innovation to Guide Policy and Practice
These awards will support research and data collection on a wide range of public safety issues, help maintain timely and accurate criminal history records and improve the capacity of crime labs and forensic analysts to solve crimes, absolve the innocent and deliver justice to victims.
- Supporting Research and Data Collection:
Sound science is the foundation of fair and effective public safety practices. Research and statistics on crime and justice issues help policymakers make informed decisions, support the implementation of effective policies and practices and help communities wisely invest public safety resources.
- Strengthening Forensic Science:
Forensic science plays an indispensable role in helping the justice system investigate and solve crimes, absolve the innocent, find missing persons and deliver justice to victims and families. These funds will support crime laboratories, fund forensics research and innovation, decrease DNA backlogs and help investigators locate missing persons.
Date Published: September 27, 2023