American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (known as the Recovery Act) provides assistance to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies and other criminal justice activities to prevent crime and improve the U.S. criminal justice system while supporting the creation of jobs and providing resources for state, local, and tribal communities.  This support is available for the purchase of equipment, supplies, information systems, technical assistance, training, personnel, public safety software, and technology.

 

Edward R. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) Formula

            Fully $2 billion has been made available for the Byrne-JAG formula grant program. The allocations for each state’s jurisdictions have been set by the U.S. Department of Justice. Agencies can view what jurisdictions in their states are receiving at:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/recoveryallocations.html.

These funds are distributed by state administrative agencies (SAAs). A list of SAAs is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/saa/.

 

Byrne-JAG Competitive Program

A total of $225 million has been made available for Byrne-JAG competitive grants, for which individual departments may apply directly to the Department of Justice.  The funds from the Byrne-JAG program can be used for equipment, supplies, information systems, technical assistance, training, personnel, public safety software, and technology.

 

Deadline for Grant Applications

Deadline: 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, May 18, 2009. Law enforcement agencies must act quickly to take advantage of the funds available to localities.

How to Apply

To take advantage of the funds available through the Byrne-JAG program, law enforcement agencies must act quickly! See http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/JAGrecoveryLocal.pdf.

Applications must be submitted through the online Grants Management System (GMS) of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP). Law enforcement applicants should begin the process immediately to meet the GMS registration deadline—especially if it is their first time using the system.

Each application requires a separate GMS registration. The registration process for an organization includes (1) obtaining a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number; (2) registering the agency with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database; and (3) registering with the GMS prior to applying.

 

For additional help with the GMS, call 866-705-5711.

Organizations that have previously submitted applications via grants.gov are registered; however, applicants must update or renew their registrations at least one per year to maintain an active status. 

 

Other Programs

 

The Recovery Act provides an additional $2 billion in other grant programs for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies:

 

  • $225 million for Office of Violence Against Women programs, of which $175 million is for STOP grants and $50 million is for the transitional housing assistance grants program
  • $40 million for competitive grants to provide assistance and equipment to local law enforcement agencies along the southern U.S. border and in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from the southern border
  • $225 million for Indian Country grants
  • $125 million for assistance to law enforcement agencies in rural areas
  • $50 million for Internet Crimes Against Children initiatives
  • $1 billion for the Justice Department’s COPS Office for the hiring and rehiring. These funds are administered by the COPS Office. For more information, visit http://www.theiacp.org/About/WhatsNew/tabid/459/Default.aspx?id=1088&v=1.

 

Law Enforcement Agencies may apply directly to the Department of Justice for these programs. For more information, including application instructions and deadlines and for an overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit http://www.ojp.gov/recovery/.