BJA FY 15 Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Maximizing State Reforms

Approximately 2.2 million people were incarcerated in federal, state, and local prisons and jails in 2013, a rate of 1 out of every 110 adults.1 For the first time since 2009, the state prison population grew between 2012 and 2013; many prison populations remain near all-time high levels and face crowding or resource challenges. And state spending on corrections has remained high. Over the last 25 years, state corrections expenditures have increased exponentially—from $12 billion in 1988 to more than $55 billion in 2013, a significant increase even accounting for inflation.2 Justice reinvestment...

Eligible applicants are units of state government and federally recognized Indian tribal governments (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) that can demonstrate substantial completion of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative model (see the Selection Criteria on page 24 for the key components of the model). States that underwent a formal justice reinvestment process prior to BJA’s launch of the formal Justice Reinvestment Initiative are eligible to apply. BJA will consider only one application per state or per tribal government. If more than one application is submitted for a state or tribal government, BJA will consider only the application that has received support from the Justice Reinvestment Initiative oversight council, committee, or task force charged with monitoring implementation and outcomes. Eligible entities may submit applications on behalf of a consortium of governmental and nongovernmental partners to design and implement a strategy to further the goals of a state’s justice reinvestment efforts. This partnership is not mandatory; however, if a state proposes such a partnership, one eligible entity must be the applicant and the others must be proposed as subrecipients. The applicant must be the entity with primary responsibility for administering the funding and managing the entire project. The fiscal agent will be legally responsible for complying with all applicable federal rules and regulations in receiving and expending federal funds. The fiscal agent must demonstrate such capacity by showing experience engaging core criminal justice and other partners in statewide and/or local reform efforts. 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.

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.