Grants to USA IHEs and State, Local, and Tribal Agencies for Programs to Improve Mental Health Awareness in Law Enforcement

Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program

Agency

Federal

GrantWatch ID#

196384

Funding Source

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)

CFDA Number: 16.745

Funding or PIN Number: O-BJA-2023-171520

Geographic Focus

All USA
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA);

Important Dates

Deadline: 04/24/23 8:59 PM ET - Grants.gov deadline; 05/01/23 8:59 PM ET - JustGrants deadline.

Grant Description

Grants to USA and territories IHEs and state, local, and tribal governments for programs to improve the response of law officers when they come into contact with individuals with mental illness. Applicants are advised to complete required registrations well in advance of the deadline.

The Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program is specifically designated to support law enforcement and behavioral health cross-system collaboration and to improve public health and safety responses and outcomes for individuals with MHDs or co-occurring MHSUDs who come into contact with the criminal justice system. BJA is seeking applicants to design or enhance a law enforcement-behavioral health response to people with MHDs and cooccurring MHSUDs who come into contact with law enforcement.

The objectives of the program are to:

Design and implement a best practice program in crisis response based on present information to assist law enforcement officers during encounters with people who have MHDs or co-occurring MHSUDs.
Plan and deliver a law enforcement agency response program, in coordination with a mental health agency, that includes services to improve or enhance the response.
Pay salaries, as well as expenses such as training (overtime) and coordination activities, to design and implement a police-mental health collaboration program (PMHC).
Engage residents through outreach and education to improve public health and public safety.
Build positive community relations and trust through public communication strategies.
Enhance officer knowledge and skills in responding to community members with MHDs or co-occurring MHSUDs.
Increase public safety agency capacity to develop and sustain the program by collecting data to inform practices, create stakeholder groups, develop policy, and encourage ongoing professional development.
Seek guidance, then incorporate and build upon successful strategies for PMHCs.

OJP Priority Areas: https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/O-BJA-2023-171520.pdf#page=9

Recipient

Eligibility

City or township governments
County governments
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)
Special district governments
State governments

Additional Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants:
City or township governments, County governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Special district governments, State governments, Other

Agencies with a different legal status (e.g., nonprofit or for-profit mental health agencies) are eligible to apply only if they meet two requirements:
1. The applicant is designated by the state mental health authority to provide services as a unit of the state or local government.
2. The applicant must attach documentation to support this designation.

BJA will consider applications under which two or more entities would carry out the federal award; however, only one entity may be the applicant. Any others must be proposed as subrecipients (subgrantees). For additional information on subawards, see the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.

For purposes of this solicitation, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.

Ineligible

In addition to unallowable costs identified in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide, award funds may not be used for the following:
- Prizes, rewards, entertainment, trinkets, or any other monetary incentives
- Client stipends
- Gift cards
- Vehicle purchases
- Food and beverages

Pre-Proposal Conference

On February 15, 2023, at 3 p.m. ET, BJA will hold a webinar to provide a detailed overview of this opportunity and answer questions.

Learn more about and register to participate in this webinar: https://bja.ojp.gov/events/responding-fy-2023-connect-and-protect-law-enforcement-behavioral-health-responses

Pre-Application Information

The SF-424 and the SF-LLL must be submitted in Grants.gov by April 24, 2023 8:59 PM ET.

The full application must be submitted in JustGrants by May 1, 2023 8:59 PM ET.

OJP urges applicants to submit their Grants.gov and JustGrants submissions prior to the due dates to allow sufficient time to correct errors and resubmit by the submission deadlines if a rejection notification is received. To be considered timely, the full application must be submitted in JustGrants by the JustGrants application deadline.

Applications will be submitted to DOJ in two steps.
- Step 1: The applicant must submit by the Grants.gov deadline the required Application for Federal Assistance standard form (SF)-424 and a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) form when they register in Grants.gov. To register in Grants.gov, the applicant will need to ensure that its System for Award Management (SAM) registration is current.
- Step 2: The applicant must then submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants.

This solicitation requires an escalating percentage cash or in-kind match. For years 1 and 2, a 20 percent match is required. For year 3, a 40 percent match is required.

View this opportunity on Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=345626

For a list of application documents, see the Package tab (press Preview) on the Grants.gov page above.

Webinar recording: https://youtu.be/j5bdHBcGowM

Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$17,000,000

Number of Grants

Estimated Size of Grant

Up to $550,000

Term of Contract

Period of Performance Start Date: 10/1/23
Period of Performance Duration (Months): 36

Connect and Protect requires a two-phase process consisting of planning and implementation activities. The planning phase is up to 12 months. The implementation phase will begin once the grantee has met the requirements of the planning phase, to include completion of the required “Planning and Implementation Guide,” and will continue for the remaining time of the grant.

Contact Information

For technical assistance with submitting the Application for Federal Assistance standard form (SF)-424 and a Disclosure of Lobbying Activities form (SF-LLL) in Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726, 606-545-5035, at Grants.gov customer support, or email at support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Support Hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays.

For technical assistance with submitting the full application in DOJ’s Justice Grants System (JustGrants), contact the JustGrants Service Desk at JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov or at 833-872-5175. The JustGrants Service Desk operates 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. eastern time (ET) Monday–Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, and federal holidays.

For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact the OJP Response Center by telephone at 800–851–3420 or TTY: 301–240–6310 (hearing impaired only) or by email at grants@ncjrs.gov. The OJP Response Center hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET on the solicitation close date.

Grants to USA IHEs and State, Local, and Tribal Agencies for Programs to Improve Mental Health Awareness in Law Enforcement

Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program

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