APPLICATIONS DUE: March 10, 2015, 11:59 p.m., Eastern time

Description:      The Second Chance Act (Pub. L. 110-199) seeks a comprehensive response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and juveniles who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and return to their communities. There are currently over 2.2 million individuals serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through local jails every year. Ninety-five percent of those incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities. The coordination of reentry services for members of Native American tribes is even more complex given that they can return from federal, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), state, local, and tribal facilities. The Second Chance Act Programs are designed to help communities develop and implement comprehensive and collaborative strategies that address the challenges posed by reentry and recidivism reduction.

Developing a reentry approach for reducing recidivism is extremely challenging for even the most sophisticated correctional agency, requiring access to data and service delivery and coordination from multiple systems, including housing, health, employment, education, etc. This solicitation will provide funding for 12-month strategic planning grants during which time state-level participants will convene and work to 1) identify the drivers of recidivism in the state, 2) identify a target population and recidivism reduction goals for the state, 3) review the alignment of existing corrections programs and practices with evidenced-based practices, and 4) develop a plan to meet recidivism reduction goals using evidenced-based practices

Funding Title:    Second Chance Act Statewide Adult Recidivism Reduction Strategic Planning Program FY 2015 Competitive Grant Announcement

Agency Name:    Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance

Funding Instrument Type:     Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid:    Yes. Under “Resources for Civil Legal Aid”: “Civil legal assistance can often play a critical role in addressing barriers to successful reintegration. An allowable use of Second Chance Act funds for reentry services includes referral to and payment of legal services related to the purpose of the grant, such as: securing a driver’s license, expunging criminal records, litigating inappropriate denials of housing or employment and violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, creating and/or modifying child support orders, and other family law services that help stabilize individuals and families. For more information, go to http://www.bja.gov/Programs/SecondChanceLegalServicesGuidance.pdf. ”

Target Population:    See: https://www.bja.gov/Funding/15SCARecidivismReductionSol.pdf 

Expected Number of Awards: BJA estimates that it will make up to 7 awards of up to $100,000 each for an estimated total of $700,000 of funding for a 12-month project period, beginning on October 1, 2015.

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:    No

How to Apply: 

Applicants must register in, and submit applications through Grants.gov, a “one-stop storefront” to find federal funding opportunities and apply for funding. Find complete instructions on how to register and submit an application at http://www.Grants.gov. Applicants that experience technical difficulties during this process should call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800–518–4726 or 606–545–5035, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays. Registering with Grants.gov is a one-time process; however, processing delays may occur, and it can take several weeks for first-time registrants to receive confirmation and a user password. OJP encourages applicants to register several weeks before the application submission deadline. In addition, OJP urges applicants to submit applications 72 hours prior to the application due date to allow time to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov, and to correct in a timely fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection notification.

Upon the completion of the Statewide Recidivism Reduction Strategic Plan, states will be invited by BJA to submit applications for implementation grants of up to $1 million with the potential for two supplemental awards of $1 million each. The total possible available in implementation funding per state is $3 million. Future funding decisions for implementation grants will be competitive and will consider the quality and comprehensiveness of the Statewide Recidivism Reduction Strategic Plan. Supplemental funding will be dependent on grantee progress and performance toward goals as well as the availability of funds.

Current Closing Date for Applications:   March 10, 2015, 11:59 p.m., Eastern time

Estimated Total Program Funding:   $700,000      

Award Ceiling:  $100,000

Award Floor:    $0

Eligible Applicants:

Eligible applicants are limited to state correctional agencies (state departments of corrections or community corrections) or State Administering Agencies (SAAs). Agencies from states that were awarded Second Chance Act Statewide Recidivism Reduction grants in fiscal year (FY) FY 2013 are NOT eligible to apply. Applicants should note that the next potential opportunity to apply for a Second Chance Act Statewide Adult Recidivism Reduction Strategic Planning grant will be FY 2017.

Priority Consideration:    

Policy and Regulations on Use of Funds:

Current/Past Funding Recipients:      2014

Samples of Successful Application:

Link to Full Announcement:    https://www.bja.gov/Funding/15SCARecidivismReductionSol.pdf

Contact Information:

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. Grants.gov Support Hotline hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays.

Applicants that experience unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond their control that prevent them from submitting their application by the deadline must e-mail the contact identified below within 24 hours after the application deadline and request approval to submit their application. Additional information on reporting technical issues is found under “Experiencing Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues” in the How To Apply section.

For assistance with any other requirement of this solicitation, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Response Center: toll-free at 1-800-851-3420; via TTY at 301-240-6310 (hearing impaired only); email responsecenter@ncjrs.gov; fax to 301-240-5830; or web chat at https://webcontact.ncjrs.gov/ncjchat/chat.jsp. The NCJRS Response Center hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. eastern time on the solicitation close date.

Categories: DOJ, Express Language for Legal Aid, Government Organizations, Reentry, Subgrant Possibilities