Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2026 172609
Apply for O BJA 2026 172609
- The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY25 Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Strengthening State and Local Operations to Reduce Crime and Recidivism" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.827.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-05-08.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-06-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,000,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is offering a discretionary grant opportunity called "BJA FY25 Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Strengthening State and Local Operations to Reduce Crime and Recidivism" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-BJA-2026-172609; CFDA: 16.827). The core purpose of this funding is to help state, local, and federally recognized tribal governments take a hard look at how their justice systems operate, identify where money is being spent inefficiently or wastefully, and then redirect those resources toward approaches that are more likely to improve public safety. In practical terms, the program is aimed at jurisdictions that want to realign budgets, policies, and operational practices so the system spends less on low-value activities and more on strategies that measurably reduce crime and repeat offending.
The opportunity is structured around the idea of justice reinvestment: using data to pinpoint the specific drivers of crime, incarceration, and recidivism in a jurisdiction, then shifting funding and attention toward the people, places, and practices where changes will have the biggest impact. Applicants are expected to define one or more urgent local justice system challenges they intend to address, and to justify those choices using existing data and information (for example, trends in arrests, case processing times, jail bookings and length of stay, probation and parole outcomes, revocations, reentry barriers, or patterns of violent crime). The proposal should explain not only what the challenge is, but also how the jurisdiction will refocus resources toward evidence-informed strategies and the populations most associated with crime reduction gains.
BJA is signaling that projects may span the full range of justice system operations, rather than focusing on a single agency in isolation. Jurisdictions can consider challenges and improvements across law enforcement, prosecution, sentencing and courts, jails and prisons, community supervision (probation and parole), and other related components of local government operations that intersect with justice outcomes. This encourages collaborative, systemwide approaches, such as reducing unnecessary jail use, improving pretrial decision-making, addressing supervision practices that drive technical violations, strengthening diversion options, improving reentry supports, or targeting high-risk/high-need populations with interventions that reduce victimization and repeat offending. The common thread is operational strengthening and resource reallocation tied directly to measurable public safety or justice system performance problems.
Eligibility is broad within government, including state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments, with an "others" category also listed for eligible applicants. The award instrument is a grant. The maximum award amount (ceiling) is $4,000,000 per award. The posting lists an original closing date of 2026-06-03 and a creation date of 2026-05-08. While the number of expected awards is not specified in the provided source data, applicants should plan proposals around the program's central expectations: define a clearly articulated local problem, demonstrate data-driven diagnosis, and lay out a credible plan for reinvesting resources into strategies most likely to reduce crime and recidivism while improving the efficiency of justice system operations.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "BJA FY25 Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Strengthening State and Local Operations to Reduce Crime and Recidivism."
Which agency is offering this funding?
The funding is offered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
Is this a discretionary grant or a formula program?
This is a discretionary grant opportunity.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is O-BJA-2026-172609.
What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?
The CFDA number provided is 16.827.
What is the core purpose of this grant?
The core purpose is to help state, local, and federally recognized tribal governments closely examine how their justice systems operate, identify inefficient or wasteful spending, and redirect resources toward approaches that are more likely to improve public safety by reducing crime and recidivism.
What does "justice reinvestment" mean in the context of this program?
In this program, justice reinvestment means using data to identify key drivers of crime, incarceration, and recidivism in a jurisdiction, then shifting funding and attention toward strategies, populations, and operational changes most likely to produce measurable improvements in public safety and justice system performance.
What kinds of problems are applicants expected to address?
Applicants are expected to define one or more urgent local justice system challenges and justify them using existing data and information. Examples referenced include trends in arrests, case processing times, jail bookings and length of stay, probation and parole outcomes, revocations, reentry barriers, and patterns of violent crime.
Do applicants need to use data to justify their proposed focus?
Yes. Proposals are expected to justify the chosen challenge(s) using existing data and information and to explain how resources will be refocused toward evidence-informed strategies connected to crime reduction and reduced repeat offending.
Does the grant focus on a single agency or the full justice system?
BJA signals that projects may span the full range of justice system operations rather than focusing on a single agency in isolation, encouraging collaborative and systemwide approaches.
Which parts of the justice system can be included in a project?
The opportunity indicates that jurisdictions can consider challenges and improvements across law enforcement, prosecution, sentencing and courts, jails and prisons, community supervision (probation and parole), and other related components of local government operations that intersect with justice outcomes.
What are examples of systemwide approaches mentioned in the opportunity description?
Examples mentioned include reducing unnecessary jail use, improving pretrial decision-making, addressing supervision practices that drive technical violations, strengthening diversion options, improving reentry supports, and targeting high-risk/high-need populations with interventions aimed at reducing victimization and repeat offending.
What is the common thread BJA is looking for across proposed projects?
The common thread is operational strengthening and resource reallocation tied directly to measurable public safety outcomes or justice system performance problems, with an emphasis on reducing crime and recidivism and improving efficiency.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad within government and includes state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. An "others" category is also listed in the provided information.
Are federally recognized tribal governments eligible?
Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are included in the eligibility list.
What type of award instrument will be used?
The award instrument is a grant.
What is the maximum award amount?
The maximum award amount (ceiling) is $4,000,000 per award.
How many awards does BJA expect to make?
The number of expected awards is not specified in the provided source data.
What are the key elements BJA expects to see in an application?
Based on the opportunity description, applicants should be prepared to: (1) define a clearly articulated local problem; (2) demonstrate a data-driven diagnosis of that problem; and (3) present a credible plan to reinvest resources into evidence-informed strategies most likely to reduce crime and recidivism while improving the efficiency of justice system operations.
What dates are listed for this opportunity?
The posting lists a creation date of 2026-05-08 and an original closing date of 2026-06-03.
What is the application deadline?
The original closing date listed is 2026-06-03.
Is this funding intended to help reduce both crime and recidivism?
Yes. The opportunity explicitly emphasizes reducing crime and recidivism, alongside improving how justice system resources are used.
Does the opportunity emphasize evidence-informed strategies?
Yes. The description stresses refocusing resources toward evidence-informed strategies and toward the populations most associated with crime reduction gains.
What kinds of outcomes does BJA appear to prioritize?
From the description provided, priority outcomes include measurable reductions in crime and repeat offending, and measurable improvements in justice system operational efficiency and performance (for example, improvements connected to jail use, case processing, supervision outcomes, or reentry barriers).
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