Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJS 2026 172685
Apply for O BJS 2026 172685
- The Bureau of Justice Statistics in the information and statistics sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJS FY 2026 Criminal History Record Assessment and Research Program (CHRARP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.734.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-08-13.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-09-21. (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 $1,750,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses.
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Opportunity Summary:
The BJS FY 2026 Criminal History Record Assessment and Research Program (CHRARP) is a Bureau of Justice Statistics cooperative agreement designed to strengthen BJS work on national recidivism and criminal history statistics by turning raw criminal history record information into analysis-ready research datasets. The core need is that criminal history data (often called rap sheets) come from many different jurisdictions and systems, and the meaning and formatting of fields can vary widely across states and at the federal level. This award supports the hands-on technical and research work required to translate those state- and federal-specific fields into standardized codes so BJS can reliably compare people and outcomes across places and over time, and produce more accurate and timely statistics on criminal careers, supervision outcomes, and reoffending patterns.
The program is centered on criminal history data BJS receives from two major sources: state central repositories (each state maintains and disseminates its own criminal history records) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation repository, which includes records from the federal justice system and U.S. territories and also holds records submitted by state, local, and tribal agencies that the FBI disseminates. Because the underlying administrative records differ in content, structure, and completeness, the recipient will help BJS convert those heterogeneous records into harmonized datasets that can support statistical analysis across multiple jurisdictions. In practice, this means taking fields that may be coded differently (or presented as text descriptions) depending on the state or federal system, and mapping them into a common national framework so that an arrest event, a court disposition, a sentence, or a supervision period can be counted and analyzed consistently.
A major building block for this work is the set of prior CHRARP deliverables, especially the programs, coding routines, and crosswalk tables created under earlier efforts (including CCHRRD and the 2015 and 2020 CHRARPs). Those crosswalk tables function as BJS national recodes: they translate jurisdiction-specific values and text strings (for example, offense descriptions or court terminology) into standardized categories used across BJS studies. One practical advantage is reuse; when a new dataset contains the same or similar text fields encountered in earlier projects, the crosswalks reduce the time and labor needed to standardize the new data, while also improving comparability across studies. The FY 2026 CHRARP continues and expands this infrastructure by refining state crosswalks, improving code accuracy for processing records, and supporting analysis tied to BJS recidivism statistics and research projects.
The scope of work also includes a careful assessment component. The recipient is expected to examine the content and attributes of the criminal history data in detail and document how arrest, prosecution, court, and supervision information is represented within and across jurisdictions. This is not just a descriptive exercise; it is meant to surface and clarify inconsistencies that affect measurement, such as differences in event sequencing, missing data patterns, varying definitions of key milestones, or inconsistent representations of charges and dispositions. Alongside this, the recipient will work directly with BJS to identify potential data quality issues and, as needed, obtain feedback from federal, state, and tribal agencies about those issues to improve interpretation and coding decisions.
A specific deliverable emphasized in the opportunity is the development of methods that can successfully transform 100 data fields found in parsed rap sheet datasets into BJS standardized values. This implies both breadth (many different fields across the record lifecycle) and depth (reliable transformation rules that hold up across multiple jurisdictions). The recipient will also collaborate with BJS to identify and leverage existing offense classification tables from state and federal agencies as well as prior CHRARP projects, using those resources to improve consistency and reduce duplicative work when standardizing offense and related justice-system information.
From an applicant perspective, BJS is signaling that efficiency and innovation matter. Proposals are encouraged to offer cost-efficient methods and creative, practical solutions for converting jurisdiction-specific administrative data fields into a uniform coding structure, while explicitly accounting for the variations that appear when analyzing multistate data. The work is designed to directly enable BJS statistical products and research by improving the underlying data pipeline: better standardized coding, clearer documentation of differences across systems, stronger crosswalks and processing routines, and analytic support for multiple recidivism-focused projects.
Key administrative details included in the notice are as follows: the opportunity is discretionary and will be awarded as a cooperative agreement, which typically means substantial involvement and ongoing collaboration with BJS during the project. The funding activity category is Information and Statistics under CFDA 16.734. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. BJS expects to make one award, with an award ceiling of $1,750,000. The original application closing date is September 21, 2026. The opportunity number is O-BJS-2026-172685, and the posting creation date is August 13, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the BJS FY 2026 Criminal History Record Assessment and Research Program (CHRARP)?
The BJS FY 2026 Criminal History Record Assessment and Research Program (CHRARP) is a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) cooperative agreement focused on strengthening BJS national recidivism and criminal history statistics. The project centers on converting raw criminal history record information (often called rap sheets) into analysis-ready research datasets that can be used reliably across jurisdictions and over time.
What is the main problem this program is trying to solve?
Criminal history data are produced by many different jurisdictions and systems, and the meaning, structure, and formatting of fields can vary widely across states and at the federal level. Those inconsistencies make it difficult to compare events (like arrests, court dispositions, sentences, and supervision periods) across places and time. CHRARP supports the technical and research work needed to translate jurisdiction-specific fields into standardized codes so BJS can generate more accurate and timely national statistics.
What type of award is this?
This opportunity is a discretionary award and will be made as a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement typically involves substantial involvement and ongoing collaboration with BJS during the project.
What is the funding activity category and CFDA number?
The funding activity category is Information and Statistics, under CFDA 16.734.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status), and for-profit organizations other than small businesses.
How many awards does BJS expect to make?
BJS expects to make one award.
What is the maximum funding amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling is $1,750,000.
When is the application due?
The original application closing date is September 21, 2026.
What is the opportunity number and posting date?
The opportunity number is O-BJS-2026-172685, and the posting creation date is August 13, 2026.
What criminal history data sources does this program focus on?
The work is centered on criminal history data BJS receives from two major sources: (1) state central repositories (each state maintains and disseminates its own criminal history records) and (2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation repository, which includes records from the federal justice system and U.S. territories and also holds records submitted by state, local, and tribal agencies that the FBI disseminates.
What kinds of differences in criminal history records does the project need to handle?
The underlying administrative records can differ in content, structure, completeness, and field meaning. In practice, this includes fields that may be coded differently by jurisdiction or provided as text descriptions, as well as differences in how key lifecycle events (arrest, prosecution, court action, sentencing, supervision) are represented and sequenced.
What does it mean to turn rap sheets into "analysis-ready research datasets"?
In this program context, it means converting heterogeneous, jurisdiction-specific criminal history record fields into harmonized datasets that support consistent statistical analysis across multiple jurisdictions. This includes mapping local codes and text strings into standardized categories so events and outcomes can be counted and analyzed consistently.
What is meant by "standardized codes" or a "common national framework"?
Standardized codes refer to uniform values used across BJS studies so that comparable events (such as arrests, dispositions, sentences, and supervision periods) are represented consistently, even when the original source systems use different codes, terminology, or formatting.
What are crosswalk tables, and why are they important to CHRARP?
Crosswalk tables are BJS national recodes that translate jurisdiction-specific values and text strings (such as offense descriptions or court terminology) into standardized categories. They are important because they support reuse across projects, reduce the time and labor needed to standardize new datasets, and improve comparability of results across BJS studies.
How does the FY 2026 CHRARP relate to prior CHRARP work?
The FY 2026 CHRARP continues and expands prior deliverables, including programs, coding routines, and crosswalk tables created under earlier efforts (including CCHRRD and the 2015 and 2020 CHRARPs). The new work is intended to refine state crosswalks, improve code accuracy for processing records, and support analysis tied to BJS recidivism statistics and research projects.
What is the assessment component of the scope of work?
The recipient is expected to examine the content and attributes of criminal history data in detail and document how arrest, prosecution, court, and supervision information is represented within and across jurisdictions. The goal is to identify and clarify inconsistencies that affect measurement, such as differences in event sequencing, missing data patterns, varying definitions of key milestones, and inconsistent representations of charges and dispositions.
Does the project involve identifying data quality issues?
Yes. The recipient will work directly with BJS to identify potential data quality issues and, as needed, obtain feedback from federal, state, and tribal agencies about those issues to improve interpretation and coding decisions.
What is the specific deliverable involving "100 data fields"?
A deliverable emphasized in the opportunity is the development of methods that can successfully transform 100 data fields found in parsed rap sheet datasets into BJS standardized values. This implies building transformation rules that work across a broad set of fields and hold up across multiple jurisdictions.
What types of record elements are expected to be standardized?
Based on the notice, standardization work is intended to support consistent counting and analysis of major criminal justice events and outcomes, including arrest events, court dispositions, sentences, and supervision periods.
Will the recipient be expected to use existing offense classification resources?
Yes. The recipient will collaborate with BJS to identify and leverage existing offense classification tables from state and federal agencies as well as prior CHRARP projects. The intent is to improve consistency and reduce duplicative work when standardizing offense and related justice-system information.
What does BJS say it is looking for in applicant approaches?
BJS encourages proposals that offer cost-efficient methods and creative, practical solutions for converting jurisdiction-specific administrative data fields into a uniform coding structure, while explicitly accounting for the variations that appear when analyzing multistate data.
How will this work be used by BJS?
The work is designed to directly enable BJS statistical products and research by improving the underlying data pipeline. Expected improvements include better standardized coding, clearer documentation of differences across systems, stronger crosswalks and processing routines, and analytic support for multiple recidivism-focused projects.
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