BJA FY 23 Collaborative Crisis Response and Intervention Training Program | O BJA 2023 171627

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171627

The BJA FY 23 Collaborative Crisis Response and Intervention Training Program is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). It focuses on helping jurisdictions strengthen how they respond when community members experience a crisis involving behavioral health needs or disabilities. The core idea is to fund practical crisis response and intervention training that improves decision-making, safety, and outcomes during encounters that may involve mental health conditions, substance use disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, or physical disabilities. In doing so, the program is meant to reduce harm, improve coordination among responders, and encourage approaches that are appropriate to the circumstances rather than relying on one-size-fits-all enforcement responses.

This solicitation is framed within OJP priorities around civil rights and racial equity, access to justice, support for victims and justice-involved individuals, and community safety. A key theme is building and maintaining trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The funding is positioned to help agencies adopt crisis response practices that are safer and more effective for both the individual in crisis and the responding personnel, while also improving broader community confidence that crisis situations will be handled fairly, respectfully, and competently.

A central expectation of the program is collaboration. Rather than treating crisis response as solely a law enforcement function, BJA emphasizes partnerships between law enforcement and organizations with specialized expertise, including mental health providers, substance use disorder service agencies, and other community service partners. The intent is to promote a coordinated response system where trained officers and partner agencies work together, improving referral pathways, strengthening co-response models where relevant, and ensuring people in crisis can be connected to appropriate services. This collaborative approach is designed to increase the likelihood of safe outcomes and reduce unnecessary escalation, detention, or involvement in the justice system when a health or disability-focused response is more suitable.

Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments, along with other entities as described in the solicitation’s eligibility clarification. The opportunity is listed under CFDA number 16.745, uses the grant funding instrument, and is categorized as discretionary. The award ceiling is $250,000 per award, with BJA expecting to make approximately 8 awards under this solicitation. The opportunity was posted on February 28, 2023, and the original application closing date was April 25, 2023.

For applicants looking to understand what strong proposals look like, BJA points to samples of previously successful applications hosted on its website. Those examples can help prospective applicants align their project designs with typical expectations, including clear partner roles, realistic training plans, and a concrete approach to improving real-world crisis response practices in their communities.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 Collaborative Crisis Response and Intervention Training Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.745.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 28, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 25, 2023. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O BJA 2023 171627

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