BJA FY 18 Project Safe Neighborhoods | BJA 2018 13620

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2018 13620

The BJA FY 18 Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grant opportunity is a discretionary funding program from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), focused on making neighborhoods safer by driving a sustained reduction in gun crime and gang-related violence. The core idea behind PSN is that lasting public safety improvements come from coordinated, district-wide collaboration rather than isolated efforts. Each federal judicial district is expected to operate under a unified strategy led by the local U.S. Attorney, who convenes and directs a PSN team that brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement along with other community stakeholders. The program emphasizes concentrating resources and attention on the most violent neighborhoods, using a blend of enforcement, intervention, outreach, and prevention activities tailored to local conditions.

A defining feature of this opportunity is its reliance on structured partnerships and shared accountability. The U.S. Attorney is responsible for establishing a collaborative PSN team and ensuring the team implements PSN using five design features: partnerships, strategic planning, training, outreach, and accountability. In practice, that means agencies and community participants are expected to align around a common plan, use data and local intelligence to identify the most pressing gun and gang drivers, strengthen practitioner skills through training, communicate and engage the public through outreach, and measure progress through accountability mechanisms. Rather than treating gun violence strictly as a policing problem, PSN supports a balanced approach that can include targeted enforcement alongside community-based prevention and intervention efforts, with the overall aim of reducing violence in a durable way.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number BJA-2018-13620, with a creation date of March 26, 2018, and an original application closing date of May 10, 2018. It is offered as a grant funding instrument and is categorized under funding activity areas that include law, justice, and legal services (and related categories listed in the notice). The CFDA number associated with the program is 16.609. The award ceiling is listed as $500,000, and BJA anticipated making about 12 awards under this solicitation, indicating a competitive national process with a limited number of funded sites.

Eligibility is broad and includes multiple levels and types of applicants that could participate in PSN work, including state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that nonprofit category). This range reflects the program model, which depends on multi-sector engagement and allows different types of organizations to help implement enforcement strategies, prevention initiatives, training activities, victim and community outreach efforts, and other components that support the district PSN plan under the leadership of the U.S. Attorney.

Overall, the FY 2018 PSN opportunity is best understood as a place-based, partnership-driven violence reduction initiative. It aims to move beyond short-term suppression by encouraging districts to develop a coordinated strategy, build shared capacity through training and planning, maintain strong community-facing outreach, and track results to ensure accountability. The intended outcome is a measurable, sustained reduction in gun crime and gang violence, especially in the neighborhoods experiencing the highest levels of harm.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), law, justice and legal services, other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 18 Project Safe Neighborhoods" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.609.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 26, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 10, 2018. (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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for BJA 2018 13620

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