BJA FY24 Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program | O BJA 2024 171967

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2024 171967

The BJA FY24 Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The program is built around the idea that better coordination between law enforcement and behavioral health systems can improve both public safety and public health. It specifically focuses on improving how communities respond to people with mental health disorders and people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, with an emphasis on achieving better outcomes for those individuals while strengthening community trust and safety.

At its core, Connect and Protect funds cross-system collaboration, meaning applicants are expected to bring together partners across law enforcement and behavioral health to plan and carry out a more coordinated response. The funding can support efforts to prepare for or strengthen this work by developing, creating, or expanding comprehensive plans, and it can also support implementation of those plans through collaborative projects that serve people who meet the program’s target criteria. While the summary does not list specific allowable activities in detail, the framing makes clear that BJA is looking for practical, structured partnerships that improve real-world responses and outcomes, rather than isolated or purely law-enforcement-only approaches.

The solicitation aligns with broader DOJ/OJP priorities that include advancing civil rights and equity, increasing access to justice, supporting victims and others impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, protecting the public from crime and evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the community. In practice, this signals that applications should not only describe operational improvements, but also show how the proposed collaboration will be implemented in a way that is equitable, rights-respecting, and community-centered, especially when responding to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.

Eligibility is broad across government and quasi-government entities. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The opportunity also allows applications from other agencies with a different legal status, such as nonprofit or for-profit mental health agencies, but only if they meet two conditions: they must be designated by the state mental health authority to provide services as a unit of state or local government, and they must include documentation proving that designation as part of the application.

Key administrative details are as follows: the funding opportunity number is O-BJA-2024-171967, and the assistance listing (CFDA) number is 16.745. The application deadline listed is May 1, 2024. BJA anticipates making about 19 awards under this solicitation, with an award ceiling of $550,000 per award. The opportunity record indicates it was created on February 6, 2024.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY24 Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response 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 2024-02-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-01. (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 $550,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 19 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), Others.

Apply for O BJA 2024 171967

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