The Department of Justice is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community.
The Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program is part of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP). It is designated to support law enforcement–behavioral health cross-system collaboration and to improve public safety responses and outcomes for individuals with mental illness (MI) or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse (CMISA) who come into contact with the criminal justice system. BJA is seeking applicants to design or enhance a law enforcement–behavioral health response to people with MI and CMISA who come into contact with law enforcement due to their illness.
The objectives of the program are to:
Approximately $15,000,000 was available in FY2022 for 27 awards.
In FY 2023, priority consideration will be given to applications that:
Ineligible costs include:
Eligible applicants are City or township governments, County governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, State governments, and mental health agencies.
Applicants were to submit SF-424 and the SF-LLL in Grants.gov by 8:59 PM EST by April 24, 2023. The full application was be submitted in JustGrants by 8:59 PM EST on May 01, 2023. A similar timeline is anticipated annually.
Up to $17,000,000.00 is available in total funding for FY23. Awards amounts vary. Maximum award is $550,000. Approximately 30 awards will be granted. Project period is up to 36 months beginning on October 1, 2023. This solicitation requires a 20 percent cash and/or in-kind match in years 1 and 2, and a 40 percent cash and/or in-kind match in year 3.