BJA FY 2021 Invited to Apply - Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Reallocation Funds | O BJA 2021 36001

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2021 36001

The BJA FY 2021 Invited to Apply - Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Reallocation Funds opportunity is a Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance grant action tied to how states comply with the National PREA Standards. Under PREA, if a Governor does not certify that the state is in full compliance with the Standards, the state faces a 5 percent reduction in certain DOJ grant funds intended for prison purposes. However, PREA also gives an alternative to losing those funds: the Governor can submit an assurance that the withheld 5 percent will be used specifically to help the state move toward adopting, implementing, and ultimately certifying compliance with the Standards in future years. For FY 2021, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program is one of the covered DOJ funding streams subject to this PREA requirement.

The program description lays out the three options available to Governors under PREA: (1) certify full compliance with the National PREA Standards, (2) submit an assurance committing that 5 percent of DOJ prison-purpose funds (including JAG) will be reserved and used only for activities that enable compliance, or (3) accept a 5 percent reduction in those covered grants. The deadline for a Governor to submit either the certification or the assurance for this cycle was October 15, 2020. When a state does not certify compliance, the Bureau of Justice Assistance administers what are referred to here as PREA Reallocation funds, which are derived from the relevant portion of that state s JAG Program funding.

A key operational detail is how the 5 percent is calculated. The reduction is assessed against the state s 60 percent share of JAG funding plus the less-than-10,000 allocation, and it explicitly does not include the mandatory variable pass-through amount. In other words, the reduction applies to specific components of the state-administered JAG share rather than every dollar associated with JAG. The funds affected by this mechanism are then treated as PREA reallocation amounts that must be directed toward PREA-related compliance efforts rather than general criminal justice uses.

On eligibility and flow of funds, this is structured around State Administering Agencies (SAAs) that receive JAG awards and are responsible for administering these reallocation dollars. States are required to pass through the PREA reallocation funds to the designated PREA contact agencies. Practically, that means the SAA is not expected to hold the funding for unrelated purposes; the money must be directed to the entities identified by the state as the appropriate PREA points of contact to carry out compliance work in confinement settings. The opportunity is labeled as "Invited to Apply," which typically signals a targeted applicant pool rather than an open nationwide competition, consistent with the fact that the amounts are calculated based on state-specific JAG allocations.

The purpose of the funding is tightly focused: preventing, addressing, and responding to sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement facilities, and helping jurisdictions achieve compliance with the National PREA Standards. The opportunity emphasizes that PREA audits are a central part of successful implementation. In support of that, BJA points to the PREA Auditor Handbook released in August 2017, which spells out DOJ expectations for DOJ-certified PREA auditors, including required conduct, audit methodology, and the goal of producing high-quality, objective, comprehensive, and reliable audits. The broader intent is to strengthen consistent, credible auditing nationwide as a driver of compliance and accountability.

Beyond funding, BJA also highlights that it will continue to provide training, technical assistance, and resources to help jurisdictions meet PREA obligations. Specifically for recipients of FY 2021 PREA Reallocation funds, BJA makes targeted technical assistance available. This assistance is meant to help jurisdictions use the reallocated dollars effectively to implement prevention and response measures and to close compliance gaps identified through audits or other assessments. After awards are made, BJA plans to identify which jurisdictions want this support and connect them with an expert technical assistance provider, reinforcing that the funding is paired with hands-on support rather than being purely a pass-through payment.

The opportunity details include: Funding Opportunity Number O-BJA-2021-36001, agency DOJ/BJA, instrument type Grant, posted June 9, 2021, with an original closing date of July 9, 2021. The award ceiling is listed as 374,664, with an expected 29 awards. The statutory authority cited includes 34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq. and 34 U.S.C. 30307(e), reflecting BJA s general grantmaking authority and PREA-related provisions governing the reallocation and use of funds.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the affordable care act sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 2021 Invited to Apply - Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Reallocation Funds" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.738.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 09, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 09, 2021. (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 $374,664.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 29 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O BJA 2021 36001

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: