BJA FY 18 Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Program | BJA 2018 13633

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2018 13633

The BJA FY 18 Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Program (Funding Opportunity Number: BJA-2018-13633) is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), created under the broader Second Chance Act effort. The core purpose is to help communities plan strong, coordinated reentry and employment strategies for adults returning from incarceration. The program is focused on two linked outcomes: improving successful reentry into the community and workforce, and reducing recidivism by addressing the practical and systemic barriers that often lead people back into the justice system.

This FY 2018 program specifically funds strategic planning rather than direct service expansion. It builds on a prior BJA pilot called the Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies project, which tested a more integrated approach that aligns reentry supports with employment readiness and job placement efforts. The intent now is to help additional jurisdictions replicate that pilot framework by supporting the upfront work required to design a comprehensive local strategy. In practical terms, the grant is meant to pay for the planning process: bringing the right partners together, assessing needs and gaps, selecting evidence-informed practices, aligning roles and responsibilities across agencies, and producing a clear, actionable plan that can guide implementation and future funding.

The opportunity sits at the intersection of law and justice, community development, and employment and training, reflecting the reality that reentry is not only a corrections issue. Returning citizens often face overlapping challenges such as limited work history, skills gaps, housing instability, behavioral health needs, transportation barriers, and the collateral consequences of conviction records that can restrict employment and licensing. This program’s emphasis on collaborative strategy development signals that BJA is looking for planning efforts that connect corrections, supervision, workforce development systems, community-based service providers, and employers into a single coordinated approach rather than a set of disconnected programs.

Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education); and for-profit organizations, including small businesses. The funding instrument is a grant, associated with CFDA number 16.812, which is commonly linked to BJA Second Chance Act funding streams and related reentry work.

Financially, the award ceiling is $200,000 per award, with an expected total of six awards. The posting date was May 2, 2018, and the original application deadline was June 18, 2018. Because the program is framed as a strategic planning grant with a defined ceiling and a limited number of awards, it is geared toward jurisdictions or organizations prepared to move quickly into a structured planning process and to demonstrate readiness to coordinate multiple stakeholders.

Overall, the program is best understood as seed funding for planning a comprehensive adult reentry and employment strategy that mirrors the integrated approach tested in BJA’s earlier pilot. It supports communities in developing a practical roadmap for improving job readiness and employment outcomes for people leaving incarceration, strengthening cross-system collaboration, and ultimately lowering the likelihood of reoffending by stabilizing returning citizens through work and aligned reentry supports.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the community development, employment, labor and training, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), information and statistics, law, justice and legal services, other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification), science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 18 Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.812.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 02, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 18, 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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for BJA 2018 13633

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