BJA FY 19 Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court Planning, Training, Technical Assistance, and Resource Center Initiative | BJA 2019 15086

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2019 15086

The BJA FY 19 Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court Planning, Training, Technical Assistance, and Resource Center Initiative (Funding Opportunity Number BJA-2019-15086) is a discretionary federal grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). It is structured as a cooperative agreement, which generally signals that BJA expects to stay actively involved with award recipients as they carry out the work, rather than simply providing funds with minimal federal interaction. The opportunity was created on February 12, 2019, with an original application deadline of April 16, 2019, and it falls under CFDA 16.585, aligning it with justice-system initiatives that include training, technical assistance, and related services.

The core purpose of this initiative is to strengthen existing, operational adult drug treatment courts (and related veterans treatment court efforts) by helping them adopt and implement better program practices that improve outcomes and support long-term participant success. Instead of focusing primarily on starting new courts, the program is aimed at improving how current courts function day to day, with an emphasis on effectiveness, sustainability, and measurable results. The central idea is that better-designed and better-supported drug court operations can increase participant stability, reduce substance use and recidivism, and improve public safety and community health over time.

A major feature of the program is BJA's expectation of a collaborative, partner-based model. In practice, that means the funded entity is expected to work alongside cooperating organizations or subject-matter partners to deliver planning support, training, technical assistance (TTA), and resource development that courts can actually use. The assistance is meant to be responsive to local needs and goals, recognizing that drug courts differ by jurisdiction, population served, available treatment resources, and operational maturity. The overall intent is to help each participating court build and maximize its capacity, not only by improving internal processes but also by strengthening connections among justice agencies, treatment providers, and community supports.

The opportunity emphasizes several specific improvement targets for participating courts. One is ensuring that potential drug court participants are identified and assessed using appropriate approaches that measure both risk and need. This reflects a practical focus on matching the right people to drug court interventions and tailoring services based on evidence-based assessment rather than one-size-fits-all enrollment. Another priority is ensuring participants receive targeted, research-based services, which points to the use of proven treatment modalities and interventions that are aligned with participant profiles and criminogenic needs. This includes improving the quality and consistency of treatment and supervision components, and strengthening the link between assessment results and service plans.

The initiative also places strong weight on recovery support services and long-term reintegration. Beyond clinical treatment, courts are expected to enhance the availability and coordination of recovery supports that help participants maintain stability, such as peer support, recovery coaching, and connections to community-based resources. Reintegration services are highlighted as a key pathway to durable recovery, including practical supports that can reduce relapse and reoffending risk, such as employment assistance, housing support, education pathways, family reunification supports, and other community stabilization services. The framing makes clear that success is not defined solely by program completion, but by sustained recovery and functional community reentry.

Another central requirement is performance measurement and reporting. The funded work is expected to help courts improve how they collect, manage, and report performance data, and to use that information to identify trends and explain what those trends mean for program operations. This points to a continuous-improvement approach where data is not just compliance-driven, but used to diagnose bottlenecks, disparities, service gaps, retention issues, and outcome patterns. In practical terms, technical assistance may include building local capacity for data collection, developing dashboards or standardized reporting tools, improving data quality, and training staff on interpreting findings for operational decision-making.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $6,000,000 and anticipates making up to 7 awards. Eligible applicants are broad and include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. That eligibility range signals that BJA is open to a variety of national providers, research and training organizations, and specialized technical assistance entities that can operate at scale and deliver consistent, high-quality support across multiple jurisdictions.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a capacity-building and quality-improvement initiative for adult drug courts and veterans treatment courts, centered on practical implementation support. Its focus areas combine evidence-based participant screening and assessment, effective treatment matching, strengthened recovery and reintegration supports, and a stronger performance measurement culture. The collaborative model and cooperative agreement structure indicate that BJA intends the funded effort to function as a coordinated TTA and resource hub that helps operational courts improve outcomes in a measurable, sustainable way.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the education, health, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), information and statistics, law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 19 Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court Planning, Training, Technical Assistance, and Resource Center Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.585.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 12, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 16, 2019. (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 $6,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: 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, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

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