U.S. Department of Justice: FY 2022 School Violence Prevention Program

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The purpose of the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) is to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the jurisdiction of the grantee through evidence-based school safety programs and technology. SVPP awards will contribute to this goal by funding projects which include funding of civilian personnel to serve as coordinators with local law enforcement, training for local law enforcement officers, purchase and installation of certain allowable equipment and technology, and other measures to significantly improve school security.

Anticipated outcomes of SVPP awards include: improved information sharing with local law enforcement; increased interaction and improved communications between law enforcement and school officials; reduced notification times to law enforcement; improved response time to threats and events; accurate identification of danger (without resort to discriminatory stereotypes or violating privacy) and follow-up; increased knowledge of and use of community policing principles; and increased school safety and sustainability planning efforts.

SVPP funding will provide funding for the following school safety measures in and around K-12 (primary and secondary) schools and school grounds: coordination with law enforcement; training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and self; metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures; technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and any other measure that the COPS Office determines may provide a significant improvement in security.

Allowable costs include the following:

• Salaries and fringe benefits for civilian/non-sworn personnel only
• Equipment
• Technology
• Supplies
• Travel and training
• Consultants and subawards
• Other costs (see solicitation for details)

See solicitation for details of school safety planning best practices. As a condition of funding, if awarded, recipients must conduct comprehensive school safety assessments during the grant award period for all schools involved in the project.

Amount: An estimated 160 awards will be made ranging up to $500,000 over a 36 month period of performance. There is a local cash match requirement of at least 25 percent.

Note: Approximately $1 million of the available funding will be reserved for microgrants for school districts, including rural, tribal, and low-resourced schools. Microgrant award requests must be for $100,000 or less, and the 25% local match (cost share) requirement may be waived if fiscal need is demonstrated. Consideration for microgrant funding does not exclude your agency from other SVPP funding.

Eligibility: Eligible entities include City or township governments, County governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), and State governments, including school districts, school boards, and law enforcement agencies. The COPS Office welcomes applications under which two or more entities would carry out the federal award; however, only one entity may be the applicant.

Each application shall be accompanied by an assurance that the application was prepared after consultation with law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, social workers, students, parents, school violence researchers/academics, teachers, or others to ensure that the improvements to be funded are consistent with a comprehensive approach to preventing school violence, and individualized to the needs of each school. See solicitation for details.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=339699

This post was filed under: