BJA FY 20 Implementing the PREA Standards, Protecting Inmates, and Safeguarding Communities | BJA 2020 17233

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2020 17233

The BJA FY 20 Implementing the PREA Standards, Protecting Inmates, and Safeguarding Communities grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number BJA 2020 17233) is a discretionary funding program from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. It is designed to help jurisdictions and correctional agencies carry out the goals of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which requires DOJ to support efforts that protect incarcerated people, with specific emphasis on preventing and addressing prison rape, and to promote safer community reentry by reducing the harm and trauma that can follow people back into the community after incarceration.

At its core, the program funds practical implementation work tied to PREA standards. The statutory purpose highlighted in the solicitation is to support efforts that more effectively prevent prison rape, improve the investigation of incidents, and strengthen the prosecution of incidents where crimes occur. In other words, the grant is meant to move agencies beyond policy statements and toward concrete prevention, detection, response, and accountability measures inside confinement settings. That can include strengthening facility practices that reduce opportunities for sexual abuse, ensuring staff are trained and supervised in ways that reduce risk, building reliable reporting channels, improving victim support and response protocols, and developing investigative capacity so allegations are handled promptly, professionally, and credibly.

The opportunity is open to a wide range of governmental applicants, reflecting how PREA applies across many types of confinement and detention environments. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, and city or township governments, along with special district governments and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. The listing also notes that additional applicant types may be eligible as described in the program guidance, which commonly means the program can accommodate certain public agencies or other entities closely tied to correctional operations depending on the specific eligibility language in the full announcement.

Funding is provided as a grant under CFDA number 16.735, categorized under law, justice, and legal services (with an additional classification reference to humanities/cultural affairs in the source listing). The award ceiling for an individual award is up to 250,000 dollars, and BJA anticipated making about 12 awards under this FY 2020 solicitation. The posting date for the opportunity was February 14, 2020, with an original application closing date of April 14, 2020, which places it on a fairly typical federal grant timeline of roughly two months from release to deadline.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as targeted implementation support for PREA compliance and effectiveness: helping agencies adopt and operationalize standards that prevent sexual abuse in custody, improve the quality and integrity of investigations when incidents occur, and support prosecution when warranted. The broader public safety rationale is also explicit in the title and statutory language: protecting people in custody and safeguarding the communities they return to by reducing victimization and its long-term impacts, strengthening institutional accountability, and reinforcing trust that correctional systems respond seriously and competently to sexual abuse allegations.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 20 Implementing the PREA Standards, Protecting Inmates, and Safeguarding Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.735.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 14, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 14, 2020. (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 $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for BJA 2020 17233

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