BJA FY 23 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program | O BJA 2023 171698

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171698

The BJA FY 23 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) is a federal payment program run by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Its purpose is to partially reimburse states and local governments for certain correctional costs they incur when they jail or otherwise incarcerate individuals who are undocumented and have qualifying criminal convictions. Unlike many competitive grants, SCAAP is rooted in statute and functions as a payment/reimbursement-style program based on reported eligible inmate data, verification by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the amount of funding Congress appropriates for that year.

Eligibility is limited to state governments and units of local government, including county governments and city or township governments. To qualify for a payment in the FY 2023 cycle, the applicant must have had custody of individuals who meet the program definition of an "undocumented criminal alien" and who were incarcerated under the applicant government's legal authority for at least 4 consecutive days during the relevant 12-month reporting period. The criminal history threshold for this cycle focuses on individuals convicted of at least one felony or two misdemeanors, typically involving violations of state or local law. In practical terms, SCAAP is meant to address a slice of the financial burden that correctional agencies face when they house eligible noncitizens for multi-day periods, not short holds.

The application process requires applicants to submit detailed inmate-level information for the people they believe qualify. The applicant must either know that the individual was an undocumented criminal alien or have a reasonable, good-faith belief that the person was. OJP then transmits the applicant-submitted inmate information to DHS, which conducts a detailed review to determine which submitted individuals are actually eligible under federal immigration-status and related checks. Applicants also must provide information about their average incarceration costs during the reporting period, because cost data plays a role in how payments are ultimately computed.

SCAAP payments are calculated using a combination of (1) the information the applicant enters in the online application (including the inmate data and cost inputs), (2) DHS feedback on which submitted inmates meet eligibility requirements, and (3) the total appropriated funds available for the FY 2023 SCAAP cycle. The funding is not presented as a typical project budget with an activity plan; instead, the award amount depends on the eligible population verified and the payment formula described in the program materials (referenced in the solicitation as Appendix D, SCAAP Payment Calculations - General Overview). All submitted application information is subject to review by OJP, consistent with federal oversight expectations.

In terms of the opportunity details provided, the listing identifies the program under Funding Opportunity Number O-BJA-2023-171698 and CFDA 16.606 (the SCAAP assistance listing). The activity area is Law, Justice, and Legal Services, and the opportunity category and instrument type are both described as "Other," reflecting its formulaic payment nature rather than a standard discretionary project grant. The original application deadline for this FY 2023 posting was June 6, 2023, and the opportunity references a large potential funding amount (with an award ceiling value shown as 59,000,000), though actual payments to individual governments depend on verified eligible incarceration data and available appropriations.

Finally, the solicitation is framed within OJP's broader goals around civil rights, racial equity, access to justice, support for victims and justice-involved individuals, community safety, and building trust between law enforcement and communities. Even so, the core operational focus of SCAAP remains narrowly defined: it is a statutory payment program designed to offset certain incarceration costs tied to verified, qualifying undocumented criminal alien populations held by eligible state and local governments during a specified reporting period.

• The Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.606.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-03-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-06. (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 $59,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments.

Apply for O BJA 2023 171698

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