U.S. Attorney Brady Announces More than $83 Million Available to Support School Safety

PITTSBURGH – U.S. Attorney Scott Brady today announced that more than $83 million in Department of Justice grants is available to prevent and reduce school violence. These funding opportunities are available for school districts, state and local government and law enforcement agencies, non-profits, and public and state controlled higher education institutions to improve school security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence.

"Keeping students safe while at school is the first priority of every local government and school district," said U.S. Attorney Brady. "These funds provide the opportunity to increase and enhance school safety across western Pennsylvania. I encourage cities and school districts to take advantage of the critical support these grant funds provide."

"School violence is no longer an abstract threat but has become a tragic reality in too many of America’s communities. Moving to meet this challenge is among the Administration’s top domestic priorities," said Katharine T. Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. "The Department of Justice is front and center in the fight to meet this challenge. OJP is making historic amounts of grant funding available to ensure that our communities have access to innovative and diverse solutions."

The funding is available through OJP, the federal government’s leading source of public safety funding and crime victim assistance in state, local and tribal jurisdictions. OJP’s programs support a wide array of activities and services, including programs designed to tighten school security and improve the reporting of threats.

A number of funding opportunities for school safety are currently open, with another opening in the near future:

STOP Act School Violence Program (FY20)

https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/nij-2020-17308

Total Available $71.4 million Deadline 4/13/2020

Research and Evaluation on School Safety

https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/nij-2020-17308

Total Available $5 million Deadline 4/13/2020

Strategies to Support Children Exposed to Violence

https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/ojjdp-2020-17926

Total Available $7 million Deadline 4/27/2020

For more information regarding all OJP funding opportunities, visit https://www.ojp.gov/funding/explore/current-funding-opportunities.

For resources and additional information on applying for OJP grant opportunities, please see the WDPA Grants Resource Page at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/grants.