Grants / Department of Justice / National Institute of Corrections

26CS06: Community Reentry Settings Initiative

Closed Closed May 4, 2026 Opportunity 26CS06 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of National Institute of Corrections notices from 2026.

• Award ceiling$100,000
• Total funding$100,000
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

NIC invites applications from nonprofit organizations (including faith-based, community, and tribal organizations), for-profit organizations (including tribal for-profit organizations), and institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education). Recipients, including for-profit organizations, must agree to waive any profit or fee for services. Foreign governments, international organizations, and non-governmental international organizations/institutions are not eligible to apply. Proof of 501(c) (3) status as determined by the Internal Revenue Service or an authorizing tribal resolution is required.NIC welcomes applications that involve two or more entities; however, one eligible entity must be the applicant, and the others must be proposed as subrecipients. The applicant must be the entity with primary responsibility for administering the funding and managing the entire program. Only one application will be accepted from a submitting organization.

Is this a realistic fit?

• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The release decision-making process is crucial to the criminal justice system and should be intentional and deliberate. Reentry decisions should consider factors such as the inmate’s risk, needs and responsivity (RNR) principles and community safety concerns. There has been some attention surrounding the utilization of halfway houses but, additional assessment and review is needed to understand the current state of halfway house utilization and make transformational changes that supports successful reentry outcomes in halfway houses. The questions to explore are simple and complex. For example, what and how is criteria (risk assessments, protective factors, etc.) used in the decision-making process from prison to halfway house; how are case managers planning for halfway house release with their residents; what does the “hand-off” from prisons officials to halfway house organizations entail; how are the community, business, education and other public or non-profit entities involved in this release process to halfway house and; what is the continuum of support/care provided during their reentry/transition period at half-way houses (e.g., employment, life skills, mental health, substance use). These are some of the broad questions this work seeks to answer. One notable dynamic to explore in the decision-making processes involves the tension between discretionary authority and standardized procedures. Multiple sources highlight that release decisions involve "discretionary judgment", and key actors like wardens, community corrections managers, and case managers are the final decision makers. How each of these actors makes decisions varies, leaving the possibility of subjective judgment in the process. Simultaneously, there are explicit legal mandates, state statutes, and zoning requirements that outline specific criteria, timelines, and procedures for release to halfway houses. While policies and assessment tools aim for consistency, fairness, and evidence-based decision making, the space where discretion exists can lead to variations in which individuals are being considered for release. This human factor introduces the potential for inconsistencies in eligibility determinations, or deviations from the policy and program criteria/design or inconsistent application of policy and procedures. This points to the dilemma between discretionary release practices versus standardized releasing decision-making.

Category: Other.

We found no grant awards under Assistance Listing 16.602 in fiscal 2021 to 2025, which usually means the program is new or very small.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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