Well Told Grants

Grants / Department of Justice / Bureau of Justice Assistance

O-BJA-2021-171190: BJA FY 21 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

Closed Closed April 29, 2022 Opportunity O-BJA-2021-171190

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: BJA FY26 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) (O-BJA-2026-172810). Status: Closes December 15, 2026 (38 days left). It is in our archive of Bureau of Justice Assistance notices from 2022.

Bureau of Justice Assistance offered grants of up to $59.0 million to state and local governments. It expected to make about 600 awards worth $221 million in total. Applications closed on April 29, 2022.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed April 26, 2022. Checked November 7, 2026.

Other notices with this title

Bureau of Justice Assistance has posted this title under other numbers: earlier or later rounds, or the same competition for another area. Each has its own dates and may change its rules.

NoticePostedDeadlineStatus
O-BJA-2024-172032May 30, 2024Closed July 24, 2024Closed
O-BJA-2023-171698March 29, 2023Closed June 6, 2023Closed
O-BJA-2022-171484December 9, 2022Closed March 15, 2023Closed

Key dates

PostedMarch 9, 2022
DeadlineApril 29, 2022

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to state and local governments.

See Eligibility Information in this solicitation. For purposes of this solicitation, "state" means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

More grants for state and local governments.

Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. OJP’s BJA administers SCAAP. Under SCAAP, OJP is statutorily required to make payments to "states" and "units of local government" that incur certain types of costs due to the "incarceration" of "undocumented criminal aliens" during a specific 12-month "reporting period." Under the FY 2021 program, payments will be made in connection with "undocumented criminal aliens" who had been convicted of at least one felony or two misdemeanors (typically for violations of state or local law) and who were "incarcerated" under the legal authority of the applicant government for at least 4 consecutive days during the "reporting period." (Additional details are set out in later sections of this document.) As part of its application, each applicant government provides particular information about individuals it "incarcerated" — under its own legal authority — for at least 4 consecutive days during the "reporting period" and whom the applicant government either (1) knows were "undocumented criminal aliens" or (2) reasonably and in good faith believes were "undocumented criminal aliens." (OJP transmits the data submitted on such individuals to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a detailed review.) As part of its application, each applicant government also must provide information pertinent to its average costs of incarceration during the "reporting period." Broadly speaking, SCAAP payments are calculated from information provided by applicant governments in online applications, information provided to OJP by DHS regarding the DHS review of data on "eligible inmates," and the amount of appropriated funds available for the SCAAP application cycle (e.g., for the FY 2021 program). All information submitted as part of an application is subject to appropriate review by OJP.

Category: Law, Justice and Legal Services.

Who has won State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (16.606) awarded $434 million across 1,062 grant awards, an average of $408,283 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
California Department of CorrectionsCalifornia2$132 million
New York State Department of Corrections and Community SupervisionNew York2$34.3 million
Texas Department of Criminal JusticeTexas2$32.6 million
Florida Department of CorrectionsFlorida2$17.1 million
State of Arizona-Dept of CorrectionsArizona2$12.7 million

Top states: California ($157 million), New York ($51.7 million), Texas ($50.9 million), New Jersey ($27.2 million), Florida ($26.9 million).

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, O-BJA-2026-172810, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is O-BJA-2021-171190 still open?

No. It closed on April 29, 2022. A newer notice is open: O-BJA-2026-172810, closes December 15, 2026 (38 days left).

Who can apply for BJA FY 21 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program?

Bureau of Justice Assistance accepted applications from state and local governments. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

What is the deadline for BJA FY 21 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program?

Closed April 29, 2022. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $59.0 million each. About $221 million in total across about 600 awards.

Who has won State Criminal Alien Assistance Program grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were California Department of Corrections, New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The program made 1,062 awards worth $434 million in that time.

Similar open grants